B+ Relationship comedy Written by Elisabeth Holm & Gillian Robespierre Directed by Gillian Robespierre This essentially serious comedy finds laughs in human relationships, both romantic and filial. It's very funny, but it's also touching and true to life. The central story concerns two sisters living in New York in 1995 - a time when the … Continue reading Landline finds humor in relationships
Category: Comedy
Keep the Change & The Jewish Film Festival Opening Night
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival opened Thursday night with Rachel Israel's Keep the Change, a romantic comedy set in the world of serious mental disabilities. That may sound disturbing, but it's lovely and moving. The event started almost on time with a selection of past trailers. All of them were funny, including this year's … Continue reading Keep the Change & The Jewish Film Festival Opening Night
Orthodox wars in The Women’s Balcony
B Comedy/drama Written by Shlomit Nehama Directed by Emil Ben-Shimon A section of a synagogue collapses, and a war breaks out amongst Orthodox Jews over just how Orthodox they will be. Not surprisingly, it becomes a war of the sexes in this light comedy. I don't know how well non-Jews will understand The Women's Balcony. … Continue reading Orthodox wars in The Women’s Balcony
Forgotten Laughs: Comic gems that few remember
You probably already know and love Some Like It Hot, Groundhog Day, City Lights, Annie Hall, The General, and Duck Soup. They're classics. But an awful lot of great comedies never reached that status. Some were wrong for their time. Others were hits, but were largely forgotten over the decades. Some are just acquired tastes. … Continue reading Forgotten Laughs: Comic gems that few remember
John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, the Devil, and a certain black bird: Sunday at the Castro
Sunday I attended the Castro John Huston/Humphrey Bogart double bill of Beat the Devil and The Maltese Falcon. Much as I love Falcon, Devil was the real attraction. I had only seen it once before, long ago, and wasn't impressed. But the Film Foundation recently restored the movie, reconstructing director John Huston's original cut. This … Continue reading John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, the Devil, and a certain black bird: Sunday at the Castro
SFIFF Opening Night & Landline
The San Francisco International Film Festival opened Wednesday night with the relationship comedy Landline. It was a good movie, and overall a good show. As is usual with big festival events at the Castro, most of the seats downstairs were blocked off as reserved. If you weren't some sort of VIP, you were pretty much … Continue reading SFIFF Opening Night & Landline
Buster Keaton Weekend
Movie audiences first saw Buster Keaton on the big screen in 1917, with the premiere of Fatty Arbuckle's short The Butcher Boy. To celebrate the centenary of Keaton's first cinematic appearance, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum turns its theater over to the Great Stoneface with a mini festival of 11 shorts and four feature-length … Continue reading Buster Keaton Weekend
Lubitsch at the Stanford
Believe it or not, I went more than 15 years without visiting the Stanford. The problem is geographical; it's a long drive, often in horrible traffic. I don't remember when I last visited David Packard's personal movie palace, but it was before I started writing this blog in 2004. Saturday afternoon, my wife and I … Continue reading Lubitsch at the Stanford
More Keaton on Blu-ray: Steamboat Bill Jr. & College
Earlier this month, I told you about a two-disc Blu-ray set containing Buster Keaton's best and worst independent features, The General and Three Ages. Now I'll tell you about the other Keaton package that Kino Lorber will release February 21. Once again, it's a two-disc set containing one of Keaton's best movies (Steamboat Bill, Jr.) … Continue reading More Keaton on Blu-ray: Steamboat Bill Jr. & College
Keaton great and mediocre: My Blu-ray review of The General and The Three Ages
Between 1920 and 1928 - the only years where he had complete control of his own films - Buster Keaton created one of the greatest bodies of work in silent movies. All his comedies from that period have been available on Blu-ray for quite some time, but that doesn't mean they can't be reissued with … Continue reading Keaton great and mediocre: My Blu-ray review of The General and The Three Ages
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