Autumn, and there's magic in the air...hey, here's The Illusionist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ojY3IAsO4&feature=related And as you well remember, the Hollywood law of two was in full effect for this one: here's The Prestige? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVTl90m1Auk&feature=related And of course, we all remember the sorcerers …

Aw - who's more adorable? I think it's fair to say that Seven Psychopaths is this week's big winner, no matter how many Oscars Argo winds up winning. Yeah, simultaneously exploiting and subverting the genre has been done before, but …

I love this shot of Natalie Portman on the set of Terrence Malick's Significant Whispers (not its real title). http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33365/ So much effort being expended in the effort to make a beautiful and glamorous Hollywood star look like a slightly …

First shot of Scarlett Johansson in the trailer: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33357/ I mean, I guess it's a step up from her introduction in Lost in Translation, because it is a nice dress... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33358/ And it's certainly reminiscent of her work in The …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT6e0bRbgU8 First reaction: Man, Hannibal Lecter has really let himself go. Maybe it's time to lay off the liver and Chianti, pal. http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33350/ OH SNAP, etc. But seriously, folks: Anthony Hopkins is a distinguished actor who can play high and …

So last week, the Internet was all grumpy about the long-rumored Hungry Hungry Hippos movie actually getting greenlit. Not me, though. Hippos are awesome - simultaneously comical and terrifying. Hungry, hungry hippos? Oh, yeah: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/08/33131/ I mean, that last shot …

So the Reader is 40 today, and to celebrate, they've put their first issue online. As the promo notes, "Among the early writers for the paper were Kathleen Woodward (ex-wife of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward); Jonathan Saville, literature professor …

Seeing Scott's illustration on his Taken 2 review... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/04/32861/ ...reminded me of this shot from 2009's little-seen The International... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/04/32862/ ...which in turn put me in mind of this bit from the upcoming Bond film, Skyfall... http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/04/32864/ At least Bond …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/04/32859/ Okay, so don't probably read this unless you've seen the film and feel like jawing about it... But this piece about how wonderfully smart Looper is stuck in my craw, because... ...why do loopers exist? Because it's so hard …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/01/32628/ I hear he's pretty sensitive about the Crow thing.

This just arrived, FedEx: http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/01/32615/ Let's zoom in on that tag (which is not, of course, censored in the movie): http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/01/32616/ The theft of Woody Harrelson's beloved Shih Tzu is, of course, what serves as the bloody, beating heart of …

Phew! Lots going on, folks! Fall is well and truly upon us. Looper is the hot big release of the week, but it left my colleague Scott cold. Pity. I'm a Rian Johnson fan - even liked Brothers Bloom. On …

That hat! Solomon Kane was the creation of Robert E. Howard, the fantasy writer who gave the world Conan the Barbarian. Kane was that oddest of things, a Puritan superhero, a spiritually pure counterpart to Conan's physical perfection. Lo, these …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/27/32337/ Stephen Chbosky, left, on the set of the film. The coming-of-age film The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on the bestselling YA novel by Stephen Chbosky, hits theaters Friday. To promote the film, the publicity department sent out …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32284/ http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/sep/26/32283/ On (in?) the other hand, three times would make it a trend! But seriously, tonight marks the opening of the San Diego Film Festival, which bigger than ever this year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxIemUNRKw

Kids today, right? With their podcasts and their internet radio. They'll never understand the courage and determination of a pirate deejay like Christian Slater in Pump Up the Volume: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw12iur4CPU&feature=related Nor, I suppose, will they be able to sympathize with …

Look, I didn't choose the blog life, the blog life chose me. So yeah, I'm supposed to be doing other stuff, important stuff - analyzing trailers, reviewing movies, eating chicken and waffles, etc. etc. But instead, I'm posting this collage …

Surprise, surprise, I liked The Master. I'm a sucker for alienated vets with a predilection for booze and women. I also liked Step Up to the Plate. I'm a sucker for father-son issues being worked out in an atmosphere of …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5bvK-pMzJM&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1 When you're taking a children's book and stretching it into a nine-hour film, you naturally want to avoid the kind of ponderous seriousness that bogs things down. Happily, you've got a natural source of comic relief in dwarves. Sure, …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgr2syY_OU4 You can see it, right? Javier Bardem's inspiration? It's amazing, the finest homage I've seen one actor pay another in a long time. Here, Bardem is, well, he's being John Malkovich. That pursed-lip sneer, that supercilious delivery in the …