Hoggish Peter Jackson Adds 9 Hours to Moviegoers Lives With Hobbit Trilogy
Peter Jackson announced that he's figured out a way to wring even more money out of his latest franchise, The Hobbit. Originally planned as a combo, The Hobbit will now be released in three parts. I don't know about you, …
Dig a Hole: Tony Martin and his Tenement Symphony
Yes, Tony Martin spent 60 of his 98 years married to Cyd Charisse. (The leggy dancer died at age 86 in 2008.) Yes, Tony Martin had an 80-year run performing in films and nightclubs and on radio and television. Yes, …
Suspicious Bag Prompts Evacuation of Dark Knight Rises Showing at AMC Mission Valley
Have you ever been involved in a movie theater bomb scare? A screening of The Birth of a Nation that I helped to arrange for a college film society in Chicago was met with threats of violence. (The caller said …
Interview: Chén Kǎigē on Sacrifice
Beijing-born Chén Kǎigē was the son of established Chinese film director, Chen Huai'ai. By all accounts it was a tumultuous relationship. In school he was forced to denounce his father. Mr. Chén later joined the People's Liberation Army while his …
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
So I'm sure you've heard the news that Kristen Stewart, star of the Twilight franchise and girlfriend of co-star Robert Pattinson, got busted snogging with Snow White and the Huntsman director (and married father of two) Rupert Sanders. Both Stewart …
Decimal System About to Get Dewier: SF Library Encourages Porn Watching
Fred Willard's good name is dragged through the mud after the funnyman is caught masturbating in a XXX Santa Monica theatre (allegedly), but in San Francisco, it's okay to watch porn at the public library. Let's take a moment to …
Watch Martin Scorsese's Latest Masterwork on The Big Screen
It's not as riveting as this, and nothing will never touch this, but Marty's latest self-directed performance, this time as a pitchman for the iPhone 4S's "intelligent personal assistant," is now officially the Best Picture of 2012! Some of His …
What Remains
I enjoyed lots many parts of this chat about The Dark Knight Rises over at The Awl, but this is the bit that really struck me: EK: There are many times when filmmakers have taken on huge ideas and have …
Overheard at the La Jolla Screening for The Queen of Versailles
Some people had to have been chuckling to themselves when they decided to screen a film about diminished fortunes in the moneyed regions of La Jolla. Anyway, here are a few things I heard on my way out the door: …
Oceanside International Film Festival Hosts Military-Themed Preview Party
A special military-themed preview party will take place on Saturday, August 11 to herald the upcoming Oceanside International Film Festival. The 3-hour gala, to be held at the Oceanside Library, 330 North Coast Hwy., kicks off at 1:00 pm. A …
Tie-Dyed & Squinty-Eyed Invited to Aug. 1 Grateful Dead Movie Event
A Birthday Celebration: The Grateful Dead Movie Event will screen at select theaters around the country on Wednesday, August 1, including three San Diego locales: AMC Mission Valley 20, Mira Mesa 18, and downtown's Horton Plaza. In celebration of what …
Give Your New Car that Old Stooge Smell with the Larry Fine Air Freshener™
Hey! Hey! Drop whatever you're doing and listen up, you knuckleheads! Make your car, boat, bathroom, nursery, office, Clay Department, suite at the Hotel Costa Plente, mikvah, or home smell like a 4-foot Stooge whose hair hasn't seen water or …
Bird's Surf Shed Screens New Taylor Steele Film
Bird's Surf Shed in Linda Vista is rapidly becoming a new haven for cinema in San Diego. After the success of the first International Surf Film Festival held there in May (and the crowds they are likely to draw when …
Spoiler Spot: The Dark Knight Rises
Well, not really a spoiler, but it does make reference to a conversation between Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle that comes toward the end of the film... Anyway, we here at The Big Screen are pleased to report that we …
Purists Take Note: Reason #438 to Love the Grossmont #1
We arrived 45 minutes early to beat the rush that never was. While last night's 8:30 pm screening had a decent turnout, it seems that many moviegoers have been frightened away from The Dark Knight Rises fearing a repeat of …
Homegrown (and Blown) Chompie on its Way to MD to Celebrate Shark Week
Do you know that San Diego is the birthplace of the giant inflatable industry? Admittedly, it's not like laying claim to being the home of the penicillin vaccine or pizzas delivered to your house in less than 30 minutes, but …
And while we're on the subject...
