The Spinning Platters Guide to the 34th Mill Valley Film Festival

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, which is having its Bay Area premiere during the Mill Valley Film Festival.

The Mill Valley Film Festival, one of the Bay Area’s most esteemed and prestigious film events, is returning for its 34th installment October 6-16. The MVFF has come to represent the first opportunity for Bay Area film buffs to check out festival favorites from the likes of Toronto, Venice, and Telluride before their theatrical releases, not to mention a chance to mingle with the talent; expected guests this year include Glenn Close, Martin Donovan, Luc Besson, Michelle Yeoh, Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes, and Ezra Miller. Last year’s festival featured the likes of 127 Hours, Blue Valentine, and eventual Best Picture winner The King’s Speech. Look after the jump for the top 12 films to check out this year.

Continue reading “The Spinning Platters Guide to the 34th Mill Valley Film Festival”

Film Review: “Moneyball”

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in MONEYBALL

starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Kerris Dorsey

written by: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin

directed by: Bennett Miller

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some strong language

Continue reading “Film Review: “Moneyball””

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/22/11-9/28/11

Tuesday Night at Bottom Of The Hill

There are few things more exciting than stumbling across a live show  from an artist that you have never heard before. This Monday, at Knockout, SpinningPlatters is giving you that thrill. You and a guest can enjoy fine beverages at one of my outer mission bars, and enjoy the beautiful sounds of country singer Alana Amram & The Rough Gems. Check out he Van Dyke Parks assisted single Summer Winds right here, and to enter the contest, simply fill out this form!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 9/22/11-9/28/11”

Spinning Platters Picks Six: REM Songs That Helped Define Who I Am

Today, the very upsetting news was released that REM, after 31 years, has called it quits. This band was one of the most influential bands in the history of rock, and, in my humble opinion, ranking up there with The Beatles and Michael Jackson in terms of influence on society. Every blog on Earth is, of course, discussing this today. Everyone knows that their success opened the doors to the whole “alternative rock” movement, and their success, either directly or indirectly, made room for band such as Nirvana and The Flaming Lips on a major label roster, and their influence still remains today, with the fierce mainstream success of Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons. That’s not what this is about. This is about my own time spent with REM.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: REM Songs That Helped Define Who I Am”

Show Review: Thievery Corporation w/ AM & Shawn Lee at The Fox Theater – Oakland, 9/16/2011

Clavier striking a pose, Myers looking cool on the sitar, and Rob Garza on keys, one of the masterminds behind all of this

One of my favorite experiments is to go see a band that I know nothing about. Usually this tends to be a low key affair, in a small venue somewhere. It’s rare for a band to play a venue in the 3,000+ capacity range that I’ve managed to miss. Although it can easily be a gamble, the pay off can be great. On the warm Indian Summer night, I took the new band challenge.

Continue reading “Show Review: Thievery Corporation w/ AM & Shawn Lee at The Fox Theater — Oakland, 9/16/2011”

Show Review: Peter Hook and The Light performing Closer at The Mezzanine, 09/17/2011

Father and son join for a furious wall of sound
Father and son join for a furious wall of sound

It is frequently said that when you have a formula that works, it is safe to stick with it, but only to the point where you continue to be successful, and not past the point where you’ve entered a realm of dangerous repetition. In 2010 I stated that a popular trend was for a band to go on tour and, as their setlist, play one or more of their classic albums from start to finish. Some acts, such as the Melvins or A Perfect Circle, took up this concept and played multiple albums over multiple nights, and it was a true test of stamina for their fans to make it out for two or three nights in a row to see the entire collection of songs from their catalogue. However, when bassist Peter Hook and his band The Light returned to the Mezzanine in San Francisco to perform Joy Division’s posthumous classic Closer in its entirety, it was quite clear that a nearly-one-year-long wait was a brilliant decision, as it brought a new collection of energetic fans, an explosive performance from Hook and his band, and the reminder that the power and majesty of Joy Division’s music is still fiercely present over 30 years after the release of their final record.

Continue reading “Show Review: Peter Hook and The Light performing Closer at The Mezzanine, 09/17/2011″

Film Review: “Straw Dogs”

James Marsden tries to reason with Alexander Skarsgard's muscle tee in STRAW DOGS.

starring: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard, James Woods, Dominic Purcell, Rhys Coiro, Willa Holland

written and directed by: Rod Lurie

MPAA: Rated R for strong brutal violence including a sexual attack, menace, some sexual content, and pervasive language

Continue reading “Film Review: “Straw Dogs””

Film Review: “Drive”

Ill-fated henchman and Ryan Gosling in DRIVE

starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, Oscar Isaac

written by: Hossein Amini

directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn

MPAA: Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence, language and some nudity.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Drive””

Spinning Platters Interview: Peter Hook

Peter Hook performs at Mezzanine in San Francisco last year. Photo by Jonathan Pirro

A few weeks ago, Spinning Platters had the pleasure of chatting with Peter Hook, the legendary bass player for Joy Division, New Order and Monaco, as he prepares for his upcoming North American tour. (He is coming to Mezzanine in San Francisco on Saturday, September 17th) This conversation happened about a week before it was revealed that New Order were recording and touring again without Hook. Instead, Hook is bringing his ace band The Light around the states to perform the classic Joy Divison record Closer in it’s entirety, as well as other key tracks. We did get to discuss the tour, the general response to the gigs from people close to Ian Curtis, the Joy Divison vocalist that passed away 21 years ago, and about other projects in his plate.

Now that you have been doing Joy Division songs (with The Light) for about a year, have audiences responded differently?

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Peter Hook”