Last week, I saw Steven Soderbergh give a talk at the San Francisco International Film Festival about the “State of Cinema.” He spoke a lot about movie marketing, and how studios pour tons of money into blockbuster releases way past the point that it’s really needed. “Is there anyone in the galaxy that doesn’t know Iron Man’s opening on Friday?” he quipped. And the funny thing is, I had only the DAY BEFORE realized that yes, Iron Man 3 is opening Friday. (I was convinced it was later in the summer.) I guess skipping commercials on your DVR really does have an affect on what you know about/choose to consume!
That said, Iron Man 3 opens today! Shane Black directs this one instead of Jon Favreau, which means my interest, which was slim to begin with, (I’ve pretty much had my fill of comic book movies), is that much slimmer. But I’m sure it’s great! That first one was fun! The second one had Mickey Rourke and was less fun! But I’m sure this one will be the funnest!
Documentary about 16 adult film stars, all women, as they talk about their lives and their careers whilst posing for director Deborah Anderson’s camera. It actually sounds kind of intriguing, but I don’t know if I’d want to see it in a tiny theater in San Francisco. If there’s a creep sitting next to you at the Opera Plaza, getting up and moving to another seat pretty much means moving a row ahead of or behind you. Awkward!
Noah Bamumbach and Greta Gerwig, who previously worked together in 2010’s Greenberg, are back together for Frances Ha. They co-wrote the film, and Gerwig stars. It’s a black and white movie set in New York and centered on a quirky woman, so it’s hard not to draw comparisons to Woody Allen. But the center of this movie isn’t a romantic relationship. Instead, it’s the friendship between Frances (Gerwig) and her BFF, Sophie (Mickey Sumner–daughter of Sting and Trudy Styler ). And it really does capture the intense, 20-something, post college friendships many women have. And all of the above will also probably bring to mind “Girls,” (and Adam Driver is even in this too), but I think the approach is a lot different. There’s no sex in Frances Ha, for instance, and Frances, while probably just as adrift as Hannah, isn’t quite so…fucked up.
A full review will have to wait until its release later this month, but it’s definitely worth seeing if you have the chance today–at 4PM at the Kabuki!
The San Francisco International Film Festival
And, indeed, the festival continues through the weekend, and comes to an end Thursday with a showing of Before Midnight at the Castro.
Check the schedule, as there are plenty of interesting things to see, including a documentary about magician Ricky Jay; an on stage interview with director Phillip Kaufman, along with a showing of his awesome San Francisco-set Invasion of the Body Snatchers; Big Sur, another SF-set movie, based on the book by Jack Kerouac; and much more!
