Cinema File Podcast

The rest of the world may just think of Athens as a music town, but those of us who live here and love movies know different. Each year, Ciné makes sure that film isn't excluded from the proceedings at the AthFest Music & Arts Festival.

16-06-2011 (18.95 MB)

‘Super 8' heroes not the comic book kind

‘Super 8' heroes not the comic book kind

09-06-2011 (15.06 MB)

The Cinema File's top 5 of 2011

The Cinema File's top 5 of 2011

26-05-2011 (17.32 MB)

'Troll Hunter': Most likely funny on accident

Of course I've seen "Bridesmaids." It was the funniest movie I've seen all year, and I'll probably catch it again while it's still in theaters. Last weekend, I saw "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides"

19-05-2011 (18.26 MB)

051911 cinema file

051911 cinema file

12-05-2011 (20.58 MB)

Seamless transition from Shakespeare to ‘Thor'

As it turns out, it took Shakespeare to finally make this kind of film work properly. With Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor's dad, characters speak with corny thunder and purpose as if they're on stage at the Globe.

27-04-2011 (18.01 MB)

‘Saw' creators opt for suspense over gore

Before seeing this film, I had to look up the word “insidious” in the dictionary. It means “proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.”

20-04-2011 (21.95 MB)

A cravin' for the old Craven

“Scream 4,” though better written and more engaging than any of its predecessors, is weak sauce.

13-04-2011 (21.39 MB)

‘Hanna' has what many other films lack

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan from “The Lovely Bones”) is a 16-year-old girl raised by her father Erik (Eric Bana) in the snow-covered wilds of Finland to be a powerful assassin.

10-04-2011 (18.01 MB)

Happy Birthday to Ciné, an Athens gem

The first time I saw one of my own films projected on the big screen at Athens' Ciné, I thought I was going to puke.

23-03-2011 (17.18 MB)

Shearer on Shearer: The Katrina coverup

Hary Shearer's latest effort, a documentary feature he wrote and directed titled “The Big Uneasy,” is eliciting a markedly different response from audiences.

16-03-2011 (14.93 MB)

A few films worth getting excited about

Confession: I haven't been to the movies in two weeks. I'm experiencing a kind of apathetic feeling about my choices of late and have retreated to the comforts of home with classics like “The Odd Couple” and “Orgy of the Dead.”

09-03-2011 (10.78 MB)

‘Tired' of the same old stuff? Give ‘Rubber' a spin

If you go to the movies as often as I do, you start to feel a little bit starved for originality. That's where films like “Rubber” come in.

02-03-2011 (9.16 MB)

Nicolas Cage makes bad so good

Critics often toss the term “whore” at Nicolas Cage because it seems like he'll play just about any role offered to him.

17-02-2011 (15.28 MB)

A posthumous nod to ‘Blood Feast' producer

David F. Friedman, producer of nearly 50 movies in his lifetime (his name is associated with numerous cult masterpieces), passed away this week at the age of 87.

10-02-2011 (11.34 MB)

'60s cult movie star Tura Satana dies at 72

Note from The Cinema File: As a devoted fan of cult cinema and vocal supporter of women in film, I was heartbroken to learn of Tura Satana's recent passing.

03-02-2011 (15.46 MB)

Debbie Gibson vs. Tiffany in latest SyFy cheesefest

Trashing a SyFy Channel Original Movie is like shooting Mega Fish in a Barreloid. It's a given that these films are made on the super-cheap, the performances will be hit or miss, and the special effects are going to look like they were done on an Atari.

26-01-2011 (12.22 MB)

Someday Carrey will get his Academy Award

The 2011 Academy Award nominees were announced this week, and once again, Jim Carrey wasn't one of them. I was almost certain that he'd been nominated at least once during the span of his career, but couldn't find any evidence of it happening.

20-01-2011 (12.65 MB)

‘Green Hornet' just weird enough to create buzz

I'm old enough to remember the public excitement over Tim Burton's 1989 big-screen take on “Batman.”

12-01-2011 (12.66 MB)

‘Witch' not bad enough to be good

Nicolas Cage's latest movie “Season of the Witch” (not to be confused with “Halloween 3: Season of the Witch” or George Romero's unrelated 1972 film) originally was supposed to come out back in March, but was pushed back to October and then finally to Jan

05-01-2011 (17.71 MB)

Noteworthy films that didn't make the top 10 list

Last week, I published my top 10 favorite movies of 2010.

29-12-2010 (15.36 MB)

Cinema File's Top 10 of 2010

2010 was an unprecedented year for sequels, remakes and comic book and video game adaptations.

22-12-2010 (14.57 MB)

Breathtaking beauty and brutality in ‘Black Swan'

Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky's previous movie, 2008's “The Wrestler,” focused on a battered, lion-hearted gladiator who destroyed himself in the ring night after night because it was all he knew.

15-12-2010 (13.91 MB)

'Love and Other Drugs' doesn't overdo it

It's that time of year when the multiplexes fill with one of two kinds of films: prepackaged “tent pole” blockbusters looking to appeal to the widest possible demographic, and the small handful of Oscar hopefuls Athens is fortunate enough to get before th

08-12-2010 (14.6 MB)