The email from Pac-Arts Program director, Brian Hu, began, “You want Tsui Hark? You got Tsui Hark!” For years, I’ve been badgering the poor guy to bring Hark in as a special guest at the …

Easter is not a holiday readily associated with high-volume moviegoing, but you wouldn't know it by these clippings featuring stars and cinema chains keen on having patrons making a pit stop at their local odeons …

1) “Saturday Night at the Movies” by the Drifters The Drifters was formed in 1953 and in the 62 ensuing years, the band played on in spite of the multitudinous changes in personnel. R&B singer …

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” barked Larry in an accusatory tone second to none. With a dirty Farberware pot in one hand, a soapy sponge in the other, and a sink before …

There wasn’t an empty seat in the house of worship as friends, well-wishers, and members of the family packed the Kensington Community Church to pay affectionate tribute to Kensington Video proprietors excelsior: Winnie, Rich, and …

From Sinatra (Frank and Nancy) to Seville (David and his Chipmunks), the artists included in The Wrecking Crew backed them all. We close on a disclaimer that jokingly reads, “No musicians were harmed during the …

“Corned beef is responsible for killing more of my people than Hitler.” — Jerry Lewis A fragrant bouquet of savory sliced beef and smoked fish mixes with chopped organ meat smothered in onions and rendered …

“The goal of this year’s festival?” said the San Diego Latino Film Festival’s proud papa Ethan van Thillo, echoing my question. “To get people to see more movies!” Now who can argue with that? Something …

A call went out to my loyal legion of Facebook compatriots asking that they overindulge this swine by oinking forth a few bacon bits of wisdom for my latest endeavor in unappeasable behavior, a video …

It looked more like a Westfield Mall at Christmas. Saturday was supposed to ring down the curtain on Kensington Video, but with lines stretching out both front and back doors, Warden Winnie decided to grant …

I guess the Hanfords weren’t kidding. All of our combined prayers to the gods of pressed polycarbonate plastic went unanswered. As first reported in these pages, Kensington Video — the best damn DVD store in …

Join me at the Martin Luther King Center on the campus of Bayview Baptist Church Thursday, February 26, at 6 pm when I’ll be hosting a screening of the award-winning documentary Why Do You Have …

And the loser is...Boyhood, the odds on favorite to waltz off with the Best Picture and Best Director statues at Sunday night’s Oscar giveaway. Patricia Arquette, clearly cashing in on an endorsement deal with Supercuts, …

Losing the ability to live-blog his angst during last year’s Academy Awards ceremony made it hell on this reporter. Forced to sit and watch the damn thing in real time — the horror. Matthew Lickona …

“Hazel,” barked Mr. B. “Drop Harold off at school, meddle in the affairs of this week’s guest star, and fill out my Oscar ballot!” It’s a case of “You don’t do windows; I don’t do …

So much has been written about Clint Eastwood’s use of a fake baby in American Sniper that it’s about time someone stood up for this physically abused, emotionally ravaged, and sadly misrepresented group of show …

Fifty Shades of Grey was not screened in time to make deadline. It’s a good thing. My trenchcoat and hollowed-out popcorn box are still at the dry cleaners. Mostly, the hubbub has me confused. In …

Across the room at Cinema Society gansamacher Andy Friedenberg’s 60th birthday party stood Saundra Saperstein, Chair of the San Diego Jewish Film Festival. When asked what celebrities would be attending SDJFF 23, she mentioned Theodore …

In addition to being an ace director and swell interview subject, you’ll soon discover that Black Sea helmsman Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play) is no slouch in …

In a culture where girls are not allowed out at night to observe the skies, how does a tenacious 16-year-old astronomy student like Sepideh Hooshyar even begin to dream of viewing Earth from space? That’s …

The brilliance of this morning’s roll call of Oscar® nominations began and ended with Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs soon-to-be forever infamous howler of a misspeak. I’m all for retromingency, but Dick Poop instead of …

The lobby of the Hard Rock Hotel was packed with press eager and curious to spend 15 minutes in the service of Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, and their new R-rated comedy The Wedding Ringer. The …

With nothing but Oscar-bait currently damming up local multiplexes, there is no time like the present to take advantage of a week of classic films starting Friday, January 9, at Landmark’s Ken Cinema. My original …

Seth Rogen and James Franco leave no “Suk,” “Poon,” or “Dong” unturned in their quest to whack North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in The Interview. Worth seeing, if just for the schizo opening logo and …

