The Magick Lantern Redux

I mentioned that the Magick Lantern Theater in Pt. Richmond closed a few months ago.

I recently received an email which stated:

 As many of you know, “The Magick Lantern” has recently closed its doors.  This little theater had brought marvelous artistic and quality films to our community, filling a cultural and entertainment need for all.

    Since then, a core group of residents has rallied to resurrect this theater.  We have formed a non-profit corporation.  We need your donations and memberships for start-up costs such as theater seats, screen, projector, Blu-Ray DVD players, amplifier, snack bar, license fees, film rentals, plus other incidentals.

    The Magick Lantern is holding an Open House on Saturday December 6th, between 1-4 (see flyer below).  Please come to the Open House to learn more about how the Magick Lantern will be run, its membership and fundraising activities.  We would like to hear from you.

    Each donor will receive a letter from The Magick Lantern as a qualified non-profit and for which his or her donation would be considered tax-deductible.

    Hope to see you on the 6th of December.

Apparently, the Magick Lantern is going the non-profit route in an effort to resurrect itself.  They seem confident enough in their reopening that they imply they will screen Boyhood, Cinema Paradiso & Gone With the Wind soon.

I wish them well.   I notice the contact person is "Fred" whereas the previous owner was Ross Woodbury.  Also, their message has a laundry list of start-up costs which I imagine would be available on a rent/donation basis if Woodbury is involved in the "new" Magick Lantern.  I am curious how much this reincarnated Magick Lantern compares to the original one

Trips to Los Gatos & Livermore

In March, I wrote about some Bay Area movie theaters I wanted to visit.  In October, I was able to visit two of them.

I saw Gone Girl at the Los Gatos Theater in Los Gatos and Pride at the Vine Cinema & Alehouse in Livermore.

Before I forget, I also mentioned that I went to the Magick Lantern Theater in Pt. Richmond in March.  I signed up to their email distribution list and realized recently that I have not received their weekly email for sometime.  I checked their website and was greeted with this message:  "The Magick Lantern is closed we anticipate re-opening very soon under different and better circumstances! If you're on our email list, we'll keep you posted on all the details!"  The last email I received from them was for films screening September 19-21.

I only visited the Magick Lantern once.  I wasn't particularly impressed.  It had the look and feel of a high school A/V clubhouse.  I think it only operated 3 or 4 days per week; perhaps 6 to 8 screenings per week.  I certainly didn't want the theater to close but I'm not that surprised that it did.  In fact, I'm surprised it lasted for 20+ months.  Even if Magick Lantern had impressed me, it was inconveniently located for me to make frequent visits.  I wish Ross Woodbury (the owner & operator of the Magick Lantern) well.

Gone Girl starring Ben Affleck & Rosamund Pike; directed by David Fincher; (2014) - Official Website
Pride starring Ben Schnetzer; with Bill Nighy, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton & Paddy Considine; directed by Matthew Warchus; (2014) - Official Website

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I made a dedicated trip to Los Gatos to see Gone Girl.  It was playing at several theaters closer to me but I wanted to see the Los Gatos Theater.  Actually, I had never been to Los Gatos so I wanted to see the town of Los Gatos.  The theater is located in Downtown Los Gatos.  I was running late so I was not able to stop in any of the shops.  The only store I do recall is the Sierra Toy Soldier Company a few doors down from the theater.  I wish I had time to stop in there but as I said, I was running late and by the time the film ended, all the stores were closed.

The Los Gatos Theater consists of two screening rooms.  The larger auditorium is on the first floor and has a balcony.  I don't recall what was playing in the auditorium.  I peeked in after Gone Girl and it was empty.  The auditorium looks has traditional theater seating and can seat a few hundred.

The second screening room has a lounge type design.  It is located on the second floor.  There are large photos of Hollywood Golden Age movie stars on the wall.  There is a small kitchenette area in the back corner and bar tables in the other corner.  The seating is shaped like a check mark.  Most of the seats are directly facing the screen but on the left side of the room there is a pillar.  The rows angle out slightly on the other side of the pillar such that the seats on that side are not directly facing the screen.  The seats are recliners.  There is a seating capacity of 40+ if you include the bar tables.  There is a large area to stand behind the back row if SRO is needed.  This is where I saw Gone Girl.

I was impressed with the Los Gatos Theater.  It is quite a drive for me and I would think it would take three hours (one-way) to get there via public transit.  I don't think I will be going there often but it is certainly worth a stop if I am in the area.  I would like to window shop the area around the theater if I return.

