Film Feature: 68th SFFILM Festival Preview #3

The 68th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) is underway with screenings at various theaters around San Francisco and the East Bay.

For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here. 

Below is a preview of a few remaining features and the Shorts 6: Family Films program with upcoming showtimes:

1.) SHORTS 6: FAMILY FILMS
(Various, 2024-2025. 66 min.)

HOOFS ON SKATES
(Lithuania. 13 min.)

Hoofs on Skates is a delightful tale about two friends, a pig and a cow, who enjoy skating on a frozen lake, only to be scared away by a giant fish. Eventually, the duo discovers where their assumptions and reality may be vastly differing. The stop-motion animation is cute, simplistic, and charming, and eases wordlessly (except for adorable animal-sound exchanges) into a positive message for kids.

Continue reading “Film Feature: 68th SFFILM Festival Preview #3”

Big Ears 2025 Festival Diary

Big Ears doesn’t need you; you need Big Ears. You might think “but wait, I already have ears and I don’t need them to be too big!!” but that is only because you don’t know I’m talking about the annual Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee which took place March 27th—30th for the 11th time since it was founded in 2009 by the Knoxville born and bred Ashley Capps, the founder of Nashville’s Bonnaroo. I have known the outstanding lineups since 2010, when Terry Riley was Artist in Residence and Bryce Dessner of The National was guest curator. Continue reading “Big Ears 2025 Festival Diary”

Movie Review: Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) 4K Remaster

There are some movies where, at a certain point in my watching them for the first time, I’ve already decided that I’m going to purchase a copy for myself. In the last year, I had just that experience with the movies Paris, Texas, and the 1977 Japanese horror/fantasy film House. Over the years, many different movies have had this effect on me, but the first one that comes to mind is Princess Mononoke. When I was about 20 years old in 2000, I visited my parents’ home, and my then-just-teenaged brother took me aside and told me that I needed to “watch 10 minutes of this movie”. At the time, I wasn’t watching a lot of movies, and I was painfully judgmental of his interest in anime. It was mainly just giant robots fighting monsters, and my focus was elsewhere. He knew this and still fought uphill against my instincts, convincing me to sit and watch. Ten minutes into the film, I told him to turn it off because I already knew that I was going to go buy it the next day.

Continue reading “Movie Review: Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke) 4K Remaster”

Show Review: Beth Gibbons with Cass McCombs at The Warfield, 4/15/25

On October 21st, 2011, I impulsively bought a ticket to see Portishead at The Greek Theater that night. My familiarity with the band was effectively “I know the singles” and not much more, but I had lots of friends attending, and nothing else was going on. When I did show up, I couldn’t find my friends, and eventually found a friend that I hadn’t seen in years, and enjoyed reconnecting. Then the music started, and I was profoundly transfixed for nearly two hours. It was emotionally turbulent and a genuine catharsis. Nothing happened as planned, and it may have been all the better for it. 

Continue reading “Show Review: Beth Gibbons with Cass McCombs at The Warfield, 4/15/25”

Single of the Week: “The Mothership” by Alexandra Savior

So, I’ve been microdosing on Alexandra Savior since 2022, listening to bits and pieces of songs and keeping her on my radar. Mostly due to Courtney Love’s seal of approval. I’ve liked everything, but I kept getting pulled away by life and such. But then “The Mothership” arrived, and you can’t ignore that. Seriously, this song is so large and delicate and beautiful. It’s a cinematic gem of a song, and I’m now fully immersed in the world of Ms Savior. 

“The Mothership” comes on the heels of her full-length debut, Beneath The Lilypad, coming your way May 16th! And, of course, don’t miss her at Outside Lands this year! 

 

Film Feature: 68th SFFilm Festival Preview #2

The 68th San Francisco International Film Festival opens today, Thursday, April 17th, and will run through Sunday, April 27th with screenings at San Francisco’s Marina and Premiere (Presidio) theaters and at Berkeley’s BAMPFA. You can browse the complete Festival program here, and below we highlight four films worth seeing: two documentaries and two features. And check out our previous preview post here for more tips on best bets. See you at the Fest! Continue reading “Film Feature: 68th SFFilm Festival Preview #2”

Show Review: Hiromi’s Sonicwonderland at The Moore Theater, 4/13/25

I have to admit here right out of the gate that I’m pretty new to the world of Japanese jazz composer and keyboardist Hiromi Uehara. At some point last year, the YouTube algorithm decided to recommend to me her solo piano composition “The Tom and Jerry Show,” and I instantly became obsessed. However, like many YouTube recommendations, it allowed me a point of entry into her vast solo piano compositions, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t find a way into her combo-based music. Maybe I just got too wrapped up in the aural aesthetic of her solo piano work, or maybe I just got stuck. On April 4th of 2025, her newest album from her quartet Sonicwonderland, Out There, a 9-song jazz fusion masterpiece that clocks in at almost exactly an hour. On this crisp Sunday Seattle evening, less than two weeks after her newest album’s release, I gathered with an excited all-ages crowd at The Moore Theater to hear her and her virtuoso band breathe a different kind of life into her brand new Out There compositions. Continue reading “Show Review: Hiromi’s Sonicwonderland at The Moore Theater, 4/13/25”

Show Review: Martha Wainwright at Great American Music Hall, 4/2/25

Comes out and plays through the album that made her, that created a being separate from lineage, too mature for this crude southern land, the pedigree and the world wise chanteuse disorienting pop music. Self aware, the first line is an irrepressible fein to the Carpenter’s ‘Superstar’. The very first line claims a place: Long ago, and so very… Continue reading “Show Review: Martha Wainwright at Great American Music Hall, 4/2/25”

Single of the Week: “Spike Island” by Pulp

What do Pulp sound like, 25 years after their last full-length album, 12 years since their last release? Well, “Spike Island,” their first new music since 2013, may not be littered with double entendres like their 90s hitmaking era, but it does spotlight the *other* thing Jarvis Cocker is known for: his innate ability to find joy in life. It’s reflective without being sickeningly sweet. And, of course, anytime you gift me with a song about the joy of music, I’m all in—especially a song about the joys of making music. 

“Spike Island” is the first single off Pulp’s upcoming new record (did I really say that? A NEW PULP ALBUM?!?!), More, in stores and on the web on June 6th. I can’t wait to hear more! 

Film Review: “Sacramento”

 New road trip movie goes nowhere

Glenn (Michael Cera, l.) and Rickey (Michael Angarano) take an impromptu road trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento.

Bay Area viewers may wince when they hear a character refer to San Francisco as “San Fran” in the new movie Sacramento, but that head-shaking tidbit is the least of this odd indie film’s problems. The second feature film from writer, director, and actor Michael Angarano (Minx; This is Us), Sacramento is an uninspired and mostly forgettable picture, saved only by an excellent, layered performance from the always reliable Michael Cera.
Continue reading “Film Review: “Sacramento””