There are a lot of vintage movies in theaters this week – even though there's only one festival. There are powerful religious films like The Passion of Joan of Arc, Andrei Rublev, and Bill Murray's Groundhog Day. But if you're not spiritual, there's plenty of music and comedy. Festivals & Series The SF Independent Film … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 2 – 8

Unbelievably, I have yet to look at the Oscar nominations. I'll get to it. The best vintage film in theaters this week is The Life And Death of Colonel Blimp. It's exceptional. There's a technical problem that I can't fix. Hopefully, it will be fixed. Festivals & Series Noir City comes to an end this … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 26 – February 1

January is a month for staying inside. (Well, it is for me.) Thanks to The Criterion Channel, there's a lot of good movies you can see at home. Here's a selection that will disappear come February. Full recommendations A+ The Lady Eve (1941) Like most great screwballs, Preston Sturges' The Lady Eve looks at class differences through … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of January

Want to discover a great new auteur from Estonia? Or maybe you can watch Anthony Hopkins playing Sigmund Freud. Then there's musicals from Singin' in the Rain to Springtime for Hitler. There's also Harold Lloyd and David Bowie – although they probably didn't know each other. All of these are on big screens in the … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 5 – 11

Finally, I've been able to give you a weekly newsletter. Just in time for Christmas. And I don't even celebrate Christmas. New films opening theatrically A- Anselm (2023), various theaters Try to see the film in 3D. Wim Wenders found a rare, artistic use for stereoscopic cinema. Anselm Kiefer is a German artist who works in … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 22 – 28

I've been having technical problems recently. And yes, you won't get the Friday newsletter this week, again. But if you subscribe to The Criterion Channel, I can tell what good movies will leave the Channel before the year ends. Full recommendations A+ My Darling Clementine (1946) By all rules of the western genre, this John … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of 2023

I had some considerable technical problems this week. I can't give you all the information and images. And this is a very good week for movies! So I'll just give you a list of the movies that I'd like to go to this week. Festivals & Series The Another Hole in the Head Film Festival … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 1 – 7

After Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu is probably the greatest Japanese filmmaker. While Kurosawa is remembered for his samurai epics, Ozu is mostly remembered for his small, intimate pictures about family life. But he didn't just do small stories about families. In the 1930s, Ozu made crime dramas, like the ones that Warner Brothers were turning … Continue reading Yasujiro Ozu: The Elegance of Simplicity

Once Thanksgiving is over, you can be thankful for all the good, vintage movies playing in theaters over the week. You can pick between four films that I give an A+ (perhaps five if you consider films that also played last week). There are also three A films, and one with an A-. So, you … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 24 – 30