Entries
Wrestlers vs. bodybuilders: a look at 2013's cinematic beefcake parade
I know what you're thinking. Bodybuilders (Pain & Gain) have the edge, cuz they're got The Rock. But that dude in the wrestling outfit (Foxcatcher) with the really high forehead? That's the Hulk.
Opening this week
Well, of course, the big bad entry is Zero Dark Thirty, which I admired for the way it told the protagonist's story without letting that story distract from the overall mission. Solid tradecraft. But it wasn't mine to review: it …
Fox 5's Josh 'Water' Board spits in reporter's eye during Zero Dark Thirty review
Josh Board has the best job in the world. Each week he gets to spend half an hour in the back seat of a convertible with Heather Ford. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/04/37876/ The warning call arrived after yesterday morning's taping causing an alarm …
A closer look at the red-band trailer for the Evil Dead remake
Not much to say, but please enjoy these screencaps of the Necronomicon.
Oh, and be forewarned, it's really, really gross and violent and nasty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pvDLWlxxcak I do love this opening shot: it's what Wes Anderson would do if he were a little less controlled and a little more interested in viscera. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/04/37865/ …
A closer look at the trailer for A Good Day to Die Hard
This time, they found The Most Interesting Villain in the World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i2Y2PpY6fNo Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37840/ They even included a reference to the chess bit in this wonderful spot. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37841/ Stay hungry for world domination, my friends. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37842/
New feature: Afterimage
A place to hash things out after you've seen the film.
Happy 2013, everybody. Let's get things started, shall we? First up: Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly - which may be a poor choice, since almost nobody saw it. But here at The Big Screen, we've always valued passion over popularity, …
The poster finalists are in for the 20th annual San Diego Latino Film Festival
The Media Arts Center San Diego -- home of the San Diego Latino Film Festival -- kicks off the New Year with a special pre-SDAFF reception announcing the winner of the 20th Anniversary poster competition. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37822/ The tournament of posters …
Dept. of supercuts we'd like to see
In a more perfect world, supercuts would find their way into the screenwriting collective unconscious, so that cliches such as "we've got company," "no time to explain," and perhaps most importantly, "you just don't get it, do you?" would disappear …
All films viewed in 2012 by star rating
NOTE: This is by no means a list of every film that opened in San Diego last year. It's how I spent my 2012. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/02/37791/ THIS IS NOT A FILM THE DEEP BLUE SEA FINDING NEMO 3D http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/02/37803/ TOMBOY TAKE …
A closer look at the trailer for Gangster Squad...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqKnD-g9QhY ...otherwise known as Mulholland Falls? Or maybe The Untouchables? I dunno, it's all mixed up. Let's start with Mulholland Falls. Lessee, you got yer organized crime boss who comes West to Los Angeles at mid-century: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/02/37769/ You got yer …
The best and worst movies of 2012
Marty took the year off. This is what passed for excellence in His absence. 1.) http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/31/37671/ Jafar Panahi made this infuriating and intensely personal "fuck you" to the Iranian government while the director was placed under house arrest and banned …
The Texas Chainsaw interview that never was
This is the way the year ends, not with a star, but a starless night...
Dad-burn it! In keeping with Big Screen's promise to bring you, the reader, more interviews with beautiful young actresses in 2013, we were all set to chat with Alexandra Daddario, star of Texas Chainsaw 3D - coming Friday to a …
The Big Screen earns 4 spots on Reader's Top 12 of 2012
In a jaw-dropping display of good taste on the part of our readers, The Big Screen scored 4, count 'em 4, spots on The Reader's list of the top 12 most popular blog entries of the last year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwpD3USKEKw With …
Dig a hole: Cliff Osmond
"Purkey" character actor appeared in several Billy Wilder films
Cliff Osmond, television screenwriter, acting teacher, and productive character actor, died on Saturday at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was 75. Osmond's TV credits read like a checklist of virtually every major (and some minor) series throughout the '60's …
Opening this week
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/28/37585/ I'm a wholesome goodhearted guy with people's best interests at heart! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/28/37586/ No, I'm a wholesome goodhearted guy with people's best interests at heart! Scott wasn't too exceedingly thrilled with the frakudrama Promised Land. But I will quibble with …
Mel Gibson's Sunset Boulevard?
On this final Friday of 2012, a brief bout of movie-related self-promotion
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/28/37574/ I am very fond of Anne Helen Petersen's Scandals of Classic Hollywood over at The Hairpin. A while back, I was reading her piece on Gloria Swanson, and learned what I really should have known already: that there was …
The Movie Studio Logo Quiz V: What is hidden in the snow, comes forth in the thaw
When you're done telling me what movie is referenced in the title, why not try your hand at these ten (or so) studio logos unique to the films they represent? You've done it before. Well, at least a few of …
The Title or Trailer Game IV: Catch it!
Welcome, welcome to The Title or Trailer Gave IV. Here I am with another chance for one of our couples to win absolutely nothing. The rules are simple: if you don't know, flip a coin. Those who refrain from nodding …
Unmakeable: All Sales Final
Big Screen wants your ideas for films that could never be made
You all know about The Black List, Hollywood's declaration of love for various scripts that have not been made...yet. We here at Big Screen (definite articles are so pre-Mayan apocalypse) are starting up a list of our own - a …
Col. Landa vs. the Muppets?
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/27/37487/ It's been my good fortune to have made it through only one of the Muppets numerous big screen outings. I could be wrong, but don't they usually contain a scene set inside a movie theatre? Remember how Quentin Tarantino's …