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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John Waters' Odorama has inspired filmmaker JC Calciano to make his new film "Steam Room Stories: The Movie" in Cinema Scent. I talk with Calciano about scratch 'n' sniff cards, going from YouTube to feature films, and working with Traci Lords. -
Horrible Imaginings Film Festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this Labor Day Weekend at the Frida Cinema so that is the perfect excuse to speak with the festival's founder and executive director Miguel Rodriguez about all things horror. We will discuss trends as well as some of the standout films from the festival. -
The new horror film 'Ready or Not' was brought to the screen by a collaborative known as Radio Silence. Filmmakers and online pranksters Chad Villella, Matt Bettineli-Olpin, and Tyler Gillett have a very singular vision about how to make movies. They discuss how they went from online videos to making a film in Hollywood, and how a board game helped them seal the deal for "Ready or Not." -
In honor of National Whistleblowers Appreciation Day Cinema Junkie speaks with director Gavin Hood. His new film "Official Secrets" tells the story of Katherine Gun (played by Keira Knightley), a British intelligence specialist who leaked a memo when she felt her government was lying to the people. The film has a special screening July 30 and opens in San Diego theaters on Sept. 12. -
Comic-Con celebrated its 50th show and I celebrated my 41st. Join me as I speak with a trio of people who have attended all 50 shows plus some exhibitors who describe the changes they have seen over the years. I also pull out some archive footage from past Cons and visit Godzilla in his first Toho booth at Comic-Con. -
Chinese-American filmmaker Lulu Wang talks about her film "The Farewell" that she says is based on an "actual lie." The Sundance hit draws on her own family and first came to life as an episode on "This American Life." She also reveals how a trip to Ikea led to her career in filmmaking. -
In this two-part Cinema Junkie podcast I look to the female perspective in film. In part two, I explore the film "Ophelia," which reimagines Shakespeare’s "Hamlet" from Ophelia’s point of view. I will be speaking with director Claire McCarthy as well as with Lisa Klein, author of the novel the film is based on. The film stars Daisy Ridley (of "Star Wars" fame) as the title character. -
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.
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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.
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Frank Miller and Will Eisners were friends but they also argued all the time. Miller looked to Eisner as a mentor and now he's adapting Eisner's comic The Spirit (opening Christmas Day) to the screen. Miller's own graphic novels, Sin City and 300 have been two of the best adaptations of a comic to film. One of the reasons is the cinematic nature of Miller's graphic work. That may also be the reason that Miller, who co-directed Sin City with Robert Rodriguez, is now embarking on a directing career. Eisner's The Spirit is his first solo project and here's the latest trailer courtesy of Lionsgate. Based on the trailer and the Comic-Con panels, it looks like fun.
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"The Tale of Despereaux" (opening December 19 throughout San Diego) looked promising. The trailer was amusing and took a laidback approach to selling its story rather than the usual hysterical, frantic, in your face pitch that American animation feels compelled to use. It was based on a popular and well-written children's book by Kate DiCamillo that bore the subtitle: "Being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread." The animation looked state of the art with an appealing big-eared mouse hero. The film also boasted some talented voice actors in Kevin Kline, Matthew Broderick, Tracey Ullmann, Robbie Coltrane, Frank Langella and Dustin Hoffman. So what went wrong?
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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.
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!