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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WorldBeat Cultural Center celebrates Threads of Freedom
Escape to Arcade Monsters
From the World of John Wick: You want action? Yeah.
SD Fringe top pick: 'Smile'
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Meet The Glamorous Victim, The Lady Sleuth. The Redeeming Angel and more as Cinema Junkie explores the diversity of women in film noir. -
Looking beyond just the usual suspects of the femme fatale for Noir-vember -
Celebrate Noirvember with an exploration of film noir with TCM host and the Czar of Noir Eddie Muller. -
Cinema Junkie takes on another mission, this time to explore the world of spies presented in the film and television adaptations of John Le Carré's books. Previously on Cinema Junkie we looked at the fantasy world of Ian Fleming’s James Bond and now we move on to the grittier, more realistic world of John Le Carré’s spies of the Cold War and beyond. Joining Cinema Junkie once again are spy aficionados Gary Dexter and Jeff Quest, both are regular contributors to Shane Whaley's Spybrary Podcast . Quest also runs spywrite.com, which is dedicated to spy fiction and non-fiction. We look to the early attempts of depicting what spies do in Hitchcock films such as "The 39 Steps" and later the film adaptations of Graham Greene's novels such as "Our Man in Havana." Then we discuss the many adaptations of Le Carré's books, and how he put his real world experiences working in intelligence to a different use than Fleming did. Also listen to Cinema Junkie Bond. James Bond. Part One and Part Two. Enjoy Geeky Gourmet videos about James Bond themed food and spy drinks. -
Cinema Junkie speaks again with espionage aficionados and Spybrary Podcast contributors Gary Dexter and Jeff Quest (of spywrite.com) to look at the evolution of female characters across nearly six decades of films, and to assess what makes a good Bond and what each of the six actors in the Eon Productions' official 25 007 movies have brought to the role. We also discuss producer Barbara Broccoli's contribution to the franchise and where it might go after "No Time To Die." Please check out part one of the podcast where we have a spoiler-free review of "No Time To Die." -
Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando goes on a special mission with spy aficionados Gary Dexter and Jeff Quest to explore the cinematic and literary universe of James Bond 007. Get a spoiler-free review of "No Time To Die" and then enjoy part one of an in-depth and geeky exploration of the fantasy spy world of Ian Fleming's James Bond. -
Earlier this month Marvel delivered its first Asian superhero in its cinematic universe with "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." But it’s been a long hard road getting to this point in Hollywood. For the latest episode of Cinema Junkie, I speak with Brian Hu, artistic director of the San Diego Asian Film Festival, about the evolution of Asian images on screen from the stereotypes of yellow peril to Shang Chi. -
The new "Candyman" has a lot to unpack for a 90-minute horror film. It cleverly continues the story of the original 1992 film that boasted Tony Todd in the title role but it is also a stunning reimagining of the character through a Black lens. The new film was directed by Nia Da Costa and co-written by Da Costa and Jordan Peele.
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Remember Body Heat? Remember the sweet-faced arsonist with the soft, sexy voice? That was Mickey Rourke in his breakthrough film role. But you might not recognize him in his latest film The Wrestler (opening in San Diego in January) in which he plays a beat up and tired veteran of the wrestling circuit.
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Peter Morgan's play "Frost/Nixon" premiered in London in 2006 and in what seems like a miraculously short turnaround, "Frost/Nixon" (opening December 12 in select theaters) now arrives on the big screen. The film version also turns to the original stage actors Michael Sheen and Frank Langella (who won the Tony for his performance) to reprise their roles as the British talk show host and former president. Morgan based his play and the screenplay on the series of televised interviews that former President Richard Nixon granted David Frost in 1977. The interviews famously ended with a tacit admission of guilt regarding his role in the Watergate scandal.
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Since I won't be able to review Cadillac Records this week before it opens let me at least show you the trailer. The film looks promising and I'm especially interested in seeing Jeffrey Wright play Muddy Waters. The film focuses on Chicago in the 50s, specifically looking to the rise of Chess Records and artists like Waters, Chuck Berry and Etta James. On the down side, Beyonce serves as executive producer and gives herself the role of Etta James. Beyonce may be pretty and with a pleasing voice but as an actress she's a bit vapid and bland. The rest of the cast looks good with Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess, Eric Bogosian as Alan Freed, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry. Cadillac Records opens December 5 throughout San Diego. The trailer is courtesy of Sony Pictures.
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"Four Christmases" is an amazingly funny movie. It's about this couple -- Brad (Vince Vaughn) and Kate (Reese Witherspoon) -- that has been dating for three years, yet still don't know each other as well as they think they do. Every year, they go on some vacation around the world for the holidays and make up some lame excuse to tell their families as to why.
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"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," inspired by Mike Mignola's comics and graphic novels, arrives today on DVD and Blu-ray. The film is one of my favorites from this year. The fabulous Ron Perlman returns as the big-hearted and big-fisted red demon working for a secret paranormal government agency. This time out he's trying to announce himself to the world while he fights Prince Nuada (a beautifully tragic Luke Goss) from the underground elf world. Once again, filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro creates a vivid fantasy world where we feel the greatest connection to the monsters and creatures.
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"Pride and Glory" is another one of those films about good and bad cops fighting drug lords, but then joining them. This particular story is about a family of cops. The father was in the NYPD and has two sons that grow up to drive the black and whites. His daughter also married a man in a blue uniform. The son-in-law, Jimmy (Colin Farrell), is under the command of the eldest son. But Jimmy is dealing drugs and killing people behind his brother-in-law's back.
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"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" is one of the best films I've seen this year. It features our four favorite New York zoo animals -- Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman-- finding themselves on yet another epic adventure in a foreign land. This time our friends are stranded in Africa, which at first seems like a wasteland, but soon becomes a long lost paradise.
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"Madagascar 2; Escape 2 Africa" is a story of four animal friends -- Alex, Marty, Melvin and Gloria -- attempting to go back to New York and to their old lifestyle of living within the zoo. Unfortunately, on their way over to New York, their plane experiences some techinical difficulties and four infamous and mischievous penguins discover that the plane has run out of fuel. Their solution: Crashlanding in Africa.
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!