A View of San Francisco: Noe Valley

A View of San Francisco: Haight-Ashbury

A View of San Francisco: Amoeba Music

A View of San Francisco: Alamo Square area

A View of San Francisco: Lone Sunflower

A View of Oakland: Street Art

A View of Oakland: Street Art

A View of Oakland: Street Art

A View of Oakland: Street Art

Summer 2013 movie round-up

This was a solid summer.  Though I think other summers had good movies, I think this summer might rank as the best in recent history.  (Example of the competing years: 2009 had Up, Julie and Julia, (500) Days of Summer; 2011 had the last Harry Potter movie, Bridesmaids, Midnight in Paris, The Help.)

The Best of the Best

1.  Despicable Me
2.  World War Z
3.  Monsters University
4.  Man of Steel
5.  This is the End

You still want to hand over your well earned money

6.  Lee Daniels' The Butler
7.  The World's End
8.  Blue Jasmine
9.  The Way, Way Back
10.  Fruitvale Station
11.  Fast and Furious 6

Solid, but not Spectacular

12.  The Wolverwine
13.  Pacific Rim
14.  The Bling Ring
15.  Star Trek into Darkness
16.  Iron Man 3

Could have skipped

17.  The Spectacular Now
18.  Elysium
19.  The Heat

A Movie Review: Elysium

Elysium. A movie that has a nice set-up, but essentially falls flat.  The wealthy have abandoned earth.  The rest of humanity is left in poverty on earth.  Yes, an interesting concept, but if falls apart in my mind in two ways.  First, too many over-the-top characters.  You have a serious concept story, but characters that are more appropriate to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall.  Second, why exactly would a computer program put power into the hands of one person?  If you just killed that person, who would be in power?

A Movie Review: Lee Daniels' The Butler

Lee Daniels' The Butler. A solid movie over-all though in the back of my mind I got distracted with the story line of the son. I should explain: the son gets involved in the sit-ins, freedom riders, was with Martin Luther King when he died, became a key member of the Black Panthers and finally was elected to Congress.  Yeah, right.

A Movie Review: Blue Jasmine

Blue Jasmine. Jasmine is used to the high life. After her husband is convicted of financial crimes and commits suicide in jail, she heads off to San Francisco where she attempts to manipulate her way back into her life style. Does she succeed? You'll need to watch this very entertaining movie to find out.

A Movie Review: The World's End

The World's End. The World's End doesn't rank up there with Shaun of the Dead, but it doesn't mean this isn't one funny movie. You will find yourself laughing throughout the movie as the group of friends continue a pub walk even when they understand the known dangers.

A Movie Review: The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring. This is a movie based on the true events surrounding a group of teenagers who attended Indian Hills High School and decided to rob the young and fashionable in Hollywood. The movie starts with Marc’s (Israel Broussard) first day at Indian Hills High School. He becomes friends with Rebecca (Katie Chang) and Chloe (Claire Julien). Marc and Rebecca – Rebecca leading – quickly start on their crime streak. They start small, stealing from unlocked cars. They then upgrade to breaking into a friend’s home while the parents are on vacation.

As this point, this movie seems to be a dud. What’s going on, Sofia Coppola? The actors are acting in a teenage zombie manner. Rebecca is monotone. Chloe is a rich girl, California blond with no reason for existing. Marc is a wannabe nobody. Maybe this is how they see their lives, zombie-like. A switch soon goes off inside these teenagers that changes their demeanor, a switch that makes you cringe at times and perhaps deep down makes you cheer. Rebecca and Marc decide to take it up a level and see if they can break into Paris Hilton’s house. They find her house key under a mat and success breeds the desire for more of it. The Bling Ring quickly expands to Chloe and two other friends, Nicki (Emma Watson) and Sam (Taissa Farmiga). A swagger seeps in as they throw around the money they’ve stolen (or gotten via the sale of stolen property) at the top clubs of Hollywood.

As mentioned, this movie might have you cheering them on in a sick way. When they enter the houses of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, you might silently cheer as the houses are decadent, nothing more than houses of worship to their occupants. (Though you do have to give it up to Paris Hilton as she does a brief cameo and allowed filming in her house.) You might find yourself sympathetic to certain famous individuals that you wouldn’t think you’d have common ground with: Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox. Yeah, Megan Fox gets a lot of grief, but their home (though higher end then what many of us live in) seems normal. I mean why not target the decadent like a modern day Robin Hood gang versus those trying to live a normal life. Of course, that’s not what The Bling Ring was about.

