Bayflicks.net

Wow! No festivals. But we still have some movies worth watching.
A Century Ago: The Films of 1908, Rafael, Thursday, 7:00. One hundred years ago, movies were just about to discover they were an art form. And Thursday night, the Rafael will screen about two hours of shorts from the year [...]

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Two movies I’ve seen theatrically in the last few days:
The Secret Life of Bees
Hollywood makes terrific action movies and romantic comedies, but nothing helps you appreciate independent cinema like a major studio attempt at serious social drama. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s novel (which I haven’t read) is well-meant, well-designed, and well-acted, but [...]

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The Latino Film Festival closes Sunday. Then we’re festival-free for awhile.
Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer, Elmwood, opens Friday. People don’t recognize the name Anita O’Day the way they do Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, but as a jazz vocalist she’s arguably in their class. She possessed a beautiful [...]

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The Stanford is going to weekly engagements. That’s the big news this week. The just-announced Humphrey Bogart festival will open a different double bill every Friday and run it through Thursday.
3rd I, the Chinese American, and the Latino Film Festival continue this week.
Sounds of Wall-E, Rafael, Sunday, [...]

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Last summer I raved about Arab Labor, a very funny Israeli sitcom shown at the Jewish Film Festival. Now the Link TV satellite network will broadcast the show the way it was meant to be seen–at home in weekly installments. The series starts this Saturday night at 7:00.

Amjad, an Arab reporter working for a [...]

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I haven’t had a chance to write up the new Pacific Film Archive schedule, but it includes a series of Japanese films meant to honor the late curator Kashiko Kawakita. It includes a few films I’ve seen, more I want to see, and two I saw for the first time Friday night.
That’s when my wife [...]

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Horror

Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, from his own novel
Directed by Tomas Alfredson

Last night I saw what may be the best vampire movie I’ve ever seen. Better than Horror of Dracula, Interview with a Vampire, and Lost Boys; better even than Nosferatu. It’s called Let the Right One In. I’m really glad I finally caught [...]

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Well, yes, I did promise to get back to regular blogging, and it hasn’t happened. I guess I have to get back to regular movie-going first. Such a busy life!
Three festivals open this week. The Latino Film Festival starts Friday with the traditional opening at the Castro. It runs through [...]

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