The Bicycle Thief, Roxie, opens Friday. I haven’t seen Vittorio De Sica’s neo-realism masterpiece in at least 20 years, so I’m officially unqualified to recommend it. But I remember something stunning and moving, and probably relevant to our economically uncertain times. The Roxie will screen a new 35mm print. A- A Christmas Story, California Theater, … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 25 – 31

If you’re a Hitchcock fan and live near the Castro, this is your week. I put my microreviews for the Hitch for the Holidays series at the end of the newsletter. A+ It's a Wonderful Life, Stanford, Thursday, 9:00. A here’s a rarely-acknowledged dark side to Frank Capra’s feel-good fable. George Bailey (James Stewart) saves … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 18 – 24

The Silent Film Festival Winter Event, Castro, Saturday. This is the big event of the week. Four features—one a huge epic—all with live accompaniment. The  one I’m most excited about, because I’ve read about it but never seen it, is the French epic J’accuse, screening at 2:00 with famous (at least to silent film enthusiasts) … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 11 – 17

A Modern Times, Rafael, Sunday, noon. Leave it to Charlie Chaplin to call an extremely anachronistic movie Modern Times. Why anachronistic? Because it’s a mostly silent picture (with a recorded score) made years after everyone else had started talking. Why Modern Times? Because it’s about assembly lines, mechanization, and the depression. Chaplin’s tramp moves from … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 27 – December 3

The Chinese American Film Festival continues through Thursday at the 4-Star. A+ Double Bill: Top Hat & The Gay Divorcee, Stanford, Friday and Saturday. The Gay Divorcee, on its own, would probably get only a B-. Arguably the first Astaire-Rogers movie (certainly the first where they were the real stars), it’s a flawed entertainment with one … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 20-26

In last week’s newsletter, I failed to mention the Chinese American Film Festival that opened yesterday. It runs through Thursday at the 4-Star. The San Francisco International Animation Festival continues through Sunday. And on that very day, New Italian Cinema opens an eight-day run at the Embarcadero. B For the Love of Movies: The Story … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 13 – 19

The 3rd I South Asian Film Festival continues through Thursday. The San Francisco International Animation Festival opens Wednesday for a five-day run. A- Skin, Clay, Shattuck, Guild, Rafael, opens Friday. Sandra Laing (an actual, living person, played here by Sophie Okonedo) was born to white parents in South Africa in 1955, but by all appearances … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 6 – 12

The 3rd I South Asian Film Festival opens Thursday for a four-day run at the Roxie and the Castro. French Cinema Now also starts Thursday for a seven-day run at the Clay. In My Father's Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles with The Lady From Shanghai, Rafael, Monday, 7:00. The Lady from Shanghai is not … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 30 – November 5