What's happening in Bay Area cinema as January turns into February? We've got laughs from Preston Sturges, Bill Murray, and Monty Python. Also noir from Pedro Almodóvar, or satire from Boots Riley. I had to prepare this newsletter earlier than usual for personal reasons. That means that if a screening is announced at the last … Continue reading What’s Screening: Jan 28 – Feb 3
Month: January 2022
Movies I’ve recently seen: C’mon C’mon ֍ Belfast ֍ Benedetta ֍ Stormy Weather ֍ Gentleman’s Agreement
Sorry. I accidentally sent a version of this article Sunday night. Here's the real version. As Oscar season approaches, the new movies get better. So, I started with three good, new films that may be award fodder. But I have two vintage movies worth watching. Curiously, out of five films, only one is mostly in … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: C’mon C’mon ֍ Belfast ֍ Benedetta ֍ Stormy Weather ֍ Gentleman’s Agreement
The Castro and the loss of repertory cinema
Losing the California and the Castro in one month?! That's a bad January for Bay Area cinephiles. But losing the Castro Theatre was the one that really hurt. As long as I've lived in the Bay Area, and especially after the UC Theatre went dark and then became a music venue, the Castro Theatre has … Continue reading The Castro and the loss of repertory cinema
Oops
I accidentally posted an unready article called Movies I’ve recently seen. The real article will go up Wednesday morning.
What’s Screening: January 21 – 27
The bad news: The Castro Theater is no longer a movie theater. The good news: Other Bay Area theaters are showing plenty of vintage movies. Theaters closings The end of the Castro For decades, the Castro Theatre has been the perfect movie palace for opening a film festival or just for watching vintage cinema. And … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 21 – 27
Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn?
D- No real genre Written and Directed by Radu Jude This film starts with hardcore porn. A very happily-married couple are doing just about everything and enjoying it immensely. And yes, the sex is real. Unfortunately, in the fiction of the movie, that video was caught on the husband's smartphone, and somehow, it got onto … Continue reading Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn?
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of January
Want to experience something frightening? A lot of Alfred Hitchcock movies will disappear from the Criterion Channel at the end of January. But this is not only about the Master of Suspense. Movies by Billy Wilder, Nicholas Ray, Julie Dash, Elia Kazan, George Stevens, and more will also disappear. See them before February. Full recommendations … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of January
What’s Screening: January 14 – 20
I have stopped going to movie theaters because of Omicron. I just don't think it's safe - even though I wear a mask and have all the right shots. I'm not the only one who thinks that way. The Film Noir Foundation has postponed this year's Noir City festival. And the New Parkway has gone … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 14 – 20
Three Women Blu-ray
I usually only review Blu-rays of films that I already know and like. I want to explore how a film I know is good is getting a worthwhile presentation. I consider the quality of the image, the sound, and the extras. But with Ernst Lubitsch's 1924 silent melodrama, Three Women, I was buying a pig … Continue reading Three Women Blu-ray
Losing Berkeley’s California Theatre
The California Theatre, Berkeley's only true movie palace, is in danger of disappearing. I suspect that the California will be gone within months. Built in 1913, this is one of the last Art Deco movie theaters in the Bay Area. Inside and out, the California felt like you were entering a glorious adventure. Like other … Continue reading Losing Berkeley’s California Theatre
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