Jesus, have you seen those ads for this movie "Hancock"? Is it us, or is there something insaaaaaanely racist about them? Let's break it down: Will Smith plays an African-American superhero -- the first big-screen African-American superhero since, um, Robert Townsend in 1993's Meteor Man? Oh, that's right, there was that black sidekick in "The Incredibles." And Halle Berry as Storm. And Wesley Snipes as Blade ... so, okay, there've been four black superheroes in the last 15 years. But Will Smith's the first black leading-man flying superhero, which is a very cool and progressive thing to happen ... except that he's apparently a homeless dude who's borderline retarded and keeps getting in the white folks' way. more ›

SFist is pleased to see native son Clint Eastwood garnering so many Academy Award nominations for Million Dollar Baby, the best women-in-boxing film since Against The Ropes. (We're kidding, Hilary, please don't kick our ass.) more ›

Don't worry, this is not another one of our posts where we bemoan the razing of another local independent theater to make way for a much-needed Walgreens. This is a happy story! Gary Meyer, friend of SFist and owner of the Richmond's Balboa Theater, has announced a change in the programming at the theater. Once the best place in town to see a double feature of second-run movies on the cheap, the Balboa is now devoting one of their two screens to "premieres of international and US independent films, restored classics and selected revival festivals." This is a moment reminiscent of the first time someone dropped their chocolate in your peanut butter, as we like nothing better than having the option of high-falutin' classy cinema on one screen, and first-run-fun on the other. more ›

GOOD STUFF more ›

Like SFist Emily, I'm bad at lists. So I'm just going to relish the chance to write in the first person singular for a moment and break down the highlights and lowlights of the year for me, in no particular order: more ›

Pixar, located on Hollis Avenue in Emeryville, has been on a rather fantastic run of hits, from the first Toy Story through the current king of the box office, The Incredibles. Disney, on the other hand, hasn't had a hit animated feature since The Lion King, and in fact Disney's Orlando animation studios have been shuttered. Andrew Millstein, who headed those facilities, is now out trying to poach artists from other studios to stock the new Glendale facilities while Michael Eisner is in a court in Delaware. Pixar, on the other hand, is seeing its stock rise based on the success of their latest effort, and also won approval from Emeryville voters to expand their facilities. more ›

Last week, according to the Oakland Tribune, the Emeryville City Council voted unanimously to put two community-initiated referenda regarding Pixar's planned expansion on the November ballot instead of waiting until sometime in 2005, as had previously been expected. more ›