Film listings

Pub date June 22, 2010
WriterCheryl Eddy
SectionFilm Reviews

Film listings are edited by Cheryl Eddy. Reviewers are Kimberly Chun, Michelle Devereaux, Max Goldberg, Dennis Harvey, Johnny Ray Huston, Erik Morse, Louis Peitzman, Lynn Rapoport, Ben Richardson, and Matt Sussman. For rep house showtimes, see Rep Clock. For first-run showtimes, see Movie Guide at www.sfbg.com.

FRAMELINE34

The 34th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival runs through Sun/27 at the Castro, 429 Castro, SF; Roxie, 3117 16th St, SF; Victoria, 2961 16th St, SF; and Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, 2966 College, Berk. Tickets (most shows $8-15) can be purchased at www.frameline.org. All times pm unless otherwise noted.

WED/23

Castro Thy Will Be Done: A Transsexual Woman’s Journey Through Family and Faith 11am. Mädchen in Uniform 1:30. The Golden Pin 4. Beautiful Darling 7. Children of God 9:30.

Roxie The Stranger in Us 6:45. Tough Girls 9:30.

Victoria Bloomington 7. The Adults in the Room 9:30.

Elmwood We Have to Stop Now 7. Going South 9:30.

THURS/24

Castro "Deep Red" (shorts program) 11am. "Says Who? Gender Variant Representation in Media" (free panel discussion) 2. All Boys 4:30. The Sea Purple 6:45. Spring Fever 9:30.

Roxie Stonewall Uprising 7. The Motionless 9:30.

Victoria Plan B 6:30. "Transtastic!" (shorts program) 9:30.

Elmwood The Last Summer of La Boyita 7. The Man Who Loved Yngve 9:30.

FRI/25

Castro TBA 1 11am. Gay Days 1:30. "Worldly Affairs" (shorts program) 4. Elena Undone 6:45. Hideaway 9:30.

Roxie Out in the Silence 7. The Fish Child 9:30.

Victoria The String 7. We Have to Stop Now 9:30.

SAT/26

Castro Out of Annapolis 11am. FIT 1. "Dyke Delights" (shorts program) 3:45. From Beginning to End 6. BearCity 8:30.

Roxie Holding Hands 11am. The Sons of Tennessee Williams 1:30. Uncle Bob 4. Mother Earth 7. "The Experimentals" (shorts program) 9:30.

Victoria Heretics 11am. Other Nature 1:30. The Chorus/HIV Story Project 4:15. Lost in the Crowd 7. TBA 2 9:30.

SUN/27

Castro "Fun in Girls’ Shorts" (shorts program) 11:30. "Fun in Boys’ Shorts" 2. Going South 4:30. Howl 7:30.

OPENING

*Air Doll See "Inflated Meaning." (1:56) Lumiere.

Cyrus See "Sonny Dearest." (1:32)

Grown Ups Another man-child comedy? Is there a time-traveling hot tub in this one? (1:42) Marina, Shattuck.

Have You Heard from Johannesburg? The best word to describe Connie Field’s Have You Heard From Johannesburg? is "impressive." At eight-and-a-half hours, the seven-part documentary series spans nearly five decades of the South African anti-apartheid movement. The individual films are well-researched and thought-provoking. The stories are compelling — that is, until you put them all together. The complete series is just too long for those without a strong, vested interest in South African history. It’s simply not approachable for the mainstream, and the approximately three-hour chunks it’s meant to be consumed in are daunting. These films are better suited to a televised series, where viewers could appreciate hearing about anti-apartheid pioneers like Oliver Tambo and Desmond Tutu in smaller, digestible bites. As it stands, Field’s documentary is not likely to find a wide audience — a real pity, given the 10 years of effort she put into it, and the importance of sharing the South African struggle for equality with the rest of the world. (8:30) Roxie, Smith Rafael. (Peitzman)

*The Killer Inside Me See "Pulp Vicious." (1:48) Sundance Kabuki.

