2016 By the Numbers

I saw 321 "films" on a theater screen in 2016. For these purposes, a film is not just a feature length film but also includes programs (typically from film festivals) which consist of multiple short films. If it was categorized as a single program in a festival guide, it counts as one film entry on my list. Conversely, I saw several programs which consisted of a short film and a feature length film. For my counting purposes, those are counted as a single film entry.

My annual film totals for the past few years are:

2010 - 385 films
2011 - 406 films
2012 - 436 films
2013 - 397 films
2014 - 388 films
2015 - 336 films
2016 - 321 films

For four consecutive years, I have seen fewer films than the previous year.

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The top 10 venues in which I saw films in 2016 were:

1)  Roxie Theater (72 films) - 15 films from IndieFest, 12 films from DocFest and 10 films from various Elliot Lavine and Mid-Century Productions events.  I should acknowledge Elliot Lavine who is moving (to Portland?) and will no longer be programming films in the Bay Area.  The Roxie Theater was my #2 film-going destination from 2013 to 2015.

2) Castro Theatre (65 films) - 15 films from Noir City and 21 films from two Silent Film Festival events.  The Castro Theatre was my #1 film-going destination from 2013 to 2015.

3) Vogue & Balboa (25 films) - 13 films from the Mostly British Film Festival and 7 films from New Italian Cinema.  The Vogue & Balboa are operated by the same people.

4) Landmark Theaters (24 films) - 13 films at the Embarcadero (SFFS Hong Kong Cinema), 7 films at the Opera Plaza & 4 films at the Clay.  I did not see any films at the Aquarius or Guild on the Peninsula or any at the East Bay Landmark Theaters.

5) Camera Cinemas (20 films) - all from Cinequest and all at the now defunct Camera 12 which closed in September.  I did not see any films at the Camera 3 or Camera 7 Pruneyard.

5) Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (20 films) - buoyed by the SF International Film Festival's move from the Filmore to the Mission.

7) Viz/New People (14 films) - 9 films from the Japan Film Festival of SF and 3 films from Another Hole in the Head.

8) Crest Theater (11 films) - this Sacramento theater made the top 10 list due to three trips.  For the first time, I attended both weekends of the Sacramento French Film Festival in June and I attended the Sacramento Mini French Film Festival in November.  These two festivals accounted for all 11 films.

9) Great Star Theater (8 films) - CAAMFest and the Not Just Hong Kong Film Festival accounted for the 8 films.

10) Sequoia Theater (7 films) - I saw 7 films as part of the Mill Valley Film Festival at this theater.

Honorable Mentions:  PFA (6 films), California Theater in San Jose (6 films; all Cinequest), Victoria Theater (6 films; all SFIFF), Lark Theater (6 films; all MVFF), San Jose Rep (5 films; all Cinequest), New Parkway (5 films), 4 Star (4 films), YBCA (3 films), Smith Rafael (3 films; all MVFF) and Oddball Films (3 films)

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On 191 days in 2016, I saw at least one film. The 2016 breakdown is:

On 175 days, I saw zero films.
On 101 days, I saw one film.
On 69 days, I saw two films.
On 9 days, I saw three films.
On 6 days, I saw four films.
On 5 days, I saw five films.
On 1 day, I saw six films.

On December 3 (Saturday), I watched six films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Day of Silents at the Castro Theater.

On both March 6 (Sunday) and March 12 (Saturday), I saw five films at Cinequest.  On June 4 (Saturday) and June 5 (Sunday), I saw five films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  On June 18 (Saturday), I saw five films at the Sacramento French Film Festival

Breaking down the number of films by month:

January - 25 films

February - 33 films

March - 45 films

April - 22 films

May - 30 films

June - 40 films

July - 32 films

August - 4 films

September - 14 films

October - 22 films

November - 31 films

December - 23 films

The 4 films I watched in August represents the lowest monthly film total since I started this blog.  August is the busiest month of the year at work for me.  I have been in my current job since September 2012 so 2016 was my 4th "busy" August.  Looking at the last four years, the busy period seems to straddle August & September in the past but was largely confined to August this year.  That's because I decided to travel for Labor Day Weekend whereas in years past, I used that weekend to work. 

I saw 8 films in September 2015 but that number was depressed because I was standing deathwatch at my father's bedside.  Those are the only two calendar months when I watched films totaling in the single digits since January 2010.

Breaking down the number of films by day of the week:

Sunday - 57 films
Monday - 34 films
Tuesday - 30 films
Wednesday - 45 films
Thursday - 33 films
Friday - 49 films
Saturday - 73 films

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2016 was the first year I did not see any films at the Kabuki Theater (which is no longer associated with Sundance Theaters).  CAAMFest and the SF International Film Festival abandoned the Kabuki for theaters in the Mission District (Roxie, Alamo Drafthouse & Victoria).

I also did not see any films at the Camera 3 in 2016.

2015 By the Numbers

I saw 336 "films" on a theater screen in 2015. For these purposes, a film is not just a feature length film but also includes programs (typically from film festivals) which consist of multiple short films. If it was categorized as a single program in a festival guide, it counts as one film entry on my list. Conversely, I saw several programs which consisted of a short film and a feature length film. For my counting purposes, those are counted as a single film entry.

My annual film totals for the past few years are:

2010 - 385 films
2011 - 406 films
2012 - 436 films
2013 - 397 films
2014 - 388 films
2015 - 336 films

For the six years listed, 2015 had the largest year-on-year change of 52 films.  2015 was the first year since 2010 that I did not average one film per day.

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The top 10 venues in which I saw films in 2015 were:

1) Castro Theater (88 films) - primarily the result of Noir City (19 films) and the SF Silent Film Festival (21 films over two festivals).  The Castro Theater has been my #1 film-going destination for three years in a row and four of the past five years.

2) Roxie Theater (55 films) - 11 films from A Rare Noir is Good to Find programmed by Elliot Lavine and 21 films between IndieFest & DocFest.  I'm counting the Roxie and Little Roxie as the same for these purposes.  The Roxie Theater has been my #2 film-going destination three years in a row and four of the past five years.

3) Vogue & Balboa (42 films) - 37 films at the Vogue and 5 at the Balboa.  The Vogue count was mainly due to the Mostly British Film Festival (17 films), the San Francisco Film Society's (SFFS) Hong Kong Cinema (6 films), SFFS' French Cinema Now (4 films) and SFFS' New Italian Cinema (4 films).  The Vogue & Balboa are owned and operated by the same people.

4) Camera Cinemas (29 films) - 25 films at the Camera 12, 3 films at the Camera 3 and 1 film at the Camera 7 Pruneyard.  I watched 24 films at the Camera 12 as part of Cinequest.

5) Landmark Theaters (18 films) - 9 films at the Opera Plaza, 8 films at the Clay and 1 film at the Aquarius.  I saw four films at the Clay as part of the 2015 San Francisco International Film Festival.

6) Four Star (15 films) - Mostly foreign films that weren't playing anywhere else or films late in their distribution run.

7) Kabuki Cinemas (14 films) - 9 films from SF International Film Festival (SFIFF) & 4 films at CAAMFest.

8) Crest Theater (11 films) - all films from the Sacramento French Film Festival.

9) California Theater in San Jose (10 films) - all films from Cinequest.

10) Stanford Theater and Viz (9 films each) - at the Viz I saw 8 films from the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco and 1 film at CAAMFest.  The Stanford was all rep house programs from their regular schedule.

The top 10 venues accounted for 89% of the films I saw this year.

Honorable Mentions:  YBCA (6 films) and the Sequoia Theater in Mill Valley (5 films).

I visited the Camera 7 and Alamo Drafthouse for first time in 2015.

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On 208 days in 2015, I saw at least one film. The 2015 breakdown is:

On 157 days, I saw zero films.

On 118 days, I saw one film.

On 67 days, I saw two films.

On 11 days, I saw three films.

On 9 days, I saw four films.

On 3 days, I saw five films.

On both February 27 (Friday) and February 28 (Saturday), I saw five films at Cinequest.  On May 30 (Saturday), I saw five films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Breaking down the number of films by month:

January - 33 films

February - 46 films

March - 43 films

April - 28 films

May - 35 films

June - 35 films

July - 21 films

August - 29 films

September - 8 films

October - 19 films

November 27 films

December - 12 films

Comparing 2014 vs. 2015 to see when the large decrease occurred:

January (2015 minus 2014):  +1

February:  +5

March:  -11

April:  +2

May:  -10

June:  +10

July:  +1

August:  -1

September:  -13

October:  -7

November:  -11

December:  -17

I was three films behind my 2014 pace as of August 31, 2015.  In addition to being busy at work, September was the month when I decided my father's living situation could not continue and started taking actions to have him put in an assisted living facility.  My father passed away in October and during the last two months of the year, I traveled frequently to Las Vegas to settle his estate.

