Pete's weekend movie roundup: Up soars, WALL-E's director screens a David Lean classic, Amadeus rocks the PFA

Pixar's newest is the best yet; plus, fantastic classics in Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Rafael.

Pixar does it yet again: A couple of weeks ago, I saw an early screening of Pixar's newest instant classic, Up, which hits theaters today. I know I say this every time a new Pixar movie comes along, but I think this one is my favorite from the Emeryville animation studio that can do no wrong. Up tells the rather fantastic story of a 78-year-old man (voiced by Ed Asner, but animated as Spencer Tracy) and his eight-year-old sidekick as they fly a house from Urban U.S.A. to the mountains the mountains of South America. In a breezy 90-minutes, directors Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) and Bob Peterson squeeze in a perfect synergy of romance, comedy, and high adventure. Be on the lookout for several East Bay references including Fenton's Ice Cream and the Fox Theater in Oakland. Certainly one of 2009's best films, I'm hoping Up finally gets Pixar a Best Picture nomination at next year's Oscars.

WALL*E director screens a David Lean classic: This one is for extreme film buffs, but well worth a bridge toll if you love classic cinema. As part of the Rafael Film Center's Films of My Life series, Andrew Stanton (director of Pixar's Oscar winners Finding Nemo and Wall*e) will introduce a print of one of his favorite films, Ryan's Daughter. Directed by David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai), Ryan's Daughter is a World War I-era romance that features stunning cinematography of its Irish landscapes. The film will screen Wednesday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m.

Saul Zaentz retrospective at the Pacific Film Archive: The Pacific Film Archive at UC Berkeley is kicking off a partial retrospective of films by the great producer Saul Zaentz on Saturday, May 30, with a screening of the 1984 Best Picture Oscar-winner Amadeus. Sound designer Mark Berger, who won Oscars for Amadeus and Apocalypse Now, will be on hand to discuss the film. On Wednesday, June 3, PFA will screen the 1988 classic The Unbearable Lightness of Being, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche, with editor Vivien Hillgrove on hand to discuss the film. Both of these gorgeous moves deserve to be seen on a big screen, so big props to PFA for this killer series..

Film noir encore: I was excited to hear that the rare film noir series at the Roxie in San Francisco was such a smashing success, it has been extended for another week. These rare crime movies from the 1940s and '50s are shown as double features, and there are some doozies: tonight's double of The Devil Thumbs a Ride and Framed looks particulalry delicious. Film noir heaven (or hell if you prefer) is just a block and a half for the 16th and Mission BART station. Have fun!

Posted at 12:28 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink