Sorkin, Boyle get the Job(s) done with fast-paced drama
Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) argues with his daughter Lisa (Perla Haney-Jardine) just before the iMac launch…
Perhaps no picture has been more anticipated here in the tech capital of the Bay Area than the Aaron Sorkin-penned and Danny Boyle-directed biopic of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling 2011 biography of the same name. Sorkin and Boyle, with their similar frenetic writing and directing styles (think TheSocial Network meets Slumdog Millionaire) prove to be the ideal team to dramatize the life of the Peninsula-raised inventor, entrepreneur, original tech titan, and icon. Indeed, their picture lives up to expectations, succeeding as both a fascinating character study, and as a historical dramatization of seminal events that took place here in the Bay Area, but ultimately touched the entire world.
We’re midway through the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), and we’ve got more spotlights for you! There’s still a week of films and events left to go, so it’s not too late to get in on the fun; the Festival closes May 7th. Tickets and more information can be found here, and keep checking Spinning Platters for more coverage. In the meantime, here are four more Festival titles to check out:
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (USA, 2015, 104 min, Added Programs)
Greg (Thomas Mann) and Rachel (Olivia Cooke) prepare to face the chaos of their high school cafeteria.
Mostly known for his TV work (Glee, American Horror Story), director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was the darling of Sundance this January, deservedly winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for this outstanding, off-beat picture based on the popular novel of the same name. Funny, sweet, and sad without being maudlin, Gomez’s film has all the classic quirky charm of a Sundance hit, combined with the refreshing honesty of the best recent coming of age films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Way Way Back. When awkward Greg (Thomas Mann) is forced by his Mom (Connie Britton) to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a classmate with leukemia, he and his best friend Earl (RJ Cyler) embark on a project to make a film for her (their movies are short, altered, and hilarious versions of classics; A Clockwork Orange become A Sockwork Orange, for example, filmed with sock puppets). With terrific supporting turns by Nick Offerman as Greg’s dad and Molly Shannon as Rachel’s mom, the entire cast is first-rate. Gomez has made 2015’s first absolute-must-see film. Don’t miss it.
Screenings:
Will open widely on June 12th; check your local theater listings.
The 58th San Francisco International Film Festival
Welcome film lovers and moviegoers to the Spinning Platters coverage of the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF). Bookmark this site because we’ll be bringing you tons of SFIFF coverage: previews, film spotlights, interviews, and special events coverage. Per usual, our spotlights will cover the films that you’re already excited to see, as well as many titles that you haven’t heard of. SFIFF program notes and tickets are available here.
We’ll be continuing our coverage this week and throughout the Festival. Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the special events in store and then five of the festival films:
“Jobs” is uninspired and constantly misses the mark…unlike Steve Jobs.
Ashton Kutcher does a serviceable impersonation, including a Jobs pose.
Most of us know about Apple, Inc. If you were born in the early 80s, you may even remember many of the corporate controversies, lawsuits, etc. that Apple had to trudge through before profitability in the late 90s. If you were born later, it’s likely you’ve heard of these events, anyway. We also have an appreciation for the design, innovation, and use of their products and show it by making purchases. When we purchase an Apple product, we are acknowledging the brilliant mind for business and technological innovation that Steve Jobs had. But acknowledgement is one thing, and understanding is another, and what most of us don’t know and can’t find through a simple Google search, is extensive information about the man himself and why he did what he did. Jobs, the new biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, does not shed any light on the subject, instead giving us a standard (and repetitious) timeline of the company…which isn’t that interesting on screen.
