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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Cygnet Theatre opens 'The Joan' at Arts District Liberty Station
Kurosawa classics restored and on big screen
Cinema Junkie recommends ABA doc, grindhouse gem and 3D animation
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In this two-part Cinema Junkie podcast I look to the female perspective in film. In this first part I speak with Heidi Honeycutt, director of programming for Etheria Film Night. Founded in 2014, Etheria Film Night is a showcase of horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, thriller, and dark comedy directed by women and for an audience that includes producers, managers, showrunners, distributors, and genre fans. Etheria says its goal is to put the women directors who want to make genre films and TV in front of the people who want to hire them. Etheria is hosted by American Cinematheque and takes place at its Egyptian Theater. -
African Americans and Hollywood have a long, troubled, and complicated past. I am going to explore that history with Donald Bogle author of the new book "Hollywood Black: The Stars, the Films, the Filmmakers" from Turner Classic Movies. His comprehensive exploration begins in the silent era and wraps up with 2018's "Black Panther." Bogle has been writing about blacks in Hollywood and on screen for decades and over a half dozen books. -
Shakespeare has been dead for four centuries but this summer there is a film about his life called "All is True," an adaptation of the book "Ophelia" that looks at "Hamlet" from Ophelia's point of view, and a pair of his plays and a lecture about his work at the Old Globe Theatre. Cinema Junkie looks to the two new films, and then speaks with Globe artistic director and Shakespeare scholar Barry Edelstein -
"John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum" finally arrives and stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski delivers an exhausting, exhilarating film. I have a review of the new film and have a 2017 interview with Stahelski where he explains exactly why John Wick raises the bar on action films. And learn the difference between having a star do action versus doing stunts. -
J.R.R. Tolkien famously wrote "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" books that inspired Peter Jackson's recent films. Now a film biography about the author hits theaters. I'll discuss the allure of Tolkien's fellowship, have a review of the biopic "Tolkien" and speak with the film's director Dome Karukoski about making connections between the man and his books. -
Reel Science returns with the San Diego Natural History Museum and Digital Gym Cinema pairing sci-fi films with real scientists to put the movie science into a broader context. Whether you want preview of the film series or if you can't make the films but want to watch sci-fi films with some questions to ask you'll want to hear entomologist Michael Wall and cognitive scientist Eric Leonardis dissect "Damnation Alley" and David Cronenberg's "The Fly." -
I may hate the Academy for some of its Oscar choices but I have nothing but praise for the work it does to preserve film history. I speak with Josef Lindner, the preservation officer at the Academy Film Archive about the challenges of preserving and restoring films. As an example we discuss the pre-Code comedy naughtily titled Cock of the Air. -
In part one of my look at the 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival I spoke with TCM Film Festival programmer Charles Tabesh. Now for part two, I speak with Fox archivist Schawn Belston about the studio's past, future, and exactly what it is an archivist does. He also discusses some of the strange places he has discovered film elements.
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The Uninvited (opening January 30 throughout San Diego), originating from the South Korean movie A Tale of Two Sisters, is about a young girl named Anna who goes through some odd experiences with her somewhat "mysterious and unsolved" past. The movie begins with Anna at a hospital and then she is released back home. She then finds out about her father's new girlfriend, Rachel. As Anna adjusts to her home, her sister Alex updates her about a few things regarding what's been going on, especially the relationship between Rachel and their father. Anna's memories of her late mother haunts her as she sees her mother's spirit back at the boathouse where she died. From the experiences that Anna goes though, Anna gathers the clues together and thinks that her mom has been trying to tell her something, a message pointing Rachel out as a "murderer." As the movie goes on, Anna finds out the truth of what truly caused the fire at the boathouse where Anna's mother passed away and what really is going on.
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The Sixth Annual San Diego Black Film Festival kicks off tonight, January 29, at the Regal United Artists Theatres at Horton Plaza with a mix of documentaries and short features. There's an opening night reception at 6:00 pm followed by an evening of films. Among them are Black Indians, a documentary narrated by James Earl Jones that looks to Indians of African descent, and Newark Street Preachers, about a group of New Jersey preachers who march where drug dealers and gangs rule in order to take back the streets. The festival will also be presenting their 2009 Award of Merit to actor Louis Gossett, Jr. (pictured left). Gossett can also be seen in the new film The Least Among Us on Saturday at 7:00 pm. Actor and martial arts expert Michael Jai White will be receiving the festival's Filmmaker's Choice Award.
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Katie, Adam, Joy and Destin on Main Street, Park City and celebrating Obama becoming president. -
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Destin Daniel Cretton continues his posts from Sundance where he is screening his film, "Short Term 12."
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Destin Daniel Cretton continues to post about his adventures at Sundance. -
The movie "Slumdog Millionaire," which just swept the Golden Globes this past weekend, has been a surprise hit here. Warners Brothers is hoping to capitalize on the popularity of that film and its Indian setting. The studio's releasing "Chandni Chowk to China" (opening January 16 at UltraStar Del Mar). It's going to open on more than 125 screens in more than 50 markets. That would make it the largest release of a Bollywood film in the United States. And to add to the cultural mix, it's also the first Bollywood production to film in China. (You can listen to my feature from The World on Public Radio International.)
Stripper Energy just received an Emmy for Journalistic Enterprise, you can watch the six-part video podcast now.