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I work in San Francisco and do not have to travel much for work.  Recently I spent two days in the Tri-Valley for work and decided to take advantage of opportunity to stop in at the Vine Cinema in Livermore.  I had never been to Livermore before.

The Vine is located in Downtown Livermore which is laid out in a number and letter street grid.  The Vine is at the corner of 1st and O.  Actually, it is South O Street with the railroad tracks serving as Livermore's Mason-Dixon line.

The theater was built in the 1950s but it reminds me a lot of the Stonetown Cinema in San Francisco which was built in the early 1970s.  It's obvious that the theater was built as one large auditorium and has been divided into two long, narrow auditoriums.  You can see the support beams on the walls and ceilings so you can tell immediately if you are in the left half of the original auditorium or the right half.  In its original incarnation, I would say the Vine was comparable in size to the Castro Theater less its balcony.  I couldn't tell if there was a balcony in the original design of the Vine but there was no visible access to an upstairs area.

The Vine is next to the Zephyr Grill & Bar.  The Vine has traditional movie theater concessions along with beer on tap and wine by the glass.  I suspect they have an arrangement with the Zephyr for food service.  Pizza, hamburgers and salads were on the menu.  I ordered a Caesar salad which was less than memorable.  The food is brought to your seat.

The auditorium has several rows of traditional theater seating but also several tables dispersed throughout.  The tables have been laminated with movie posters.  There were also a few rows of couches and love seats.

I wasn't as impressed with the Vine as I was by the Los Gatos.  Perhaps that's because Livermore isn't as well-heeled as Los Gatos.  The Vine was remodeled in 2009 into its current setup whereas as the Los Gatos is just over six months from its restoration so it still has the new car smell.

I doubt I'll return to either theater very often due to this travel distances involved.

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As for the films...

Gone Girl was number one at the box office for two consecutive weeks and has grossed over $120 million in four weeks.  I won't write much about it as it has been well reviewed.  I am a fan of director David Fincher's work (dating back to Seven & Fight Club).  I recommend Gone Girl.  Rosamund Pike is outstanding and shows quite a bit of acting range.  The plot is a shamelessly contrived and the ending didn't quite mesh with the 2+ hours of film leading up to it but Gone Girl is a fun ride.

As I get older, I have a harder time understanding English as spoken by our cousins across the pond. At times, I could not understand the actors in Pride (set in London & Wales of the 1980s) due to their accents.  That didn't detract much from the plot which is based on historical (some of which I vaguely remember).  In the mid-1980s, coal miners in the UK went on strike; the strike lasted about one year.  This was one incident in the strife which marked Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister.

A group of gay activists in London raise money in support of the coal miners.  They visit a Welsh mining town to formally donate the money and are received with hostility for the most part.  A few open minds salvage the relationship until someone leaks the story to the press.  One must recall that during this era of AIDS, anti-homosexual behavior was more overt.  Anyway, the a vote is taken and the coal miner's union decides to disassociate itself from the gay activists.

I wasn't too impressed Pride.  It was often predictable and cliched.  I read that it received a standing ovation at this year's Cannes Film Festival.  It surprises me that it was even accepted at Cannes.  The events depicted are historic and important but the film feels more like a series a comedy sketches.  That's a little unfair because many of the actors shine in certain scenes.  Paddy Considine has a great scene as the union leader who is definitely out of his element in London drag queen bar.  Bill Nighy also has a few strong scenes as the poet/historian/tragic coal miner.

I laughed at some of the scenes in Pride but overall the sum of the parts was less than the whole.

More Spring Cleaning

I saw a number of non-festival films in the first quarter which were interesting and worthwhile if not spectacular.

The Great Passage starring Ryûhei Matsuda; directed by Yûya Ishii; Japanese with subtitles; (2013)
Two Lives starring Juliane Köhler & Liv Ullmann; directed by Georg Maas & Judith Kaufmann; German & Norwegian with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website

24 Exposures starring Adam Wingard, Caroline White, Simon Barrett & Sophia Takal; directed by Joe Swanberg; (2013)

7 Boxes starring Celso Franco; directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia & Tana Schembori; Spanish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website

Gloria starring Paulina García; directed by Sebastián Lelio; Spanish with subtitles; (2013) - Official Website

Generation War Part 1 starring Volker Bruch, Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Miriam Stein & Ludwig Trepte; directed by Philipp Kadelbach; German & Polish with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook

Generation War Part 2 starring Volker Bruch, Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Miriam Stein & Ludwig Trepte; directed by Philipp Kadelbach; German & Polish with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook

The Grand Budapest Hotel starring Ralph Fiennes; directed by Wes Anderson; (2014) - Official Website

I saw The Great Passage & Two Lives at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in January as part of their annual For Your Consideration series in which they screen film submitted for the Best Foreign Language film Oscar category.   The Great Passage later screened at the 2014 CAAMFest in March.

