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Bernard Boo
667 articles written by Bernard Boo
- Interview | August 7, 2013
Interview: Ziad Doueiri of The Attack
Writer-director Ziad Doueiri’s new film, The Attack (which I highly recommend), incurred a tidal wave of Arab anger when it was completed last year. By “tidal wave of Arab anger”, I mean this: the film has been banned in...
- Interview | August 6, 2013
Interview: David Gordon Green of Prince Avalanche
Back in May at the San Francisco International Film Festival, I sat down with director David Gordon Green to talk about his new film, Prince Avalanche, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch. The film—a character study about two road...
- Movie | August 6, 2013
The Attack (SFJFF Review)
Though set in the trenches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ziad Doueiri’s mystery-thriller The Attack operates predominantly on an intimate, human level, centering on a Palestinian man living in Tel Aviv (Ali Suliman) who’s bent on smoking out the people...
- Movie | August 5, 2013
Rue Mandar (SFJFF Review)
Following the death of their beloved family matriarch, two sisters (Sandrine Kiberlain and Emmanuelle Devos), their brother (Richard Berry), and their French-Jewish families gather in Paris to mourn their loss (each in their own way), annoy the living daylights...
- Movie | August 2, 2013
The Cutoff Man (SFJFF Review)
Set in a sun-toasted Israel, first-timer Idan Hubel’s The Cutoff Man is a patiently reflective tale of an old man named Gabi (veteran Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy) whose dignity is slowly stripped away by a thankless (putting it mildly)...
- Movie | July 31, 2013
Life According to Sam (SFJFF Review)
In the mid ‘90s, doctors Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns fell in love and had a child. His name is Sam. He’s 16, loves fiddling with Legos, excels in school, and plays a killer snare drum. He also has...
- Movie | July 30, 2013
Blue Jasmine
It’s always felt like everyone’s been waiting for Woody Allen‘s legendary, ultra-prolific career to inevitably begin sputtering out. When he began really losing steam about a decade ago with duds like Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Melinda and...
- Movie | July 29, 2013
Red Flag (SFJFF Review)
Alex Karpovsky (most famously known for his work in Lena Dunham’s Girls and Tiny Furniture) plays an (assumedly) extra-neurotic version of himself á la Larry David in Red Flag, a meta dark comedy that’s somehow both navel-gazey and droningly indifferent. The...
- News | July 25, 2013
Watch: 5 Paul Thomas Anderson and Fiona Apple Music Videos
P.T. Anderson (There Will be Blood, The Master), one of the most lauded directors of our generation, used to date Fiona Apple in the late ’90s. They were the perfect film/music geek power couple, and at the time were churning out...
- Film Festival | July 25, 2013
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival Coverage Introduction
Tonight marks the kick-off of the 33rd San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and with the fest’s advancing age comes a cinematic expansion of sorts. This year’s theme is “Life Through a Jew(ish) Lens”, the idea being that the films...
- Film Festival | July 22, 2013
SF Silent Film Festival Diary
A few days before the San Francisco Silent Film Festival began last Thursday night at the Castro Theatre, I spoke with festival artistic director Anita Monga. She shared a touching story that couldn’t illustrate the beauty of silent film...
- Features | July 18, 2013
Beginner’s Guide To Silent Films
In the spirit of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival taking place this weekend, I thought I’d compile a list of titles that I believe are great gateways for those unacquainted with the wonderful world of silent film. The...
- Interview | July 16, 2013
Interview: Anita Monga, Artistic Director of the SF Silent Film Festival
Some of the greatest directors of all time—F.W. Murnau, Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, and Carl Dreyer, to name a few—thrived in the silent era, and the best directors of today constantly refer to their work for inspiration and guidance....
- Interview | July 15, 2013
Interview: Michael Cera and Sebastian Silva of Crystal Fairy
While stoned at a party in Chile, Jamie (Michael Cera), a boorish American asshole, invites a cosmo-tripping hippy named Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman) on a quest with his friends to obtain San Pedro—a “magical” cactus—and imbibe the mescaline-rich plant....
- Movie | July 10, 2013
Fruitvale Station
On New Year’s Day 2009, Oscar Grant, a black 22-year-old Bay Area resident was pulled off a BART train and taken into custody by a police officer. Unarmed and defenseless, he was shot in the back and killed on...