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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From the World of John Wick: You want action? Yeah.
SD Fringe top pick: 'Smile'
Are you ready to binge on Fringe?
SD Fringe adds SDSU filmmaker showcase
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This spoiler-filled episode examines the hidden meanings of Jordan Peele's latest box office hit with the help of a UC Riverside professor of media and cultural studies. -
With Alfonso Cuaron’s recent multiple Oscar win and San Diego Latino Film Festival entering its second quarter century, I felt it was the perfect time to pull up an archive interview I did with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. -
You may not know Milicent Patrick's name and that's precisely why filmmaker, monster lover, and author Mallory O'Meara decided to write "The Lady From the Black Lagoon." It reveals the lost legacy of this woman who created one of Hollywood's most iconic monsters. -
Cinema Junkie celebrates Black History Month by speaking with Keithan Jones, founder of Black Comix Day, about black comics and movies, and professor John Jennings about a new collective called Scary Black Folks. -
Films made between 1930 and 1934 have come to be known as pre-Code and display defiance of the self-censorship rules Hollywood laid down for itself. I will talk about the delicious naughtiness and sensational social realism of these films with Danny Reid of Pre-Code.com. -
Oscar nominations come out Jan. 22 and, since many people may not know a lot about what a film editor does, here is an archive edition of Cinema Junkie that will enlighten you about the art and craft of film editing. -
Cinema Junkie is technically on holiday break but here's something old and something new to start the year: an archive of my Reel Science episode plus my picks for the best films of 2018. -
Holy archives! Cinema Junkie is on holiday break but enjoy this popular episode dedicated to the 1960s Batman TV show and movie, which are the subject of The Hollywood Museum's exhibit that runs through the end of the year.
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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.
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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!