I revisited Haskell Wexler's 1969 Medium Cool Tuesday night. The first time I saw it, I had to lie about my age to get into the X-rated film. I was 15, and I thought it was fantastic. Almost 50 years later, it looks more like an occasionally brilliant mess. Medium Cool will screen this weekend … Continue reading Medium Cool and Hippy Modernism
Month: February 2017
Keaton great and mediocre: My Blu-ray review of The General and The Three Ages
Between 1920 and 1928 - the only years where he had complete control of his own films - Buster Keaton created one of the greatest bodies of work in silent movies. All his comedies from that period have been available on Blu-ray for quite some time, but that doesn't mean they can't be reissued with … Continue reading Keaton great and mediocre: My Blu-ray review of The General and The Three Ages
What’s Screening: Feb 3 – 9
This week, Bay Area theaters will screen all sorts of things that Trump hates: Iranians, African Americans, comedians, nature lovers, and hippies. Also, the origin of the word gaslighting. Festivals Indiefest continues through this week and beyond. Check my reports for recommendations. Berlin & Beyond opens today and runs through Wednesday New films opening A … Continue reading What’s Screening: Feb 3 – 9
The Comedian
B- Drama Written by Art Linson, Jeffrey Ross, Richard LaGravenese, and Lewis Friedman; from a story by Art Linson Directed by Taylor Hackford When a film's title tells you that the main character (or characters) generate laughs for a living, you know you're in for a serious drama. But not too serious. Just as a … Continue reading The Comedian
James Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson, & I Am Not Your Negro
A documentary Written by James Baldwin Directed by Raoul Peck In the final decade of his life, author James Baldwin wrote 30 pages of an unfinished book about his own experiences, his friendships with Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the African American experience in general. Now Raoul Peck has turned … Continue reading James Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson, & I Am Not Your Negro
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