Guns no longer kill movie stars, bows and arrows do. The trusty lightsaber and .44 Magnum have gone the way of the slingshot. With Katniss Everdeen and Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton leading the charge, this year's PG-13 death-instrument of choice is …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/31/25381/ Whoa...what day is it? No, seriously. I seem to have fallen into some kind of wormhole. My first effort this week is for a film that opened last Friday: Chernobyl Diaries. Not that you're missing much. But if you …

"The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien's DNA." - Ridley Scott, on his not-quite-an-Alien-prequel Prometheus Keen fan, you say? Hello, Internet! I'm getting a huge kick out of the notion that Dan O'Bannon's original script for Alien — a …

Somewhere in heaven Billy Barty and Meinhardt Raabe are shaking their wee fists. When Little Oscar heard the news, he swerved the Wienermobile off an embankment while on his way to christen a new Piggly Wiggly in Littlestown, PA. Eight …

Okay, look. Blogging is hard, you know? [Cue tiny violins.] Some days, the infinite glories of the Internet just leave a fellow numb - too much information, man. On those days, he's liable to go into a kind of fugue …

My favorite cinematic memory involving an insurance salesman comes from Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run. After complaining about the cruel manner in which he and fellow convicts are treated while working on a chain-gang, Allen is tortured by …

What do you get when the San Diego Jewish Film Festival joins forces with the San Diego Latino Film Festival to put on a show? No, not carne asada knishes, but the 2nd annual Jewish Latino Film Series! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/29/25125/ The …

Kidding. We know what you're doing tonight. You're going to honor those who have died in the service of our country by going to see Top Gun. Downer fare like The Best Years of Our Lives can wait until Veteran's …

Regarding my cover story on San Diego's Ten Best Movie Theatres, Ken Harrison writes: "OMG! How could writer Scott Marks miss Encinitas’s iconic La Paloma Theatre in his top ten picks of local theaters? His number one pick, Reading Cinemas …

Have to run to a screening, so I'll keep this short and sweet, and just point you toward Mr. Elliott's latest assessments. Men in Black III? "Again the aim is pure diversion, and again the packaging is stylish...The love of …

Look, I'm not saying that the above juxtaposition indicates that Bane and Batman are going to engage in a car-surfing competition for the key to Gotham City in the single greatest homage to the chickie-run scene in Rebel Without A …

Cold-blooded. But really, Zac should've known better than to come sniffing around Leo's turf... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24934/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24936/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24937/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24939/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24940/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24942/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24943/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/24/24944/

The 14th Annual FilmOut Sandiego LGBT Film Festival returns to the Birch North Park Theatre next week for five days of parties and premiers. Thom Fitzgerald's Cloudburst opens the festival. The romantic comedy stars Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as …

A Seattle-area moviegoer, pushed to the limit by a rowdy 10-year-old boy, has been charged with felony assault for allegedly taking a poke at the kid. It began at on April 11 at 10:30 p.m. when Kent police received a …

...though perhaps not in quite the way you'd expect. Saw these posters for What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Pirates! Band of Misfits side by side at Reading Carmel Valley... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/23/24866/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/23/24867/ Hey! If you recast T&A as …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/23/24864/ So, you know, don't read if you don't care about superhero movies, or if you haven't seen The Avengers and don't want to know anything about anything that happens... But remember that scene on the S.H.I.E.L.D. sky-ship thingy where …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mTIE4D9JM Cute word association, 007. Very cute. Very remunerative, as well. Country - England Gun - Shot Agent - Provocateur http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/23/24863/

Billy Wilder and Marilyn Monroe aren't the only instantly recognizable icons to grace the front of one of four stamps honoring "Great Film Directors" issued by the United States Postal Service. Look carefully and you'll notice another legend, the Hotel …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/22/24821/ Chances are you weren't familiar with the name Eugene Polley when the newscaster announced his death over this morning's coffee. Without his invention, chances are Americans would have been forced to take in a little more exercise as they …

Your first hint is that his hockey jersey looks much more like a wizard's robe than an actual hockey jersey. Your second hint is body language. Sure, it sounds like he's talking about his upcoming movie-chat show Spoilers, but let's …

One of our most popular website features in years is my Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen series, with scans of an incredible collection of original artwork and proof prints that I once archived for local memorabilia dealer Duane …

...when she told you, "Handsome is as handsome does." Seriously, it does not pay to be blandly handsome, even in a chiseled sort of amazing way. Just ask Garrett Hedlund and Taylor Kitsch... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24718/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24719/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24720/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24721/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24722/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/21/24723/ Meanwhile, …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/18/24642/ Earlier this week The Big Screen reported that Rebecca Tolin's documentary short Chicks in the City didn't make the cut at this year's SDSU Filmmaker's Showcase. It is my great pleasure to announce that despite the fact that it …

Harrison Ford is what, 85 now? Cue the obvious joke... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/18/24637/ p.s. Yes, I do think I should get extra gag points for using crazy-Catwoman Sean Young...