I saw 24 Exposures and 7 Boxes at the Little Roxie.  I saw 24 Exposures on the first day in February and 7 Boxes on the last day in February.

I saw Gloria at the Magick Lantern in Pt. Richmond in March.

I saw both Generation War films on successive afternoons in March at the Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinemas.

I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel in late March at the Stonestown Cinema.

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Let's start with Gloria since I ventured all the way to Pt. Richmond to see it.  Is Pt. Richmond a separate municipality than Richmond?  It was my first time in Pt. Richmond which has a quaint, downtown area where the Magick Lanten is located.

I first heard of the Magick Lantern about a year ago.  I had been meaning to go but am rarely in that area.  Looking at transit options from Richmond BART, I decided that driving would be the best option.  That limits my opportunities to visit as I rarely drive across the bay.  In addition, the Magick Lantern only has six regularly scheduled screenings per week (Thursday through Sunday).

A few months ago, I read that the Magick Lantern is struggling one year after opening.  Although I'm hoping for its success, I thought it better that I make it a priority to get over there to see it in case it doesn't survive.  Owner Ross Woodbury states in the article "Right now (the theater) is being run as a charity...The films I show are really, really good, but they’re generally not as well known. There’s x-number of people who come every week, and I’m delighted with them and love them. But there just aren’t enough of them."

For the past few months (maybe longer), the Lantern has been screening San Francisco Noir films on Thursday nights at 7:30 PM.  Admission is free.  On Thursday, The Midnight Story (1957) with Tony Curtis is screening.  The Rocket is screening five times from Friday night through Sunday afternoon.  Admission is $7 (cash only).

What are my impressions about the theater?  As the news article states, it's hidden, on the left hand side of a hallway.  If I recall correctly, there was a sandwich board sign on the sidewalk advertising the theater.  From the street, it's easiest to find by looking for the prominent Starbucks signage next to it.  As I entered the theater, the first thing I noticed was an impressive collection of cinema related books on large bookshelves to the left of the entrance.  I believe the back of the bookshelves form the back wall of the auditorium and they don't quite reach the ceiling.  After purchasing my ticket, I perused the books as well as some VHS tapes and DVDs.  I'm not sure if the items were for sale.

The screening room consists of four or five rows of theater seats; perhaps 10 seats across.  In front of the first row of seats are some beanbags on the floor which were being used by some of the audience.  On the evening I went, an entire row of seats were taped off because they weren't securely fastened to the floor.  Turkish or Afghan rugs were hung on the walls as makeshift soundproofing.  The projection is strictly DVD/Blue Ray.  There is no space for a 35 mm projector (either platter or changeover).  I went to a 7:30 screening on a Saturday night and there were approximately 20 people in the house.

Gloria is set in Santiago, Chile.  Pauline Garcia portrays the titular character, a divorcée in her late 50s.  Benignly neglected by her grown children and bored by her life, Gloria explores the singles scene which the synopsis tell us is quite vibrant for senior citizens.  She meets Rudolfo (Sergio Hernández), a retired naval officer.  Their relationship quickly progresses but Gloria has her doubts.  Rudolfo claims to be divorced but his ex-wife seems unusually dependent on him.  He also disappears from a family dinner where she introduces him to her children (and ex-husband).

The relationship continues to deteriorate and although Rudolfo marital status is never confirmed, Gloria appears to believe he is still married.  Her final, dramatic break from him signals her rebirth which is visually punctuated by her dancing at a disco to the Spanish language version of Gloria (the Laura Branigan song; not the Van Morrison one).

Kudos to Garcia for her performance which features nude sex scenes.  She is in nearly every scene and continues to show a buoyant attitude that belies the realities of her life.  Not necessarily sad, she is definitely on the downside of a life that has had its share of setbacks.  However, it is Hernández as Rudolfo who powers the film.  Whatever complaints Gloria may have about the way her life turned out, Rudolfo would seem to have more.  His grown daughters have no income of their own and are entirely dependent on their father both financially and emotionally.  Rudolfo seems unwilling to change the clearly dysfunctional dynamics within his family.  Unwilling to commit to Gloria and unwilling to cut his children loose, Rudolfo wants to have it both ways and Gloria is having none of it.

The transformation in the film is not so much with Gloria but rather the audience's perception of her.

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I became aware of Generation War at the 2013 Mill Valley Film Festival.  At MVFF, it was screened as one film with a running time of 4 hours, 30 minutes.  I wanted to see it but the screening I was interested in was At Rush so I went for a bird in the hand instead.  Interestingly, I cannot recall which film I saw instead of Generation War.  The film was broken into two parts for its US release.

