Five out of seven critics surveyed — at least according to website Rotten Tomatoes — like Oakland resident Jennifer Phang’s new movie, “Advantageous.”
Phang, who grew up in Richmond and Walnut Creek (where she graduated from Las Lomas High School), directed, edited and co-wrote the sci-fi script about a mother and her daughter in the near future, where they work hard and keep their sense of joy intact, as a world of great wealth and luxury overshadows those struggling with economic hardship.
Phang’s film premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won a special jury prize for collaborative vision. It also won four awards at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, including ones for directing, score and editing (Phang shared it with Sean Gillane).
In his review of the film, Village Voice writer Alan Scherstuhl wrote, “From its arresting first scenes, Phang’s film is as much about why? as it is what next?”
Hollywood Reporter critic Leslie Felperin wrote, “It’s not hard to imagine it becoming cult viewing in places like Berkeley, the director’s city of birth, or any college town or urban area with the right critical density of literature, film and women’s studies majors who sometimes read Wired.”
Phang’s first film, “Half-Life,” which was filmed largely in the East Bay, received praise from critics at both Sundance and the Tokyo International Film Festival.
“Advantageous” opens June 26 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. It also will be available on Netflix.
The Bay at the BET Awards: Pleasanton native Gabrielle Union (“Bring It On,” “Bad Boys II”) is nominated for best actress at the BET Awards, which will be held Sunday in Los Angeles. Two films the Foothill High School graduate appeared in — “Top Five” and “Think Like a Man Too” — are up for best picture. Oakland-raised singer and Disney phenom Zendaya is up for the YoungStars Award.
Bay Area BattleBots: The Bay Area has a serious presence in the new ABC series “BattleBots.” During the qualifying round Sunday, Bite Force — whose captain, Paul Ventimiglia, lives in Mountain View — won its match, as did Icewave, whose captain, Marc DeVidts, lives in Sunnyvale. Plan X, whose captain is Orinda resident Lisa Winter, beat down team Wrecks, whose captain is Micah Leibowitz, of Hayward.
‘Last Ship’ pulls in one more time: “The Last Ship,” the TNT series about a lone Navy destroyer being the last, best help for humanity after a pandemic wipes out most of Earth’s population, has returned Sunday nights for its second season. The show stars Eric Dane as commanding officer Tom Chandler. Dane, probably best known for playing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy,” was born in San Francisco and went to high school in San Mateo.
Follow Tony Hicks at Twitter.com/tonyhicks67 and Facebook.com/bayareanewsgroup.tonyhicks.
