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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Cinema Junkie has been exploring escapist films to distract you from our current coronavirus pandemic but as parts of the country and some businesses start to reopen I decided it was time to explore some unconventional pandemic films that raise issues beyond just the virus itself. I will be speaking with neuroscientist and emotion researcher Eric Leonardis who has been spending his quarantined time at home watching pandemic films but he has an interesting take on these movies because he wants to see how emotions like panic and fear can spread as readily as a virus and how words can be as dangerous as germs. We will consider silents to contemporary films as well as films from China, Cambodia, South Korea and the U.S. So wash your hands, put on a mask, and defy being infected by these pandemic movies. -
Write, blogger, and classic film enthusiast Will McKinley will be your guide to becoming a more adventuresome digital explorer as you navigate the quarantine landscape. He suggest skip the entertainment fast food and pick more nourishing options from the digital buffet. We'll discuss everything from free services to boutique streaming services to bulking up on physical media. There really are so many choices! -
April was to have been the month we got Bond 25, "No Time To Die" but the film has been postponed to November because of the current pandemic. So here's a discussion about the best and most outrageous Bond rip off spy films that provide perfect escapist fare while sheltering at home. To help guide us through this fun terrain is #Bond_age espionage aficionado James Patrick. We also pay tribute to Honor Blackman, Pussy Galore of "Goldfinger," who died earlier this month. -
Cinema Junkie offers up some quarantine viewing options that provide escapism. First up, TCM Classic Film Festival had to cancel its Hollywood event but has moved it to its TCM cable channel for a Home Edition that anyone can enjoy while sheltering at home. Charles Tabesh, senior vice president in charge of programming at Turner Classic Movies, previews the festival. The Nora Fiore, author of the Nitrate Diva blog, highlights the best screwball comedies to take your mind off the coronavirus pandemic. She suggests some well-known classics as well as under-appreciated gems. Plus enjoy a rendition of "The Good Ship Lollipop" that will delight and surprise you. -
UC San Diego professor Joel Wertheim uses the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film "Contagion" to teach a class every fall in epidemiology because it is so accurate in depicting a global pandemic. I talk to Wertheim about viruses and what we might be able learn from pop culture about dealing with the current coronavirus pandemic. -
I became a fan of Benh Zeitlin after his first film "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Now almost eight years later he has a second film that once again captures the wonder of childhood through a young girl's eyes. For "Wendy" he has reimagined "Peter Pan" from her point of view and place the idea of motherhood front and center. I speak to him about shooting on 16mm, working with non-professional child actors, and keeping reality as part of the magical world he creates. -
February is Women In Horror Month and Cinema Junkie checks in with the Twisted Twins Jen and Sylvia Soska. The Soskas have a new film currently streaming, it's the remake of fellow Canadian David Cronenberg's 70s cult favorite, "Rabid." I have been following the rise of the Twisted Twins since their feature debut "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" in 2009 and their brilliant and most personal project "American Mary" in 2012. The good news is that they are returning to another very personal horror project that I can't wait to see. -
The Academy Award nominations always incite me to give out my own awards for best of the year. So here are the Cinema Junkie Awards to highlight the films that I loved this year, some of which I feel were severely under-appreciated.
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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.)
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Destin Daniel Cretton begins his blog posts from Sundance where he is showing his short film, "Short Term 12."
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"My Bloody Valentine 3D" has the right idea. Don't go remaking a horror film that was a classic ("Psycho") or that started a trend ("Friday the 13th") or that shocked people ("The Last House on the Left"). Remake a forgettable, mediocre slasher pic, and to top it off add the gimmick of 3D! I'm serious. That's the right approach. How many people will say, "Oh the original was so much better."
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Vampires have been having a good run with "Let the Right One In" winning over critics and "Twilight" scoring well at the box office. Now the werewolves rear their furry heads to challenge the vampire dominance. "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" is the second sequel to "Underworld," which was a kind of Romeo and Juliet of the mythical beast crowd. Kate Beckinsale is gone, I guess she's gotten too good for black leather bodices, but Rhona ("Doomsday") Mitra looks almost just like her but playing the new character of Sonja.
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"Bedtime Stories" (opening December 25 throughout San Diego) is an excellent movie. It's the kind of movie where you can have a family outing and everyone can enjoy the film. It is about this guy who owns a hotel and sells it to another guy named Naughtingham under one condition: his son is to run the hotel when he is older. Little does he know that his son Skeeter (Adam Sandler) would be running repairs instead of the actual hotel. Some years later when Skeeter and his sister are fully grown and his sister has two children, Skeeter is asked to babysit his niece and nephew. They have been deprived of almost everything that makes life fun by their mother and it is up to Skeeter to correct that. He feeds them junk food and lets them watch TV. They have a pet guinea pig with ridiculously huge eyes that seems to be the main point of almost all the jokes. When the first night is coming to a close Skeeter decides that he should tell the kids a good story to finish the day. He comes up with a story that basically narrates his own life and how it is going down hill. The kids chime in every now and then with their own little twists, like having it rain gumballs or that he will save a damsel in distress. Skeeter soon finds out that everything that the children say will come true. He has all sorts of fun with this like trying to get himself a bright red Ferrari for free but because they don't say so, it never happens. Unfortunately Skeeter's boss is going to tear down the kid's elementary school to build his new hotel. So Skeeter tries to get the kids to help him with his ideas to save the day.
Stripper Energy just received an Emmy for Journalistic Enterprise, you can watch the six-part video podcast now.