Breaking down the number of films by day of the week:

Sunday - 67 films

Monday - 41 films

Tuesday - 36 films

Wednesday - 41 films

Thursday - 32 films

Friday - 45 films

Saturday - 74 films

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The PFA closed on August 2, 2015.  I only saw one film at the PFA in 2015.  The PFA reopens at their new location on February 3 with Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal.  The new location is 2155 Center Street in Berkeley.

After a long delay, the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission opened in December 2015.  Only one auditorium has been in use but starting tomorrow the other four auditoriums become operational.

2015 is the first year I missed all screenings of Another Hole in the Head.  It coincided with one of my trips to Las Vegas.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I ventured back to the Alamo Drafthouse on Christmas Eve to see Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.  I saw the 2D version.

Star Wars:  The Force Awakens starring Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega & Harrison Ford; with Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac & Mark Hamill; directed by J.J. Abrams; (2015) - Official Website

Before I write about the film, I should mention I have mixed feeling about the food.  Having the chips & queso at the Drafthouse recently was more significant than I could have imagined.  The flavor of the queso brought back memories of my youth...in hindsight it was almost subconscious.  I found myself craving the queso in the days after having it.  I ordered the chips & queso during the Star Wars screening.  It tasted better than it had the previous week.  I'm not sure if they modified the recipe or if my craving was the reason behind the improved taste but the queso was more flavorful.  My only complaint is that there are too many small chips or crumbs served with the queso.  You need larger chips so you can scoop out the queso without it touching your fingers.  I also ordered a sausage & fennel pizza which exceeded my expectations.

The auditorium was near sellout.  Service was slow which is to be expected.  It seemed as though the people around me got their food much sooner than me and the pizza was closer to lukewarm than piping hot which indicates it might have sat on the kitchen counter for awhile.  I had to ask three times to get ice water.  Also with a full house and more food/drink orders, the servers were more conspicuous.  On more than one occasion, they distracted me with their movement.

It's unfair to judge a restaurant on their service and food during its opening weeks so I'll extend that courtesy to the Alamo Drafthouse and reserve final judgment until a future visit.

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I guess I should state my Star Wars bona fides upfront.  I prefer, without hesitation, Star Trek to Star Wars.  I was less than month shy of 9 years old when Star Wars came out.  I remember the long lines and the hype.  My parents bought me a Star Wars T-shirt and I remember having playground conversations about the film.  Long before Star Wars came out, reruns of Star Trek were being played on television.  My parents didn't buy a VCR until 1982 or 1983 - five or six years after Star Wars came out.  The original fanboys cut their teeth on repeated viewings of Star Wars on VHS tapes which was largely unavailable to me.  In fact, I don't recall being friends with any hardcore Star Wars (or Star Trek) fans.  All through that period and extending to present day, I watched Star Trek (Saturday nights at 9 PM MeTV) and Star Trek The Next Generation (no set schedule but shown frequently on BBC America) episodes when they come on TV.  I rarely see Star Wars on television.

I guess that serves as an apologia for what I'm about to say - I wasn't that impressed with The Force Awakens.  The plot borrow liberally (or pays homage) to the original 1977 film.  Of the new cast, there are three main characters - Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Fin (John Boyega).  Kylo Ren (the most prominent villain) is by far the most interesting character and without giving away too much of the plot, he is the anti-Luke Skywalker.  Rey is a scavenger on a desert planet; her backstory is deliberately kept vague but she has an abiding sense of justice and is Force-sensitive as they say.  Fin is a stormtrooper-cum-rebel who starts the film as war weary and even frightened but becomes quite fierce by the end.

Of the original cast, only Han Solo (Harrison Ford) has significant screen time.  Princess Leia now known as General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) only has a few scenes and Luke (Mark Hamill) only shows up in the final scene with no dialogue.  Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) is attached to Han's side throughout although I read that Mayhew had to have a stunt double for much of the film because of his bad knees.  C3PO has a few scenes while R2D2 is inactive until the close to the end.

Beyond a few too many similarities between the plotw of the 1977 and 2015 films, what were my issues?  I found Rey & Fin to be overly contrived.  Even Kylo Ren borrowed heavily from Darth Vader.  Their characters seemed to fit a blueprint than being realistic & organic characters.  The film seemed to need the characters to behave in certain ways to advance the plot and it became predictable.  Perhaps that is the gist of the matter - the film was too predictable once you picked up on the parallels to the original film.

The older Han Solo is the most interesting character in the film which doesn't bode well since this trilogy is about a new generation.  Imagine if Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi had been the most interesting character in Star Wars.  Maybe I felt that way because I know Han Solo's backstory and have had 35+ years to revisit the film and its characters.

Actually, the plot is a little problematic.  The Rebel Alliance won the war in Return of the Jedi but in The Force Awakens, they are referred to as the Resistance and the military power is controlled by the First Order which has tapped into the Dark Side of the Force.  How the winners of the war came to be the insurgents 30 years later was not explained.

I could nitpick the film but the ultimate litmus test is that I became bored with the film at various points.  I won't go so far as to say that I didn't like the film.  If nothing else, the scenes with Harrison Ford and Adam Driver make the film worthwhile but it seemed a bloated at 2 hours, 15 minutes.  I wonder if the film could stand on its own merits if it was the first entry in the Star War series and not the seventh.

Alamo Drafthouse is Open

On Thursday (December 17), the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco officially opened.  It is located at 2550 Mission Street (22nd Street) on the site of the former New Mission Theater.  I can't find the citation but I believe I read that the New Mission opened in 1916.  Vacant for several years, the site was most recently a furniture store.

It appears that only the main auditorium is open at this time.  They are screening Star Wars:  The Force Awakens in 2D and 3D.   All the screenings are sold out until December 24.  Their website indicates that The Big Short opens on December 23.  Joy, The Look of Silence and The World of Kanako (which I saw at the San Francisco International Film Festival and can recommend) open on Christmas Day while Star Wars is carried over for several weeks.  The Drafthouse will have five auditoriums - the main one on the ground floor and four smaller ones on the second floor in the converted balcony.

There is also a bar in the lobby called Bear vs. Bull.  That doesn't refer to the stock market but back to the days of Spanish California when there was a tradition of pitting bulls vs. bears in fights-to-the-death (the bear usually won if I remember correctly).  Apparently these fights took place in the Mission District of SF hence the name of the bar.

The Drafthouse had a soft opening starting on Saturday.  Admission was $5 and food & non-alcoholic beverages were 50% off.  I believe the regular evening ticket price will be $13.25.

I went on Sunday night to see Steve Jobs.  The bar was not open and large sections of main auditorium were empty even though all the seats were reserved on the Drafthouse website.  I should note that the Drafthouse is one of these theaters where you select your seats at the time of ticket purchase.  I assume they didn't want to pack the house for the soft opening because the primary purpose was to train the kitchen and wait staffs.

I ordered the Deviled Eggs and Chips & Queso.  They serve the food in metal reusable trays.  Chips & queso are not so popular here but it's a staple in Austin (the Drafthouse's hometown) where I visited many times in 1980s.  Not merely nachos with cheese whiz, the queso is melted cheese with diced tomatoes and roasted chile peppers.  Sometimes it gets more fancy but that's the holy trinity - cheese, tomatoes & chile.  The classic is Velveeta and canned Rotel tomatoes & chile.  The queso I had on Sunday was not as good as I recall but I am 30 years removed from the last time I had authentic queso.  At $10 (regular price), it's also a lot more expensive than I recall.

For those unfamiliar with the Drafthouse, they serve food & beverages (including alcohol) in the theater.  I liken it to the New Parkway in Oakland but more upscale.  The Drafthouse has a strict no cellphone policy as well.  I didn't see anyone being escorted from the theater for using their cell phone on Sunday but am looking forward to witnessing my first exfiltration.

The main auditorium can seat over 300.  The interior design is a little too wide for the screen.  If you are sitting on the edge, the angle is too wide for my taste.  There is ample legroom in the aisles as the servers need to pass by.  I was afraid that the servers moving about would be distracting but it wasn't although some of them got down on the floor and crawled to avoid blocking audience members views.  I found that a little too over-the-top but appreciate the sentiment.  My only complaint I was sitting in the back and could hear the servers talking about the orders.  However, if given a choice, I would sit closer to the screen than I typically would for an auditorium of that size.

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As anxious as I was to see the interior and as much as I appreciated the $5 admission (with an additional $1.25 convenience fee), I would not have gone unless the film was compelling.  I've been reading for months that Steve Jobs was the best film no one saw in 2015.

Steve Jobs starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen & Jeff Daniels, directed by Danny Boyle, (2015) - Official Website

The film is divided into three acts.  The first act takes place in the Flint Center in Cupertino in 1984 on the day of the launch or unveiling of the Apple Macintosh.  The middle act is at the Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco in 1988 for the launch of the NeXT computer.  The final act is at the San Francisco Opera House for the launch of iMac in 1998.

