After spending most of yesterday at the Kabuki, I headed to the Castro to see The Warlords. A big, historical epic staring Jet Li seemed worth crossing town. It wasn't. Huge, cumbersome, and melodramatic, The Warlords succeeded primarily in being loud. Set during the Taiping Rebellion, it stars Li as a general who turns a … Continue reading SFIFF: The Warlords
Category: Reviews
SFIFF: Mataharis
I just saw Mataharis--another really good film. This character study of three female private detectives, all working for the same agency (and the same sleazy boss), follows them as their work and private life intertwine and complicate each other. The best story involves Inés (MarÃa Vázquez), the youngest of the three and the only single … Continue reading SFIFF: Mataharis
SFIFF: Just Like Home
I'm writing this at the Kabuki, and I'll be quick. I just saw a very funny comedy from Denmark called Just Like Home. It follows several people in a small town that's thrown into confusion from reports of a man running naked through the strees. Director/co-writer Lone Scherfig builds a quiet tone that works up … Continue reading SFIFF: Just Like Home
Asian American Film Festival Preview
With the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival less than two weeks away, this seems like a good time to fill you in on the four films screening that I've seen: A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers: It's a bit silly to review the opening night selection as a movie; you're not going to … Continue reading Asian American Film Festival Preview
Romulus, My Father
Family drama Written by Nick Drake, from the memoir by Raimond Gaita Directed by Richard Roxburgh Nothing’s worse than a serious, character-driven drama that fails. A bad comedy will probably provide some laughs, and a bad action movie some thrills. But if a drama doesn’t work as a whole, the parts don’t amount to much, … Continue reading Romulus, My Father
The Band’s Visit
[B] Comedy Written and directed by Eran Kolirin Kurt Vonnegut called unusual travel suggestions "dancing lessons from God." A small Egyptian police orchestra does quite a rumba when they accidentally arrive in the wrong Israeli town in Kolirin’s gentle comedy. There’s nothing political about this Arabs-meet-Jews movie. Neither politics nor religion ever come up. No … Continue reading The Band’s Visit
Around the Bay
A Family drama Written and directed by Alejandro Adams Sparse and utilitarian, Alejandro Adams' low-key drama gets right to the point, then tells its dysfunctional family story without pyrotechnics. Single dad Wyatt (Steve Voldseth) is so remote and disconnected from his five-year-old son (Connor Maselli) t hat he leaves the child home alone--and that's in … Continue reading Around the Bay
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Family Fantasy Written by: Karey Kirkpatrick, David Berenbaum, and John Sayles, from the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black Directed by Mark Waters Basically a horror movie for pre-teens (and all ages above), The Spiderwick Chronicles hits almost every note right. It starts off with a family in crisis--a nice, normal crisis of the … Continue reading The Spiderwick Chronicles
Everything’s Cool
Documentary Directed by Daniel Gold and Judith Heifand The first question Everything's Cool brings to mind is "Why do we need another documentary about global warming?" The people distributing Everything's Cool must have aksed that themselves, and came up with an answer: "Because this documentary about global warming is funny." But calling Daniel Gold and … Continue reading Everything’s Cool
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
I caught Blade Runner: The Final Cut yesterday at the Cerrito. According to Wikipedia, this is the seventh version of the movie. I hope the powers that be respect that Final in the title--if only for the sake of everyone's sanity. To be fair, three of those previous cuts shouldn't really count. Two were preview … Continue reading Blade Runner: The Final Cut
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