It's not the first time a prop bus was sent on tour. While vacationing in Los Angeles in 1977, I had the privilege of meeting the bullet-riddled bus that Clint Eastwood drove through the streets of Phoenix during the climax …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/30/23659/ Do you really want to leave your mother at the mercy of the multiplex? Don't you love her? Here is your chance to prove it. Landmark Theatres asks all of you doting sons and daughters to remember your best …

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is all over the map. Literally! At several points in the film, we watch the pirates move across a map! On the way, they drop little red floats behind them, to mark their path! Ha …

File under: I am so old. Times was, an actress would sometimes do a bit of cheesecake early in her career. You know, something to catch the public eye early before she was taken seriously enough to merit attention as …

The good news is Hollywood is rapidly climbing out of last year's box office recession and heading towards a record-breaking year. What's the downside? Sequels to The Hunger Games and The Lorax are destined to corrugate the road ahead. With …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/26/23546/ You can totally tell she's a vampire now. Just look at her skin. *Oh My Swoon!

It was only a matter of time. I mean, he'd already done it with the ruby slippers. And Disney is still the undisputed king of merchandising tie-ins. So yeah, word came down today that fancy shoe guy Christian Louboutin "was …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbOdNKN88VA Yeah, putting this on YouTube was probably a pretty good idea, as it plays a lot like a bit of homemade sketch comedy. Maybe this is where cinema is headed. At least, cinema of the non-blockbuster variety.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23478/ While we're at it, what about All-American director Ron Howard? The man behind Parenthood, Apollo 13, Ransom, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and A Beautiful Mind! Then he directed Da Vinci. Since then? Frost/Nixon: $25 million budget, $18 million …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23470/ Look, it's pretty clear that God's been smiting Mel Gibson ever since Mel made The Passion of the Christ. I dunno - maybe He's mad that he didn't get more screen time than that God's tear bit. But is …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/25/23463/ WriteOutLoud, in connection with the San Diego Public Library, wraps up their month long celebration, The Big Read - Shades of Poe with screenings of two classic big screen adaptations of the Master's short stories, House of Usher and …

Thanks to The Vow and 21 Jump Street, Channing Tatum is this year's big star. Now we're getting Magic Mike, in which he plays a male stripper. The part is a good fit for him, because he used to be, …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/24/23439/ ¡Oy, Caramba! I no sooner finish watching the new Kate Hudson tearjerker, A Little Bit of Heaven, in which Gael García Bernal co-stars as Yiddishe kop Dr. Julian Goldstein, than news of ¡Celèbrate! appears in my inbox. It must …

Reeling from her recent talk-show debacle on the OWN, Rosie O'Donnell decided to decompress a little with the Today show's Matt Lauer and Donny Deutsch. TMZ reports that Rosie was none too happy with the announcement that Lindsay Lohan is …

When I worked with the public radio station in town we were forbidden from handing out prizes on the air. Knowing that The Big Screen is rapidly approaching its one year anniversary, Matt and I wanted to put together a …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/23/23336/ Also, now we know what they mean when they say this version will be grittier. That outfit is filthy!

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/23/23312/ The untimely demise of poor little Dickie Bird was but a harbinger of things to come. The first fleshly souls to introduce me to the concept of death were my paternal grandmother and George “Superman” Reeves. Grandma Marks was …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/21/23249/ A globally-created film project called One Day on Earth, shot simultaneously by contribs across the planet on the very same day, will get a free screening on Sunday, April 22 (Earth Day), at AMC Mission Valley 20. The movie …

In the Madea movies, Tyler Perry does drag so that he can play a wise black grandmother. In Think Like a Man, Steve Harvey plays the same role, except he doesn't bother putting on a dress. Or even pretending to …

Head over to Linda Vista next month for the first ever San Diego Surf Film Festival (SDSFF). For a town steeped in surf culture, it's a wonder it took this long to create a film festival honoring those who believe …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/19/23197/ A mere three weeks before the opening of the new Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version of Dark Shadows, the original melancholy bloodsucker Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins) has passed away. He was 87. Frid and several other original cast members are …

