March 2nd: Freaks/Island of Lost Souls (Roxie Theatre)

As part of Roxie’s week long pre-code Hollywood movie marathon, the Mission theatre will be flying its freak flag with an omnibus caravan of classic horror.  First up, I plan on reacquainting myself with that repugnant feeling of fear I felt as a kid when my boyhood friend’s father took us to the local circus and ushered me into the “freak tent” with Todd Browning‘s Freaks.  “We accept you, one of us!  Gobble Gobble!“

Next up is Eric C. Kenton‘s Island of Lost Souls, a film I have yet to see, which, like Browning‘s Freaks, was released the same year.  The star power in this film boasts Bela Lugosi, Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, and a bunch of mutated half human/half animal freaks.  I wonder if in 1932, when these two films were released, if people got confused between these two movies much the same way that, to this day, I still get confused between the two films that deal with magic from 2006, The Illusionist and The Prestige.

March 4th: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Castro Theatre)

David Fincher‘s reworking of the already hugely popular Swedish film certainly has its detractors, fortunately for me, I’m not one of them.  In a strange way, I like to think of this film as a flavorful stew of Zodiac and Se7en with a hint of Enya garnished on top for good measure.  Leave it to David Fincher to get good use out of an Enya song.

March 9th: Let The Bullets Fly (4-Star Theatre)

An action/comedy/western set in China during the 1920s starring Chow Yun-Fat and featuring a preview that conjures up similarities to Jee-woon Kim‘s fantastic The Good, the Bad, the Weird.  If this film is even half of what Kim‘s movie was, then I’ll be one happy cinegoer, but, truth be told, I have very high hopes for this, especially after reading a press release where it describes the film as “an escalating series of hyper-violent (and hilarious)”. Read More…

Well, folks, it’s about that time again.  The new year has come, and it is up to us to tell you what the best movies were last year because, let’s face it, we’d hate to force you to think for yourself.  We tried to do this as objectively as we possibly could, and, in using the scientific method, employed such tools as our trusty alembic, abacus, and many systems of levers and pulleys to finally arrive at the definite conclusions presented below. Make sure to comment and let us know what you think!

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A battle in Bosnia, two very different battles in Brooklyn (one of which is directed by Roman Polanski), and a Russian band of hipsters battling for expression.  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…

Filmbalaya wholeheartedly wishes you a happy new year. No matter what you offered to give up in your New Years’ Resolution, the people at the movie theatre won’t betray your conscience. To keep your potentially rainy month dry, we’ll tell you what good (or, failing that, perhaps worthwhile) movies to see to fill up many of your days.  Fortunately for us all, there are plenty of films to watch, including some that you may have missed in the past couple of months.

See the list after the jump! Read More…

This is a list of some of our most anticipated movies of 2011. These films have the potential to knock a cinephiles socks off and hopefully most of them will. I must admit, after making this list, this could be a truly fantastic year for movie fans.

Before I get started, a disclaimer: this is not a list for those of you who think that Transformers, The Green Lantern, Harry Potter, or Twilight are going to be the best films of the year. If you made a funny face and almost spewed just from thinking about the aforementioned films, this is your list.  Maybe.

Feel free to leave comments down below.  I was pretty thorough with my list, but I could have forgotten something. To see the list click the link below.

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