Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Be Natural’ and ‘The Quiet One’
A documentary about the world’s first female film director (you're not alone in not knowing who that is), and the 'quiet' member of the Rolling Stones.
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.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘American Woman’
Sienna Miller’s performance is already being touted as one of the year’s best and a likely Academy Award contender.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Spy Behind Home Plate’ and ‘The Third Wife’
'The Spy Behind Home Plate' will appeal to baseball history buffs, while 'The Third Wife' is an an exquisite — if somewhat opaque — drama set in 19th-century Vietnam.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘War and Peace’
Sergei Bondarchuk’s 1966 movie, screening at BAMPFA, offers an example of filmmaking at its most adventurous, imaginative, and epic. Don't miss it.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Silence of Others’
A documentary look at the maddening roadblocks faced by people seeking long-delayed justice against the crimes of the Franco regime.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Aniara’
'Aniara,' opening at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas on Friday, imagines a future where well-heeled Earth dwellers flee the sickly big blue marble for a new beginning on our nearest planetary neighbor, Mars.
Big Screen Berkeley: CAAMFest 2019, ‘Shadow’
The annual CAAMFest kicked off Thursday for an 11-day run — we pick some of the highlights. Also: 'Shadow' which should be as big a hit today as 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was in its time.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’, ‘Robert Scheer: Above the Fold’
This week: a phantasmagoric mystery about a man whose search for killer is sidetracked by a woman in green; and a tribute to a muckraker whose professional motto is “who’s getting screwed, and who’s doing the screwing?”
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Hail, Satan?’, ‘Tharlo’
Opening Friday: a documentary about the Satanic Temple, a contemporary ‘church’ founded by a mysterious young man; the 'Boundless: Pema Tseden’s Cinema of Tibet' series kicks off Thursday at BAMPFA.
Big Screen Berkeley: More SF Int’l Film Festival; ‘Amazing Grace’
At the festival: a lovely Estonian film with a charming protagonist; a screen adaptation of Michael Lesy’s book 'Wisconsin Death Trap;' and a review of recent Brazilian politics. Also: Aretha in her full glory.
Big Screen Berkeley: 62nd San Francisco International Film Festival
Highlights screening at BAMPFA from this year's festival, which opens this week and continues through Tuesday, April 23.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Diane’ and ‘The Public’
Mary Kay Place is brilliant in 'Diane," delivering an Oscar-worthy performance.
