Fests and events, 5/31.

The essence of his appeal was something utterly other than the hunkitude of such contemporaries as Gary Cooper [as in trying mighty hard to look like] and Randolph Scott - or even small, un-handsome but hypermasculine sparkplugs like James Cagney. Astaire had something else: Suavity, gentlemanly deference, wry authority, the ability to whirl a girl free of gravity itself. He wasn't the most athletically dazzling dancer to grace the screen, offering instead a grace that appeared as casual as it was technically immaculate.

You'll get plenty of chances to appreciate that feather-light charm in motion this month as SFMOMA - which seems to be expanding its film program, and given that nice, too-infrequently-used auditorium, it's about time - programs Also Dances: The Films of Fred Astaire.

Sunday through June 28.

Midway Games, a key sponsor, unceremoniously dumps the New York Asian Film Festival just four weeks before it's slated to open? Tactless doesn't even begin to describe... Sheesh. Karina Longworth has the details.

Andy Spletzer had a good time during the opening weekend of the Seattle International Film Festival and has a few recommendations for Film.com readers. Much more at the Siffblog and the Stranger. David Poland's in Seattle, too.

The cinetrix suggests all sorts of ways to make the best of an evening.

"He lunched with Luchino Visconti. He dug John Waters before you did. He dated Natalie Wood. Your mom had a crush on him. He dated Anthony Perkins. Maybe your dad did, too." He's Tab Hunter and he's coming to Austin's Alamo Drafthouse on Sunday for a screening of Polyester and to talk about his book, Tab Hunter Confidential with Eddie Muller; Marc Savlov talks with him now. Also in the Austin Chronicle, Josh Rosenblatt previews Other Minds, Other Worlds: Global Sci-fi Cinema, "an international collection of science-fiction classics and rarities from the last century," screening Tuesdays, June 5 through July 31.

Susan King in the Los Angeles Times: "The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre is celebrating [Budd] Boetticher's legacy this weekend with six films, five of which have yet to hit DVD."

For the New York Press, Eric Kohn writes up a handful of titles screening in the Sundance Institute at BAM series (through June 10): Snow Angels, with David Gordon Green in attendance; Craig Zobel's The Great World of Sound; Christopher Zalla's Padre Nuestro; Marco Williams's Banished; and: "Given its distribution deal, [King of Kong] will likely continue to marginalize its subject matter sibling, but Chasing Ghosts is the superior accomplishment, as it simultaneously tells a fascinating story on par with the best kind of sports drama and unveils the subjectivity involved in obsessing over the virtual realm." More from ST VanAirsdale at the Reeler.

The Festival of Visual Effects (June 7 through 10, Beverly Hills) has lined up a new panel featuring Joe Dante.

Posted by dwhudson at May 31, 2007 12:44 PM