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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SD Fringe top pick: 'Smile'

Are you ready to binge on Fringe?

SD Fringe adds SDSU filmmaker showcase

'Park Opera' redefines opera in Balboa Park
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Edgar Wright has a new film out and that is cause for celebration. I speak with the director about "Baby Driver."
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San Diego's Old Globe Theatre has an eight decade history of performing Shakespeare on stage. Now its artistic director Barry Edelstein wants to highlight the Bard on film.
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Found footage is a tired trope in horror but those films all manufacture their supposed found footage. That kind of fakery holds no interest for filmmaker Bill Morrison. He is interested in the real deal, genuine footage that has been unearthed, uncovered or just waiting to be found and brought to light. His latest film, "Dawson City: Frozen Time," finds treasures in the arctic ice.
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FilmOut San Diego is hosting its first-ever block of gay horror shorts and it highlights how LGBT filmmakers are turning more and more to genre filmmaking. So I felt it was time to pay tribute to queer cinema and talk to some filmmakers about why they choose to work in the genre.
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With the return of "Twin Peaks" and a revival screening of "Fire Walk With Me," I decided it was time to dig into the archives for an interview with David Lynch.
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For almost a century nitrate base film was the standard for motion pictures and for good reason. The image looked stunning on the huge screens of movie palaces. But now only a handful of theaters can project the film stock, which has a reputation for spontaneous combustion.
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You must remember this … after 75 years, the film “Casablanca” still maintains an iconic place in pop culture. A new book explores the life, legend and afterlife of Hollywood’s most beloved film.
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Forty years ago, Stuart Gordon adapted Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “The Sirens of Titan” to the stage. Now, Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los Angeles is reviving that adaptation and finding it surprisingly topical.
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The new Dreamworks/Universal Studios film "The Soloist" is inspired by the true story of journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nathaniel Anthony Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a former classical music prodigy Lopez finds playing the violin on the streets of L.A.
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Coming of age films are filling the theaters these days. Recently we have seen coming of age tales play out in 1980s Pittsburgh ("Adventureland") and Northern Australia ("The Black Balloon"), and coming up we travel to 1970s New Jersey ("Lymelife").
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Earlier this month "Fast and Furious" scored a surprising hit at the box office bringing in $72 million in three days. What's also surprising is that at the helm of this $80 million dollar Hollywood sequel is one time indie film darling Justin Lin. Today, "17 Again" -- the new film with Disney star Zac Efron -- opens, and in the director's chair is another independent filmmaker, Burr Steers.
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In "17 Again" (opening April 17 throughout San Diego) Mike O'Donnell (Disney star Zac Efron of "High School Musical" fame) is a star on his high school basketball court with a college scout in the stands and a bright future in his grasp.
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The San Diego Italian Film Festival may be the new kid on the block but they have been actively bringing films to San Diego both at their festival and for single screening film events. These are films that have not played in San Diego before and are unlikely to receive any kind of release here.
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Seth Rogen has become an unlikely star through a series of projects with Judd Apatow beginning with the TV series "Freaks and Geeks" in 1999 and reaching a peak with the feature film "Knocked Up" in 2007. Those projects played on Rogen's slacker appeal. Now Rogen tries something a little different with "Observe and Report" (opened April 10 throughout San Diego).
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For last year's closing night, FilmOut San Diego presented the world premiere of James Vasquez' homegrown film "Ready? Okay!" This San Diego-based charmer concerns a young boy named Josh who wants to join his school's cheer squad.
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!