Why does the Best Picture Oscar always go to a film that made its Bay Area premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival? I'll get to that. As one of the biggest film festivals in the area, Mill Valley attracts big names. This year, you can experience a Conversation with Olivia Wilde, meet Kristen Stewart … Continue reading 116 features at the Mill Valley Film Festival (and one of them will probably win Best Picture)
The Green Film Festival takes a step toward saving the world
The Bay Area hosts about 60 film festivals a year. Many of them are about certain types of movies (silent, noir, documentaries). Others focus on particular kinds of people (Jews, Arabs, Asian Americans). But others, such as the Green Film Festival, have a message. They want you to leave the theater ready to make a … Continue reading The Green Film Festival takes a step toward saving the world
What’s Screening: September 6 – 12
A short newsletter this week, but it has something for fans of Miles Davis, Leo Tolstoy, Alec Guinness, Keira Knightley, Brendan Fraser, and Dr. Seuss. But no festivals. New films opening B Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Elmwood, Roxie, opens Friday The music is the best thing about this BBC/PBS biopic of the jazz … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 6 – 12
Official Secrets that everyone should know
B Espionage drama Written by Gregory Bernstein, Sara Bernstein, and Gavin Hood, from the book The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, by Marcia Mitchell and Thomas Mitchell Directed by Dave Simon Doing the right, but illegal thing usually results in some sort of punishment. But the suffering isn't likely to be too bad … Continue reading Official Secrets that everyone should know
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Toni Morrison, Bye Bye Birdie, & Petulia
Two more movies I've seen for the first time, and another I hadn't seen since I was, I think, eight. A- Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019), Shattuck I've never read a book by Toni Morrison. But then, I rarely read fiction. Nevertheless, I was mostly entranced with her story, as told mostly by the Nobel … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Toni Morrison, Bye Bye Birdie, & Petulia
Great Movies are Better on the Big Screen
Who would shell out money and travel across town to see a movie they already own on Blu-ray? I would. Nothing you can do in your own home competes with the theatrical experience. Within the last 10 days, my wife and I bought tickets and crossed town to see two favorites on the big screen: … Continue reading Great Movies are Better on the Big Screen
What’s Screening: August 30 – September 5
In a miracle of miracles, Captain Kirk and H.G. Wells time travel to 1980s San Francisco. Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone cross swords in early California. Pedro Almodóvar can take kink to another level, but unlike Bette Davis and Paul Henreid, you can't share a cigarette in a Bay Area movie theater this week. Festivals … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 30 – September 5
The Miracle of the Fiddler on Broadway & Elsewhere
A- Showbiz documentary Directed by Max Lewcowicz The documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles argues that 1964's Broadway sensation, Fiddler on the Roof, is more than just a musical. It suggests that, by following three sisters who chose their own husbands rather than accepting their father's choices, it's a feminist play well ahead of its time. … Continue reading The Miracle of the Fiddler on Broadway & Elsewhere
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Magnificent Seven, Godard Mon Amour, Go Bernadette, Damn Yankees, & An Autumn Afternoon
Disappointments from Donen, Linklater, and Ozu. But a couple of good movies, too. B+ The Magnificent Seven (1960) Netflix Blu-ray The American remake of The Seven Samurai is a large scale, entertaining, but occasionally overly sentimental western. A small Mexican village knows that a gang of bandits will soon swoop down and take their crops. … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: Magnificent Seven, Godard Mon Amour, Go Bernadette, Damn Yankees, & An Autumn Afternoon
What’s Screening: August 23 – 29
This week on Bay Area movie screens: Indiana Jones searches for the Holy Grail, rich people can't leave the room, tempers get hot in Brooklyn, a band says goodbye, and a vampire haunts Tehran. And only one film festival. Festivals Modern Cinema: Haunted! (Gothic Tales by Women) continues. Read my preview. The Week's Big Event A+ … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 23 – 29
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