film review – Page 9 – Spinning Platters

SFIFF Spotlights #8: The One I Love/Coast of Death/Night Moves

Spinning Platters brings you even more spotlights from the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which ends today, May 8th. Program notes and tickets available here. There are only a few screenings left, so hurry to catch the last showings, and you can also see many of the films as they open widely throughout the year.

The One I Love
(USA, 2014, 91 min)

Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass stand agape in THE ONE I LOVE

Romantic comedy meets The Twilight Zone, Charlie McDowell’s obscure relationship dramedy is a wonderful piece of bizarre metaphorical fiction. The story focuses on an unhappy married couple, Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, who go to a beautifully secluded rural home to rekindle their love. Immediately, anomalies involving the adjacent guest house occur, and the film starts toying with our minds, offering continuous scenarios that beg the question, ‘how would I handle this?’ A quirky tone keeps the film upbeat, but the twists lead the characters down varied emotional routes, resulting in a whole new meaning to “couples therapy.”

The One I Love SFIFF Page: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/the-one-i-love

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Film Review: Brick Mansions

Neither Walker’s smile nor Belle’s crazy stunts can save ‘Brick Mansions’ from collapsing in on itself.

Paul Walker (RIP) is a bright spot in his disappointing second-to-last outing.

We should get this out of the way: Brick Mansions is not Paul Walker’s final film. The charismatic 40 year old actor, who died in a car crash on November 30th, 2013, completed a portion of the filming of Fast & Furious 7. The seventh installment of the lucrative franchise will serve as a much better sendoff than Brick Mansions. Brick Mansions has its moments, and Paul Walker supplies his trademark icy blue eyes and sly humor, but the film suffers from a shallow plot, laughable dialogue, and dizzying quick cuts that spoil some marvelous stunt work.

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Film Review: Alan Partridge

A witty, efficient, and quirky little tale of an oddball in an odd situation.

Steve Coogan as the odd radio DJ, Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge is a new film centered around a beloved fictional radio host/DJ character created by Steve Coogan and friends for the BBC series, On The Hour. An unknown to most American audiences, Partridge is precisely the type of neurotic, awkward, and narcissistic underdog that we love to watch and cheer for (like Ron Burgandy). The film is a bizarre tale involving an absurd but charming chain of events. There are moments when the story comes very close to crossing into unfunny territory, but instead it rides the line without sacrificing its tempo. There’s something quite wonderful about a comedy that knows how to get in and get out whilst fulfilling all the requirements of the genre, and Steve Coogan seems to be the mastermind behind it all.

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Film Review: Draft Day

Warning: This film may offend filmmakers, women, and football fans.

Kevin Costner contemplates his previous decision to be in this film. — Kevin Costner mulls over his decision to be in this film.

What’s wrong with the above image? That’s correct, those black and white photos on the wall behind Kevin Costner are photographs of football, not baseball. Kevin Costner has starred in some of the greatest baseball movies of all time. He’s well known for his love of our national pastime. So why take a crack at a football movie? It’s hard to blame the filmmakers for attempting to bring some entertainment value to the behind-the-scenes world of football, specifically the strategizing and efforts put into the bizarre tradition that is the NFL draft day. Such a behind-the-scenes attempt worked for Moneyball (2011). But Draft Day falls flat because the storyline is carried on the shoulders of contrived characters, a pathetic depiction of a female executive in the sports world, and very poor editing choices.

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Film Review: Sabotage

Expectations sabotaged by a lack of fun.

A moment of fun amidst a whole lot of not.

Don’t let the above image fool you. This is not a fun, explosive, Arnold film. When a movie trailer brags that it features the director of End of Watch and the writer of Training Day, ears perk up! So why doesn’t this film even come close to capturing the cinematic value of these two prior films?…It’s because Sabotage, the new film directed by David Ayer (Street Kings) and starring the former Governator (Collateral Damage), is a load of gruesome violence packaged into a cop drama wannabe that lacks purpose and explanation…as well as non-expletive dialogue.

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Film Review: Muppets Most Wanted

For better or worse, it’s very Muppet-y.

