Note: I accidentally posted this article with an earlier date. So it's appearing twice, once in the past, and once when it was supposed to be posted. For various reasons, I haven't covered the SFFilm Festival as thoroughly as I did before COVID. Maybe the festival is spread out geographically too much? Perhaps I get … Continue reading My last comments on this year’s SFFilm
Month: April 2022
What’s Screening: April 29 – May 5
The SFFilm Festival ends Sunday, but you'll only have four non-festival free days before two other major fests open. Outside of these events, theaters are opening two new indie films, along with two of the greatest movies made about Hollywood. Also other vintage pictures worth watching. Festvals & Series The SFFilm Festival closes Sunday DocLands … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 29 – May 5
The Duke lacks a clear head
B Historical drama-comedy Written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman Directed by Roger Michell Note: This review has nothing to do with SFFilm or any other current festival. I also corrected an error in the paragraph below. Kempton Bunton may have thought of himself as a British Gandhi, going to prison for his beliefs. But … Continue reading The Duke lacks a clear head
Midwives at SFFilm
There are very few matinees on weekdays in this year's SFFilm Festival. So, I've been attending one film a day. And Monday, the movie I saw was a powerful documentary called Midwives. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing, the young Burmese woman who made Midwives, has far more courage than I do. Over several years, she followed … Continue reading Midwives at SFFilm
My first day at SFFilm
I didn't get to the SFFilm Festival until Sunday. For me personally, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all kind of crazy. Especially Thursday. But the festival was finding its own kind of craziness: The Victoria Theater's digital projector was not working. (Now it's time for all you 35mm fanatics to snicker.) It appears that the … Continue reading My first day at SFFilm
What’s Screening: April 22 – 28
With SFFilm taking up much of the cinematic oxygen this week, but there are a few oldies on Bay Area big screens by such filmmakers as Mira Nair, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Brian De Palma. Festivals & Series The SF Green Film Festival closes Sunday The SFFilm Festival opened last night. You can cover it … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 22 – 28
SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 3
This is my last SFFilm preview of 2022. I won't write about this festival again until after opening night. So here are six films I've seen and reviewed, to help you decide what to see - in order from best to worst. A- Fire on the Plain This may be one of the darkest noirs … Continue reading SFFilm Fest Previews, Part 3
Movies I’ve recently seen: Almost Famous ֍ Young Mr. Lincoln ֍ Planet of the Apes ֍ The Saphead
While reviewing films for the SFFilm Festival, I found some time to just enjoy some old movies. Click a picture's title to find how you can see one. A- Almost Famous (2000) The story would be unbelievable if similar events happened to writer/director Cameron Crowe in his adolescence. In 1973, a 15-year-old boy gets a … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Almost Famous ֍ Young Mr. Lincoln ֍ Planet of the Apes ֍ The Saphead
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of April
I've been so busy with the SFFilm Festival and life itself, I forgot about The Criterion Channel. Anyway, a lot of good movies will disappear from the Channel when May comes along. Try to catch some of these while it's still April. Full recommendations A A Separation (2011) Writer/director Asghar Farhadi demonstrates how good people … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of April
What’s Screening: April 15 – 21
I've changed the format of this weekly newsletter. Hopefully, it will make choosing a theater or a screening time easier to find. And among these easy-to-find classics are works by Federico Fellini, Milos Forman, Roman Polanski, Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Linklater, the Coen Brothers, and Monty Python - all on big screens. But first, we have … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 15 – 21
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