The Bling Ring is made up of high school kids and so there are probably many who watch this movie and ask – perhaps even teenagers – where are the parents? The kids appear to party in Hollywood or break into homes or do drugs at all hours of the night. Coppola presents us with various takes on parenting in Southern California. Nicki’s mom (who is also Sam’s mom by default) wants her children to grow up famous and challenges them to attain that goal. She is the perfect Hollywood mother. Marc’s dad works in Hollywood and turns a blind eye to signs that his son is up to no good. While Chloe comes from a family who appears to be as tradition as one can get – eating breakfast together?!? In a way, this movie can be seen as a commentary on adults who work in Hollywood and the possible impact that this career choice had on their children (admittedly, Rebecca’s parents don’t seem to be connected to Hollywood though she herself is obsessed with celebrities). Can any type of parental approach possibly steer children, who grow up under the bright lights of Hollywood, away from the dark side that Hollywood brings to the table; especially when the teens are attractive and can curry favor from those in the Hollywood scene?

Though I won’t say that The Bling Ring ranks up there with Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Somewhere, I do recommend seeing this movie. As it starts out, it might cause a moment of reservation, but if you don’t write the movie off in those first few minutes and keep yourself engaged, I think you’ll find yourself enjoying the movie while thinking: these kids are evil and yet I have a voyeuristic perverse pleasure in their criminal acts.

Loose ends:

Many of the actors in the movie are largely unknown, which I think shines a positive light on Emma Watson. Israel Broussard and Katie Chang are the leads in the movie and even though Emma Watson’s acting clearly stands out she is still playing a supporting role. There has to be something said about Emma Watson’s personal character to take a back seat to unknowns.

A Restaurant Review: Bamboo Garden in Millbrae

Bamboo Garden in Millbrae.  The sign above the restaurant name is not longer true.  It isn't a pure vegetarian restaurant.  In fact, they have a larger meat menu versus a vegetarian menu.  The couple that came in after me was also upset by this fact.  I over-heard the woman say, "Sorry, I thought this was a vegetarian restaurant.

Either way, I will say that the vegetarian beef dish I ordered was very good.

I'm guessing that in order to survive financially, they needed to add meet dishes to their menu.

A View of San Francisco: Street Art

A View of San Francisco: Street Art

A View of San Francisco: Street Art

A View of San Francisco: Street Art

I'm Up on Intraffik: The Spectacular Now movie review

I'm up on Intraffik with a movie review of The Spectacular Now.

Dreams: ripped apart

I had two interesting dreams pop into my head.

First dream, I was in the bathroom and found myself looking into the shower.  My Duke jacket was in the shower.  I picked it up.  It was torn in two, right down the middle.

Second dream, it was my first day at a new company.  I was waiting in line for some reason.  At the front of the line there was a commotion.  Someone came out of the office and announced he was going to start another company.  There were two top executives at the front of the line.  He grabbed one of them and asked if that person would like to come with him.  The executive took off with him.  The other one was visibly upset that he wasn't asked, which makes one worry about the make-up of the company when so many top executives want to leave the company you've just joined.

Of course, both were dreams, but I wonder what is going on inside my head.

A Movie Review: The Wolverwine

The Wolverwine. A serviceable action flick that sort of makes you wonder about family loyalty.

And why is it okay for The Wolverwine to have an affair with a soon-to-be married women while lecturing the soon-to-be married husband who is caught cheating, as well?

A View of San Francisco: Street Art

A View of San Francisco: Seinfeld Fans

A View of San Francisco: A Poster

Zebroids at The Smell

Zebroids are perhaps a more adult version of the band that they followed: Dirty Few.  That didn't mean they didn't have fun.  A friend of theirs went around the audience with a beer bong, giving drinks of water -- this being all ages The Smell.

Dirty Few at The Smell

The Dirty Few at The Smell.  A punk band that skateboards through the audience during their set and vomits afterwards.  Now that's a band.

Heller Keller at The Smell

Heller Keller hit the stage at The Smell first on a Saturday night from a few weeks back.  There wasn't even any announcement.  They just started their normal energetic set, drawing those at The Smell to them.

 

A View of San Francisco: North Beach