By way of indicating just how terrible a year it’s been for movies, for the first time in I don’t know how long English language films outnumber foreign entries. Sequels, comic books, and young adult …

What could Tim Burton have possibly seen in Big Eyes, the story of a monotonous, marginally talented, yet enormously successful “artist?” Something of himself, perhaps? For years, even Burton’s staunchest detractors (I’m one of them) …

Much of what follows was regurgitated from capsule reviews with the occasional extra added dash of bonus bile. (You don’t really expect me to give any of these a second look, do you?) Haters gonna …

They say you haven’t made it until you’ve played Fort Wayne. Get ready world, for I am about to “arrive” thanks to the diligent efforts of a former student (and lifelong friend), Rob Martinez. Regular …

Two lifelong friends begin to drift apart when one grows to dislike the other’s taste in boyfriends. That’s the premise of Life Partners, a new romantic comedy opening Friday at Landmark’s Ken Cinema. Leighton Meester, …

"You know what my Uncle Roy says Jews do on Christmas?" my ten-year-old, pillow-headed, goyisha-kop friend, Timmy Murphy asked. Instead of, "What we don't do is sit alone in our basements like Roy, drinking ourselves …

Over the years, UltraStar Mission Valley at Hazard Center has played host to just about every film festival in town. This week one of its loyalist sublessees, the San Diego Latino Film Festival, announced it …

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, a month when studios, eager to rack up as many awards and nominations as possible, fill critics’ yuletide stockings (and inboxes) with dozens of “for your consideration” …

Ken Weatherwax, TV’s jocund and rotund Pugsley Addams on the beloved series The Addams Family, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack in his California home. He was 59. Weatherwax was a descendant of showbiz …

San Diegans love Brian Regan. It’s not often that a major comic works the same town twice in one year, but just a few months ago — Valentine’s Day, to be exact — Regan packed …

“Nobody,” came Dave Boyle’s response when asked who he was wearing this morning when news arrived that his latest film was recognized by the Independent Spirit Awards. Man from Reno was nominated for the John …

“I took you to see Filpper yesterday, didn’t I?” That was Larry’s subtle way of saying there wasn’t a chance in hell we were going to spend Independence Day “meeting” Jerry Lewis in person. Chicago …

It’s our town’s other SDAFF. This year’s Third Annual San Diego Arab Film Festival promises three nights featuring seven films from seven countries. The festival runs November 20–22 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in …

For too long I’ve been giving Lee Ann Kim and the gang at the San Diego Asian Film Festival grief for not bringing enough name talent to their annual event. Every year finds me on …

Based on what little I know of Stephen Hawking’s private and personal life, the man has never given the impression of one prone to wresting pity from gawkers. Then why rely on The Theory of …

While continuing my never-ending search for all things Marx, I stumbled across this photo of Grouch and Greg Peck that appeared in the October 1950 edition of Screen. According to the La Jolla Playhouse website’s …

The Pacific Arts Movements’ 15th Annual San Diego Film Festival kicks into full gear this week with ten days (November 6–15) of seemingly nonstop movies. Artistic director Brian Hu and his team have once again …

KUSI anchor Lisa Remillard didn’t know she made the final cut until I tweeted the info her way. “I thought for sure they would cut my scene,” Remillard laughs. “Even though they were so nice, …

You’re probably going to need a shave by the time you finish reading this lengthy interview with cinematographer Robert Elswit, so let’s keep the intro brief. Paris Trout, Boogie Nights, Heist, Good Night, and Good …

Don’t let his unblinking doe-eyes, hands-in-pockets demeanor, and proverbial gift of gab fool you. Within ten minutes of meeting Nightcrawler protagonist Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal), screenwriter and first-time director Dan Gilroy casts a purposeful light …

It’s dial R for Reading Cinemas this erev Halloween when they screen Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder in 3D! By the time Hitchcock got around to shooting in 3D, the fad had already run …

Tommy Wiseau will not be on hand to introduce, nor will there be a live RiffTrax commentary track to help make guests feel even more superior to the slop on screen than they already do. …

It’s the summer of ’69, and a Spanish teacher/swim instructor at Coronado High School masterminds what would come to be the West Coast’s most enterprising and successful marijuana-smuggling operation. All it took was a handful …

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, …

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 …

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 …