Entries
Apart Together: Asian Film Screening Tonight
Tonight ushers in the San Diego Asian Film Festival's first quarterly screening of 2012. Wang Quan'an's Apart Together, a bittersweet love story about sacrifice and second chances, was the opening night film of the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, where …
The Interviewer's Anxiety at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla: An Interview with Wim Wenders, Pt. 2
I used to get it a lot more. Nowadays, most people seem to forget I have a first name and simply call me Mark. After the publicist said, “Wim, I’d like you to meet Scott Marks,” he shook my hand …
Dig a Hole: Dick Anthony Williams, Cinema's Premier Pimpologist
On a busy Oscar Sunday comes sad news: we lost one of cinema's pioneering Pimpologists. I am forced to be uncharacteristically brief. For a period in the '70s, you couldn't buy a better celluloid whoremonger than Dick Williams. With his …
There's Always Hope for Tonight's Live Oscar-Blog
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Bob "For Hugo" Hope speaking to you from the grave, right here, putting in my annual Oscar-day appearance for The Big Screen. Hey, how 'bout that Martin Scorsese's Hugo, huh? Wadn't that something? …
Wim, Vigor, and Vitality: An Interview with Wim Wenders, Pt. 1
Few filmmakers display the care, handling, and respect for cinema quite like Wim Wenders does, and after 40 years behind the camera, there are no signs of slowing down. The director of such acclaimed films as Paris, Texas, Wings of …
Review: Gone
Remember this scene from Silence of the Lambs? (If you haven't seen Silence of the Lambs, maybe watch just the first minute or so.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc7gm3Hthe8&noredirect=1 I don't feel bad referencing a different film than the one I'm reviewing right here …
Review: Act of Valor
DISCLAIMER: No Navy SEALs were harmed during the making of this picture. The Navy granted “filmmakers” Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh permission to play with their toys and the result is a gung-ho recruitment film that’s as incompetently acted and …
What Happened? Denzel Washington (Part 1)
Obviously, this is a more complicated question than what happened to Clive Owen. Washington is one of our generation's Major Leading Men, and he's got two Oscars to boot. But I don't think there's any doubt that, as David Elliott …
Audience Response: Project X
So I went to a screening of the party-gone-wild movie Project X last night. Most of the other attendees were, from the looks of them, college students. (Even though the party is set in a high school, I'm thinking college …
Reviews!
David Elliott shines a big light on In Darkness and its director, Agnieszka Holland: "Holland, 63, is one of those strong, honest, humane directors (The Secret Garden, Europa Europa, Washington Square) whose films get terrific reviews but seldom leave the …
Don't Forget This Sunday's Live Oscar Blog
This Sunday night, Matt Lickona and I will be seated before our television sets and laptops providing Big Screen readers with a blow-by-blow description of the 84th Annual Academy Awards. I was with Matt on Sunday night and he gave …
Meet Wim Wenders in Person!
How often does a director of Wim Wenders' magnitude come through San Diego on a press tour let alone make himself available to the public? The director of such masterworks as The American Friend, Paris, Texas, and Wings of Desire …
Study Finds Video Piracy Has Little Impact on U.S. Box Office
Deadline Hollywood posted this fascinating study on the effects video piracy has on the American motion picture industry. The lag-time release to other countries may impact overseas profits, but back home people still prefer the theatrical experience over streaming BitTorrents. …
What Happened? Clive Owen
What happened to Clive Owen? No, really - I wanna know. I thought he was it. The next thing. The return of the tough guy with a heart. Handsome but not delicate. Rugged but not thuggish. And for a while …
San Diego Latino Film Festival Announces 2012 Lineup
January through April traditionally denotes a slow time at the movies. Studios dribble out their precious awards contenders and winners, all of which I've already logged. You don't want to be around me if I can't see at least 3 …
Seen on DVD Review: Birds of Prey aka Batgirl & Friends
"Legend tells of a caped crusader, Batman, guardian of New Gotham, and his one true love, Catwoman, the queen of the criminal underworld. Their passion left behind something extraordinary, a daughter, Huntress. Half metahuman, she has taken up her father's …
Review: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Q: What’s harder to find than a pack of wild unicorn? A: The script Nicolas Cage turned down. In the presence of evil, Johnny Blaze (Cage) turns into a monster who sucks the life out of his enemies. Directors Mark …
Unconditional Surrender Could Get the Kiss Off, But Hope Springs Eternal
Unconditional Surrender, the 25-foot, 6000-pound statue that’s been a tourist destination at Mole Park since its unveiling in February of 2007, may get a stay of execution. The waterfront enormity, owned by the Santa Monica-based Sculpture Foundation, has been on …
Blogfight!
Here's how it works around here: Mr. Marks does all the heavy lifting, and I sit off in the wings and nitpick. So while I certainly sympathize with his frustration at getting yet another Ban from the Man on Facebook, …