This is not one of Ernst Lubitsch's best works. In fact, without the beautiful and talented Pola Negri, and the very strange scenery, it would barely be worth watching. This German film was made and released in 1921. Negri plays the leader of a gang of very nice outlaws. She appears to the only woman … Continue reading Ernst Lubitsch’s The Wildcat on Blu-ray

If you'd rather go to a Bay Area cinema than stay home, you can enjoy a comedy or two about problematic families. There's also some science fiction, two musicals from the '70s, the horrors of war, and the horrors of capitalism. Festivals & Series The Sonoma International closes Sunday The Berlin & Beyond Film Festival … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 24 – 30

Here are two movies that I recently saw in theaters, and two others that were made decades before I was born. And all of them are worth watching. A- Tár (2022) Cate Blanchett seems capable of doing anything. In this drama, she conducts a symphony, plays piano, speaks German, and, of course, acts. She plays … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Tár ֍ Ball of Fire ֍ Rules of the Game ֍ Nope

If you love Indiana Jones movies, this is a great week for you. The 4-Star will screen the first three pictures, and you can watch them on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. But if you prefer more serious cinema, there's a great film about climate change that is neither a documentary nor science fiction. There are … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 6 – 12

Note: I attended to set this article to go live on Friday, December 23, at 8:30am. But, by my mistake, it came out earlier. Note 2: For some reason, several people have received an error problem instead of this article. I hope this time it will work. There’s not much Christmas spirit in Bay Area cinemas … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 23 – 29/fixed, I hope

Drug smuggling, espionage, music parodies, and…um…well, whatever it is. Here are four films I've watchaed recently, from the best to the worst. Click the film's title to see how you can watch it. A Deep Cover (1992) Here's an extraordinary film noir from the early 1990s. Laurence Fishburne stars as a police officer who goes … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: Deep Cover ֍ Arabesque ֍ Weird: The Al Yankovic Story ֍ Schizopolis

Here's what's happening in Bay Area movie theaters this week: Quentin Tarantino is coming to the Castro. A terrific documentary about George Washington and a controversial mural. Two very different space movies. Masterpieces starring Humphrey Bogart and Bruce Willis (no, not in the same movie). The film that made Schwarzenegger famous. And the New Mission … Continue reading What’s Screening: Nov 4 – 10

The Criterion Channel is currently running a series that studies the difficult crossroads between mostly-white Hollywood and the world's largest group of people: Han Chinese. It analyses both the racist yellowface movies of decades past, to recent American films directed by Asian Americans. The series is called Hollywood Chinese. Yes, I'm posting two articles about … Continue reading Yellowface in Hollywood

Surprisingly few films will disappear from the Criterion Channel at the end of the month. I don't know if this means more or less movies overall – or just nothing in particular. Click a film's title to start watching the movie – assuming you subscribe to the Channel. Full recommendations A+ Before Sunrise (1995) If … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of August