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.

2014 Cinequest (Part 1 of 2)

Cinequest was held from March 4 to 16 this year.  It seemed to start a week late this year.  The festival typically starts in the late February.  It started on February 26 last year, February 28 in 2012 and March 1 in 2011.

As has been the case since I started attending, Cinequest's venues were the California Theater, the SJ Rep and four screens at the Camera 12.  Last month, the SJ Rep announced it was closing.  I wonder if that means the theater will be repurposed.  The distinctively shaped building doesn't seem as though it could be used for anything else except a theater or performance space.

I saw 37 programs this year which is my all-time high for any film festival.  Of the 37, I watched 27 at the Camera 12, seven at the California and three at the SJ Rep.

I remain convinced that the film programming at Cinequest best matches my tastes and as such, Cinequest is likely my favorite film festival in the Bay Area.  Only its location detracts from a more enthusiastic endorsement.  Driving round-trip from SF to SJ everyday is exhausting.

This year, Cinequest did have some issues.  I noticed that they didn't have handheld ticket scanners at all locations.  Instead, the volunteers had an app on their cell phone which photographed and scanned the tickets and passes and then compared against some database.  At times, this was very slow.  For two programs, I entered the theater after the film had started because it took so long for the ticket takers to scan the tickets and get the "OK" response.

I also noticed that the LCD monitors which displayed the film schedules were missing.  Instead Cinequest went old-school.  Colored pieces of paper were cut into strips with the film title, start time and duration.  These were taped to the windows of the Camera 12.  As the day progressed, the volunteers had to manually remove films which had already screened and re-tape the paper higher up on the window.  Towards the end of the day, they would tape the next day's schedules below the current day's schedule.  It was sufficient but decidedly low tech especially for San Jose.  In fact, some people were confused.  I helped more than one person decipher "the board."  I noticed HP was not one of the sponsors this year.  HP monitors were used in past years to display the schedules.

