The word of the week in Bay Area cinema is Hitchcock. Eleven films from the master of suspense will play on the big screen, thanks to the Balboa. Festivals & Series The Alfred Hitchcock Festival starts Friday and runs until ends Monday The SF DocFest opens Thursday Festival Recommendations: Alfred Hitchcock festival A+ Rear Window … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 26 – June 1

I missed Blackberry at SFFilm, and it's nowhere playing in the East Bay. It looks like cinema is dying. What can we do? First of all, get off the couch and go see a movie. Here are five films that I've seen in May. Three were new and I saw them theatrically. In each of … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Chevalier ֍ Air ֍ The Last Seduction ֍ Bend of the River ֍ Book Club: The Next Chapter

The Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, also known as BAMPFA, is one of only two movie theaters within Berkeley's city limits. BAMPFA, which is part of the university, doesn't just show movies. It runs series of films. And this summer's series looks very good. There's animation, Claudia Cardinale, Luis Buñuel, movies set in Tokyo, and … Continue reading Serious Cinema and Having Fun at BAMPFA

At the end of every month, The Criterion Channel removes a lot of films from their streaming library. Here are some of the best of those that will disappear after 12:59 pm. don't worry too much; some will pop up on the Channel in a year or two. Full recommendations A+ Days of Heaven (1978) … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of May