Ray Liotta, Mary Louise Parker and Demián Bichir are the stars gracing the 16th annual Sonoma International Film Festival, opening Wednesday and running through April 14.
More than 100 films, including seven premieres, will screen at various locations in and near Sonoma’s center plaza, where local merchants are offering wine and gourmet fare.
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Under the guidance of its new executive director Ted Hope, the 56th annual San Francisco International Film Festival promises to be an exciting affair.
Opening April 25, the 15-day event hosts 95 feature films and full-length documentaries and 63 shorts.
The 2013 lineup, announced Tuesday, is dedicated to the memory of George Gund III, longtime board chairman of the San Francisco Film Society, the festival’s parent organization, who died in January.
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After a nine-month delay, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" deployed to the top spot at the box office.
The action film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum marched into the No. 1 position at the weekend box office, earning $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" was postponed last year to convert the film to 3-D.
"Retaliation" opened Wednesday, which helped to bring its domestic total to $51.7 million.
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With its terrific central performance and 1960s soul tunes, the musical dramedy “The Sapphires” scores undeniable irresistibility points. But they’re not enough to give the movie the emotional resonance that a story about soul singers needs as its heroines bicker, shimmer and belt out their way to Supremes-like glory.
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“Spring Breakers” director Harmony Korine made a rambunctious, daring debut at age 22 with his screenplay for the notorious 1995 movie “Kids.”
Two years later, he directed his first feature, the astounding “Gummo.” Although The New York Times called it “the worst film of the year,” it is considered a masterpiece by many others.
Sixteen years and a handful of films later, Korine, 40, hasn’t lost his edge.
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In the mid-1980s, actor and stand-up comedian Charles Fleischer, who had appeared on “Welcome Back Kotter” in the 1970s, landed a job as the voice of a cartoon character in a major motion picture.
He became synonymous with Roger Rabbit, the character that interacted so effortlessly with Bob Hoskins in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” The groundbreaking movie is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new Disney Blu-ray Disc release.
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“The Croods” continues DreamWorks Animation’s winning streak.
Even though DreamWorks’ movies historically have employed a chunky look that’s not as smooth or warm as some other studios’ animated offerings, and crude humor has taken precedence over strong narratives, lately things have changed. The sequel “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” and spinoff “Puss in Boots” were far better than their obnoxious predecessors.
Like last fall’s “Rise of the Guardians,” “The Croods” takes the blocky look and runs with it. The movie looks great in motion.
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“Spring Breakers” is a bikini, beer and bong romp in which writer-director Harmony Korine colorfully embraces the silliness of beach-party flicks while simultaneously enhancing and warping the material into something darker, bolder and deranged.
As his four heroines experience wild times in the Sunshine State, Korine’s film, at first, is promising. But by allowing luridness to dominate over story and character, he ultimately dooms the day.
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Likely to become known as the Romanian exorcism drama that nobody saw, “Beyond the Hills” is an inimitably harrowing and immensely human story about friendship, devotion and what happens when faith goes horribly wrong. A wealth of merits compensate for an excessive running time in this serious, satisfying 152 minutes of world cinema.
The director is Cristian Mungiu, who made “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 days,” an abortion-themed thriller.
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“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” starts with a flashback. On his birthday, young Burt is chased and harassed by bullies and left alone by a busy, absent mom.
He opens his present, a Rance Holloway magic kit, and gapes, wide-eyed with wonder, at the illusions he will learn.
He grows up to be a supremely successful and arrogant Las Vegas headliner, forgetting that moment of wonder.
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