...of the poster for The Watch, it's time to play Who Got 'Shopped? Just tell us which of these stars received the most thorough Photoshop treatment, and you win! What's the prize? Your name in the comments! Poster images are …
A Closer Look at the Poster for The Watch
Hey, stars of The Watch! What was your last really memorable comic performance? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/20/28338/ Here's hoping, Mr. Ayoade.
Review: The Dark Knight Rises
The final installment of director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is long and loud and chock-full of his great love for plotting and abstraction. Sometimes, it works, but often, it doesn't, and the honest interaction of characters is ground under the …
Oh, Lord.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/20/28328/ Yeah, this particular scene may not play quite as well now. I'm glad Mr. Marks took the awful job of reporting on the Colorado shooting at the Dark Knight Rises screening. I kept thinking, "What is there to say? …
Dozens Dead or Wounded After Gunman Opens Fire at Colorado Premiere of Dark Knight Rises
The TV was on all night. Fox 5 in the Morning's Raul Martinez interrupted my slumber with news of a mass shooting in Colorado that took place during a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises. My gut told me to …
A Tale of Two Sex Comedies
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/19/28301/ Plus ca change... This weekend, you've got Marilyn in Let's Make Love at Cinema Under the Stars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfbMtSs2P8A Meanwhile, 30 Beats is opening down at Reading Gaslamp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3miXLlp7NfU I dunno. I mean, I enjoy listening to Jennifer Tilly's knowing …
Comedian Fred Willard Pulls a Pee-Wee Herman
The future of Fred Willard's participation in a Wall-E sequel rests firmly in his hand. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/19/28299/ The 78-year-old (!) character actor, comedian, and Shaker Heights, Ohio native was arrested Wednesday night after he was caught masturbating in Hollywood's Tiki Theatre …
SDMA's Annual Screen on the Green Kicks Off This Saturday Night
It’s been 13 years since I crash landed in San Diego and in that time I have yet to witness a more unexpected choice of a movie to screen outdoors, let alone in conjunction with a museum exhibition. The Invention …
Spot the Differences
In preparation for the release of Finding Nemo 3D, Disney is seeking to raise juvenile interest in the project via games like the one below. Why not play along? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/18/28254/ In the lower image, Bubbles is not concentrating on Nemo, …
The Dark Knight Prepares to Produce The Sore Butt
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/18/28252/ That should probably read "sit." Time now to consider which San Diego movie theater has, for your money, the most comfortable seating. Director Christopher Nolan loves him some complicated plotting, but sometimes (okay, all the time), it takes more …
Free Screening of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry This Friday at MCASD LJ
Ai Weiwei was named the most powerful artist in the world by by ArtReview. In April 2011, China's most celebrated contemporary artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic, disappeared into police custody for three months. Needless to say, he quickly …
Dig a Hole: William Asher
He wasn't the man who put the 'Cool' in Colini (that was Henry Silva), but credit director William Asher for providing Americans with some of the fluffiest movies (and TV shows) the '60's produced. Emmy-winning television producer and director William …
Wussies at Rotten Tomatoes Close Dark Knight Comments After Critics Threatened
Just when the blurb-spitting website Rotten Tomatoes gives us something to read, they decide to play censor. The aggravating aggregating site suspended user comments on reviews of The Dark Knight Rises after some fans got a little too hostile. Readers …
Mark Hamill: "Young Romney, You Are Not a President Yet"
The Force is with Republican Presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, but according to the actor who played Luke Skywalker in Star Wars-z-z-z, he is not a President yet. After spending far too much time espousing the virtues of Superman and Zorro …
Till Warner Bros. Cry, "Gatsby, Gold-Hatted, Thrice-Tanking Gatsby, We Must Reboot You!"
