Film Review: “Marty Supreme”

Chalamet delivers powerhouse performance in Safdie’s wild ping pong tale

Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) wants to be a ping pong champion.

If you’re feeling a little sleepy this afternoon after too much Christmas cheer and need a jolt of energy, put the coffee down and instead head out to see Marty Supreme. Writer/director Josh Safdie’s newest is the cinematic equivalent of ten espresso shots and ten Red Bulls. Anchored by a tour de force performance from Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme is a whirlwind of a good time that makes its two-and-a-half hour running time seem like five minutes.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Marty Supreme””

Film Review: “Sitting in Bars with Cake”

Sitting in Bars with Cake is a delectable slice of laughs and cries

There’s a seemingly endless amount of movies based on books, and a shorter but not insignificant number of movies based on real life cooks. What I can’t recall ever seeing is a movie that was based on a cookbook. Better late than never! Sitting in Bars with Cake, the new dramedy based on Audrey Shulman’s autobiographical book, is a well-produced tearjerker with standout performances, a film perfectly fitting of its streaming platform release.

Continue reading “Film Review: “Sitting in Bars with Cake””

Film Feature: SFFILM 2021 Festival Spotlight #2 – “Supercool” Review

Filmic FOMO

Gilbert (left) and Neil (right) Just Dance at a high school party
Gilbert (left) and Neil (right) Just Dance at a high school party.

Oh, that Superbad, that super, super, somewhat bad 2007 film that spawned, or launched, or squirted out a thousand imitators. Well, maybe ten or so, but it sure feels like a thousand. Supercool, the subject of this review, and an entry in the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival, is a tag-along that desperately, and I mean desperately, wants to get into the big kids’ party. It’s the lonely, undersexed, over-analyzed teen with a gawky face, messy hair, and a loopy gait who spends all night looking for the party, only to find it’s been broken up by the cops. Continue reading “Film Feature: SFFILM 2021 Festival Spotlight #2 — “Supercool” Review”