Feb 1: Midnight In Paris (Castro Theatre) Midnight in Paris might be Woody Allen‘s first great comedy in decades, but it was worth the wait. The film follows an author (Owen Wilson) ...
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New To San Francisco Theatres Starting Friday, February 24th
Belgium gangsters, Nazis, socialists, roadies, and a closer look at San Francisco’s Hunters Point district. What do these things have in common? They’re all featured in new films opening this week in San Francisco theaters. To see the full list of films and where they’re playing follow the jump. Read More…
The Alamo Is Coming To San Francisco
Anyone who has wondered down Mission street between 21st and 22nd street have no doubt noticed the vacant historic Mission Theatre. Now, thanks to the Texas-based mini theatre chain, the Alamo Drafthouse, this neighborhood blight will be transformed into a 5 theatre multiplex. Drafthouse’s programming ranges from repertory films, foreign, new releases and 2nd run features. They’re also known for their strict enforcement of proper movie etiquette, sweet Guinness floats, and all around great service. As to when the theatre will be ready to open, that’s still up in the air.
Personally, I’m excited for this renovation, especially in the wake of the last year’s closing of The Red Vic. I love the fact that a new movie theatre will be coming to this city, especially one that isn’t Lowes or AMC. What are your thoughts? Are you excited for this new theatre, or would you rather see something else occupying that space?
Check out Alamo Drafthouse videos along with a link to their website after the jump Read More…
Interview with Marshall Curry, Oscar-nominated director of “If A Tree Falls, A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“If A Tree Falls” is a documentary that I found myself deeply respecting, so when I got the opportunity to interview the director, Marshall Curry, I couldn’t refuse. The film itself is one which, as has been said many times of it, asks more questions than it answers. As such, I found that I had many questions to ask one of the main creators of the film.
Tom Ellis: So, this is your second Oscar nomination?
Marshall Curry: Right.
TE: How do you feel being nominated for an Oscar?
MC: It’s great. The main thing is how it attracts attention to the movies. You work so hard on these things, and it’s really hard to get anybody to watch documentaries, so adding something like an Oscar nomination attracts a much bigger audience than you would get otherwise. And it’s fun to get dressed up and rub elbows with George Clooney. Read More…
Announcing The 2nd Annual Green Film Festival
I consider it both an ultra cool and crazy bold decision to cater an entire film festival towards one specific type of film. Doing this can, and often will, alienate a lot of people. Honestly, how many people anxiously await the Bicycle Film Festival, or the Queer Women of Color Film Festival who aren’t either avid cyclists or black gay females?
As a film enthusiast, I don’t go to festivals based solely on whether or not my race, and/or lifestyle match the festival’s program. I seek out festivals hoping to find that diamond in the ruff movie that will most likely never get a wide release. That movie that should have been nominated for an Oscar but you know never will. Last year’s Green Film Festival had a few of those movies and had I been the type of person to judge a book by its cover I never would have seen them.
My point is, you shouldn’t attend a film festival based on name alone. Take the Green Film Festival for example. My initial instinct upon hearing about this festival dedicated to exploring green issues and sustainable living was that it was secretly, or overtly, in cahoots with Green Peace and that all of their films would be propagandist shit. How wrong I was. Two Werner Herzog narrated features (one of which featured him voicing a plastic bag), a Brazilian doc, Hauling, which ended up being in my top 10 docs of the year, and a life-changing doc in Bag-It that will forever change the way I view my environment were some of last year’s highlights. As a film fan I am pretty stoked for this year’s lineup.
The 2nd Annual Green Film Festival goes for a week, from March 1st to the 7th and takes place at the SF Film Society Cinema in Japantown.
This year’s highlights, a complete film schedule, and the festival trailer can all be found after the jump Read More…
New to San Francisco Theaters Starting Friday, February 10th
Bruce Lee, King Edward the VIII, a dead body, and a slew of Oscar Nominated short films. What do these things have in common? They’re all featured in new films opening this week in San Francisco theaters. To see the full list of films and where they’re playing follow the jump. Read More…
Dark Days Review and Trailer
It’s not hard to visit another world if you know where to look, and Marc Singer‘s Dark Days takes us into such a world that existed, not long ago, underneath Manhattan. The film revolves around an encampment of possibly thousands enjoying the benefits of the modern world with their own homes, pets, and electricity, all while covered in total darkness.
The film begins by examining what life is like below the surface of the earth. It asks what brought them down there and what it takes to survive in a world without light. Then it changes course and turns into a struggle film as outside factors complicate life in the tunnels. Read More…
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (Bir zamanlar Anadolu’da) Review and Trailer
Nuri Bilge Ceylan is truly a director to watch out for. As the second film of his which I’ve seen, I have to say that this, his latest film, is remarkable.
It follows the procession of police and associated acts as they bring a criminal around the underdeveloped but ancient region of Anatolia in Turkey. Yet this definitely is not your grandmother’s fast action criminal investigation show. Most of the time takes place in the waits between spots as they go from place to place searching for it. In this time, we are able to watch the characters interact, creating a fascinating atmospheric tension which is not immediate, but not remote either. Read More…
SF IndieFest 2012: “Clown (Klovn)”, “Juko’s Time Machine” and “No Look Pass” – Reviews and Trailers
Clown (Klovn)
Belguim’s movie version of the country’s popular episodic show of the same name has little to offer other than its resemblance of an extended road trip version of Curb Your Enthusiasm, only this seems to be directed by an 11-year-old boy fixated on shocking potty humor and wanting to replicate the closing photo montage of The Hangover.
The movie is scene after scene of two unlikable lead characters displaying lewd punchlines. Having unlikable characters isn’t always a turnoff, in fact, there are a lot of films that focus on the antagonist that I love, but these characters in particular, Frank and Casper, were too uninterestingly juvenile for me to ever be invested in.
Those able to block out all the Curb Your Enthusiasm similarities and are looking to see something featuring a lot of child molestation humor might have a good time with this movie. What else can I say – it wasn’t for me. The only reason I’m giving this film two stars instead of one is because I now know what a shnozzle is and are looking forward to giving my fellow Filmbalayans one the next time I see them. Read More…
