I hope you didn't gain too many pounds yesterday. How much did I gain? I don't know. I wrote this newsletter on Tuesday. But that also means that I may have missed an event or two that appeared at the last minute. Anyway, here's what's happening in Bay Area revival cinema this week. Festivals & … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 26 – December 2
Tag: Toshiro Mifune
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Stunt Man, The Wind, American Trial, & Snow Trail
Five more films, all worth watching…but not all of them great. A- The Stunt Man (1980), My own DVD, which I hadn't watched in ages One of my favorite cult movies. Strange, audacious, funny, suspenseful, and totally weird. A Vietnam vet on the run from police accidentally kills a stunt man, and the vet takes … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Stunt Man, The Wind, American Trial, & Snow Trail
What’s Streaming: April 3 – 9
Two weeks ago, I wrote that I didn't know when I would start doing What's Screening, my weekly newsletter, again. Well, I'm starting it up again, now as What's Streaming. Hopefully, it will soon be back to What's Screening. In the meantime, I'll be writing about struggling theaters and streaming movies. Helping a theater Last … Continue reading What’s Streaming: April 3 – 9
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Graduate, Samurai Rebellion, Boudu Saved from Drowning, & Knightriders
A few more movies that I've seen recently. A The Graduate (1967), FilmStruck I've seen this classic romantic comedy many times, but this recent viewing brought me new respect for the picture. The revolutionary staging and camerawork wasn't just art for art's sake; it sets the mood and heightens the characters. Consider the opening credits, with … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Graduate, Samurai Rebellion, Boudu Saved from Drowning, & Knightriders
What’s Screening: July 28 – August 3
Dinosaurs, Marilyn Monroe, Toshiro Mifune, and the most influential film in cinema history light up Bay Area screens this week. Also, two film festivals. Festivals Modern Cinema continues through this week (mostly on weekends) and beyond The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival also continues through this week and beyond. You can read my reports and … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 28 – August 3
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
What’s Screening: July 14 – 20
Talk about an embarrassment of riches. The Bay Area has an overwhelmingly large selection of cinematic treats this week. Festivals Music Week, which I only found out about yesterday, opens today runs through Thursday. Modern Cinema opens Thursday The San Francisco Jewish Film Festival also opens Thursday. Read my reports and capsule reviews. New films … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 14 – 20
What’s Screening: July 7 – 13
Anti-Nazis, pro-Buddhists, Bugs Bunny, Charlie Chaplin, and Akira Kurosawa liven up Bay Area movie screens this week. But, for the second week in a row, no film festivals. New films opening A- 13 Minutes, Opera Plaza, opens Friday In 1939, Georg Elser attempted to assassinate Hitler. This spellbinding and sometimes gruesome drama cuts back and … Continue reading What’s Screening: July 7 – 13
A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
Sunday night, I saw one of cinema's greatest masterpieces, The Seven Samurai, at the Pacific Film Archive. It was the first time I'd seen it on the big screen in maybe 35 years. Which isn't to say that I hadn't seen it plenty of times at home. I've owned this epic on Laserdisc, DVD, a … Continue reading A+ List: Seven Samurai on the big screen
What’s Screening: June 30 – July 6
W. C. Fields, Cab Calloway, Joe Dante, Bogart & Hepburn, tough British cops, and the Russian Revolution light up Bay Area movie screens this week. And oddly, not a single film festival. New films opening A- Nowhere to Hide, Roxie, opens Friday The experience of sitting through this documentary can best be described as harrowing, … Continue reading What’s Screening: June 30 – July 6