Entries
Review: To Rome With Love
At first blush, Woody Allen's latest entry into his grand European tour bears a close resemblance to Monica, the character played by Ellen Page in the film: very pretty to look at and just smart enough to suggest hidden depths, …
Review: Elena
Widowed Elena and her men — an indolent son and a gamy gamer of a grandson — look to her wealthy second husband to finance the younger boy’s way out of the army. From the well-appointed Moscow apartment in which …
San Diego Katy Perry Fans, Now's Your Chance!
Dear Katy Perry Fans, Did you know Katy Perry is starring in her own movie, entitled Katy Perry: Part of Me? It's true. I know because she recently appeared with film reels over...parts of her. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/28/26997/ Silly Katy - hasn't …
Review: People Like Us
According to the terms of his estranged father’s will, Sam (Chris Pine) must deliver $150,000 in a shaving kit to Elizabeth Banks, the 30-year-old sister he didn’t know existed. Initially reluctant to hand over the cash to Dad’s hippie love …
Magic Mike: Ladies, please!
So there was a screening for Magic Mike on Monday night. And before the screening, the rep stood up in front of the screen and said, "Ladies, if you need oxygen during the film..." The rest was drowned out in …
The Amazing Spider-Man Gets the Reading Treatment, Plus Passes and Events!
Above, the fantastic web promo stretching across the atrium at Reading's Gaslamp 15. Below, a list of promotional activities for the film happening around San Diego over the next few days. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Costume contest at Comicaze. Comicaze …
Uggie's Fame Cemented at Grauman's Chinese
Scorsese's hand and footprints have yet to be immortalized in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Who needs Marty when the brilliance of Kobe Bryant (I've seen all his movies) and now Uggie, the pooch from The Artist, have been forever …
New Footage Unearthed of Channing Tatum Boning Up for Magic Mike Role
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/25/26792/ From the look of this video just released to TMZ, Channing Tatum has as much difficulty dancing to Y.M.C.A. as he does spelling it. Tatum's Magic Mike, in which he stars as an exotic dancer, opens this Friday at …
Can Taken 2 Possibly Top Taken in the Phone Call Department?
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/25/26769/ If there's one thing we know about retired government operative Bryan Mills, it's that he likes chatting on the phone. Here are a few shots from the trailer for Taken: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/25/26770/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/25/26772/ Other people in the film also enjoy …
48 Hour Film Project Screenings Begin Tonight at UltraStar Poway
Armed with little more than three required elements (a TV newsperson named Gary or Gretta Greenberg, a cell phone, and the line "Where are we going?") and a two-day shooting schedule, the finished products in this year's 48 Hour Film …
Casting Call: Bob Balaban
Finally saw Moonrise Kingdom over the weekend. I agree with David Elliott's enthusiastic review, and would only add this from my friend Sophia: "[Director Wes] Anderson is a humanist in the very best sense of the term. The idea that …
Rape Victim Gives Adam Sandler's That's My Boy a Ringing Endorsement!
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/24/26738/ The same day Andrew Sarris -- the Dean of American Film Criticism -- passed, cinephiles were presented with a new exacting voice to consider: Vili Fualaau. For those of you who didn't pick up a newspaper in 1997, Fualaau …
Short Takes: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
The cuteness doesn’t stop at the title. An asteroid set to collide with earth brings together a freshly-dumped insurance salesman (Steve Carell), a man whose television beams nothing but exposition and clumsy non-sequiturs, and a free-spirited neighbor (Keira Knightley). Lorene …
Blogfight: Rock of Ages
My mind was set on skipping Rock of Ages altogether until Lickona brought out the bomb. He went so far as calling Julianne Hough and Tom Cruise a "plasticine nymphoid" and "ageless nostalgia bot," respectively. Then this headline caught my …
Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Perhaps surprisingly, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is not just a showcase for director Timur Bekmambetov's relentless and varied barrage of combat-related special effects. (This is one of those films where 3-D really makes a difference, perhaps especially in its treatment …
Brave: What did you think?
Well, critical opinion on Brave does seem to be divided - yes, it's tracking pretty well on Rotten Tomatoes, but look at the actual reviews. Nearly all of them damn with faint praise, or qualify every compliment with a criticism. …
Make this Movie: Tim Burton
Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Can we all agree that Tim Burton is, for all his box-office brawn these days, pretty much dunzo as a creative force? Let's ignore the fact that he's dipping into his own past …
Review: Brave
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/21/26624/ With another wild-haired royal at the helm (and only one-tenth of Tangled’s wit, charm, and stereoscopic invention), Pixar’s latest amounts to little more than Rapunzel redux. What begins as a standard Disney fairy princess outing takes a turn for …
Review: Pink Ribbons, Inc. (And Alfred Hitchcock in Tactic)
Barbara Brenner, highly persuasive breast cancer activist, argues her disease is “the poster child of cross-marketing.” Léa Pool’s gutsy documentary calls into question what exactly the pink ribbon culture does to bring about change. (With billions raised, why have breast …
The Dark Knight Rises: What's Wrong With This Picture?
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jun/21/26612/ Absolutely nothing. Anne Hathaway simply does not pack that much back. Clearly a prosthetic butt. Everyone knows that Catwoman wears stripper heels, not combat boots. It's Catwoman, not The Human Invertebrate. Warner Bros. is taking this cross-branding thing too …