Film Arts - Movies & Festivals - Reviews

Syria is an abysmal Hell, a fetid, roiling cauldron of man’s inhumanity to man. The intrigue and entanglements are intricate and have global ramifications.

Learning about issues that women face when they have been raped involves a lot more than opinions about rape culture, intellectualizing the effect of rape scenes in movies, or reacting to the first-hand ordeals in the media.

The North Bay Premiere of a new documentary on the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, 78/52, will be presented this week by the Sonoma Film Institute.

Welcome to February, where we celebrate love and Oscar nominations! If you remember in my column last month I was hoping Sam Rockwell would win best supporting actor for his work in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” at the Golden Globe Awards.

Bay Area Filmmaker Connie Field’s landmark documentary on the wartime experiences of women workers,THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROSIE THE RIVETER, will be presented Friday, March 2 at 7:00 by the Sonoma Film Institute.

Everyone knows that cats own the Internet.  It is a strange phenomenon. There  6.5 billion pictures and 2 million clips on You Tube.  Ever since we mortals passed through the Neolithic period and evolved from hunter gatherers and opted for a more stationary existence, we have enjoyed a comfortable relationship with felis catus because as natural predators they guarded the grain that was now stored.

If your missed Dunkirk at the movies, it is now available on DVD but it is a big screen type of film. Conceived on a grand scale, it is a cinematic event that is immersive, a massive spectacle of battle on land, in the sea and in the air. While all the action was on one side of the channel, the mindful machinations were on the other side. In Darkest Hour (releases on DVD late February), a companion piece, Winston Churchill in the person of actor Gary Oldman has just been named Prime Minister.

Award season begins this weekend with the 75th Golden Globes! My choice for best picture-drama is“Dunkirk” andFrances McDormand for best actress for her amazing work in“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. It’s still playing at the Summerfield if you want to see it before Sunday.

Mother’s Day is what May is all about. If you’re lucky enough to have your mom in your life, start a new tradition and take her to a movie after brunch this Mother’s Day!

Thank you for the emails congratulating my friend, Sam Rockwell, for winning best supporting actor for “Three Bilboards Outside Ebbing Missouri”.

The free press is under attack in a way not seen since the 1960s. The current government is engaged in an ongoing attempt at degradation of some of the long-standing media pillars of our society, while promoting and using to their advantage online websites deficient in fact-checking and proficient in inferior writing.

Sebastopol Center for the Arts has announced the program for the 11th Annual Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival. The festival will screen 66 documentaries, including one U.S. premiere and two Academy Award^® nominated films. Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival is scheduled for March 22-25 with screenings taking place at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, and the Rialto Cinemas^®in Sebastopol.

Disney/Pixar’s Coco is a double Oscar winner, for best animated picture and for the best song, “Remember Me”. It is a phantasmagoria of sensual delights! In Mexico it is the highest grossing film ever.

The Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival will screen 66 documentaries, including one U.S. premiere and two Academy Award® nominated films with screenings taking place at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, and the Rialto Cinemas® in Sebastopol.

As I write this column, I am hoping that my friend Sam Rockwell wins the Academy Award for best supporting actor for“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”.

The free press is under attack in a way not seen since the 1960s. The current government is engaged in an ongoing attempt at degradation of some of the long-standing media pillars of our society, while promoting and using to their advantage online websites deficient in fact-checking and proficient in inferior writing. The latter are proliferating like weeds in cyberspace.