I discovered just how fun an Oscar party can be. It happened last night at the Cerrito. But I must confess: I did not, after all, come costumed as a lesbian gardener ballet dancer with an eye patch. A few people were costumed as movie characters, however, and a great many dressed up formally for [...]
Filed under: Awards, First-person Report, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
With its celebration of technology and independent filmmaking, Cinequest always seemed like a festival I should attend. But San Jose a big schlep for me, and I’ve yet to make it. But that doesn’t mean you should miss it. It runs the first 12 days of March. The festival kicks off this year with Passsione, [...]
Filed under: Festivals, Upcoming & Local | Leave a Comment »
The rule used to be that you watched movies in theaters and TV at home. Today, so many of us watch movies at home that we need to get out once in awhile to watch TV in the theater. And why not do it with the biggest movie night on television: The Academy Awards? Comedy [...]
Filed under: Awards, TV, Upcoming & Local | Leave a Comment »
Historical epics like Lawrence of Arabia, Gandhi, and Cleopatra tell us stories about people who changed history. Others–what I call passive epics–concentrate on people whose worlds are changed by the history happening around them. Gone With the Wind, Ben-Hur, and Dr. Zhivago fit into this category. Luchino Visconti’s 1963 film The Leopard takes this passivity [...]
Filed under: First-person Report | Leave a Comment »
If The Social Network wins the big prize this month, as many think it will, it will be the first picture to do so not shot on film. The Mark Zuckerberg biopic was shot digitally. A year ago, a lot of people thought that Avatar was going to win, and it would have achieved that [...]
Filed under: Awards, Technical | 2 Comments »
I devoted yesterday at the Silent Film Festival Winter Event. Great way to spend a Saturday. Here are the details: It’s Mutual: Charlie Chaplin Shorts Before the movie started, I visited the retail section on the Castro‘s mezzanine. At the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum table, I bought a bumper sticker – "Films have a [...]
Filed under: First-person Report, Music, Silent Films | Leave a Comment »
B+ As I promised in my last post, here are my thoughts on the five films nominated for the Best Live-Action Short Subject Oscar. They’re playing, as a single feature, next week at various theaters around the Bay Area. These are, overall, a bit better than this year’s animated shorts. They’re also longer on average. [...]
Filed under: Awards, Reviews | 3 Comments »
