PhotosRooster gripes in City Heights
“I would argue that dogs barking are as loud or louder."
Mike Madriaga 10:30 a.m., Aug. 20
Scott Marks
Articles by Scott Marks
How do you like your popcorn?
By the bucket or by the bag?
Popcorn became part of the moviegoing experience beginning in the late ’20s. The cinematic staple was originally dispensed in a paper sack, the crinkling of which by inconsiderate patrons was said to drown out dialogue. ...
Damaged parents
The Glass Castle, by San Diego’s own Destin Daniel Cretton
An old joke came to mind while watching Destin Daniel Cretton’s The Glass Castle. A father and his two young children stand outside a 7-Eleven, asking all who enter to spare a little change. Before ...
The Glass Castle: local director goes from self-made DVD to Naomi Watts
Destin Cretton just wanted to stick a disc on the shelf and see if anyone bit
Flash back a decade: I’m working the counter at Citizen Video in South Park. Enter Destin Daniel Cretton, a lanky, well-scrubbed local lad in his late 20s with a DVD copy of Drakmar: A Vassal’s ...
Valerian is a...dim the lights, would ya?
A true-life story from the front lines of cinema
The private screening, generally a matinee performance that plays to an audience of one, is becoming an all-too-common occurrence. At a time when patrons can’t log off long enough to survive a feature without developing ...
Dig a hole: June Foray
Cartoon-character voice-artist made it to 99
Little Scotty’s weekdays began with Chicago’s legendary Ray Rayner Show. One could always count on Ray for a Tweety and Sylvester cartoon featuring June Foray as the voice of Granny. Lunchtime fun consisted of Bozo’s ...
Where to see Dunkirk in 70mm
Pick your battle station wisely
When a studio goes to the effort of setting up an IMAX screening for the press, consider me first in line. It’s a luxurious perk and one that generally comes back to reward its backers ...
The original Rotten Tomato
B.J. wouldn’t allow anyone to make it out the front door without asking, “How many stars?”
For every knowledgeably staffed Kensington Video, Eddie Brandt’s Saturday Matinee, Facets Multimedia, or any number of cutting-edge video rental stores that once gave lonely cinephiles a place to go and someone to talk to, there ...
Damn hurty Apes
We now believe a motion-capture monkey thinks, feels, reasons, and eventually speaks
The 20th Century Fox fanfare (with CinemaScope addendum) that opened War for the Planet of the Apes was performed on jungle drums and didgeridoo. Sometimes a film earns points even before the opening credits hit ...
Director Nick Hamm on his Journey
The road less troubled?
The historical understructure of Nick Hamm’s The Journey came as news to me. Your humble correspondent Mr. Ugly American must have been at the movies the week Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) ...
