‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’ will polarize audiences

Some will find Stephen Daldry’s new 9/11 film incredibly cathartic, others incredibly exploitative

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is precisely the sort of movie I usually dislike. But I let myself be taken on the film’s emotional journey, and while I understand charges of exploitation, I didn’t experience that at all.

Wednesday, January 11,2012
Film

Meryl Streep makes ‘The Iron Lady’ a bit better

The Margaret Thatcher biopic heads our rundown of all the movies showing around town

By Anders Wright

Satire aside, The Onion pretty much nailed it recently when it summed up Meryl Streep with the one-line caption “Court Rules Meryl Streep Unable to be Tried by Jury as She Has No Peers.”

Wednesday, January 11,2012
Film

There’s a lot of talent in Roman Polanski’s new one-room picture

But even Jodie Foster’s, Kate Winslet’s, Christoph Waltz’s and the director’s Oscars can’t make it more of a play than a film

By Anders Wright

No one can hurt someone more than the people they love, and that’s what’s at the heart of Roman Polanski’s new film, Carnage.

Wednesday, January 4,2012
Film

‘El Bulli’ is a must-see for foodies

Documentary about shuttered culinary institution tops our rundown of movies showing around town

By Anders Wright

El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, the new documentary from Gereon Wetzel opening at the Ken Cinema on Friday, Jan 6, goes inside the kitchen and strategy sessions of what was generally considered one of the most important restaurants in the world.

Wednesday, January 4,2012
Film

Let’s hope it gets better for the lesbian teenager in Pariah

Adepero Oduye’s performance stands out in this Sundance success story

By Anders Wright

In many ways, Pariah—opening Friday, Jan. 6, at Hillcrest Cinemas—is a story we’ve seen before—a shy teenager dealing with spring awakening while in conflict with his or her family. But while the subject matter is similar, the specifics—an urban African-American teen lesbian—are not.

Wednesday, December 28,2011
Film

It’s an ‘Outrage’!

The latest from writer-director-star Takeshi Kitano tops our rundown of movies showing around town

By Anders Wright

There’s a bit of Macbeth and a bit of The Godfather to be found here, though it’s certainly not as epic as either of those.

Wednesday, December 28,2011
Film

My favorite movies of 2011

‘The Descendants,’ ‘Of Gods and Men’ and ‘The Tree of Life’ are three of the best

Some people try to come up with the “best” films of the year. Me? I just pick my favorites—movies that move me artistically or emotionally or simply provide me with some bang-bang entertainment. Oh, and this top-10 list? It goes up to 11.

Wednesday, December 21,2011
Film

David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is better-crafted than the Swedish adaptation

The new movie is well-written and well-acted, too

By Anders Wright

Director David Fincher is deservedly regarded as one of the best directors working today, whereas you probably can’t even name the guy who crafted the Swedish one.

Tuesday, December 20,2011
Film

You’ll soon be hearing a lot about the new film The Artist

It’s the silent movie about the silent-movie star whose life falls apart when audiences no longer want the sound of silence

By Anders Wright

I might have preferred a little more tragedy to melodrama, but comparing this film with those others is probably unfair. The Artist—opening Friday, Dec. 23—is a fully realized vision; the black-and-white is gorgeous, and the title could refer as much to the filmmaker as it could its subject.

Wednesday, December 14,2011
Film

The game is afoot—again—in ‘Sherlock Holmes’ sequel

‘A Game of Shadows’ tops our rundown of movies showing around town

By Anders Wright

Yes, Guy Ritchie’s direction is flashy, and there are some nicely designed action sequences to suit the action-comedy duo of Holmes and Watson.

Arts & Culture Features

‘Warehouse 1425’ art show: creativity and controversy

Organizer of May 17 exhibition in East Village fends off criticism

If the event sounds familiar, there’s a reason. Unsolicited emails from people in the local art community have been sent to CityBeat blasting the show as a rip-off of Parachute Factory.

By Alex Zaragoza

Device adoption

Suddenly, I’m an Apple guy with no need for Glass

I liken Google Glass to Nintendo's "Virtual Boy," which was rolled out in 1995. We were promised the first 3-D, virtual-reality game system, but when I visited Blockbuster Video to try out a pair, I was unimpressed.

By Dave Maass

Simon Pegg goes where some have gone before in ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’

Shaun of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ explains what it means to be on the Starship Enterprise

Star Trek Into Darkness is the latest movie to warp its way into the fray, and it's got big shoes to fill.

By Anders Wright

Canvassed

Latvian artist Jana Brike at Distinction, a fundraiser for Girls Think Tank in Balboa Park and more goings-on

Digable artJana Brike grew up in Latvia in the 1980s, during the Soviet occupation, the influence of which permeates her artwork. There's a subversiveness to her fairy-tale-like images, and th...

An oral history of Joseph Yamada

The Cultural Landscape Foundation schools folks on the modernist landscape architect

Many people might not know the name Joseph Yamada, but San Diegans definitely know his work. The famed modernist landscape architect is responsible for some of the city's most iconic landmarks, includ...