Aside from the SFFilm Festival, here's what's happening in Bay Area cinema this week: Five art house theaters are preparing to open. You can ask questions about flipbooks and Shiva Baby. Two movies from last year will play in 35mm. And at the drive-in, you can watch Tootsie, Into the Spider-Verse, A Star Is Born, … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 9 – 15
Category: Weekly Newsletter
What’s Screening: April 2 – 8
What's happening this week in Bay Area movie-watching? Mank appears in a real movie theater! Virtually, you can stream the rip-roaring silent melodrama The Signal Tower, along with dramas by Ryan Coogler and Nicholas Ray. And at the drive-in, you can revisit Casablanca, Mary Poppins, Wall-E, and more. But no festivals. New films opening in … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 2 – 8
What’s Screening: March 26 – April 1
What do we have in Bay Area movies this week? A drummer losing his hearing, a couple of virtual cinema suggestions, and Moses splitting the Red Sea in a real theater (just in time for Passover). At the drive-in, you can watch some of the best of Hitchcock, Wilder, and the Coens, along with a … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 26 – April 1
What’s Screening: March 19 – 25
Almost exactly a year ago, I posted what I thought might be my last What's Screening newsletter. After all, how could I write about films in local theaters when the theaters were all closed? I ended up writing about movies set in medieval times. I knew this newsletter would have to change. For almost a … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 19 – 25
What’s Screening: March 12 – 18
The theaters are opening up…or at least a few of them are; you can learn more from G. Allen Johnson's recent Chronicle article. But it may be too late for some. Alamo Drafthouse, the company that owns the New Mission, has filed for bankruptcy. Anyway, here's what's happening this week in Bay Area cinema: Discussions … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 12 – 18
What’s Screening: March 5 – 11
What can you do cinematically this week in the Bay Area? You can talk with Viola Davis and about Quentin Tarantino. You can watch documentaries about dogs and poison. And you can see this year's greatest outdoor movie, Nomadland, on the big screen, in a real theater! But no festivals this week. Special online events … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 5 – 11
What’s Screening: Feb 26 – March 4
This week in Virtual Cinema, you can meet a new American family, discover the horrors that come after a rape, and watch Spike Lee's masterpiece. But if you really want to leave home and watch a really big screen, you have drive-in options from The Black Messiah to Austin Powers. You can even join a … Continue reading What’s Screening: Feb 26 – March 4
What’s Screening: February 19 – 25
What's going on, cinema-wise, this week in the Bay Area - aside from dark theaters? Concentration camps in America, the tricks of scoring silent movies, car racing and prize fighting, and an idiot with money. Also three film festivals. Virtual Festivals SF Indiefest closes Sunday The SF Urban Film Fest also closes Sunday The Jewish … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 19 – 25
What’s Screening: February 12 – 18
What's going on this week in Bay Area cinema? Two overlooked classics free (to members of BAMPFA). A couple of virtual revivals, and some really good movies at the drive-in. Also, two film festivals. Festivals SF Indiefest continues through the week and beyond. Read my preview. SF Urban Film Fest opens Sunday Special online events … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 12 – 18
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Harnessed the Wind | The New World | Promising Young Woman | Yentl | Dishonored
Here are five movies I saw recently; four for the first time. The other I watched before I started writing about every film I saw. A The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) What a powerful story! A small, African village is on the brink of death. The lack of water, caused in part by government … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Harnessed the Wind | The New World | Promising Young Woman | Yentl | Dishonored