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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
The Crazy Credits, Crawls, and Cautionary Warnings Quiz
All these quizzes and I can't even get past the credits! Here is a collection of crazy characters culled from closing crawls, one-of-a-kind credits, and offbeat advisory openers. There's even a typo! Your mission, should you decide to accept it, …
"Hitchcocktober" Returns to Reading's Gaslamp and Town Square Cinemas
We're coming up on Halloween, so that means it's once again time for Reading Cinemas to turn a couple of their screens over to birds, Bates, and bottles of nuclear-powered champagne for their annual “Hitchcocktober” celebration. A classic film directed …
Puss In Boots Makes a Personal Appearance in San Diego
While visiting Disneyland earlier this year, the nice folks at Critter Country told me I could get my picture taken with Goofy. Some Goof! Turns out it was a pituitary case wearing cloth ears and padded felt buck teeth. Word …
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher headed for Splitsville?
Is Hollywood's favorite May/December romance on its last calendar page? After a six-year marriage made in tabloid heaven, rumors abound that Demi Moore is showing wandering-eyed Ashton Kutcher the door. According to The Star, the couple, who have kept separate …
Steaks & Classic Cinema in Greystone's Historic Rivoli Theatre Building
The classic movie component will probably amount to little more than the cinematic equivalent of background music, but who cares when you can dine with the ghosts of movies past in the historic confines of San Diego's premier steakhouse? What's …
Free Advance Screening of Footloose Friday at Edwards Mira Mesa
If it's true that Hollywood should only remake bad movies, there aren't too many musicals that reach the level of tedium that Footloose, or as I like to call it, Footstool does. I'm sure that I'll eventually succumb, if for …
The Movie Studio Logo Quiz: The Final Confrontation
My hunt for "logoriginality" has taken me through over half my video collection. This is it. The well has run dry. Studios generally do not like having their trademarks tampered with. I visited well over a thousand openings and though …
Short Takes: Abduction
A young man finds his baby photo plastered across a missing persons website. A solid foundation for a thriller wasted on still another attempt to renew interest in director John Singleton’s faded reputation, this time via a Taylor Lautner vehicle. …
Morgan Freeman: Obama Made Racism Worse in America
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman has accused President Obama of helping to further drive a shiv between the races. When asked by CNN talk show host Piers Morgan, "Has Obama helped the process of eradicating racism, or has it in a …
Free Outdoor Screening of Toy Story 3 Tonight
The good news is, there's a free screening of Toy Story 3 at Liberty Station tonight. The bad new is, summer's over and this will be our last outdoor event of the season. In case you missed the biggest grossing …
Latino Film Festival Looking for Entries
Have you completed a prize-worthy movie that would make a snug fit in a Latino film festival? If so, one of the 155 films screened at this year's fest could be yours! The Media Arts Center of San Diego has …
Review: Restless
First sign of trouble: the poster for Restless -- which features an adorable shot of our lovers flat on their backs surrounded by a chalk-outline -- has adorned the outside of Reading Cinemas Clairemont Town Square since Christmas, but queries …