Director Howard Hawks proved his talent in many genres, including westerns. He made four of them, and the first two, Red River and Rio Bravo, are masterpieces. Both belong on my A+ List of all-time greats. And yet, they're so different that it's hard to imagine they were made by the same director. Red River … Continue reading A+ List: Rio Bravo
What’s Screening: June 9 – 15
Jane Fonda, Charles Dickens, Toshiro Mifune, Janis Joplin, and four film festivals grace Bay Area screens this week. Also, I'm adding another theater to the Bayflicks listings: The Sebastiani in Sonoma. I guess that's still the Bay Area. This non-profit primarily screens new movies, but I'll be covering their monthly Vintage Film Series. Festivals DocFest … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 9 – 15
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: In a Lonely Place, Wonder Woman, & Tiny Furniture
Here are three movies I've recently seen. I'll also tell you where I saw them. A In a Lonely Place (1950), FilmStruck Nicholas Ray critiqued masculinity in many of his films, but rarely as strongly as he does here. Early on, the movie feels like an exposé of Hollywood. Then it becomes a murder mystery. It … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: In a Lonely Place, Wonder Woman, & Tiny Furniture
The Parade’s Gone By: Sunday, the last day at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
I love the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, but it can be tiring. You spend all day, three days in a row, watching movies. Sometimes the breaks between films are less than half an hour. But the movies, the music, the discussions, and the people you can talk to make it very special. This year's … Continue reading The Parade’s Gone By: Sunday, the last day at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
A Million and One Nights: Saturday at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
It's Tuesday, so it's time to tell you about Saturday at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. I'm won't discuss every film screened that day; just the ones I want to talk about. A lot of the films, not just on Saturday but throughout the whole festival, were new restorations. It seemed as if every … Continue reading A Million and One Nights: Saturday at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival
Spellbound in Darkness: Thursday and Friday at the Silent Film Festival
I can't possibly cover the San Francisco Silent Film Festival the way I do the San Francisco International Fest, reporting every morning on what I saw the previous day. SFSFF is too compact and concentrated for that. Most days, it starts at 10:00am and ends around 11:00pm. Breaks can be short. I have a long … Continue reading Spellbound in Darkness: Thursday and Friday at the Silent Film Festival
What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
Russian revolutionaries, sexy Indians, mixed-race couples, Japanese writers, French samurais, an Iranian vampire, and a whole lot of silent movies grace Bay Area screens this week. Festivals The San Francisco Silent Film Festival continues through Sunday DocFest continues through this week and beyond Promising events Bringing a black boyfriend home double bill: Guess Who's Coming … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 2 – 8
Forgotten Laughs: Comic gems that few remember
You probably already know and love Some Like It Hot, Groundhog Day, City Lights, Annie Hall, The General, and Duck Soup. They're classics. But an awful lot of great comedies never reached that status. Some were wrong for their time. Others were hits, but were largely forgotten over the decades. Some are just acquired tastes. … Continue reading Forgotten Laughs: Comic gems that few remember
What’s Screening: May 26 – June 1
Crooks, comedy, Soviet science fiction, and a Dinner with Andre grace Bay Area movie theaters this week. Festivals We just had one documentary festival, but another, DocFest, opens Wednesday. It runs for more than two weeks. The San Francisco Silent Film Festival opens Thursday. Promising events My Dinner With Andre, Roxie, Tuesday, 7:00 Everybody was … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 26 – June 1
What’s Screening: May 19 – 25
Philip Marlowe, a tour of Europe, and a lot of rock 'n' roll grace Bay Area movie screens this week. But no film festivals. New films opening A Long Strange Trip, Clay, Aquarius, Rafael, Thursday, 7:00 The Grateful Dead played great music for nearly 30 years, building up the most devoted fanbase in rock history. … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 19 – 25
Bayflicks 