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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Film Struck is showcasing eight classics of Blaxploitation Cinema so it's time to revisit the Cinema Junkie Podcast featuring David Walker, writer of the "Shaft" comic books. Walker loves the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s and says we're due for Blaxploitation 2.0.
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With "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" reanimating on screens this weekend, the time seems ripe to speak with Doctor of the Dead Arnold T. Blumberg about a recent strain of the undead — the self-aware zombie.
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On the heels of Oscar snubbing black actors and filmmakers again, and on the eve of Black History Month, Cinema Junkie sits down with a pair of black San Diego independent filmmakers to talk about some under-appreciated African-American directors whose works are worth seeking out.
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The San Diego Black Film Festival reveals the diversity of contemporary black filmmaking.
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The screening of a documentary about the Black Panthers at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival this weekend seems oddly appropriate on the heels of the very white Academy Award nominations. Would the Black Panthers be boycotting the Oscars?
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Cinema Junkie Podcast is back from a holiday break with a three-part show all about the Oscars.
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Awards season is in full swing so it must be time to make a Ten Best List and hand out some awards.
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For some, "Star Wars" is a way of life and the arrival of a new movie set in a galaxy far, far away is cause for both great excitement and great concern. A group of "Star Wars" fans rent a van and drive up to Los Angeles for the opening night of "Episode VII: The Force Awakens."
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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.
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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.
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!