From early December through late April, here's what will happen cinematically at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). As I write this, the museum's theater is currently the only cinema in the Bay Area that focuses specifically on old films. They're offering a lot of good movies, and at least two stinkers. BAMPFA arranges … Continue reading What’s happening at BAMPFA: December thru April
What’s Screening: November 26 – December 2
I hope you didn't gain too many pounds yesterday. How much did I gain? I don't know. I wrote this newsletter on Tuesday. But that also means that I may have missed an event or two that appeared at the last minute. Anyway, here's what's happening in Bay Area revival cinema this week. Festivals & … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 26 – December 2
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of November
A lot of very good films will disappear from The Criterion Channel on December 1. If you want to see any of the movies listed below, stream them before December. And if you don't subscribe, you can start a 14-day free trial. Full recommendations A+ The Crowd (1927) If you can only stream one of … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of November
What’s Screening: November 19 – 25
What would you want to see this week Bay Area cinema? Would you pick a Julia Child documentary or a Quentin Tarantino marathon? Would you pick medieval Japan or 20th century France? And who would better clean up San Francisco - Steve McQueen or Clint Eastwood? And then there's the great movie that destroyed Michael … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 19 – 25
Julia Child and French Cooking
B documentary Directed by Julie Cohen & Betsy West I didn't really want to watch or review this documentary about Julia Child. Why? First of all, current cinema is overflowing with documentaries about the lives of famously beloved people. If you're not a fan of the subject, the movie doesn't mean much. And I've never … Continue reading Julia Child and French Cooking
The return of musicals
Two or three years ago, I read about a film history professor who screened Singin' in the Rain to his students. They laughed at the wrong places. The students thought it was ridiculous that people would break into song and dance. A generation weaned on superhero movies had little or no experience with movie musicals. … Continue reading The return of musicals
Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
Over the last weekend I watched two interesting films at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Both presentations involved actual live people along with moving pictures. My Grandmother Friday night, my wife and I attended a screening of the 1929 silent Soviet comedy, My Grandmother, with musical accompaniment by a little-known jazz duet called … Continue reading Soviet bureaucracy & Vietnam: Two nights at BAMPFA
What’s Screening: November 12 – 18
Want to see the (not quite) original Star Wars trilogy on the big screen in one day? Or learn about the most capitalist country in the world? How about discovering Communist comedy? And then there's daughters of the dust, vampires who aren't sure they're vampires, and a very funny swordfight. All this in Bay Area … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 12 – 18
Ascension: The Rat Race in “Communist” China
A Documentary Directed by Jessica Kingdon If you think America is the land where people desperately fight for a piece of the pie, you should see how it works in so-called "socialist" China. Jessica Kingdon's spellbinding, narration-less documentary shows the People's Republic as a country of paupers scrambling to raise themselves financially - or at … Continue reading Ascension: The Rat Race in “Communist” China
Movies I’ve recently seen: They Were Expendable ֍ The French Dispatch ֍ Laura ֍ Eyes Wide Shut
In my last "recenty seen" post, I noticed that new movies seemed to be better than old ones. Not this time. A- They Were Expendable (1945) The Navy very much wanted to make this film, and especially have it made by Captain John Ford USNR (yes, that John Ford). Much as I like the picture, … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: They Were Expendable ֍ The French Dispatch ֍ Laura ֍ Eyes Wide Shut
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