Generation War follows five young Germans from 1941 to 1945.   Wilhelm (Volker Bruch) is an officer in the Wehrmacht and has already seen combat when the film begins.   Friedhelm (Tom Schilling) is Wilhelm's younger brother.  He has not served in the military before and in contrast to his brother, he sees no honor in warfare.  Charlotte (Miriam Stein) is naive and secretly in love with Wilhelm.  She volunteers as nurse and is stationed on the Eastern Front, not far from where the brother are stationed.   Katharina Schüttler is Greta, an ambitious singer who has an affair with an SS officer in order to advance her career and save her Jewish boyfriend Viktor (Ludwig Trepte).  Unbeknownst to Greta, the SS officer double crosses her and arrest Viktor.  He escapes his fate at a concentration camp and falls in with Polish resistance fighters.

Originally a German television miniseries, Generation War as epic reach which sometimes exceeds its grasp.  The five actors are in one scene together.  After that, they appear apart in pairs, trios or even quartets.  For me, the plot lines concerning Wilhelm and Friedhelm were the most compelling.  Wilhelm begins the film as patriotic and duty bound.  As Wilhelm is weighed down with his responsibilities as a platoon commander, he begins to realize the inhumanity of war and in particular, the brand of war the Nazi fought.  Meanwhile, his younger brother Friedhelm, who serves in his platoon, slowly loses his sense of morality as the atrocity he watch have an opposite effect on him than his brother.  The attitudes of the two brothers slowly come together and then diverge as they end at extreme opposites.  Wilhelm becomes a deserter, is captured and forced into a penal battalion where his unit is given the most dangerous missions.  Friedhelm becomes foolhardy in combat before eventually falling in with some fervent Hitler Youth defending against the Soviets during the final weeks of WWII.

Charlotte grows up fast in the field hospital she works at.  Seeing death on a regular basis and even turning Jewish staff members, she becomes a capable nurse before failing to evacuate and being captured by the Soviets.  She escapes rape and possibly death, courtesy of the Jewish woman she turned in (who is now an officer in the Soviet Army).

Greta becomes more ambitious as the war progresses.  She lives in luxury as her SS benefactor paves the way for her success.  However, when she threatens to expose their affair to his wife, he sends her on a tour of the Eastern Front where she reunites with Charlotte and the brothers.  Assuming the convoy will wait for a big star like her, she is left without transport back to Berlin and must make her own way.  When she finally returns, she takes revenge on the SS officer by exposing their relationship to his wife for which she is immediately sent to prison where she remains for the rest of the war.

Finally, there is Viktor.  I'm not sure how many Jews were left in Berlin in 1941 and hindsight may be 20/20 but it seem ridiculous for him and his parents to stick around Germany and I doubt he would have greeted his Aryan friends on the street of 1941 Berlin with "Shalom!"  His transformation from nice Jewish boy to resistance fighter seems most extreme.  He is continuously forced to hide his Jewish background from the partisans as they are as rabidly antisemitic as the Nazis.

I won't reveal who survives the war and who doesn't.  Each of them face and escape death at least once.  The film was a little melodramatic and contrived.  It definitely felt like a TV miniseries.  It also treated the five Germans as complicit victims of the Nazi regime.  It's a balanced portrayal but each of them can claim victimization by the Nazi regime which four of them openly serve.  Viktor of course, is the odd man out.  At most, he was a little too passive when his girlfriend starts screwing an SS officer to gain his travel papers.

By the way, that SS officer (Mark Waschke) is one of the best roles in the film.  Pure villain, he abuses his power as an SS officer and rather than face his comeuppance, he burns his uniform at the end of the war, assumes a new identity, escapes de-Nazification efforts and lands a job working for the American occupation forces.

Decidedly middlebrow and filled with false or at least, faux insights about the German people of WWII, Generation War has a fervent energy which propels it for most of its 4.5 hours.  It's hard to make a boring film about Nazis and WWII.

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I've become a bit of a Joe Swanberg fan since the Roxie held a retrospective of his work last year.  I was anxious to see his almost latest film, 24 Exposures, at the Roxie.  Swanberg premiered another film at this year's Sundance Film Festival in January.

Interestingly, the Roxie's website did not prominently mention that 24 Exposures was directed by Swanberg.  The copy mentioned "Vaseline-lensed sense and sexability of an early ‘90s Zalman King production..."  That doesn't sound like Swanberg whose films don't shy away from sexuality but strives for realism with mumblecore dialogue and recognizable situations.

