As the festivals turn: Noir City continues through Sunday. And San Francisco IndieFest opens Thursday. I have, unfortunately, been too busy to review any of the IndieFest films, but you'll find comments on two Noir City features at the bottom of this newsletter. A Breathless, Pacific Film Archive, Friday, 7:00. Jean-Luc Godard broke all the … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 31 – February 6
Month: January 2014
Crime on both sides of the border: Saturday at Noir City
I spent Saturday at the Castro, taking in the first full day of the Noir City festival. It was a long day--a triple-bill matinee, a short dinner break, and a double-bill evening show. Mexico was the common theme. Technically speaking, only the matinee had a Mexican theme. It started with a Hollywood thriller about illegal … Continue reading Crime on both sides of the border: Saturday at Noir City
Noir City Opening Night
My wife and I arrived at the Castro more than 30 minutes before curtain time. It was already packed. A trio, the Fly Right Sisters, entertained us with songs from the 40s (or there abouts). The singers, along with many in the audience, were dressed appropriately. Right from the beginning, I knew it was going … Continue reading Noir City Opening Night
What’s Screening: January 24 – 30
Feeling depressed? Here's a little darkness to cheer you up: This year's edition of Noir City opens its ten-day run tonight. My Noir notes are at the bottom of this newsletter. B Nebraska, Lark, opens Friday. A good film, but not as good as I've learned to expect from Alexander Payne. Yes, Bruce Dern hits … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 24 – 30
New Films I’ve Seen Recently
A The Wolf of Wall Street Back in September, I suggested that Martin Scorsese could have done The Great Gatsby justice. Now I know for sure. In this based-on-a-true-story epic, his best film since Goodfellas, he takes us into a glamorous world and makes it look ugly and degenerate. Leonardo DiCaprio brings energy, charisma, recklessness, … Continue reading New Films I’ve Seen Recently
MGM 90th Anniversary…without MGM
I received an interesting press release today. Here's how it started: Los Angeles, CA (January 22, 2014) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) announced today a yearlong global campaign to honor the studio's storied 90-year legacy. Founded in 1924 when theater magnate Marcus Loew bought and merged Metro Pictures Corp. with Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions, MGM … Continue reading MGM 90th Anniversary…without MGM
Duck Soup Revisited
I watched Duck Soup Sunday at the Pacific Film Archive. Great fun. I don't remember when I saw it last on a big screen with a real audience. Certainly more than 20 years ago. That's all very odd, because I just may have seen Duck Soup theatrically more often than any other movie. I first … Continue reading Duck Soup Revisited
What’s Screening: January 17 – 23
In festival news, For Your Consideration closes today, and Berlin & Beyond continues through Tuesday. The Apu Trilogy, Pacific Film Archive, Friday through Sunday. It's been way too long since I've seen Satyajit Ray's trilogy about a young boy growing into a man. The PFA will screen 35mm restored prints of all three films on … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 17 – 23
German Expressionism on a Hollywood Budget: My Blu-ray review of Sunrise
A marriage sinks as low as it can go, then rises again to the joys of marital bliss in F. W. Murnau's first American film, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The story is as simple and as simplistic as a story can get, yet the beautiful, expressionistic telling of that story turns it into … Continue reading German Expressionism on a Hollywood Budget: My Blu-ray review of Sunrise
Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
On January 11, 1914, a Keystone movie crew drove to Venice--a beach town near Los Angeles--to improvise a comedy around an actual event of modest interest. Only one performer came with the crew--a young British Music Hall comedian recently signed with Keystone. The comic, Charlie Chaplin, quickly put together a costume and makeup, and created … Continue reading Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
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