Cinema Junkie

Satisfy your celluloid addiction and mainline film 24/7 with Cinema Junkie’s Beth Accomando. So if you need a film fix, want to hear what filmmakers have to say about their work, feel like taking a deep dive into a genre, or just want to know what's worth seeing this weekend, then you've come to the right place. You can also find Beth's coverage of other arts and culture events here.
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SD Fringe adds SDSU filmmaker showcase

'Park Opera' redefines opera in Balboa Park

Unpacking the virtues of Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners'
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Armando Iannucci, creator of "Thick of It" and "Veep," makes his feature film writing and directing debut with "The Death of Stalin." I talk with the comic genius about the challenges of doing political satire at a time when the real world is crazier than anything he can imagine. WARNING: This podcast contains explicit, Malcolm Tucker language.
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The 90th Academy Awards are Sunday and one of the most misunderstood and least appreciated of the craft categories is film editing. So here is a trio of brilliant film editors to talk about their work on this year's Oscar-nominated films and to provide insights into just what film editors do.
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My idea of a good date movie is "Shaun of the Dead." So maybe I'm not the best person to be making Valentine's Day recommendations. But there's one contemporary filmmaker who consistently tackles love with such lush romanticism that even I swoon at his movies. That filmmaker is Wong Kar-Wai. So as much as I hate Cupid's silly holiday, here's a Valentine to Wong Kar-Wai.
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Fifty-two years ago ABC launched the TV show "Batman" and forever changed the pop culture landscape.
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Noirchaelogist, Czar of noir, host of TCM's Noir Alley, founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation... whatever title you want to refer to him by, Eddie Muller is simply the man to go to when you want to know anything about film noir.
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The holidays are upon us so what better time to think about spirituality. For some, movie theaters are like churches and the movies they screen can teach about how to live life.
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For this podcast, Arts & Culture Reporter Beth Accomando turns to her archives for an interview with David Cronenberg about his 1996 film "Crash," adapted from J.G. Ballard's controversial 1973 novel revolving around people with symphorophilia, in this case, car-crash sexual fetishism.
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It's Thanksgiving and I have a pair of films that I am feeling very thankful for right now: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "The Shape of Water." Filmmaker Martin McDonagh talks about writing a film for Frances McDormand and Doug Jones talks about "suit acting" for Guillermo Del Toro.
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Bryan Singer guided two "X-Men" films to worldwide grosses of $700 million. But the latest installment of the "X-Men" saga, "The Last Stand" (opening May 26 throughout San Diego) has a new director at the helm, Brett Ratner. Will fans stand with Singer or join up with the new leader, Ratner?
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Film actors Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone play men on opposite sides of the law in the new Australian western, "The Proposition" (opening May 19 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas). But director, John Hillcoat, refuses to paint these characters in black and white. KPBS film critic Beth Accomando speaks with the filmmaker about making a western down under.
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After each new film he makes, Hayao Miyazaki says it will be his last. Thats because the 64-year-old filmmaker still draws some of his own animation and his vision has been getting progressively worse. So fans will be thrilled with the release of yet another Miyazaki anime, this one based on a childrens novel, Howls Moving Castle (opening June 10 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas).
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South Korean cinema is hot, not only at home but also abroad. Korean films typically hold their own at the local box office with Hollywood fare, and internationally they are popular with film festivals. But as the Korean industry grows bigger, it poses challenges for filmmakers interested in more independent projects. Beth Accomando looks at a pair of South Korean films that attempt to push the boundaries of what's acceptable.
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The infamous Nessie meets the notorious German director Werner Herzog in a documentary about things that are not what they seem, Incident at Loch Ness (playing for one week only at Landmark's Ken Cinema beginning November 19).
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Beth Accomando is taking a short break from film reviews and arts coverage to create a six-part video podcast called Stripper Energy. Check it out!