Kirsten Dunst – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “Civil War”

Civil War is bravura filmmaking with humanity at its core

Alex Garland directed Ex Machina in 2014, Annihilation in 2018, Men in 2022, and now, Civil War. That’s four definite or near masterpieces, in my humble opinion. Each film in his directorial oeuvre has served as a cinematic discussion about the impact an ever-changing issue has had on humanity, sometimes overt and other times metaphorical: artificial intelligence, environmental degradation, toxic masculinity, and now, divisive American political idealism. It would be easy to criticize Civil War as “teaching us nothing new,” but that would be missing the point. The film is not intended to be a blaring warning siren. Instead, Civil War is a disturbing sensory vision of the future, featuring a distinct set of strong characters to help ground its grand-scale and daring filmmaking, meant to elicit a potent sense of current anxieties. Continue reading “Film Review: “Civil War””

Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2021

After having to watch the bulk of our films from our living rooms in 2020, the slow but sure return to cinemas in 2021 was more than welcome. And the year rewarded us with many Top 10 list worthy contenders. I’ve narrowed mine down to the list below. You can also check out fellow film writer Chris Piper’s list here, as well as my 2020 list here. Now stop reading lists, and go seek these out!

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Film Feature: Chris Piper’s Top 10 Films of 2021

Films make a big comeback in 2021

2021 in American cinema was remarkable in how it seemed so… normal. Whatever the numbers say, my feeling was that the year started a little slowly, then found its footing around March, then kicked into something like a normal gear over the summer. As fall approached, and it seemed to me more theaters reopened, a slate of films pretty much like those in 2019 awaited. Winter seemed to bring somewhat larger than normal crop of smaller-budget films, and here we are, at the end of the year with a number of solid films released, awards season in full swing, and waiting for Oscar noms in just over a month.

So here are my top 10 films of 2021. See these 10 films in any order you want, preferably in the theater, but on your couch if you must. Here’s hoping for more of more of the same in 2022. Continue reading “Film Feature: Chris Piper’s Top 10 Films of 2021”

Film Review: The Beguiled

Coppola returns to form with seductive Southern gothic drama

Union soldier John (Colin Farrell) and Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) find a moment alone.

In its 70-year history, the Cannes Film Festival has only awarded its Best Director prize to a female director twice; the first was in 1961 (to Soviet filmmaker Yuliya Solntseva for Chronicle of Flaming Years, a tale of Nazi resistance in the Soviet Union), and the second was this May, to writer/director Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled. While the Festival sadly took some 50 years before bestowing this honor on another woman, this year’s award hopefully signals a real shift toward providing opportunities for, and recognizing the accomplishments of, women in film. That said, the concern of this review, of course, is the film itself: are Coppola and her new film worthy of the prize? The answer, thankfully, is a resounding yes.
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Film Review: Hidden Figures

Hidden figures brought to light in inspiring new film

Katherine (Taraji P. Henson) performs a calculation that will help NASA successfully launch manned capsules into space.

2016 hasn’t exactly been a stellar year in a lot of ways, but in terms of film, it’s been an exceptional year for girl power movies. This is a year in which we saw a brave 13-year-old stand strong against centuries of male-dominated tradition in The Eagle Huntress, a 14-year-old chess prodigy overcome tremendous odds in Queen of Katwe, and now, in Theodore Melfi’s new film Hidden Figures, we witness a trio of African-American women contribute to national success despite facing rampant and demoralizing sexism and racism in the segregated south of the early 1960s. There has never been a better time to be inspired at the movies.
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Film Review: Midnight Special

The boy is Special, and so is the film

Roy (Michael Shannon, l.) will do anything to protect his very special son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher).

Writer/director Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter, Shotgun Stories) continues his collaboration with the terrific actor Michael Shannon to great effect in his utterly engaging new science fiction film Midnight Special. Unlike another film by a well known writer/director that opened today, Nichols’s film grips you from its opening minute and keeps you enraptured for its nearly two hour run time. A film that pays homage to others of its genre while still managing to be totally unique, Midnight Special is well worth your box office dollars. Continue reading “Film Review: Midnight Special”

SFIFF Spotlights #2: Coherence/Heaven Adores You/The Two Faces of January/If You Don’t, I Will

Spinning Platters highlights some films from the 57^th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), which runs from April 24th through May 8th. Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

Coherence
(USA, 2013, 89 min.)

Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit's COHERENCE — Emily Baldoni in James Byrkit’s COHERENCE

This low budget mind bender focuses on a dinner party of four couples on a night where a comet passes over Earth, causing some strange occurrences. Director James Ward Byrkit utilized an experimental production process by which he provided the actors with notes for each scene but no script, allowing for truly real reactions, spontaneous behavior, and improvised lines. Perfect editing and stellar performances create a palpable tension that’s both haunting and personal. The result is a tightly bound science-fiction indie crowd pleaser that delights with its twists and turns, keeping us guessing from the first to last frame…and afterwards.

Screenings:

Tuesday, April 29th, 9:45 PM, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/coherence#.U1vag-ZdVU1

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Film Review: “Melancholia”

Screen shot 2011-11-11 at 12.29.19 PM — Kirsten Dunst in MELANCHOLIA

starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellen Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Brady Corbet, Udo Kier, Cameron Spurr

written and directed by: Lars von Trier

MPAA: Rated R for some graphic nudity, sexual content and language

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