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Hunting Elephants starring Sasson Gabai, Moni Moshonov, Patrick Stewart & Gil Blank; directed by Reshef Levi; Hebrew & English with subtitles; (2013)
Class Enemy starring Igor Samobor; directed by Rok Bicek; Slovenian & German with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook
Just a Sigh starring starring Gabriel Byrne & Emmanuelle Devos; French & English with subtitles; (2013)
The Verdict starring Koen De Bouw; directed by Jan Verheyen; Dutch with subtitles; (2013) - Official Website
A Squared starring Maria Vittoria Barrella & Lorenzo Colombi; directed by Stefano Lodovichi; Italian with subtitles; (2013)
Lawrence and Holloman starring Ben Cotton & Daniel Arnold; directed by Matthew Kowalchuk; (2013) - Official Website
Masterpiece:  Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns; documentary directed by Alexander Gray & Jeff Maynard; (2013)
Parallel Maze starring Run Zhang & Ya Shu Zhan; directed by Hua Ya; Mandarin with subtitles; (2013)
A is for Alex starring Alex Orr & Katie Orr; directed by Alex Orr; (2013)
Sex(ed):  The Movie; documentary; directed by Brenda Goodman; (2013)
White Rabbit starring Carla Pauli & Eric Michael Kochmer; directed by Bill Kinder; (2013) - Official Website
East Side Sushi starring Diana Elizabeth Torres & Yukata Takeuchi; directed by Anthony Lucero; English, Spanish & Japanese with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook
Funny Money starring Khuong Ngoc & Van Trang; directed by Thien Do; Vietnamese with subtitles; (2013)
Sold starring Niyar, David Arquette & Gillian Anderson; (2014) - Official Website
Eternity: The Movie starring Barrett Crake, Myko Olivier & Nikki Leonti; directed by Ian Thorpe; (2013) - Official Website
The Divorce Party starring Ashlynn Yennie & Collin Owens; directed by Edy Soto; (2013)
Loaded starring Patrick John Flueger, Kumail Nanjiani & Andrew W. Walker; directed by Christopher Zonnas; (2013)
Breathe In starring Felicity Jones; Guy Pearce & Amy Ryan; directed by Drake Doremus; (2013) - Official Facebook
A Thief A Kid And A Killer starring Felix Roco & Arvy Viduya; directed by Nathan Adolfson; Tagalog & English with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook
Victoriana starring Marguerite French & Jadrien Steele; directed by Jadrien Steele; (2013)
A Practical Guide to a Spectacular Suicide starring Graeme McGeagh & Annable Logan; directed by Graham Hughes; (2013) - Official Facebook
Confessions of a Womanizer starring Andrew Lawrence, Gary Busey & C. Thomas Howell; directed by Miguel Ali; (2013) - Official Website
Unforgiven starring Ken Watanabe & Akira Emoto; directed by Lee San-il; Japanese with subtitles; (2013) - Official Website
The Illiterate starring Paulina Garcia & Valentina Muhr; directed by Moises Sepulveda; Spanish with subtitles; (2013)
A Short History of Decay starring Bryan Greenberg, Linda Lavin & Harris Yulin; directed by Michael Maren; (2013) - Official Website
Zoran, My Idiot Nephew starring Guiseppe Battiston & Teco Celio; directed by Matteo Oleotto; Italian with subtitles; (2013)
The Hands of Orlac starring Conrad Veidt; directed by Robert Wiene; musical accompaniment by Dennis James; silent with intertitles; (1924)
Heavenly Shift starring Andras Otvos, Roland Raba & Tamas Keresztes; directed by Mark Bodzar; Hungarian with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook
Blood Punch starring Milo Cawthorne & Olivia Tennet; directed by Madellaine Paxons; (2013) - Official Website
The Man Behind the Mask; documentary; directed by Gabriela Obregon; Spanish with subtitles; (2013)
App starring Hannah Hoekstra; directed by Bobby Boermans; Dutch with subtitles; (2013) -  Official Website
Dom Hemingway starring Jude Law, Richard E. Grant & Emilia Clarke; directed by Richard Shepard; (2013) - Official Website
Finsterworld starring Corinna Harfouch & Ronald Zehrfeld; directed by Frauke Finsterwalder; German with subtitles; (2013) - Official Website
Friended to Death starring Ryan Hansen; directed by Sarah Smick; (2013)
The Rugby Player; documentary; directed by Scott Gracheff; (2013) - Official Website
It's Only Make Believe starring Silje Salomonsen; directed by Arild Østin Ommundsen; Norwegian with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook
Tempo Girl starring Florentine Drafft & Jose Barros; directed by Dominik Locher; German & Swiss German with subtitles; (2013) - Official Facebook

This year it seemed like there weren't as many short films preceding the feature films.  I did not see any short film programs but I did see four short films...I think.    In the listing below, PTP stands for Picture the Possibilities, a Cinequest initiative that "is a transformative leadership movement, where empowered youth create visions for a better tomorrow."

The Shoemaker; documentary; directed by Dustin Cohen; (2013)
The Closest Thing to Heaven; documentary; directed by Ryan Bruce Levey; (2013)
Birdboy (PTP);
Shift starring Lindsay Farris; directed by James Croke; (2013) - Official Website

According to the festival guide, The Shoemaker preceded A is for Alex, The Closest Thing to Heaven preceded Sex(ed):  The Movie, Birdboy preceded The Illiterate and the last minute schedule addition Shift preceded Dom Hemingway.

I don't recall Birdboy whereas I recall the other three short films and all the feature films.  I didn't jot any notes about Birdboy either.  I wonder if it actually screened or if I came in late for that screening.  There are frequent schedule changes at Cinequest so it is quite possible Birdboy did not screen with The Illiterate.  Many of the PTP films from last eyar were posted on YouTube but I cannot find Birdboy on that website.

