Page 63 - Sonoma County Gazette - May 2019

Triple Frontier
Our SELECTION of FILMS you may enjoy.
By Diane McCurdy
What we are witnessing is a major
upheaval in the film industry. Unlike the advent of sound and the demise of the studio system, which were also extreme changes, the fact that cable companies have gradually been creating their own products
May 2 - May 5 ~ DocLands Documentary Film Festival ~ Compelling stories and provocative insights behind them. Tickets: $16, Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 4th Street, San Rafael, 415- 383-5256, doclands.com, marketing@ cafilm.org
May 3 ~ The Getaway ~ Stars Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw as a couple on the run after a heist. Free for members/$5 for public. , 7p, Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa, 707-284-1265, Jessica Ruskin, schulzmuseum.org, jessica@ schulzmuseum.org
May 4 ~ Film Fest Petaluma - Matinee Shorts - A showcase of animated and live action short films with filmmakers in conversation. $10-$30, 12p, 3p & 7:30p, Mystic Theatre, 23 Petaluma Bldv No., Petaluma, 707-775-6048, mystictheatre. tunestub.com, mysticmarketing@ ineffablemusic.com
May 8 ~ Let’s Talk About Death: Film and Discussion Evening ~ Local non- profit Final Passages screens the film Mr. Church, followed by discussion. Doors open 6p. $5 to $15 donation at the door, 6:30p-9p, Sebastopol Grange Hall, 6000 Sebastopol Rd, Sebastopol, Final Passages, finalpassages.org, info@finalpassages
~ 13 films from Sundance, three films from SXSW, two CA premieres, independent and international films Regular Screenings, Advance Purchase $11 Regular Screenings at the Door $12 Children’s Program $5 youth, $10 adult, Mendocino Film Festival, 10701 Palette Dr., Mendocino, 707-937-0171, mendocinofilmfestival.org, info@ mendocinofilmfestival.org
Sebastiani Theater,
has not been met with tumult or notoriety. The transition has been fairly smooth with
May 12 ~ Call of The Valley: The Enduring Lure of Sonoma ~ Sonoma Valley’s evolution as a mecca for Native Americans, missionaries, rancheros, the military. $11, 4p Sebastiani Theatre, 476 1st Street East, Sonoma, 707-996- 2020, sebastianitheatre.com
May 20 ~ Amelie (2001) - Vintage Film Series ~ “AMELIE” is the story about an innocent and naïve girl in Paris with her own sense of justice. $10, 7p Sebastiani Theatre, 476 1st Street East, Sonoma, 707-996-2020, sebastianitheatre.com
Summerfield Cinemas,
551 Summerfield Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-525- 8909, summerfieldcinemas.com
Coming up: The Hummingbird Project, The Invisibales, The Brink, The Chaperone, Amazing Grace, Peterloo Massacre, Ask Dr. Ruth, Red Joan, Hail Satan? The Biggest Little Farm.
Rialto Cinemas,
6868 McKinley S, Sebastopol. Showtimes & INFO: 707 525-4840, rialtocinemas.com
May 8 ~ Exhibition On Screen: Rembrandt ~ This deeply moving film seeks to explore the truth about the man behind the legend. $16, 5/8, 1p, 7p
May 13 ~ Indie Lens Pop-Up ~ WRESTLE is an intimate, inspiring coming of age portrait of the wrestling team at Huntsville’s J.O. Johnson High School. As they fight their way towards the State Championship, wrestlers Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan each face challenges on and off the mat. Their coach wades into the complexities of class and race. FREE, 1p & 7p
May 21 ~ Great Art On Screen: Water Lilies of Monet ~ The Magic of Water and Light Voyage through the masterpieces a& obsessions of the genius & founder of Impressionism, Claude Monet $16 1p & 7p
only some derision by the established media. Netflix has been the leader in this movement but
Amazon and Hulu are close behind and recently Apple
has joined the group.
The flicks produced are neither cheap nor hastily formatted. Often times films
are given a brief theatrical release before they are ensconced in the streaming platform. Most display strong production values and star A-list actors. Despite his recent multiple stints in rehab, how much more A-list one get than two time Oscar winner, producer, director and general heart throb, Ben Affleck?
This brings us to Triple Frontier from Netflix. The title refers to the borders between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
476 1st St East, Sonoma, 707-996-2020, sebastianitheatre.com
The screenplay was co-written by Mark Boal who also penned The Hurt Locker and there are some similarities to that story line. The band of brothers consists of men we have met before. They are not stereotypes, they are more conventions that are expected and are needed to fuel the plot. There is the alpha leader, a dutiful second banana and a couple of “wild cards” whose behavior is less predictable and of course, there is a a beautiful girl involved
to add spice. The plan is Oscar Isaac’s idea. He is functioning as some kind
of police person in a South American country so he is well aware of many illicit activities. His plan is to recruit his fellow former special ops members to rob a local drug lord. After all, the loot is ill-gotten gain to begin with. Oscar Issac, whose full name is Oscar Isaac Hernandez, is Guatemalan and he and Chilean born Pedro Pascal of Narcos and Game of Thrones get to use their Spanish. Charlie Hunnam is English and Affleck and Garrett Hedlund are American. This rounds out the gang of five. After living on the edge these men, especially Affleck find that living a normal life can be excruciatingly boring. With the girl as informant, they steal millions, maybe billions of dollars while the crime family, ironically, is at Mass. Now they must transport this extremely heavy load across the Andes to a waiting ship. The money is put in duffle bags and then in a dangling net that is suspended from a the bottom of a rickety, overloaded helicopter. It is perilous. It is adventurous. Not everyone will survive. At one point the bunch is so cold that in their desperation they make a bonfire with the money to keep warm. There are disagreements but the quintet never really turn on one another. They do, however, eventually negate Gordon Gecko’s dictum, “Greed is Good!”
Raven Film Center
May 30 - Jun 2 ~ Mendocino Film Festival
415 Center St. Healdsburg, 707-525-8909, ravenfilmcenter.com
May 4 ~ Rafiki ~ A tender love story between two young women in a country that still criminalizes homosexuality. $2-$12, 2p
Action packed, filmed in lush tropical jungles and stark mountain ranges, sparked with chemically enhanced explosions, written by respected writers and featuring box office magnet actors, there is nothing shoddy about this production. The marauding men experience some contrition at the end and the movie would have us believe these are honorable men in a Robin Hood sort
of way even though they left a pile of bodies in their wake. Don’t make value judgments, just relax and enjoy the merry ride.
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TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuYtE0I9R3A