SFGATE - Movie Reviews

Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died in 2019

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

A sharecropper's son who rose through the seats of power to become one of the nation's most influential voices. A Republican who went on to lead the U.S. Supreme Court's liberal wing. A lauded writer who brought to light stories overshadowed by prejudice.

This year saw the deaths of people who shifted culture through prose, pragmatism and persistence. It also witnessed tragedy, in talent struck down in its prime.

In 2019, the political world lost a giant in U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings. He was born the son of a sharecropper and told by a school counselor he would never become a lawyer because he was too slow to learn and spoke poorly.

Determined to prove that counselor wrong, Cummings not only became a lawyer but went on to become an influential congressman and champion of civil rights.

Cummings, who died in October, was chairman of one of the U.S. House committees that led an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump and was a formidable advocate for the poor in his Maryland district.

Another influential political figure, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, died in July. Stevens was appointed to the high court as a Republican but became the leader of its liberal wing and a proponent of abortion rights and consumer protections.

The death of Toni Morrison in August left a chasm in the publishing world, where she was a “literary mother” to countless writers. She helped elevate multiculturalism to the world stage and unearthed the lives of the unknown and unwanted. She became the first black woman to receive the Nobel literature prize for “Beloved” and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Among those in the scientific world who died in 2019 was Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first person to walk in space. Leonov died in October. Others include scientist Wallace Smith...

Movie review capsules for week of Aug. 26

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

A.X.L. A sci-fi adventure about a robotic dog, created by the military, and the friendship he develops with a teenage boy (Alex Neustaedter). Not reviewed. Rated PG. 100 minutes. Alpha A slightly Disney-esque version of “The Revenant,” this satisfying Ice Age-era survival tale concerns an injured teenage boy who befriends an abandoned wolf. There are cutesy moments, but for the most part, the film is harrowing, suspenseful and gritty — and a perfect vehicle for 3D. Rated PG-13. 97 minutes.—D.

Capsule movie reviews for Aug. 5

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

American Animals Writer-director Bart Layton has made an interesting movie, a narrative feature with documentary elements, about an inept group of would-be thieves who join forces to steal a rare book from a college library. The movie is funny, but with an extra undertone of uneasiness, partly because we know it’s a true story. Rated R. 116 minutes.—M.LaSalle Ant-Man and the Wasp A sequel better than its original in nearly every way, with Paul Rudd back as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp, San Francisco as a location. With newcomers Michelle Pfeiffer and Lawrence Fishburne.

'Falbalas,' a Jacques Becker favorite, to screen at BAMPFA

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

I’m going to come clean right from the start and break the first rule of film criticism — that is, by reviewing a movie I haven’t seen. Here’s the reason for making an exception this time: This is a hard movie to see. “Falbalas,” which was released in 1945 but made a year earlier, during the Nazi occupation of France, is a Jacques Becker film, being shown as part of the Pacific Film Archive’s ongoing Becker retrospective. Becker (1906-60) was a great filmmaker, but only three of his films are available on DVD (at least with subtitles, for English-speaking audiences). Everyone says that this is one of his best films, and everyone has been saying this for so long that I believe them.

Movie review capsules for July 29

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

American Animals Writer-director Bart Layton has made an interesting movie, a narrative feature with documentary elements, about an inept group of would-be thieves, who join forces to steal a rare book from a college library. The movie is funny, but with an extra undertone of uneasiness, partly because we know it’s a true story. Rated R. 116 minutes.—M.LaSalle Ant-Man and the Wasp A sequel better than its original in nearly every way, with Paul Rudd back as Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp, San Francisco as a location. With newcomers Michelle Pfeiffer and Lawrence Fishburne.

Where to stream the 2020 Oscar-nominated movies

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:44 GMT

A rundown of which of 2020's Oscar Nominees are still in theaters, or where you can stream them right now, so that you're all caught up on February 9th.

‘Eating Animals’ review: Thoughtful, provocative documentary on factory farming

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Look, I was heading in this direction anyway, but it says something that I’m polishing off this review of “Eating Animals” at a delicious vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco. But I would think it would be hard to walk away from the documentary co-produced and narrated by Natalie Portman without at least considering the idea of vegetarianism. Christopher Quinn’s adaptation of Jonathan Safron Foer’s book is a scathing attack on factory farming, the Department of Agriculture and, by extension, our own eating habits. But, in other senses, meat lovers will find something intriguing in the film.

