60 San Diego Reader November 3, 2016


MOVIES


each subsequent line reading. Creepy plays UltraStar Mission Valley on Sat- urday November 6 at 8:25 p.m. and Wednesday, November 9 at 8:55 p.m. Hu’s comment above the next


screening link read, “My favorite of the new films, the one that just won the Golden Lion at Venice, and that stands tall at 3 hours and 45 minutes.” I’m halfway through Lev Diaz’s monu- mental (so far) The Woman Who Left. Forgive me for setting aside a general proclivity toward sportsophobia, but the wistful Chicagoan in me couldn’t resist watching the trio of World Series games played in Wrigley Field. What I’ve seen of the film possesses such austere black-and-white imagery; part of me thinks this one demands the big- screen treatment. The Woman Who Left screens Wednesday, November 9 at 2 p.m. at UltraStar Mission Valley and Friday, November 11 at 12:30 p.m. at the Digital Gym. Did I mention that this year brings


a special guest? It’s none other than Wayne Wang, the celebrated director of such films as Chan is Missing, The Center of the World, and The Joy Luck Club. Wang may not have been the first director to shatter Asian-American ste- reotypes — that honor probably goes to Sam Fuller — but as my friend Erik Rosenbluh observed, “Chan is Miss- ing was the first all Asian-American film I saw where people didn’t speak in offensive accents.”


does so without always conveying the kind of fire and feeling that such choices and moments ought to produce. In the end, it’s too polite and considered a portrait of a rude and chaotic world, but as with most Philip Roth adaptions, there’s plenty to talk about afterward. 2016. — M.L. ★★ (AMC LA JOLLA; LANDMARK HILLCREST)


Doctor Strange: Is “Dr. Stephen Strange” really any more improbable of a name than Benedict Cumberbatch? While it’s far from his best work,


given the recent talk of walling out immigrants, there isn’t a better time to revive Eat a Bowl of Tea, a period rom- com about an American-born Chinese man and the difficulty he undergoes when bringing his Asian-born bride to America. Part history lesson, part exploration of Chinese traditions and legacies, the film plays better today than on its initial release. Wang will be on hand to introduce a new director’s cut of Eat a Bowl of Tea when it screens at UltraStar Mission Valley, Saturday, November 5 at 1:25 p.m. Hu also recommends Harmo-


nium, which won an award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival; Old


Stone, a “cold-ass noir from China”; Cheerful Wind, an early curio from Hou Hsiao-hsien, “back when he was making romantic comedies”; and in tribute to the late Abbas Kiarostami, a 35mm screening of masterwork A Taste of Cherry. For more information visit sdaff.org. — Scott Marks


MOVIE LISTINGS


All reviews are by Scott Marks, Matthew Lickona, and Duncan Shepherd. Priorities are indicated by one to five stars and antipathies by the black spot. Unrated movies are for now unreviewed. Thousands of past reviews are available online at SDReader.com/movies.


FILM FESTIVALS


CHULA VISTA CIVIC CENTER LIBRARY 365 F St., Chula Vista 619-691-5069


Film Forum: The Meddler Susan Sarandon stars as a widow who uproots herself from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter (Rose Byrne) and discovers a new life. Also stars J.K. Simmons. Comedy. Drama. 2015. 100 minutes. PG-13. Free mini-concert at 5:30pm with Savannah Philyaw, film screening at 6pm. Spon- sored by the Friends of the Chula Vista Library. Wednesday, November 9, 5:30pm


show, live music, T-shirt sales, posters, DVDs, raffles, prize giveaways. Tickets at South Coast Surf, South Coast Wahines, South Coast, and OB Surf. Saturday, November 5, 6:00pm


SCHULMAN AUDITORIUM AT CARLSBAD CITY LIBRARY


1775 Dove Lane, Carlsbad 760-602-2049


Carlsbad Film Series: The Confirmation Eight-year-old Anthony is anxious about spending the weekend with his alcoholic father (Clive Owen) while his mother and her new husband attend a retreat. They work together to deal with a series of ill-fated events and discover a father/son connection. Their new relationship brings out the best in them. Movie special features begin at 5:30pm (2016, PG-13, 101 min.) Wednesday, November 9, 6:00pm


TEMPLE EMANU-EL 6299 Capri Dr., Del Cerro


MT. EVEREST ACADEMY 4350 Mt. Everest Bl., Clairemont 858-496-8778 Endless Winter A new type of surf movie that focuses on close knit community of surfers from the Azure Vista area. This is produced by Vaughn Family Productions which is a father, son, and daughter team who have been surfing their whole lives andtaking pictures and films to document the fleeting moments of surfing. This film features all local surfers, no pros or outsiders. Movie, slide


Film Discussion Class: Gabriel Over the White House Controversial since the time of its release, this bizarre and visionary fantasy features Walter Huston as a glad- handing party hack and frivolous socialite who is elected President. A near-fatal auto accident and a visit from the Archangel Gabriel transforms him into a “social activ- ist.” 1933. 86 minutes. With instructor Ralph DeLauro. Sponsored by Jewish Family Service. Members free, all others $2. Lunch is served at noon for $4. Transportation is also provided, if needed. Information: 858-637-3270. Thurs- day, November 10, 1:00pm


