Open Call for Submissions to the Oceanside International Film Festival
Forgive my ignorance, but until an email announcing an open call for submissions arrived, I had no inkling there was an Oceanside International Film Festival. Their website, with the message "We hope to bring the Oceanside International Film Festival back …
Dig A Hole: Bill Hinzman, George Romero's First Zombie
Short of beating, burning, or a bullet to the head, zombies aren't supposed to die, particularly of cancer. Alas, that was the fate that befell Bill Hinzman, the first flesh-eater ever to grace a George A. Romero Living Dead epic. …
Dig a Hole: Ben Gazzara
He built a career playing con-artists, criminals, pimps, cheats, and drunks, yet somehow you couldn’t help but believe every word that came out of Ben Gazzara’s mouth. Biagio Anthony Gazzarra was born August 28, 1930 on New York's Lower East …
Grate Cinema: The Way We Were (1973)
Gene Siskel didn't drive. After the preview of The Way We Were (it sneaked along with the Robby Benson teen romance Jeremy), he stood in front of the Golf Mill Theatre in Niles, Illinois looking for a cab. This was …
DVD Rentals: Crossfire (1947)
With a star-powered trio of Roberts (Ryan, Mitchum and Young) sharing the one-sheet for a film noir produced by the studio that helped define the post-war style, Crossfire should be a lot better than it is. Only one of the …
Tonight's Midnight Movie at The Ken: The Theatre Bizarre
Far be it from me to pass on watching a movie, but in this case I had no choice but to resist. It's bad enough that advance screenings off DVD-mailers, not 35mm or digital prints, are arriving with greater frequency, …
Review: Big Miracle
Will Drew Barrymore’s “save the whales” tale connect with audiences? Or will it cause parents — searching for two hours that will silence their calves — to wail. The “incredible true story that touched the world,” upon which Big Miracle …
Review: La Cara Oculta
If you are one to flinch at the creaks and groans that emerge from your apartment's walls and floorboards, Andi Baiz’s La Cara Oculta (The Hidden Face) may not be the right movie for you. If the thought of a …
Grate Cinema: Death Wish 3 (1985)
Bronson in the ‘80’s has a delightfully-debased artistic ring to it. Some may call it Bronson past his prime, but did Charles Bronson ever have a prime to get past? Bronson carved a career as a stone-faced mute, a mound …
The Title or Trailer Game III: The List is Life
Once again I dig deep into my treasure-trove of DVDs and come up with an arcane collection of title-cards and key-artwork. This time around we have a bumper-crop of pictures with themes ranging from incest, madness, and combat to vanity, …
ArtPower! Screens Liu Bingjian's Crying Woman Tonight
ArtPower! Film will screen Liu Bingjian’s third feature, the comedy/drama Crying Woman (2002), tonight as part of its 21st Century Chinese Film Series. Crying Woman, which was banned in China, is Beijing filmmaker Liu Bingjian’s third feature. According to the …
SD Asian Film Festival Screens Wang Quan'an's Apart Together
The first of this year's San Diego Asian Film Festival's quarterly screenings will be held on February 28 at UltraStar Mission Valley. Wang Quan'an's Apart Together was the opening night selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, where it …
DVD Rentals: Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
John Wayne was always right, Larry Fine was always wrong, and Robert Ryan was always, always troubled. The first on-screen appearance by the most distressed man in the annals of cinema was as an intern in the Bob Hope vehicle …
Board Games Hollywood's Latest Tonic to Mollify Bored Viewers?
In the wake of the dumbing-down effects brought about by the rumination-free amusement park thrill rides of Spielberg and Lucas, Hollywood power-brokers struck a creative reef in the late-70s that they have yet to extricate themselves from. Realizing that childhood …
Grate Cinema: Hitler, Dead or Alive! (1942)
And you thought Inglorious Basterds was the only war film to do away with Hitler before the final fade. If you worked as a Hollywood contract player during the war years, chances are you encountered a Nazi or two. Bogart, …
Star Wars Fan Jailed, Must Undergo Mental Health Evaluation for Lightsaber Attack in Toy Store
It took this long for officials to realize the root word of "fanatic" is "fan?" Has it not occurred to them that a certain sector of the movie-going population has forever been irreparably harmed by George Lucas' Star Wars series, …
DVD Rentals: Mister Roberts (1955)
In spite of the forced, bully-boy shipboard comedy and mismatched attempts to stitch sumptuous location shots with obvious studio replicas, countless childhood viewings of a center-scan print of Mister Roberts on The Best of CBS render this title beyond criticism. …
Actress from The Actress Reacts to Pro-Hugo Defense
The following Facebook encounter took place between an industry-insider friend, we'll call him "Kappy," and an actress who has a small role in the odds-on favorite to take home this year's best picture Oscar, The Artist. "Kappy's" Facebook wall has …
Review: One for the Money
One for the Money. Two others at the show. 3.) I had to review it. 4.) I could not get up and go. The Chicken Pie Shop' was particularly turned-on last Friday night, and the waitress' inability to stop gabbing …
Plenty to Yawn About as Midnight Movies Return to The Ken
While looking over that past few programs of midnight screenings at The Ken, the thought of revisiting Metropolis and The Maltese Falcon had crossed my mind. When push came to shove, staying out until 2 a.m. watching a couple of …