Sixty-Six

The Reubens family in Sixty-Six (First Independent Pictures)

Back in February, opening night audiences at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival got to see a British coming of age film called Sixty Six. The film was warmly received and now it opens for a theatrical run at the Reading Gaslamp. Proclaiming itself a "tru-ish story," the film offers a delightful portrait of a young boy trying to make an impression on his own family. The film draws on director Paul Weiland's childhood memories as it focuses on a young lad named Bernie Reubens (played by Gregg Sulkin). Bernie introduces us to his eccentric family and recalls how they accidentally left him on the beach one day. That makes him determined to figure out a way to get noticed. You can listen to our KPBS Film Chat.

Irina Palm

Marianne Faithfull plays a devoted grandmother in Irina Palm (Strand Releasing)

Marianne Faithfull's music career has spanned some four decades and so too has her film career. She even did a turn as Ophelia in Tony Richardson's filmed version of his staging of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Yet her film roles have been intermittent and mostly small. But director Sam Garbarski has fashioned something of a showcase for Faithfull with Irina Palm (opened May 9 at Landmark's Ken Cinema). Faithfull stars as Maggie, a somewhat mousy and dull widow whose devotion to her sick grandson prompts her to change her life in very surprising ways.

Run, Fatboy, Run

"I'm not fat, I'm unfit." Simon Pegg in Run, Fatboy, Run (Picturehouse)

With two features (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) and one cult comedy (Spaced) under his belt, Simon Pegg has won over a devoted following of fans. Maybe not a fan base as big as Brad Pitt's but devoted nonetheless. So for those of us who are fans, it's been a bit of a wait for Run, Fatboy, Run (opening March 28 in a limited engagement), a film that's been sitting on the shelf for at least a year. The delay is odd since Pegg is a reasonably marketable name and the film's first time director is former Friends' star David Schwimmer.

The Bank Job

Jason Statham in The Bank Job (Lionsgate)

Jason Statham is not an actor of great range but he's good at what he does and he's carved out a profitable and comfortable niche for himself with films such as Snatch, The Transporter and The Mean Machine. He’s a muscular action star who specializes in laconic, tough characters that are just shady enough to be dangerous and sexy but not shady enough to be unlikable. Statham doesn’t push any boundaries with his latest film, The Bank Job (opening March 7 throughout san Diego) in which he plays a not altogether reputable car dealer who gets pulled into a scam that’s way out of his league.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Frances McDormand and Amy Adams in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus Features)

By Eric Wilson

To begin, when I signed up to review Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (opening March 7 thoughout San Diego) I noticed the genre was "comedy." Soon I discovered that this film was a romantic comedy. Well, I could honestly say that I thought the movie would be a waste of time... however, I have been known to be wrong.

The film begins as Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is losing another job around the beginning of World War II in Britain. She is quite haggard looking and, obviously, living on the streets from check to check. She goes to her usual job agent to learn that no one wants her. But as the agent takes a call, she steals a card regarding a maid job. Miss Pettigrew goes to the address printed on the card and begins to work for Delysia Lafosse (Enchanted's Amy Adams), the infamous actress/singer/sleep around. Soon Miss Pettigrew learns that Miss Lafosse is torn between three men: One for Money, One for Power, and One for Love. As the movie continues, the three men cycle through and Miss Lafosse is torn between them, and, if not for the help of Miss Pettigrew, she would have surely been discovered. The movie reaches what I believe to be the "romantic climax when the man Delysia loves decides to leave to America with or without her. Delysia ends up unsure and continues to a club that night to sing. It just so happens that a man who Miss Pettigrew has had her eye on is there as well. So Miss Lafosse has to decide on her priorities and Miss Pettigrew has to make some decisions of her own as we wait to see if each woman will end up with the person they "were meant for."

I've never been a real fan of "chick flicks," but I can honestly say, I really enjoyed this film. I would definitely have to recommend this as a good movie to take one's significant other to. I would even pay to see this film again, but that's just me. 

-- Eric Wilson is a high school senior attending Mount Miguel. He's a big fan of fantasy and adventure, and spends a lot of his free time playing World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, or console games. He also enjoys spending time at Balboa Park, wandering the nature trails or messing around at the archery range. Although he has wanted to be an architect or engineer, he would love to be able to get paid to review movies and he hopes this experience might help him get his foot in the door.

