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Film Preview: IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK (documentary on Newport Music Hall in Ohio)
THE WALLS ARE TALKING NOW A musical mecca of the Midwest, the Newport Music Hall holds the honor of being the Longest Continually Running Rock Club in the country. Originally built in 1923 as a movie theatre, the facility was converted into The Agora Ballroom in 1970 until purchased by PromoWest in 1984, reopening as…
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Film: FANDANGO AT THE WALL (directed by Varda Bar-Kar)
OVER THE WALL At the heart of the the feature music documentary Fandango at the Wall — which HBO premieres beginning Friday, September 25 — is the “Fandango Fronterizo” music festival that takes place annually on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border. In the film, Jorge Francisco Castillo, who founded the festival, invites producer…
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Film Preview: DTF (directed by Al Bailey)
WHEN FRIENDLY SKIES GET TESTED Over the course of 18 months, director Al Bailey followed his friend “Christian” as his career as a long-haul pilot takes him to the far corners of the Earth. Widowed and lonely, “Christian” uses his career to find new love in far-off lands as the camera captures his misadventures in…
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Film Preview: THE DARK DIVIDE (directed by Tom Putnam)
THE DIVIDE BETWEEN NATURE AND CIVILIZATION IS DARK INDEED The new film The Dark Divide tells the true story of renowned lepidopterist and nature writer Dr. Robert Pyle’s perilous 1995 journey across one of America’s largest undeveloped wildlands. Based on Pyle’s terrific book Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide, the picture opens with a…
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Film Preview: SHIT & CHAMPAGNE (Frameline 44)
SOMETHING IS ABOUT TO POP We have the new trailer for D’Arcy Drollinger‘s new comedy, Shit & Champagne. Kicking off Frameline44 — the world’s largest virtual Queer film festival — this world premiere hits the West Wind Solano Drive-In Theater in Concord, CA, on Thursday, September 17, 2020. About Shit & Champagne San Francisco’s own drag queen extraordinaire D’Arcy…
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Film Review: THE GODDESS OF FORTUNE [LA DEA FORTUNA] (directed by Ferzan Özpetek)
THE GODDESS OF FORTUNE SMILES ON THIS AMAZING FILM Two standout movies in this year’s Frameline Festival contemplate, each in its own way, men suffering mid-life crises. One, from Ireland, is the contemplative Rialto (review here). This one, The Goddess of Fortune from Italy, is an endearing comedy/drama set in Rome. Diverging from his Antonioni-like…
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Film Review: RIALTO (directed by Peter Mackie Burns)
ON THE RIALTO Two standout movies in this year’s Frameline Festival contemplate, each in its own way, men suffering mid-life crises. One is the terrific The Goddess of Fortune from Italy (review here). The other, from Ireland, is Rialto. Based on Mark O’Halloran’s play Trade, and directed by Peter Mackie Burns, this perfectly paced and…
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Film Feature: 2020 SCREENCRAFT FILM FUND
SCREENCRAFT’S 2020 FILM FUND READY FOR APPLICANTS; DIVERSITY AWARD ADDED THIS YEAR Leading screenplay discovery and development organization, ScreenCraft, and Santa Monica-based media financier BondIt Media Capital, announced that submissions for the 2020 ScreenCraft Film Fund program are now open. The fifth annual fund supports emerging filmmakers worldwide with production grants to help complete their…
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Film Preview: FIRST ONE IN (directed by Gina O’Brien)
BE THE FIRST ONE IN TO SEE IT After accidentally killing an endangered animal on a popular reality TV show, Madi Cooke (Kat Foster) is labeled an eco-terrorist, is fired from her job, and believes she now is the most hated woman in America. She changes her look and last name to interview with Bobbi…
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Film Review: POT LUCK (directed by Jane Wells)
BLAZING A TRAIL I can pinpoint most of today’s ills beginning with Ronald Reagan’s tenure. AIDS? Failure; the man didn’t even mention the word although thousands had already died. The homeless crisis? Dismantle the federal health care system, and put thousands of people with mental health concerns on the streets. Smart, huh? From economics to…
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Film Reviews: PASSIONADA & MYSTIC PIZZA
