Film

More to grow on

FRAMELINE 2013: Short takes and highlights from Frameline37

06.19.13 - 7:22 am | Guardian Staff Writers |

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Pit Stop (Yen Tan, US) One of the very best narrative features at Sundance this year, Yen Tan's drama nonetheless completely flew under the radar of media attention. It's a beautifully low-key tale of two 40-ish gay men in a Texas small town. Neither are closeted, but they aren't exactly fulfilled, either, both being in awkward domestic situations. Gabe (Bill Heck) is still living with angry ex-wife Shannon (Amy Seimetz) for the sake of their six year-old daughter. Read more »

Lives less ordinary

FRAMELINE 2013: Five docs about five great gay men

06.19.13 - 7:18 am | Dennis Harvey |

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arts@sfbg.com

FRAMELINE Each year Frameline's program vividly reflects issues that of late have seemed most urgent in the LGBT community — for many years, for instance, there was an understandably overwhelming amount of films about AIDS. Most recently, the fights for gay marriage and trans rights have dominated many a dramatic and documentary selection.Read more »

Elm Street state of mind

FRAMELINE 2013: Gay horror icon Mark Patton revisits 'Nightmare 2'

06.19.13 - 7:15 am | Cheryl Eddy |

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cheryl@sfbg.com

FRAMELINE In 1985, a new family moved into Nancy Thompson's house on Elm Street. Though the stairs no longer had the consistency of sloppy oatmeal, the window bars remained — and a certain razor-fingered fellow still lurked in the shadows. Teen hunk Jesse soon encountered Freddy Krueger in, where else, a nightmare — though this time, the murderous Freddy had a high-concept scheme: "You've got the body, and I've got the brains!"Read more »

Brighten your Monday with the awesome new trailer for "The Wolf of Wall Street"

06.17.13 - 10:54 am | Cheryl Eddy |

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You just gotta watch it, and you'll agree: November 15 can't come soon enough. Can Scorsese do what Soderbergh couldn't and get Matthew McConaughey an Oscar nom? Plus: smarmy Jonah Hill in a polo shirt, a DeLorean (?), decadent yacht parties, DiCaprio cradling a chimp (and not uttering the words "Old Sport")...

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Film

Hell boys

Seth Rogen talks to us about Segways, Catholics, Kirk Cameron -- and his raunchy doomsday comedy 'This Is the End'

06.12.13 - 7:34 am | Cheryl Eddy |

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cheryl@sfbg.com

FILM It's a typical day in Los Angeles for Seth Rogen as This Is the End begins. Playing a version of himself, the comedian picks up longtime pal and frequent co-star Jay Baruchel at the airport. Since Jay hates LA, Seth welcomes him with weed and candy, but all good vibes fizzle when Rogen suggests hitting up a party at James Franco's new mansion. Wait, ugh, Franco? And Jonah Hill will be there? Nooo!Read more »

Bands on the run

20 Bay Area musical acts + 20 local filmmaking teams = 48 hours of fun, sweat, and music video magic

06.11.13 - 5:33 pm | Emily Savage |

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emilysavage@sfbg.comRead more »

Wish you weren't here

Ulrich Seidl's Paradise Trilogy mines vacation desperation

06.11.13 - 5:30 pm | Dennis Harvey |

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arts@sfbg.com

FILM Austrian Ulrich Seidl has been making films since the early 1980s, but didn't get much attention internationally until 2001's Dog Days, a bleak and nasty ensemble piece about some seemingly ordinary — but all variably pathetic, ugly and/or perverse — Viennese suburbanites sweating through a heat wave. It was the sort of movie that demanded attention, being grotesque, funny, surprising, meticulously crafted, and arguably just plain mean.Read more »

True tales, Shakespeare, interns, and more: new movies (plus DocFest)!

06.07.13 - 10:40 am | Cheryl Eddy and Guardian Staff Writers |

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The 12th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival kicked off last night with a screening of Spark: A Burning Man Story (even if you missed the opening event, you can check out Steven T. Jones' story about the film and changes underway at the Burning Man organization here). It continues through June 23 at venues in San Francisco (mostly the Roxie), Palo Alto, and Oakland; check out my article on the fest here and DocFest's official website for a full slate of films and ticket information.

Also in this week's paper: Dennis Harvey's round-up of "The Vortex Phenomena," the SOMA venue's monthlong series of conspiracy-theory films of the 1970s (Bermuda Triangle! Fog monsters! Yeti!)

And of course, we got all your first-run intel right here. This week's feast includes the reteaming of tight bros from way back Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, playing Google noobs in The Internship; Joss Whedon's detour from superheroes to Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing; and Wish You Were Here, an Aussie thriller about a vacation gone awry starring a very good (and very freaked-out) Joel Edgerton. Plus more, all after the jump.

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Film

Eat your Oates at the Castro's amazing double-feature tonight

06.06.13 - 12:48 pm | Cheryl Eddy |

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Not even sure if "amazing" is a strong enough word, but the Castro Theatre is screening a pair of cool-ass movies on 35mm tonight. Frankly, I don't think you have anything better to do, because there isn't anything better than a WARREN OATES movie except maybe a WARREN OATES DOUBLE FEATURE.

Kicking things off at 7pm, it's Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974). Oates plays a perpetually rumpled bartender whose determination to collect a huge bounty (the prize: see title) leads him into some mighty surreal adventures in Mexico's sinister outback. Co-stars include Kris Kristofferson (in particularly kreepy mode).

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