This Saturday, I had a wonderful day at the Castro Theater. The event was A Day of Silents, which is part of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Five feature films and a collection of shorts, all made before 1930, with live musical accompaniment, comprised this event. So, let's start. Of Mice and Men (and … Continue reading Laughs, drama, and a Day of Silents
What’s Screening: December 1 – 7
I had some considerable technical problems this week. I can't give you all the information and images. And this is a very good week for movies! So I'll just give you a list of the movies that I'd like to go to this week. Festivals & Series The Another Hole in the Head Film Festival … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 1 – 7
Movies I’ve recently seen: November 27
Here are five films that I saw for the first time - or saw once a long time ago and barely remember. They're listed below from the best to the worst: The Holdovers Arsenic and Old Lace Illusion Travels by Streetcar Hangover Square The Raven Svengali A The Holdovers (2023) The trailer tells you that … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: November 27
Yasujiro Ozu: The Elegance of Simplicity
After Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu is probably the greatest Japanese filmmaker. While Kurosawa is remembered for his samurai epics, Ozu is mostly remembered for his small, intimate pictures about family life. But he didn't just do small stories about families. In the 1930s, Ozu made crime dramas, like the ones that Warner Brothers were turning … Continue reading Yasujiro Ozu: The Elegance of Simplicity
What’s Screening: November 24 – 30
Once Thanksgiving is over, you can be thankful for all the good, vintage movies playing in theaters over the week. You can pick between four films that I give an A+ (perhaps five if you consider films that also played last week). There are also three A films, and one with an A-. So, you … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 24 – 30
Horrible fun at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival
I'm not a big horror fan. It's not one of my favorite genres. Too many movies end with a waterfall of very fake blood. Often, I find myself rooting for the evil monster or the ax-wheeling psychopath. And yet, cinema has created several horror masterpieces. Consider the original Nosferatu, The Bride of Frankenstein, and Night … Continue reading Horrible fun at Another Hole in the Head Film Festival
What’s Screening: November 17 – 23
Where can you watch vintage movies on big screens, with other people around you? Here are ten movie theaters that are showing old movies this week (and other weeks, too). Look up these theaters and go back to the…well, I can't say the future. 4-Star Balboa BAMPFA Lark New Mission New Parkway Niles Essanay Silent … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 17 – 23
What’s Screening: November 10 – 16
What kind of films play in Bay Area cinemas this week? There's a very wacky comedy, the drama that brought Reggae to the States, Raymond Chandler via Robert Altman, future science fiction, a silent war movie, animation from Wes Anderson, the first transgender bank heist, and two by Alfred Hitchcock. Festivals & Series The California … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 10 – 16
What’s Screening: November 3 – 9
What do Bay Area cinemas (the few left) offer us when it comes to vintage movies? This week it's early Fellini, Kubrick destroying the world, the great mobster epic, Billy Wilder at his best, and Richard Linklater his youth. Festivals & Series Sorry, but I didn't catch the SFFilm Doc Stories festival until Friday. It … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 3 – 9
Movies I’ve recently seen: October 30
Here are five films that I've seen since July. I watched them simply because I wanted to watch them. Here are the films: Killers of the Flower Moon Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Lynch/Oz The Importance of Being Earnest Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris A Killers of the Flower Moon … Continue reading Movies I’ve recently seen: October 30
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