2013 Cinequest (Part 1 of 2)

This year's Cinequest ran from February 26 to March 10 in San Jose.  I saw 36 programs (same as last year).  Unlike past years, the last few days of the 2013 Cinequest did not conflict with the first weekend of the 2013 SF Asian American Film Festival (now called CAAMFest).

As has been the case for the past several years, the primary venues were the Camera 12 Cinemas, the California Theater and the San Jose Rep.  I saw 25 programs at the Camera 12, seven at the California and four at the Rep.  I thought the attendance was down slightly but a press release stated over 100,000 attended this year (compared to > 90,000 last year).

Welcome Home starring Manah De Pauw; directed by Tom Heene; French, English & Dutch with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
An Inaccurate Memoir starring Xiaoming Huang & Yi Zhang; directed by Shu-peng Yang; Mandarin & Japanese with subtites; (2012)
Dose of Reality starring Fairuza Balk, Rick Ravanello & Ryan Merriman; directed by Christopher Glatis; (2013) - Official Website
White Lie starring David Birkin, Olivia Ross, Paul Bandey & Belinda Low; directed by Nyima Cartier; (2013)
Leave of Absence starring Jason Thompson & Heather Case Miller; directed by Jeff Prugh & Jason Thompson; (2013) - Official Website
The Pretty Time Bomb starring Bunngyou Dann, Minoru Teruya & Tomoko Hatori; directed by Shigekazu Shibamoto; Japanese with subtitles; (2012)
Sparks starring Chase Williamson & Ashley Bell; directed by Christopher Folino & Todd Burrows; (2013) - Official Website
Solace starring Rhoda Griffis, Ric Reitz, Robert Pralgo, Russell Comegys, Dupree Lewis Jr. & Dixie Light; directed by Vandon Gibbs; (2013) - Official Website
Congratulations! starring John Curran; directed by Mike Brune; (2013) - Official Website
The Kitchen starring Laura Prepon; directed by Ishai Setton; (2012) - Official Website
One Small Hitch starring Shane McRae & Aubrey Dollar; directed by John Burgess; (2012) - Official Website
The Believers; directed by Clayton Brown & Monica Long Ross; documentary; (2012) - Official Website
We Went to War; directed by Michael Grigsby & Rebekah Tolley; documentary; (2013) - Official Website
Chaos starring Isaach De Bankolé, Sonia Rolland & Niels Schneider; directed by Etienne Faure; French with subtitles; (2012) - Official Facebook
Twenty Million People starring Michael Ferrell & Devin Sanchez; directed by Michael Ferrell; (2013) - Official Website
Sweet Talk starring Jeffrey Vincent Parise & Natalie Zea; directed by Terri Hanauer; (2012) - Official Website
Detonator starring Lawrence Michael Levine & Benjamin Ellis Fine; directed by Damon Malucci & Keir Politz; (2013) - Official Website
Molly Maxwell starring Lola Tash & Charlie Carrick; directed by Sara St. Onge; (2013) - Official Facebook
Aftermath starring Anthony Michael Hall & Chris Penn; with Tony Danza, Leo Burmester & Elisabeth Röhm; directed by Thomas Farone; (2013)
Girl Shaped Love Drug starring Sacha Dhawan & Rachel Austin; directed by Simon Powell;
Made in China starring Odiseo Bichir & Victor Hernandez; directed by Gabriel Guzmán; Spanish with subitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Scar starring Marc Béland & Patrick Goyette; directed by Jimmy Larouche; French with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Hunt starring Mads Mikkelsen; directed by Thomas Vinterberg; Danish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Old Stock starring Noah Reid; directed by James Genn; (2012) - Official Facebook
Eden starring Jaime Chung; with Matt O'Leary & Beau Bridges; directed by Megan Griffiths; (2012) - Official Website
Offline starring Wim Willaert & Anemone Valcke; directed by Peter Monsaert; Dutch & French with subtites; (2012)
Mystery starring Lei Hao & Xi Qi; directed by Ye Lou; Mandarin with subtitles; (2012)
Goldfish Go Home starring Takeshi Nagata; directed by Shohei Shiozaki; Japanese and Portuguese with subtitles; (2012)
The Dead Man and Being Happy starring José Sacristán; directed by Javier Rebollo; Spanish with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Mon Ami starring Mike Kovac & Scott Wallis; directed by Rob Grant; (2012) - Official Website
Oh Boy starring Tom Schilling; directed by Jan Ole Gerster; German with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Almost Man starring Henrik Rafaelsen & Janne Heltberg Haarseth; directed by Marin Lund; Norwegian with subtitles; (2012)
In the Shadow starring Ivan Trojan; directed by David Ondricek; Czech with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
The Playback Singer starring Ross Partrdige, Piyush Mishra & Navi Rawata; directed by Suju Vijayan; some Hindi with subtitles; (2012) - Official Website
Habanastation starring Ernesto Escalona & Andy Fornanis; directed by Ian Padrón; Spanish with subtitles; (2011)
Loveless Zoritsa starring Ljuma Penov; directed by Hristina Hatziharalabous & Radoslav Pavkovic; Serbian with subtitles; (2012)

