Entries
Is Peter Jackson Morphing into Stanley Kubrick?
I mean, physically, sure, but not just physically... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/08/29388/ See? Totally different. Jackson is smiling. Kubrick was famous - infamous, famous, tomato, tomahto - for his commitment to detail, so much so that defenders of the "it's all about the …
A Second Look at the Trailer for This is 40: Watch out, Leslie Mann!
Yeah, still working on this one... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Vt9sP8OY8 Okay, so we all know that Judd Apatow is married to actress Leslie Mann, co-star of Apatow's ode to his own impending middle age, This is 40. (Which makes Paul Rudd Apatow's avatar, …
Bob Hoskins Has Parkinson's, Is Retiring
A genuine loss - Hoskins was a pro. Here, somehow, is the Hoskins classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in its entirety. (Seriously, can this possibly be legal?) And here is Reader critic emeritus Duncan Shepherd's four-star review of the film. …
OMG Report: This is 40.
So I'm back, diluting the pure, unadulterated Scott Marks goodness here at the Big Screen down to Federally approved levels of hilarity. And it turns out the Internet was just waiting to serve up some welcome-back awfulness, in the form …
The Lobby Art So Nice, We Posted it Twice!
So taken by the Gaslamp's Spider-Man lobby display was I that a friend lent me his camera to get a snap of it. Y'know, it might help if I occasionally read this blog. It seems like Br'er Lickona beat me …
Gaslamp's Spider-Man Lobby Display More Impressive Than Reboot
All it takes is a little imagination and a fairly thick cord made of twisted and intertwined hemp. Next time you're inside the Gaslamp's spacious lobby, tilt your head skyward and behold something more spectacular than anything on display in …
Did Anyone Notice That a New DeNiro Film Opened Last Friday?
You open a film in San Diego that stars Robert DeNiro and I have to find out about it from friends on the street? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4GoalAVE7I Red Lights, a new thriller starring DeNiro, Sigourney Weaver, and Cillian Murphy opened last Friday …
Dig a Hole: Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch was an ETOG. He was one of only eleven people in the vaunted history of awards-giving to have received an Emmy, Tony, Oscar, and Grammy. The popular composer didn't stop there. Hamlisch also took home a Pulitzer and …
Dig a Hole: Norman Alden, the Oldest Surviving Member of Julius Kelp's Class
First Henry Gibson, then Skip Ward, now Norman Alden. Will Med Flory be the next student in the Wellman College graduating class of 1963 to leave this earth? Tender but tough-looking Norman Alden was the oldest surviving member of nutty …
50 Years Later: Vintage Newspapers from the Week Marilyn Monroe Died
Where were you when Marilyn Monroe died? I was 6. Being unable to wrap my young tongue around the name Harry, he became known as "Uncle Esh." Esh worked for an advertising firm in Chicago and it wasn't unusual for …
Film Critic Performs Live In Concert Tomorrow Night
Tomorrow night will find me peeling away yet another layer of the onion to reveal a side of myself that will no doubt surprise regular readers of this column. I'll be performing Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit in the …
Cinema en tu Idioma Kicks Off Tomorrow with Juan of the Dead
The San Diego Latino Film Festival kicks off its yearly Cinema en tu Idioma series tomorrow with director Alejandro Brugués' Cuban zombie romp, Juan of the Dead. In order to survive a massive zombie flare-up, Juan and his band of …
UCSD's ArtPower! Film Announces its 2012-2013 Series
I'll be up front with you: there's nothing that displeases me more than having to write about films I've yet to see. A film's magic should reveal itself on screen petal by petal, not in a blurb, blog post, or …
Bronx or Raging, LaMotta Sequel Sounds Like Bull
According to The Hollywood Reporter, MGM will drop its lawsuit against a planned sequel to Raging Bull if the film's producers agree to publicly disassociate themselves from Marty's masterpiece. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/aug/01/28937/ All of this amounts to little more than the mamalukes …
We Still Have 3 Months Before the San Diego Asian Film Festival Opens, but...
Do not for one moment think that strolling through the lobby of UltraStar Mission Valley at Hazard Center with a SDAFF All-Festival Pass hanging around my neck doesn't make this reporter feel like hot shit. Last year's All-Festival Passes were …
Hoggish Peter Jackson Adds 9 Hours to Moviegoers Lives With Hobbit Trilogy
Peter Jackson announced that he's figured out a way to wring even more money out of his latest franchise, The Hobbit. Originally planned as a combo, The Hobbit will now be released in three parts. I don't know about you, …
Dig a Hole: Tony Martin and his Tenement Symphony
Yes, Tony Martin spent 60 of his 98 years married to Cyd Charisse. (The leggy dancer died at age 86 in 2008.) Yes, Tony Martin had an 80-year run performing in films and nightclubs and on radio and television. Yes, …
Suspicious Bag Prompts Evacuation of Dark Knight Rises Showing at AMC Mission Valley
Have you ever been involved in a movie theater bomb scare? A screening of The Birth of a Nation that I helped to arrange for a college film society in Chicago was met with threats of violence. (The caller said …
Interview: Chén Kǎigē on Sacrifice
Beijing-born Chén Kǎigē was the son of established Chinese film director, Chen Huai'ai. By all accounts it was a tumultuous relationship. In school he was forced to denounce his father. Mr. Chén later joined the People's Liberation Army while his …
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
So I'm sure you've heard the news that Kristen Stewart, star of the Twilight franchise and girlfriend of co-star Robert Pattinson, got busted snogging with Snow White and the Huntsman director (and married father of two) Rupert Sanders. Both Stewart …