Here ar our critic's choices of movies to see this weekend:
All About Eve: Bette Davis was really ... something. She had lots of ... power! And skill to ... spare! And she had the inimitable (but always imitated) ... delivery! No 1 was like her, and if you want to see her at her absolute c. H. Best (or "best," as she might take put it), go to the Stanford Theatre starting Saturday for this grand 1950 gem, which exploits all of Davis' virtues and makes virtues of her vices. It's a film that celebrates the actress' braveness and sometimes exasperating staginess, through vivid dialogue and a fib that has become a kind of modern fiction. Saturday through Tuesday at the Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto.
The Last Mistress: In the delirious dash to see the summer blockbusters, don't overlook this treasure from theater director Catherine Breillat, starring the always provocative Asia Argento as the former kept woman whom a young married man can't seem to forget. Argento's flamboyant appeal and Breillat's cold, incisive eye with regard to all matters sexual make for a thoroughly winning combination. At Bay Area theaters.
Mamma Mia!: The adaptation of the Broadway melodic has its flaws - most of the actors are about 15 years too old for their roles, and Pierce Brosnan really can't sing. He seems in pain just trying. However, don't call back of it as a movie. Think of it as a kind of vacation. The setting is lovely (a Greek island), the ABBA songs are good, the cast is appealing and it's dozens of playfulness. At Bay Area theaters.
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