Outdoor cinema, movies with the San Francisco Symphony and indie psychodramas are highlights this week.
Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema is back, presenting its 22nd season of free screenings in celebration of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood and local artists. Festivities take place Thursday through Saturday. Two indoor film crawls and one outdoor movie night are the main components. Dozens of short films—dramas, comedies, experimental works, documentaries — screen in family and adult-geared programs. First up is a Mission film crawl, from 7 to 10 p.m. on Thursday. Four venues at Mission and 29th streets including Studio 45 and Cafe Seventy8 host screenings. A Cortland Avenue film crawl is 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday. The Bernal Library, Progressive Grounds Cafe and Inclusions Gallery are among participating sites. Precita Park becomes an outdoor cinema on Saturday for the annual Under the Stars. From 6 to 7 p.m., the public can enjoy picnicking and pre-film activities. From 7 to 9:30 p.m., look for the big film presentation and “Best of Bernal” awards announcement. Award recipients include “Painting Resistance,” a short documentary about Palestinian-American artist and community organizer Chris Gazaleh. Registration for the film crawls and Under the Stars, via Eventbrite, is encouraged.
Visit bhoutdoorcine.org for details.
The San Francisco Symphony’s Film Series — featuring big-screen showings of Hollywood movies accompanied by live scores performed by the orchestra— continues with “Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga Concert Experience,” Thursday through Saturday. Twenty-three Marvel movies and their music are in the concert, conducted by Anthony Parnther. Featured superheroes include Iron Man, Captain America, Doctor Strange and Thor. Next month, on Oct. 29, is “Coco,” the Oscar-winning animated adventure with music by Michael Giacchino. The Oct. 30 movie is a classic: Alfred Hitchcock’s San Francisco-set psycho-thriller “Vertigo.” Bernard Herrmann’s Wagner-inspired score, too, is masterful. Additional concerts continue into next year. Programs take place at Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco.
Visit sfsymphony.org for ticket information.
(Roadside Attractions via Bay City News)
A different sort of marvel is “Twinless,” from writer-director-actor James Sweeney (“Straight Up”). The movie begins as an eccentric buddy comedy, then darkens into an unsettling psychodrama about separation grief. The Portland-set story centers on a single twin —30-something Roman (Dylan O’Brien)—who attends the funeral of his brighter, cooler twin, Rocky. He soon joins a support group for people who have lost a biological other half. There, Roman meets Dennis (played by Sweeney), who is witty, worldly and gay — as was Rocky—and who reminds Roman of his brother. Roman shares stories about Rocky, Dennis talks about a twin named Dean, and the two become close. But Dennis isn’t what he seems. The details, which involve trauma, obsession and a doppelganger, would have played like bad neo-Hitchcock in the hands of a clunkier filmmaker. But Sweeney, with his sharp writing, fluid tonal shifts and adept steerage, is a proficient storyteller. He also, whether working in light or creepy mode, gives the film an affecting emotional quality. Among the solid cast, which also includes Aisling Franciosi as Roman’s cheery girlfriend, the standout is O’Brien, who plays not only Roman, but, in flashbacks, the oppositely tempered Rocky.
“Twinless” opens Friday at Bay Area theaters. Rated R.
“Lurker,” the directorial debut of “Beef” and “The Bear” writer Alex Russell, and the second sterling indie psychodrama opening this week, combines nimble storytelling with old-fashioned thrills to create a disquietingly entertaining picture of the lure of fame. Los Angeles boutique clerk Matthew (Theodore Pellerin), tired of being a nobody, meets pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) and sees an opportunity. Falsely presenting himself as a fan on Oliver’s wavelength, Matthew enters Oliver’s inner circle and ambitiously ascends to become Oliver’s top entourage member. When his status slips, Matthew employs increasingly sinister methods to regain his standing. While Russell does nothing remarkably new with the subject of obsessed fame seekers, his material feels fresh and charged. He navigates the plot deftly and keenly utilizes his bent for dark comedy. Pellerin’s Matthew and Madekwe’s Oliver, whose interactions contain a homoerotic element, generate complicated, edgy sparks. Pellerin, by giving Matthew psychological complexity rather than making him a one-note bad guy, creates a lead character who is fascinating as well as horrid.
“Lurker” is currently at Bay Area theaters. Rated R.
“Love, Brooklyn,” Rachael Abigail Holder’s tender, humane directorial debut, follows three residents of the New York City borough as they face professional and personal choices and hurdles. Andre Holland plays Roger, a writer who cycles daily through the changing landscapes of Brooklyn. Roger spends much of his time with either of two women: ex-girlfriend Casey (Nicole Beharie) and current lover Nicole (DeWanda Wise). Paul Zimmerman’s screenplay favors real-life over big-bang situations as the characters go about their daily business and try to decide what they want and need. Holder’s tone is somewhat soft hitting. But by offering sensitive and deserving characters with stories that feel authentic, the movie keeps us caring. All three lead performances are nuanced and impressive.
“Love, Brooklyn” opens Friday at the Opera Plaza Cinema in San Francisco. Not rated.
ZYZZYVA, the San Francisco–based literary magazine, hosts a matinee program at the Roxie Theater on Saturday with authors Alexander Chee (“The Queen of the Night”) and Ingrid Rojas Contreras (“The Man Who Could Move Clouds”). Chee will share one of his favorite movies: Max Ophus’ 1953 romantic drama, “The Earrings of Madame de…” The event will include a book-signing session at noon, followed, at 12:30 p.m., by a screening of Ophuls’ film and a post-screening conversation. Early ticket ($10-$18) purchases are recommended.
Visit roxie.com.
The post Movies: Bernal Heights cinema, SF Symphony film series, ‘Twinless,’ ‘Lurker,’ “Love, Brooklyn’ appeared first on Local News Matters.