I haven't written an article like this one for almost two years, and I sure am glad to be writing this one now. The Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) is getting back into show business, and I don't mean streaming into your home. As the Mill Valley Film Festival closes at BAMPFA, UC Berkeley's repertory … Continue reading After Mill Valley: What’s coming up at BAMPFA (and that doesn’t count virtual cinema)
Category: Upcoming & Local
East Bay International Jewish Film Festival Preview
For some reason, I missed any news about the East Bay International Jewish Film Festival until Thursday afternoon. So I'm putting this together quickly. Here's what I think of seven films playing at the Festival (these are the films I've seen - mostly at other festivals), in order from best to worst. By the way, … Continue reading East Bay International Jewish Film Festival Preview
The film festival in little Albany
The tiny town of Albany sits between Berkeley and El Cerrito - and in some places between Berkeley and Berkeley. I can walk across it in 15 minutes. And yet it has its own film festival. The 10th annual Albany FilmFest runs this year from Saturday, March 21 to Sunday, March 29 - skipping Sunday … Continue reading The film festival in little Albany
Four films you can see at Cinequest
Starting at standup. A truly evil murderer. Sleeping with strangers but not having sex. And an alien who took over the body of the wrong human. Here are four films that will screen at Cinequest, listed from best to worst. B+ All Joking Aside Dramas about comedians can be tricky, and although this one is … Continue reading Four films you can see at Cinequest
Kurosawa Series Here. Coppola Series coming soon
There's a new Akira Kurosawa series going on at the Stanford. And starting next month, the BAMPFA will start a series on Zoetrope, also known as American Zoetrope, the company that Francis Coppola created more than 50 years ago. What's more, Kurosawa and Zoetrope came together in the early 1980, and the film that the … Continue reading Kurosawa Series Here. Coppola Series coming soon
All Foreign Films – even the noir: The first Bay Area film festivals of 2020
What do you want? Foreign films with subtitles? Foreign crime movies, mostly with subtitles. How about foreign films without subtitles? That's what we get in three of the first film festivals of 2020. For Your Consideration Rafael, January 3 - 9 The Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is now called Best International Film. But it … Continue reading All Foreign Films – even the noir: The first Bay Area film festivals of 2020
Varda, Fellini, Lynch, and more during Winter at BAMPFA
As the weather turns cold and the film festivals disappear, you can find warmth and cinema (along with other arts) at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, better known as BAMPFA. UC Berkeley's revival movie theater doesn't just do films. They do film series. Here are the series coming up in December through February: Agnès … Continue reading Varda, Fellini, Lynch, and more during Winter at BAMPFA
Another Hole in the Head Film Festival
As December approaches, the autumn glut of Bay Area film festivals falls to few and finally none. But the last film festival of the year is one of the strangest. The Another Hole in the Head Film Festival isn't like any other. The movies it screens are rarely about poverty, divorce, or existential angst. Characters … Continue reading Another Hole in the Head Film Festival
Movies from 1939 at the Stanford
I'm not sure who proclaimed 1939 The Great Movie Year. Probably it was Ted Turner, when he owned the MGM, Warner, and RKO libraries. A lot of beloved classics came out that year, including The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind - the two most beloved films of Hollywood's studio era. Also, 1939 … Continue reading Movies from 1939 at the Stanford
It’s October, and that means horror movies in Bay Area theaters
Halloween is only one day, but Bay Area movie theaters celebrate it weeks ahead. Here's what's coming if you want to jump out of your seat…or merely laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I'm skipping new movies in regular release. My recommendations These are your best options for frightful cinema: Double bill: B+ Frankenstein … Continue reading It’s October, and that means horror movies in Bay Area theaters
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