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News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news

News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

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Gian Ghio

Gian Ghio is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

With a title like that you can't really expect much. Luckily, the film wasn't half bad due in most part to Isla Fisher's cute portrayal of a shopping addicted magazine writer. I think this movie is a microcosm of our country. Our government spends spends spends without regard for whether or not we have enough money to pay for it. Fisher plays the part of the government. In the movie, she is hounded by an aggressive debt collector. This guy plays the part of the foreign nations that are lending the US money. Sooner or later, you max out your credit cards and somebody comes knocking at your door to collect. It may sound funny, but maybe our government can learn something by watching this movie. Nobody can buy whatever they want, whenever they want for as long as they want. Everyone pays in the end.
— February 16, 2009 6:57 p.m.

The International

All in all an OK action thriller. It had the makings of a great movie but fizzled out with a patchwork storyline and a poor ending that left something to be desired. Clive Owen does a commendable job as a Interpol agent determined on bringing down the Internatinal Bank of Business and Credit (IBBC). The bank's shady business deals and preference with eliminating any threats to their financial success lead Owen and Naomi Watts to their tail. There are some good chase scences, lots of people getting shot and killed, and a pretty awesome shootout at the Guggenheim museum in New York. It is a worth a look but don't expect anything great or else you'll leave dissapointed.
— February 16, 2009 12:11 p.m.

Taken

Think of Taken as the movie Ransom plus The Bourne Identity. An ex-CIA operative has his daughter kidnapped in a foreign country and then he goes on a bloody murdeous killing rampage trying to get her back. Pretty basic storyline with lots of action and bad guys getting the crap kicked out them. I didn't really picture Liam Neeson as an action star but he pulled it off.
— February 8, 2009 8:04 p.m.

None

Another victim of our faltering economy. My wife and I showed up here on Friday night only to find all of the lights turned off and an eviction notice posted on the door effective 1/26/09. I really liked this place and am disappointed because of the lack of quality restaurants in our area. With the next closest location in El Centro or Temecula, I guess I won't be eating at Carino's again. Sigh.
— February 6, 2009 8:53 p.m.

Step Brothers

Not a great movie but definitely full of some great lines. I can't remember anything lately as funny as Will Ferrell putting his balls on John C. Reilly's drum set. I laugh everytime I think about it.
— January 31, 2009 11:39 p.m.

Gran Torino

Mr. Kowalski. The American bigot's hero. Good film. I was pleasanlty surprised with Eastwood's performance and the story. I don't think he deserves the Oscar (as he thinks he does) but he put out a good effort and if it is his last film then he went out on a high note. The movie was a lot more humorous than I expected it to be, due mostly to Eastwood's racial slurs and witty bantering with his fellow white male friends. The relationship he develops with his Hmong neighboors is funny and uplifting; perhaps giving hope to the rest of us that we can all just get along despite our differences.
— January 27, 2009 11:59 p.m.

Frost/Nixon

There has been no greater job done by an actor in 2008 than the one done by Frank Langella. Langella embodies Nixon so well that you feel like you are watching Nixon himself as he sits in the hot seat across from David Frost. There are people who imitate or impersonate Richard Nixon but Langella became Richard Nixon for this film. Every movement of his body, every facial expression, every inflection of his voice, every look of sorrow and remorse in his eyes. It will be a shame if he doesn't win the Oscar this year although he has some stiff competition from Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn. It should make for a great Academy Awards. I don't think I would have selected it as a Best Picture candidate however. It was a little dull at times and the story wasn't very exciting but the direction and acting were superb. If you are considering seeing this movie, see it just to see how well Langella pulls it off. He won't disappoint.
— January 24, 2009 10:54 p.m.

Slumdog Millionaire

Every once in while we see a movie that reminds us why we watch movies to begin with. Slumdog Millionaire is this year's must see movie. It is easily one of 2008's top movies and a likely candidate for Best Picture at the Oscar's. I would not be surprised at all if this movie pulls off the upset and takes home Best Picture. The directing was excellent and the screenplay couldn't have been better. The film finds Jamal being interrogated at a police station by an angry police detective hell bent on proving that he cheated on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. To prove his innocence, Jamal tells the police detective of various experiences he has had in his lifetime that have given him the answers to the questions on the show. The film reverts to flashbacks of him, his brother, and a little girl that laters becomes his love interest. He goes through a lot of s*&% (sometimes literally) to get to the final question on the show; rising out of nothing in the slums of Mumbai to being one answer away from being a millionaire. It is a feel good rags to riches story that puts the viewer in sympathetic position to cheer for Jamal. You want to see him win the money but in the end all you want to see is for him be happy. I think the true test of any movie that gets labeled as great is whether it can elicit a response from the person watching it. Slumdog Millionaire was a great movie because it made me smile as I left the theater.
— January 17, 2009 5:31 p.m.

Bride Wars

Just your typical beginning of the year mind numbing chick flick. Not much of a storyline, cheesy acting and lame jokes. That sums it up. I would like to add however that Anne Hathway's strip club scene was hot. She has some moves. I don't know why seeing her dance naughty is a turn-on. Maybe it is because I always seem to picture her as the sweet, shy girl from the Princess Diaries and will always see her as Princess Mia. It's like that girl next door fantasy that never plays out in real life even though you desperately wish it would.
— January 10, 2009 10:46 p.m.

None

Another victim of the recession. They closed down a couple of months ago. We barely knew you Pei Wei. I guess we'll have to go to PF Changs and wait for a table again.
— January 6, 2009 7:59 p.m.

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News & Politics Neighborhood News News Ticker Under the Radar

Food & Drink Beverage News Booze News Drinks All Around Feast! San Diego Beer Tin Fork

Movies Big Screen Movie Archives Movie Reviews Movies@Home

Happenings Fishing Report Outdoors Reader Travel Roam-O-Rama Surf Diego Theater Your Week

Music Blurt Classical Music The Gonzo Report Live Five Musician Interviews Of Note Upcoming Shows

Comics Famous Former Neighbors Obermeyer Overheard in San Diego

Archives Reader by issue date Today’s stories All of the latest stories

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

See all neighborhoods

February 28, 2024

February 21, 2024

February 14, 2024

See previous issues