|
|
 | 50 Years of Celluloid Celebration Fifty years and thousands of films later, the San Francisco International Film Festival is alive and kicking. This year’s line up reflects the same kind of depth, breadth, and diversity of artistic voices that SFIFF has been known for from the very beginning. Specifically, you’re looking at 200 films and industry guests expected, 54 countries represented, 75 narrative features, 33 documentary features, and the list goes on. In short, you’re looking at simply the best film festival in Northern California in SFIFF 50.More |  | Released on Red Ink, 5/1/07 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has been compared to Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rockets, The White Stripes, and a myriad of artists in between. By and large, BRMC’s previous albums have received favorable reviews despite the somewhat open question of whether or not there is anything unique or distinctive about BRMC’s sound. BRMC’s latest album, [b]Baby 81[/b] may not necessarily answer this question, but there’s no question that it’s a fairly consistent effort and doesn’t fail to entertain.More |  | Released on Virgin Records, 4/3/2007 It was with no small amount of irony that Fountains of Wayne received a "Best New Artist" Grammy in 2003 for [b]Welcome Interstate Managers[/b]. The aforementioned album was in fact Fountains of Wayne’s third album. Buoyed by the ode to horny, pubescent MILF lusting, "Stacy’s Mom" put Fountains of Wayne on the map. Four years later, we’ve got [b]Traffic and Weather[/b], a decidedly boring album title, but the Fountains have not lost their gift for taking the mundane and turning it into something hilarious.More |  | Super Size Me? I don’t think so [b]Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters[/b] is one of those rare celluloid gems that just about defies description. Nevertheless, I’ll give it a shot. Hold on tight. The film primarily revolves around the bizarre misadventures of three supersized, animated fast food items.More |  | Perfectly Underwhelming The usage of the "flashback" seems to be the flavor du jour these days as it was utilized extensively in the recently released [b]The Reaping[/b] and it plays a pivotal role in the thriller, [b]Perfect Stranger[/b]. Unfortunately, this overused device gives away the answer to the only real question in the film fairly early on. But, this is just one of the problems you’ll encounter with [b]Perfect Stranger[/b].More |  | Released on Hefty Records , 5/15/07 The New Orleans-based duo of Joshua Eustis and Charlie Cooper (aka Telefon Ten Aviv) have cut their teeth with a myriad of A-list musicians including Nine Inch Nails, Eminem, and others. Additionally, their distinctive work has been included in a myriad of film scores. In [b]Remixes Compiled[/b], Telefon Tel Aviv has assembled a compendium of their best remixed work including the remixed work of Nine Inch Nails, Bebel Gilberto, and several others.More |  | Reap it, Reap it Good Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank) is a disillusioned Christian missionary who’s commitment to Christianity has been supplanted by her commitment to debunking alleged religious "miracles". Right away it becomes all too clear that whatever transpires in [b]The Reaping[/b] is going to involve some kind of reclamation of Katherine’s lost faith. Nothing serves as a catalyst for reclaiming one’s faith like a good, old fashioned reaping.More |  | Released on Clickpop Records, 10/17/06 Raucous and frank, The Trucks self-titled debut album barrels along with 13 tracks that are infused with a distinctively frustrated female flavor not completely dissimilar from the Donnas and to a lesser extent, Hole. These young women from Bellingham, Washington admittedly have a certain air of frustration that gives an edge to some of the tracks and the subject matter explored is not completely disinteresting, but it’s likely better efforts lie ahead for the Trucks.More |  | There is No Truth Despite all of the news coverage of death, atrocity, and tragedy coming out of Iraq, the war often seems surreal and distant. Director Philip Haas ([b]Angels and Insects[/b]) does something remarkable in bringing the war to the big screen in [b]The Situation[/b]. Filmed exclusively in Iraq, one truly does get a vivid sense of just how dire "the situation" has become.More |  | The Future’s So Bright... Lewis is a thirteen-year old orphan with a passion for inventing things. One would think Lewis’ creativity and intelligence would draw countless prospective parents to him. If only this was the case. After meeting countless prospective parents and logging more fruitless interviews than a room full of the recently downsized, Lewis (voiced by Daniel Hansen), elects to focus his energies on creating a machine that will help him remember his birth mother and win the science fair in the process. As is usually the case, such fateful decisions open the doors to a remarkable adventure.More |
|
