A- Doesn't fit any genre Written by Anna Rose Holmer, Saela Davis, and Lisa Kjerulff Directed by Anna Rose Holmer This impossible-to-categorize narrative film shows us the world of a public, inner-city gym through the eyes of the teenagers and pre-teens who use it. Specifically, we see it through the eyes of Toni (Royalty Hightower). … Continue reading Life at the gym through young eyes: My review of The Fits
Month: June 2016
What’s Screening: June 10 – 16
This week we have a Martian, lots of Chaplin, and the two weakest Indiana Jones movies--although only one of them is really bad. Festivals SF DocFest continues through Thursday Charlie Chaplin Days runs Saturday and Sunday, with many shorts, a walking tour of Niles, and a costume contest. The Black Film Festival opens Thursday and … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 10 – 16
Spellbound with music: Surviving and enjoying the 2016 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Nothing really beats the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. For three days (plus an opening night), you're immersed in an art form that was born, matured, reached extraordinary heights, and then suddenly died--all within the space of 20 to 40 years (depending on how to you define its birth and death). All told, this year's … Continue reading Spellbound with music: Surviving and enjoying the 2016 San Francisco Silent Film Festival
What’s Screening: June 3 – 9
Gun fights, pie fights, fist fights, rolling boulders, and clashing 17th century musicians. So much violence in Bay Area movie screenings this week. Festivals I've just decided that, with ten films in five days, the Pacific Film Archive's series Auteur, Author: Film & Literature counts as a festival. It opened last Wednesday, and runs through … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 3 – 9
Frameline Preview: Revolutionary lesbians, the right to marry, and the subject of divorce
I've managed to review three films that will screen at the upcoming Frameline LGBTQ film festival. Here's what I thought about them, in order of quality. A- Summertime New love overwhelms with joy and energy, but keeping that love in the closet sickens and distorts the romance. In 1971, Paris bursts with revolution--sexual and otherwise--but … Continue reading Frameline Preview: Revolutionary lesbians, the right to marry, and the subject of divorce
Strangers become family in the strangely warm yet violent Dheepan
A- Refugee drama and crime thriller Written by Noe Debre, Thomas Bidegain, and Jacques Audiard Directed by Jacques Audiard A family escapes from war-torn Sri Lanka to make a better, safer life in France. Except it's not safe, and they're not really a family. The smugglers who brought this man, woman, and child out of … Continue reading Strangers become family in the strangely warm yet violent Dheepan
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