I've been busy and sick lately, and therefore haven't caught many new movies. But this past weekend, my wife and I managed to get to Berkeley's California Theater twice, where we saw Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa and the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar! Both are worth catching, although for very different reasons. Anomalisa Early on, I wondered … Continue reading Quick thoughts: Anomalisa & Hail, Caesar!
Category: Animation
Animation
Sundance Film Festival 2015 Award-Winning Shorts
A- Selection of shorts A dystopian future, war-torn screen tests, scuba diving under ice, and a sexually-frustrated single mom all turn up in this selection of six short subjects that won awards at the 2015 Sundance film festival. I loved five out of the six. World of Tomorrow, Short Film Jury Award a little girl, … Continue reading Sundance Film Festival 2015 Award-Winning Shorts
Bill Plympton’s absurd love story: Cheatin’ (my review)
A Adult animation Written and directed by Bill Plympton If Bill Plympton isn’t the strangest, most iconoclastic, bizarre, and brilliant animator of all time, we live in a very weird world. His instantly recognizable style takes caricature—the heart of all animation—to an extreme beyond anyone else working in features. Consider Jake—the irresistible hunk in Cheatin’. … Continue reading Bill Plympton’s absurd love story: Cheatin’ (my review)
SFIFF: Animated Shorts
This afternoon, I dropped in at the New People Cinema for a show of animated shorts. This series will not screen again at the festival. You'll inevitably find wonderful and disappointing works in any such collections. I'll just tell you about my favorites. Tram: A commuter tram filled with businessmen heads off into the world … Continue reading SFIFF: Animated Shorts
Friday Night Report: Rare Hitchcock and New Studio Ghibli
I caught two very different movies at two very different theaters, Friday night. Both films were very much worth catching. The Wrong Man The Pacific Film Archive has been running its Alfred Hitchcock series since January, but it took me until Friday to actually get to one of the screenings. I'm really glad I went. … Continue reading Friday Night Report: Rare Hitchcock and New Studio Ghibli
SF Silent Film Festival, Day 3
The Irrepressible Felix the CatThis may have been the first theatrical, 35mm presentation of multiple Felix the Cat cartoons ever. The shorts were wild, crazy, bizarre, surreal, and hilarious. The accompaniment added much to the festivities. Donald Soosan and a drummer who's name I didn't get accompanied some of the shorts. Toychestra--a sextet playing toy … Continue reading SF Silent Film Festival, Day 3
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