I've previewed five films that will screen at this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. Oddly, and I swear that this is only a coincidence, three of them are French. Here's what I thought of them, from best to worst. A- My Shortest Love Affair Funny, serious, sexy, and true to life, this French gem … Continue reading Jewish Film Festival Preview
What’s Screening: July 10 – 16
No film festivals this week, but there are still plenty of movies. ? The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, Castro, Sunday, 1:00 An evil, megalomaniac music teacher imprisons young boys in his strange world and forces them to play the piano. The only Dr. Seuss feature film made during his lifetime and with is input is … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 10 – 16
What’s Screening: July 3 – 9
No festivals this week. And unless I've missed something, it will be almost three weeks before the next one. A+ The Third Man, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday New 4K restoration. Classic film noir with an international flavor. An American pulp novelist (Joseph Cotten) arrives in impoverished, divided post-war Vienna to meet up with an old … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 3 – 9
In Stereo looks at modern romance–but not too deeply
C+ Relationship drama Written and Directed by Mel Rodriguez III My press materials from Circus Road Films describes In Stereo as an "un-romantic comedy." That's not only a lie--it's two lies. The movie succeeds best when it allows itself to be romantic. And it is in no way, shape, or form a comedy. Only one … Continue reading In Stereo looks at modern romance–but not too deeply
The A+ List: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at the Pacific Film Archive
Sunday night, I attended a screening at the Pacific Film Archive of one of my favorite western's, John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--another film on my A+ list [URL changed 12/14/2015] of movies that I've loved dearly for decades. The PFA screened it as part of the series Cinema According to Víctor Erice. In … Continue reading The A+ List: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at the Pacific Film Archive
The Castro in July
The Castro's July calendar is up--at least in its details-free "Coming Soon" version is up. Here are some highlights: July 5: Jaws plays a lot in the theaters I cover, but this time it will play on a double bill with one of the first Jaws rip-offs, Roger Corman's Piranha. Not a great movie, but … Continue reading The Castro in July
Early DeMille and early Tarkovsky: Saturday at the movies
I saw two different movies at two very different theaters on Saturday. The Cheat at the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum I not only attended this screening. I was part of it. I introduced this 1915 Cecil B. DeMille melodrama at the Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival. Among major American auteurs, DeMille stands alone as something … Continue reading Early DeMille and early Tarkovsky: Saturday at the movies
What’s Screening: June 26 – July 2
Two film festivals this week: Frameline, our LGBTQ festival, closes its long running on Sunday. Broncho Billy Silent Film Festival opens today (Friday) and runs through the weekend. B+ The Cheat, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 12:30 Cecil B. Demille's darkly erotic melodrama of lust, greed, and conspicuous consumption was way ahead of its time--especially … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 26 – July 2
The A+ List: 8½
Federico Fellini's surreal, autobiographical, self-referential comedy (of a sort) captures the dread of writer's block, the pressures on a filmmaker, and the male mid-life crisis better than any other film I've seen (Barton Fink may equal it in terms of writer's block). Fellini takes us deep into the worries, dreams, and memories of a successful … Continue reading The A+ List: 8½
SF Jewish Film Festival: 35th edition
The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which claims to be "the first and largest festival of its kind," turns 35 this summer. The 17-day collection of screenings and other events will take place all around the Bay Area. Whether it really is the first or largest, it is certainly my favorite of what I call … Continue reading SF Jewish Film Festival: 35th edition
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