Month: May 2016

The New Buster Keaton Shorts Collection on Blu-ray

~ Lincoln Spector

How can anyone describe the beauty, grace, and breathtaking hilarity of Buster Keaton in his silent film prime? An actor, an acrobat, and a brilliant filmmaker, he spent the 1920s making some of the funniest and technically sophisticated comedies ever preserved on film. Since I can't describe him, here's a highlight reel of some of … Continue reading The New Buster Keaton Shorts Collection on Blu-ray

Friday at the PFA

~ Lincoln Spector

I caught two very different films, from two very different series, at the Pacific Film Archive Friday night. Both films were shown without an introduction. Bachelor's Affairs This was the second screening of the UCLA Festival of Preservation 2016 series, and the first in that series that I was able to attend. Before the feature, … Continue reading Friday at the PFA

Disability, sexual preferences complicate growing up in remarkable Margarita with a Straw

~ Lincoln Spector

A Coming of age drama Written and director by Shonali Bose Laila (Kalki Koechlin) has issues that few college students have to deal with. She was born with cerebral palsy, and is confined to a wheelchair. Even writing and talking takes some effort. But in many ways, she's doing surprisingly well. She has friends at … Continue reading Disability, sexual preferences complicate growing up in remarkable Margarita with a Straw

When Evening Falls on Bucharest Or Metabolism: Not Quite Jim Jarmusch

~ Lincoln Spector

C+ Drama Written and directed by Corneliu Porumboiu May 12, 2016: I wrote this review in 2014, on the assumption that this film would get a theatrical release in the Bay Area (it had screened in that year's San Francisco International Film Festival). The release never happened. However, on discovering that this film is available on … Continue reading When Evening Falls on Bucharest Or Metabolism: Not Quite Jim Jarmusch