Sergio Leone's masterpiece - without doubt the greatest western shot entirely in Europe - gets a near Criterion treatment (without the Criterion price tag) in a two-disc Blu-ray set containing two versions of the film and a massive collection of extras. An Italian epic set during the American Civil War, The Good, the Bad, and … Continue reading The Good, the Bad and the Ugly all look pretty good on new Blu-ray
Whose Streets: Ferguson and America
A- Documentary Directed by Sabaah Folayan & Damon Davis The police murder of Michael Brown rocked the town of Ferguson, Missouri - and the nation. This incendiary and totally-biased documentary does more than tell you the story. It puts you on the ground with the people that marched, protested, and rioted as their city became … Continue reading Whose Streets: Ferguson and America
A+ List: Before Sunrise (and a bit about the sequels)
After seeing Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise in 1995, I described the film as My Dinner with Andre, with scenery and sex appeal. Today most people have forgotten the Wallace Shawn/Andre Gregory talkfest, but those who have watched Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy walking and talking and falling in love happily retain the memory. How many … Continue reading A+ List: Before Sunrise (and a bit about the sequels)
Harmonia: Genesis and classical music in my last Jewish Film Fest screening
Today (Sunday) is the last day of this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. But I'm not attending the Festival today. Therefore, the one movie I saw yesterday closed out the Festival for me. Luckily, it was a really good film. A- Harmonia This wonderful musical drama places the Biblical story of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, … Continue reading Harmonia: Genesis and classical music in my last Jewish Film Fest screening
Unhappy marriages: Thursday night at the Jewish Film Festival
Thursday night, I caught two movies at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. One was very good. One was very bad. No filmmakers attended their films at the Albany Twin that night. That's normal after the Festival moves from San Francisco to the East Bay. A- Personal Affairs This surprisingly sad comedy looks at a quietly dysfunctional … Continue reading Unhappy marriages: Thursday night at the Jewish Film Festival
What’s Screening: August 4 – 10
Skeletons, mummies, heroic pirates, lost loves, rock 'n' roll, and James Cagney doing Shakespeare light up Bay Area screens this week. Also three new movies and two festivals. Festivals Modern Cinema continues through Sunday So does the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Check out my festival coverage. New films opening A An Inconvenient Sequel: Truths … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 4 – 10
Brigsby Bear: Art for good and art from evil
A- Fish out of water comedy Written by Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney Directed by Dave McCary If you're looking for a laugh-a-minute comedy, Brigsby Bear shouldn't be your first choice. But if you want a good (if not entirely believable) story about parenting and the nature of art - along with a few giggles … Continue reading Brigsby Bear: Art for good and art from evil
Jewish Film Festival: Planetarium isn’t much to look up to
I caught an 8:45 SF Jewish Film Festival screening of Planetarium Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't worth watching. The story was absurd, and worse, its execution was dull and boring. Only one of the three main characters was at all interesting, and we never really got to know her. The film follows the adventures of … Continue reading Jewish Film Festival: Planetarium isn’t much to look up to
An Inconvenient Sequel about fixing the problem
A documentary Directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shank The film starts with glaciers melting, while we hear commentators from Fox News and similar outlets trashing Al Gore as an alarmist and a liar. We hear the lies, while we see the truth. Al Gore's 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, was strong on bad news, … Continue reading An Inconvenient Sequel about fixing the problem
Women, Obsession, and other things: Upcoming at the PFA, Castro, and New Mission
A few juicy items coming up in August: Almodóvar at the PFA The Pacific Film Archive has already started the series Women's Troubles: The Films of Pedro Almodóvar, and you've already missed Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (unless you didn't). But there's plenty of other great movies in this series of pictures … Continue reading Women, Obsession, and other things: Upcoming at the PFA, Castro, and New Mission
Bayflicks 