Movie Reviews
With a title like Man from Reno, one would half expect it to end on a dissolve of Glenn Ford riding off into a Columbia Pictures sunset. Instead, we get a departure in form from …
The email from Pac-Arts Program director, Brian Hu, began, “You want Tsui Hark? You got Tsui Hark!” For years, I’ve been badgering the poor guy to bring Hark in as a special guest at the …
“Corned beef is responsible for killing more of my people than Hitler.” — Jerry Lewis A fragrant bouquet of savory sliced beef and smoked fish mixes with chopped organ meat smothered in onions and rendered …
“The goal of this year’s festival?” said the San Diego Latino Film Festival’s proud papa Ethan van Thillo, echoing my question. “To get people to see more movies!” Now who can argue with that? Something …
If this is Valentine’s Day weekend, The Duke of Burgundy must be a deeply felt lesbian BDSM romance. Don’t arrive looking for titillation; there’s little in the way of sex and/or nudity. But writer-director Peter …
In a culture where girls are not allowed out at night to observe the skies, how does a tenacious 16-year-old astronomy student like Sepideh Hooshyar even begin to dream of viewing Earth from space? That’s …
Seth Rogen and James Franco leave no “Suk,” “Poon,” or “Dong” unturned in their quest to whack North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in The Interview. Worth seeing, if just for the schizo opening logo and …
By way of indicating just how terrible a year it’s been for movies, for the first time in I don’t know how long English language films outnumber foreign entries. Sequels, comic books, and young adult …
What could Tim Burton have possibly seen in Big Eyes, the story of a monotonous, marginally talented, yet enormously successful “artist?” Something of himself, perhaps? For years, even Burton’s staunchest detractors (I’m one of them) …
Wild tells the story of a woman named Cheryl Strayed (an unadorned Reese Witherspoon) and her attempt to, in her words, “walk myself back to the way I was.” How was she? “I was strong,” …
Diplomacy employs a brave dramatic premise: as the Allies approach Nazi-occupied Paris, the German military governor of the city prepares to follow his orders and blow up the City of Lights. Notre Dame, the Louvre, …
Often, the minds behind superhero movie franchises decide to start things off with an origin story. And often, that origin story, however mythologically compelling, is not as dramatic or interesting as what follows. Think: Batman …
For much of its running time, Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher was among my favorite films this year. Like Miller’s last movie, Moneyball, it does fruitful work in the field of sport, where lofty notions of excellence …
Based on what little I know of Stephen Hawking’s private and personal life, the man has never given the impression of one prone to wresting pity from gawkers. Then why rely on The Theory of …
The Pacific Arts Movements’ 15th Annual San Diego Film Festival kicks into full gear this week with ten days (November 6–15) of seemingly nonstop movies. Artistic director Brian Hu and his team have once again …
Don’t let his unblinking doe-eyes, hands-in-pockets demeanor, and proverbial gift of gab fool you. Within ten minutes of meeting Nightcrawler protagonist Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), screenwriter and first-time director Dan Gilroy casts a purposeful light …