The tire surveys its handiwork in Rubber If you think a film about an animate, vaguely anthropomorphic, and deeply murderous tire is just what the doctor ordered, haste thee to the Shattuck Cinemas this coming weekend. If, however, you find the concept outrageous, offensive, or just plain silly, go anyway: I promise you an experience […]
John Seal
Freelancer John Seal is Berkeleyside’s film critic. A movie connoisseur with a penchant for natty hats who lives in Oakland, John writes a weekly film recommendation column at Box Office Prophets, as well as a column in The Phantom of the Movie’s Videoscope, an old-fashioned paper magazine, published quarterly. He also writes regular film reviews for IMDB, which can be read here.
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Big Screen Berkeley: Phil Ochs There But for Freedom
Phil Ochs. I’m a music lover. I’ve caterwauled in front of many a microphone, avoided countless nightclub two-drink minimums, and spent far too much money on records (and, grudgingly, CDs, but that’s another story). And I’m catholic in my taste: if it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it, chances are I’ll […]
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SF International Asian American FIlm Festival Part 2
Jung-nim Rhee gets some bad news in "Dance Town". The 29th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival wraps up this coming weekend at the Festival’s East Bay flagship, Pacific Film Archive. If you enjoyed the eclectic blend of films on offer during the fest’s first week, you’ll be pleased to know that more is […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: SF Int’l Asian American Film Festival
It’s time once again for the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, and, as in previous years, Pacific Film Archive will be flying the Festival’s flag in the East Bay. Now in its 29th year, the Festival runs from Thursday, March 10, through Sunday, March 20, and for the next two weeks I’ll be […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
One of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.'s remarkable sets Quick — name all the Doctor Seuss film adaptations you’d gladly watch more than once. The list is, of course, very short: in fact, unless you’re an easily pleased eight-year old, there’s only one, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. This musical fantasy classic screens […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: Vanishing on 7th Street
John Leguizamo quietly rages against the dying of the light in "Vanishing on 7th Street". “Your real good thing is about to end” — Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Your Good Thing “This is the way the world ends: not with a bang but a whimper” — T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men For decades, Hollywood […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: Even the Rain
Juan Carlos Aduviri in Even the Rain Mary Poppins taught us that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Tambien la lluvia (Even the Rain), a new Spanish film opening at the Shattuck Cinemas this Friday, February 18, features its own digestive aid: a tiny bottle of water. It arrives late in the […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: Outside the Law
Jamel Debbouze, Sami Bouajila, and Roschdy Zem in "Outside the Law" Hors-la-loi (Outside the Law), the latest film from iconoclastic French director Rachid Bouchareb, was originally mooted for a Bay Area run last November, but its release was abruptly and mysteriously cancelled at the last minute. Since then, a lot has happened: the winds of […]
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Where’s my DVD? The Strawberry Statement
Bruce Davidson and Bud Cort in The Strawberry Statement On May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen shot dead four students demonstrating against the Vietnam War at Ohio’s Kent State University. On June 15, 1970, The Strawberry Statement opened in New York City cinemas. Though loosely based on a book about a 1968 sit-in at Columbia University, […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: The Thief of Bagdad
John Justin and Conrad Veidt survey the kingdom in The Thief of Bagdad. Some films need to be seen on the big screen. Within this hoary platitude lies an obvious truth: a film’s impact can be severely diminished when the screen shrinks from several hundred square feet to less than a hundred square inches, an […]
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Big Screen Berkeley Double: The Illusionist & Nuremberg
Alice and Tatischeff share some chips in The Illusionist. It’s only January, and I shouldn’t be resorting to the use of superlatives this early in the year. I’m going to go out on a limb anyway: in my humble opinion, you are unlikely to see a more charming film in 2011 than The Illusionist, a […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: Suspicion
Cary Grant brings Joan Fontaine her milk in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Suspicion”. Cary Grant brings Joan Fontaine her milk in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Suspicion”. Though he’s been dead for more than 30 years, Alfred Hitchcock remains an instantly recognizable pop culture icon. His French acolyte Claude Chabrol, on the other hand, could have walked down any street […]