Where can you watch vintage movies on big screens, with other people around you? Here are ten movie theaters that are showing old movies this week (and other weeks, too). Look up these theaters and go back to the…well, I can't say the future. 4-Star Balboa BAMPFA Lark New Mission New Parkway Niles Essanay Silent … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 17 – 23

What kind of films play in Bay Area cinemas this week? There's a very wacky comedy, the drama that brought Reggae to the States, Raymond Chandler via Robert Altman, future science fiction, a silent war movie, animation from Wes Anderson, the first transgender bank heist, and two by Alfred Hitchcock. Festivals & Series The California … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 10 – 16

A couple of interesting festivals are coming up soon. One is in early November. The other is in early December. Both screen vintage cinema. The California Independent Film Festival November 9 – 16, at the Orinda I've only recently discovered this festival. It shows old and new films. Here are a few films and events … Continue reading Two interesting Film Festivals coming up

It's late October, and you know what that means. There's a lot of horror in the theaters. But that's not all; Cerrito Classics is playing through the week.  I made a mistake in this week's newsletter. I failed to tell my readers that all movies  playing at the Stanford run in 35mm. Thanks to Gary … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 20 – 26

Saturday morning, I managed to get to the Cerrito to see seven short films as part of this year's Albany FilmFest. This selection of shorts was called Seeing/Believing. How short can a short film be? And how long can a picture be before it's called a feature? The shortest in this selection, called 3 AM, … Continue reading Seeing/Believing: Albany FilmFest, day 2

Albany, California is a very small town. So it has a very small film festival. And what kind of movies play in a small town's film festival? Shorts, of course. If a movie is too long or too boring, something interesting will soon come along. This year, the Albany FilmFest opens Thursday, October 12 at … Continue reading A short film festival, screening only shorts, in a small town

Friday is Silent Movie Day, and this year, the Bay Area is taking notice. But if you still haven't fallen in love with the world of silence with music, you can meet Joan Baez, or watch Jaws on a real boat. There's also The Artist, John Huston's strange crime comedy, Kubrick's horror, and everyone is … Continue reading What’s Screening: Sept 29 – Oct 5

Here's a selection of films that will disappear from The Criterion Channel at the end of September. Most of them are very worth watching. By the way, a lot of Roger Corman flicks will disappear at the end of the month. Seems to me that the Corman movies (which are usually cheap horror), should have … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of September

Here are seven films I've seen since mid-June, and not connected with any festival. Surprisingly, and happily, I saw more of them theatrically than at home. They're in order from best to worst: Till Oppenheimer Barbie Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny The Seven Year Itch The Daughter of Dawn Asteroid City A Till (2022) … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: July 29