Danny Kaye, Batman, Toshiro Mifune, and a silent Dracula hit Bay Area movie screens this week. Also, three new films and two on-going film festivals. Festivals The San Francisco Black Festival continues through Sunday Frameline continues through this week and beyond New films opening B The Women's Balcony, Clay, opens Friday A section of a … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 16 – 22
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What’s Screening: May 26 – June 1
Crooks, comedy, Soviet science fiction, and a Dinner with Andre grace Bay Area movie theaters this week. Festivals We just had one documentary festival, but another, DocFest, opens Wednesday. It runs for more than two weeks. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens Thursday. Promising events My Dinner With Andre, Roxie, Tuesday, 7:00 Everybody was … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 26 – June 1
From the Ashes comes the death of coal (we hope)
Is it possible to make an optimistic documentary about climate change in the age of Trump? Michael Bonfiglio manages to do just that in From the Ashes. I saw the Bloomberg Philanthropies documentary Wednesday night at a special screening., hosted by San Francisco mayor Ed Lee. The film will probably not receive a theatrical run … Continue reading From the Ashes comes the death of coal (we hope)
A Clichéd Drama & a Moving Documentary: My SFFilm Thursday
Here's what I saw Thursday at the San Francisco International Film Festival: The Hero I caught this Sam Elliott vehicle at a matinee at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission. I felt it was about time that someone built a movie around Elliott. Now someone needs to make a good one. My problem with The Hero … Continue reading A Clichéd Drama & a Moving Documentary: My SFFilm Thursday
The Roxie celebrates 41 years as an arthouse cinema
I probably first visited San Francisco's Roxie Cinema in 1977, soon after I moved from Marin County to The City. I'm not sure, but I think my first movie there was Akira Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-den. At that time, I had no idea that the Roxie was both America's oldest continuously-operated cinema and one of its youngest … Continue reading The Roxie celebrates 41 years as an arthouse cinema
How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2016 Edition
How many theatrical features are still shot on physical film? Judging from my own survey, about a third of them. Back in 2012, my first survey found 14 films shot digitally and 13 shot on film. By 2015, 20 films were shot digitally, and eight - a little more than a third - on film. … Continue reading How Many Films are Still Shot on Film: The 2016 Edition
A+ List: Paths of Glory (also The Passion of Joan of Arc)
Young men die so that older, richer, and more powerful men can amass greater wealth and power. That's pretty much the basic function of war. Stanley Kurbrick's best film, Paths of Glory, dramatizes that truth better than any other motion picture I've seen. For its strong story, dazzling visuals (which never dazzle for their own … Continue reading A+ List: Paths of Glory (also The Passion of Joan of Arc)
