LISTS: FAVORITE NARRATIVE FEATURES 2014

Clocking in during the final hours of the last day of the year seems appropriate to post ten of my favorite narrative features of 2015. At this belated juncture my hubris will be tempered by the fact that everyone will have had their fill of lists and I can squeak by dutifully without calling too much attention to myself. I've tried to create a list that reflects commercial achievements mingled with festival triumphs that, hopefully, can someday be seen. Listed in alphabetical order.The Auction (Le Démantèlement / The Dismantlement, Sébastien Pilote, 2013)—Although a young filmmaker, Sébas

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EXODUS: GODS & KINGS (2014)

After the disappointing idiosyncracy of Darren Aronofsky's Noah (2014), my Biblical expectations were lowered walking into Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods & Kings (2014), which is probably a good thing because I relaxed into a straightforward, competent epic that I found as satisfying and entertaining as a DeMille spectacle. Granted, Scott was probably directing CGI technicians in the rendering of thousands of people (in contrast to DeMille who was directing thousands of people), but the special effects were spectacular (a euphemism for miraculous) and—I don't know about you—but I'm always g

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PSIFF 2015—THE RAMP-UP

In its 26th edition, the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) inflects Palm Spring's reputation as a refuge to the stars by emphasizing the festival's spectacular dimension, which insures that the public has an opportunity to experience star power close up as key representatives of the year's prestige films walk the red carpet and glamorously reinforce Palm Spring's longstanding love affair with Hollywood.This year at its annual Awards Gala, PSIFF will present two-time Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater with the Sonny Bono Visionary Award for this year's cinemati

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LISTS: 10 FAVORITE INTERVIEWS

As time goes along, I find myself interviewing less and less and yet, even so, year's end reminds me as I have often said that my world is made up of conversations. Here are my favorites for the year.Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer (Al Midan / The Square, 2013)—One of documentary's prime imperatives is to reveal the heart of revolution against government oppression. Sadly but surely, there is no shortage of such films year after year. What is often lacking in reportage of such events, however, is a sense of remedy. With The Square, director Noujaim and producer Amer have chronicled the comm

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NOIR CITY XMAS 2014: THE CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE—The Evening Class Interview With Ann Carter-Newton

Ann Carter-Newton is best remembered for her touching performance in Val Lewton's The Curse of the Cat People (1944). It remains an extraordinary example of a top-quality child performance in terms of sensitivity, natural talent and believability. And Eddie Muller and his crew at Noir City are bringing it to San Francisco's Castro Theatre for this year's Noir City Christmas. "Maybe you can tell me," Eddie asked on Facebook, "why I feel compelled to show this film for our Christmas program?" "Because," I answered, "the heart of the innocent child is the snowflake star of winter."Ann Carter

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SFFCC 2014—AWARDS

At the San Francisco Film Critics Circle (SFFCC) annual voting meeting, we decide on the best—if not our favorite—movies of the year. As laid out in my two previous posts, this is curtailed by theatrical distribution and then extensively worried over in email volleys, Facebook exchanges, tweets on Twitter, telephone calls and one-on-one discussions. By the time we get to the voting meeting (which this year was hosted by the Variety Club), we're informed and ready to argue for or against the final two nominations in each category. Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of being a member of SFFC

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SFFCC 2014—SECONDARY BALLOT

With the primary ballots of all the members of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle (SFFCC) tabulated, a secondary ballot has been formulated from which we must each choose and rank three of the five possible nominees. These will, in turn, be tabulated and—when we have our voting meeting on Sunday—we will be asked to choose between two (if there's a tie, three). Hedging towards that fateful day, here are my ranked choices. The final two in each list are those I have rejected.BEST ACTORMichael Keaton, BirdmanJake Gyllenhaal, NightcrawlerTimothy Spall, Mr. TurnerEddie Redmayne, The Theory o

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