You'll probably be happy to see the end of 2020. But you may also find sadness about the films going away from The Criterion Channel at the end of December. Here are a few that will disappear from Criterion on New Year's Day: A Trouble in Paradise (1932) What's so fascinating and entertaining about witty, … Continue reading What’s leaving Criterion when December ends
Tag: James Cagney
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Social Dilemma, Coastal Elites, My Octopus Teacher, & Blonde Crazy
In this random selection of four movies, we find three very good films that came out this year (not on the big screen, of course). There's also a mediocre movie nearly 90 years old. A The Social Dilemma (2020) This documentary/fiction hybrid shows us at least one reason why society is in such a mess. Top … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Social Dilemma, Coastal Elites, My Octopus Teacher, & Blonde Crazy
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
What’s Screening: November 29 – December 5
It's Black Friday, but that doesn't mean you have to fight the crowds in the malls. Why not go to the movies? This week in Bay Area cinemas we have James Cagney, Aretha Franklin, Cary Grant, and a sleek, black-and-white thriller you'll probably never get to see again. Festivals Another Hole in the Head Film … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 29 – December 5
What’s Screening: November 15 – 21
What's in Bay Area movie theaters this week? Two very good new movies. The Cotton Club with your choice of double bill. Molly Ivins and King Henry V. Drunken actors and gay cowboys. And film festivals from France, South Asia, and Napa. Festivals The 3rd i South Asian Film Festival plays one more day: Saturday … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 15 – 21
Movies from 1939 at the Stanford
I'm not sure who proclaimed 1939 The Great Movie Year. Probably it was Ted Turner, when he owned the MGM, Warner, and RKO libraries. A lot of beloved classics came out that year, including The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind - the two most beloved films of Hollywood's studio era. Also, 1939 … Continue reading Movies from 1939 at the Stanford
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The King of Comedy, White Heat, Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood, & The Bellboy
Despite the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, I've managed to watch four movies that weren't particularly Jewish. A The King of Comedy (1982) Netflix DVD Martin Scorscee's meditation on celebrity and fandom (written by Paul D. Zimmerman) feels in a strange way like a much less violent Taxi Driver. Like Travis Bickle, Rupert Pupkin (Robert … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The King of Comedy, White Heat, Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood, & The Bellboy
What’s Screening: July 21 – 27
Sexy scientists, beautiful criminals, pampered dogs, adorable pigs, and four film festivals light up Bay Area screens this week. Festivals The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival continues this week at various theaters. You can read my recommendations, warnings, and reports for this festival. Charlie Chaplin Days opens today and runs through the weekend The Frozen … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 21 – 27
Two By Howard Hawks
I attended the first night of the Pacific Film Archive's Howard Hawks retrospective last night. The opening pictures, The Crowd Roars and Tiger Shark, made an odd choice. Made in 1932, soon after his classic Scarface, these are not amongst his best work, his earliest work, or his best early work. They're merely pretty good … Continue reading Two By Howard Hawks
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