TEMPLE SOLEL


3575 Manchester Ave., Cardiff-by-the-Sea 760-436-0654


Film Discussion Class: Hitchcock Anthony Hopkins cuts a masterful figure as the director, artist, and con-man Alfred Hitchcock in this tale of lust, jealousy, and betrayal. Hitchcock defies the odds, the studios and his wife (Helen Mirren) to put Norman Bates and the film Psycho on screen. With Scarlett Johansen and Toni Col- lette. (2013. 98 minutes.) With instructor Ralph DeLauro. The Coastal Club at Temple Solel. Sponsored by Jewish Family Service. Information: 858-674-1123. Tuesday, November 8, 12:00pm


UCSD CALIT2 AUDITORIUM AT ATKINSON HALL


9500 Gilman Drive #0436, UCSD 858-534-2230


Arrival: Film Premiere with Writer Ted Chiang The Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination hosts the San Diego premiere of the Paramount film Arrival starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker and directed by Denis Villeneuve. After the film there will be a conversation and Q&A with Ted Chiang, whose novella Story of Your Life provided the basis of the screenplay. All proceeds from the screening benefit the Clarion Foundation, which supports the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshop at UC San Diego. Info: imagination. ucsd.edu. Monday, November 7, 7:00pm


ULTRASTAR MISSION VALLEY AT HAZARD CENTER


7510 Hazard Center Dr., Mission Valley 619-685-2841


San Diego Asian Film Festival Founded in 2000, the festival has grown to become the largest exhibition of Asian cinema in the western United States and has showcased everything from future classics like Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (U.S. premiere) to luminary independent work such as Patrick Wang’s In the Family (North American premiere). This year the 17th edition of SDAFF will showcase over 140 films from 15 countries at 6 venues in San Diego from November 3 to November 12. Thursday, November 3, 12:00pm


American Pastoral — Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut (he also stars) takes on nothing less than the fragile impermanence of the American Dream — dreams, after all, being things up from which you must ultimately wake — even going so far as to imply that the seeds of its destruction are sown even as it is achieved. MacGregor plays the Swede, a blond SuperJew who goes from strength to strength in postwar America, eventually marrying beauty queen Dawn (Jennifer Connelly), taking over Dad’s factory, moving to a big house in the country, and raising lovely daughter Merry (Dakota Fanning). And then the ‘60s happen, and all the goodness and right-thinking in the world aren’t enough to bridge the generation gap, or even to preserve a shared idea of civilization. It’s the sort of film you find yourself thinking better of the longer you are away from it, largely because it makes many intelligent choices and portrays many cogent moments, but


Aquarius — First impression: a disease- of-the-week weepie about a widowed cancer survivor, the last tenant standing in a “ghost building” that can’t undergo urban gentrification until she vacates. But never judge a film by its trailer, as proven by this ravishingly realized study in filmed exasperation. Women’s pictures — those dark, intricately woven family melodramas that once ruled the screen — have long since mutated into the stuff Bridget Jones is made of. This is a happy exception. Watching Sonia Braga go down with the ship is a master class in underplayed restraint. No late-entry Streep vehicle in which one performance outshines all that surround it is this. If anything, the picture appears to have effortlessly directed itself. High praise to the ease and mastery with which filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho tells his story. When it comes to a contem- porary women’s picture, this is more than just a Lifetime movie. It’s the movie of a lifetime. 2016. — S.M. ★★★★ (ANGELIKA FILM CENTER; READ- ING TOWN SQUARE)


The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, the Touring Years — A long time ago, there was a band that became very popular, thanks in part to their live per- formances. This is a found-footage com- pilation about that band by director Ron Howard. 2016 (LA PALOMA THEATRE)


Certain Women — Don’t expect Certain Women’s tale of four disparate Montana women whose lives crisscross to end with the quartet comfortably telescoping in one central locale. The opening section, involving Laura Dern as a lawyer whose male client places more faith in the judgment of a man than a woman, is fairly standard stuff. But then Dern suddenly finds herself in the role of hostage negotiator, and it isn’t until she breaks free of the network drama con- straints that filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy) turns in the direction of exploring a favorite theme: where closeness lies within people. She comes to the conclusion that the odd connections one forms with strangers in passing is frequently stronger than the ones found in intimate relationships. A moonlight horseback ride between infatuated student (Lily Gladstone) and beleaguered teacher (Kristen Stewart) is at once this year’s most romantic and heartbreaking scene. Beautifully filmed and performed — the opening sequence using mirrors and doorframes to fuse the torsos of two characters to form a whole — is stunning, but in the end, the overall concept left me in the dark. 2016. — S.M. ★★★ (AMC LA JOLLA; LANDMARK HILLCREST)


VINAVANTI URBAN WINERY 1477 University Ave., Hillcrest 877-484-6282 Cellar Cinema Vinavanti Urban Winery plays cult classics on the big screen every week. Catch the matinee showing at 5 pm to take advantage of happy hour or arrive for the later showing at 7 pm. Tuesday, November 8, 5:00pm, Tuesday, November 15, 5:00pm, Tuesday, November 22, 5:00pm


Christine — An anti-exploitation biopic that asks audiences to spend two hours waiting for Rebecca Hall to re- create the moment when Sarasota news- caster Christine Chubbuck famously blew her brains out on the 10 o’clock news. You’ll need a shield to help deflect all the irony director Antonio Campos and screenwriter Craig Shilowich throw before the camera: nurses smoking in a pediatrics ward, a ham-fisted use of period music, and a curtain shot at The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the latter having more insight into television news than anything the filmmakers have to offer.


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