I did not see any short film programs but several short films preceded features.  In the listing below, PTP stands for Picture the Possibilities, a Cinequest initiative to "to empower creativity and innovation that improves lives and communities worldwide."  "Empower," "creativity" and "innovation" are words which are used freqeuntly at Cinequest and the Silicon Valley.  Frankly, they have fallen into ubiquity and lost their resonance with me.

Wild Geese starring Barb Rossmeis; directed by Brittany Ballard & Jamil Walker Smith; 6 minutes; (2012)
Couch starring Perry Silver; directed by Ian Gelfand; 6 minutes; (2013)
The Great Journey (PTP); Watch Video
Better Than a C (PTP); Watch Video
No Rest for the Wicked: A Basil & Moebius Adventure starring Zachary Levi & Ray Park; with Malcolm McDowell; directed by Ryan Schifrin; 17 minutes; (2011) - Official Website
The Global Citizen (PTP); Watch Video
David Sedaris' The Learning Curve starring Matthew Gray Gubler; directed by Phil McCarty; 16 minutes; (2012) - Official Website
Where We Are Safe (PTP); Watch Video
Fish Tale: Secret Life of Plankton; documentary; directed by Christian Sardet, Noe Sardet & Sharif Mirshak; 6 minutes; (2012)
Examination starring Joe Peers; directed by Beryl Richards; 10 minutes; (2012) - Official Website
Jack's Not Sick Anymore starring Lauren Ashley Carter & Kristin Malko; directed by Chloe Domont; 13 minutes; (2012)
Right Here Among Us (PTP); Watch Video

Kill No Evil was supposed to play before An Inaccurate Memoir. I believe that was the only exception to the schedule.

I wanted to see the feature film She Doesn't Want to Sleep Alone but it was pulled from the lineup at the last minute.


As usual, there was a myriad of great films at Cinequest.  Cinequest has easily become my favorite film festival in the Bay Area.  I am beginning to believe it is the concentration of venues in the downtown San Jose area which elevates the festival.  They screen six films roughly simultaneously.  They stagger the start times somewhat but the combination of cafes, bars, casual eateries and Cinequest sponsored social events creates synergies and excitement during the festival.  Cinequest achieves this better than any other festival I attend.  It helps that Cinequest has the effective monopoly on San Jose film festivals.

I finally made it over to La Victoria Taqueria (La Vic) to try their famous "orange sauce."  It's quite tasty; apparently the secret to the color and flavor is chorizo.

During the festival, Pauly's Famous Franks n Fries opened on Third Street.  The Mexico City dog was very good.


For the past few years, I have seen so many films at Cinequest that I need to split the post up.  More on the films tomorrow.

2012 By the Numbers

I numerically summarize my 2012 film going experiences below.

