A lot of vintage movies will play on Bay Area big screens this week. The Stanford is playing a Gary Cooper double bill. The Roxie screens Taxi Driver. The Rafael continues its Pixar series. The Thing stays at the New Mission for several days. BAMPFA continues its Sam Fuller series, while the New Parkway has … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 5 – 11
Movies I’ve recently seen: 4 Weddings & a Funeral ֍ Mean Streets ֍ Project A ֍ Non-Stop
Here are four movies that I watched simply because I wanted to see them – or see them again. For once, even the worst of them was at least entertaining. To see one of these movies, click the film's title. A- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Technically, it's more like three weddings, one funeral, … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: 4 Weddings & a Funeral ֍ Mean Streets ֍ Project A ֍ Non-Stop
Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances at Niles
I attended a screening Saturday night of one of my favorite Buster Keaton films, Seven Chances (1925). It was at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. It was my first visit there since COVID changed our lives. This was part of the Broncho Billy & Friends Silent Film Festival, which ran Saturday and Sunday. The … Continue reading Buster Keaton’s Seven Chances at Niles
What’s Screening: July 29 – August 4
It's quite a week for vintage cinema in Bay Area theaters. Both Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin will screen (and not on the same day). There are films from Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, Sam Fuller, Christopher Nolan, and the Wachowskis. Festivals The Broncho Billy & Friends Silent Film Festival runs through the weekend … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 29 – August 4
Early Kubrick in 4K Ultra HD: The Killing
Stanley Kubrick started his Hollywood career with this crackerjack noir heist thriller. He did it so well that it's hard to believe that he never tried to do a noir again. Professional criminal Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) orchestrates a complex racetrack robbery likely to net two million 1956 dollars. Hayden's rat-a-tat-tat delivery does wonders for … Continue reading Early Kubrick in 4K Ultra HD: The Killing
What’s Screening: July 22 – 28
The Bay Area hosts several theatrical screenings of classic cinema this week. You can choose between laughs from Preston Sturges, Kubrick's great SciFi epic, Norman Jewison (who is, by the way, not Jewish) and changed the look of noir while breaking the color line. James Whales made the monster who just wanted to be loved. … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 22 – 28
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of July
A lot of films will disappear from the Criterion Channel at the end of the month. Here are a few you might want to catch. Click a film's title to start watching the movie – assuming you subscribe to the Channel. Full recommendations A+ The Last Waltz (1978) The Band played their final concert on … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of July
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Official Competition ֍ Forbidden Paradise ֍ Victor/Victoria ֍ Desert Fury
What movies have I seen recently (outside of the Jewish Film Fest)? There's a very funny Spanish movie, early Lubitsch, Julie Andrews disguised as a man disguised as a woman, and a mediocre melodramatic weepie. I saw two of these films in theaters, and I'll tell you which they are. Click the film's title to … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Official Competition ֍ Forbidden Paradise ֍ Victor/Victoria ֍ Desert Fury
What’s Screening: July 15 – 21
We start this week with two very romantic movies. Then two double bills at the finally-open Stanford. Those are followed by one of Pixar's best and two adaptions of Broadway musicals. And finally, crime stories from Tarantino and Ozu. (Yes, Ozu made crime flicks.) And three film festivals run this week. Festivals & Series The … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 15 – 21
My last previews for the SF Jewish Film Fest (this year)
Here are four movies that I've seen but you haven't. You'll be able to see them soon. They're all playing in this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (July 21 – August 7). Amazingly, all four are good. I can't say the same for all the films I reviewed for this festival. I gave one movie a … Continue reading My last previews for the SF Jewish Film Fest (this year)
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