Oakland Tribune Outtakes

Werner Herzog’s newest demented movie, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, is pretty much a nonstop carousel of drug use, violence, sex and profanity, advises SF Chron’s Peter Hartlaub. “In the realm of bad first-date movies, this is just half a step below a Lars von Trier film.”

Obviously a “must see.”

The timing of Italian director Marco Risi could not have been worse.  He struggled for five years to make the film Fortapàsc, which screened Sunday in San Francisco, only to be upstaged by the release of Gomorrah, Matteo Garrone’s adaptation of journalist Roberto Saviano’s best-selling book about the Camorra.

The origins of the Camorra date back to the early 19th Century.  Over the years, what began as a loosely organized band of ex-convicts developed into a powerful force well beyond its stronghold in Naples. The Camorra’s influence stretches into virtually every continent including the United States. The FBI estimates that nearly 200 Camorra affiliates reside in this country, many of whom arrived in the past three decades.

Risi’s film revolves around the 1985 murder of journalist Giancarlo Siani (played by Libero de Rienzo), whose reporting about the ties between the Camorra and the local politicians led to his assassination.

It was shown as part of the New Italian Cinema series presented by the San Francisco Film Society.  The series continues until Sunday. (No, Italian film did not stop with Fellini, Bertolucci and Antonioni.)  The title Fortapàsc comes from a scene in which the mayor of Torre Annunziata – a violent Naples neighborhood — denounces a particularly bloody shootout between rival clans in broad daylight.

“This is not Fort Apache!” Mayor Cassano (Ennio Fantastichini) thunders from atop a makeshift stage at a small audience. It might as well be. 

One of the film’s most telling scenes comes when Read the rest of this entry »

I returned to Berkeley later Saturday night to see Where the Wild Things Are (a tear jerker of the highest magnitude in my opinion) and noticed a little sliver of an art house tucked away between two storefronts on Bancroft. Turned out to be the Subterranean Art House, which is hard to spot because there is no permament sign affixed to the 2179 Bancroft Way address. I did not have time to go in (it was cold and my daughters were with us — thus the movie) for “night of music in honor of Hafiz.” Not that I knew what was going on inside anyway from a distance. I could only see paintings on the walls but online they describe the gallery as a place for visual and performance art – including songwriting and dance salons and the 50th anniversary celebration of Butoh dance, which is something that doesn’t happen too often around here. It’s not your average dance style.

A video illustrating the Cal Bears garage tailgaiting tradition taken Saturday on the north side of campus during the last game of the season.

It’s hard to see but the garage on the north side was full of Bears fans with their indoor tailgate parties set up . It was close to kickoff which might be why this guy decided he had enough of his mimosa and turned his champagne glass upside down over the bushes. CheersThe guy dressed head to toe in blue and gold stripes passing by that morning was the tip off that I had unsuspectedly wandered into Cal game territory on the wrong day.  Not that game day would normally concern me but I happened to be looking for parking that morning and the garages were off limits to non-football fans. The video explains why.

I think the theme of my life right now is escapism because I have had an undeniable urge to watch movies and plays. I don’t really care what they are about as long as they sound good.

Right now I am counting the days until the New Italian Cinema series starts in San Francisco. First in line is “Fortapasc,” a film about a district in Naples nicknamed “Fort Apache” by Marco Risi. The last in the week-long series is “Vincere,” a film about the tragic (and I am not being hyperbolic here) first wife of Dictator Benito Mussolini whom Fascists tried to erase from history.

I am a fan of his earlier film, Good Morning, Night.

Tonight is the screening of Aoki at 8 p.m. at the Grand Lake Theater. The documentary is about the life of Richard Aoki, a third-generation Japanese American who became – the press release says – a founding member of the Black Panthers. This I did not know.

But the flick getting the attention right now is Black Dynamite, a blaxploitation spoof  playing at the Grand Lake Theater midnight Nov. 21.

The film is actually more than a spoof or a tribute. The director spliced in shots from an original 1974 blaxploitation movie called Mean Mother, which itself contained footage from a Spanish-Italian crime thriller El Hombre Que Vino Del Odio. That movie’s director just worked in a “black action movie plot” to bring the two together.

The title of a short film coming up on Nov. 17 also caught my attention: “Half Life of a Network News Anchor.” Good title for getting journalists’ attention. Price is right: $5 at the EXIT Theatre on Taylor Street in San Francisco. The program includes other pithy titles such as Global Laundry, Felipe Does Dylan, The Shrine of Sheikh Nizam-ud-Din and, my second most favorite, Halloween with Condi Rice. I missed the company’s production of How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Lost My Virginity. But next year I will be sure to see The Most Notorious Woman and Lady of the ‘Loin.

I noticed this mention in the Art21 blog: “Brett’s collection also features significant works by artists fostered through Creative Growth in Oakland, California. In a talk by Creative Growth director Tom di Maria and White Columns director Matthew Higgs during Frieze, the work of this nurturing organization – and its roots in radical politics – was discussed.” READ ON…

Kimball’s Carnival at 2nd and Washington is now owned by Laura Mendozagovan, who has a temporary permit to run the club, according to the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. The handover came recently after the previous owners got saddled with problems that started with fire code violations, which prompted the city to limit crowds to 300. From what I hear, the operators not only surpassed that limit on several occasions after the order from the fire marshall but also attracted the city’s ire because of rowdy people gathered outside the club. Last weekend I walked by and there was quite a crowd outside facing the alcohol license application poster in the window.
Meanwhile Read the rest of this entry »

I thought I was just going to watch a funny movie Saturday night: “Big Fan,” by Robert Siegel of “The Wrestler” fame. It was neither a funny movie nor just film, as I found out. But in neither case was I disappointed. For one, “Big Fan” is poignant, disturbing and funny in a “Taxi Driver” meets “Mall Cop” kind of way. Paul “from Staten Island” Aufiero, played by comedian Patton Oswald, is a fanatical 35-year-old NY Giants fan whose loyalty is limitless — and creepy.  ”Big Fan” is, in the words of associate director Nick Gallo (of The Onion), a dark, dark, dark comedy, which I heard hits pretty close to home with some sports fans who recognize the absurdity and pathos in the story. And that brings me to the second surprise of the evening: an unannounced appearance by Gallo and actor Gino Cafarelli, who manages to combine in the character of Paul’s brother a New York knuckle head with the scruples of a personal-injury lawyer and heart of a big brother. The duo showed up at the Shattuck Cinema’s small chamber Saturday night to promote the film. So much for a relaxing flick.  Anyway, rumor has it, several Raiders are expected to be part of an audience on Monday. I am really curious to hear what they will have to say about it.

It seemed like Vibe, the club at Telegraph and 22nd St. next to fish fry joint and RPS, closed nearly as soon as it opened. Now two new operators — Mesfin Semere and Yonatan Hagos — want to reopen the space as the Paradiso Lounge, a DJ dance club and bar. Their cabaret permit hearing is set for 3 p.m. on Dec. 2 at City Hall hearing room #2. Very cool.

 You’d think it was the end of prohibition. Instead shops are staying open later on Oct. 23 to celebrate the City Council’s decision to roll back parking enforcement to 6 p.m. (from 8 p.m.)

Follow the money, as they say. For businesses participating in the city-wide open house visit http://shopoakland.com/events.html.
The theme is “We’re Here for You”.