Author Archives

Daniel Barnes

Co-host of the Dare Daniel and Canon Fodder podcasts and a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle.

“Rosetta” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

Rosetta (1999; Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne) GRADE: A By Daniel Barnes There persists an idea that the Dardenne brothers create aimlessly verisimilar films, but now that I’m five movies deep into their filmography (deep enough to create my first Dardenne Brothers Power Rankings), it’s clear that they shrewdly […]

“Rebels of the Neon God” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

Rebels of the Neon God (1992: Tsai Ming-liang) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes Festival circuit cinephiles revere Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang for films like Goodbye Dragon Inn, What Time is It There?, last year’s Stray Dogs, and Journey to the West (the slow-walking monk one, not the kung […]

“The Wolfpack” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

The Wolfpack (2015; Crystal Moselle) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes *Opens today at the Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco, the Landmark Shattuck Cinema in Berkeley, and the Regency in San Rafael. Many hardcore cinephiles are socially maladroit misfits, and many more behave as though they learned how […]

“Gemma Bovery” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

Gemma Bovery (2015; Anne Fontaine) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes *Plays at the Crest Theater in Sacramento on Saturday, June 20, at 4:20 p.m., as part of the 2015 Sacramento French Film Festival, and opens next week in the San Francisco Bay Area. Set in sun-kissed Normandy, Gemma […]

The Apu Trilogy Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

Pather Panchali (1955; Dir.: Satyajit Ray) GRADE: A Aparajito (1957; Dir.: Satyajit Ray) GRADE: B+ The World of Apu (1959; Dir.: Satyajit Ray) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes The original negatives for Indian legend Satyajit Ray’s groundbreaking “Apu trilogy” were damaged in a fire in 1993.  However, they […]

“Live From New York!” Movie Review by Daniel Barnes

Live From New York! (2015; Bao Nguyen) GRADE: C By Daniel Barnes WIFE: It’s a revolution! HUSBAND: It’s an institution! WIFE: It’s a revolution! HUSBAND: It’s an institution! WIFE: It’s a revolution, I’m telling you! HUSBAND: It’s an institution, you cow! SPOKESMAN: Hey, calm down, you two. Saturday […]