I spent Saturday at the Castro, taking in the first full day of the Noir City festival. It was a long day--a triple-bill matinee, a short dinner break, and a double-bill evening show. Mexico was the common theme. Technically speaking, only the matinee had a Mexican theme. It started with a Hollywood thriller about illegal … Continue reading Crime on both sides of the border: Saturday at Noir City
Noir City Opening Night
My wife and I arrived at the Castro more than 30 minutes before curtain time. It was already packed. A trio, the Fly Right Sisters, entertained us with songs from the 40s (or there abouts). The singers, along with many in the audience, were dressed appropriately. Right from the beginning, I knew it was going … Continue reading Noir City Opening Night
What’s Screening: January 24 – 30
Feeling depressed? Here's a little darkness to cheer you up: This year's edition of Noir City opens its ten-day run tonight. My Noir notes are at the bottom of this newsletter. B Nebraska, Lark, opens Friday. A good film, but not as good as I've learned to expect from Alexander Payne. Yes, Bruce Dern hits … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 24 – 30
New Films I’ve Seen Recently
A The Wolf of Wall Street Back in September, I suggested that Martin Scorsese could have done The Great Gatsby justice. Now I know for sure. In this based-on-a-true-story epic, his best film since Goodfellas, he takes us into a glamorous world and makes it look ugly and degenerate. Leonardo DiCaprio brings energy, charisma, recklessness, … Continue reading New Films I’ve Seen Recently
MGM 90th Anniversary…without MGM
I received an interesting press release today. Here's how it started: Los Angeles, CA (January 22, 2014) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) announced today a yearlong global campaign to honor the studio's storied 90-year legacy. Founded in 1924 when theater magnate Marcus Loew bought and merged Metro Pictures Corp. with Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions, MGM … Continue reading MGM 90th Anniversary…without MGM
Duck Soup Revisited
I watched Duck Soup Sunday at the Pacific Film Archive. Great fun. I don't remember when I saw it last on a big screen with a real audience. Certainly more than 20 years ago. That's all very odd, because I just may have seen Duck Soup theatrically more often than any other movie. I first … Continue reading Duck Soup Revisited
What’s Screening: January 17 – 23
In festival news, For Your Consideration closes today, and Berlin & Beyond continues through Tuesday. The Apu Trilogy, Pacific Film Archive, Friday through Sunday. It's been way too long since I've seen Satyajit Ray's trilogy about a young boy growing into a man. The PFA will screen 35mm restored prints of all three films on … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 17 – 23
German Expressionism on a Hollywood Budget: My Blu-ray review of Sunrise
A marriage sinks as low as it can go, then rises again to the joys of marital bliss in F. W. Murnau's first American film, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. The story is as simple and as simplistic as a story can get, yet the beautiful, expressionistic telling of that story turns it into … Continue reading German Expressionism on a Hollywood Budget: My Blu-ray review of Sunrise
Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
On January 11, 1914, a Keystone movie crew drove to Venice--a beach town near Los Angeles--to improvise a comedy around an actual event of modest interest. Only one performer came with the crew--a young British Music Hall comedian recently signed with Keystone. The comic, Charlie Chaplin, quickly put together a costume and makeup, and created … Continue reading Chaplin at the Castro: My Report on a Wonderful Day
What’s Screening: January 10 – 16
The new year isn't that new anymore. This week the Pacific Film Archive returns from its winter break, and the first film festivals of 2014 open. First, For Your Consideration starts its run today (Friday), previewing 14 possible nominees for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Then Berlin & Beyond, opens Wednesday. I'm not listing Saturday's … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 10 – 16
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