The season's big event, the Mill Valley Film Festival, continues through the week and a bit beyond. A much less ambitious festival, Hong Kong Cinema, opens today and runs through the weekend.  I've listed Mill Valley events at the bottom of this newsletter. B When Comedy Went to School, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. This … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 4 – 10

The Latino Film Festival closes today. The Oakland Underground Film Festival continues through Sunday. The  Iranian Film Festival plays through the weekend. And the biggest one of the season, the Mill Valley Film Festival, opens Thursday. B+ Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 version), corner of Oxford and Center streets, download Berkeley, Friday, 8:00. Free. … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 27 – October 3

The Irish Film Festival runs until Saturday, but the Latino Film Festival continues through the week. And the Oakland Underground Film Festival--which I only found out about Friday morning--opens Wednesday. B+ The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Pacific Film Archive, Sunday, 5:00. Almost certainly the most low-key, matter-of-fact, and inexpensive life-of-Jesus movie ever made; and it … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 20 – 26

Quite a bit of festival activity, especially over the weekend. The San Francisco Dance Film Festival continues through Sunday, and the one-day Atheist Film Festival takes over the Roxie on Saturday. The Latino Film Festival continues through most of the month. And the Irish Film Festival starts its three-day run on Thursday. You'll find some … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 13 – 19

The Latino Film Festival starts Thursday. B+ Afternoon Delight, Kabuki, Albany Twin, opens Friday. The plot sounds like broad, comic farce: A young Jewish mother and housewife invites a stripper and sometimes prostitute to move into her home and become her young son’s nanny. When Afternoon Delight tries to be funny, it generally succeeds. But writer/director … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 6 – 12

No festivals this week. B+ Thérèse, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. In the late 1920s, Thérèse (Audrey Tautou of Amélie) marries the rich and conservative Bernard. It’s a good match economically, but she almost immediately regrets the loveless and stifling relationship. When Bernard blocks his younger sister (Anaïs Demoustier of Living on Love Alone) from … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 30 – September 5

No festivals this week. But I'm placing three Hitchcock 9 films at the bottom of the newsletter. B+ Flesh and the Devil, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 7:30. A silly story, but a sexy one, well-told. I’ll skip the plot, and just tell you that it’s about friendship, young love, uncontrollable lust, and the … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 23 – 29

No festivals this week. That's a rarity. However, the Pacific Film Archive starts its Hitchcock 9 series this week (the same films that the Silent Film Festival screened in June), and I'm listing those titles at the bottom of this newsletter. B+ Frances Ha, Castro, Tuesday; ongoing at the Roxie. I sometimes look back at … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 16 – 22

The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, although no longer in San Francisco, continues to play elsewhere in the Bay Area through Monday. And the day after it closes, the Turkish Film Festival starts its three-day run. As usual, festival screenings are at the bottom of this newsletter. B+ Prince Avalanche, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 9 – 15

The Japan Film Festival continues through Sunday, while the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival moves out of San Francisco and into the East Bay. I've listed festival events at the bottom of this newsletter. A+ The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Cerrito, Thursday, 7:00. As much as any other artist, John Ford defined and deepened … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 2 – 8