Look, if Mr. Marks can cast the Stooges, I can indulge a little... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/19/23174/ Open on the Santa Monica office of MASON GREED, film executive with Grope Entertainment. Posters of his past films line the wall: titles such as TITS, …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/18/23150/ In the past twelve years Joe Pesci has appeared in only two films. There was a brief, but pivotal, cameo in his buddy Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd (2006) and a supporting role as a whoremaster opposite Helen Mirren …

Dick Clark, "America's oldest teenager," is floating high as a cloud on the heavenly bandstand. The game show host, shrewd TV mogul, blooper-wrangler, American Bandstand overlord, multifunctional celebrity, and master at ushering in the new year, died yesterday after suffering …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/18/23121/ Unlike the print edition, this installment of the review revue will get the dross out of the way at the outset: Lockout was not very good. Writes Reader critic David Elliott, "Mainly this is more waste from the Blade …

So they're gonna make a movie out of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. It was probably inevitable, even if the ride itself was based on a movie they'd already made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-h2Hy_wvs (We will not mention the original book, which …

It's a busy time for Asian Cinema in San Diego. In addition to next week's San Diego Asian Film Foundation's annual Spring Showcase, UCSD's ArtPower! screens director Zhu Chuanming’s Dongtian De Gushi (Winter Story) as part of their 21st Century …

Last year, the San Diego Asian Film Foundation's inaugural Spring Showcase yielded a bountiful crop of movies many of which, most notably Jackie Chan's Little Big Soldier, never received a theatrical release in our fair, if not artistically controverted, city. …

A Christian friend of mine is fond of saying that with regard to the church, he is willing to join a movement, but not a tribe. He likes the idea of an organization devoted to bearing the light of Christ …

Detention is nightmare for anyone who believes that Google is making us stupid. It skips merrily along from Point A to Point Q to Point G, and hopes you will be distracted/entertained enough not to wonder what happened to things …

Blue Like Jazz, which opens today, tells the story of a smart Southern Baptist kid who decides to attend Reed College, a place where his childhood (childish?) faith is not only not shared, but is viewed with open hostility. (“Every …

Life happens but cinema doesn't in this fluffy chick flick destined to give the "genre" a worse reputation than it already has. Kim (Krysten Ritter) and Deena (Kate Bosworth) are a pair standard operating party girls sharing an apartment with …

Five teenagers alone in a remote location are systematically done away with by unstoppable evil. Normally I'd ask that you stop me if you've heard this one before, but The Cabin in the Woods, a new horror satire that opens …

I mean, they almost, almost made it through an entire trailer for a movie about a Canadian bank robber without a single "eh?" in it. Thank heaven for Brian Cox. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL936kF0p7s

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/12/22733/ This week, David Elliott goes down with the ship a second time, and the experience takes him back: "I sat alone in San Diego’s single-screen Cinema 21 in Mission Valley, surrounded by what seemed like 10,000 empty seats. The …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/12/22730/ Look, David Elliott has already reviewed Whit Stillman's latest effort, and I'm not in the business of gainsaying the critic. BUT, I suspect that there are some people out there who will see this film despite Mr. Elliott's review, …

Credit Sean Hayes (Larry), Will Sasso (Curly), and especially Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe) for doing their homework. Their Xerography of the boys’ lowbrow antics perfectly captures the spirit and mayhem, if not the aesthetically-challenged look and feel of the shorts. The …

Word has just come down that The Dark Knight Rises has garnered a PG-13 rating for, among other things, "some sensuality." Hmmmm. Maybe we were right about Bane and Batman... "Hey Bane, this outdoor dance club is cool, but it's …

And not just any pose. It's like they have their own Avengers signature move - call it the Superhero Squat, maybe. One knee down, one up; one hand down, one up; and five, six, seven, eight. Cases in point: Captain …

Review duty for the much hyped-documentary Bully, opening this Friday at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas and AMC La Jolla, fell on Elliott's watch. Good luck, Dave. Rumor has it producer Harvey Weinstein -- already jockeying for a 2013 Best Documentary Oscar …

So Clint Eastwood is suing a furniture company for marketing stuff with his name attached. Get it? Eastwood? Oof. Chris Pine, call your agent. You too, James Woods. Elijah Wood - we'll get back to you. But I'm guessing the …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/09/22485/ My oldest son has been pushing for me to replace the family's VHS copy (bought used) of Little Nemo in Slumberland with a DVD of same. That's right, at 14, he's already nostalgic for the films of his youth. …

