Four films I'd never seen before and one I hadn't seen in years. None of them are great, but none of them were horrible, either. B+ Her Smell (2018), Kanopy There's a point about half way through this rock and roll drama when I almost gave up. Elisabeth Moss' performance as a rundown punk star, … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Her Smell, Star Trek VI, The Boy with Green Hair, The Big Knife, & The Tuscan Sun
Month: June 2020
Cinema & the African American Experience
I have never experienced what black people must go through every day in this country. I can read about it. I can listen to interviews. And, of course, I can see films about it. Here are 10 films about the African American experience worth watching. There are far, far more. I admit that several other … Continue reading Cinema & the African American Experience
2040: A heaven or a hell?
A- Environmental documentary Directed by Damon Gameau You'd expect a film titled 2040 to bring you into a dystopian nightmare - especially if it's about climate change. It would dramatize a dying civilization where the oceans have risen and much of the planet is barely inhabitable. Something like The Handmaid's Tale with coal fumes. But … Continue reading 2040: A heaven or a hell?
Jewish Horror: The Golem on Blu-ray
To understand this hundred-year-old German/Jewish horror movie, you need to know a bit about the German Expressionist movement. The Golem: How He Came into the World was never intended to look realistic. Neither the acting, the makeup, nor the costumes were intended to recreate the medieval period of the setting. This expressionism allowed set designer Hans … Continue reading Jewish Horror: The Golem on Blu-ray
In Bay Area Virtual Cinema: June 5 – 11
Movies used to be a form of escapism. But if you look at the films streaming through our closed theaters to our living rooms this week, you'll find many motion pictures that reflect what's on the streets. Virtual Festivals We Are One: A Global Film Festival ends Sunday Bay Area theaters with virtual cinema Alameda … Continue reading In Bay Area Virtual Cinema: June 5 – 11
Tommaso
C psychological relationship drama Written and directed by Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara's latest film doesn't quite do what it should (whatever that is). It's not horrible. It succeeds in making you worry about the confused protagonist. Several individual scenes work reasonably well, but the main character's slide into insanity (if that's what it is) feels … Continue reading Tommaso