Slim pickings this week. If it wasn’t for the Stanford’s Kurosawa series, there would hardly be anything. I hope to soon get back into the festival routine, which would give me much more to write about for weeks like this one. The Asian American Film Festival continues through the week. And the Tiburon International Film … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 12 – 18

Cinequest continues through Sunday, and the Asian American Film Festival starts Thursday. Oscar Night, Sunday evening (exact times vary from one theater to another). Don’t want to be alone as you watch James Cameron lose to his ex-wife? Join a live Oscar screening party at the Balboa, Cerrito, Lark, Rafael, or Roxie. Many are encouraging … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 5 – 11

Cinequest continues down in San Jose. Balboa Birthday Bash, Balboa, Sunday, 7:00. The anniversary celebration will include a new, silent short subject shot at the Balboa, magician James Hamilton, singer Linda Kosut, a birthday cake, and a screening of the 1926 haunted house comedy The Cat and the Canary, accompanied live by Dave Miotke. A … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 26 – March 4

IndieFest closed last night, but if you live near or are willing to drive to San Jose, Cinequest starts on Tuesday. A+ The Seven Samurai, Stanford, Saturday through the following Friday. If you think all action movies are mindless escapism, you need to set aside 3½ hours and watch Kurosawa’s epic masterpiece. The basic story–a … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 19 – 25

IndieFest continues through Thursday at the Roxie. And the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum runs its Mid-Winter Comedy Festival this weekend—Friday through Sunday. A The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Castro, Wednesday. Terry Gilliam  followed Brazil with this big, splashy fantasy spectacular about the legendary teller of tall tales. The Baron’s alleged exploits had been filmed … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 12 – 18

IndieFest runs through this week and the next at the Roxie. B+ The Music Man, Pacific Film Archive, Saturday, 5:30. One of my childhood  favorites doesn’t quite look like a masterpiece anymore. But it’s still big, dazzling, funny, and filled with catchy tunes. Robert Preston carries the picture as Professor Harold Hill, the conman who … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 5 – 11

In festival news, Noir City closes on Sunday, and IndieFest opens Thursday. A+ Brazil, Castro, Wednesday. One of the best black comedies ever  filmed, and the best dystopian fantasy on celluloid. In a bizarre, repressive, anally bureaucratic, and thoroughly dysfunctional society, one government worker (Jonathan Pryce) tries to escape into his own romantically heroic imagination. … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 29 – February 4

Noir City opens at the Castro tonight for a 10-day run. I wrote a bit about it here. Edison Theater 5 Year Anniversary, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday, 7:30. The Museum has been presenting silent movies in their own Edison Theater for five years now, and they’ve got a free show to prove it.  … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 22 – 28

This is a good week if you want to laugh. Nothing on the list of comedies…and good ones. A Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Castro, Thursday, 7:00. Terry Jones in person. Bump your coconuts together and prepare the Holy Hand Grenade, but watch out for the Killer Rabbit (not to mention the Trojan one). … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 15-21