The Matatu Film Festival opens Wednesday, ending the Bay Area's mid-summer film festival draught. A- Ealing Studios/Alec Guinness double bill: The Ladykillers & The Lavender Hill Mob, Castro, Sunday. In the early 1950s, Britain's Ealing Studios made several droll but wonderful comedies starring Alec Guinness, often about crime. In The Ladykillers, probably the darkest Ealing … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 11 – 17

Celebrate Independence Day! Don't go to a film festival! Actually, you have no choice. There are no film festivals in the Bay Area this week. Luckily, you can still go to a theater and see a movie. A- Life Itself, Embarcadero Center, Albany Twin, Rafael, opens Friday. This totally biased, yet entertaining and informative documentary … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 4 – 10

Didn't get enough silent films a month ago? Then head to Niles this weekend for the Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival. Unless, of course, you're attending Frameline, which like Broncho Billy, ends Sunday. I list a couple of Brocho Billy screenings at the bottom of this newsletter. A+ Jaws, Castro & Lark, Thursday. People associate … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 27 – July 3

Frameline, San Francisco's LGBT film festival, continues through the week. I've placed two Frameline screenings at the bottom of this newsletter. C+ Manakamana, Lark, Friday, 3:30; Sunday, 6:00. The setting: a cable car that transports people to a Hindu temple high in the Nepalese mountains. Filmmakers Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez set their camera in … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 20 – 26

In festival news, New Filipino Cinema closes Sunday, while DocFest continues through the rest of this week. And just as that one closes, Frameline opens Thursday night. B+ Interview with the Vampire, Castro, Friday, 7:20. Writer Anne Rice and director Neil Jordan create a vampire epic stretching across three centuries. And a very dark yet … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 13 – 19

Need some film festivals? DocFest continues through this week and beyond. New Filipino Cinema opens Wednesday. Charlie Chaplin: The Little Tramp at 100 Years, The irreplaceable David Shepard will provide commentary for a two-hour survey of the great comedian and filmmaker. The show will include three complete shorts--Kid Auto Races in Venice, Mabel's Married Life, … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 6 – 12

There's at least one film festival running every day this week. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival dominates the weekend, closing Sunday. But the Green Film Festival runs through Wednesday. And DocFest opens Thursday. A- The Navigator, Castro, Sunday, 9:00. Buster Keaton in his spoiled rich boy mode, finds himself stranded on a drifting ocean … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 30 = June 5

I Wake Up Dreaming continues (which sounds better than "I will continue to wake up dreaming") through Sunday. Then, after three festival-free days, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Green Film Festival both open on Thursday. A- The Grand Budapest Hotel, Lark, opens Friday. Once again, Wes Anderson is playing with us, and … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 23 – 29

If you're looking for dark and depressing entertainment, you might want to visit the Roxie this week. Their noir festival, I Wake Up Dreaming, opens tonight and plays through the week. That's it for festivals this week. But here's what else is going on. B+ Palo Alto, Kabuki, Embarcadero, California, Guild, Rafael, opens Friday. Based … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 16 – 22

No festivals this week. But we still have some movies worth seeing. B Young and Beautiful, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. François Ozon’s almost-unwatchable drama about a 17-year-old girl takes a major turn at the halfway point, suddenly becoming a good film. In the first half, she goes from virgin to whore without explanation or … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 9 – 15