The Muppets make a deal. — The Muppets make a deal with the Badguy, Dominic Badguy.

In 2011, when The Muppets resurrected the colorful bunch back into the mainstream (much thanks to Disney), it did so through a heartwarming tale that focused on the forgotten bond between humans and muppets that had been so strong for decades. The human element was a crucially strong point of emphasis. With that movie now in the rearview mirror, Muppets Most Wanted, despite the disappointing title, marks a return to the traditional form that the muppets are known for — slapstick gags, self-referential humor, and a stampede of celebrity cameos. The result is a fun explosion of muppet goofiness with catchy musical numbers, with the human characters reserved for moving the plot along, but nothing more.

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Film Review: Bad Words

Charming, crude, and rudimentary. R-U-D-I-M-E-N-T-A-R-Y.

Jason Bateman acts like a child. A naughty naughty child.

(Click here to see my video interview with Jason Bateman)

There is something delightfully sadistic about taking an innocent and formal pastime such as the national spelling bee and flipping it on its head through vulgarity and unabashed crudeness. Bad Words, which has already drawn comparisons to 2003’s Bad Santa, manages to find that coveted happy zone in which the audience can cheer on an antihero, even when the antihero engages in some truly despicable acts. Star Jason Bateman, who also makes his film directorial debut with Bad Words, knew that a relatable lead character with a story to tell (and legit motive) would be just as important to the success of the film as the level of crudeness. Hats off to Mr. Bateman for pulling it off, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else who could.

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Film Review: Non-Stop

Fasten your seat belts and put your tray tables in their full upright position…and keep your expectations grounded.

There are two ways to go into watching Non-Stop, the new action thriller starring the infallible Liam Neeson — 1) Expecting an intelligently crafted action film … OR … 2) Expecting an implausible and generally ridiculous action quickie that’ll keep you from being bored. Can you guess which way will result in a better time had?

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Film Review: R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D. is a good reminder of how similar movies used to be better.

Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are ready for all terrible CGI creatures coming their way. — Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are ready for all the terrible CG creatures coming their way.

– What do you call an undead police force?
– The R.I.P.D. The Rest In Peace Department.
– Ha!
– They would be like the Men in Black.
– Yeah. Except instead of aliens, they’d be fighting hell’s escapees.
(…to be continued)

Although R.I.P.D. is based on a comic book series of the same name, first published in 1999 (after Men in Black), I can easily imagine the concept for this movie arising in the above fashion. I haven’t read the source material, and therefore can’t speak to it, but it’s a bit too easy to find the parallels between R.I.P.D. and MIB; every character, plot turn, and joke from the former has a close equivalent in the latter. It’s surprising that we don’t see the MIB writers getting credited for the R.I.P.D. story or screenplay. Perhaps I’m being too harsh. But for the sake of argument, perhaps extra time should’ve been spent polishing what ends up being a cheap clone of a concept already executed to a much more satisfying degree. The characters in R.I.P.D. aren’t well developed, the special effects look gummy at best, and the plot doesn’t take any unexpected turns.

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Frameline Spotlights: C.O.G. / In the Name Of

From June 20-30, Frameline: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival is showing an eclectic lineup of films steeped in social, political, and sexual themes, pushing the boundaries and bringing audiences closer to the incredible stories of numerous individuals and communities, both fictional and real. Tickets for screenings are available at http://ticketing.frameline.org/festival/. Here is a glance at two of this year’s festival entries:

C.O.G. (USA, 2013)

Jonathan Groff is a sour apple in C.O.G.

Based on the unassuming essay by David Sedaris and under the steady direction of Kyle Patrick Alvarez, C.O.G. is the piercingly honest tale of a young man’s escape from his privileged Ivy-league world into the apple orchards and Christian community of a small town outside Portland, OR. The sold out audience at the Castro Theatre laughed, cheered, sat silent, and gasped, and left with a welcome sense of renewal, as if the film’s flawed characters had challenged each of us to examine ourselves in a way we hadn’t considered for some time.

C.O.G. screened on Saturday, June 22nd. For more info on the film, visit the film’s festival page or C.O.G.’s official website at http://www.cog-movie.com/

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