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'

La Jolla Playhouse serves up audacious theatre to WOW you
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On the heels of Oscar snubbing black actors and filmmakers again, and on the eve of Black History Month, Cinema Junkie sits down with a pair of black San Diego independent filmmakers to talk about some under-appreciated African-American directors whose works are worth seeking out.
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The San Diego Black Film Festival reveals the diversity of contemporary black filmmaking.
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The screening of a documentary about the Black Panthers at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival this weekend seems oddly appropriate on the heels of the very white Academy Award nominations. Would the Black Panthers be boycotting the Oscars?
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Cinema Junkie Podcast is back from a holiday break with a three-part show all about the Oscars.
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Awards season is in full swing so it must be time to make a Ten Best List and hand out some awards.
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For some, "Star Wars" is a way of life and the arrival of a new movie set in a galaxy far, far away is cause for both great excitement and great concern. A group of "Star Wars" fans rent a van and drive up to Los Angeles for the opening night of "Episode VII: The Force Awakens."
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After much anticipation and build up, J.J. Abrams "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has finally screened and fans can breathe a big sigh of relief.
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Kent Jones dropped out of film school but then started working in Martin Scorsese's office. That led to a series of documentaries on movies. Now Jones talks about "Hitchcock/Truffaut" (opening at Landmark's Ken Cinema).
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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!