When the pressures of life conflict with the pressures of running a Web site, life wins. By life, I mean the Jewish High Holidays and some articles that (unlike this blog) I’m actually getting paid to write. For the next few weeks. I'm going to have less time than usual to devote to Bayflicks. So … Continue reading 3D at the Castro

I saw two similar and yet very different nature movies almost back-to-back this week. Similar in that they both dealt with large mammals living in the frigid North (as opposed to flightless birds in the frigid South), and because they both seemed more focused on people than animals. But different in that one was made … Continue reading Nature Films and Anti-Nature Films

It seems odd to write about movies at a time like this. Our country is caught between the worst natural calamity to hit our shores in nearly a century and an idiotic president who doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. Why didn't all those people just leave New Orleans? Don't they have chauffeurs? … Continue reading Movies for the Week of September 9, 2005

There's an interesting article on movie theaters in the August 22 issue of Time Magazine (the one with the "25 Most Influential Hispanics in America" cover). Titled "Is Luxury the Ticket?" it describes some theater chains that attract customers by adding comfortable seating and good food, and sometimes even stand-up comedians before the movie. In … Continue reading Surprising Summer Hits

Ronald Chase doesn't complain about young people not knowing or caring about classic cinema. He does something about it. Through his non-profit organization, SF Art & Film for Teenagers, Chase presents classic films to teens (and even pre-teens) every Friday night during the school year. "We have difficulty convincing kids that this is something they … Continue reading SF Art & Film for Teenagers

My daughter's bat mitzvah is over, things are back to something resembling normal, and I have time to write again for Bayflicks.net. I've also added the 4 Star and Presidio Theaters to my coverage. In other news, the Castro has added live organ accompaniment to three films in their Harold Lloyd series. I thought I'd … Continue reading About This Site

Things are a little crazy for me, right now. My daughter’s Bat Mitzvah is a just over a week away. How badly is that eating into my life? Let me put it this way: As I write this on Wednesday, Lawrence of Arabia is playing in 70mm at the Castro. I’m not there. But I … Continue reading The Edukators

A big, bright, high-definition image projected onto a giant screen--”that’s what makes movies better than television! And no film format filled that screen better--”at least for narrative fiction films--”than 70mm, which dominated the biggest film presentations for nearly 40 years. Next week, the big picture returns in all of its glory as the Castro starts … Continue reading 70mm

Sequel. The very word conjures up images of Hollywood at its most crass and commercial. Indeed, the term art house sequel sounds like an oxymoron. Yet in less than two years, we've had The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand's follow-up to his 1989 Decline of the American Empire) and Richard Linklater's Before Sunset. And now we're … Continue reading The Good, the Bad, and the Sequels

Box office sales are down. Studios are making less from theaters that from DVD sales. There's panic in the streets of LA. There are plenty of theories as to why people have lost the theater habit. Mick LaSalle wrote an excellent article about them in Wednesday's Chronicle. But does this trend extend to the art/repertoire/calendar … Continue reading Poor Box Office