During dinner the other night, I got to pick the movie that a group of us would watch on the TV in the living room. The choices? Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Frank Tashlin’s Bachelor Flat, Yasujiro Ozu’s Good Morning, and Jackass …

The Three Stooges finally screens tomorrow night. Even though the Farrelly Bros. have yet to once make me laugh, for reasons made obvious when first I encountered the boys at the tender age of three, I haven't craved a film …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/07/22411/ The first Music and a Movie event, scheduled for April 28, will be the Cowboys & Aliens Movie, Music Video, Concert, and Costume Party, at the VisionPulse Event Center on 5945 Center Boulevard, #510. "My band is going to …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/07/22389/ The Best Narrative Feature winner at the 2011 San Diego Film Festival is currently playing at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15. The Trouble with Bliss offers viewers three films for the price of one. Feel like laughing along with slouches? …

Since you asked: no, this film probably doesn't merit two posts, but after seeing this poster, I couldn't resist posting again. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/06/22357/ Hm. Almost perfect, but not quite. Let's see if we can tweak it juuuuuust a little bit. (You …

So if you've never heard a teddy bear talk about anal sex and God's farts, well, here's your chance: the trailer for Ted! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxKfC77XAp8 If I wasn't a useless old man, I would know how to do an awesome video …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/06/22329/ All I wanted was a cup of coffee. This story concerning AMC Fashion Valley's unwillingness to allow outside coffee to be consumed during morning press screenings seems to have struck a responsive cord in the critical community. FishbowlLA led …

Siddown, Zach. Sure, you've got the barely suppressed fury down, but I fear you'd play Ignatius Reilly as too obviously nutty. Will Ferrell, you showed us in Stranger Than Fiction that you can play straight, and in Casa de Mi …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/05/22273/ Never mind who's gonna play Nora Charles in the remake of The Thin Man; I'm still choking on the bone that is Johnny Depp as Nick. I don't believe the man has a screwball bone in his body. Slapstick, …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/05/22263/ In an unprecedented move, Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill took home Worst Picture, Worst Director (Dennis Dugan), Worst Actor (Sandler), Worst Actress (Sandler), Worst Supporting Actor (Al Pacino), Worst Supporting Actress (David Spade), Worst Screenplay (Sandler and Steve Koren), …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/04/22229/ The Hollywood casting net is being thrown far and wide to find the right variation of chooches, scooches, mooks and mamalukes to star in Raging Bull II. If you're a cute kid -- a pretty kid -- age 14-20 …

Oh, wait - that was yesterday. Sorry 'bout that. A day late and a dollar short - story of my life. But hey, at least you can see it today, with no sneaking! You just won't be able to get …

It's bad enough that security guards prohibit members of the press from smuggling electronic equipment inside the theatre so that one may record a movie off the screen to later peddle on the streets of TJ. You don't want to …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/04/22204/ Oh, dear. Someone seems to have let me onto the review page again. Well, let's make the best of it. I was more charmed than some by Lily Collins' performance as Snow White in Mirror Mirror, but I tried …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/03/22179/ Where was the Lorax statue? And why isn't it there? And why was it lifted and taken somewhere? Only a Grinch with muscles to spare, could make a 300-pound statue disappear into thin air. I told you a movie …

Well, now, this is interesting. See if you can spot the difference between the two... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdJC_GkGXco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4bX0AcQY_Q&feature=related Yes, that's right. The first video includes a reference to poor table manners! Also, you know, a marriage. And the name of the …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/02/22079/ The AMC Palm Promenade is one of the few theatres in San Diego county that I have yet to visit. The venue, located at Palm Avenue and I-805, opened its doors in September 1999. Their two big houses, (auditoriums …

Following the hugely successful rollout of the new Superman logo - it's darker! it's edgier! no wait, it's both! - Warner Bros. has released some prototype sketches from the first of its planned Post-Nolan Batman films, due for release in …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/apr/02/22060/ Warner Bros. unveiled their redesign of the Superman shield for next year's Man of Steel. The Dark Knight/Spider-Man hybrid indicates that all hopes of a comedic take along the lines of Superman 2 will be scrubbed in favor of …