By Richard von Busack
Dana Brown is the son of the man I’ve heard described as the only really financially successful independent filmmaker in history, Bruce Brown (Endless Summer, et al). Happily the guava didn’t fall …

by Richard von Busack
As the poem has it, why should not old men be mad? Jack Rebney, star of Ben Steinbauer’s wrath-of-a-salesman documentary Winnebago Man, (playing at San Francisco’s Roxie Theater Aug 27-Sep 2) became …

By Richard von Busack
An animator who helped shrink Julia Roberts to Tinkerbelle size for Hook told me “Even six inches of her is too much.” This seemed too mean a comment to repeat until …

by Richard von Busack
Even without the explanatory title at the end of the film, it’s clear that the Banco Chinchorro—site of the film Alamar—is one of the rarest places on Earth.
Already a marine sanctuary, this …

by Richard von Busack
The worst creeps are the most self-righteous ones, and the creepy Middle Men specializes in justifications. In the ee cummings phrase, it stinks of excuse. As he rigorously emulates the Goodfellas flash …

by Richard von Busack
The basic idea of Christopher Nolan’s Inception is simple—it has to be for that kind of budget. People expecting a viewing experience as loaded with zeitgeist as The Dark Knight are going …

by Richard von Busack
Iron Man 2: Heavy metal, rocket men, and weirdly elegant screwball comedy.
Elating, if politically confusing, Iron Man 2 serves up the pleasures of a gorgeous and energetic superhero film. It’s buffered with …

HIRING Sasha Grey to play Chelsea, the lead in The Girlfriend Experience, is certainly more than just stunt casting by the wily Steven Soderbergh. Some critics are baffled as to whether Grey, a celebrated porn …