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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Spies are back in style as the "Mission Impossible" and 007 franchises serve up new entries, and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." TV show gets a big screen reboot. The latest "Mission Impossible" film looks a lot like an old James Bond film. -
“A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,” which opened Friday at the Digital Gym Cinema, is the final part of a Swedish trilogy about being human. -
A 4K restoration of "The Third Man" opens at the Ken Cinema and that's cause for celebration. -
Actor Nicholas Hoult, of "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Warm Bodies," was nineteen when I interviewed him. He was starring with Gabriel Byrne in Richard E. Grant autobiographical film about growing up in Swaziland, "Wah-Wah." Hoult has grown up on screen in starting with "About A Boy" and on through playing Hank/Beast in the "X-Men" films. -
This week Sir Ian McKellan appears as Sherlock Holmes in a new film. So Cinema Junkie looks back to the archives for an interview with the actor about playing Richard III. -
After more than a century, Sherlock Holmes’ popularity continues to rise with a play at the Globe, more of the BBC series in the wings, and now Sir Ian McKellan taking on the role of the great detective for the feature film, “Mr. Holmes." -
"The Overnight” has been stirring buzz since its premiere at Sundance earlier this year. It's a raunchy comedy but with more than sex on its mind. -
It’s summer so that means Shakespeare takes the stage at the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. But for its 80th anniversary, the Globe is adding a twist to the Summer Shakespeare season — films.
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Coming of age films are filling the theaters these days. Recently we have seen coming of age tales play out in 1980s Pittsburgh ("Adventureland") and Northern Australia ("The Black Balloon"), and coming up we travel to 1970s New Jersey ("Lymelife"). -
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Earlier this month "Fast and Furious" scored a surprising hit at the box office bringing in $72 million in three days. What's also surprising is that at the helm of this $80 million dollar Hollywood sequel is one time indie film darling Justin Lin. Today, "17 Again" -- the new film with Disney star Zac Efron -- opens, and in the director's chair is another independent filmmaker, Burr Steers. -
In "17 Again" (opening April 17 throughout San Diego) Mike O'Donnell (Disney star Zac Efron of "High School Musical" fame) is a star on his high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp. -
The San Diego Italian Film Festival may be the new kid on the block but they have been actively bringing films to San Diego both at their festival and for single screening film events. These are films that have not played in San Diego before and are unlikely to receive any kind of release here. -
Seth Rogen has become an unlikely star through a series of projects with Judd Apatow beginning with the TV series "Freaks and Geeks" in 1999 and reaching a peak with the feature film "Knocked Up" in 2007. Those projects played on Rogen's slacker appeal. Now Rogen tries something a little different with "Observe and Report" (opened April 10 throughout San Diego). -
For last year's closing night, FilmOut San Diego presented the world premiere of James Vasquez' homegrown film "Ready? Okay!" This San Diego-based charmer concerns a young boy named Josh who wants to join his school's cheer squad. -
Sugar (opened April 10 at Landmark Hillcrest Cinemas) is a baseball movie in the same way that Eight Men Out was a baseball movie. You cannot conceive of either film without the baseball backdrop but neither film is a formula sports movie in the sense of putting primary importance on the winning or losing of games.
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!