Big Screen
There's not a doubt in my mind that the body hanging from a tree in the background of The Wizard of Oz is that of Don Wilson. But Jack Benny in Casablanca? It all began, …
Speaking of a few singers who should turn singing into a hobby, there is now a rumor that a movie is being made about the ultimate pay-to-sing performer. Pay-to-sing programs are legion. They are typically …
Good gracious, did I like The Good Lie better than I thought I would after seeing the trailer. My suspicion was that Reese Witherspoon would get her life changed in heartwarming, gently comical fashion by …
This space was originally slated for a 750-word interview with Michelle Monaghan, star of The Best of Me, the new Nicholas Sparks tear-jerker opening wide this weekend. We met last month when Michelle was in …
Fury’s title refers to an American tank that started out WWII fighting Germans in Africa and is now pushing toward Berlin as the enemy makes its last stand. Its crew — evangelical Shia LaBoeuf, brutish …
You never forget your first time. The week after Christmas, 1970. Friend Beyda and I hopped the Howard El to go watch Jennie die. This was before the multiplexing of America, a time when major …
At their best, the films of Michael Cuesta raise awareness. His debut feature, L.I.E., was a daring attempt to show the human side of a child molester. His latest film, Kill the Messenger, is based …
The German Currents Film Festival returns this weekend to Balboa Park for its fourth annual two-day, four-film celebration. This year, the festival doubled its venues by holding its opening-night gala at the Natural History Museum, …
It’s not a subtle move to open your story with a tour guide (Oscar Isaac) leading a group around some sun-drenched ruins and telling site-specific stories from the Greek myths. (In this case, the story …
“Where’s my movie?” the voice on the phone demanded. It was Kensington Video’s Winnie Hanford calling to remind delinquent me to return a ridiculously past-due rental. “And by the way,” she added in the same …
Winnie Hanford, Kensington Video’s Rock of Gibraltar, just delivered a heaping dose of terrible news. After 30 years in business, the world-class video store will be closing shop in February, 2015. Apart from helping them …
Forty minutes on the phone with Alan Arkin equals a wealth of material. On The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming: “I just got a call from Carl Reiner yesterday after he watched it …
Five days and 100 films. That’s the promise made by this year’s San Diego Film Festival. The festival runs September 24–28, with the lion’s share of the screenings to be held at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp …
Butterfly wings had been whacking away at my stomach wall for days before the scheduled interview.
It’s not often my editor puts in a request to use The Big Screen as a promotional tool for a personal deity. Since Mr. Nutting is kind enough to take his golden machete to my …
Though I review movies for a living, I try not to recommend movies to other people too often, even movies I like. Maybe especially movies I like. Because when someone urges something on me — …