I saw four films Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and I never stepped a foot in Mill Valley. I saw all four in the small, upstairs auditoriums at the Rafael. The first was a narrative; the rest were documentaries. B- The Independents The music is pretty good, but not exceptional. The same could … Continue reading Music, slapstick, art, & fascism: Saturday at the Mill Valley Film Festival
Category: musicals
Two More Film Festivals in mid-July
They just keep on coming! San Francisco Frozen Film Festival July 18 - 23 Most film festivals concentrate on features. This one is all about the shorts - small, low-budget flicks with short running times. It opens July 18 with a party at PianoFight, accompanied by Best Virtual Reality Screenings, and followed by a midnight … Continue reading Two More Film Festivals in mid-July
A+ List: Top Hat
Few Hollywood features have celebrated their own wholly unreal artifice like Top Hat, the best Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical. Despite its contemporary setting (contemporary for 1935, the year it was released), it contains almost nothing that suggests the real world. Thanks to that artifice, the songs, the madcap comic dialog and hijinks, and most of … Continue reading A+ List: Top Hat
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Battle of the Sexes, Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman, & Le Million
Another three movies I've seen for the first time recently. Two of them, still in theaters, are based on actual events. The other is an early talkie that makes no attempt at anything like realism. A- Battle of the Sexes (2017), Cerrito In 1973, former men's tennis champ Bobby Riggs set up a match with women's … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Battle of the Sexes, Professor Marston and the Wonder Woman, & Le Million
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Force, The Player, & A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Here are three other movies I've seen. A The Force (2017), California Theater (Berkeley) No, this not a Star Wars movie, but a cinema verite documentary about the Oakland Police Department, shot over a period of two years. There's no narration, and if anything was staged for the movie cameras - even an interview - I … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Force, The Player, & A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg brings romance to Blu-ray
A young couple in the blush of first love get separated by war and other inconveniences. Their young dreams and the world's harsh realities come into conflict, bringing the story to an ending that is neither happy nor sad, but bittersweet. That sounds like a drama, but Jacques Demy's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a … Continue reading The Umbrellas of Cherbourg brings romance to Blu-ray
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
My thoughts on the Golden Globes, La La Land, and the Musical/Comedy category
The Golden Globes turned into a big party for La La Land. I liked the movie, but not as much as most people did. As you probably already know, La La Land won seven awards, including Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. I loved the first part of La La Land. The opening song, … Continue reading My thoughts on the Golden Globes, La La Land, and the Musical/Comedy category
Revisiting Rocky Horror at the UC Theatre
On Halloween night, I attempted to go back in time. Call it a time warp. I attended The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the fabled UC Theatre. I had a lot of fun, but much of the experience annoyed me. When I wrote about the UC, I neglected to mention that it ran Rocky Horror … Continue reading Revisiting Rocky Horror at the UC Theatre
A+ List: Singin’ in the Rain
You will not learn anything by watching Singin' in the Rain. It will not make you a better person or help you understand the human condition. But for 103 exhilarating minutes, this movie will entertain you like no other. Singin' in the Rain contains several of the best dance routines in film history. And when … Continue reading A+ List: Singin’ in the Rain
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