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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Are you ready to binge on Fringe?

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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The 14th Annual San Diego Film Festival will hand out its tribute awards on Saturday, with Brit Marling receiving its Auteur Award.
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A wrap-up from last weekend's Son of Monsterpalooza Convention in Burbank with a trio of interviews.
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Let's talk anime. "Cowboy Bebop" is my all-time favorite anime and this Saturday the Ken Cinema is showing the movie as it’s midnight film. If you have never seen an anime before then make this the one to pop your cherry.
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Tenor Rene Barbera talks about opera, breathing, and heavy metal as we take a field trip outside the world of film.
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If you grew up in the 1980s then you probably saw a Cannon Film like “Lifeforce,” “Missing in Action,” or “Death Wish 2.” The new documentary “Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films” chronicles the crazy history of this indie film company.
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Horrible Imaginings's lively panel for Edgar G. Ulmer's 'Bluebeard' (1944). On the panel are Ulmer's daughter Arianne Ulmer Cipes and his biographer Noah Isenberg. Panel was moderated by Miguel Rodriguez.
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Two young filmmakers, Erick Msumanje and Gigi Saul Guererro, with wildly different films and styles talk about their work and how they define horror at the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival that took place over the weekend.
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Yes! I just found out that "Hobo With a Shotgun" has been held over, and you will have at least one more shot at this grindhouse homage.
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"Pineapple Express" opens today so I thought it would be appropriate to run a highlight from the panel at this year's Comic-Con. Producer Judd Apatow moderated and actror-writer Seth Rogen, actor James Franco, and indie director David Gordon Green were on hand to answer questions about their "weed action comedy." They sneaked about ten minutes of the film at the panel. You can also check out the official trailer from Sony below.
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In very French fashion "OSS 117" mixes politics and comedy. Director Michel Hazanavicius -- partnering with screenwriter Jean-Francois Halin and using Jean Bruce's original "OSS 117" novels as inspiration -- uses the spy genre to poke fun at Western and European attitudes about the Arab world. De la Bath symbolizes the general smug superiority of the colonizers toward their colonies and their general lack of insight into the middle east and Arab world. That's something that actually resonates quite potently today.
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Everything in the waning days of Nikolai Ceausescu's oppressive regime proves to be a negotiation, whether it's dealing with haughty hotel clerks, bartering for soap and cigarettes, or haggling over the price of an abortion. Each negotiation is further complicated by bureaucratic mix ups, black market scams, and incessant I.D. checks. All this plays out like a tense thriller as Otilia struggles to help her friend. Actress Anamaria Marinca plays Otilia. She says that when you live under Communist rule, you quickly learn how to navigate uncertain terrain.
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!