Directed by: Ramona S. Diaz
Stars: Arnel Pineda, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain
MPAA: Unrated Continue reading “Film Review: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”
Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Directed by: Ramona S. Diaz
Stars: Arnel Pineda, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain
MPAA: Unrated Continue reading “Film Review: Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey”
Directed By: David Grohl
Written By: Mark Monroe
Starring: Trent Reznor, Tom Petty, Mick Fleetwood, and a cast of musical legends
The movie ‘Sound City’ started as a movie about a location but evolved into the raw internal disclosure of the emotional soul of a musician and the music industry. It allows a peek into the behind the scenes non-glamorous side of an album recording, opening insight to the controversy of analog verses digital methods.
starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez and Michael Chiklis
written by: John J. McLaughlin
directed by: Taylor Hackford
MPAA: Rated R for strong violence, language throughout and brief sexual content/nudity Continue reading “Film Review: Parker“
starring: Jessica Chastain, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Megan Charpentier, Isabelle Nélisse, Daniel Kash, Javier Botet, Jane Moffat
written by: Andrés Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, Neil Cross
directed by: Andrés Muschietti
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, some disturbing images and thematic elements
It’s list time! 2012 marked my second full year serving as Spinning Platters’ movie editor, and I once again had the kinda-privilege of seeing nearly every theatrical release. But I have to say, and maybe it’s just because I’m already jaded and embittered after only two years of full-fledged film criticism: I was rather disappointed by the 2012 crop. Last year I had a bitch of a time narrowing my favorites down to just ten, while this year I had to talk myself into believing a few of them were even worthy of top-ten canonization. And unlike 2011, this year left me without a clear favorite. I still use a ranked list below, but my top four are fairly interchangeable. Still, some things have remained the same: as with last year, there is at least one optimistic critical favorite I’ve aligned myself squarely against (last year it was The Artist, this year it’s Silver Linings Playbook), as well as one blockbuster comedy that somehow made it into my top five. So without any further ado, let’s dive into my begrudging top ten, some honorable mentions, my bitchiest moments of the year, and the movie I’m most embarrassed about praising.
Continue reading “The Spinning Platters Guide to the Best Films of 2012”
starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson
written and directed by: Quentin Tarantino
MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity
starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow, Jason Segel, Annie Mumulo, Robert Smigel, Megan Fox, Charlyne Yi, Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Chris O’Dowd, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Dunham
written and directed by: Judd Apatow
MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, crude humor, pervasive language and some drug material
starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jackie Weaver, Chris Tucker, John Ortiz, Julia Stiles
written by: David O. Russell (screenplay), Matthew Quick (novel)
directed by: David O. Russell
MPAA: Rated R for language and some sexual content/nudity
starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader
written by: Tony Kushner
directed by: Steven Spielberg
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for an intense scene of war violence, some images of carnage and brief strong language
starring: Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray
written by: Lee Daniels and Pete Dexter
directed by: Lee Daniels
MPAA: Rated R for strong sexual content, violence and language