B Animated family fare Written by Benjamin Renner and Jean Regnaud Directed by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert Note: I saw this family comedy last year before it screened at the SFFIM Festival. It never got a theatrical fun in the Bay Area. It appears it won't get one. But it will be available on … Continue reading The Big Bad Fox & the joys of simple animation
Category: Comedy
The Kid Brother Blu-ray review
If people know about Harold Lloyd at all, they think of Safety Last. Or maybe The Freshman. But for my money, his penultimate silent, The Kid Brother, is his masterpiece. It has several of the funniest, brilliantly designed, extended comedy sequences ever filmed. But it's more than just a very funny movie. It makes you … Continue reading The Kid Brother Blu-ray review
It Happened One Night one afternoon at BAMPFA
Almost every Wednesday afternoon at 3:10, BAMPFA screens a film with a lecture or discussion in one of their In Focus series. This Wednesday, I finally got to one. Perhaps that's because they were screening Frank Capra's 1934 classic It Happened One Night. But also because I believe that screenwriters don't get enough credit, and … Continue reading It Happened One Night one afternoon at BAMPFA
Saturday at Noir City…plus Laurel and Hardy
Saturday was a crazy day of moviegoing. Not only did I watch four Noir City feature films at the Castro, but I also caught four Laurel and Hardy shorts on the other side of the bay. And the crazy thing is I had previously seen seven of the eight films. With some of them, I … Continue reading Saturday at Noir City…plus Laurel and Hardy
Stan & Ollie: The time two clowns cried
B- Biopic Written by Jeff Pope Directed by Jon S. Baird This is absolutely the least funny Laurel and Hardy movie I have ever seen. Of course, it's not a real Laurel and Hardy movie. It's certainly not a comedy, although it has many laughs. Stan & Ollie is a mostly sad story about the … Continue reading Stan & Ollie: The time two clowns cried
You know what you’re getting when Swimming with Men
B Comedy Written by Aschlin Ditta Directed by Oliver Parker Note: I saw this British comedy at last year's Mill Valley Film Festival. I incorrectly assumed it would get an American theatrical release, and therefore, I wrote the review below. I have recently discovered that it's streaming on Vudu, Google Play. and Amazon Prime. So … Continue reading You know what you’re getting when Swimming with Men
Chaplin Diary, Part 20: We end with A Countess from Hong Kong
And so we come to the end of our survey of Charlie Chaplin's work as a director. His last movie, A Countess from Hong Kong, made in 1966 and released in 1967, is easily his worst. Countess stands out among Chaplin's films in several ways. It's his only color film, and the only one financed … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 20: We end with A Countess from Hong Kong