The scenes are hectic as the last minute preparations are being made before letting the press & public into the buildings.  As Jobs prepares for his presentations, he is interrupted by various individuals and technical glitches.  The constants are Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, Job's loyal marketing VP who serves as his gatekeeper, chief of staff & conscience, Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniack, co-founder of Apple and yin to Job's yang, Jeff Daniels as John Sculley, Apple's CEO, Jobs mentor cum adversary and Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, Job's flighty ex-girlfriend and mother to his child (whose paternity Jobs publicly denies).  A trio of actresses play Lisa, Jobs' daughter whom he supports financially if not emotionally.

Based on Walter Isaacson's best selling biography and with dialog by Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs is a fascinating films.  Feeling a bit like The West Wing (I was a big fan), the film has Sorkin's trademark "walk and talk" dialog.  Fassbender (as Jobs) says (paraphrasing), "Before every product launch, everyone I know gets drunk and decides to tell me what they really think about me."

The scenes are contrived.  I suspect the events of several years are condensed into the 45 minute acts.  Sorkin almost pulls it off but at times I could tell he is taking Isaacson's narrative prose and forcing the characters to speak expository dialog.  Ultimately it doesn't matter because because Jobs (the man and character) are so fascinating.

The prototypical flawed hero, Jobs (as portrayed in the film) is remote except for the times he acts like a jerk.  Filled with self-confidence to the point of hubris, Jobs first two launches were business failures in the traditional sense.  However, both were necessary in creating the myth of Steve Jobs.  Tellingly, he wears suits and neckties (one is a bow tie) in the 1984 and 1988 scenes.  It's not until the final act that he dons his now famous black mock turtleneck and Levi's blue jeans.

The failure of the Macintosh exiled the prince from the kingdom of Apple and put him in conflict with his surrogate father figure (Sculley) and spiritual brother (Wozniak).  Accompanied by his loyal servant (Hoffman), Jobs wanders the wilderness before ultimately settling at NeXT.  Again, the NeXT computer is a failure but Jobs has learned some of the lessons of life.  The movie would have the audience believe that the NeXT computer was developed only for its operating system.  Jobs knew that Apple's OS was quickly becoming obsolete so he positioned NeXT as a takeover target to facilitate his return to Apple.  The iMac represents Jobs' first (but certainly not final) triumph.

Those old enough to remember may recall that Apple's most successful product for the first 20 years of its existence was the Apple II or one of its variations.  The film sets up a dynamic that the Apple II was Wozniack's achievement even though Jobs received the lion's share of the credit.  However, Jobs knew and resented Woz's role and wanted to create something successful without Woz.  This sets up the key dynamic of the film which is the Lennon-and-McCartneyesque quality of Jobs & Woz's relationship.  Despite a deep and enduring friendship, each resented the other's skills and successes.  If the film is accurate, Wozniack was obsessed for 14 years in getting Jobs to acknowledge the Apple II's engineering and design teams.  Much like Lennon & McCartney (Woz compares himself to Ringo in the film) in the 1960s, your preference of Jobs vs. Woz speaks volumes about your values and personality.

In each act, Jobs is confronted by Woz, Sculley, his daughter and Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld (an original Macintosh engineer) while Hoffman serves as his confidante and majordomo.  Steve Jobs is a well written and nicely structured film which can easily be adapted to the live theater.  Uniformly strong performances by the cast only buoy the film.  Fassbender and Rogen really captured the mannerism of Jobs & Woz.  Fassbender's Jobs comes off as disagreeable which is consistent with what I have read but he could inspire strong loyalty.  The film makes one wonder why anyone would want to work with Jobs.  Jobs' brilliance and genius are on full display in the film but his charisma seems lacking.

Steve Jobs isn't a great film but it is tremendously enjoyable to watch.  It helps if you have some knowledge of Apple's early history.  The teaming of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin is particularly intriguing.  I hope they collaborate on more films.

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's December 2015 Calendar

The clues in the Castro Theater's December calendar is inconclusive.

December 7 - Mickey Rooney is instantaneously recognizable.

December 15 - I didn't recognize this woman.  I searched her image and discovered it is Minnie Riperton, a singer whose two claims to fame are her song "Lovin' You" from the mid-1970s and being the mother of comedienne Maya Rudolph.

Deccember 21 - although I have seen several of his films, I did not recognize Donald Pleasence and had to search on his image.

Initially, I thought the clues might be Christmas themed.  Mickey Rooney birth name was Joseph Yule, Jr. and Minnie Riperton went by the name Minnie Riperton-Rudolph after she married.  Yule and Rudolph are definitely Christmas themed but what about Pleasence?  Donald Pleasence used his birth name as his stage name.  Even if one makes the assumption that Pleasence is a homonym of pleasant, it's not very holiday themed.

On second inspection, I suspect the names refer to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck.  There are no films with those three characters on the December calendar.  I only see one film which I recognize as being a Disney production - Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

I'm at an impasse.

For the record, I immediately recognized the photo on Christmas Day.  It's from Trading Places.  The man in the background is Eddie Murphy and Denholm Elliott is the man in the foreground.  I had to look up his name because to me he will forever be Dr. Marcus Brody from the Indiana Jones' films.

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I did not see any films at the Castro Theater in November but I'm certain I will see a few there in December.

December 5 - the San Francisco Silent Film Festival's winter event is called A Day of Silents and features five films starring Douglas Fairbanks, Harry Houdini & Anna May Wong.  I have already purchased my pass.

December 16 - Noir City holds its annual Xmas kickoff with a double bill consisting of Max Ophüls The Reckless Moment and Richard Widmark in his screen debut as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death.  Noir City will be held from January 22 to 31.  I've never seen the Udo performance which launched Widmark to stardom and is most memorable for a scene where he pushes a wheelchair bound woman down a flight of stairs.

December 17 - two concert films make up the program Stop Making Sense was directed by Jonathan Demme and features performances by Talking Heads whose music I am fond of.  Home of the Brave was directed by and features performance by Laurie Anderson.

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The long anticipated opening of the Alamo Drafthouse in San Francisco comes to fruition on December 17.  I first wrote about Alamo's plan to renovate the New Mission Theater in early 2012.  It took almost four years and at times I was skeptical it would ever open but it is happening.

Their calendar is up and all that is listed are 2D and 3D screenings of Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.  Not only that but all the screenings from December 17 to 20 are already sold out.  I believe the Alamo will have 5 screens and their calendar gives the impression that one screen will be dedicated to screening Star Wars.  I'm curious what will screen in the other, smaller auditoriums.

The Alamo is located at 2550 Mission Street (between 21st and 22nd Streets).  It's a few storefronts away from Foreign Cinema.

In a bit of counter-programming, the Roxie is presenting Far, Far Away and Yet So Close: Science Fiction in San Francisco.  I'm not sure if they are counter-programming Star Wars or the Alamo Drafthouse's first week in operation.  From December 18 to 23, the Roxie will be screening Star Trek IV, Innerspace, Cloud Atlas, Time After Time and THX 1138.

I've long wanted to see THX 1138 which was George Lucas' feature length directorial debut.  Some of the scenes were filmed in BART tunnels which were being excavated at the time of the filming.  My only disappointment is that all four screenings are scheduled to be in the Little Roxie.

Time After Time was supposed to be screened during the 2015 Mostly British Film Festival as part of their tribute to Malcolm McDowell.  Audio difficulties forced the cancellation of that screening so this will be an opportunity to see it.

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Dope

Last month, I saw Dope at the New Parkway in Oakland.

Dope starring Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori & Kiersey Clemons; directed by Rick Famuyiwa; (2015) - Official Website

I guess this is a appropriate time to say that J. Moses Ceaser has stepped down as the General Manager of the New Parkway as of September 20.  The new general manager is Diane Tadano.  Ceaser emerged as the driving force in bringing the Parkway back into existence.  It's hard to believe that it has been nearly three years since the New Parkway reopened.  My recollection was that his background was not in film exhibition nor was it his career aspiration.  In his valedictory email, Ceaser states he will remain involved with programming the New Parkway & his ambitions don't stop at the Oakland border.  He states "One of the things that we’ll be exploring in 2016 is the possibility of taking the New Parkway to other Bay Area communities.  And we want to hear from you.  If you know of communities that would love a New Parkway, properties that we should look at, and/or people with whom we should speak, please let us know."  Having never been to an Alamo Drafthouse location, I have been under the impression that the New Parkway is the shabby chic cousin of the Alamo Drafthouse.  With the opening of the New Mission Theater imminent, I will be interested in comparing the two.

I also noted that the furniture has changed in one of the theaters.  Before the smaller auditorium had restaurant style tables on the main floor.  Now it has rows of seating with long tables for food & drink.  The chairs are on casters which make it hard to lean back and not move the entire chair.

Dope was my second trip to the New Parkway in 2015.  The food at the theater has improved since my last visit.  I had the daily special which on this day was meatloaf with string beans & mashed potatoes.  It exceeded my expectations.

