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Entries
Reviews!
By Matthew Lickona — February 22, 2012, 12:51 p.m.
David Elliott [shines a big light][1] on *In Darkness* and its director, Agnieszka Holland: "Holland, 63, is one of those strong, honest, humane directors (*The Secret Garden, Europa Europa, Washington Square*) whose films get terrific reviews but seldom leave the art-film 'ghetto.' *In Darkness* is a consummate work, not so ... Post a comment
Don't Forget This Sunday's Live Oscar Blog
By Scott Marks — February 22, 2012, 8:42 a.m.
 This Sunday night, Matt Lickona and I will be seated before our television sets and laptops providing *Big Screen* readers with a blow-by-blow description of the 84th Annual Academy Awards. I was with Matt on Sunday night and he gave me a sneak peek at his "Black by Vera ... 2 comments
Meet Wim Wenders in Person!
By Scott Marks — February 22, 2012, 7:55 a.m.
How often does a director of Wim Wenders' magnitude come through San Diego on a press tour let alone make himself available to the public? The director of such masterworks as *The American Friend*, *Paris, Texas*, and *Wings of Desire* will be on hand for a Q&A (hosted by yours ... Post a comment
Study Finds Video Piracy Has Little Impact on U.S. Box Office
By Scott Marks — February 21, 2012, 4:38 p.m.
[*Deadline Hollywood*][1] posted [this fascinating study][2] on the effects video piracy has on the American motion picture industry. The lag-time release to other countries may impact overseas profits, but back home people still prefer the theatrical experience over streaming BitTorrents. It comes as no surprise that the two genres to ... 3 comments
What Happened? Clive Owen
By Matthew Lickona — February 21, 2012, 2:19 p.m.
What happened to Clive Owen? No, really - I wanna know. I thought he was it. The next thing. The return of the tough guy with a heart. Handsome but not delicate. Rugged but not thuggish. And for a while there, things were going so well. Remember *Croupier* (1998)? Those ... 4 comments
San Diego Latino Film Festival Announces 2012 Lineup
By Scott Marks — February 20, 2012, 11:03 a.m.
January through April traditionally denotes a slow time at the movies. Studios dribble out their precious awards contenders and winners, all of which I've already logged. You don't want to be around me if I can't see at least 3 new films a week projected on a big screen. Life ... Post a comment
Seen on DVD Review: Birds of Prey aka Batgirl & Friends
By Jay Allen Sanford — February 19, 2012, 6:02 a.m.
*"Legend tells of a caped crusader, **Batman**, guardian of New Gotham, and his one true love, **Catwoman**, the queen of the criminal underworld. Their passion left behind something extraordinary, a daughter, **Huntress**. Half metahuman, she has taken up her father's mantle and under cover of the night, fights to protect ... Post a comment
Review: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
By Scott Marks — February 18, 2012, 3:46 p.m.
Q: What’s harder to find than a pack of wild unicorn? A: The script Nicolas Cage turned down. In the presence of evil, Johnny Blaze (Cage) turns into a monster who sucks the life out of his enemies. Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (*Crank*, *Gamer*) must hold their audience ... 1 comment
Unconditional Surrender Could Get the Kiss Off, But Hope Springs Eternal
By Scott Marks — February 17, 2012, 12:26 p.m.
*Unconditional Surrender*, the 25-foot, 6000-pound statue that’s been a tourist destination at Mole Park since its unveiling in February of 2007, may get a stay of execution. The waterfront enormity, owned by the Santa Monica-based Sculpture Foundation, has been on loan to the Port of San Diego. It was set ... 16 comments
Blogfight!
By Matthew Lickona — February 17, 2012, 11:07 a.m.
Here's how it works around here: Mr. Marks does all the heavy lifting, and I sit off in the wings and nitpick. So while I certainly sympathize with his frustration at getting [yet another Ban from the Man on Facebook][1], I would like to offer the following bleat regarding his ... 7 comments
Latino Film Festival Sponsor Holds Brazilian Carnival This Weekend
By Scott Marks — February 16, 2012, 2:17 p.m.
