Frameline, the LGBT festival, opens Thursday at the Castro. Other than that, not much to report, if only because I’ve been just too busy. But a very special event is happening tonight in Fremont: A Around the Bay, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Friday, 8:00. Sparse and utilitarian, Alejandro Adams' low-key drama gets right to … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 12 – 18
Tag: movies
Kurosawa Diary, Part 9: Ikiru
After the overlong, stultifying mess of The Idiot, we come to one of the great masterpieces of world cinema. The title, Ikiru, means “to live” (or so I’ve been told), and I’d be hard pressed to think of a better film about the mortality that shapes and shadows our lives. In fact, I’d be hard-pressed … Continue reading Kurosawa Diary, Part 9: Ikiru
What’s Screening: June 5 – 11
Life isn’t scary enough for you? Have no fear! Or better yet, have some. Another Hole in the Head Film Festival opens Friday for a two-week run, mostly at the Roxie. Charlie Chaplin Days, Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, Saturday and Sunday, all day. Chaplin spent his second year of filmmaking largely in Niles, and … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 5 – 11
The Parkway May Reopen
It seems that an Indiana-based Midwestern theater chain called Motion Picture Heritage is in talks with the Parkway’s owners about reopening the beloved Oakland theater. See this Chronicle article for details.
Silent Film Festivals
It’s June. For most of the Northern Hemisphere, that means warm, sunny days. But in the Bay Area, it means cold, fog, and silent movie anticipation. This year as in every year, late June and early July bring us two weekend-long silent film festivals. This year, personal issues will keep me away from the San … Continue reading Silent Film Festivals
What’s Screening: May 29 – June 4
I Wake Up Dreaming, the Roxie’s noir festival, has done so well it’s been held over an extra week. And CounterCorp continues at the Victoria Theater. Selling That Stuff 'Toon Style: Forty Years of Animated Advertisements and The Naughty to Nasty Sex Cartoon Extravaganza, , Oddball Film, Friday, 8:00 (advertisements) and 10:00 (sex). I think … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 29 – June 4
The Cerrito is Gone, but Thrillville Lives On
The Cerrito is gone (hopefully temporarily), and so is Speakeasy Theaters (definitely permanently), But Thrilleville lives on…at least for a bit. Will Viharo, who booked the two Speakeasy theaters and ran Thrillville there, as found a home for the next scheduled event. On June 18, at 7:30, thrill seekers will convene at the Camera 3 … Continue reading The Cerrito is Gone, but Thrillville Lives On
The Castro’s New Digital Projector
Note: I made a slight alteration to this post on June 30, at the request of a Castro employee. The Castro has a new digital projector. I’m not talking about the kind you might use for conference presentations, then bring home to watch DVDs. I’m talking about the kind of big, 2K projector that’s becoming … Continue reading The Castro’s New Digital Projector
What’s Screening: May 22 – 28
CounterCorp, "Anti-Corporate Film Festival," opens Friday at San Francisco the Victoria Theater for a three-day run. This one wears its political heart on its sleeve--it's left sleeve. In other festival news, I Wake Up Dreaming: the Haunted World of the B Film Noir continues through the week at the Roxie. John Wayne Western Double Bill: … Continue reading What’s Screening: May 22 – 28
Adoration
A Drama Written and Directed by Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan makes small films about people grieving the dead and relearning how to relate to the living, yet such works as Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter never feel like simple chamber pieces. Perhaps its the open, majestic, yet cold Canadian landscape, or maybe the original ways … Continue reading Adoration
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