Quick notes on two films screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Both films have one more screening at the festival, and both will soon get a theatrical release. Mifune: The Last Samurai I caught this documentary at the Lark Friday night. Director Steven Okazaki introduced the film, describing his first Mifune experience: The Seven … Continue reading Mifune and The Handmaiden at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Month: October 2016
What’s Screening: October 14 – 20
Five festivals, multiple Keatons, Trump vs. Clinton, and A Man Called Ove on Bay Area screens this week. Festivals The Mill Valley Film Festival continues through Sunday. You can read my reports and reviews while choosing what to see. The Arab Film Festival also continues through Sunday Modern Cinema continues through this weekend and next … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 14 – 20
A Man Called Ove returns to community
A- Comic drama Written by Hannes Holm, from a novel by Fredrik Backman Directed by Hannes Holm Even the most warn-out, commercial plots can work when the filmmakers do something original with them. And that's very much the case with this dramatic comedy from Sweden. Consider the cliché of the crotchety old man who hates everybody, … Continue reading A Man Called Ove returns to community
Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival
I spent Saturday at the Sequoia, where I caught three films in the Mill Valley Film Festival. They were all very good, and each was better than the one before it. She Started It We all know about tech industry sexism. Nora Poggi and Insiyah Saeed's documentary follows five young women (concentrating on two of … Continue reading Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival
What’s Screening: October 7 – 13
This week we have Gene Wilder, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, dead teenagers, and a whole lot of classics that don't get screened as often as they should. Also, four film festivals, including Mill Valley. Festivals The Mill Valley Film Festival continues through this week. Check out my coverage to see what's worth catching. The Arab … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 7 – 13
Joyful Amorality: Films written by Ben Hecht
Talented screenwriters, like the best directors, put their own stylistic fingerprints onto the films they make. And few did it as well as former Chicago newspaperman Ben Hecht. At his best, Hecht's pre-war work showed a playful approach to ethics. Many of his protagonists, such as Paul Muni's gang leader in the original Scarface, appear … Continue reading Joyful Amorality: Films written by Ben Hecht
Anna Magnani, Vittorio De Sica, Teresa Venerdì, and screwball comedy at the Pacific Film Archive
Saturday night, I visited the Pacific Film Archive to see Teresa Venerdì, a 1941 screwball comedy directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica. (When the film was finally released in the USA in 1951, it was renamed Doctor, Beware.) If the phrase "screwball comedy directed by and starring Vittorio De Sica" makes your head want … Continue reading Anna Magnani, Vittorio De Sica, Teresa Venerdì, and screwball comedy at the Pacific Film Archive
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