Dope also exceeded my expectations.  It's the story of three high school seniors in Inglewood - Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Jib (Tony Revolori) & Diggy (Kiersey Clemons).  I've never been to Inglewood.  The only thing I know about it is that the Forum (the Los Angeles Lakers former home arena) is there.  If Dope is to be believed, there is a gang problem in Inglewood.  Malcolm, Jib & Diggy form the geek squad at their school.  It's the type of school where the kids have to go through metal detectors but the cop/security guard waves Malcolm & his friends through because of their reputation.

The plot is fairly intricate but essentially, Malcolm & his friends go to a club party where they shouldn't be.  A botched drug deal at the club ends with a brick of ecstasy in Malcolm's backpack.  Eventually, gangbangers & drug dealers are after Malcolm for the drugs.  The drug kingpin Malcolm eventually throws in with turns out to be the Harvard alumni Malcolm is meeting with for a letter of recommendation.  Forced to sell the drugs, Malcolm & his cohorts use the dark net & bitcoins to move some serious Molly.

It's all a little too contrived if you think about it too much but I mostly enjoyed the film.  It's kind of like Porky's meets Revenge of the Nerds meets Boyz n the Hood.  At times, Malcolm runs into some scary characters which makes the film uneven but I admire director Rick Famuyiwa for trying it and often pulling it off.  Some of the characters reminded me of Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.  They're funny because they are so deranged but when the violence explodes they're pretty damn scary.

Shameik Moore is solid as Malcolm which is a character that reacts to the craziness around; essentially playing the straight man.  Zoë Kravitz has a small role as the object of Malcolm's desires.

Dope trades on the stereotypes of inner city black youths.  It sets up Malcolm & his friends as the antithesis of those stereotypes and mines the humor in the interactions of Malcolm (presumably the audience's point of view) with these stereotypes.  Dope does this very effectively and to fine comic effect.

Alamo Drafthouse San Francisco Nears Completion

I have suspected that former Roxie programmer Mike Keegan was/is affiliated with the Alamo Drafthouse since last December when he introduced The Astrologer at Another Hole in the Head.  I cannot remember how I first became aware that The Astrologer is affiliated with Alamo.  The Astrologer was restored by American Film Genre Archive which is based in Austin (just like Alamo Drafthouse).  However, the film has screened at Alamo Drafthouse and if my memory is correct, Drafthouse Films (Alamo Drafthouse's film distribution subsidiary) was credited on The Astrologer.

Regardless of Alamo Drafthouse's affiliation with The Astrologer, Keegan recently announced that he is "the new Creative Manager of the Alamo Drafthouse at the New Mission.  [He will be] the one booking the movies, hosting screenings and generally chatting with you, both online and IRL."

Keegan promised that the programming at the San Francisco Alamo Drafthouse will include "Hollywood blockbusters, independent pictures, classics, not-so-classics, foreign films, insane rediscoveries, restorations, rarities, documentaries, cult stuff, music stuff, interactive parties, and lots more.  From family-friendly sing-a-longs to gigantic space operas to brain-damaged total trash, it’s all under one gigantic roof at the New Mission."

He then posted several photos of the restoration of the New Mission.  I don't know how recent the photos are but if they are recent, there is still a lot of work to do before the theater can open...which Keegan modestly proclaims will be "the most epic theater opening to ever hit the Bay Area."

As for the opening of the New Mission, Keegan only says that they will "open [their] doors in a couple of months."

I look forward to the grand opening.  It has been over three years since I first heard about the planned SF outpost of the Alamo Drafthouse.  If nothing else, I admire the perseverance required to bring this project to fruition.  I typically shun opening night crowds of any kind but I may just venture to the Mission on the night the Alamo Drafthouse opens.  Now if they would just announce the date, I could mark my calendar.  I guess they've learned that in San Francisco, you don't announce the opening date until you are 110% sure that you can get the work done and the permits issued by that date.

2014 By the Numbers

I saw 388 "films" on a theater screen in 2014. For these purposes, a film is not just a feature length film but also includes programs (typically from film festivals) which consist of multiple short films. If it was categorized as a single program in a festival guide, it counts as one film entry on my list. Conversely, I saw several programs which consisted of a short film and a feature length film. For my counting purposes, those are counted a single film entry.

My annual film totals for the past few years are:

2010 - 385 films
2011 - 406 films
2012 - 436 films
2013 - 397 films
2014 - 388 films

For two consecutive years, I've seen less films than I did the year before.  With five years of data, it appears that 2012 was the outlier.  The five year average is 402.4 films per year.

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The top 10 venues in which I saw films in 2014 were:

1) Castro Theater (86 films) - primarily the result of Noir City (18 films) and the SF Silent Film Festival (20 films over three festivals).  The Castro Theater has been my #1 film-going destination for three of the past five years.  The Castro was #2 or #3 for the other two years.

2) Roxie Theater (56 films) - 25 films between two series programmed by Elliot Lavine and 16 films at IndieFest.  I'm counting the Roxie and Little Roxie as the same for these purposes.  The Roxie Theater has been my #1 film-going destination for two of the past five years and has been #1 or #2 for each of the past five years.

3) Landmark Theaters (31 films) - 12 films at the Embarcadero Center, 10 films at the Opera Plaza, 3 films at both the Guild and the Aquarius, 2 films at the Shattuck and 1 film at the Clay.  Unlike past years, the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) did not hold any Fall Film Series at Landmark venues.  Everything I saw at the Landmark Theaters was a new release.  For the 2nd consecutive year, the Landmark Theaters finished at #3 on my list.

3) Vogue & Balboa (31 films) - 27 films at the Vogue and 4 at the Balboa.  The Vogue count was mainly due to the Mostly British Film Festival (12 films), SFFS' French Cinema Now (7 films), SFFS' Hong Kong Cinema (5 films) and SFFS' New Italian Cinema (2 films).  Although I think of them as separate theaters they are owned and operated by the same people.

5) Pacific Film Archive (29 films) - Hou Hsiao-hsien (11 films), Satyajit Ray (5 films) and Kenji Mizoguchi (5 films) series accounted from most of my visits.

6) Camera Cinemas (27 films) - 25 films at the Camera 12 and 2 films at the Camera 3.  I watched 22 films at the Camera 12 as part of Cinequest.

7) Stanford Theater (26 films) - I saw 6 films each at Frank Capra & Barbara Stanwyck series.

8) Kabuki Cinemas (20 films) - 17 films from SF International Film Festival (SFIFF) & 3 films at CAAMFest.

9) Viz (13 films) - 5 films from Another Hole in the Head, 3 films from SFIFF, 4 from the SF Japan Film Festival & 1 film from CAAMFest.

10) YBCA (11 films) - New Filipino Cinema (7 films) and Invasion of the Cinemaniacs (3 films) accounted for most of the activity.

The top 10 venues accounted for 85% of the films I saw this year.

Honorable Mentions:  4 Star (11 films), California Theater in San Jose (9 films), SJ Rep (7 films) and the Smith Rafael Film Center (6 films).

I visited the Los Gatos Theater, Vine Cinema & Alehouse and Magick Lantern for the first time in 2014.  I also saw a film at the Mechanics' Institute (Cinema Lit) for the first time.

In 2014, I did not visit Niles Essanay or Oddball.  

I haven't visited the Paramount Theater in Oakland since April Fool's Day 2012 (Napoléon)

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On 240 days in 2014, I saw at least one film. The 2014 breakdown is:

On 125 days, I saw zero films.

On 138 days, I saw one film.

On 72 days, I saw two films.

On 20 days, I saw three films.

On 4 days, I saw four films.

On 6 days, I saw five films.

On January 25 (Saturday), I saw five films at Noir City.  On March 8 (Saturday), March 12 (Wednesday), March 15 (Saturday) and March 16 (Sunday), I saw five films at Cinequest.  On June 1 (Sunday), I saw five films at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

Breaking down the number of films by month:

January - 32 films

February - 41 films

March - 54 films

April - 26 films

May - 45 films

June - 25 films

July - 20 films

August - 30 films

September - 21 films

October - 26 films

November 38 films

December - 30 films

I'm surprised at how closely the numbers follow the same cyclical pattern as 2013.  July 2014 is noticeably lower than July 2013 but that is because the SF Silent Film Festival moved their festival from July to late May/early June in 2014.  However, I saw 45 films in May 2013 and May 2014 (the exact same number).

Breaking down the number of films by day of the week:

Sunday - 74 films

Monday - 33 films

Tuesday - 37 films

Wednesday - 42 films

Thursday - 62 films

Friday - 57 films

Saturday - 83 films

I would have expected Saturday & Sunday to have the most films but I'm surprised that Thursday came in third.  I'm a little surprised I saw more films on Saturday than Sunday as I am usually running errands on Saturdays.  I was expecting Friday to be the third place day but drop off from 2nd place to 3rd place (23%) is much greater than anticipated.

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The PFA is closing mid-year in 2015 to move to their new location so I don't think the PFA will make my top 10 list for 2015.

The SJ Rep has closed but it appears the building is still vacant.  I wonder if Cinequest will be able to use the space for their festival.

