Entries
Robert Downey Jr. Invokes Words of Jewish Teacher in Imploring Hollywood to Forgive Mel Gibson
Robert Downey Jr., during an American Cinematheque tribute honoring him last week: That's what the reporters heard. But what they didn't catch was what came later, the part that really hammered home the similarity to John 8: 1-11: Ah, that …
Interview: Margin Call Writer/Director, J.C. Chandor
J.C. Chandor's Margin Call, a "fresh as today's headlines" thriller that takes place inside the volatile word of investment banking on the eve of corporate meltdown, takes it lead from R.K.O.'s series of classic Val Lewton horror films. The offending …
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD7Bca-xJXw aka Honey, I Blew Up The Franchise aka The Gunpowder Plot aka There Are More Explosions Here Than in a Michael Bay Film
The Title or Trailer Game
Before you are 15 sets of titles. Your mission is to tell me which of these comes from the finished product, and which one belongs to the coming attraction trailer. Here's a hint: don't let the logo art fool you. …
You Have Never Been Able to Wait for Scarlett Johansson to Take Her Clothes Off
"Scarlett Johansson was great. It was a great audition, I’m telling you. But the thing with Scarlett is, you can’t *wait* for her to take her clothes off.” - David Fincher, [explaining][1] why he couldn't cast Johansson as the lead …
Son of What's Wrong with This Menu?
Carole Lombard and Clark Gable?! Last week I snagged this faux pas on the DVD menu for John Ford's They Were Expendable. I'm on a roll. Mitchell Leisen's Hands Across the Table is a sparkling Depression-era screwball comedy/melodrama that features …
German Currents San Diego Film Festival This Weekend at MoPA
Tom Tykwer's 3 makes it's San Diego premier this weekend. "Do you know San Diego has a German Film Festival?" I asked a friend over dinner. "Why, no," came her quizzical reply. "That's the name of the song," I said, …
Short Takes: The Thing
A prequel to the 1982 remake of the 1951 original. Pretty lady scientist (is there any other kind these days?) heads down to Antarctica to examine an unusual specimen discovered in the ice. Things go awry. The frozen wasteland is …
Interview: Blackthorn Director, Mateo Gil
What becomes a legend most? When a fictional continuation of their true life story becomes an enormously entertaining western that is currently blazing across the screen of the Landmark La Jolla Village. What would have happened to famed outlaw Butch …
Dig a Hole: The 35mm Movie Camera (1888-2011)
My Facebook pal, his enlightenedness, Matt Zoller Seitz at Salon.com, is today's messenger of misfortune. The big three motion picture camera manufacturers — Aaton, ARRI, and Panavision — have all halted production on traditional 35mm cameras. It's been a tough …
What's Wrong With This Menu?
The only laugh to be had in John Ford's naval epic The Were Expendable, a gallant portrait of men facing almost certain defeat, can be found on the DVD menu. Would someone kindly tell the newbies at M.G.M. Home Entertainment …
Drive Sparks Fan to Toss Hot Dog at Tiger Woods
How is it that a film about a stunt-driver who picks up a little money on the side as a leadfoot getaway man for the mob can stir up so much controversy? First there was the meshugana from Michigan who …
Short Takes: Weekend
Sadly, this is not a remastered reissue of Godard's masterwork. A semi-closeted lifeguard and an art student meet in a bar and spend a weekend together having sex and swapping war wounds. One of writer, director Andrew Haigh’s characters bemoans …
The Closest Look Yet at The Trailer for The Avengers
Why do the Avengers exist? I mean, why does this team of superheroes exist? I mean, besides reasons of marketing? Samuel Jackson (as Nick Fury, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.) has an answer: "There was an idea to bring together a group …
A Still Closer Look at the Trailer for The Avengers
I dunno, something seems strangely familiar... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOvH-7lcjb0
A Closer Look at the Trailer for The Avengers
It ain't on YouTube yet, so you can go see it here. Then come back and discuss! Um, wow, but that's a lot of exploding cars. Is there some kind of message here about the dangers of combustion engines? Are …
Doesn't a tagline like "Forever is only the beginning" sound like something out of Hellraiser?
Hey, it's a display for the new Twilight! Wow, those wolves make it sort of scary! Still, it could be scarier. It needs something more, right here in the middle... AAAAAAAAAAH! It's a movie critic, trapped in Twilight forever! The …
SD Jewish Film Festival Screens The Human Resources Manager
Other than a press screening some time ago, Eran Riklis' The Human Resources never saw the light of a projector bulb in our town. Don't worry, folks. It's subtitled in American! That is soon to be amended. The San Diego …
Before They Were Critics: David Elliott
Not many people know this, but long before joining The Reader as staff film critic, a youthful David Elliott worked as a Senior Scientist at Boggs Biologics. So successful was he, Monogram Studios produced a two-reeler honoring his work in …