Movies@Home
Ralph De Lauro Film program director, Central Library and Cinema Under the Stars Napoleon, by Abel Gance. All sparks and pinwheels. Gance’s silent thrill ride is long, sentimental, and simplistic, yet it’s bursting at the …
Craig Bentley Film Producer, MonopolyDocumentary.com Tom McCarthy, the director of The Visitor and Win Win, started his directing career with The Station Agent. I can’t think of another director who’s so faithful to his characters …
Bernard Delacruz Poet-Scientist The West Wing was my favorite TV show at the time and remains a favorite. I can pop in any DVD and know I am going to watch a quality TV episode. …
Dante Graphic illustrator/filmmaker, theamericandreammovie.com Piranha 3D: A nice throwback to the ’80s, when directors weren’t shy about showing the essentials to a goodtime horror flick: beer, babes, and lots of blood. Alexandre Aja and company …
Chris VannoyPoet and artist I recommend the 1969 film The Illustrated Man, starring Rod Steiger and Claire Bloom and based on Ray Bradbury’s 1951 book of the same name. Steiger puts in a stellar performance …
Lisa FranekExhibition and programming directorMACSD/San Diego Latino Film Festival I was recently inspired to revisit Zhang Yimou’s House of Flying Daggers. It’s such a visually stunning film, with a nice romantic/wuxia storyline. I never get …
Alberto LopezFilmmaker and member, San Diego Latino Film Festival selection committee With Thanksgiving approaching, here are two movies that I am most thankful for right now. One is David Fincher’s Seven because it’s not only …
Jesus BasuelWriter and filmmaker My first pick is Mostly Martha, a German flick about life, food, and love. And it covers all kinds of love: parental, romantic, friendship. The film boasts solid acting from leads …
Anna StumpArtist, drawingwithanna.com I have two French films to recommend. The first is Séraphine, based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis. I recommend it especially for a transcendent scene in which the …
Bob RoseCritic, asitecalledfred.com Freaked is a hand grenade of funny that most people have never had the pleasure of exploding to. I can know the future success and/or worth of a budding friendship based on …
Melissa MolinaFilm critic,latinoreview.com Joss Whedon’s short-lived cult show Firefly spawned the feature Serenity. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew dodge the Alliance that’s hunting for his two newest additions. The film is full of …
Neal HallfordDirector, Witch Creek, witchcreekmovie.com The Changeling (not to be confused with Angelina Jolie’s Changeling) is a very suspenseful old-school horror movie that relied on atmosphere over gory theatrics. Stellar performance by George C. Scott …
Tyler Richards HewesExecutive director, Orchestra Nova, orchestranova.org My friend Trevor hosts the occasional Man Night at his house; we watch “manly” movies, drink beer, eat pizza, and add our own commentary. The movies always have …
David PatroneCrooner,davidpatrone.com I first saw The Blues Brothers when I was in my early teens and was amazed by the juxtaposition of musician, crusader, and criminal married to an incredible soundtrack and eclectic, relevant cameos …
Lisa FranekProgram Associate, Media Arts Center San Diego Since we’re showing Carlos Saura’s latest film Io, Don Giovanni, at the SDLFF, I was inspired to revisit one of his earlier films, Goya in Bordeaux. With …
Alethia Espinal10th grader, Waldorf School of San Diego The Animatrix is a movie with several short animations, each by a different artist. The animations are based on The Matrix universe from a “back story” point …