Big news! BAMPFA will be screening movies in August. But this week, you can see Uncut Gems, Barbara Lee (who's something of a gem, herself), The African Queen, and Mulholland Dr. We also have three (mostly virtual) film festivals. Festivals The S. F. Frozen Film Festival closes Sunday windrider bay area closes Friday The San … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 16 – 22
Tag: John Huston
What’s Screening: May 28 – June 3
The Castro, the Stanford, and the BAMPFA are still closed, but the Grand Lake is open! This week we have a film about a woman running for office in Saudi Arabia. Also Shrek, Eraserhead, and three film festivals. Festivals Berlin & Beyond closes Sunday The Legacy Film Festival On Aging closes Monday SF DocFest opens … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 28 – June 3
What’s Screening: May 7 – 13
This week in Bay Area cinema: Harry Potter on the big screen. A discussion with film preservationist/showman Serge Bromberg. Ousmane Sembene's satire on wealth and ego. Going down river with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Also, three film festivals. And next week, the Roxie will open its doors and show us some movies. Festivals The … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 7 – 13
The so-called Great War and its movies, Part 2
Last week, I posted an article on great World War 1 films. I soon realized that I missed some of the best. So here are three films that should have been in that earlier collection. A+ Grand Illusion (France, 1937) This is the film I most regret missing in last week's article. It's even in … Continue reading The so-called Great War and its movies, Part 2
What’s Screening: February 7 – 13
What's coming to Bay Area arthouse cinemas this week? One of last year's best films rereleased in black and white. Also pictures by Kurosawa, Varda, Lubitsch, and Huston. All that along with Rudolph Valentino, college students, the Oscars, and four film festivals. Festivals SF Urban closes Sunday SF IndieFest closes Thursday. Read my preview. Berlin … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 7 – 13
What’s Screening: February 15 – 21
Note: After I posted this newsletter, a reader brought another film festival, opening tonight, to be attention. I've therefore corrected this article. What's happening in Bay Area theaters this week? Silent comedy, John Huston, Paul Butterfield, and David Bowie. Also two new movies and three four film festivals. Plus, at the Lark and Roxie, it'll be … Continue reading What’s Screening: February 15 – 21
Good film/bad film: The Other Side of the Wind & They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead
We waited more than 40 years to see Orson Welles' final film, The Other Side of the Wind. What a disappointment! This just may be the worst film ever by a major auteur. On the other hand, we now have They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, Morgan Neville's excellent documentary on the making of Wind. … Continue reading Good film/bad film: The Other Side of the Wind & They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead
What’s Screening: October 19 – 25
Faust with live music, a Dashiell Hammett double bill, a porn epic, a preview of Alfonso Cuarón's follow-up to Gravity, and five film festivals play this week in Bay Area theaters. Festivals The San Francisco Greek Film Festival closes Saturday The Arab Film Festival closes Sunday Modern Cinema>Satyajit Ray: Intimate Universes also closes Sunday. Read … Continue reading What’s Screening: October 19 – 25
What’s Screening: May 11 – 17
Professional killers, psychotic killers, inept superheroes, dangerous rabbits, and a whole lot of clay chickens on Bay Area movie screens this week. And only one film festival. Festivals CAAMFest continues through the week and beyond Promising events Mystery Men, New Mission, Wednesday, 10:15 I loved this superhero satire when it opened in 1999; I even … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 11 – 17
What’s Screening: January 19 – 25
Movies set in the White House, a sand pit, the High Sierra, a dystopian future, the early Soviet Union, and another planet - and all of them projected on Bay Area movie screens. And yet, still no film festivals (although that will change very soon). New films opening A- The Final Year, Embarcadero Center, Shattuck, … Continue reading What’s Screening: January 19 – 25
