A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2015; Roy Andersson) GRADE: A By Daniel Barnes “I’m happy to hear you’re doing fine.” A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence is the best film of the year so far, and it’s not that close. It […]
The Mend (2015; John Magary) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes “Tense and Liberated” From where in the wide world of fucks did this crazy thing come? First-time writer-director John Magary makes an exhilarating debut with The Mend. This NYC-based comedy of ill manners exudes weird, nervous energy from […]
The New Girlfriend (2015; Francois Ozon) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes *Opens today at the Clay Theatre in San Francisco, the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, and the Landmark Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley. Popular and prolific French auteur Francois […]
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015; Alex Gibney) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes *Opens today at the Embarcadero Center Cinemas in San Francisco and the California Theatre in Berkeley. There are many alleyways in the life of Apple CEO Steve Jobs that prolific documentarian Alex Gibney […]
The Tribe (2015; Miroslav Slaboshpitsky) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes The opening titles say it all: “This film is in sign language. There are no translations, no subtitles, no voice-over.” A conceptually unique and visually compelling Ukrainian import comprised of only 34 shots, The Tribe follows the arrival […]
We Come as Friends (2015; Hubert Sauper) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes Nope, not the Zac Efron-goes-EDM drama. Instead, Darwin’s Nightmare director Hubert Sauper writes, directs and edits this rambling, sneakily compelling documentary about modern-day colonialism in Sudan. This adventurous Frenchman also pilots an ultralight plane of his […]
