Monthly Archives: March 2012

SF International Film Festival: Pre-Festival Picks

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

Spring comes to San Francisco and with it comes lovely pink cherry blossoms and the SFIFF, which mostly takes place in the heart of cherry-blossom-land of Japantown. My pre-festival picks include: Ai WeiWei: Never Sorry Back to Stay Chicken with … Continue reading →

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Stage/Screen: Scorched (Incendies), Maurice and Richard III

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

Over the past few months I’ve been fortunate to have seen three interesting plays which all have seminal movie versions: Incendies(Scorched), Maurice, and Richard III. I enjoy stage and screen equally, and I find it provocative to see stage and … Continue reading →

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SFIAFF 30: Delhi in a Day

Posted on March 18, 2012 by

A straightforward genre piece on a Westerner discovering love, the meaning of life, and the perils of the multi-culti attitude, made more palatable by a great soundtrack and casting. Delhi in a Day. Dir. Prashant Nair. Nomad Productions, 2011.

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A Collage of Life: Then Again by Diane Keaton

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

While I don’t love every film that Diane Keaton’s been in, I do love what she does with all her characters. She has played a range, rare for many American actors, from Kay Corleone in The Godfather to Nina Banks … Continue reading →

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Trailer Trash: Damsels in Distress

Posted on March 13, 2012 by

I am clutching the pearls in anticipation of Whit Stillman’s latest. !!! Thank goodness The Last Days of Disco was not his last film. It’s been too long – welcome back, oh chronicler of the upper classes!

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Trailer Trash: On the Road

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

Get your roman candles out for Walter Salles’ direction of the Kerouac classic! I’m loving the supporting cast of Elisabeth Moss, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi and Terrence Howard. Also, I don’t know how true to the novel this adaptation will … Continue reading →

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SFIAFF 30: The Sun-Beaten Path

Posted on March 12, 2012 by

Director Sonthar Gyal’s experience as a cinematographer shines through in this exquisitely-filmed work. His Sun-Beaten Path includes achingly desolate vistas of Tibet, patient close-ups of the astonishing face of the lead actor, Yeshe Ladruk, and wonderful images of snow, rain, … Continue reading →

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SFIAFF 30: Return to Burma

Posted on March 11, 2012 by

I was much reminded of Payback when I watched this film. All of the people we encounter in Return to Burma are paid so little for their labor that work for them is a form of debt: limitless, persistent, and … Continue reading →

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Ridley Scott for Prada: Thunder Perfect Mind

Posted on March 10, 2012 by

Yes, you read that right, and against my will I like this advert for Prada Parfums. Prada F/W 2012: In Praise of the Seasoned Actor Tobey Maguire for Prada First Spring: Yang Fudong for Prada

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SFIAFF 30: I am A Ghost

Posted on March 10, 2012 by

I Am a Ghost is set in an unnumbered, un-contextualized Victorian house. That setting was enough to instill horror in me – very few built environments are scarier than a Victorian house. Director and cinematographer H.P Mendoza makes very good … Continue reading →

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