Penelope

Christina Ricci shines as Penelope (Summit Entertainment)

Family curses are a pain. Just ask Penelope. Because some great-great-great (I think that's enough greats) grandfather was cruel enough to abandon a young pregnant woman that was deemed below him in class, poor Penelope must -- generations later -- suffer through her life bearing the visible mark of the curse set upon the family by a witch (the pregnant girl's mum). That's the premise of the modern fairy tale Penelope (opened February 29 throughout San Diego), which stars Christina Ricci as the cursed young lady in this revisionist take on the ugly duckling tale.

San Diego Jewish Film Festival

The coming of age tale Sixty-Six is the opening night film of the SDJFF (Universal)

The San Diego Jewish Film Festival kicks off its 18th season on February 7 with a British charmer called Sixty Six. The eleven-day festival will play at five local venues and showcase more than three dozen films and assorted panel discussions. Listen to my radio preview of the festival or read on for more in-depth details.

The title of the opening night film, Sixty-Six, refers to the year 1966 when Bernie Reubens (Greg Sulkin) is in the midst of elaborate plans for his bar mitzvah. Proclaiming itself a "tru-ish story," the film offers a delightful portrait of a young boy trying to make an impression on his own family. But it's difficult to get attention when you’re competing with the World Cup, especially when England happens to be hosting the World Cup. To make matters worse, Bernie has to contend with the final match between Blighty and West Germany landing on the exact same day as his much-anticipated rite of passage.

A Hard Day’s Night

The Fab Four in Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night screening February 2 at midnight (UA)

Back in 1963, many people thought the Beatles were just a passing fad. When United Artists suggested that a low budget comedy be made with the Fab Four, they were thinking of just two things: one, United Artists Records would get to release the soundtrack and two, cash in on the Beatles popularity before it faded. What they never considered was that Richard Lester's A Hard Day’s Night, a film shot in seven weeks for less than a half million dollars, would become a genuine classic and would define a hip new style of filmmaking. At the time of its release, critic Andrew Sarris proclaimed it as "the Citizen Kane of juke box musicals." A Hard Day's Night screens Saturday February 2 at midnight at Landmark Theatres' Ken Cinema.

Call it a “mockumentary” or a “rockumentary,” A Hard Day’s Night is really the first and one of the very best fake documentraies. This Is Spinal Tap owes an obvious debt of gratitude to the film. The idea for the film came about when Alun Owen, a Welsh writer the Beatles had suggested because he had grown up like they had in Liverpool, was asked to make a script based on an exaggerated day in the life of the Beatles. Since Owen had no idea what that was like, he was sent to spend a weekend with the lads. When he came back, he had the idea that “they were prisoners of their success. They go from the airport to the hotel to the theater or stadium or concert hall back to the hotel back to the airport. In any city it’s always the same.” Now the film needed a title. John Lennon mentioned that Ringo misused the English language and called an all night recording session “a hard day’s night.” That was all producer Walter Shenson had to hear and that’s how The Beatles' A Hard Day’s Night came to be.

Cassandra’s Dream

 
Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play brothers in Cassandra's Dream (The Weinstein Company)

Anyone with knowledge of Greek mythology (and I'm sure Woody Allen's fans would be well versed in that) would know that Cassandra had the gift of foreseeing the future but also bore the curse that no one would ever believe her predictions. So when Woody Allen named his latest film Cassandra's Dream (opening January 18 at the AMC Fashion Valley Theaters), people should sense something ominous implied in the title. And if you miss the sense of foreboding in the title there's always the ad line on the poster that warns: A chilling drama from writer and director Woody Allen. So basically, don't expect Bananas or Annie Hall.

10 Best of 2007

Choosing the top ten films of 2007 is like choosing which of your children you like best. I love them all but in different ways. This year the family grew larger than expected and was all over the map. You can listen to my rundown of the 10 best of 2007. I'm also including here some other noteworthy films of the year.

First, I'll mention a few films that might have made my ten best if studios had only decided to release them in San Diego. The trippy anime Tekkon Kinkreet; David Lynch's mind bending Inland Empire; the slyly ironic Romanian film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; the abortion documentary Lake of Fire; and a pair of Johnnie To Hong Kong actioners Exiled and Triad Election (known as Election 2 in Hong Kong) all dazzled in their own unique ways. But none were deemed worthy of release here. I'm particularly irked by the fact that Johnnie To repeatedly fails to get his films released here. In these two films he served up gangster tales that were darker and more existential than what American audiences probably expect from Hong Kong actioners. He manges to mix action elements with a French New Wave freshness and Wong Kar Wai's lush stylish flourishes. To delivers consistently stunning work yet has failed to convince U.S. distributors to give his films an art house release that extends beyond a few cities. This needs to change.