I have friends who love vintage wine. They carefully store their bottles and, on special occasions, take them down and pop the cork. But what about vintage cinema? Physical film also rots. But there's another kind of cinematic decay. If people don't watch movies, or just watch them at home, the motion pictures we love … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 30 – July 6
Month: June 2023
Summer of silents & Jews (yes, I’m talking about film festivals)
Two of my favorite film festivals come one right after the other this year. First, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens Wednesday, July 12 at 7:00. The opening movie is Douglas Fairbanks' last silent swashbuckler, The Iron Mask. Then there are three long days of rare old movies, new restorations, and live music. The … Continue reading Summer of silents & Jews (yes, I’m talking about film festivals)
What’s Screening: June 23 – 29
Troubled families, big fish, baking bread, musical bicycles, and yet there's no place like home. Festivals & Series Frameline47 continues through the week Theatrical revivals A+ Jaws (1975), 4-Star, 5:00pm & 7:30pm People associate Jaws with three men in a boat, yet the picture is more than half over before the shark chase really begins. … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 23 – 29
Here’s a lot of Movies I’ve Recently Seen: June 19, 2023
I usually talk about four films in my "Movies I've Recently Seen" articles. But this time, I saw six. So I decided to give you an easily-read list. As usual, the films are listed from the best to the worst. If I saw the film theatrically, I'll tell you about it. You Hurt My Feelings … Continue reading Here’s a lot of Movies I’ve Recently Seen: June 19, 2023
What’s Screening: June 16 – 22
What can you see in the cinema this week? The best works of Spike Lee and Mel Brooks (did they ever work together?). A laughably bad movie that has caught up on us over the decades. One of the greatest Best Picture winners of the century, and several LGBTQ films sponsored by the month of … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 16 – 22
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of June
When June disappears and July appears, you'll probably still be shivering with cold. So, before this month goes away, here are eight worthwhile films that will disappear from the Criterion Channel come July. Full recommendations A Dogtooth (2009) This very dark satire of over-protective parents – and arguably totalitarianism – examines an upper-middle class nuclear … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of June
Frameline previews
Have you noticed that current film festivals are awash with documentaries. Consider: Frameline gave me three films to review. Two of them were docs. The only narrative flick in the bunch looks intentionally like a documentary. In fact, it could be easily called a docudrama. So here are the three films I saw. Even if … Continue reading Frameline previews
What’s Screening: June 9 – 15
There's a lot of comedy in Bay Area movie theaters this week. Along with the Marx Brothers, there's Wes Anderson, Ernst Lubitsch, Mike Nichols, and Stanley Kubrick's only comedy Dr. Strangelove (and it's a masterpiece). There's even the crazy animation of Roger Rabbit. Also, the most famous porn film ever made – with the worst … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 9 – 15
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What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
Several vintage films from famous directors will screen in Bay Area theaters this week. There are films by Steven Spielberg, Louis Malle, Philip Kaufman (in person), Jean-Luc Goddard, Richard Lester, Pedro Almodovar, Brad Bird, Bob Fosse, Sergio Leone, Blake Edwards, John Waters, and two from Mike Nichols. But we'll start with two films from the … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
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