B+ Documentary Directed by Jessica Yu How do you judge a political documentary? Artistic and technical merit? How well it argues its case? Is it entertaining? How important is the subject? Do you agree with what it says? Jessica Yu’s examination of the water crisis looming over the human race does reasonably well on all [...]
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It’s over. Two weeks of very heavy, mostly serious cinema in San Francisco–and none of it even near a BART station. Over those weeks, I saw 15 new feature films. If you include the three I saw at press screenings before the festival, and the two on screeners (DVDs sent to press), the total was [...]
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This year’s San Francisco International Film Festival ended with a blast of rock and roll. B+ Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey I’ve never been a fan of Journey, but this music documentary made me a fan of the band’s new lead singer, Arnel Pineda. He’s charismatic, energetic, down-to-earth, and funny. He also has a great [...]
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I got a surprise when I stepped out of the Montgomery BART station on my way to the San Francisco International Film Festival. I ran into a Occupy-themed May Day protest blocking Market St. That provided two dilemmas. First, should I go to the festival, or take part in the protest? Second, when I decided [...]
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A thriller Written by Lars Gudmestad and Jo Nesbø, from the novel by Ulf Ryberg Directed by Morten Tyldum Shit happens, sometimes literally, in this scary, effective, funny, gruesome, and utterly entertaining thriller from Norway. Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) leads the good life. He’s a headhunter–in the modern, corporate meaning of the term. He helps [...]
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I closed out the second San Francisco International Film Festival weekend with another documentary. This one wasn’t about our horrifying future, but our wild past. B+ The Source You’d expect a documentary about an early 70s LA-based cult and hippy commune, centered around a charismatic leader, to be an exposé–names like Charles Manson and Jim [...]
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My first movie today at the San Francisco International Film Festival wasn’t exactly fun, but it’s arguably the most important film I’ve seen at this year’s festival. B+ Last Call at the Oasis Water covers most of this planet’s surface, yet the human race is rapidly running out of safe drinking water. Unless you’re deep [...]
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Last night I attended the San Francisco International Film Festival‘s Centerpiece presentation, consisting of a movie, a Q&A, and a party. A- Your Sister’s Sister This film kept surprising me. The opening scene, involving a group of young adults memorializing a recently-deceased friend, felt like The Big Chill. But the movie was about only two [...]
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Within minutes of getting out of Unforgiven, I was back in the same auditorium for this documentary. B+ Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present I’ve never seen the point of performance art (as opposed to the performing arts, which I love), but Matthew Akers’ documentary on this particular performing artist won me over. It follows [...]
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I started the day at the Kanbar Award presentation honoring screenwriter David Webb Peoples. After an introduction and a selection of clips from his films (which include Bladerunner, Unforgiven, Hero, and 12 Monkeys, Peoples was interviewed on stage by novelist James Dalessando, an old friend of his. A few notable Peoples comments: Peoples started out wanting [...]
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