Fun with the poster for Prometheus... Something about the way Robot Fassbender is standing just seemed to cry out for this. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/18/24625/

Well, when Scott Marks takes time to sling some arrows at Katy Perry, it's hard not to get in on the outrageous fortune. Especially when she makes it so easy... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/18/24623/ from "Piercing" by Katy Hudson ** from "E.T." by …

Count Floyd here, kids, telling you that next week on Monster Chiller Horror Theatre we have a film so scary that pus will fall in buckets from your eyes! No, not Blood Sucking Monkeys from West Mifflin, PA or 3-D …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/17/24595/ John Rubio describes First Position as a film that follows "the lives of several aspiring ballet dancers from around the globe (ages 9 to 19) as they train for the Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious dance competition in …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/17/24584/ I first visited Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15 while the theatre was still operating under the Pacific Theatres banner. It was 1999 during a visit to San Diego to audition for the job of film curator at MoPA. What better …

At first glance, I would have to say no. But then I saw this picture over at MovieFanatic.com, and read the caption... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/17/24579/ "Taylor Kitsch stars in Battleship. The actor is featured as a Navy man seeking Liam Neeson's Admiral's …

Sorry to have been away so long, but I moved and had no end of trouble getting the internet activated. They don't call them Cox for nothing. Battleship sank me in more ways than one. I have this trick knee …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/16/24523/ "Damn, John, that is some wiry pubic hair. Like, steel wool wiry. You could wash the grease trap at a barbecue with that." You know, the nastiest part of this RadarOnline report isn't when they say that a fourth …

A Godfather prequel? What a great idea! What a pity they already made it; it's called the DeNiro segment of Godfather Part II. Still, everybody loves young people and origin stories, so let's start casting, shall we? Of course, the …

Hey, remember how Tony Stark thinks AC/DC is really badass music that demonstrates his technological kickassery and bad-boy rootin'-tootin' fighting-guy excellence? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o1wind1iUc&feature=relmfu In other, totally unrelated news, Battleship opens Friday! Okay, I'll stop now.

Hey, remember that one line that kept showing up in Star Wars? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drkh0YLF8rI In other, totally unrelated news, Battleship opens Friday!

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/16/24512/ "I understand if you feel a bit uncomfortable right now. I just did to you what I'm going to do to the American theatergoing public on Friday." John Rubio is back in the critic's chair this week, and so …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/16/24511/ File under: News you can use! In this week's Reader, my esteemed co-blogger Scott Marks offers an excellent guide to the physical act of moviegoing. The thing is, I know he's just scratching the surface with this one, because …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/16/24510/ Oooh, goody - a new feature here at the Big Screen! How many times has this happened to you? You're sitting in a bar, getting your drink on and maybe your snack on, and you're watching the news on …

So I'm driving with my son the other day, and he notices a Porsche 911 on the road, and asks me what sort of car it is. "A nine-eleven," I reply. "Wow," he answers, "why would they name it that?" …

Rebecca Tolin and I first met in 2002 when I guested on an art critics' show she produced for KPBS Television. After a ten year hiatus, two chance meetings reunite us. Rebecca began as a journalist on network TV before …

Have you seen this man? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/14/24353/ I don't know who the nitz on the right is, but the guy on the left is the winner of The Big Screen's trivia contest held last Thursday night at the House of Blues. …

Like millions of others, I’m hooked on Downton Abbey, the deliciously sudsy TV series about an aristocratic family and its servants in early 20th-century England. That Downton’s third season doesn’t begin on PBS until January of 2013 is a deprivation, …

So while I was bopping around for Alien images for the previous post, I stumbled across this amazing bit of VHS, now preserved on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCPOIuJDpok The first half is all about Alien designer H.R. Giger, and is fascinating in …

Look, Shame was not a big movie, but it did help to make Michael Fassbender a big star, or at least it helped the rest of the world see that Michael Fassbender was a big star, or at least, that …

Let’s get something straight from the get-go: I literally grew up in the shadow of Collinwood. The Rhode Island estate that served as the Collins mansion was just down the road from our somewhat less elaborate New England home. When …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/10/24188/ That's Scott Marks front and center. Thanks to all who attended, and to everyone who helped make it possible, and to the House of Blues for their splendid hospitality! Until next year, we remain, your devoted bloggers, M and …

