Also opening this week
Even though we never got a chance to see it, we really should mention The Man with the Iron Fists: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7l3okIqnCg
Opening this week
Surprise! Scott Marks busts out four stars - four stars! - for The Sessions. The John Hawkes Ascension continues apace. The big boys this week? Meh. Wreck-It Ralph is racking up plenty of acclaim, but I think it's a really …
Overheard at the La Jolla screening for Flight
"Denzel Boo-TAY!" I think it's safe to say that this particular critic/appreciator of Denzel booty was disappointed by what the film actually delivered. The booty in question plays the fool, not the hero.
Disney and Lucasfilm: envisioning the future
Mr. Marks handled the news beautifully. I don't have much to add, except to say that I chuckled when Lucas said, "It occurred to me one day that the perfect person to take over the company was Kathy. It's just …
A closer look at the posters for Skyfall and Lincoln
I dunno, guys — some people are all, "Hey, that's in pretty poor taste," but I'm feeling like there's maybe something to work with here... James Bond...Britain's greatest living weapon...sent back in time...to assassinate George Washington and the rest of …
A closer look at the trailer for The Tall Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_QqA0sDMec&feature=watch-vrec Wow. That was unscary. The only reason for noticing? One more for the ever-growing gallery of horror-film creepy-children's art. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/26/34407/
EXCLUSIVE, BABY: First on-set photo from Arnold's new Conan film!
Other websites have already reported that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be strapping on the ol' loincloth and once more taking up the savage sword of Conan. I couldn't be more pleased. I love a good legend-past-his-prime flick, as long as it …
A closer look at the posters for Rise of the Guardians
Um, guys? If they pull this one off, I'll eat my spun-sugar hat. It starts off okay...I like the "more than a myth" line at the top, the way it harkens to his Norse heritage. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/24/34318/ But it quickly goes...awry. …
Bert Fields, a Hollywood lawyer on the side of America's good taste
Ageless movie star Tom Cruise is suing the publishers of Life & Style and InTouch for suggesting that he has abandoned his daughter Suri. That's all well and good, but the real news comes from Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, a …
A closer look at the trailer for Animal Farm
Okay, I lied a little - the latest iteration of Animal Farm doesn't have a trailer yet. But yesterday's Internet was all abuzz over Andy Serkis' announcement that he intended to direct a motion capture version of George Orwell's famous …
A closer look at the poster for The Hobbit
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33866/ Ha, ha, look at those dwarves! Such funny-looking fellows, with their bulbous noses and their huge beards and their...waitaminute. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33867/ Looks like somebody's been dwarfscaping with the sheep shears again.
A closer look at the trailer for The Croods
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ4QJCjvN8c "I get it, Dad. I will never do anything new or different." "Good man, Thunk." This, this is why Red Staters say that Hollywood hates America. Never leave the cave! First animated film to reference Platonic imagery, or just …
Also playing!
Goodness, but there are a lot of movies out there. Halloween, just in time for Halloween! No, not the new Halloween, the old Halloween. The one with the William Shatner mask. Terrifying. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/19/33850/ High Noon! Either the most American or …
Opening this week - UPDATED
A bit of an odd week; still, let's have at it. Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead get drunk in Smashed, but while the film shows the downside of having your wife be your best drinking buddy (especially when she …
A closer look at the trailer for Cloud Atlas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s Set faces to quizzical, Mr. Hanks: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/18/33814/ And if the guy who fell in love with the script looks this confused, what hope is there for the rest of us? And by the by, Mr. Hanks, it's not the …
The Dark Knight and Apple Maps
I don't care that this has already been posted on every site everywhere. It made me laugh, and so I'm posting it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llyq-zyE-wU&feature=relmfu
Sam Raimi and the Raping Tree
Hey kids! Did you know that the director of Spider-Man — no, not that Spider-Man, the first one, with Tobey and Kirsten — got his start with a little low-budget horror-gore film called The Evil Dead? It's true! And of …
A closer look at Brad Pitt's ad for Chanel No. 5
Bear with me on this one, people... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGs4CjeJiJQ&feature=player_embedded Astonishingly, folks are calling movie star Brad Pitt's ad for Chanel No. 5 "nonsensical," and not just because it's a man pitching a woman's fragrance. For many, the nonsense stems from the …
A closer look at the trailer for Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWrZmD0AN4 A few thoughts: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/15/33572/ Man, I had no idea Michelle Williams needed the work this badly. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/15/33573/ Man, Andrew McCarthy isn't aging too well, is he? http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/15/33574/ Man, I had no idea Sean Bean needed the work this badly. …
Seven Psychopaths: question for discussion
So don't even bother with this until after you've seen the film. But after you've seen the film — you know, when you're enjoying a snifter of XO Cognac by the fire and busting out your back issues of Les …