Jealousy, directed by Philippe Garrel, lives up to its title by considering jealousy in all its painful glory Sometimes a one-word title doesn’t tell you much about a film, but sometimes — Todd Solondz’ 1998 feature Happiness, of course, being a prime example — that single word can be downright duplicitous. For better or worse, truth […]
Rialto Cinemas Elmwood
‘The Zero Theorem:’ Terry Gilliam’s twisted brain on view
The Zero Theorem: opening Friday at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood The very first new release I ever reviewed for Berkeleyside was Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. Released in January 2010, it was Gilliam’s best effort in a while – and now, four years later, he’s finally completed a feature follow-up, which (while not quite […]
‘Code Black’: behind the scenes in L.A. emergency room
Code Black details the work done by doctors, nurses and interns in one of the country’s busiest emergency rooms Two years ago I penned an all too brief single paragraph recommendation for The Waiting Room, an outstanding documentary about the emergency room at Oakland’s Highland Hospital, the East Bay’s primary trauma center and public health […]
Boy asks girl to the prom using movie theater marquee
An important question was posed on the marquee of the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood on College Avenue in Berkeley. Photo: Nick Kukkurovaca Look what happened last week at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood on College Avenue! A young man named Zane asked if he could use the movie theater’s marquee to ask his gal to the prom. “We couldn’t resist […]
‘Maidentrip’: A 13-year-old’s remarkable personal odyssey
Maidentrip is an all too brief documentary recording the remarkable personal odyssey of then 13-year-old Laura Dekker As Lao Tzu’s well-worn bromide goes, ‘every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ In the case of Maidentrip (opening at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood on Friday, March 21), however, a lengthy trip can also begin […]
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
The Vienna Philharmonic returns to Berkeley for a three-day residency with Cal Performances. Photo: Vienna Philharmonic VIENNA PHILHARMONIC The three-day residency of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at Cal Performances this weekend focuses on the centennial of the outbreak of World War I, with three concerts, a symposium bringing together scholars from both Berkeley and Vienna, […]
Big Screen Berkeley: The Trials of Muhammad Ali
“With Muhammad Ali long since silenced by Parkinson’s Disease, it’s easy to forget what a lightning rod he was during the ’60s and early ’70s.” “With Muhammad Ali long since silenced by Parkinson’s Disease, it’s easy to forget what a lightning rod he was during the ’60s and early ’70s.” We’ve been awash recently in […]
Berkeley Oaks Theatre efforts stall in negotiations
A local group spearheaded by Councilman Laurie Capitelli hopes to turn the Oaks Theatre into a community arts space. Photo: Oaks Theatre Consortium [Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1:15 p.m. with additional information from Councilman Laurie Capitelli.] A local consortium’s attempts to come to an agreement to use North Berkeley’s Oaks Theatre on Solano […]
Big Screen Berkeley: Money for Nothing
Money for Nothing, a new documentary, screens at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday Dec. 4. The Federal Reserve Bank is a favorite whipping boy for both left- and right-wing conspiracy theorists, its role in manipulating currency — and (by extension) managing the economy — the source of endless controversy. Calls to ‘audit […]
Big Screen Berkeley: Great Expectations
Would you want this man looming out of the fog? Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch in Mike Newell’s Great Expectations According to the Internet Movie Database, 1897’s Death of Nancy Sykes — a long lost production based on a single scene from Oliver Twist — was the first screen adaptation of Charles Dickens’ work. Since then, of […]
Last chance: Oaks Theatre survey; sketches revealed
Visions of how Solano Avenue’s Oaks Theatre could one day look if Laurie Capitelli’s vision becomes a reality. Illustration: Miguel Lievano Visions of how Solano Avenue’s Oaks Theatre could one day look if Laurie Capitelli’s vision becomes a reality. Illustration: Miguel Lievano The possible transformation into a performance space of the shuttered Oaks Theatre on Solano […]
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Parkland’ revives interest in JFK
Parkland: ‘”A small but handsomely mounted recreation of the events that rang down the curtain on Camelot”: ‘”A small but handsomely mounted recreation of the events that rang down the curtain on Camelot” Where were you on November 22nd, 1963? For many years most American adults could answer that question in their sleep, but November […]