 San Diego Brazil Carnival, longtime Latino Film Festival sponsor and supporter of the annual Brazilian Cinema Showcase, holds its 20th Annual event starting at 9 p.m. this Saturday night.  Brazilian Productions presents their San Diego Brazil Mardi Gras Carnival at 4th & B. The gala promises carnival bands, ... Post a comment
One Facebook Ban is Lifted, Another Levied
By Scott Marks — February 16, 2012, 8:41 a.m.
Here we go again. Three days ago [I reported on][1] what turned out to be the first of two consecutive temporary bans that prohibit me from posting on Facebook. If you thought the Mickey Rooney incident was ludicrous, feast your eyes on this. Blame *Reader* critic David Elliott's [scathing review][2] ... 12 comments
Asian Film Foundation Partners on Documentary Program for Refugee High School Students
By Scott Marks — February 16, 2012, 8:20 a.m.
The [San Diego Asian Film Foundation][1] has joined forces with [The AJA Youth + Photography Transformation Project][2], and [Sun & Moon Vision Productions][3] to launch *Reel Voices Journey*, a documentary program for refugee high students in Southeast San Diego. Thanks to the generous funding provided in part by the Weingart ... Post a comment
Dig A Hole: Zina Bethune, Scorsese's First Leading Lady
By Scott Marks — February 15, 2012, 4:46 p.m.
Technically, Marty's mother, Catherine Scorsese and Mimi Stark, star of the NYU short *What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?* were His first leading ladies. Zina Bethune, actress, dancer, choreographer, animal lover, and star of Marty's debut feature, *Who's That Knocking at My Door?*, met ... 2 comments
Short Takes (Plus a Little): Loosies
By Matthew Lickona — February 15, 2012, 11:36 a.m.
So here's my review for *Loosies*: Or: *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Abortion*. Well, okay, not funny, exactly. But it does involve the world’s handsomest pickpocket (Peter Facinelli) fleeing from the world’s most bumbling future chief of police (Michael Madsen) with the world’s prettiest part-time waitress/pregnant ... Post a comment
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Reviews!
By Matthew Lickona — February 15, 2012, 11:08 a.m.
 Reader critic David Elliott [slips on his dancing shoes][1] for the dance-doc *Pina*, and finds her an able partner: "Although the great critic Arlene Croce called some [Pina] Bausch trademarks 'flashy schtick,' I was entirely engaged by the dancers putting so much on the line without reaching for virtuoso ... Post a comment
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Review: Jewish Film Festival Screens Prima Primavera
By Scott Marks — February 15, 2012, 10:52 a.m.
While waiting for his elderly mother to finish a banking transition, Gábor (Andor Lukáts), a mentally challenged 55-year-old man, witnesses a robbery that results in her shooting death. Blonde-hair, blue-eyed Holland (Antonie Kamerling) is the shooter that gets away with the loot. This leaves his getaway driver, a prostitute named ... Post a comment
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The High Concept: Beast Wars!
By Matthew Lickona — February 15, 2012, 10:37 a.m.
I know that I harp on the depressing similarity of today's movie beasties too often. So I thought I'd propose something that highlights their differences: *Beast Wars*, the movie. Basically, we take the critters from their various brief film appearances and pit 'em against each other, tournament-style. There is highly ... 1 comment
Miss Piggy is Only the Beginning (We Hope)
By Matthew Lickona — February 14, 2012, 9:34 a.m.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7bAWtlKLSk First things first: HUGE props to Gary Oldman for saying that Miss Piggy is the most sincere person he's met on the receiving line so far at the BAFTAS. Second: look, I'm not the first to say that The Muppets should host the Academy Awards. But I think it's ... Post a comment
Take Your Valentine to a Movie!
By Scott Marks — February 14, 2012, 8:20 a.m.
Cairo roses are purple, And so is my spleen. Happy Valentine's Day, From your pals at *The Big Screen*!                2 comments
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