Hollywood is going to produce a successful remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby if it kills us. The Great Gatsby (1926) http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/09/27582/ Adapted from the Broadway production written by Owen Davis and directed by George Cukor (!), the …
A Closer Look at the Poster for Man of Steel
Kal-El takes a moment to look down and consider his new look... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/16/28075/
Interview: Benh Zeitlin, Director of Beasts of the Southern Wild
After a lively talk with Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, stars of Beasts of the Southern Wild, I moseyed on over to an adjacent poolside cabana at the W Hotel to speak with the film's director, Benh Zeitlin. In 2004, …
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Oz the Great and Powerful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9ZTP2k0DRc Just a couple of thoughts here, because mostly I'm worrying over whether CGI really has ruined the human imagination. Don't believe me? Check that brief shot of the flying monkeys. Are they half, are they a quarter as terrifying …
Interview: Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, Stars of Beasts of the Southern Wild
First-time actors Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, the stars of freshman director Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild, sat poolside at the W. The two were in town along with Zeitlin promoting the film that recently took home the …
Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift
There were three things I enjoyed about Ice Age: Continental Drift. One, Scrat's relentless pursuit of acorny pleasure, especially when he comes to his journey's end. (Wile E. Coyote would admire his purity...unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.) …
Review: Natural Selection
The giant bag of a Texas prison lawn mower bursts open giving birth to scraggly escapee Matt O’Leary. Expectations are flattened when this provocative opening sequence is immediately followed by a boner joke: Rachael Harris’ husband of 25 years wakes …
Brave: It Begins
Yep, you can buy her hair. You know, to go with the dress. Get in the lineup, Princess Merida. Pity you weren't a blacksmith's daughter. When is someone gonna do something like this for the Disney Princesses? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32oQvMusxac
A Closer Look at the Synopsis for Pacific Rim
Let a thousand fanboys squee; there is a poster to go along with the plot synopsis for Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming giant-robots-vs.-giant-monsters film Pacific Rim: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/11/27680/ And the synopsis: "When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from …
Jerry Lewis to Judge American Idol?!
Jerry Lewis and American Idol are a perfect fit. After all, were it not for the MDA Telethon, most Idol stars would have no place to perform. Idol's preeminent ganzer macher, Nigel Lythgoe, has made it clear: he wants Jerry …
Biggest Movie Event of the Weekend Has Nothing to Do With Comic-Con
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/11/27676/ Reason #41144 to hate Comic-Con: Thanks to San Diego's annual celebration of everything that's wrong with contemporary cinema, nary a new release hits town this weekend. Two disappointing indies -- Natural Selection at The Ken and Beasts of the …
Another, Slightly Less Close Look at The Poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
They don't call him Gandalf the Grey for nothing... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/10/27645/
A Closer Look at the Poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Apparently, in Middle Earth, the Wizard is off to see you. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/10/27644/
SDLFF Wraps "Jewish Latino Film Series" and Puts Out Call for Festival Entries
Join the San Diego Jewish Film Festival and San Diego Latino Film Festival tomorrow night at 7 p.m. when the second annual "Jewish Latino Film Series" concludes with the Argentinian comedy, Dos Hermanos. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/10/27637/ According to festival notes, "Marcos and …
Patton Oswalt Talks Movies With The Big Screen
From Groucho and Woody to Albert and Howard, I have been fortunate in my lifetime to have witnessed just about all of my comic deities perform in person. This week finds Patton Oswalt's name added to the list of luminaries. …
Dig a Hole: Ernest Borgnine
The lights came up and Ernest Borgnine stood center stage, his hat brim throwing a knifelike shadow across his face. Just give his barrel chest an excuse to bulge and someone in the crowd would have lost an eye when …
Between Heaven and Hellboy
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/09/27551/ Look, a thousand people have already blogged about how Ron Perlman and the crew at Spectral Motion teamed up to make a little boy's wish come true. I don't have anything to add except my own praise and the …
Make this Movie: The Dark Knight Returns
Well, it's official: on the eve of The Dark Knight Rises' release, Christopher Nolan has announced (via The Associated Press) that he is done with Batman. But of course, DC and Warner Brothers aren't done with Batman. Superhero movies tend …
Today in Merchandising: Barbie Pussy Galore
Spotted at Horton Toy Store, Horton Plaza: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/09/27529/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkChbEu3hKE&NR=1&feature=endscreen
The Amazing Box Office
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul/09/27519/ Here come the sequels, The Amazinger Spider-Man and The Amazingest-Spider Man.