The Magick Lantern has closed but its reopening seems imminent (cross your fingers).

The Alamo Drafthouse is scheduled to open at the New Mission Theater in 2015.  I notice the website has changed the opening from the 2nd quarter of 2015 to just 2015.  They've started hiring staff according to their Facebook page.  

Eat Drink Film at the Los Gatos Theater but Maybe Not at the Alamo Drafthouse

Former Balboa Theater operator Gary Meyer has started a new online magazine called Eat Drink Film.  The name is self-explanatory.  Subscription is free.

The latest issue already has provided me with information I can use.  Arthur Dong, whose film Hollywood Chinese I enjoyed, has written a book titled Forbidden City, USA: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970.  Again, the title tells you exactly what the book is about.  The book can be purchased with a 15% discount until May 31.

In conjunction, the San Francisco Main Public Library is having an exhibit also called Forbidden City, U.S.A.: Chinese American Nightclubs, 1936-1970.  The exhibit runs until July 6.

The book & exhibit look fascinating to me.

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In today's SF Weekly, Sherilyn Connelly reports that the long anticipated Alamo Drafthouse at the New Mission Theater may be delayed until 2015 if not cancelled.  The Alamo Drafthouse website is still stating that it is "slated to open during the third quarter of 2014."

After an impressive spurt of national expansion, the Alamo Drafthouse has seemed to retrench in the past year.  Plans for a Manhattan movie theater were cancelled last year.  Now the future of the SF Alamo venue is called into question.

I hope it opens here but I'm retaining a healthy skepticism.

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The Los Gatos Theater, also long delayed, has re-opened.  It's official re-opening was May 2 but it held a few events in the preceding days.

Formerly operated by Camera Cinemas, it appears as though the Los Gatos is now independent.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is presently screening there.  I am anxious to see the interior of the theater.

Missed Opportunities and Places to Visit

Recently, I went to The Magick Lantern in Pt. Richmond.  Yes, it's spelled with "k."  I'll write more on that in a later post.  The only thing I will say about that is that the actual "theater" (or more accurately screening space) left a lot to be desired.  It got me thinking about the area's movie theaters that I want to visit but have not been to...yet.

One theater I will not be able to visit is the Century 21 in San Jose which is currently the home of The Retro Dome.  Their lease at the Century 21 ends in March and will not be renewed.  Their final screening (at least at Century 21) will be tomorrow with a 7 PM screening of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.  I won't be able to make it.  That's twice the Retro Dome has closed on me without my ever having ventured to the South Bay to visit.

This time, the Retro Dome's closing is playing out in the background of the closing of the three dome theaters on Olsen Drive near the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.  Century 21, Century 22 and Century 23 are domed theaters on the same block of Olsen.  The property owners have sold the property and all three will cease operation by March 31.  There has been a petition drive to Save the Domes but it appears to have become unsuccessful barring any 11th hour miracle.

Scratch the Winchester Domes from my list of theaters to visit.  What's left on the list?

1) Grand Lake Theater in Oakland.  I have seen the iconic roof top sign, I've driven past it many times and I was anxious to see The Master there but somehow I have just never gotten there.

2) Los Gatos Theater in Los Gatos.  Presently, this theater is closed but its reopening is imminent although the specific date has yet to be announced.  Previously operated by Camera Cinemas, the Los Gatos has been closed for over a year for extensive renovation.  It's unclear if Camera Cinemas will be the operator after the reopening.  The Los Gatos is a grand movie palace being restored to its previous glory.

3) Cerrito Theater in El Cerrito.  Previously operated by the owners of the Parkway Speakeasy, the Cerrito underwent an renovation several years ago.  The cost of the project combined with the lease provisions led to the demise of both Speakeasy theaters.  It's now operated by Rialto Cinemas, they same outfit which operates the Grand Lake.

4) Alameda Theater in Alameda.  The Alameda is a 1930s era, art deco, movie palace which was "redeveloped" about a decade ago.  The complex is now a multiscreen cineplex but I am referring to the original theater which looks fabulous from the photos.  Of the first four theaters, this is the one I have been in the vicinity of most often.  I don't believe I've ever been to Los Gatos or El Cerrito and I'm not often on the Grand Lake side of Lake Merritt in Oakland but I have driven past the Alameda quite often.  These first four theaters top my list as much for their architecture and interior design than their film programming or nearby locations.

5) Vine Cinema & Alehouse in Livermore.  Livermore is another place that I have rarely visited.  I recently read an SF Chronicle article on this establishment.  I was struck by how the description of the theater reminded me of the New Parkway which in turn reminds me of the Alamo Drafthouse.  The Alamo Drafthouse (which is scheduled to open in Q3 in the New Mission Theater) would rate high on this list if it was already open.  I'm somewhat concerned that its opening will have deleterious effects on the Roxie.

6) Camera Cinemas Pruneyard in Campbell.  By all accounts, this 12 year old cineplex looks no different than any other cineplex.  However, I would like to visit as it is the only Camera Cinema operated theater I have not been to.

7) Monte Rio Theater in Monte Rio.  I could not locate Monte Rio on a map before last year.  I have little desire to visit Monte Rio.  However, this quonset hut theater received a lot of media attention last year when it was on the verge of closing before Zach Braff saved it.  In the general vicinity of Guerneville, a town I have been to twice in past 22 years, I'm not sure if I'll ever visit but I'm certainly intrigued.

8) Cameo Cinema in St. Helena.  I used to go to Wine Country more frequently but even when I used to go, I'd almost always stay on the Sonoma side.  St. Helena is on the Napa side so I don't even recall the building.  Favorable press coverage of Cathy Buck (the owner) and a attractive lineup of foreign and art house films has me want to take a trip to Napa sometime.  Ideally, I could pair it up with a trip to Sonoma International Film Festival or Wine Country Film Festival (great tag line - In Kino Veritas).  SIFF will be held April  2 to 6 and I will not be able to attend.  WCFF is usually in the autumn.

9) Del Mar in Santa Cruz.  The Del Mar is operated under the Nickelodeon Theaters chain which consists of the Nickelodeon (aka The Nick) and Del Mar in Santa Cruz and the Aptos in Aptos.  The Nick and Del Mar are just over a block apart.  From photos, the Del Mar seems to have retained more of its original design elements.  The Del Mar still looks like a movie palace whereas the Nick & Aptos look no different than a Century or AMC screening room.

10) The Marina in San Francisco.  To the best of my knowledge, the Marina is the only theater in San Francisco (with daily screenings) which I have never visited.  I recall going there once to see a film but I had confused the theaters.  It was playing at the Presidio a couple blocks down on Chestnut.  The Marina, the Presidio and the 4 Star are operated by Frank Lee and his Lee Neighborhood Theaters organization.

11) Capitol Drive-In in San Jose.  I cannot remember the last drive-in movie I was at.  I believe it was no less 36 years ago that I was last at a drive-in.  I'm not sure how watching a movie would be from a car seat (or am I supposed to sit on the roof of the car?).  If single screen theaters have one foot in the grave, drive-in theaters have one foot and four toes in the grave.

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Not quite a theater but holding interesting weekly screenings was the Berkeley Underground Film Society (BUFS).  Note that I used the past tense of the verb "is."  From their website, "BUFS...was an all ages club for collectors, researchers, and film enthusiasts in the East Bay and San Francisco area. Our goal was to review and share a selective film history of movies on film. We screened buried, rarely projected, or otherwise obscure 8mm, Super 8, and 16mm prints in our collection. 2010-2014."  I recall seeing film listing for February.

BUFS screened films (typically 16mm) most Sunday afternoons at the Tannery.  Unfortunately, I never attended a screening by BUFS.  I'm not sure if BUFS has been reincarnated or their programming assumed by Lost & Out of Print (LOOP).  From their website, "LOOP is an all ages movie night of obscure films in 16mm and other film formats of all genres.  The film series is in connection with the Berkeley Underground Film Society (BUFS) at The Tannery in Berkeley, CA."

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I guess I should chime in about Le Video which is facing closure.  It has started an Indiegogo campaign to save itself.

I have been to Le Video before; several times actually.  Like most of its customers, it's been several years since I was there.  My guess is that I haven't been there since the 1990s.  Unlike most customers, I stopped renting videos because I started going to the movie theaters more often.  My VHS player broke many years ago and I considered buying a DVD player but I wanted record capability.  DVD recorders were very expensive back then so I decided to wait until prices came down.  That roughly coincided with my embracing my inner cinephilia.  To this day, I do not own a DVD player.  When I want to play a DVD, I plug my laptop into the TV and watch it that way.

I find that I do not have the patience to watch a film when I have control of the fast forward button.  I frequently fast forward past uninteresting parts of films or stop the film for various reasons and resume watching hours or days or even weeks later.  My personality is not well suited to watching movies at home.  That's part of the reason I like movie theaters.  It forces me to be more disciplined.  I have account for travel time to the theater, I am forced to watch the film as the director intended and I pay attention more closely because if I miss something, I can't rewind.  In fact, in most cases, I won't have an opportunity to watch the film again.

