Hotter water for San Diego's fire department
State commission launched gender-discrimination investigation
Dorian Hargrove 11:30 a.m., Sept. 24
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A life spent posing as a cultural poobah
Struck by older characters
The Great Beauty (Italy, 2013, Janus Films) sweeps me away. It is a paean to Rome, a tip of the hat to Fellini, and a thoughtful look at a man who peaked in his 20s ...
A funny and fascinating glimpse of mating habits
Do you know what an epigyne is?
Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Live (USA, 2015, Ovation) is an ultimately educational but undeniably funny and fascinating glimpse into the mating habits of numerous species. Rossellini proves that she can tackle any acting role, even ...
Noir with a twist
A jaw-dropping, cameo-stuffed, hilarious joyride
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (USA, 1988, Touchstone Pictures) and Shutter Island(USA, 2010, Paramount Pictures) — noir with a twist! After taking the ride at Disneyland, what better to do than finally watch Who Framed Roger ...
Not your typical supernatural horror movie
Better at twists than M. Night Shyamalan
The House at the End of Time (Venezuela, 2013) is not your typical supernatural horror movie. It focuses on Dulce, who is unjustly imprisoned for killing her son. Excellent writing, directing, and acting make you ...
A neo-noir about revenge and remorse
And a neo-noir with the late Bill Paxton
Too Late (USA, 2015, Vanishing Angle) is a wicked little gem that went practically unnoticed last year. Rectify that immediately by checking it out. The film is a neo-noir about revenge and remorse told in ...
The history of magnetic tape
The rise and fall of VHS in documentary form
Rewind This! (USA, 2013, Film Buff) is a fun, informative walk down memory lane that documents the history of magnetic tape and the impact home video had in the '80s, which ultimately changed people’s relationships ...
Charles Laughton’s sole directorial venture
Shot to near perfection
Silent, menacing, and oddly enticing all the same — this is how I’d describe the avant-garde documentary, Leviathan (USA, 2012, Cinema Guild), which puts you in the POV of a North Atlantic fishing freighter amidst ...
South American movie selections
Dark, but wonderful
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina, 2009, Sony Pictures Classics) is an Argentinean crime drama about an unsolved rape/murder case set primarily in the 1970s against the backdrop of “the Dirty War.” The main character ...
The two best films made about journalism
One story at at time
When president Donald Trump says things like the media is “the enemy of the American people,” Marty Baron, executive editor of the Washington Post, responds by saying, “We’re not at war with the administration. We’re ...
One of the top-grossing Mexican films of all time
And its opposite
Almost every single Mexican telenovela ends with the cliché wedding after a long, tumultuous journey. Roberto Sneider’s film You’re Killing Me Susana (Mexico, 2016, Cuévano Films) is the story of what happens after the “happily ...
Brooklyn-based soul/funk revival
The soundtrack's terrific too
The best documentary I’ve seen this year is Barbara Kopple’s Miss Sharon Jones! (USA, 2015, Starz) Kopple is able to compellingly intertwine the personal tragedy of dealing with cancer with the interpersonal and economic fallout ...
