Entries
So, What Did You Do Friday Night?
That's the interior of the Ken Cinema just prior to the Friday 9:15 show of The Mill and the Cross. The Wife counted seven souls in the theater besides ourselves. C'mon, people: Elliott four-starred this thing, and with reason. Though …
12th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival Promises Fresh Hou Hsiao-Hsien and More!
The phone rang two months ago and what to my wondering ears do appear, but none other than Ms. San Diego Asian Film Festival herself, Lee Ann Kim (pictured). I would like to think that she knew the answer before …
Michigan Woman Sues FilmDistrict Over Drive's Deceptive Trailer
Pictured: Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks in Drive. While curating the film program at MoPA, there was an ultra-stingy board member, let's call her, "Johnnie," who owned a paper pass with strings attached. Johnnie would sit through an entire feature, …
Short Takes: 1911 Revolution
It’s being touted as his 100th starring role, but Jackie Chan’s heroics take a backseat to Winston Chao’s endless speech-making in this commemorative retelling of the birth of the Republic of China. Be they major figures or bit players in …
Short Takes: Puncture
What if Erin Brockovich was a dude with a drug problem? And because the dude is buff guy Chris Evans, his chest is just as prominent! Evans's ridiculous physique aside (was Giovanni Ribisi not available?), points awarded for not working …
Short Takes: Real Steel
Was the working title Rocky Sock 'em Robots? An off-the-ropes, beer-guzzling promoter and his estranged young son bond through violent robot boxing matches in this Spielberg-backed futuristic fluff. Motion capture reaches new levels of sophistication, but when it comes to …
A Brief Conversation Among Johnny Depp's Vanity Fair Covers
Uh-oh. Looks like Captain Jack Sparrow has gone and done it again... Fortunately, he knows where he can turn for an understanding ear:
Reviews!
Well, now - to hear David Elliott tell it, I was too hasty in my scorn for Blackthorn. "A terrific, full-hearted Western" - wow, really? So very glad to hear it. But what has me really excited is The Mill …
Dig A Hole: Charles Napier, Russ Meyer & Jonathan Demme Staple
The hairy sledgehammer of fate has come down on Charles Napier. The lantern-jawed, hard-ass character actor who first came to the public's attention playing sadistic redneck lawmen in Russ Meyer softcore porn epics, has died. The Kentucky-born Napier served in …
Anatomy of a Press Photo: Russell Crowe Is So High Right Now
The crazy part is, Russell Crowe is Australian. He didn't even play football in high school. Related.
Thank You, Steve Jobs
Last night, before I heard that Steve Jobs had died, I put Ratatouille on for my two-year-old. My 14-year-old paused in front of the screen. "Man, just seeing the opening of this film makes me hungry," he said. But he …
Just For That, Lars Von Trier Will Never Speak to Us Again!
With Melancholia a few weeks away from settling in at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas, director Lars Von Trier has issued a statement vowing never again to talk to the press. Hard luck for the media. The guy gives great interview, firing …
Simply Fine at 109!
He did nothing and got the snot beat out of him for it every time. If Moe was a theorem, Curly and Shemp Holy deities, and Joe, a little fey, Larry is eternal. If Larry Fine were alive today...come to …
Breakfast at Tiffany's Turns 50!
Quel rat! Has it really been fifty years since Holly Golightly enjoyed her morning sweet roll and steaming cup of Schraft's coffee in front of America's jewelry store? Actually, they should have called it Dinner at Tifanny's as our heroine …
2nd Annual Horrible Imaginings Film Festival Poised to Extend Halloween Season
The 2nd Annual Horrible Imaginings Film Festival is screening Georges Franju's supremely unsettling Les yeux sans visage (Eyes Without a Face) at 11 pm on Saturday, November 5th. Mark your calendar. Trust me. There is no better way to spend …
The Conspiracist Speaks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPNyNr2Kp4w Hmmmmm.... full trailer for Steven Spielberg's "They Shoot Horse Movies, Don't They?" epic War Horse drops the same day as we get an announcement about an upcoming Mister Ed feature. Coincidence? I THINK NOT. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PZPpWTRTU
Short Takes: Dream House
We never glimpse the residence retiring publisher Daniel Craig and his family upgrade from. That’s the first clue to cracking this thriller which owes more than a little to Shutter Island. After decades of administering dull, well-intentioned message movies, it’s …
"Red Tide" Explanation
Photo taken by the author on October 1, 2:36 p.m., at the La Jolla Shores.
Short Takes: Courageous
Having taken on Being a Good Husband (and the importance of Jesus in such an endeavor) with Fireproof, the good people at Sherwood Pictures are quite naturally moving on to Being a Good Father (and the importance of Jesus, etc.). …