*I Am Love I Am Love opens in a chilly, Christmastime Milan and deliberately warms in tandem with its characters. Members of the blue-blood Recchi family are content hosting lavish parties and gossiping about one another, none more than the matriarch Emma (Tilda Swinton). But when prodigal son Edoardo befriends a local chef, Emma finds herself taken by both the chef’s food and his everyman personality, and is reminded of her poor Soviet upbringing. The courtship that follows is familiar on paper, but director Luca Guadagnino lenses with a strong style and small scenes acquire a distinct energy through careful editing and John Adams’ unpredictable score. Swinton portrays Emma’s unraveling with the same gritty gusto she brought to Julia (2008), and her commitment to the role recognizes few boundaries. You’ve probably seen this story before, but it has rarely been this powerful. (2:00) Albany, Embarcadero. (Peter Galvin)

*Knight and Day A Bourne-again Vanilla Sky (2001)? Considerably better than that embarrassingly silly stateside remake, though not quite as fulfilling as director James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma (2007) rework, this action caper played for yuks still isn’t the most original article in the cineplex. But coasting on the dazzling Cheshire grins of its stars, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, reunited for the first time since Sky, you can just make out the birth of a beautiful new franchise. Everygirl June Havens (Diaz) is on her way to her sister’s wedding when she collides-cute at the airport with Roy Miller (Cruise). After killing the passengers and pilots on their plane, he literally sweeps her off her feet — thanks to some potent drugs. Picture a would-be Bond girl dragged against a spy-vs.-spy thriller semi-against-her-will — grappling with the subtextual anxiety rushing beneath all brief romantic encounters as well as some very justifiable survival fears. Can June overcome her trust issues? Is Roy the man of her dreams — or nightmares? Mangold and company miss a few opportunities to have more fun with those barely teased out ideas, and the polished, adult-yet-far-from-knowing charisma of the leads doesn’t quite live up to sophisticated interplay of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, or even the down-home fun of Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, but it’s substantial enough for Knight and Day to coast on, for about 90 minutes tops. (2:10) Four Star, Presidio. (Chun)

The Message This period melodrama-meets-spy thriller is set in 1942 Nanjing. (1:57) Four Star.

ONGOING

The A-Team (1:57) 1000 Van Ness, Presidio, SF Center.

*Babies (1:19) Shattuck, Smith Rafael, Sundance Kabuki.

*City Island (1:40) Shattuck.

*Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (1:55) Shattuck, Sundance Kabuki.

*Exit Through the Gift Shop (1:27) Lumiere, Shattuck, Sundance Kabuki.

Get Him to the Greek (1:49) Empire, Four Star, 1000 Van Ness, Presidio, SF Center, Shattuck, Sundance Kabuki.

*The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2:32) Clay, Piedmont, Red Vic, Shattuck, Smith Rafael.

*Iron Man 2 (2:05) 1000 Van Ness, Sundance Kabuki.

*Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (1:24) Bridge, Embarcadero, Piedmont, Shattuck, Smith Rafael.

Jonah Hex Based on DC’s dark western comics, Jonah Hex is a jumbled mess of mishandled superhero tropes and obligatory attempts at badass-ery. The title character, a grizzled gunfighter with a distinctive facial scar, could be an engaging outsider antihero, but as portrayed by Josh Brolin, he feels neither as cool nor as tortured as we’re clearly expected to believe. The film has a decidedly ’90s feel to it — think overbudgeted, underthought masterpieces like Wild Wild West (1999) — with its farcically fantastical take on post-Civil War supervillainy. Its ridiculous cast of character actors is almost completely squandered, including archvillain John Malkovich, Aidan Quinn as Ulysses S. Grant, and Will Arnett in an inexplicably serious role. Megan Fox is trying the hardest out of the whole cast, but in a rather sleazy move, her character always seems to appear in soft focus. Oh, and there are a few explosions. (1:81) 1000 Van Ness. (Sam Stander)

The Karate Kid (2:20) 1000 Van Ness, SF Center, Sundance Kabuki.

