Double Bill at the Sundance Kabuki: Ocean's 13 and Paprika

I spent most of Saturday on an impossible quest - finding a decent 1 bedroom apartment in the Inner Sunset (or anywhere in the Sunset near the N, for that matter). This seach has been going on for some time now, but with all the condo/TIC conversions in the area, plus the fact that most flats/houses are 2/3 bedroom, means that finding something that's not a cheap "in-law" or a rundown vermin abode is not easy.

After Yet Another Saturday spent looking at everything from the Craptacular Special on Judah St., to the Building With the Manager Who Talks Way Too Much About the Residents' Personal Lives, The Worst Building Near UCSF, and more, I was ready to turn off reality for a few hours. So I took the N to the 22 and ended up in Japantown, and at the new Sundance Kabuki Theater (about halfway done with the remodel). Noting the times, I decided to go see Ocean's 13, with the option to see Paprika afterwards. Just what I needed.

Ocean's 13 is fine. It is not Sense and Freakin' Sensibility, and there are no lessons learned in said film, nor is it likely to have the level of angst and whatnot some people demand of every film made. It is, however, a well-made "fun" movie. Ocean's 11 is still the best of the series, in that it took a very crappy film, discarded all but the name and general concept, and made a fun film. Ocean's 13 does the same thing, but since we've seen the joke once, it's not quite as original as the first, but it still works, especially if you've spent 6 hours standing and walking around western SF.

I hadn't planned my Saturday, and when I got out, realized that I could see Paprika as well. Many times these anime feature films come and go through the theaters so fast, if you do not see them right away, you don't get to see them until the US DVD comes out, which is often years later. Sure, there's the internets, but well, you know.

Paprika is the latest film from director Satoshi Kon, and as always it is an unusual film, to say the least, and one best seen on a big screen. To try and recount the plot would do it a disservice, since it really is a basic one, but combined with the way Kon tells the story, and the sheer visual mass on screen, it becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

If you haven't already done so, check out his other films, especially Perfect Blue, a Hitchcock style thriller that was originally slated to be a live action film, but had its budget cut, and Millennium Actress both of which are on DVD. Also good are Tokyo Godfathers and the 12 episode series Paranoia Agent, which was on Adult Swim, but was butchered with the usual bad dubbing of English.

When they finally finish the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas this summer, it will really be a great place to see a film, with reserved seating, 2 bars, a restaurant, and really nice seats (already installed), and more, sort of like the famous Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles. It'll definitely beat the run of the mill craptacular theaters we put up with here in SF.