Back to Le Video.  Considering that I haven't given them any business in a decade and a half, it seems crocodilian for me to now shed a tear.  In fact, even if they survive, I doubt I will frequent Le Video more frequently.  I simply don't watch videos at home; no VHS, no DVD, no Blue Ray, no streaming videos, no video-on-demand, etc.  Still I can't shake the feeling that it is penny wise, pound foolish to not support their continued operation.

Captain Phillips

On January 21, I went to the Castro to see Captain Phillips.

Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks & Barkhad Abdi; directed by Paul Greengrass; English & Somali with subtitles; (2013) - Official Website

With Captain Phillips, I have seen 7 of the 9 films nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards.  The two nominated films which I have not seen are Her and The Wolf of Wall Street. With any luck, I'll be able to see both films before the month is out.

Captain Phillips is based on a true story of an American cargo ship captain who was kidnapped by Somali pirates.  Ultimately, Navy SEALS snipers killed the pirates while Phillips was being held hostage in a lifeboat.  The 2009 incident is well known and I recall the initial cable news reports on the rescue.

I put Captain Phillips in the same category as The Hurt Locker & Zero Dark Thirty (what is Kathryn Bigelow up to?). These films are about real-life events which are so compelling that it would be difficult for any competent director not to make a great film.  Captain Phillips was riveting and suspenseful; even though I knew how it had to end.

Barkhad Abdi has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the lead pirate.  Eliciting some empathy from me, Abdi's portrayal was measured and for most of the film the pirates were seemingly motivated by existential concerns.  However, as the Navy closes in on lifeboat, the tension is ratcheted up and I couldn't help but empathize with the Somalis.  Although I could not condone their actions and I support the ultimate outcome, I clearly understood how these men could be driven to such depths.  In fact, the parallels between the Somali pirates and US inner city youths made me uncomfortable.  The chasm between the haves and the have-nots is made abundantly clear in this film and you don't have to go halfway across the world to witness it. 

Back to the film - it's a shame that even after being engrossed by the film for the entire 2.25 hour length, I left-handedly dismiss it as a film that only an idiot could have messed up.  My expectations for suspense were high going into the film and they were met.  The first half of the film played like a procedural.  The array of countermeasures cargo ships take to fend of the pirates was fascinating for me although some (many?) may find sight of fire hoses pointed outwards or zigzag maneuvering to be boring. 

I categorically praise Captain Phillips and recommend it to everyone.  My only disappointment was that my high expectations were not exceeded.

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Several weeks ago, I received an email announcing that Second Act has opened in the old Red Vic location on Haight. "Second Act Marketplace and Events is a neighborhood public space. The marketplace includes five retail businesses bringing a fresh vision of food and beverages, and a venue that showcase events, which is also available for rent."  It's hard to believe that it's been 2.5 years since the Red Vic closed.

I also noticed that the Alamo Drafthouse San Francisco now states that it is set "to open during the third quarter of 2014 at 2550 Mission St. in the historic New Mission theater."  It's been two years since Alamo Drafthouse announced it was coming to SF and it'll be another four to seven months before it opens.  There were times I felt certain that they were stuck in building permit purgatory and would walk away from the project.  Call me a pessimist.  Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to the day they open and sampling their renowned programming.  The Castro Theater, the Roxie and the Alamo Drafthouse will form a Golden Triangle of rep house/art house film theaters in San Francisco.

Finally, I was on California Street recently and passed by the old Lumiere Theater.  It's the first time I have been on that block of California since before the Lumiere closed in late 2012.  Some of the Lumiere signage is still up.  It looks like there are no plans for leasing out the space at present. 

The Return of Ms. 45

Almost 5 years ago (time flies!), I saw Ms. 45.  I didn't document the venue on this blog but I believe it was at the Castro Theater.  Ms. 45 returned to the Bay Area via Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse.  Speaking of which, what is the status of the Alamo Drafthouse opening at the New Mission Theater?

Ms. 45 screened for 4 consecutive nights at the Roxie in December.  I remember it screened during HoleHead and thought it would have been a natural match for that festival.

Ms. 45 starring Zoë Tamerlis; directed by Abel Ferrara; (1981)

As I wrote in 2009, I was very impressed with this film.  A second viewing did not nothing to dampen my enthusiasm.  I stand by what I wrote previously but I will note that I was more aware of Tamerlis' make-up.  An attractive women, Tamerlis' Thana (aka Ms. 45) begins a physical transformation after being raped twice.  As her body count increases so does the amount of makeup (particularly red lipstick) she applies.  By the end, she looked grotesque.  The sad part is I have seen women wear that amount of lipstick in public before.

The final scene where she randomly shoots men while dressed as a nun is a little more disturbing than I recalled it before.

 Zoë Lund (nee Tamerlis) in Ms. 45 (1981)

Alamo Drafthouse Inches Towards Reality

In last Saturday's SF Chronicle, I read that the Alamo Drafthouse's remodeling of the New Mission Theater was approved by the San Francisco City Planning Commission on January 9.  The $10 million project includes the theater remodel and a new 114 unit condo next door to the theater.

The final sentence of the Chronicle article states "Work on both developments could begin by summer."  In previous reports, Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League has stated the remodeling could be complete by the end of 2013.  It's unclear if they are still on schedule for a 2013 completion.  Also, completion of the remodeling is not the same as opening the theater for business.  In previous documents, theater renovations were estimated to take 10 to 12 months which would indicate a 2014 completion.

Regardless of the opening date, this news can only be considered progress towards the opening of the Alamo Drafthouse in SF.  The Planning Commission Draft Motion has some interesting artist renditions of what the property will look like as well as full design plans.  Interestingly the packet also includes letters from various organizations supporting the restoration and reopening of the New Mission Theater.  The Roxie supports the opening by stating "The Roxie Theater is in support of the restoration of The New Mission Theater.  The reopening of The New Mission Theater will allow San Francisco to experience more film gems that would not be seen without such venues."  I would think competition from Alamo Drafthouse would be detrimental to the Roxie but perhaps the programming will be different than what I was expecting.

In the Planning Commission motion, it states "The Project is located within .6 and 1.0 miles from other theaters, including the Roxie Theater at 3117 16th Street, Victoria Theater at 2961 16th Street, and the Castro Theater at 429 Castro Street. These three theaters are all independent theaters that do not directly compete with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, which typically shows first‐run, major motion pictures."

Comparing the designs for the New Mission vs. the New Parkway which has a similar food & beverage strategy, the Drafthouse design is terraced rows of seating with a long counter in front of each row for plates & glasses.  However, beer & wine service or the ability to eat food requiring a knife & fork during the film are not of foremost importance tor me.  Instead, the Drafthouse's policy of kicking people out of the theater for using their cell phones is something I truly relish.

Miami Connection

A few weeks ago, I saw Miami Connection at the Roxie.  There was a nice crowd on hand for a Monday night.  Miami Connection is a 1980s film which is being released by Alamo Drafthouse or more specifically their film distribution arm, Drafthouse Films.  The Roxie has brought the film back for four screenings from today through Sunday.

Miami Connection starring and directed by Y.K. Kim; co-directed by Woo-sang Park; (1986)

As an aside, I notice the Roxie programs a lot of films distributed by Drafthouse.  I wonder if that will continue if and when Drafthouse opens the New Mission Theater location (still scheduled for Q4-2012).

The first thing to know about Miami Connection is that it's one of those films that is so bad it is good; like Showgirls.  I doubt anyone thought much of it in 1986 but Drafthouse has discovered the film and is pushing it as an overlooked cult film.  In essence, Drafthouse seems to be trying to manufacture an audience looking for a cheesy cult film.  Unlike Showgirls which was immediately identified as horrible and excessive and immediately found an audience that worshipped horrible and excessive, Miami Connection was cheaply made and doesn't seem to have any delusions of grandeur.  Probably thought of as a joke by the handful of people who saw it upon its initial theater release in West Germany, it wasn't being hyped as the best worst film of the decade like Showgirls was.

Made by South Korean Tae Kwan Do Grandmaster Y.K. Kim, Miami Connection tells the story of Dragon Sound, a band in mid-1980s Miami.  The first thing that is goofy is that all the members of Dragon Sound (except the girl singer) live in the same house.  They all go to college together.  They all ride around in the same blue convertible together.  They all eat in the same Chinese restaurant together. You get it.  Kim plays Mark who is the only Asian in the group, about a foot shorter than everyone and looks about 15 years older than everyone else in the band.  Did I mention that they are all into Tae Kwan Do and Mark is a master martial artist?