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Jack Reacher
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v9mtaMotF4 "Okay, people, listen up. Our star here is Tom Cruise, a man who has long long been dogged by gay rumors and accusations that he suffers from delusions of grandeur connected to his faith in Scientology. Plus, he's...not tall. …
Review: Neil Young Journeys
Jonathan Demme returns to the concert documentary, this time capturing a late-career solo show from the man who famously sang, "It's better to burn out than to fade away." (Appropriately, it's a bookend playlist, with most of the songs hailing …
Review: Savages
Oliver Stone’s latest “just say yes” endeavor is reminiscent of his work on Scarface. The only shock being 30 years later the brutal killing and graphic dismemberment is now performed in the name of blowing weed, not snorting coke. Aaron …
The Best Movie Theater in San Diego Just Got Better
The July 4th showtimes for Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 indicated a major change. How can a theatre that has only one digital projector present 3D screenings of The Amazing Spider-Man at noon and 1 pm? The line stretched down 5th …
9th Annual San Diego International Children's Film Festival to Screen Over 100 Short Films
The San Diego International Children's Film Festival returns for its 9th season with the promise of over 100 short films (from 20 different countries) for the entire family. Programs combine animated, live-action, and documentary shorts and are arranged for different …
Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
Generation Y gets its web-slinger, and as cash-grab reboots go, it’s not bad. This time, high-school dweeb Peter Parker isn’t such a nice guy at the outset: he’s a New Yorker, after all, and on top of that, he’s an …
Raging MGM Sues Jake LaMotta and Makers of Bull Sequel
When asked what He thought about the proposed sequel to Raging Bull, Marty told GQ's Logan Hill, "I have no idea. That's the second time I've heard it. The Argentinian director? Hill assured Marty that Raging Bull II would indeed …
Happy Fourth from Katy Perry!
In honor of her upcoming film, Katy Perry: Part of Me (opening tomorrow!), Katy Perry has put together a little collage of things Katy Perry has worn on certain particular parts of her. And because today is the fourth of …
Learn Beginning Screenwriting at the Media Arts Center
Glenn Heath, film critic for Slant Magazine and programmer at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, will be holding a beginning screenwriting class at the Media Arts Center. No previous experience is required. All you need is an idea for …
Sarah Polley's Latest Sparks Interest in Godfather Prequel?
Sarah Polley's brilliant new romantic comedy, Take This Waltz, opens Friday exclusively at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas and already there is talk about it spawning a Godfather prequel. Are they trying to make Jack Woltz look ridiculous? No one, especially a …
Review: Ted
The first thing one notices about Ted is the flat TV lighting. There's not a shadow as far as the eye can't see. It's the anti-3D: instead of paying a $4.00 surcharge for stereoscopic glasses, theatres should lop a few …
Review: Madea's Witness Protection
In their heyday, Eugene Levy and the satirically contemptuous gang at SCTV would have had a field day gutting formulaic mixed-message trafficker, Tyler Perry. Standout comedic supporting players gotta’ eat, too, but does Perry own compromising Polaroids of Levy with …