SFIFF: Animated Shorts

April 28, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

This afternoon, I dropped in at the New People Cinema for a show of animated shorts. This series will not screen again at the festival. You'll inevitably find wonderful and disappointing works in any such collections. I'll just tell you about my favorites. Tram: A commuter tram filled with businessmen heads off into the world … Continue reading SFIFF: Animated Shorts

SFIFF The Rest of Saturday. A French Bad Marriage and American Shakespeare

April 27, 2013April 28, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

I caught two pictures yesterday after Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address. Both were shown in the Kabuki's large main theater. I liked both. B+ Thérèse In the late 1920s, Thérèse (Audrey Tautou of Amélie) marries the rich and conservative Bernard, who cares mostly about money and family honor. It's a good match economically, … Continue reading SFIFF The Rest of Saturday. A French Bad Marriage and American Shakespeare

Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address

April 27, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

Steven Soderbergh talks very fast. Trying to take notes, I found myself trying to remember what he said three sentences back. He talked primarily about how the industry works, and why it's getting harder and harder to make cinema, which he described as work with a real, unique point of view. This is as opposed … Continue reading Steven Soderbergh’s State of the Cinema Address

SFIFF Friday: Chilean Black Comedy, Russian Whodoneit, and American Rockumentary

April 27, 2013April 27, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

Here's what I saw at my first almost-full day at this year's San Francisco International Film Festival. I caught all of these films at the Kabuki. B- Night Across the Street Writer/director Raúl Ruiz was dying of cancer when he made this strange, surreal comedy. Not surprising that it's all about death. A moderately elderly … Continue reading SFIFF Friday: Chilean Black Comedy, Russian Whodoneit, and American Rockumentary

SFIFF Preview: The Last Step

April 26, 2013April 25, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

Last night, as the San Francisco International Film Festival opened, I found time to preview one more festival film. C The Last Step, New People Cinema, Saturday, May 4 7:00, Wednesday May 8 6:15, Thursday May 9 1:00. Astonishingly, considering recent crackdowns, the Iranian film industry can still make daring, cutting-edge cinema. Unfortunately, not everything … Continue reading SFIFF Preview: The Last Step

San Francisco International Film Festival Preview, Part 2

April 24, 2013April 23, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

For all sorts of reasons--including my home network and the US Post Office--I've only been able to preview two more films that will screen at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Here's what I thought of them. Oddly, they're both about young people in the sixties and that decade's immediate aftermath. B Something in the … Continue reading San Francisco International Film Festival Preview, Part 2

Best Ways to See a Classic Movie

April 23, 2013April 23, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

The best way to see any theatrical feature--classic or otherwise--is in the theater, preferably with a competent projectionist and an enthusiastic audience. But that's a given. I'm here to cover a more controversial topic: From what type of media should an old movie--and let's define that as any one made before 2000--be properly projected for … Continue reading Best Ways to See a Classic Movie

Blancanieves: Silent Film Still Lives in this Spanish Snow White Tale

April 18, 2013April 18, 2013 ~ Lincoln Spector

A- Silent melodrama Written and directed by Pablo Berger Could The Artist have started a trend? Less than 18 months after Michel Hazanavicius' silent comedy hit Bay Area screens, here comes another brand new silent film, also in narrow-screen black and white. But Pablo Berger's very Spanish take on Snow White is as different from … Continue reading Blancanieves: Silent Film Still Lives in this Spanish Snow White Tale