Maybe it was the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, but Another Planet Entertainment (APE) seems to realize that the Castro Theater should be what it always was: a movie palace. Next month, APE will give us the Castro Theatre 100th Birthday Celebration. From June 3 to 12, the Castro will run classic films. Each day, … Continue reading The Castro Theater’s 100th Birthday Celebration
What’s Screening: May 20 – 26
Science fiction takes over Bay Area cinema this week with Star Trek, RobCop, and the original Star Wars trilogy. There's also a David Lynch/David Cronenberg double bill, a French thriller by Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Paul Thomas Anderson's porn epic. Another cinema bites the dust Berkeley's Shattuck Cinema will close on June 1. When I moved … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 20 – 26
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of May
As usual, a lot of great films (and some bad ones) will disappear from The Criterion Channel at the end of the month. Here are some of the better ones that will disappear, including several films directed by Lina Wertmüller. Full recommendations A Seven Beauties (1975) Lina Wertmüller's 1975 masterpiece is a Holocaust film, an … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of May
What’s Screening: May 13 – 19
This week opens on Friday the 13th - not just the date but also two sequels. And what else is available in Bay Area theaters? A new film from Iran. A popular event returns to the Castro. Also, classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino, Bob Fosse, and George Lucas. Plus, four festivals that … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 13 – 19
The last three days of the SF Silent Film Fest
In the last three days, I sat through seven films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Here are the movies I saw, and here's what I thought about them. Monday I skipped the first movie, Skinner's Dress Suit. A friend told me I didn't miss anything. Actually, I skipped the first film on each … Continue reading The last three days of the SF Silent Film Fest
SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
This year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival opened Thursday night - the first one since 2019. Rather than write about all the films I've seen so far, I'll give you some highlights and lowlights. But first, here's a taste of what the Castro Theater has become now that it's owned by Another Planet Entertainment (APE). … Continue reading SF Silent Film Fest, Part 1
What’s Screening: May 6 – 12
What a week for Bay Area cinema! Six days of silent films. Another six of documentaries. And those are just the festivals. You can also see classics on the big screen from Elia Kazan, Studio Ghibli, Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick, and a couple of duds. Festivals & Series DocLands closes Wednesday. I recommend Fire of … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 6 – 12
May festivals: Docs, Silent, Asian, and Jean Gabin
The SFFilm Festival is over. By Thursday night, more festivals will open. I can't cover every Bay Area film festival. But here are some quick views of what's happening in the merry month of May: DocLands May 5 - 11 This big documentary film festival opens Thursday and closes next Wednesday. The docs they will … Continue reading May festivals: Docs, Silent, Asian, and Jean Gabin
My last comments on this year’s SFFilm
Note: I accidentally posted this article with an earlier date. So it's appearing twice, once in the past, and once when it was supposed to be posted. For various reasons, I haven't covered the SFFilm Festival as thoroughly as I did before COVID. Maybe the festival is spread out geographically too much? Perhaps I get … Continue reading My last comments on this year’s SFFilm
What’s Screening: April 29 – May 5
The SFFilm Festival ends Sunday, but you'll only have four non-festival free days before two other major fests open. Outside of these events, theaters are opening two new indie films, along with two of the greatest movies made about Hollywood. Also other vintage pictures worth watching. Festvals & Series The SFFilm Festival closes Sunday DocLands … Continue reading What’s Screening: April 29 – May 5
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