This week’s triad features a tangy-as-always James Cagney starring in three comedies under the direction of Warner Brothers’ swift-footed Lloyd Bacon. Picture Snatcher (1933) In his column in the January 21, 1933 edition of Editor …

We open on a note of anticipatory anxiety: an offscreen voice awakens Karen (Otmara Marrero). Soft tones profess, “You’re beautiful,” followed by, “You’re gonna break my heart.” Other than an eager exchange with a pooch …

There Is One God "The equality of all people and all religions is central to our faith. We didn't want to seem as though we were saying, 'No! We're not Muslims! Don't attack us! Those …

For Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who told Fox News that older Americans should sacrifice their lives for the good of the economy, we offer up a handful of ass-kicking seniors, led by pandemic paraclete …

When a sock to the chin connects in a Jim Thomspon novel, it does so with such force that you’ll be reaching to condole your jaw. A quick turn of the page, and the stench …

The first installment of the three part documentary feature Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time premiered on numerous VOD platforms this week. Here are three essential exploitation epics for further research. Pink Flamingos …

Two months’ worth of bi-weekly trips to the multiplex yielded at least a dozen opportunities to memorize the trailer for My Spy. Originally slated for a mid-March opening, it was the next film on the …

Theft, drugs, and bad romance drive this week’s trio of tales. The Whistlers (2019) Birds warble in the background as career detective Cristi (Vlad Ivanov) pulls up to Gilda’s (Catrinel Marlon) house. Or do they? …

Before making it my home, San Diego was an annual vacation destination for 15 years. “1995” was written across the spine of the TDK-HS video cassette, but the exact date of this joyride is unsure. …

This week, we’ve got metalheads, handmaids, and a tour of New York you don’t want to take. Saigon Metalhood (2020) Three generations of musicians representing the past, present, and future of Vietnamese metal are given …

Two tales of troubled towns — and one set in New York, which has enough real-life troubles at the moment. Blow the Man Down (2019) It isn’t long after the Connolly sisters lay their mother …

This week’s duo sends voices across the universe. Is anybody listening? Troop Zero (2019) Do words travel through the universe — and if so, does Christmas Flint’s (Mckenna Grace) late momma hear them? A representative …

A stanchion sign in the entranceway to the Reading Grossmont greeted customers with the request, “Please Purchase Tickets At The Concession Stand.” After years spent logging an average of eight movies a month in La …

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 …

Writer-director Andrew Heckler’s Burden opens in mid-rage before descending into even more tumultuous turf. A sledgehammer shatters the lobby window of the Echo, a vacant South Carolina movie theatre. If the perps are of that …

The first question I asked Landmark President and COO Paul Serwitz was as direct as a remedy: as of today, did he foresee anything that might prevent the closure of the Ken on March 22? …

A January or February release — when half the country is either deep in hibernation, or worse, catching up on award-winners — has become the time of year designated as Hollywood’s dumping ground for films …

Has it really been 6 years since I stepped in and helped to save the Ken Cinema from the wrecking ball? On Sunday, March 22, Landmark Theatres will officially pull the plug on the Ken …

One wonders how replicant Harrison Ford will fare playing opposite a CG tail-wagger — or is it the other way around? — in the latest incarnation of The Call of the Wild. Just in case, …

If you thought Russian interference with the last election was reprehensible, wait until you see what Putin’s putas are doing to the movies. When was the last time a picture scraped the humor right out …

Family. It’s why Charlie lent a helping hand to his hair-triggered cousin Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. But go against Mr. French in The Departed and he’ll soon forget how once upon a time your …

A pair of backstage musicals both old and new. High Strung Free Dance (2018) New to blu-ray, this affectionately bunched bundle of backstage musical cliches plays like a smaller-scale musical mock-up of La La Land …

Spectacles, or no spectacles? That is the question that opens Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words. (Thomas settled upon two eyes instead of four.) The next voice you hear is that of writer …

Bad dads: there are no George Baileys or clownfish named Marlin in this reprobative grouping of sires. Home from the Hill (1960) There were two venal Vincente Minnelli patriarchs to choose from, neither of whom …

For a month, the link languished in my mailbox — I put off playing Quezon’s Game until the latest possible moment. Frankly, the thought of a Filipino Schindler’s List held about as much interest as …

It is with deep and abiding regret that we report the passing of Robert Downey, Jr. — one of the last of his generation of trailblazers — over to the dark side. Admittedly, the transition …

