When J. D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy was published in 2016, there was some controversy as to whether Vance’s take on Appalachian culture as embodied by his family was truly representative. Others latched on to Vance’s memoir as a guide to understanding red state politics and the rise of Trump. The Ron Howard-directed film adaptation,…
It’s been a while since a movie has ripped out my heart out and repeatedly stomped it into the ground while still giving me a sense of hope. Such a film is Alan Ball’s Uncle Frank, available now on Amazon Prime. Part family drama, part road-trip movie, part coming-of-age story, and part coming-out-late-in-life tale, it’s…
With the entire country under shelter-in-place for the past month, an edgy, stir-crazy nation has been desperate for new shows that could help take the edge off of the possibility of mass societal extinction. So, it is not unusual that a show such as Tiger King, a seven part Netflix reality show/documentary would capture a…
Argus-Courier’s film-loving “Millennials” on stage for live screening: Three of the four local film reviewers responsible for the Argus- Courier’s weekly “Millennials Talk Cinema” columns will take to the stage on Feb. 13, at 7 p.m., for a (no doubt) lively post-film conversation following a screening of the science-fiction film “Her,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy…
“Harriet,” “Knives Out” and other highly anticipated films at this year’s Mill Valley Film Festival moved to Larkspur on Wednesday due to the expected electricity shutdown in various parts of Marin County. Thursday’s screenings, however, will return to Mill Valley. Here’s the latest from their website: PG&E POWER OUTAGE UPDATE – BACK TO MILL VALLEY…
The Mill Valley Film Festival – now getting ready to serve up year No. 42 in Mill Valley, San Rafael and Larkspur – is more than just a ten-day buffet of internationally curated cinematic gems. Since the acclaimed festival just happens to take place in early October, at the start of Academy Award season, the…
A young man walks into a police station. Either unable or unwilling to speak, he non-verbally asks for something with which to write. Given a pen and a piece of paper, he scribbles down and displays the following: “I am Donovan Reid”. So begins Donovan Reid, a film co-written and directed by former Petaluman Austin…
I’ve been covering the San Francisco International Film Festival for over ten years now, so long that it’s changed its name. Now it’s known as the SFFILM Festival and it’s running now through April 23 at a variety of venues in the Bay Area. My day began with a “check-in” at the Festival Lounge. This…
To a vast number of local film fans, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival is like a 10-day-long Roman feast, a cinematic bacchanal in which roasted pigs and hand-peeled grapes have been metaphorically substituted with movies, movies and more movies. Running through mid-October, the 2018 MVFF—now in its 41st year—will screen more than 200 movies…
An eerie sense of discomfort and anxiety begins to arise roughly halfway through the remarkable, entertaining, gripping, and disturbing new documentary ‘Three Identical Strangers.’ Once it starts, it only builds, continuing till long after the credits roll. Directed by Tim Wardle (“One Killer Punch”), this surprise hit (from CNN Films and England’s Channel 4) related…
North Bay Stage and Screen 