Stoned grandpa and dead meat, along with Sturges, Hawks, Spielberg, Lubitsch, Antonioni, and no film festivals in Bay Area movie theaters this week. New films opening A- Eating Animals, Clay, Shattuck, opens Friday Considering the documentary's title and the involvement of outspoken vegan (and movie star) Natalie Portman, one would assume that Eating Animals preaches … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 29 – July 5
Month: June 2018
Eating Animals: Knowing what you consume
A- Documentary Directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn From the book by Jonathan Safran Foer Warning: This documentary contains many horribly gruesome images. And unlike the gore in horror movies, you know that it's all real. Considering the film's title and the involvement of outspoken vegan (and movie star) Natalie Portman, one would assume that Eating … Continue reading Eating Animals: Knowing what you consume
You’ll want to put Boundaries between yourself and this movie
F Road movie Written & directed by Shana Feste Road movies follow a very close formula. Two or three people, usually relatives who hate each other, are forced together on a long road trip. Along the way, they argue, learn more about each other, and bond. In the end, they've learned something about themselves and … Continue reading You’ll want to put Boundaries between yourself and this movie
SF Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 1
As I write this, I've seen four movies that will screen in this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. They're split evenly between narratives and documentaries. One is a 1933 classic. The others are new, and will all be distributed after the festival (possibly long after the festival) by Menemsha Films - a company that … Continue reading SF Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 1
Santa Fe & Charlie Chaplin: More July Festivals
I've already told you about Modern Cinema and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (although there'll be more to say on that one). But there are two other festivals competing for your attention next month - and both over the same weekend. Charlie Chaplin Days Friday, July 13 - Sunday, July 15 Every year, the … Continue reading Santa Fe & Charlie Chaplin: More July Festivals
What’s Screening: June 22 – 28
Fred and Ginger meet Preston Sturges. Ingmar Bergman makes us laugh about sex. Kurosawa takes on Shakespeare. Wes Anderson and Greta Garbo take you to two very grand hotels. And it all happens this week on Bay Area movie screens. Festivals Frameline closes Sunday Promising events Grand Hotel, Pacific Film Archive, Sunday, 7:00 It's been … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 22 – 28
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival opens July 19 (my birthday)
The Bay Area hosts a lot of what I call identity film festivals. These concentrate on a particular group of people - both on the screen and in the audience. We have film festivals for Asians, South Asians, Asian-Americans, LGBTQ, Iranians, Irish, women, and atheists. I can't properly cover them all. But I try to … Continue reading San Francisco Jewish Film Festival opens July 19 (my birthday)
Chaplin Diary, Part 12: The Gold Rush
As I chronologically move through Charlie Chaplin's work as a director, I now come to his first feature-length masterpiece, The Gold Rush. His 1925 epic belongs on any list of great films - including mine. I've already written two articles on The Gold Rush: a report on a screening with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 12: The Gold Rush
What’s Screening: June 15 – 21
Bergman illustrates Mozart. Antonioni does adventure. Garbo plays the Queen. And Keaton wrecks the house. All that, plus a full week of LGBTQ films in Bay Area movie theaters. Festivals Frameline continues through this week and beyond Promising events McKellen: Playing the Part, Embarcadero Center, Shattuck, Aquarius, Tuesday, 7:00 The great Shakespearean actor (and movie star) … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 15 – 21
Critique of Macho: The Big Country on Blu-ray
William Wyler's big-budget, large-format, star-studded epic, The Big Country, just may be the first anti-western. It condemns, rather than celebrates, the macho behavior of the mythical cowboy. The hero only fires a gun once, and he's not aiming at anyone. Gregory Peck plays that hero, a sea captain named James McKay, who's traded in his … Continue reading Critique of Macho: The Big Country on Blu-ray
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