Cinema Junkie

Awards season is in full swing so it must be time to make a Ten Best List and hand out some awards.

For some, "Star Wars" is a way of life and the arrival of a new movie set in a galaxy far, far away is cause for both great excitement and great concern. A group of "Star Wars" fans rent a van and drive up to Los Angeles for the opening night of "Episode VII: The Force Awakens."

After much anticipation and build up, J.J. Abrams "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has finally screened and fans can breathe a big sigh of relief.

Kent Jones dropped out of film school but then started working in Martin Scorsese's office. That led to a series of documentaries on movies. Now Jones talks about "Hitchcock/Truffaut" (opening at Landmark's Ken Cinema).

This year is turning out to be a good one for older actresses. Cynthia Nixon talks about her role in the new independent film “James White” (opened Dec. 4 at Arclight La Jolla).

John Waters – the self-proclaimed "Pope of Trash" and "People’s Pervert" – returns to San Diego (Nov. 30 at The Observatory North Park) for the John Waters Christmas Tour 2015.

Italian film composer Fabio Frizzi made his first tour of the U.S. this year with a tribute concert to director Lucio Fulci called Frizzi 2 Fulci. I saw the concert in L.A. last month and caught up with Frizzi in Wales for my first overseas Cinema Junkie podcast.

In a year when I was breathlessly awaiting a new Bond film and a promising "Star Wars" installment, "Trumbo" (opening Friday throughout San Diego) was the film that in some ways I was most excited about because it combined so many elements I love.

The San Diego Asian Film Festival celebrates its sweet 16 this year. Artistic director Brian Hu talked about programming the festival and highlights some festival offerings.

Bond. James Bond. My obsession with 007 began as a child and I continue to thrill at the new films, including the latest "SPECTRE."

Last week I gave you a tease of my Cinema Junkie podcast about the first film people remember scaring them, now listen to more memories including some horror celebrities.

Feminist western barely qualifies as a subgenre since there are so few entries but "The Keeping Room" offers a strong entry.

This week's horror-themed October Cinema Junkie podcast pays tribute to "Re-Animator The Musical."

It's all about obedience and madness with reviews of "The Experimenter" and National Theatre Live's "Hamlet" with Benedict Cumberbatch.

This week's horror-themed edition of the KPBS Cinema Junkie Podcast looks at "The Babadook" through the eyes of a psychoanalyst.

Guillermo del Toro returns to the realm of ghosts for his gothic romance, "Crimson Peak."

If you have ever had the secret desire to look through medical books with their explicit photos of disease, deformities and medical science, then I have the perfect thing for you.

This week's Cinema Junkie podcast looks to the new horror film "Goodnight Mommy" that hails from Austria.

All the hype this week is focused on "The Martian" (opening Oct. 2 throughout San Diego), but there are plenty of other film choices for this weekend.

An archive interview with Clive Barker from 2005 launches a month of horror themed podcasts on Cinema Junkie.

The 14th Annual San Diego Film Festival will hand out its tribute awards on Saturday, with Brit Marling receiving its Auteur Award.

A wrap-up from last weekend's Son of Monsterpalooza Convention in Burbank with a trio of interviews.

Let's talk anime. "Cowboy Bebop" is my all-time favorite anime and this Saturday the Ken Cinema is showing the movie as it’s midnight film. If you have never seen an anime before then make this the one to pop your cherry.

Tenor Rene Barbera talks about opera, breathing, and heavy metal as we take a field trip outside the world of film.

If you grew up in the 1980s then you probably saw a Cannon Film like “Lifeforce,” “Missing in Action,” or “Death Wish 2.” The new documentary “Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films” chronicles the crazy history of this indie film company.