Persepolis, Rafael, Embarcadero, Shattuck, opens Friday. Can one call a 95-minute, low-budget, animated film an epic? I think this one qualifies. It may also qualify as a masterpiece. It's certainly an excellent and an important movie. Iranian/French cartoonist Marjane Satrapi based Persepolis on her own autobiographical graphic novels (Vincent Paronnaud shares screenwriting and directing credits). … Continue reading Recommendations and Warnings From Persia to New York

This week's listings can be summed up in two words: Kurosawa and Castro. Outside of the many excellent films showing in first run, that's pretty much what's worth catching. Odd Reels Night, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 7:30. Now this sounds like fun. YBCA curator Joel Shepard will screen a collection of reels from … Continue reading Kurosawa Recommendations (and No Warnings)

Ben-Hur (1959), Castro, Saturday. The best of the many big, long religious epics Hollywood churned out when the wide screen was a selling point, Ben-Hur doesn't quite manage to be the masterpiece that many people remember. The story is heavy-handed, especially in the final hour when the Christianity is ladled on rather thick. But it's … Continue reading He-Man Hur and Harold Lloyd: Recommendations and Warnings

Since I now leave first-run Hollywood and indiewood fare out of the weekly report, my recommendations and warnings on pretty short this week. Helvetica, Roxie, opens Friday. Director Gary Hustwit clearly feels passionate about typefaces. So do the graphic designers he interviews. Some consider the ubiquitous san serif font for which the movie is named … Continue reading Only Four Recommendations and Warnings

All In This Tea, Cerrito, Sunday. Documentarian extraordinaire Les Blank lives in El Cerrito, so it's no surprise that the local theater gets his new film's East Bay premiere. Blank will appear in person at both shows. All In This Tea is also opening Friday at the Rafael and the Roxie. Double Bill: Follow the … Continue reading All In These Recommendations and Warnings

Things aren't as silent-movie heavy as last week, but the Chaplin festival continues at the Castro and the Pacific Film Archive, and that dominates this week's recommendations (and warnings). A Dog's Life, The Idle Class, and Shoulder Arms, Pacific Film Archive, Saturday, 2:30. Charlie Chaplin made far more shorts than features (hundreds as opposed to … Continue reading Chaplin and Other Recommendations & Warnings

In three years of Bayflicks, I have yet to see a week so totally dominated by silents. The silent movie events listed below outnumber the talkies three to one. San Francisco Silent Film Festival--Winter Edition, Castro, Saturday, all day. What a great way to spend a Saturday! The festival begins at 11:00 with a series … Continue reading Silent Recommendations and Warnings

The Red Balloon and White Mane, Rafael, Lumiere, and Shattuck, opens Friday for one week. Janus Films put two Albert Lamorisse short children's films together into one feature-length package. Lamorisse's masterpiece "The Red Balloon" introduced me to a cinema beyond Hollywood when I was too young to read subtitles. They're not necessary; Lamorisse uses visuals, … Continue reading Recommendations and Warnings: Chaplin, Rats, and Balloons

Redacted, Shattuck, Embarcadero Center, and Aquarius; opens Friday. An American soldier in Iraq videos everything he sees. A French documentary shows how checkpoints work and why they don’t. A security camera captures thugs planning a violent crime and talking about it afterward. Every shot in Brian De Palma’s Iraq war “fictional documentary-- comes from a … Continue reading This Week’s Recommendations and Warnings Shall Not Be Redacted

Just two articles posted this week: A review of Dan in Real Life and a discussion of the The Altered Charlie Chaplin Problem.I don't have many recommendations or warnings this week--at least following my new rules. So I'm altering the rules and listing movies that are continuing to play, or are in wide release. But … Continue reading Dirty Recommendations and Warnings for Your Life