The San Francisco International Film Festival opened last night with a mercifully short introduction, an excellent film, and a short but interesting Q&A. But the night started off on the wrong foot. When we entered the Castro, we found that almost all of the seats were "Reserved." Only the front three and back five rows … Continue reading Alex Gibney, Steve Jobs, and opening night for the San Francisco International Film Festival
What’s Screening: April 24 – 30
The big one (well, one of the big two), the San Francisco International Film Festival, runs through this week and beyond. My festival listings are at the bottom of this newsletter. But even if you don't go to the festival, you can still catch some good movies. B+ In the Footsteps of Godzilla, Roxie, Sunday, … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 24 – 30
Revisiting The Flame and the Arrow
Burt Lancaster, at his most acrobatic, takes on an Errol Flynn role and pulls it off with panache in The Flame and the Arrow, a Robin Hood-like story set in medieval Italy. Like all the best swashbucklers, it's witty, exciting, beautiful to look at, only slightly suspenseful, totally ridiculous, and a whole lot of fun. I'm … Continue reading Revisiting The Flame and the Arrow
San Francisco International Film Festival Preview
Here are five films I've previewed for the upcoming San Francisco International Film Festival. I've arranged them in order from potential masterpiece to stinker. Except that there are no stinkers in this batch. As Dorothy Parker once said of Katherine Hepburn's acting range, these films run the gamut from A to B. Only in this … Continue reading San Francisco International Film Festival Preview
Cerrito Classics going on hiatus
The Cerrito theater is halting its monthly Classics series until September. Why? Here's the official explanation: Cerrito Classics are shown by the Friends of the Cerrito Theater, under the auspices of Rialto Cinemas, which operates the Cerrito. Rialto operates as a first-run theater, with special showings of filmed productions of London plays, as well as … Continue reading Cerrito Classics going on hiatus
What’s Screening: April 17- 23
The Tiburon International Film Festival closes tonight, and the San Francisco International Film Festival opens Thursday. A Cheatin', Elmwood, Roxie, opens Friday. Visuals reflect emotional states in this dialog-free romance by Bill Plympton, arguably the strangest, most brilliant animator around. For instance, when a wife reaches out to touch her estranged husband, her hand keeps … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 17- 23
Age and stardom: My review of Clouds of Sils Maria
B+ drama Written and directed by Olivier Assayas A great stage actress and sometimes movie star (Juliette Binoche) reluctantly accepts to star in a revival of the play that made her famous. But there's a catch. She's too old to play the young, ambitious lesbian that became the defining part of her early career. Now … Continue reading Age and stardom: My review of Clouds of Sils Maria
Bill Plympton’s absurd love story: Cheatin’ (my review)
A Adult animation Written and directed by Bill Plympton If Bill Plympton isn’t the strangest, most iconoclastic, bizarre, and brilliant animator of all time, we live in a very weird world. His instantly recognizable style takes caricature—the heart of all animation—to an extreme beyond anyone else working in features. Consider Jake—the irresistible hunk in Cheatin’. … Continue reading Bill Plympton’s absurd love story: Cheatin’ (my review)
SFIFF: Paul Schrader to be honored in this year’s Kanbar Award
The San Francisco International Film Festival just announced that writer and sometimes director Paul Schrader will receive this year's Kanbar Award for life achievement in storytelling (previously, it was life achievement in screenwriting). I guess he's a good choice. He's written at least two great films: Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Both were directed by … Continue reading SFIFF: Paul Schrader to be honored in this year’s Kanbar Award
What’s Screening: April 10 – 16
Both the Tiburon International Film Festival and the Buddhist Film Festival play through this week. A Kill Me Three Times, Opera Plaza, Shattuck, opens Friday. Simon Pegg stars as a professional killer surrounded by amateurs in this very funny thriller from Australia. This is the sort of movie where a gruesome, bloody murder is interrupted … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 10 – 16
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