Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Piranhas’ and ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’
Gangster movie fans will love Giovannesi's 'Piranhas;' Plus: animated Buñuel for adults and precocious youth alike.
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: 39th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Some highlights of the 39th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which kicks off on July 18, with many East Bay screenings.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Reports on Sarah and Saleem,’ ‘The Nun’ and ‘Privilege’
Three movies to see: a Palestinian drama about a dangerous extra-marital affair; a sharp critique of Catholicism from Jacques Rivette; and a prescient pop culture feature.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Pasolini’
In the pantheon of filmmaking greats, Pier Paolo Pasolini stands alone. Now another great director, Abel Ferrara, has made a movie of his life, depicting his final day on earth.
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Diamantino’
This satirical comedy about one of the world's best soccer players is odd, yet entertaining.
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.
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.
