Guest Blogger

Tribeca 2012 Wrap, Must-Sees and Avoids: 'War Witch,' 'Una Noche,' 'Francophrenia' Come Out on Top; 'Lola' on Bottom

Tribeca 2012 is over. Here's my list of what was memorable out of this year's programme --and not. RECOMMENDED

SFIFF 55: Judy Davis, 'Women with Cows,' "The Giants,' Rissient on Hawks

I have viewed myself into a corner; there’s practically nothing playing this afternoon that I haven’t already seen. I have prepared for this by checking out press screeners, despite my internal script that runs: “you don’t go to film festivals to watch movies on DVD.” So I choose either talking head...

SFIFF 55 Update: From Jonathan Lethem to 'Oslo, August 21st,' 'Queen of Versailles,' 'The Sheik and I'

I’ve seen quite a few of SFIFF's State of the Cinema lectures, the tenth in fest's series of inviting a “prominent thinker to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema, culture, and society.” Highlights that spring to mind include the erudite sound designer and...

COLCOA 2012 Opening Night, From New "My Way' to 'A Trip to the Moon' and 'Breathless'

Opening night at the City of Lights City of Angels French film week at the Directors Guild always features sweet champagne and pastries, a mediocre French movie that the French consider to be the kind of commercial film American distributors should embrace but never do...

Against Gendered Culture

Why are books and movies tagged pink or blue, like babies in a 1950s nursery?

Brownlow Restoration of Abel Gance’s 'Napoleon' Triumphs at Oakland’s Paramount Theater

If at all possible, you should get yourself over to the Paramount Theater in Oakland next weekend (March 31 and April 1) for the final two performances of Kevin Brownlow’s 5½ hour restoration of Abel Gance’s 1927 "Napoleon," accompanied by Carl Davis conducting the Oakland East Bay Symphony in the p...

New Italian Cinema: Films Hit the Zeitgeist at 15th Annual San Francisco Fest

WEEKLY WRAP: Oscar Talk, Box Office, Gender Watch, AFM, Harry Potter, Cleopatra & More

Revisit the best stories of the week from Thompson on Hollywood!

Spielberg, Tintin, and the Race for Oscar

If the animated Oscar competition comes down to originality and boldness, then you can't rule out a potential horse race between "Rango" and "The Adventures of Tintin." Make no mistake: despite the outcry from traditionalists, "Tintin" is nothing if not animated, an...