Film Feature: 65th SFFILM Festival Preview Spotlight #2

The 65th SFFilm Festival will take place April 21 – May 1, 2022, with screenings at various venues around the Bay Area. This year, the festival program features over 130 film from 56 countries, so there are plenty of options for everyone.

Here’s a look at five more features — get your tickets before they sell out!

1.) WE FEED PEOPLE
(USA, 2022. 90 min)

From director Ron Howard, We Feed People takes a close look at the World Central Kitchen (WCK) and the man who launched and manages it with every fiber of his being, world-renowned chef Jose Andres. The majority of the film is boots-on-the-ground footage of the WCK in action, with only snippets here and there taken from news reports. In this way, we get a devastating look at the aftermath of various disasters as WCK staff work fast among the wreckage and speak to the impacted residents. Most importantly, We Feed People contains a sense of urgency, that food shortages should be a thing of the past — it’s an inspirational gut punch. WCK is at the forefront of the fight: at the time of this writing, multiple WCK staff members in Ukraine have been injured in a recent Russian bombing. 

Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 23rd, 5:30pm at the Vogue Theatre Continue reading “Film Feature: 65th SFFILM Festival Preview Spotlight #2”

Show Review: Spiritualized at The Fillmore, 4.12.22

Spiritualized, enters its third decade doing the one thing it has done and doing it well: building manifold soundscapes over rock and pop fundamentals, repetition unto transcendence. 

Each track is reducible to some early Rock Rhythm and Blues motif. Continue reading “Show Review: Spiritualized at The Fillmore, 4.12.22”

Single Of The Week: “the dealer” by Nilüfer Yanya

I’ve DEFINITELY been sleeping on Nilüfer Yanya. “the dealer” is actually the 4th single off her second album, PAINLESS. It’s a frantic number that is so jittery it could be uncomfortable if the hook wasn’t so great. It’s a song that never “breathes,” the beat never drops, it just builds and then STOPS. It’s an emotional journey that she forces you on, whether you like it or not. And I like it. 

You can find PAINLESS in all the usual places! 

Show Review: alt-j, Portugal. The Man, Cherry Glazerr at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 4.1.22

As an alt-j fan celebrating The Dream release and larger venue openings in the bay area the joke was on me when it came to the night of the show and what happened vs what I expected from this sold-out venue and bill.

The Bill Grahm Civic Auditorium might as well be the venue that “Band Aid” Penny Lane spins around to Cat Steven’s (Yusuf Islam’s) “The Wind” in Almost Famous. An iconic movie scene where a super fan relishes the empty room after an incendiary performance of their fav band. If this venue could talk. Continue reading “Show Review: alt-j, Portugal. The Man, Cherry Glazerr at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 4.1.22”

OUTSIDE LANDS 2022 EAGER BEAVER TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW AT 10AM!

I know you’ve been patient. We have been, too. It feels like every major festival until the end of the year had dropped their line ups last month. Well, everyone except Outside Lands. FEAR NOT! Eager Beaver tickets are going on sale Wednesday, April 13th at 10am. YES, TOMORROW!! Those tickets are going live at https://sfoutsidelands.com/tickets. 

You also know what that means? It’s time for Ranger Ruth and Ranger Dave to start dropping line up hints. And that’s happening on Tik Tok! It’s a fun game, and I’ll definitely be playing along. Hope you are, too! And see you in Golden Gate Park this August 5th-7th! 

A Love Letter to Nightlife, and Plans for an Oral History

 

Nightlife is a sacred pursuit, especially when the world is bleak. Lately, the clubs and the bars feel emptier, and it’s harder to find our people there. In the 80’s and early 90s, we had a similarly dark moment, but it felt like it was easier to be with other people. They matter, for so many reasons. A dark bar or club can be the heart of a community. I’m on a journey to collect and share stories of what happened in these venues. Continue reading “A Love Letter to Nightlife, and Plans for an Oral History”

Book Review: “Bay Area Stand Up Comedy: A Humorous History” by Nina G & OJ Patterson

For those of you that have been following Spinning Platters since it’s inception (Hi, Mom!), you may recognize one of the two names sharing authorship of the book Bay Area Stand Up Comedy: A Humorous History. Yup! Our one-time comedy editor, OJ Patterson, has graduated from the world of volunteer blogging to become an actual published author! I’m so very proud!!! (I’m actually weeping a little. Don’t mind me!) I’m also very sad that, within his bio within the book, there is no mention of our little pocket of the internet. I won’t hold that against him, however. Because he, along with fellow Bay Area stand-up comic Nina G, has gifted the world with something that we’ve desperately needed: a written history of the highly influential Bay Area stand-up comedy scene. 

Continue reading “Book Review: “Bay Area Stand Up Comedy: A Humorous History” by Nina G & OJ Patterson”

Film Feature: 65th SFFILM Festival Preview Spotlight #1

The 65th SFFilm Festival will take place April 21 – May 1, 2022, with screenings at various venues around the Bay Area. This year, the festival program features over 130 film from 56 countries, so there are plenty of options for everyone.

We’ll bring you spotlight coverage of many of the films leading up to and during the Festival. Here’s a look at five features and a short to get things started — get your tickets before they sell out!

1.) THE EXILES
(USA, Taiwan, France, China, 2021. 96 min)

A fascinating documentary that spotlights legendary Chinese documentarian Christine Choy (Who Killed Vincent Chin?) as an avenue into revisiting the massacre at Tiananmen Square and three high profile exiled dissidents. Produced by Steven Soderbergh and winner of this year’s Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize, The Exiles takes an honest look at the active erasure of history, and exemplifies the power of documentary filmmaking to preserve memories, events, and movements.

Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 23rd, 3:00pm at the Victoria Theatre
– Sun., April 24th, 2:00pm at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive

Continue reading “Film Feature: 65th SFFILM Festival Preview Spotlight #1”

Film Review: “All the Old Knives”

Old knives sharp enough for satisfying spy thriller

Former colleagues and lovers Celia (Thandiwe Newton) and Henry (Chris Pine) catch up over dinner in Carmel.

Danish director Janus Metz brings a chilly Scandinavian sensibility to his adaptation of Olen Steinhauer’s 2015 spy novel All the Old Knives. The serviceable picture keeps the viewer at some remove from the characters, but presents a story just entertaining enough to absorb us.

Continue reading “Film Review: “All the Old Knives””

Film Review: “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”

The colorful SEGA spiny mammals are back and fully charged!

If there’s one thing the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films have shown, it’s that Jim Carrey is sorely missed as a regular on-screen presence. His performance in 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was, not so arguably, the best part of the film and without it the film would’ve been easily dismissed. The sequel, coming out only two years after the first, is a rare instance of more-is-better working for a franchise. Carrey remains the main draw, and he once again delivers the manic goods. Two new colorful iconic characters from the SEGA game’s universe, Tails and Knuckles, are fun additions. Unsurprisingly, the addition of extended plotlines surrounding minor side characters isn’t as fun. Like a broken record, I’ll once again say that movies are too long these days. Sonic 2 is twenty minutes too long (23 minutes longer than the first movie). Despite some extraneous tangents, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 doubles down on the jokes, the action, and the energy.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Sonic the Hedgehog 2””