I saw 436 "films" on a theater screen in 2012. This compares to 406 "films" in 2011 and 382 in 2010. 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.

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The top 10 venues in which I saw films in 2012 were:

1) Roxie Theater (103 films) - primarily from four film festivals - 2012 SF Indiefest, I Wake Up Dreaming, Beauty of the Real & Not Necessarily Noir; also DocFest and Another Hole in the Head was at the Roxie

2) Castro Theater (70 films) - 36 films between 2012 Noir City and 2012 SF Silent Film Festival

3) Pacific Film Archive (49 films) - various PFA programs including Nikkatsu, Bellissima and French Cinema Classics series

4) Landmark Theaters (33 films) - 3 films from SFFS French Cinema Now series; the rest from individual programs; theater breakdown - Embarcadero Center (18 films), Opera Plaza (7), Lumiere (6) and Bridge (2)

5) New People/Viz/SFFS Film Center (31 films) - most films from 2012 SF International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), 2012 SF International Film Festival (SFIFF) and the SFFS Fall film series

6) Camera Cinemas (25 films) - most film from 2012 Cinequest and 2012 SFIAAFF

7) Kabuki Cinemas (23 films) - all films from 2012 SFIAFF and 2012 SFIFF

8) Stanford Theater (18 films) - no festivals, but loosely defined series

9) Vogue Theater (15 films) - all films from 2012 Mostly British Film Festival

10) California Theater (11 films) - all films from 2012 Cinequest; California Theater is referring to the theater located in downtown San Jose and not the Landmark operated theater of the same name in downtown Berkeley

Honorable mentions - San Jose Rep (8  films; all from 2012 Cinequest), Balboa Theater (7 films), YBCA (6 films), Smith Rafael Film Center (6 films; most from the 2012 Mill Valley Film Festival), 4 Star (6 films) and the Crest Theater (4 films; all from the 2012 Sacramento French Film Festival)

I also saw 8 films in Las Vegas while visiting my father throughout the year, but not at the same theater.

I went to a number of venues for the first time in 2012 - the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley, the Crest in Sacramento, Oddball Films in the Mission District of SF, the New Parkway in Oakland and 142 Throckmorton in Mill Valley.

The top three venues (Castro, Roxie & PFA) have remained the same since 2010 although the order of the three has changed for each of the past three years.

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On 252 days in 2012, I saw at least one film.  Of those 252 days, I saw:

1 film on 125 days
2 films on 87 days
3 films on 27 days
4 films on 9 days
5 films on 4 days

On Sunday, January 29, I saw five films at the Castro as part of Noir City.  Many of those films less than 70 minutes though.  On Sunday, March 4, I saw five films at Cinequest in San Jose.  I took a vacation day the next day and saw five more films at Cinequest.  On Sunday, March 11, I saw four films at the Encore Day at Cinequest and a fifth film at the Camera 3 which was not affiliated with Cinequest.

As much as I dislike seeing four, much less five, films in one day, I am going get my money's worth if I drive all the way to San Jose for a film festival.

I also remember January 29.  I had the opportunity to see six films that day but skipped out on The Maltese Falcon.

All the four film days were also associated with film festivals.  I went for four in a day during Noir City, Mostly British, Indiefest, Cinequest, SF Asian American, Sacramento French & Silent Film Festival (3 consecutive days)

My cumulative cost per film is $8.00 per film.  I've been tracking those costs meticulously since January 1, 2010 although it gets a little fuzzy w.r.t. costs which I deduct as charitable donations on my income taxes.