24 Exposures is about a photographer who shoots models in mock death scenes (think crime scene photos) with an eye towards the erotic aspects of dead, topless women.  He and his girlfriend also likes to engage in ménage à trois with some of the models.  In parallel, a suicidal police detective is investigating a series of murders where the victim are dead, topless women.

Adam Wingard is Billy, the photographer and Simon Barrett is Michael, the cop.  Alex, Billy's girlfriend, is portrayed by Caroline White and indie film queen Sophia Takal is one of the models who looks impressive in a pair of red stretch pants.

Much of the dialogue, particularly Michael's, seems awkwardly delivered and artificial.  I can't believe Swanberg was unaware of that.  Swanberg must be commenting on the genre or perhaps the audience's expectation of his films.  In the end, Swanberg plays an book agent who critiques Michael's memoirs of the murders.  Swanberg ticks off a number of shortcomings in the draft which could easily apply to the film which then leads the audience to think the film is an adaption of the faux memoir which the book agent is rejecting.  It's a little too meta for me.

24 Exposures isn't a horrible film but of the half dozen or so Swanberg directed films I've seen in the past year, it is my least favorite.

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7 Boxes is a Paraguayan film; perhaps the first Paraguayan film I've seen.  I see so many films, I can't keep track the country of origin.

Celso Franco is Victor, a 17 year old boy who dreams of being famous and on television.  To achieve these dreams, he needs a cell phone.  I'm not sure why he needs a cell phone to achieve stardom.  Anyway, he gets a job to move 7 boxes several blocks in Asunción.  He has to deal with stolen cell phones, criminals, cops, a girl and the unknown contents of the boxes.

7 Boxes has thrills and some black humor.  It's one of those films where multiple plot threads come together and then apart as the story progresses.  It's clever and entertaining but didn't leave much of a lasting impression.

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The Great Passage was Japan's submission for the Best Foreign Language film at this year's Oscars.  It did not make the list of final nominations.

Ryûhei Matsuda is Mitsuya Majime, a book publishing company employee.  The film begins in the 1980s when Majime is a struggling salesman.  He is quickly recruited by the editors on a project to publish a new edition of a dictionary.  Despite being a thankless and likely money-losing proposition, Majime, a linguistics major, quickly shines in his role as researcher and ultimately editor of the dictionary.

The film spans about 20 years during the which the dictionary is compiled and goes through several edits.  During this time, Majime meets a woman, gets married, assumes more responsibility on the project and ultimately shepherds it to completion.

A little too sentimental for my tastes, The Great Passage is far from the best Japanese film I've seen in the past few years.  At nearly 2 hours and 15 minutes, I thought 30 minutes of editing could have made the film a better product.  It couldn't have been all bad because I can remember two scenes 3 months later.  First, define "left" without using the word "right."  How do you define your left hand without referencing the right hand?  Second, define "love."

Two Lives was Germany's submission for the Best Foreign Language film and it didn't receive a nomination either.  The film is set in the early 1990s as the Berlin Wall falls.  We see a woman (Juliane Kohler) using disguises and false papers to sneak into East Germany.  We later learn the woman is Katrine Myrdal, a Norwegian housewife and new grandmother.  Her husband is a submarine captain in the Norwegian navy, her daughter is a college student who has decided to have a child out of wedlock and her mother is Liv Ullmann.  Katrine was taken by the Nazis as a baby for her Aryan features, raised in East Germany after the war, became a Stasi spy and escaped to Norway as a young woman.  There is more to the story than that but I'll omit the major surprise element.

Evocative of a John le Carré novel, Two Lives recalls the end of the Cold War made personal by viewing the emotional toll Katrine has paid after having lived her life as an undercover agent.  The story is a engaging although the multiple deceits and frequent flashbacks make the film more difficult to follow.  I can only image that, like Generation War, Two Lives resonated more with German audiences where the specter of post-WWII politics, reunification and familiarity with Stasi activities are more keenly felt than in the US.

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With each film Wes Anderson releases, I enjoy his work a little less.  That trend continues with The Grand Budapest Hotel.  I can't say I disliked the film but his filmmaking style is wearing thin for me.  Whimsical, fantastical elements, deadpan deliveries - they are all there in Budapest and the visual composition and plot are meticulously planned.  It's a well made film but I guess I'm fatigued by the Anderson Touch.  His style has become equally or more important than his substance.  I'm sure Anderson's fans will disagree and gobble up Budapest but I just didn't feel it this time.   I should go back and watch The Royal Tennebaums (my favorite Anderson film) to see if my enjoyment of it has cooled.

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.