Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
The 46th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 5 – Oct 15, 2023, with screenings at theaters all around the North and East Bay (and a few in SF).
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a preview of the festival, featuring brief looks at four films:
Continue reading “Film Feature: Preview #1 of the 46th Mill Valley Film Festival”
Let’s first recall that Indiana Jones films were inspired by campy serials and pulp novels of the 1930s and 1940s, thus an unperturbed sense of adventure and eagerness for escapism has always been key to enjoying each film. Regarding suspension of belief, every viewer’s tolerance may vary, perhaps hitting a ceiling somewhere between powerful holy relics and extraterrestrials. That being said, the enjoyment of any given Indy film is not all on the viewer’s shoulders. An Indiana Jones film needs to be filled with adventure, introduce us to exotic locales and archeological lore, and look good while doing so. Of course, it also needs the willing participation of Harrison Ford. The first three films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade have all these ingredients and are universally considered iconic examples of the action-adventure genre (even if Doom remains polarizing). The fourth film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, featured a sixty-five-year old Ford, underdeveloped side characters, and a plot that aggressively pushed the boundary between escapism and ridiculousness, with mostly cringeworthy results. But even Crystal Skull has its defenders. Not here. Not today. With a great sigh of relief, then, I’m happy to report that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth and final Indiana Jones film, manages to deliver a thrilling adventure and an emotional send off, even as it doubles down on its own outlandishness.
Continue reading “Film Review: “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny””
Top 10 lists are notoriously subjective, of course; one fan’s “best” can easily be another’s “worst.” To be included on my Top 10 Films of the Year list, a film has to do two things: affect me profoundly while watching it, and stay in my thoughts long after the credits roll. Below are my ten favorite films of 2019 that meet that criteria. You can also check out my list from last year here.
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2019”
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the fifth best Star Wars film! Now that I’ve gotten my controversial statement out of the way, let’s continue. We can have the ranking argument later. For now, let’s just concentrate on what’s good and what’s not so good about the first ‘standalone’ Star Wars film, aka the first one to focus a story outside of the Skywalker saga. Except, it’s not exactly a standalone film, nor is it completely focused outside the aforementioned Skywalker saga. In fact, its central storyline comes from the iconic opening crawl that begins the original 1977 Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope. Thus, the odds were always stacked against Rogue One. After all, its story is one in which we, more or less, know the fate of the central characters. So how can a film make us care for characters when we already know how their fates will be sealed? Well, in the hands of director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla), Rogue One is full of impressive visuals and gripping action and just enough interesting characters to get by. There are easter eggs and callbacks aplenty in Rogue One to fully satisfy traditionalist and hardcore Star Wars fans, and enough stylistic changes to fulfill Disney’s initial attempt to launch a series of films meant to explore the expanded Star Wars universe in a way that is new but familiar. Rogue One is far from perfect, but it’s a fantastic movie-watching experience thanks to its exhilarating war movie feel and robust scope.
Continue reading “Film Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story“
Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann present their Top 10 Films of 2013. Here’s Carrie’s list, presented in alphabetical order.
That a film with just a single actor and virtually no dialog can be absolutely riveting is a testament both to Robert Redford’s brilliant acting and to writer/director J.C. Chandor’s exceptional skill at his craft. Redford says more with his rugged face and worried eyes than most actors do with a wordy, five-star script. Not since Jaws and The Perfect Storm has a film so totally absorbed us in a man-against-sea survival story. And Chandor’s ambiguous ending lends itself to hours of debate and discussion; everyone who has seen this film has a strong opinion, and that a near-silent film can generate such passion makes it special and noteworthy. Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2013”
As you watch The Hunt, you no doubt will pull your sweater just a little tighter around you to try and ward off the cold of the stark Scandinavian winter depicted in Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s gripping psychological drama, but you will fail. Nothing can protect you from the emotional chilliness of the close-knit rural community portrayed on screen. Continue reading “Film Review: The Hunt”