Taking Inventory as of September 8

The Black Pirate starring Douglas Fairbanks; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Dennis James; (1926)
Absolute Beginners starring Patsy Kensit, Eddie O'Connell & David Bowie; (1986)
The Hippie Temptation; documentary; hosted by Harry Reasoner; (1967)
Tyson directed by James Toback; documentary; (2008) - Official Website
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg; documentary; (2009) - Official Website
Moon starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey (voice only); (2009) - Official Website
Up starring Ed Asner & Christopher Plummer (voices only); animated 2-D Version; (2009) - Official Website
Inglourious Basterds starring Brad Pitt; directed by Quentin Tarantino; (2009) - Official Website

Two Tars; starring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy; silent with intertitles; live accompaniment by Dennis James; 21 minutes; (1928)
Partly Cloudy; animated; 6 minutes; (2009)

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I saw Two Tars and The Black Pirate at the California Theater in San Jose. They had a summer series that was affiliated with the Stanford Theater.

Partly Cloudy preceded Up.

All of these films are well known or general release films.

I enjoyed Inglourious Basterds and have to say that Christoph Waltz's performance lived up to advance billing.

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg played at this year's SF Jewish Film Festival. It's been playing at the Landmark Theaters for the past few weeks. The documentary focuses on Gertrude Berg, the driving force behind The Goldbergs a radio and pioneering television series. The shows is largely unknown to modern audiences. I never heard of the show or its star before this film. Her story was fascinating though - she basically invented the sitcom format, she stood up to McCarthyites when co-star Philip Loeb was accused of being a Communist and eventually dropped Loeb to save her show. Along the way, she ingrained the matronly, immigrant Jewish characterization that still exists. Loeb is worthy of a documentary in his own right. Zero Mostel's suicide in The Front was based on the actual death of Philip Loeb.

Absolute Beginners was part of a Castro Theater's musical series. I can't remember the name of the series. The 1986 film starred Patsy Kensit, Eddie O'Connell and David Bowie. Directed by Julien Temple, the stylish musical was set in 1950's London and dealt with racism and gentrification. Nice soundtrack featuring Bowie, Sade and Ray Davies.

Johnny Cash, the KKK, Scottish Nationalism, Australian Exploitation, LA Gangs and Indiefest

I've seen five movies in the past week.

At Noise Pop, I saw Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (2008). The venue was the Roxie. The documentary lacked focus but I enjoyed the soundtrack and learned that Cash plagiarized the lyrics to Folsom Prison Blue. Google "Crescent City Blues Gordon Jenkins" for more information.

On February 27 I went down to San Jose to see The Birth of a Nation at the California Theater. The 1915 silent film was directed by D.W. Griffith and starred Lillian Gish. The film featured live accompaniment by Dennis James on the Wurlitzer. The film was screened as part of the Cinequest Film Festival.

The next night I saw Not Quite Hollywood (2008) at the Vogue Theater. The documentary was part of the Mostly British Film Series. It's the first time I've been to the Vogue since it was taken over by the Neighborhood Theater Foundation. The theater was slated to be converted to condos but was saved by the Neighborhood Theater Foundation. The film was a documentary about "Ozploitation" films - 1970's and 80's vintage films that exploited Australian stereotypes and showcased naked women, raunchy humor, violence, blood and post-apocalyptic gangs of leathermen terrorizing travelers in the Outback

On March 2, I saw the matinee screening of Stone of Destiny (2008) at the Mostly British Film Series. The film was directed by Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables) and starred Kate Mara (We Are Marshall) and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty). The film was based on the true story of four Scottish college students that broke into Westminster Abbey on Christmas Eve 1950. They stole the Stone of Destiny from under the throne used to coronate every British monarch since the 1700's. The students stole the stone in the name of Scottish nationalism.

On March 3, I took advantage of the Roxie's $5 Monday special and saw Crips and Bloods: Made in America. One of the producers of this 2008 documentary on the infamous Los Angeles street gangs was Baron Davis, the professional basketball player.

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While they are still relatively fresh in my mind, I want to write a little about some of the Indiefest films. The audience award winners were announced.

Best Narrative Feature: Harrison Montgomery
Best Documentary Feature: Automorphosis
Best Narrative Short: Treevenge
Best Documentary Short: No Strings Attached
Best Animation: Descendants

In my last post, I only mentioned No Strings Attached. I saw Harrison Montgomery but was not as impressed with it as other audience members apparently were. I did not see the other films.

