I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story (2015; Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes A behind-the-scenes documentary about puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who played Big Bird (and Oscar the Grouch) for nearly fifty years. I Am Big Bird is a fascinating, open and […]
Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World (2015; Belinda Sallin) GRADE: C+ By Daniel Barnes *Opens today in San Francisco and Berkeley. Belinda Sallin’s skimpy Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World, a look inside the home of the Swiss artist H.R. Giger in the final months of his life, would have […]
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll (2015; John Pirozzi) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes *Opens today at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco, the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, and the Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol. With The Wrecking Crew, Lambert & Stamp, and now this […]
Kung Fu Killer/Jungle (2015; Teddy Chan) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes *Opens today in San Francisco, Daly City and San Jose. I honestly have no idea what to call this Hong Kong action epic about a serial killer who targets martial arts masters. The IMDB page and all […]
Clouds of Sils Maria (2015; Olivier Assayas) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes *Now playing at the Embarcadero Center Cinemas in San Francisco, the Albany Twin in Albany, and the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. Oliver Assayas directs Juliette Binoche as an insecure actress who […]
Cheatin’ (2015; Bill Plympton) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes In a genre overwhelmingly dominated by major studios, nine-digit budgets, digital animation, wisecracking animals, A-list voice casts, and costly pop song licensing rights, animator Bill Plympton remains an iconoclast. Cheatin’, which premiered at Slamdance 2014 but is only now […]