Dragon Sound gets a gig at a nightclub which pisses off the the band which was dropped to make room for Dragon Sound.  They get into fight with them but Dragon Sound kicks their asses without breaking a sweat.  The band then gets in touch with the local biker gang but Dragon Sound kicks their asses too.  The best friend of the biker gang boss is a yakuza type who likes to hang out in biker bars.  He has an army of ninjas who ride around Florida on motorcycles with swords.  When the biker boss is killed, Mr. Yakuza sics his ninjas on Dragon Sound.  Although a few members of Dragon Sound get roughed up, Mark eventually kills Mr. Yakuza and everyone lives happily every after.

That synopsis skips over the bad acting, laughable casting, the unmemorable music, the cheap production values and the unrealistic fight scenes.  It's important to remember that Y.K. Kim went nearly bankrupt making this film so it's difficult to criticize it.  It is interesting to note the differences in the eras.

In the 1980s, Kim shot this on 35 mm film and spent considerable sums of his own money filming, processing and editing the film.  Today, a person could shoot a film like Miami Connection for a couple hundred dollars.  I'm coming to believe that is a bad thing.  Part of the charm is that Kim and his cast play it straight or to the best of their (admittedly limited) acting abilities.  Kim is emoting his ass off because his ass is on the line.  He sunk his entire life savings into this film so he is not going to mail it in.  Today, the actors would treat it as a goof because they probably spend more on a Friday night beer run than on the "film" and it would show in their performances...film it guerilla style, edit something together on your Macbook & throw it up on YouTube.

Usually, I'm not into "bad" films.  There are enough good films I haven't seen that I can't waste my time on bad films.  Knowing some of the backstory about the making of Miami Connection, I'm more willing to cut it some slack.  At some level, I think I might even like it.  The best thatI can I say publicly is that I don't regret seeing Miami Connection.  Of course, I used my Roxie Membership card for admission so there was no incremental cost to me.  I doubt I'll see the film a second time.

It wouldn't surprise me if a year or two from now, someone mentions Miami Connection, Y.K. Kim or Dragon Sound to me and I'll have a vague notion that I've heard of them somewhere.  It's very possible that I'll find this post, refresh my memory and smile...slightly.

I'd be doing future self a disfavor if I didn't post some Dragon Sound videos.



The lead singer sounds a little like Pat Benatar.

Alamo Drafthouse New Mission Makes the Wall Street Journal

Earlier this year, I read about the Alamo Drafthouse taking over the New Mission Theater.  I hadn't heard much about the project and it had slipped my mind.  I was surprised to read about the project in the Wall Street Journal recently.

I noticed a few changes from a February report in Mission Local.  The size has been scaled down.  MissionLoc reported 5 screens that would "accommodate about 900 people."  The WSJ reports "The five-screen venue will have a total of 556 seats."  Approximately 300 or a third of the seats have been lost in the past 7 months.  I'm not sure if that represents lowered attendance estimates.

Also new is a target date.  The WSJ reports "Mr. League [founder and chief executive of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema] says he is targeting the end of 2013 for completion."  I'm not sure about that.  It is reported that the project is scheduled for a hearing at the Historic Preservation Commission on December 5, 2012.  If Alamo and Commission had everything lined up before the meeting, I could believe they would finish construction by the end of 2013.

However, Alamo has semi-partnered with Oyster Development Corp.  Oyster wants to develop a 114 unit condo next door to the New Mission.   According to the WSJ, "As part of its plans, Oyster would contribute $1 million toward the restoration of the New Mission theater, $750,000 in grants to 15 neighborhood community groups and give the city some land in the neighborhood for affordable housing."

In a place like the Mission District, in a city like San Francisco, I don't know if Oyster's involvement helps or hinders the Alamo project.  Oyster acquired the property in March 2011 and has not been able to develop it yet.  That's 18 months Oyster has sat on the property which may indicate Oyster has had trouble getting through the planning and permitting process.

San Francisco, Austin and Mostly Britain

Last month, I wrote that Gary Meyer "seemed re-energized and doesn't seem eager to step away" from the Balboa Theater. I was wrong. A few weeks ago, Meyer announced (via email) that he was stepping down from his position at the Balboa. He announced that Adam Bergeron and Jaimi Holke will take over operation of the Balboa as well as the Vogue. The two theaters will henceforth be operated jointly as Cinema SF. Long-time Balboa general manager Roger Paul will serve in that same capacity for both theaters. Meyer will serve as a programming consultant to Bergeron and Holker.

Regarding Bergeron and Holke, Meyer wrote "A few months ago I was approached by an enthusiastic San Francisco couple who loved the Balboa and wanted to know if I would be interested in selling or taking on a partner. After spending time with them it was clear that they had the passion required."

I wonder if Bergeron and Holke are one of the parties Meyer was referring to several months ago when he wrote in a weekly newsletter, "As I continue discussions with interested parties for taking over the Balboa I am heartened by the passion and loyalty many people have expressed for the theater. There are wonderful dreamers who think it would be fun but have no idea what is involved in running this kind of business. I love their enthusiasm but soon they become overwhelmed by all the aspects of staying afloat."

It seems that Meyer has engineered a split of the responsibility for the Balboa lease from the responsibility for the theater operations. Not only that but he found a new operator for the Vogue which I thought was doing relatively well. Both theaters have new websites - Balboa and Vogue.

I'm criticized for being pessimistic but I wish Mr. Bergeron & Ms. Holke the best of luck in their new venture. Their first announced change is that the Balboa now accepts credit cards. I have previously thank Gary Meyer for his work at the Balboa and do so again. One year, I have to go out to Telluride during Labor Day Weekend to see what his widely praised film festival is all about.

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The Vogue hosted the Mostly British Film Festival from February 2 to 9. The festival had four screenings at the Smith Rafael Film Center during that week also. Two rump sessions were held on February 18 and 25 at the Balboa to screen the remaining Up series installments (more on that below).

I saw 14 films at the Vogue and an additional 4 films at the Balboa.

Perfect Sense starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green; (2010) - Official Site
Neds starring Connor McCarron; directed by Peter Mullan; (2010)
Gumshoe starring Albert Finney; directed by Stephen Frears; (1971)
Stormy Monday starring Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting & Sean Bean; directed by Mike Figgis; (1988)
Seven Up!; documentary; directed by Paul Almond; (1964)
7 Plus Seven; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (1970)
21 Up; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (1977)
33 Postcards starring Guy Pearce; (2011)
South Solitary starring Miranda Otto; directed by Shirley Barrett; (2010)
Performance starring James Fox & Mick Jagger; with Anita Pallenberg & Michele Breton; directed by Donald Cammell & Nicolas Roeg; (1970)
Chalet Girl starring Felicity Jones, Tamsin Egerton & Ed Westwick; with Bill Nighy & Brooke Shields; directed by Phil Traill; (2011) - Official Blog
Albatross starring Jessica Brown-Findlay; with Felicity Jones, Sebastian Koch & Julia Ormond; directed by Niall MacCormick; (2011)
Sensation starring Domhnall Gleeson & Luanne Gordon; directed by Tom Hall; (2010)
A Lonely Place to Die starring Melissa George; directed by Julian Gilbey; (2011)
London Boulevard starring Colin Farrell; with Keira Knightley, David Thewlis, Anna Friel & Ray Winstone; directed by William Monahan; (2010) - Official Website
28 Up; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (1984)
35 Up; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (1991)
42 Up; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (1998)
49 Up; documentary; directed by Michael Apted; (2005)

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Last year, Mostly British coincided with the first week of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival (SF Indiefest) and I chose Mostly British. This year I wasn't faced with that choice. The 2012 Mostly British Film Festival largely avoided the Indiefest. The last night of the Mostly British was the Opening Night for Indiefest. I shunned both fests to see The Killing of a Chinese Bookie at the YBCA.

My favorite "film" was the Up series which isn't surprising since it is possibly the most celebrated documentary series ever created. Much imitated in different countries, Up follows the lives of 14 children who were 7 years old in 1964. Chosen to represent a cross section of socio-economic backgrounds in the UK, the 14 boys and girls have been interviewed every seven years. The genesis of the series is taken from a Jesuit school motto, "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man." The filmmakers use much of the original footage to show how the subjects have changed and (more surprising to me) foreshadowed their own futures.

The Up series is greatly helped by the continuity provided by Award winning director Michael Apted. The director of films such as Coal Miner's Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist and the underrated Thunderheart, Apted returns septennially to the Up series. Initially a researcher who helped select the 14 children in 1964, Apted has directed each installment since 7 Plus Seven. For some reason, that installment was not called 14 Up.

A few of the participants dropped out of the series but 10 of the subjects have appeared in all seven installments through 49 Up. One subject appeared in 6 out of the 7 films while another appeared in 5. So 12 out of the 14 appeared in 49 Up. This allows for a fascinating comparison between these middle-aged people and not just their 7 year old selves but themselves at various seven year incremented stages of their lives. As I mentioned, the most amazing part is when the seem to prescience their own futures. Apted has been criticized for adding to this effect by skillful and selective editing but overall, it's impossible to change the past which is recorded on film for these people.

