The big event this week is the one-day Silent Autumn festival. I've placed festival films at the bottom of this newsletter. C+ The Zero Theorem, 4-Star, Elmwood, opens Friday. In the 1980s, Terry Gilliam's new film  feels like a less-effective retreat of his brilliant Brazil. Like that far superior picture, it’s set in a dystopian society … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 19 – 25

The California Independent Film Festival continues through Sunday. And the Legacy Film Festival on Aging, which opens today (Friday), plays through Sunday. A Woman of the Year, Lark, Sunday, 3:30 & Wednesday, 5:50. One of only a handful of Hollywood films that accurately conveys the ups, downs, and sideways motions of romantic love as a … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 12 – 18

The drought is over! At least, the film festival draught. CAAMFest San Jose opens today and runs through Sunday. And the California Independent Film Festival opens Thursday. A Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, New Parkway, Saturday, 3:00. The most-loved Star Trek movie gives us everything that its predecessor failed to deliver: an exciting … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 5 – 11

Still no festivals this week. But you can watch a lot of Robin Williams (not all of which I list here). A+ Lawrence of Arabia, Castro, Saturday through Monday; Rafael, Sunday. 4K digital projection at the Castro. Lawrence isn’t just the best big historical epic of the 70mm roadshow era, it’s one of the greatest … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 29 – September 4

Still no film festivals. We'll get some in September. B+ To Be Takei, Kabuki, opens Friday; Rafael, Thursday, 7:00 (one screening, only). Who would have guessed that, almost 50 years after Star Trek first premiered, George Takei would be the most beloved member of the original cast. And why not? A childhood in a World … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 22-28

No film festivals this week. In fact, no more Bay Area film festivals this month. But we still have movies. A Monty Python Live (Mostly), Cerrito, Tuesday, 7:00. I know this isn't technically a movie, but it's screening in movie theaters and that's what counts. The five surviving members of Monty Python, along with a … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 15 – 21

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival closes Sunday, and that's the festival until September.  I put the SFJFF listings at the end of this newsletter. A Before Sunrise, Castro, Thursday. Richard Linklater's Before trilogy starts with one of the most romantic films ever made. After meeting on a train, a young man and woman (Ethan … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 8 – 14

For personal reasons, I'm writing this newsletter early--nine days before it goes live. So please forgive me if it's incomplete. The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival continues through this week and into next, moving from San Francisco itself to other parts of the Bay Area. You'll find festival screenings at the bottom of this newsletter. … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 1 – 7

No festivals open this week, but three of them continue. The Brainwash Drive-In/Bike-In/Walk-In Movie festival runs through Saturday. The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco ends Sunday. And the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival plays through this week and well beyond it. I've listed Jewish Film Festival screenings at the bottom of this newsletter. A+ … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 25 – 31

Plenty of film festivals in the air--and two of them are in Oakland. The Matatu Film Festival continues through Saturday. The Brainwash Drive-In/Bike-In/Walk-In Movie festival plays Friday and Saturday and again next weekend. The Japan Film Festival of San Francisco opens Saturday and plays through this weekend and beyond. And the San Francisco Jewish Film … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 18 – 24