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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"The End of the Tour" reviewed by Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando. -
With Simon Pegg returning in "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation," I decided to reach into the archives for a 2007 interview with Pegg about "Hot Fuzz." -
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."
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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. -
This year, the 67-year-old Romero delivers his fifth zombie film, “Diary of the Dead” (opening February 15 exclusively at the AMC Palm Promenade Theaters) so run, don’t “shamble,” over to catch the undead’s latest uprising. -
A Valentine To Hong Kong's Rapturously Romantic Filmmaker -
Irish playwright Martin McDonagh makes his feature film writing and directing debut with "In Bruges" (opening February 8 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas), a darkly comic tale of two hitmen on holiday in the idyllic European city that calls itself “the Venice of the North.” Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell play the Irish killers. McDonagh previously worked with Gleeson on his Oscar-winning short "Six-Shooter." -
“There Will Be Blood” (opening January 11 at AMC Mission Valley and on January 18 at Landmarks La Jolla Village Theaters) is not the film fans of Paul Thomas Anderson may be expecting but it's a film that should please them nonetheless. The filmmaker who gave us “Hard Eight,” “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” and “Punch Drunk Love” now turns to an 80-year-old Upton Sinclair novel called “Oil!” as inspiration for his epic tale of greed and ambition.
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!