This Week At the Movies

San Francisco International Film Festival Opening Night: The Last Mistress, Castro, Thursday, 7:00. The big, expensive, opening night! If that’s your taste, the movie is secondary. If it isn’t, the movie will be in theaters in a few months. But I’ll tell you about the movie anyway. Pretty tame by the standards of writer/director Catherine Breillat, but still very erotic, The Last Mistress concerns itself with the sex lives of the rich and noble-born, all done with the sumptuous costumes and scenery one expects in such a period piece. The film works best in a long flashback that dominates the middle of the picture, where we really get to know Vellini for the strange and impulsive person she is. Unfortunately, The Last Mistress sags horribly before the flashback begins, and not-so-horribly-but-still-not-so-good after its over. The good parts don’t quite earn it a B, but they’re close.

War Made Easy w/ Personal Appearance, Rafael, Saturday, 2:00. Media critic and political columnist Norman Solomon wrote the book that inspired this documentary. He’ll be on hand to answer questions.

Mary Poppins, Elmwood, Friday through Thursday. The best live-action movie Walt Disney ever made, and one of the great all-time children’s pictures. Julie Andrews may have won the Oscar through a sympathy vote, but she really is wonderful in this movie. So what if it takes liberties with the books.

Laurel & Hardy Sons of the Desert, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Sunday, 4:00. Feature films weren’t Laurel & Hardy’s strong point; something about their humor worked best in the short form. But no exception proves the rule better than Sons of the Desert. This simple tale of married men trying to have a good time is loose, leisurely, and very funny. In what the Museum is billing as an “All-Talkies Matinee,” they’re screening “Sons of the Desert” with one of Laurel & Hardy’s best shorts, “Helpmates”–a movie that really shows what the team was all about. Give them a simple job (cleaning a house, in this case), and watch the disaster.

12 Angry Men, Castro, Wednesday. Basically a TV drama reshot for the big screen, 12 Angry Men celebrates the American trial-by-jury system while acknowledging its inherent human weaknesses. A murder trial has just concluded, and now the jury must decide the fate of the accused. Some take their civic duty seriously, others want vengeance on people who are not like them, and one wants to get out in time for a baseball game. The whole thing is a bit contrived–didn’t any of these jurors tell each other their names–but not enough to mar the point. On a United Artists 90th Anniversary double-bill with The Defiant Ones.

Juno, Red Vic, Monday and Tuesday. The last thing I expected before 2007 ended was a comedy about unintentional pregnancy that was more truthful, more insightful, and just plain funnier than Knocked Up, but writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman pull it off. And they do so without ever moving into parody or farce, and never straining for laughs. They get a lot of help from star Ellen Page as the titular “cautionary whale.” IMHO, the best film of 2007. Read my full review.

A Shot in the Dark, Castro, Friday. The first movie based around the character of Inspector Clouseau (a supporting character in the original Pink Panther) supplies more laughs than any three normal comedies. Peter Sellers created one of cinema’s great comic characters in this dignified yet idiotic detective who believes himself a crime-solving mastermind, and A Shot In the Dark gives Clouseau his best vehicle. The cast includes George Sanders as a possibly guilty nobleman and a beautiful (if talent-impaired) Elke Sommer as the obvious suspect whom Clouseau refuses to suspect. Shown on a double bill with The Party (which I vaguely remember as being very funny), as part of the United Artists 90th Anniversary series.

The Big Lebowski, Red Vic, Friday through Sunday. Critics originally panned this Coen Brothers gem as a disappointing follow-up to the Coen’s previous endeavor, Fargo. Well, it isn’t as good as Fargo, but it’s still one hell of a funny movie. It’s also built quite a cult following;The Big Lebowski has probably played more Bay Area one-night stands during the years I’ve been running this site than than any other three movies put together.