Keep the Change (2018; Rachel Israel) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes Writer-director Israel makes her feature debut with this largely delightful romantic comedy. Keep the Change is an expansion of Israel’s 2013 short film starring the same lead actors. Brandon Polansky plays David, an acerbic autistic man who […]
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library (2017; Frederick Wiseman) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes *Opens Friday, October 13, at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. Somewhere in the middle of this 44th feature-length Frederick Wiseman documentary, a typically sprawling and reflective look at the New York […]
Person to Person (2017; Dustin Guy Defa) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes A scruffy little charmer from festival darling Defa, in the form of a smart indie ensemble piece about – what else? – mixed-up New Yorkers stumbling towards some sort of personal connection. Defa made his bones with […]
White Girl (2016; Elizabeth Wood) GRADE: B By Daniel Barnes *Opens Friday, September 16, at the AMC Van Ness 14 in San Francisco. The 1990s nostalgia trend in pop culture continues with this energetic throwback to Larry Clark’s Kids, Gregg Araki’s early work, and other benchmarks of casually […]
Margarita with a Straw (2016; Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar) GRADE: B- By Daniel Barnes *Opens today at the Cine Grand 7 in Fremont and the Camera 3 in San Jose. Kalki Koechlin stars in this wispy but well-meaning romantic comedy as Laila, a spunky aspiring writer with […]
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 […]