Killers (1:40) 1000 Van Ness.

Letters to Juliet (1:46) SF Center.

Lovers of Hate (1:33) Roxie.

Micmacs (1:44) Embarcadero, Shattuck, Smith Rafael.

La Mission (1:57) Opera Plaza, Red Vic.

*Ondine (1:43) California, Opera Plaza.

*Please Give (1:30) Opera Plaza.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2:10) California, 1000 Van Ness.

The Secret in Their Eyes (2:07) Albany, Lumiere.

Sex and the City 2 (2:24) 1000 Van Ness, SF Center, Sundance Kabuki.

Solitary Man (1:30) Empire, Opera Plaza, Piedmont, Shattuck, Sundance Kabuki.

*Splice (1:45) 1000 Van Ness.

The Sun Behind the Clouds A delicate political subject that penetrates to the roots of a nation’s cultural identity, the Tibetan "issue" most recently re-entered the Western consciousness in 2008, preceding China’s hosting of the Olympics. Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s informative documentary addresses the issue from many perspectives, including those of protest marchers, Tibetans dwelling around the world, Chinese anti-Tibetan-independence campaigners, cultural commentators, and the Dalai Lama himself. Thoughtful narration by Sonam elaborates on the difficult ramifications of the Dalai Lama’s pursuit over the past few decades of the "Middle Way Approach," which does not incorporate Tibetan independence from Chinese rule. The film is tinged with great sadness, which gives the proceedings a decidedly biased feel but also a sincere glow. The Chinese state’s continuing suspicion of the Dalai Lama’s intentions led to a breakdown in talks, but the documentary’s very title alludes to a protest song which predicts the inevitability of Tibetan freedom. (1:19) Opera Plaza. (Stander)

Touching Home (1:48) Smith Rafael.

*Toy Story 3 You’ve got a friend in Pixar. We all do. The animation studio just can’t seem to make a bad movie — even at its relative worst, a Pixar film is still worlds better than most of what Hollywood churns out. Luckily, Toy Story 3 is far from the worst: it’s actually one of Pixar’s most enjoyable and poignant films yet. Waiting 11 years after the release of Toy Story 2 was, in fact, a stroke of genius, in that it amplifies the nostalgia that runs through so many of the studio’s releases. The kids who were raised on Toy Story and its first sequel have now grown up, gone to college, and, presumably, abandoned their toys. For these twentysomethings, myself included, Toy Story 3 is a uniquely satisfying and heartbreaking experience. While the film itself may not be the instant classic that WALL-E (2008) was, it’s near flawless regardless of a viewer’s age. Warm, funny, and emotionally devastating—it’s Pixar as it should be. (1:49) Empire, Marina, 1000 Van Ness, Sundance Kabuki. (Peitzman)

*Winter’s Bone Winter’s Bone has already won awards at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival, but it’s the kind of downbeat, low-key, quiet film that may elude larger audiences (and, as these things go, Oscar voters). Like Andrea Arnold’s recent Fish Tank, it tells the story of a teenage girl who draws on unlikely reserves of toughness to navigate an unstable family life amid less-than-ideal economic circumstances. And it’s also directed by a woman: Debra Granik, whose previous feature, 2004’s Down to the Bone, starred Vera Farmiga (2009’s Up in the Air) as a checkout clerk trying to balance two kids and a secret coke habit.

Drugs also figure into the plot of the harrowing Winter’s Bone, though its protagonist, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), is faced with a different set of circumstances: her meth head father has jumped bail, leaving the family’s humble mountain home as collateral; the two kids at stake are her younger siblings. With no resources other than her own tenacity, Ree strikes out into her rural Missouri community, seeking information from relatives who clearly know where her father is — but ain’t sayin’ a word. It’s a journey fraught with menace, shot with an eye for near-documentary realism and an appreciation for slow-burn suspense; Lawrence anchors a solid cast with her own powerful performance. Who says American independent film is dead? (1:40) California, Embarcadero. (Eddy)