Frameline continues through the week. A Katyn, Kabuki, Rafael, opens Friday. In the spring of 1940, Soviet special forces massacred over 15,000 Polish prisoners of war, including the father of future filmmaker Andrzej Wajda. After the war, Stalin’s government insisted that the Nazis were to blame and suppressed the truth. Wajda tells the story of … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 19 – 25
Category: Weekly Newsletter
What’s Screening: June 12 – 18
Frameline, the LGBT festival, opens Thursday at the Castro. Other than that, not much to report, if only because I’ve been just too busy. But a very special event is happening tonight in Fremont: A Around the Bay, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Friday, 8:00. Sparse and utilitarian, Alejandro Adams' low-key drama gets right to … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 12 – 18
What’s Screening: June 5 – 11
Life isn’t scary enough for you? Have no fear! Or better yet, have some. Another Hole in the Head Film Festival opens Friday for a two-week run, mostly at the Roxie. Charlie Chaplin Days, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday and Sunday, all day. Chaplin spent his second year of filmmaking largely in Niles, and … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 5 – 11
What’s Screening: May 29 – June 4
I Wake Up Dreaming, the Roxie’s noir festival, has done so well it’s been held over an extra week. And CounterCorp continues at the Victoria Theater. Selling That Stuff 'Toon Style: Forty Years of Animated Advertisements and The Naughty to Nasty Sex Cartoon Extravaganza, , Oddball Film, Friday, 8:00 (advertisements) and 10:00 (sex). I think … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 29 – June 4
What’s Screening: May 22 – 28
CounterCorp, "Anti-Corporate Film Festival," opens Friday at San Francisco the Victoria Theater for a three-day run. This one wears its political heart on its sleeve--it's left sleeve. In other festival news, I Wake Up Dreaming: the Haunted World of the B Film Noir continues through the week at the Roxie. John Wayne Western Double Bill: … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 22 – 28
What’s Screening: May 15 – 21
Yet another festival, I Wake Up Dreaming: the Haunted World of the B Film Noir, opens Friday at the Roxie and runs through the 28th. Wings, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday. Primarily remembered as winner of the first Best Picture Oscar (except that the award wasn’t called Best Picture at the time), Wings was … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 15 – 21
What’s Screening: May 8 – 14
No festivals this week, but these screenings may help you get over your withdrawal. Early Kubrick and Altman Double Bill, Roxie, Sunday, 7:00. The Film on Film Foundation presents early, low-budget works by future great directors: Stanley Kubrick's Fear and Desire and Robert Altman's the Delinquents. Both movies will be presented in 35mm prints. Should … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 8 – 14
What’s Screening: May 1 – 7
Are you staying home from the movies because of the swine flu? I hope not, especially with the San Francisco International Film Festival in full swing through the end of the week. I've grouped festival screenings at the bottom of this newsletter. Mary Pickford Celebration, Lark, Friday and Saturday. 2009 marks the centenary of Mary … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 1 – 7
What’s Screening: April 24 – 30
The San Francisco International Film Festival continues through the week. I've grouped festival screenings at the bottom of the post. Metropolis, Clay, Friday, midnight. Wow! A silent film as a midnight movie! How often do you get that? The first important science fiction feature film still strikes a considerable visual punch. The images–workers in a … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 24 – 30
What’s Screening: April 17 – 23
The San Fran International Film Festival opens Thursday night at the Castro, with La Mission. Most screenings after that will be at the Kabuki, with plenty at other locations around the Bay Area. Click here for my continuing festival reports. John Wayne Double-bill: Red River & Angel and the Badman, Stanford, Wednesday, 7:30. John Wayne … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 17 – 23