My Own Personal Summer Blockbuster

While I'm sure there's plenty to say -- good or bad -- about Baz Luhrmann's glitzy 3-D version of "The Great Gatsby," I'm staying mum. Same goes for "Star Trek into Darkness," "Frances Ha" and all the other movies coming out this summer that would surely appear on my review schedule.

Instead of spending my summer evenings inside of a movie theater, notebook in hand, I'll be settling in to what will undoubtedly be an overpriced, undersized San Francisco studio apartment and preparing for the early morning shuttle ride down the peninsula to my new job at Google. Considering that the movie houses didn't let me bring my dog to work, and they never once provided me with a catered meal, I think I'm coming out a winner on this one. 

Of course, I'll also get to work for a company that is, as cheesy as it sounds, inventing the future. Alright, fine. As a technical writer, I won't exactly be the one churning out the killer code that makes the future a reality, but I will be responsible for helping the rest of us figure out how to use it. I couldn't be more excited, both for the career shift and the location leap. I've always wanted to live in San Francisco.

Will I miss reviewing movies? Did you really have to ask that? Of course I will.   

But I won't miss trying to cram a film critic's job into a few nights per week and most of my weekends, which I've been doing ever since I started freelancing for U-T San Diego in January 2010. I spent business hours (at least until 5pm today) in a cozy, double-wide trailer on the UCSD Extension campus, where I've been happily employed as University of California Television's communications director since 2003. (I can't yet bring myself to officially say goodbye to the job and the people on this blog.)

Just like when I decided to leave L.A. and the entertainment business behind in 1999, movies will once again become my hobby. Sure, I'll have to get to the theater early to make sure I get a good seat, suffer through the commercials and eardrum-busting previews and, of course, buy a ticket. But at least I can put the notebook down and pick up a handful of popcorn instead.

Of course, if I feel so inclined, I can always write about the movies I see on my blog. Just like everyone else.

I'm eager to see where all of this new found free time will take me. My plan is to resume my own writing projects, which have been on hold since I signed on with the U-T. If you're interested, I'll be posting updates right here. 

And just in case you start missing me, I will have one more story running in the U-T in June. It's my SXSW interview with Joss Whedon about his micro-budget  summer release, "Much Ado About Nothing."

Until then, enjoy your San Diego summer. While you're soaking up the sunshine, I'll be in San Francisco, adjusting to what it's like to wear a jacket in July.

Teenage Filmmakers, Latino Film and Monopoly? You Bet!

I'm happy to say that I have three LOCAL film-related stories in today's Union-Tribune. San Diego may be just a short drive away from Los Angeles (well, short in theory), but there are people--very sane ones, in opinion--who are making careers for themselves right here. You'll find all my articles of this nature in the Feature Articles section on the left side of this blog.

But to get right to it, here's what you'll find in today's paper:

Photo: San Diego Union-Tribune

"Life Through a Teenage Lens," a profile of the San Diego Media Arts Center's Teen Producers Project, now in its 10th year.








Highlights from the 18th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival, which runs March 10-20 at UltraStar Cinemas in Mission Valley (and is produced by the SD Media Arts Center). More at sdlatinofilm.com

Review of  "Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story," a documentary produced by San Diego filmmakers Kevin Tostado and Craig Bentley, which opens today (March 4) at UltraStar Cinemas in Mission Valley.

Now get out there and support our local filmmakers - and have a happy weekend!

Review: The Green Hornet (1/2 star)

Jay Chou (left) as Kato, sidekick to
Seth Rogen's "The Green Hornet"

Well now I just feel like a big meanie. I stand by every word in my harsh review "The Green Hornet" but, after reading the "reviews" by the sweet middle school girls on the U-T's movie panel, I am reminded how long-dead that kid inside me is. The kid who just showed up at the cineplex and darn well liked whatever movie gave me the chance to hang out with my friends for a few hours and eat candy without any parental disturbance. Of course, movies didn't cost two weeks' allowance back then -- and walking up that hill barefoot in the snow was also kind of a drag.

For any discerning grownups out there, go see Mike Leigh's "Another Year," which opens in San Diego this weekend. Or just rent "Kick Ass" if you're in the mood to let off a little pubescent steam without feeling entirely insulted.

Reviews: "Somewhere" and "Blue Valentine"

Talk about opposite ends of the opinion spectrum. This week I reviewed Derek Cianfrance's "Blue Valentine" (3 1/2 stars), an intense look at the disintegration of a marriage, and "Somewhere" (1 star), Sofia Coppola's blank stare at a privileged movie star (Stephen Dorff) hanging out in the same room as his perfectly pleasant daughter (Elle Fanning).

I relished "Blue Valentine," though wasn't surprised in the least to see that the Union-Tribune's two "citizen critics" (regular folks who share their opinions alongside mine) absolutely hated it. The relationship between Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling's characters isn't easy to watch, and you don't entirely like how they behave either. But real relationships aren't always as lovable as a Jennifer Aniston rom-com and I can see how a feature length sit-down with the truth about love's failings could inspire a strong negative reaction for some people. As for me, I thrive on films that are able to portray some truths about the human experience--even if you don't exactly like what you see.

Unfortunately for me, I had to sit through "Somewhere" twice-- first when I got the screener in November to see if it was worthy of Best of 2010 consideration (wrote off that idea in the first 10 minutes), and again this month when I decided to review it. Now I think I deserve some sort of hazard pay, but at least Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) is a pleasure to watch-- even if she's reduced to a wisp of character.

This weekend, I'm hitting the Gaslamp theater to revel in the craziness of Dogtooth. Hope to see you all there!

True Grit; Closing out the Year

This week's review of "True Grit" (3 stars) brings my critical year to a close. Hard to believe I only started with the Union-Tribune  in January! Since then, I've managed to cram in 72 reviews and five feature stories (the final one, about the San Diego Christian Film Festival, is in today's paper). I also appeared in four pre-Oscar TV spots for Channel 10, where I did a spectacularly poor job of predicting the winners, but not too shabby on the teleprompter if you ask me! (This was during the bizarre period of time before the paper hired its new editor-in-chief. I don't think we'll be repeating this strange exercise for 2011, though who knows?)

I also became a member of the San Diego Film Critics Society this year, which meant I took part in my first DVD screener deluge (awesome!) and gave my two cents during our recent voting session, which yielded some interesting results for Best of 2010.

I also found my rhythm as a freelance writer with a full time day job. I don't get to review nearly as many films as I'd like and, now that I have a handle on what I can do without losing my mind, I'm hoping to cover more independent films in my 2011. Hollywood has done little to earn the amount of attention it gets (from me and everyone else) and, although I will still review the mainstream movies when appropriate, I will make the necessary adjustments to my schedule so that I can cover  films that may be more deserving of your attention--even if they don't  have the marketing budget to buy it.

I've also got my eyes and ears open for potential stories about local film festivals, filmmakers and events so drop me a line if you have a suggestion. Looks like the San Diego Black Film Festival and San Diego Jewish Film Festival are first up in the queue and I'm eager to see what they have to offer.

So those are my New Year's resolutions-- when it comes to movies anyway. What are yours?

I'm hoping to get a Top 10 list posted before we say so long to what has been a pretty crappy year (for film and for the world). Here's hoping we've got nowhere to go but up in 2011.