Each installment has an element of suspense. You wonder what has become of these people in the intervening seven years. You wonder if your predictions for their futures will be validated. I was surprised and saddened as often as not by the arcs of their lives. In short, there was great drama in the documentaries. Seeing the 7 installments in four weeks allowed me to recall the previous episodes which enhanced the viewing experience.

Apted is busy at work with 56 Up which is scheduled to be released this year. "Released" may not be the correct term since the Up installments are televised on the BBC and PBS. Actually, there was little gained by screening these films on the big screen. They were projected from a DVD that you could play at home. However, having never seen any of the installments in their entirety, I benefited from having the entire series available in such a compressed time period.

I find I frequently fast forward through portions of a DVD or easily become distracted. One benefit of film screenings is that I am forced to watch the film in one sitting. That can be a curse as well as a blessing, depending on the film. For the Up films, it was definitely the latter.

I highly recommend viewing the Up. The first two installments are shorter and weaker than the others but I think that's because the children were under (unseen) pressure from their parents to appear. By age 21, more of their personalities emerge. Apted skillfully shows that clues to their adult personalities were present at 7 and 14 but these first two films act more as background or source material for the future installments. Starting with 21 Up, the films are self-contained and full of drama.

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Screening the entire Up series is not very innovative but the rest of the festival was quite strong. I credit festival programmer Ruthe Stein for putting together a strong lineup which mixed some revival screenings with new films. Excluding the Up films, Stein screened five films from before 1988 out of the 27 unique feature programs.

Given my proclivities, it's not surprising I enjoyed these older films. Of the five films before 1988, I saw four. I missed The Great White Silence which was my favorite film at last year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

I was impressed with Gumshoe, a 1971 hybrid starring Albert Finney. Gumshoe was the directorial debut of Stephen Frears who would go on to make My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons and High Fidelity.

Gumshoe starts off as a comedy as perennial loser Eddie Ginley lives a sort of pathetic fantasy life. A bingo caller cum stand up comic at night, Ginley aspires to be the titular, hard boiled detective by day. He goes so far as putting an ad in the newspaper (lifted straight from The Maltese Falcon) offering his detective services. Although set in a hardscrabble, Liverpool neighborhood of the 1970s, Ginley dresses and talks life a bad Humphrey Bogart imitation.

Unexpectedly, Ginley gets an inquiry regarding his ad. He meets with a suspicious character who gives him some money and a gun. That leads to a femme fatale, South African heroin smugglers and ultimately back to Ginley's brother and his wife (who was engaged to Ginley before marrying his brother). Frears subtly changes the tone of the film as it progresses. What start off as a comedy ends up in a very dark place with Ginley having transformed himself from hapless loser to a hardass, cynical survivor. The parallels to The Maltese Falcon are many. I was expecting something closer to Play It Again, Sam and instead a more serious film which pleasantly surprised me. A moderate fan of Finney's works, I was glad that he was at the top of his game for Gumshoe

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Another interesting revival was Performance which was Nicholas Roeg's directorial debut effort (Roeg co-directed with Donald Cammell). Although several audience members walked out of the screening, I found the film more than interesting enough to stay. Mod & surreal, Performance follows an London East End gangster (James Fox) who runs afoul of his superiors (who all appear to be gay). Fleeing for his life, Fox takes refuge in the rented basement flat of Turner (Mick Jagger). Turner, a recluse, is ensconced with two attractive women (Anita Pallenberg & Michele Breton) and an impressive amount of hallucinogenics. While hiding at the house of the flamboyant Turner, Chas (Fox) begins exhibit homosexual tendencies which explains a lot about his association with his mob bosses and their reaction to his departure. Towards the end of the film there is a great sex scene in which the gender of the four housemates blur together.

Performance also features what may be the first music video as Jagger sings "Memo from Turner" which kicks off the blurring of identity and sexuality for Chas.

I can't say Performance is a masterpiece but it is an interesting film and foreshadows Roeg's later The Man Who Fell to Earth with David Bowie. Roeg seems to have a knack of getting the best performance out of proto-androgynous British rock stars. Jagger appears to be playing himself and then he slicks back his hair and belts out "Memo from Turner" and you begin to wonder what Jagger is really like. Jagger more than holds his own in his scenes with James Fox who has a formidable screen presence.

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Albatross features a remarkable performance by Jessica Brown-Findlay (Downton Abbey) as a wild child who is a catalyst for change for a hapless family who own a B&B on the Isle of Man. As Emelia, Brown-Findlay is like a hurricane - her destructive, teenage energy is too much for the family to bear. Emelia quickly seduces the father (Sebastian Koch), a novelist forever trying to regain the glory of his first novel. Later Emelia becomes friends with the daughter (Felicity Jones) and the consternation of the mother (Juila Ormond), her wild ways rub off on the Oxford bound teenager. Nominally, a buddy film with Brown-Findlay and Jones as polar opposites, Albatross is Brown-Findlay's star making vehicle from the beginning. She exudes all the beauty and ugliness of youthful vigor. Brown-Findlay's is the main reason to see Albatross.

Similarly, South Solitary features an outstanding performance by Aussie actress Miranda Otto. Set on an isolated lighthouse island near Australia in the 1920s, Otto plays Meredith, the spinster daughter and assistant of the new lighthouse head keeper (played ably by Otto's father Barry Otto). An insecure woman, Meredith makes an unwise choice by taking up with the assistant lighthouse keeper (Rohan Nichol) whose bitchy wife (Essie Davis) and bratty kids live on the island. Before long, their affair is discovered and the family use it as blackmail to force a transfer to a better location.

Meredith's father unexpectedly dies but the island isolation and a storm keep her on the island with the only other inhabitant, Jack Fleet (Marton Csokas) the shell-shocked 2nd assistant lighthouse keeper. As they ride out the storm in the lighthouse, the taciturn Fleet and nervously garrulous Meredith have to endure each other's company in close quarters.

I thought South Solitary was a bittersweet romantic comedy buoyed by Miranda Otto's versatile performance.

Sensation starring Domhnall Gleeson (Brendan's son) was also worthwhile. A comedy about a young man who inherits a sheep ranch. Unwilling to continue the ranch after his father's death, Donal (Domhnall Gleeson) quickly sells the herd and sets about living the rest of his life...but not before losing his virginity via the services of a on-line "escort" (Luanne Gordon). Inexperienced with women and possessing a certain youthful earnestness, Donal quickly becomes enmeshed in the woman's problems. The solution to their problems is to open an escort agency with Donal using his inheritance as seed money for the operation.

Like Gumshoe, Sensation subtly evolves from a comedy to a fairly serious film as Donal learns some lessons about life and love courtesy of his prostitute/partner/girlfriend. Nice performances by Gleeson and Gordon.

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London Boulevard was stylish if not much else. Although set in present day, it had a retro-1960s, modern-noir feel (mostly as a result of a soundtrack featuring The Yardbirds). Colin Farrell acquits himself well enough as an excon hired to be bodyguard for a reclusive actress (Keira Knightley). David Thewlis as the pot smoking majordomo and Eddie Marsan as a crooked cop shine in smaller roles. London Boulevard is most notable for Ray Winstone's ferocious turn as the mob boss looking to recruit Farrell into his gang.

Neds about a Scottish juvenile delinquent was powerful. It could easily have been set in the Compton or East LA.

Stormy Monday was oddly disappointing. Although Tommy Lee Jones & Melanie Griffith received top billing, I was most impressed with Sting's performance as a tough blues club owner resisting the encroachment of a thuggish Yank businessman (Jones).

Chalet Girl was a lightweight comedy. Although Felicity Jones was the star, the beautiful Tamsin Egerton stole the show.

33 Postcards has received some critical praise but it didn't quite get it done for me. Guy Pearce gives a understated performance which is offset by Zhu Lin's frequently cloying performance. 33 Postcards is the story of an Australian prison inmate (Pearce) who financially supports a Chinese orphan girl (Lin). When the girl's choir is invited to perform in Australia, the girl grabs her opportunity to meet her benefactor...who has been lying about being a park ranger. A little too sentimental for my tastes, 33 Postcards had its moments.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the New Mission Theater in the 2500 block of Mission Street in San Francisco is being renovated by the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas of Austin fame. The Alamo Drafthouse and Mission Local Blogs gives more details. The current proposal is to subdivide the New Mission Theater (built in 1910) into five screens with a total capacity of 900.

I don't know what to write. I think an Alamo would be a welcome addition to the local cinema scene. I wonder if SF can handle an additional 900 seats of rep/art house screening venues. I suspect that a local rep house such as the Roxie or Castro would be hurt if a Drafthouse opens. I say if because San Francisco is notorious for putting up roadblocks for new projects. In this case, the New Mission Theater is a designated San Francisco Landmark (#245) which will slow the process down.

The Chronicle article summed it up in the last paragraph of it article. "The next step is to complete an environmental review that is expected to be made public in August or September... After that, the project still needs approval from the Planning Commission and other review committees. So far...there is no estimated cost for the entire project."