Mainly Mozart Welcomes Oscar-Winning Peter & the Wolf
San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival will soon do something it has never done before: Present a movie with live orchestra accompaniment. The movie is Suzie Templeton’s Peter & the Wolf, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film …
Downton Abbey vs. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: A Tale of Two Actresses
Like millions of others, I’m hooked on Downton Abbey, the deliciously sudsy TV series about an aristocratic family and its servants in early 20th-century England. That Downton’s third season doesn’t begin on PBS until January of 2013 is a deprivation, …
Why the (Bleep) Am I Watching Jackass?
During dinner the other night, I got to pick the movie that a group of us would watch on the TV in the living room. The choices? Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Frank Tashlin’s Bachelor Flat, Yasujiro Ozu’s Good Morning, and Jackass …
Casablanca Returns to Big Screens for 70th Anniversary
How will you celebrate the 70th anniversary of Casablanca? You’ve got three new options. You can see the cherished classic in a special presentation at movie theaters. You can buy a fresh edition to savor at home. And just for …
Leonardo Live Slated for San Diego Movie Screens
Leonardo is coming to San Diego. No, silly, not Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m talking about the other Leonardo. You know: Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius who was one of the greatest artists. Nearly 500 years after his death, Leonardo Live …
Review: Faust at the Met's Live in HD
/ I don’t usually go to movies at 9:55 a.m. Or operas, either. But here I am on a Saturday at AMC Mission Valley 20, waiting for the caffeine from my morning tea to kick in before seeing the Metropolitan …
Calling All Tots: Crybaby Matinees Want You!
You ever give a dirty look to the parents of a crying baby at a movie theater? Yes? Then you understand why I never brought along my tiny tykes when I wanted to see a film and didn’t have someone …
Interview: Russ Peck, Symphony's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Organist
On a recent weekday afternoon, frightening music filled downtown’s Copley Symphony Hall. Dissonant chords erupted in ear-blasting fortissimos. Chromatic scales plummeted to sinister depths. Low notes throbbed so menacingly that they seemed to reverberate through my spine, making me tingle. …
The Met’s Live in HD Scales San Diego Movie Screens
Superstar soprano Anna Netrebko in Manon. These days, going to the opera is as easy as going to the movies. How come? Give credit to New York’s Metropolitan Opera, the country’s largest and most prestigious opera company, for bringing works …
Interview: Former La Jollan Yoav Potash, Director of Crime After Crime
Yoav Potash, the crusading filmmaker behind the new documentary Crime After Crime, grew up in La Jolla. And he discovered his gift for storytelling as a third-grader at La Jolla Elementary School. For an assignment, he created The Three Cool …
Harry Potter Marathon at AMC
At my house, Harry Potter is like a member of the family. Every book about him was cause for celebration. Each movie was a major event and subsequent DVDs were eagerly purchased. So you can imagine the emotions prompted by …
Horse Whisperer Buck Brannaman Speaks Up
Buck Brannaman is more at home in a horse corral than in a poolside cabana at a trendy hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. But the incongruous setting doesn’t bother him. At least not when he talks about Buck, the …