[Viewer discretion is advised.] This: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/10/24159/ "Someday, a magical rain is going to fall, and turn everything into rainbows." http://vimeo.com/37154658 Also this: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/10/24160/ If this scene isn't in the next Tarantino film, then somebody's not trying. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRtiOD7XGvs&feature=player_embedded And this, if …

Happy May Ten! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/24005/ After weeks of preparation the venue is set, the questions written, and the contestants selected and raring to go. Lickona and I even had our clown suits dry cleaned. The doors to the Crossroads Restaurant at …

Did you ever have one of those days where halfway through an interview and it suddenly dawns on you that you know your subject? That's precisely what happened while speaking with Pierce Kavanagh, co-founder of this weekend's inaugural San Diego …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/09/24121/ That's right! They're approximately 3720 to 1, at least according to C-3P0. And while Han Solo never wants you to tell him the odds, we here at the Big Screen are eager to hear your answers to all our …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU-XoWezRww I think it's fair to calls Austin Vickers's film People vs. The State of Illusion an investigation into the human person, conducted for the sake of enlightenment with an eye toward personal improvement. To make the film, Vickers sought …

May 10. Thank God for the rain which has helped wash away the cinephiles and movie mavens off the sidewalks and into the House of Blues for The Big Screen's big anniversary blowout/trivia contest! Reader Andy and I were there …

Brought to you by The Avengers! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/23989/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/23990/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/23991/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/23992/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/07/23995/ Welcome to Hollywood, Hawkeye.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/06/23969/ From the tips of his serrated felt beanie down to his pigeon toed gait, George 'Goober' Lindsey was American television's embodiment of the carefree, slow-witted yokel. Even more than his country cousin Gomer (Jim Nabors), whose frequent basso profundo …

Having been on the receiving end of many a wagging finger, nothing delights me more than when I catch a purported citadel of progressive orthodoxy like the Walt Disney Company with both hands in the politically incorrect cookie jar. The …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/04/23891/ Paul Blevins has a zombie on his back. For years he had been wanting to make a horror movie, but needed a spark. A Halloween gala at a friend's house proved to be the foundation for his dream project. …

Hey ladies! Tired of the unrealistic body images and frustrating stereotypes perpetuated by comic-book representations of your gender? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/04/23870/ Tee hee! Well, The Avengers is here to fix that. No, not by giving you a great heroine in The Black …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/04/23869/ There's an Avengers banner ad above the exits at Edwards Mira Mesa. It's something to see, if only because it's really, really big. But I was much more touched by this homemade display at the ticket booth in Reading …

Hey, look, it's a movie based on a self-help book! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/04/23862/ Ha, ha, pregnancy! Actually, it's pretty amazing that they're making a comedy out of this, because if there's one thing Alien taught us, it's that giving birth is freaking …

There's a delicious freedom in reviewing a movie like The Avengers. Apparently, the oracle has spoken and y'all are going to go see it no matter what. So nothing I write here really matters all that much. Picture a critic …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/03/23832/ Tomorrow night brings San Diego’s one and only screening of this year’s most highly anticipated film, and yet many of you will be wasting your time at The Avengers. The San Diego Asian Film Festival will screen Iranian director …

Not since Tara was torched has a fire in Atlanta drawn this much attention. It took more than 100 firefighters to contain the four-alarm blaze that scorched the backlot screetscape at Tyler Perry Studios. "The 34th St." set, named after …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/02/23786/ "It's okay, Jason. I'm sure he didn't mean that bit about Brendan Fraser." Poor Emily Blunt. Critics want to love her; they really do. Here's me on The Adjustment Bureau: "Despite all the nonsense and leaden pacing, everyone seems …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/02/23782/ "Originally obtained from Michael D. Beinner, Director of Field Advertising and Publicity for Paramount Pictures who was gifted the costume following its promotional tour of several key cities around the U.S. Without doubt, one of the most iconic and …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoCJabxe6zg Sigh. Thank heaven for the Catholic Church, or else who would provide the framework of moral absolutes for true love to dismantle? The trouble starts right in the description: "Suburban supermom Eileen Cleary (Academy Award® nominee Kathleen Turner) has …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/01/23751/ The fabled scow that Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn navigate through John Huston's beloved yarn is once again shipshape, out of drydock, and, my, she is yare. (Yare. Were it not for Katharine Hepburn's Holiday, I might never have …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/01/23703/ While it's not going to do America's oldest (and deadest) teenager much good, a judge ruled that Dick Clark Productions (DCP) does indeed own the broadcast rights to the Golden Globes Awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the …

Uggie, the precious, scene-stealing pooch who wagged his way into the hearts of Oscar voters, is set to release an autobiography in October. Uggie: My Story, an "as told to" memoir, will be transcribed by author and mortal, Wendy Holden. …