PORTUGUESE PIZZA There are two movies that take place in New England which center around Portuguese people. One is Passionada, which is set in New Bedford, Massachusetts (home to Moby-Dick author Herman Melville); the other is Mystic Pizza, about the employees of a restaurant in Connecticut. Passionada (2002), directed by Dan Ireland, is a romantic…
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Film Reviews: BEYOND THE VISIBLE: HILMA AF KLINT, Newly Restored A BIGGER SPLASH & MORE (Kino Lorber)
AWESOME DOCS ABOUT ARTISTS NOW AVAILABLE ON KINO LORBER As our readers know, Stage and Cinema has been trumpeting documentaries as the most engaging and affecting movies made in our times. And these documentaries about artists are no different. Not only will you increase your knowledge of fine art, but your jaw will drop at…
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Museum and Film Feature: MICHAEL ALMEREYDA HERE AND NOW (Retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image)
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE PRESENTS A SELECT RETROSPECTIVE OF SINGULAR AMERICAN AUTEUR MICHAEL ALMEREYDA ON THE OCCASION OF HIS NEW FILM, TESLA MoMI’s Virtual Cinema presentation includes four features and rarely shown shorts AUGUST 21 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 20, 2020 A true American iconoclast, Michael Almereyda has been directing, writing, and producing unconventional, fiercely independent…
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Film Preview: MORONI FOR PRESIDENT (directed by Saila Huusko and Jasper Rischen)
PRESIDENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR The documentary Moroni for President offers an eye-opening and humorous look at a political race that runs surprisingly parallel to the current political landscape of the U.S. It will be released in Virtual Cinemas beginning Friday, August 21, 2020,at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater, and then expanding to other arthouse theaters through September…
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Art and Film Preview: ORIGINAL STAR WARS PROPS (Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction August 26 and 27, 2020)
ICONIC STAR WARS PROPS TO BE SOLD IN HOLLYWOOD AUCTION AUGUST 26 & 27, 2020 (Darth Vader costume, Stormtrooper Helmet, lightsabers and more) 1977 Darth Vader Promotional Touring Costume used in the promotion of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) is estimated to sell between $150,000 – 250,000 ( £114.8k – 191.4k) as part of Prop Store’s Entertainment…
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Film Preview: JULIA SCOTTI: FUNNY THAT WAY (directed by Susan Sandler)
SHE IS FUNNY THAT WAY Decades ago, Julia Scotti performed as Rick Scotti, and appeared on bills with Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock. Now, the trans comedian returns to the stage as “the crazy old lady of comedy,” in this tender, funny, and triumphant comeback story. In the comedy boom of the late 1980’s Rick…
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Film Review: JAZZ ON A SUMMER’S DAY (directed by Bert Stern, 1959 | New IndieCollect 4K Restoration)
BETTER THAN THE FIRST TIME AROUND Jazz On A Summer’s Day has long been considered one of the great music concert films. In 1958, photographer Bert Stern led a crew that went to the Newport Jazz Festival and filmed many of the highlights. They managed to catch quite a few memorable moments, the color photography…
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Film Review: HOUSE OF HUMMINGBIRD (directed by Bora Kim)
WONDERFUL COMING-OF-AGE STORY STAYS WITH YOU So, when you hear that House of Hummingbird is about a teenage girl awkwardly coming to terms with fitting in at school, at a dysfunctional home, and flirting with her own blossoming sexuality, you may think you’ve seen it all before. But this is different. South Korean writer/director Bora…
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DVD Review: L’INNOCENTE (directed by Luchino Visconti; digital restoration from Film Movement)
L’INNOCENTE: LUSHER THAN LIFE IN A NEW DIGITAL RESTORATION L’innocente, Luchino Visconti’s final film released just two months after his death in 1976, is a worthwhile conclusion to his great career, a telling adaptation of Gabriele d’Annunzio’s 1892 novel about the decadence of the aristocracy in late 19th-century Italy. Commanding the screen, Giancarlo Giannini as…
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Auction Preview: ICONIC HORROR & SCI-FI PROPS (Prop Store)
ICONIC HORROR & SCI-FI PROPS TO BE SOLD AS PART OF HOLLYWOOD AUCTION AUGUST 26 and 27, 2020 Anthony Hopkins “Hannibal Lecter” Costume, Alien Queen Model Miniature, Gremlins, plus more classic horror film memorabilia to go under the hammer in upcoming Los Angeles auction. Over 850 rare and iconic lots will be sold during Prop…
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