What’s Screening: November 10 – 16

~ Lincoln Spector

What kind of films play in Bay Area cinemas this week? There’s a very wacky comedy, the drama that brought Reggae to the States, Raymond Chandler via Robert Altman, future science fiction, a silent war movie, animation from Wes Anderson, the first transgender bank heist, and two by Alfred Hitchcock.

Festivals & Series

Remembered fondly

? Naked Gun 2 1/2 (1991), Balboa, Wednesday, 7:30pm

Here’s the sequel to the detective movie that started from a sitcom that ran for a whole three episodes. And it actually turned out to be a hit. If that seems implausible, don’t worry. There’s nothing plausible about Police Squad! and Naked Gun. And if you’re still confused, it came from the people who made Airplane!

? The Harder They Come (1972), 4-Star, Friday, 7:30pm

With DJ Set! I don’t remember much of the film that introduced reggae to North America. I do remember that it was exciting, amazing, and electrifying – especially because of the music. Today, the sound is still incredible, but I frankly couldn’t tell you if anything else holds up.

? Robocop (1987), Balboa, Friday, 7:30pm

When I first saw ads for this sci-fi dystopian action flick, I thought “I can skip this one.” Then I read the reviews, and I had to see it. I remember it being sharp, funny, and satirical, with a very strong commentary on America in the Reagan years (and things have gotten worse, since). I also recall it being very violent, and not advisable for the weak of stomach. But then, it’s been a very long time since I’ve last seen it.

Theatrical revivals

A The Big Parade (1925), Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 7:30pm

One of the best films about World War 1, made while the war was still a recent memory. John Gilbert sans mustache plays a spoiled rich kid who signs up almost on a lark, enjoys fun and games safely behind the lines, falls in love with a French girl (neither speaks the other’s language; a perfect match for a silent film), and then is dropped into an unrelenting Hell. Jon Mirsalis provides the musical accompany on the Kurzweil Keyboard.

A Dog Day Afternoon, (1975), Roxie
֍ Tuesday, 6:30pm
֍ Thursday, 6:10pm

Staff Pick! 35mm! Here’s a touching, tragic, and very funny movie, and it’s based on a true story. Two incompetent armed robbers (Al Pacino and John Cazale – both fresh from Godfather II) try to hold up a bank and find themselves in a hostage situation. Pacino’s character, the so-called brains behind the plot, is a nice guy who wants to help everyone. That’s a real problem when you’re threatening to kill innocent bystanders. He only wants the money to pay for his boyfriend’s sex change operation. Cazale’s character is slow, dumb, and potentially violent.

A The Long Goodbye (1973), New Mission
֍ Friday, 4:00pm
֍ Sunday, 3:00pm

Philip Marlowe in the 1970s? That’s exactly what screenwriter Leigh Brackett and director Robert Altman did with excellent results. Marlowe (Elliott Gould) still lives in a crummy apartment, but now he has a bunch of hippie chicks next door, constantly offering him brownies. The movie starts as a comedy, with Marlow trying to find the only cat food his feline will eat. But as you’d expect in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel, it turns into a labyrinth of fear and violence. A not-yet-famous Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up briefly. Read my Blu-ray review.

A Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982), New Mission, Saturday, 9:00pm

Based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner remains surprisingly thoughtful for ’80’s sci-fi – especially of the big budget variety. It ponders questions about the nature of humanity and our ability to objectify people when it suits our needs. The art direction and the music alone would make it a masterpiece. Read my longer essay.

A- Paris, Texas (1984), 4-Star, Sunday, 1:00pm, 4:00pm & 7:00pm

Harry Dean Stanton gives a masterful, understated performance as an amnesiac who walks out of the desert and back into the lives of his family. Missing for years, he’s taken in by his brother’s family, which now includes his own son. As the man’s memory slowly returns, he becomes obsessed with earning his son’s love and finding out, not so much the mystery of his own disappearance, but that of his wife’s.

B+ The 39 Steps (1935), Balboa, 7:30pm
16mm! Alfred Hitchcock followed his first big thriller – the original The Man Who Knew Too Much – with another fun and suspenseful yarn. Evil foreign spies murder someone and frame the crime on our innocent hero, who must avoid the police while tracking down the spies. Hitchcock used that plot device at least two more times, once brilliantly, and it always worked. Robert Donat plays the debonair and witty hero.

B+ The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Elmwood, Saturday, 11:30pm

With the Transylvanian Temptations Live Shadowcast! I don’t have to tell you about this movie, do I?

B Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), 4-Star, Saturday & Sunday, 10:am

Popcorn Palace: There’s a cartoon-like quality to a lot of Wes Anderson’s work, so it’s not surprising that he would eventually make an animated movie. Based on a story by Roald Dahl, Fantastic follows the adventures of a very sophisticated but not altogether competent fox (voiced by George Clooney) as he tries to outwit a farmer and keep his marriage together. Children and adults will find different reasons to enjoy this frantically-paced comic adventure.

B- Foreign Correspondent (1940), Balboa, Saturday, 7:30pm

Not one of Hitchcock’s best, but it’s fun, with a couple of great Hitchcockian set pieces. It’s also an anti-Nazi film from a time when such a thing was still controversial in America.

Continuing engagements

      • Thursday, 5:00pm
      • Friday, 5:20pm
      • Monday, 6:00 pm
      • Tuesday, 14 8:30 pm
      • Wednesday, 8:30pm
      • Friday, 5:00pm
      • Saturday, 12:40pm
      • Sunday, 5;25pm
      • Tuesday, 9:30pm

Movies I can’t review

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Published by Lincoln Spector

Lincoln Spector writes about cinema, technology, and cinema technology. From 1986 through 2008, he wrote Gigglebytes, the first technology-oriented humor column. From 1977 through 2016, he wrote PC World's Answer Line column and blog.