Simon Sez (1999; Kevin Elders) GRADE: F By Daniel Barnes If you have ever attended an NBA game, then you have probably seen some of the pre-taped bits starring the home team’s players that get shown throughout the game on the arena Jumbotron. Players exhort the crowd to […]
Between my regular reviews in the Sacramento News & Review, my work here on E Street Film Society, and my occasional contributions to other publications and websites, I penned roughly 300 film-related reviews and articles in the calendar year 2014. It was a busy year, but also a […]
Listen Up Philip (2014; Alex Ross Perry) GRADE: A- By Daniel Barnes With the neophyte novelist Philip Lewis Friedman, a self-loathing narcissist driven to new levels of boorish behavior by his extremely minor notability, writer-director Alex Ross Perry created a neurotic asshole for the ages. He makes Ben […]
When 25-year-old French Canadian auteur Xavier Dolan accepted a Jury Prize at last May’s Cannes Film Festival, he told jury chair Jane Campion, “Your Piano made me want to write roles for women…beautiful women with soul and will and strength, not victims, not objects.” Saturday at the Mill […]
There is more to the Mill Valley Film Festival than spotlighting splashy Oscar bait and handing out lifetime achievement awards to teenagers. The festival is also a great opportunity to watch under-the-radar independent and foreign fare, movies without release dates or distribution deals, movies you might never have […]
As I enter my second and final weekend at the Mill Valley Film Festival, I find that my comfort level has risen considerably. I no longer use the Google Maps app to navigate my way around the area. I know where to find free parking at every venue, […]
