High-Rise (2016; Ben Wheatley) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes *Opens Friday, May 13, in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Rafael. A barbecued dog is an appetizer here, human flank steak the main course, with a buffet line of sociopathic consumption and apocalyptic class war in between. Director/co-editor Wheatley […]
` Tale of Tales (2016; Matteo Garrone) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes *Opens Friday, May 13 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. Tale of Tales is a gory, bizarre but oddly restrained fantasy from Gomorrah director Garrone, one inspired by the fairy tales of Giambattista Basile. Salma […]
Neon Bull (2016; Gabriel Mascaro) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes A documentary filmmaker making only his second narrative feature, writer-director Mascaro invests the entrancing and upsetting Neon Bull with equal parts lived-in authenticity and dreamlike beauty. Neon Bull follows a surrogate family of cowhands and entertainers at the […]
Dragon Inn (1967; King Hu) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes A landmark of Taiwanese cinema and one of the most influential Chinese-language films ever made, the beautifully restored version of the 1967 wuxia staple Dragon Inn makes its way to San Francisco for a brief theatrical run. The […]
Office (2015; Johnnie To) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes After a brief post-TIFF Bay Area engagement last fall, prolific Hong Kong producer-director Johnnie To’s corporate workplace musical Office gets another run at the California Theatre in Berkeley. To is best known stateside for crime and action movies like […]
Francofonia (2016; Alexander Sokurov) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes Another meta-documentary about a famous museum from Russian Ark director Alexander Sokurov, and seemingly starring the same faceless narrator. However, Francofonia is less of a swooning and immersive cinematic experience than a free-range, multi-media essay about the survival of […]