Actually, Harrison Montgomery was filmed locally so its audience award may have been a case of homers stuffing the ballot box. Harrison Montgomery is in-joke. Harrison Montgomery are the names of two major streets in San Francisco.

No Strings Attached was a very entertaining ~30 minute documentary about burlesque dancers. It was also filmed locally. The main subjects were the Scenic Sisters, two real-life sisters that are popular burlesque dancers based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the film takes place at Tease-O-Rama, a burlesque convention held at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco.

The film did a good job of portraying the subjects as human beings instead of pieces of meat. Indeed, the performances were tame by strip club standards and the focus was on the dance movements and costumes.

My favorite short was Burr as in Aaron Burr. The narrative was set in the contemporary American Southwest and involved an innovative solution to the age-old scourge of teenage bullying. The boy is pushed to his limit and considers shooting his tormentors à la Columbine. His best friend is the grandson of the last legal duel in the state so he leverages his grandfather's knowledge to set up a old-fashioned duel.

I was also entertained by Side Effect, a short horror film involving prescription medication and an urban legend involving a roasted turkey and an infant.

From the feature films, my favorite was I'll Come Running. Filmed in Austin and Denmark, the story involves the unlikely romance between a Danish tourist in a Texas and the Hispanic waitress (Melonie Diaz in a great performance) he crosses paths with. The film is a love story about people from different cultures and each half of the couple visits the other's home with increasingly absurd and ironic results. I don't want to give too much of the plot away because there is a plot twist that I didn't see coming. The key performance is delivered by Diaz who plays a strong woman who is confused by her emotions and behaves in contradictory ways.



Skills Like This is an absurdest comedy about a writer who finds his greatest talents may be as a thief/robber. He develops a romantic relationship with the bank teller he robs. Writer and star Spencer Berger delivers an effective performance as sad sack Max, a failed writer with an enormous JewFro. The film also featured an outstanding soundtrack with alternative/folk music.



Another film in which the writer starred was Leaving Barstow. The film has Steven Culp in a supporting role but features Kevin Sheridan as a high school senior with a codependent mother. Weighed down by his mother's needs and his own ennui, Sheridan's character is on the precipice. If he stays true to his mother and stays in town, he'll probably end up in a dead-end job and an unfulfilling marriage. With the help of his best friend and buoyed by his first romantic relationship with a young waitress who works at the same restaurant as his mother, Sheridan hurtles towards a life altering decision. I like how the interracial relationship between Sheridan and Ryan Michelle Bathe was treated as something that required no commentary.

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As I mentioned, I saw The Birth of a Nation in Downtown San Jose. The screening was extremely rare due to the racist plot in which the KKK are heroes. The NAACP still protests the film. Given the controversial nature of the film, it was quite a treat to see the film on the big screen with live accompaniment. The experience was made even more special by screening the film in the California Theater, an 1,100 seat theater opened in 1927 and renovated in 2004. The Spanish Colonial themed theater is beautiful. Sadly, the audience was small. I doubt there were more than 300 people in the audience. Given the crowds at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival screenings, I was expecting a sell-out. Apparently, the film was not well publicized, people weren't willing to travel to San Jose or the nature of the film was enough to keep people away.



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I also read that the San Francisco Chronicle is seeking a buyer or will close. I'm of the generation that still buys newspapers with the emphasis on the paper. Many people may think the closure of a paper is no great loss because they get their news on-line. However in San Francisco, the most popular on-line news portal (SF Gate) is run by the SF Chronicle. According to reports, the SF Gate can't exist without the newspaper because the Chronicle provides content for the SF Gate. I'm not a newspaper or on-line media expert so I won't say much except that local sources of news (held to journalist standards) are important for the health of a community. Whether the sources is newsprint or an internet is a matter of preference.