We've got a ridiculously large selection of great classics screening this week--most of them at the Pacific Film Archive. Festivals The (Not Just) Hong Kong Action Film Series continues Saturday & Sunday The Frozen Film Festival opens Thursday Also opening Thursday: The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. You can read my capsule reviews of films … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 15 – 21
Late Spring at the Pacific Film Archive
As people grow, the way they relate to their family inevitably changes. Some fight the change, and others accept it. I went to the Pacific Film Archive Wednesday night to see Yasujirô Ozu's 1949 masterpiece, Late Spring, about a young woman resisting change. She wants to stay with her widowed father, but he senses that … Continue reading Late Spring at the Pacific Film Archive
A+ List: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Has there ever been an ingénue with a more perfectly comical name than Trudy Kockenlocker? Or a code-era Hollywood movie that so deftly outwitted the censors of its time? There are funnier movies than The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, but not many, and none this funny that flew in the face of traditional morality with … Continue reading A+ List: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 2
Since I last wrote about this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, I've seen five more films and a TV show that will screen at this year's festival. Here's what I thought of them, in order from best to worst: A The Settlers I found this documentary extremely difficult to watch, but also desperately important … Continue reading Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 2
What’s Screening: July 8 – 14
Bruce Lee, John Wayne, Bugs Bunny, and pregnant nuns grace this week's Bay Area screenings. And not only Bugs Bunny. This weekend we get two collections of Loony Tune classics, both in 35mm. Festivals The (Not Just) Hong Kong Action Film Series continues Friday through Sunday, as it will throughout July. New films opening B+ … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 8 – 14
Pregnant nuns, and no; it’s not a comedy. My review of The Innocents
B+ Religious drama Written by Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial, Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine Directed by Anne Fontaine Religion at its worst--stern, rule-based, shameful, and dictatorial--comes up against basic human values in this drama about a nunnery experiencing a rash of new-born babies. Yes, that description suggests a Monty Python-like farce, not a serious drama. … Continue reading Pregnant nuns, and no; it’s not a comedy. My review of The Innocents
What’s Screening: July 1 – 7
Hong Kong action, Frank Zappa, Harry Dean Stanton, and a talking pig grace Bay Area screens this week. Festivals I'm not sure if I should count the (Not Just) Hong Kong Action Film Series as a festival. Indiefest is calling it a series, but with three of four films screening most Saturdays and Sundays, it … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 1 – 7
Frank Zappa doc forces you to Eat That Question
B- Documentary Directed by Thorsten Schütte Early in this documentary on the legendary musician and provocateur, Frank Zappa insists that you can't possibly know someone from an interview. It's artificial; it's unpleasant; it's only two steps away from the Inquisition. And that captures the film's biggest problem. We hear a lot of Zappa's words, but … Continue reading Frank Zappa doc forces you to Eat That Question
3 Views of America: What I saw in theaters this weekend
I saw three movies in theaters this weekend. Free State of Jones at the Elmwood Being a history buff, and particularly one interested in the Civil War and reconstruction, I couldn't help rushing out to see Gary Ross' Free State of Jones. I caught it at the Elmwood. Matthew McConaughey stars as an actual historical … Continue reading 3 Views of America: What I saw in theaters this weekend
Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 1
Here are four films I've already seen that are coming to the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. A Indignation Already screened at San Francisco International Film Festival. Most coming of age movies are essentially optimistic. You know that the protagonist will come out alright. But in Indignation, you slowly begin to realize that, in the … Continue reading Jewish Film Festival Preview, Part 1
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