Category Archives: Movie Reviews

Movies reviewed by John Grant.

Blue Jasmine

Posted on August 7, 2013 by John Grant

Even though I try to see every Woody Allen film, I became particularly intrigued by “Blue Jasmine (2013)” because Allen filmed some of it in San Francisco. I’m used to seeing my city portrayed in many films as a romantic … Continue reading →

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Legong: Dance of the Virgins

Posted on August 4, 2013 by John Grant

The great thing about the “Process 2” technical process is that it produces a dreamy quality to films.  The Process 2 Technicolor method uses 2 filters, one red and one green.  The filtered exposures are developed and then cemented together … Continue reading →

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The Half-Breed

Posted on August 1, 2013 by John Grant

The 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) went all the way back to 1916 to unveil Douglas Fairbanks playing an American Indian/white character named Lo Dorman, who lives as an outcast in the forests around Calaveras County, California.  The … Continue reading →

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The Golden Clown

Posted on July 28, 2013 by John Grant

I knew what to expect when the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) ended Friday night with “The Golden Clown,” a 1926 Danish film directed by A. W. Sandberg.  The SFSFF often presents horror, science fiction and futuristic fantasies … Continue reading →

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Tokyo Chorus

Posted on July 25, 2013 by John Grant

“Tokyo Chorus,” another film that played at the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival, tells the story of what happens when a family man loses his job. The 1931 film, directed by Yasuhirõ Ozu, begins at a school, where a teacher … Continue reading →

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The First Son

Posted on July 22, 2013 by John Grant

The San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF) showed its affection for British silent films with its presentation of “The First Born,” a 1928 film directed by and starring Miles Mander.  After screening 9 Alfred Hitchcock (mostly British) films in June … Continue reading →

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Prix de Beauté

Posted on July 19, 2013 by John Grant

The lovely Louise Brooks plays a typist at a Paris newspaper who enters a beauty contest in “Prix de Beauté (1930),” the opening film of the 2013 San Francisco Silent Film Festival (SFSFF).  The festival began Thursday, July 18, and … Continue reading →

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Posted on July 16, 2013 by John Grant

The 2013 film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” features my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In the movie, a group of high school students cope with acceptance at a suburban Pittsburgh high school.  Steven Chbosky wrote the novel and the … Continue reading →

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The Wrong Box

Posted on July 13, 2013 by John Grant

Lots of goofy things happen in “The Wrong Box,” a 1966 movie directed by Bryan Forbes and starring Michael Caine, Ralph Richardson and John Mills. When the parents of a dozen children establish a tontine, a monetary instrument that draws … Continue reading →

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A King in New York

Posted on July 10, 2013 by John Grant

Considering all that happened to him, Charlie Chaplin felt compelled to make a film about the McCarthy hearings and the turbulent cold-war political dramas of the 1950s. But rather than make a realistic, documentary-style film, Chaplin made a very amusing … Continue reading →

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