Paris, Texas (1984; Wim Wenders) GRADE: B+ By Daniel Barnes These festivals are all about reducing my cinematic blind spots, so it is without (much) shame that I admit that Paris, Texas is the first non-documentary film I’ve seen by director Wim Wenders. That said, from my general […]
The Ballad of Narayama (1983; Shôhei Imamura) GRADE: A- By Mike Dub The opening image of Shôhei Imamura’s 1983 Palme d’Or winner The Ballad of Narayama is a somewhat anachronistic helicopter shot. We’re ushered deep into the mountainous recesses of the Japanese wilderness, a journey that reaches further […]
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 […]
Christo’s Valley Curtain (1974; Dir.: Ellen Giffard; Albert Maysles; David Maysles) GRADE: A- Running Fence (1977; Dir.: Albert Maysles; David Maysles; Charlotte Zwerin) GRADE: A Islands (1987; Dir.: Albert Maysles; David Maysles; Charlotte Zwerin) GRADE: B The Gates (2007; Dir.: Antonio Ferrara; Albert Maysles) GRADE: B By Daniel […]
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 […]
