As a companion piece to the puff piece — I mean the column — I wrote this week about the upcoming 84th Academy Awards, which airs this Sunday, I thought I would share my picks and predictions for what seems destined to be yet another relatively safe and predictable Oscar year. You probably will Read More…
In the wake of Alexander Payne’s new film “The Descendants,” I had the opportunity to speak with actress Judy Greer, who plays a small but meaningful role alongside George Clooney in this movie. To discuss her role in “The Descendants” in full would require a lot of spoilers, so I Read More…
In the Thursday, November 10 issue of The Daily Cal, I wrote on German director Werner Herzog’s latest film, the documentary “Into the Abyss.” In addition to seeing the film, I also had the pleasure of speaking with the director at the Four Seasons in San Francisco. Here you will Read More…
Tonight marks the beginning of another year of our of our lucky area’s favorite film festivals, Cinema by the Bay. This festival showcases the work of filmmakers, local and beyond, with a focus on the San Francisco Bay Area. Some of these films were shot and made here, and others Read More…
This upcoming movie-packed weekend at Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley (2575 Bancroft Way) should be enough to drive cinephiles wild. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTjFWAvJTvI&w=420&h=315] Beginning at 7pm tonight, Friday/21, PFA continues its series of great epics by the German new wave pioneer Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Last weekend, PFA had a great turnout Read More…
Who says that horror film has no place in scholastic discourse? On October 7th and 8th, Friday and Saturday, UC Berkeley will host an academic symposium entitled “Asian Horror Cinema and Beyond” at the David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way at Oxford). The event organizers are Miri Nakamura, assistant professor Read More…
A shoddy trailer does not always accurately anticipate the finished product of a film, but this one’s a doozy of a trainwreck. Stephen Daldry, director of such maudlin fare as “Billy Elliot” and “The Reader” — though I do have a soft spot for “The Hours” — has adapted Jonathan Read More…
This weekend in the Bay Area, you have a variety of opportunities to catch exciting films both classic and current. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njt0muCyAdc&w=560&h=315] The 3rd Annual Oakland Underground Film Festival kicks off tomorrow with “Yelling to the Sky,” which was a hit at this year’s SXSW and stars Zoe Kravitz — Read More…
This past Wednesday, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, currently located in two separate facilities on Bancroft Way, held a community open house to unveil the prototype for its new location. The plan has been underway since 1997 when the current BAM building was deemed seismically unsound and Read More…
