A lot of vintage fantasy and sci-fi plays on the big screen in the Bay Area this week. There's also that Mark Zuckerberg biopic, along with two movies by Samuel Fuller. You can find MGM at its most sparkling (if not of the best), and a dance directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Festivals & Series Gamera … Continue reading What’s Screening: August 12 – 18
Tag: George Cukor
What’s leaving Criterion at the end of February
At the end of every month, The Criterion Channel removes a considerable number of films from their streaming platform. Here are some that I can recommend. See them, or at least as many as you can, before February becomes March. Full recommendations A Pickup on South Street (1953) Richard Widmark plays a pickpocket who lifts … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion at the end of February
My thoughts on A Star is Born (1954)
Last Friday night, my wife and I watched the 1954 version of A Star is Born - the one starring Judy Garland and James Mason. Aside from being almost perfect, this film catches Hollywood at an important moment in film history. The film industry was experiencing its biggest changes since the talkie revolution. And you … Continue reading My thoughts on A Star is Born (1954)
What’s Screening: March 13 – 19
Note: Something went wrong with this article soon after it went live. It disappeared. So I'm posting it again. If you're brave enough to go into a crowded theater this week, you can see movies by Ken Loach, Vincente Minnelli, Billy Wilder, George Cukor, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, Neil Jordan, and a not-yet-famous Carlo Mirabella-Davis. … Continue reading What’s Screening: March 13 – 19
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, & George Cukor give us a Holiday – thanks to Criterion’s new Blu-ray
The 1938 romantic comedy Holiday doesn't seem quite crazy enough to be called a screwball. The laughs don't pile up the way other such comedies of the period do. But it has something else - a believable romance between intelligent people discussing their lives and their loves, and how they became the people they are. … Continue reading Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, & George Cukor give us a Holiday – thanks to Criterion’s new Blu-ray
What’s Screening: December 13 – 19
Frank Capra's masterpiece. Cagney and Bogart. The movie that made Terry Gilliam famous and the one that created the word gaslighting. The creepy world of medieval Christianity. And remember, the family that runs an ambulance together struggles to make a living. All that and more on Bay Area movie screens this week. Festivals The last … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 13 – 19
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: War of the Worlds, Dinner at Eight, Non-Fiction
Between film festivals, revival theaters, reviewing films before their release, and streaming classics, it's been months since I simply went to a regular multiplex to see a new movie. I finally managed to do it last night. And it was a disappointment. See below. B War of the Worlds (1953), Kanopy The first invasion-from-space picture … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: War of the Worlds, Dinner at Eight, Non-Fiction
Sexual Abuse: The filmgoer’s Dilemma
Sexual predators in the movie business (and elsewhere) are finally getting the attention they deserve…as opposed to the attention they want. The Harvey Weinstein scandal has punched a hole in the culture and let some light in. For the moment at least, the entertainment industry isn't safe for sexual predators. In addition to Weinstein, Kevin … Continue reading Sexual Abuse: The filmgoer’s Dilemma
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