B+ Documentary Directed by Midge Costin George Lucas argues that "Sound is 50 percent of the movie experience." In Midge Costin's entertaining documentary, Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, audio geniuses like Walter Murch, Ben Burtt, and Gary Rydstrom show us how that 50 percent is created. Directors like Steven Spielberg and David Lynch … Continue reading Movie sound explained in Making Waves
My Report on the Day of Silents
I spent Saturday at the Castro Theater for the Day of Silents, a one-day event produced by the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. I saw four features and eight shorts, all with live musical accompaniment. It was a wonderful day. Fatty + Buster: The Comique World of Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton One hundred years … Continue reading My Report on the Day of Silents
What’s Screening: December 6 – 12
There's plenty of conflict in Bay Area movie theaters this week: The gays v. the church. The rich v. the poor. Terrorists v. one good cop. Sherlock Holmes v. Professor Moriarty. The sound of movies v.the sound of silents. Also AOC, Toni Morrison, Miles Davis, Martin Scorsese, and some of the best silent comedy shorts … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 6 – 12
Regal Theaters & Knives Out
This is one of the reasons people stay home and not go to the movies. Tuesday night, my wife and I went to Regal's United Artists multiplex in downtown Berkeley. We enjoyed the movie, Knives Out, but we had to sit through a whole lot of garbage to see it. [I made a correction in this … Continue reading Regal Theaters & Knives Out
Temblores fails to shake you up
C+ Drama Written & directed by Jayro Bustamante This is at least the third narrative film I've seen about anti-gay "conversion therapy." But this one is different. The protagonist isn't a teenager at the mercy of his or her overly-religious parents. Pablo is an adult male with a good job, a wife, and two loving … Continue reading Temblores fails to shake you up
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Au Hasard Balthazar, Jojo Rabbit, Bob Le Flambeur, The Blue Kite, Ford v Ferrari
Here are five films I've scene since my last Recently Seen article. Not a bad one in the group. (Which isn't to say that they're all masterpieces.) A Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), Criterion Channel Robert Bresson tells us plenty about human nature in this story of the life and death of a donkey. And no, it's … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Au Hasard Balthazar, Jojo Rabbit, Bob Le Flambeur, The Blue Kite, Ford v Ferrari
What’s Screening: November 29 – December 5
It's Black Friday, but that doesn't mean you have to fight the crowds in the malls. Why not go to the movies? This week in Bay Area cinemas we have James Cagney, Aretha Franklin, Cary Grant, and a sleek, black-and-white thriller you'll probably never get to see again. Festivals Another Hole in the Head Film … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 29 – December 5
