Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
If you heard Adam Driver belt out “Being Alive” in Marriage Story two years ago and thought to yourself, “Wow, I sure wish I could hear Adam Driver sing more,” well then you’re in luck. The musical Annette opens today, and Driver warbles his way throughout, so if you’re into that, go check it out. But for the rest of us, be warned: this overly long, joyless rock opera is no fun, and a chore to sit through.
If you’re in the mood for some High School literature class caliber violence, then look no further than the new adaptation of Macbeth. Personally, I haven’t opened to a page from Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, since sophomore (maybe junior?) year of high school. So knowing that the Macbeth director and writers chose to stick to roughly 90% (guesswork) of the original Shakespearean dialogue, I quickly read a Wikipedia summary before heading to the screening. This was a good choice. The one, and only, thing that the new Macbeth cinematic adaptation suffers from is its unwillingness to cater to the play’s newcomers. Otherwise, outstanding performances and cinematic flourishes from the director and cinematographer help Macbeth ascend the throne as one of the best Shakespeare adaptations in the last decade (Joss Whedon’s 2012 modern adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is right up there.)
The 87th Academy Awards air this Sunday, February 22nd on ABC at 5:00pm PST (red carpet coverage begins at 4:00, if you want to dish on fashion highs and lows). There are some tight races this year – Best Picture and Best Actor are especially hard to call. Here are Carrie and Chad’s predictions – and hopes – for the major categories:
Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie and Chad Pick the Oscars”
starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine, Juno Temple
written by: Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
directed by: Christopher Nolan
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language
starring: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Ehle, Demetri Martin, John Hawkes, Elliott Gould, Enrico Colantoni, Sanaa Lathan, Bryan Cranston, Anna Jacoby-Heron
written by: Scott Z. Burns
directed by: Steven Soderbergh
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for disturbing content and some language
starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody, Tom Hiddleston, Alison Pill
written and directed by: Woody Allen
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking.