PhotosPala tribe cuts dissident members off rollsThe cited cause of tribal disenrollment is a blood-purity dispute. All 164 disenrolled members are relatives of the late Margarita Brittain, a woman whose lineage has long been questioned …
November 4, 2023
Articles by Scott Marks
Blood purity fight among Pala Mission Indians
Cinema insights from Kensington Video owners
Movie lover's paradise Meanwhile, Blockbuster and Hollywood Video have shuttered their local outlets. Owner and buyer Guy Hanford understands why. “When you went into a Blockbuster or Hollywood to rent a film, you never engaged …
July 2, 2023
To dream in the dark: Scott Marks says, “That’s all, folks!”
After what management said, I found it impossible to continue any further as The Reader’s film critic. What did they say? “Scott, I’m sorry to say we’re laying you off.” The real shocker is that, …
August 25, 2022
Who fired the shot or shots that killed Pat Tillman?
This week’s trio was found lounging in an unmarked file box, stuffed with DVD screeners and buried deep in the inner-recesses of my storage locker. The Tillman Story (2010) Director Amir Bar-Lev (My Kid Could …
August 17, 2022
Sammy Davis, Jr.’s “Salt” meets Peter Lawford’s “Pepper”
Democrats in Washington could stand to take a lesson from Hollywood’s demise in the late ‘60s. Voters’ cries for something new, something different, something progressive in a president were answered with a pair of starchy …
August 11, 2022
The Gray Man: a comic book movie by any other name
Netflix dropped $200 million for their latest star-studded CG extravaganza The Gray Man. That’s $40 million more than the studio sprung for Scorsese’s likewise effects-driven The Irishman, making it the costliest film yet to debut …
August 4, 2022
Popeye, Ghost World, How to Murder Your Wife, and other favorite comic book movies
The banners are down, the fanboys back in their parents’ basements, and the Gaslamp Quarter no longer resembles a giant roll of flypaper used by corporations to ensnare the costumed souls fortunate to acquire the …
July 28, 2022
RRR: pulse-pounding action that outperforms any of its contemporary American counterparts
From India, an epic worthy of your attention. RRR (2022) After two hours of having the snot beat out of them, a pair of unwittingly adversarial revolutionaries, pitted against each other by their British overlords, …
July 21, 2022
John Carpenter’s Elvis: the first of many collaborations between the director and star Kurt Russell
The competition was stiff on February 11, 1979, the night John Carpenter’s Elvis debuted on ABC. Gone With the Wind was on CBS and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was on NBC; both kneeled …
July 14, 2022