Thompson on Hollywood

Tribeca 2012 Wrap, Must-Sees and Avoids: 'War Witch,' 'Una Noche,' 'Francophrenia' Come Out on Top; 'Lola' on Bottom

Festivals

Tribeca 2012 is over. Here's my list of what was memorable out of this year's programme --and not. RECOMMENDED

By David D'Arcy
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April 30, 2012 4:27 PM
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SFIFF 55: Judy Davis, 'Women with Cows,' "The Giants,' Rissient on Hawks

Festivals

I have viewed myself into a corner; there’s practically nothing playing this afternoon that I haven’t already seen. I have prepared for this by checking out press screeners, despite my internal script that runs: “you don’t go to film festivals to watch movies on DVD.” So I choose either talking heads docs or movies with less than epic sweep.

By Meredith Brody
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April 30, 2012 3:21 PM
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SFIFF 55 Update: From Jonathan Lethem to 'Oslo, August 21st,' 'Queen of Versailles,' 'The Sheik and I'

Festivals

I’ve seen quite a few of SFIFF's State of the Cinema lectures, the tenth in fest's series of inviting a “prominent thinker to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema, culture, and society.” Highlights that spring to mind include the erudite sound designer and film editor Walter Murch, complete with Power Point presentation; the irrepressible and charming director/animator/voice actor Brad Bird; and Tilda Swinton, easily the most stylishly attired and poetically, delightfully incoherent.

By Meredith Brody
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April 25, 2012 6:00 AM
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COLCOA 2012 Opening Night, From New "My Way' to 'A Trip to the Moon' and 'Breathless'

Festivals

Opening night at the City of Lights City of Angels French film week at the Directors Guild always features sweet champagne and pastries, a mediocre French movie that the French consider to be the kind of commercial film American distributors should embrace but never do...

By Anne Thompson
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April 17, 2012 1:10 PM
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Against Gendered Culture

Blogs

Why are books and movies tagged pink or blue, like babies in a 1950s nursery?

By Carrie Rickey
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April 3, 2012 12:09 PM
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Brownlow Restoration of Abel Gance’s 'Napoleon' Triumphs at Oakland’s Paramount Theater

Reviews

If at all possible, you should get yourself over to the Paramount Theater in Oakland next weekend (March 31 and April 1) for the final two performances of Kevin Brownlow’s 5½ hour restoration of Abel Gance’s 1927 "Napoleon," accompanied by Carl Davis conducting the Oakland East Bay Symphony in the performance of his score.

By Meredith Brody
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March 26, 2012 7:02 PM
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New Italian Cinema: Films Hit the Zeitgeist at 15th Annual San Francisco Fest

Festivals

By Meredith Brody
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November 22, 2011 5:10 PM
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WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar Talk, Box Office, Gender Watch, AFM, Harry Potter, Cleopatra & More

Features

Revisit the best stories of the week from Thompson on Hollywood!

By TOH!
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November 19, 2011 1:11 PM
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Spielberg, Tintin, and the Race for Oscar

Tintin v. Rango

If the animated Oscar competition comes down to originality and boldness, then you can't rule out a potential horse race between "Rango" and "The Adventures of Tintin." Make no mistake: despite the outcry from traditionalists, "Tintin" is nothing if not animated, and definitely a performance capture game-changer: a unique hybrid of the caricature and photoreal, thanks to the wizards of Weta, who've struck again after their "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" coup. The rendering of skin, eyes, mouth, and hair is so tactile, and there's a more believable sense of weight and movement.

By Bill Desowitz
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November 11, 2011 11:41 AM
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Basking in French Cinema Now 2011: from Bachelor Days to Screen Illusion

San Francisco Francophile Meredith Brody reports on the city’s 2011 French Cinema Now.

French Cinema Now is my favorite of the several fall mini-festivals put on by the San Francisco Film Society, seeing as I’ve always had a soft spot for French movies. And now the Film Society has a delightful venue for its year-round programming: the New People Cinema, a comfortable, state-of-the-art 143-seat room, with excellent sightline and sound, in the chic modern New People building in Japantown. It’s just a block away from the festival home base, the Sundance Kabuki complex.