Bayflicks.net

Last night, the Pacific Film Archive introduced me to Johnnie To. Okay, I didn’t meet the Hong Kong action auteur personally, but the archive introduced me to his work. I liked it.
The occasion: opening night of the PFA’s new series, Hong Kong Nocturne: The Films of Johnnie To. The films: The Mission and Fulltime [...]

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There’s astonishingly little for the newsletter. Just one really lousy comedy and two film festivals filled with works I haven’t seen. Things will pick up next week; I promise.
The Black Film Festival opens Wednesday with the British comedy Shoot the Messenger, and runs through June 15. It celebrates its tenth anniversary [...]

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I just saw the Stanford’s summer schedule. As usual, it’s the best time of the year to see classic Hollywood films on the Peninsula. Someone has put a lot of thought into the double bills, most of which go together nicely for an evening’s entertainment. And every other Wednesday they screen [...]

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Very broad satire

Written by Uwe Boll and Bryan C. Knight; based on the video game
Directed by Uwe Boll

Postal starts with a promising scene for an intentionally offensive comedy. Two terrorists in an airliner cockpit (presumably on 9/11) discuss how many virgins they’ll get in the afterlife. It turns out they’ve been given different numbers, and [...]

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Action Adventure

Written by David Koepp, from a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson
Directed by Steven Spielberg

I dreaded disaster when I first heard that George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford making a fourth Indiana Jones movie. Nearly twenty years after Indie’s latest outing, I felt it was best to let sleeping triumphs lie.
I [...]

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I attended the Film Noir event at the Cerrito last night. Well worth the time and money. It’s repeating tonight at 5:00; I recommend it heartily.
The evening began–after the usual cartoons and Speakeasy Theaters Coming Attractions video, plus a brief onstage appearance by Speakeasy programmer Will Viharo and Noir scholar Eddie Muller–with Muller’s own short [...]

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Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Red Vic, Friday through Sunday. Based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner remains surprisingly thoughtful for ’80’s sci-fi–especially of the big budget variety. It ponders questions about the nature of humanity, and about our ability to objectify [...]

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Rock concert documentary

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Stones concert film bombs horribly in the first half, but rights itself in the span of one song and sails on to to a glorious but too-soon finish. If the first half had been as good as the second, Shine a Light would sit next to Scorsese’s [...]

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Just a quick note on changes to Speakeasy’s Parkway and Cerrito. Mostly the Parkway.
I guess the Parkway must be losing some momentum, customer-wise. First, Speakeasy spokeperson Will Viharo announced that his Thrillville series, which he’s been splitting between the two theaters, will find its permanent home at the Cerrito. Then, just this week, he tells [...]

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When people think of San Francisco, horror, science fiction, and people of African descent don’t immediately leap to mind. But lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders truly fit the shallow, stereotyped model. So it’s appropriate that as the Black Film Festival and Another Hole in the Head draw to a close, Frameline32: San Francisco [...]

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