Capsule movie reviews for June 24

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Adrift Shailene Woodley plays a woman adrift in the middle of the Pacific in this dull survival story, interspersed with scenes of the woman’s lackluster romance with a fellow adventurer (Sam Claflin). Rated PG-13. 105 minutes.—M.LaSalle American Animals Writer-director Bart Layton has made an interesting movie, a narrative feature with documentary elements, about an inept group of would-be thieves, who join forces to steal a rare book from a college library. The movie is funny, but with an extra undertone of uneasiness, partly because we know it’s a true story. Rated R. 116 minutes.—M.

Capsule movie reviews for June 17

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Action Point Comedy starring Johnny Knoxville about a daredevil who runs a theme park with unsafe rides. Not reviewed. Rated R. 85 minutes. Adrift Shailene Woodley plays a woman adrift in the middle of the Pacific, in this dull survival story, interspersed with scenes of the woman’s lackluster romance with a fellow adventurer (Sam Claflin). Rated PG-13. 105 minutes.—M.

Greta Garbo series at BAMPFA lauds revolutionary acting, enduring mystique

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Before Ingrid Bergman, Anita Ekberg and now Alicia Vikander, the Swedish film industry gave us Greta Garbo. The original Swedish bombshell was the biggest Hollywood star in the last years of the silent film era, and was one of the few major stars to continue her success into the sound era, where she was a reliable box office draw throughout the 1930s until her sudden retirement in 1941. A new nine-film series at the Berkeley Art Museum’s Pacific Film Archive, which begins Thursday, June 7, and runs through July 13, explores that transition to sound and how her revolutionary approach to acting paved the way to her success.

Movie review capsules for June 10

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Movie capsule reviews for July 8

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Capsule movie reviews for week of July 15

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Review: 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' a sloppy wet kiss of a dog movie

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:43 GMT

Who can resist cute dog stories, even if it is the centerpiece of a sappy film and the dog has Kevin Costner’s voice? Don’t allow a curmudgeon like me to rain on your parade.

“The Art of Racing in the Rain,” a sure-handed but predictable adaptation of Garth Stein’s best-selling 2008 novel, is a sloppy wet kiss of a movie that demands nothing more from its viewer than to engage and empathize. Awww!

There are life lessons, too, although they mostly come off as more cliched than inspiring.

The movie, narrated by Enzo the dog, is about Enzo’s master, aspiring race car driver Denny Swift (Get it? Swift? Race car driver? Yeah, it’s that kind of movie). Played with easy charm by Milo Ventimiglia (”This Is Us,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Heroes”), Denny is based in Seattle and drives the local circuits looking for his big break.

He picks up Enzo, a golden retriever, as a puppy and for years they are together. But the movie opens with an aging Enzo near death and their story is told, by weary Enzo, in flashback. Enzo doesn’t actually talk, of course, but the film is narrated by his thoughts, with Costner properly sounding more like Jack Albertson than “Bull Durham.”

Denny struggles hard to make it in a tough sport. But there are several of life’s pit stops along the way, beginning when he meets the lovely and vivacious Eve (Amanda Seyfried), who, to Enzo’s consternation, becomes Denny’s wife.

Eve and Enzo’s meet is way less than cute. “Denny was clearly taken with her grooming,” Enzo recalls. “She probably bathed every day for all I knew. I admit I loathed the attention he lavished on her, with her opposable thumbs and plump butt.”

Down boy!

Of course, eventually the old dog accepts Eve. He’s still Denny’s boy, but Eve is acceptable...

Capsule movie reviews for July 1

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 18:34:42 GMT

American Animals Writer-director Bart Layton has made an interesting movie, a narrative feature with documentary elements, about an inept group of would-be thieves, who join forces to steal a rare book from a college library. The movie is funny, but with an extra undertone of uneasiness, partly because we know it’s a true story. Rated R. 116 minutes.—M.LaSalle Avengers: Infinity War Too many characters, too involved a plot, too much going on with little for the Avengers to show their personalities, this latest installment in the series has its moments, but it’s overstuffed and doesn’t even come to a definite end.

Movie Reviews

Mon, 03 Sep 2018 07:52:40 GMT