Of the nearly 250 films I viewed in 2019, here are the front-runners and slopsuckers. For more on this year in film, visit the Big Screen. Favorites: 10.) Last Letter A romantic drama void of …

This week’s goal was to find three films to unite families around the set that didn’t contain any references to Christmas. The first two came easy. For some crazy reason, I had it in my …

Where were you when you first learned of the death of Dag Hammarskjöld? For some, it will be wherever they’re reading this review. But at the time, his mere existence was viewed by some as …

Las Vegas and a mock Fillmore East play home to this pair of New Year’s Eve-themed comedies. Ocean’s 11 (1960) Frank Sinatra and a group of Korean war buddies regroup to knock over the five …

Who says television isn’t educational? Ever hear of African Jews? Diamond man (14 carat, not baseball) Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) hadn’t, not until the night a documentary introduced him to a tribe of landlocked nomads …

Were cash and prizes all that motivated Clint Eastwood, he’d have had himself de-aged, made another Dirty Harry sequel for Netflix, and been done with it. But there’ll be none of that small screen hoo-hah …

The late ’50s-early ‘60s proved to be a wellspring of worldwide experimentation in documentary realism. Banking on unscripted reactions to outrageous situations as his key to success, American television personality Allen Funt tucked his Candid …

Once upon a time, movie alcoholics had a name, and that name was “funny drunks.” This week’s politically incorrect offerings put a spigot on two booze-enhanced works of art before uncorking one mean drunk of …

A shade of wet newsprint grey smudges the facade of the still-standing South Bronx apartment. From the opposite side of the street, the only visible sign of life in the tenement is a faint glow …

We begin by giving thanks to the local publicist who was swell enough to arrange a press preview of The Irishman in an auditorium to my liking. (Reading Cinemas Grossmont #5.) That said, it angers …

This week we offer up an uncut aggregation of bicycle thieves, censors’ needs, and cleaner Waters. — Scott Marks The Bicycle Thieves (1948) It was the first film to openly challenge the almighty Production Code …

January 1, 2019. The following Nostradamic text, signed “Anonymous,” arrives at the stroke of midnight: “The year will end with Shia LaBeouf’s self-penned biopic cracking your top ten.” Did I miss an announcement piece in …

Has it really been six Christmases since Andy Fickman and Walden Media gifted audiences with the historically and hysterically misguided family frolic Parental Guidance? Last weekend, Fickman and Walden rattled the cage and East County …

The last thing a movie critic needs after a hard day at the multiplex is more visual distraction. Despite having that chunk of logic firmly planted in my brain, I still proceeded to heed a …

Nazi monsters for Halloween. Black Book (2006) Whenever a Twitter poll asks people to name their favorite horror movie, I generally list Leni Riefenstahl’s Hitler-commissioned documentary Triumph of the Will. Forget about latex boogeymen, costumed …

The business card placed in my hand by a former student read: “Redeemable for one free blowjob.” He had my attention. “I found it inside the sleeve,” he explained as he handed the Rudy Ray …

This week’s trio of discs came to me from various sources, reliable or otherwise. — Scott Marks The Black String (2019) Sensing a local angle, PR rep Justin Cook saw to it that a copy …

Take a break from the E! True Hollywood Story mode of storytelling that’s currently passing for documentary filmmaking with these three gritty women’s documentaries. Three Lives (1971) A novelty at its time of release: this …

Pick a celebrity biopic. Any celebrity biopic. Beyond the Sea? Okay. With the lighting just so — and the camera at a safe distance from its subject — a person could swear that it was …

Three films and no common thread; it’s that kind of week How the West Was Won (1962) When I was six, the owner of mom’s beauty parlor rigged a raffle and my family “won” tickets …

Occupational Hazard #29, aka The Installment Plan: when a critic oversteps a self-imposed two-film-a-day limit, conks out halfway through a picture, and finishes watching it the next morning. The rating for Heiward Mak’s Fagara was …

Two from Blake Edwards and a different shade of Pink Panther. Darling Lili (1970) One of director Blake Edwards’ most polished and personal works, Darling Lili was a musical released at a time when both …

Luis Buñuel’s third film, Las Hurdes (Land Without Bread), was the director’s only documentary. For his first feature, visual effects designer Salvador Simó’s Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles puts into cartoon motion an …

Welcome to the transmogrifying squash-and-stretch universe of studio animators Max and Dave Fleischer. Much of the humor flies in the face of political correctness, it’s my honor to announce. For links to the shorts, visit …