Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
Community, Diversity, Sustainability and other Overused Words
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Pixar Animation Studios has done it again. Not only have they delivered what should prove to be the indisputable Best Animated Feature Academy Award winner come February 28, 2016, but a hot contender as an overall Best Picture nominee with INSIDE OUT. Breaking new ground with storytelling and technology, while retaining the hallmarks of what makes Pixar great, director Pete Docter and the Pixar team boldly go where no one has gone before - into the mind of an 11-year old...
While my love and admiration for Joss Whedon and the World of Whedon (not to mention the "Avengers" and that irascible Tony Stark aka Robert Downey, Jr.) knows no bounds, when it comes to AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, I have to admit that from a story standpoint and the execution thereof, the Russo Brothers still reign as the current kings in the Marvel world thanks to their inspired direction of "Captain America: Winter Soldier". I know, I know. Shocker to hear from this lover of...
Christina Noble is a name many may not know but after seeing NOBLE, thanks to not only the subject of the film, but the well crafted storytelling of writer/director Stephen Bradley and indelible life-affirming performances by Dierdre O'Kane, Sarah Greene and Gloria Cramer Curtis as Christina Noble at various points in time, you will not only want to know the name, but the woman. An amazing woman. An inspiring story. A powerful and moving film. Christina Noble was born in the...
Let's just get it out there now so there's no mistaking. Nicholas Sparks is Nicholas Sparks is Nicholas Sparks. You know what you're going to get (for the most part) when you pick up a Sparks novel or sit down to watch a Sparks adaptation on the big screen. You know there will be beautiful scenery with lots of sun, lots of greenery, lots of rain (literally and metaphorically), lots of tears and lots of very fine looking people. You also know that in probably 75% of the cases,...
Seems that not just Spring has sprung, but so has the movie box office which is jam-packed with a multiplicity of new releases in limited and wide release this month. This week I turn your attention to two films: TRUE STORY - based on the true story of a killer and a journalist and, UNFRIENDED - conceived by the innovative and cutting edge Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, sheds a frightening light on the internet, Skyping, instant messaging with some horrifying results....
This week, I want to shed light on some indie gems that everyone should be on the lookout for, be it in the smaller art house-type theatres or on VOD. Each bodes strong female voices and performances, the latter two - MAN FROM RENO and APARTMENT TROUBLES - find directors pushing the envelope and developing their own skill sets and storytelling techniques, while, EFFIE GRAY, takes us back in time to 19th century London and the story of a scandalous female historical figure....
I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or Al Pacino us just getting better, but between his recent tour de force in "The Humbling" and now DANNY COLLINS, I have fallen in love with him as an actor. The nuance that he brings is electrifying and emotionally enticing and fulfilling and never moreso than as DANNY COLLINS. Written and directed by Dan Fogelman, DANNY COLLINS is, as the screen credits playfully note, "Kind of based on a true story a little bit." That true...
A thoughtful film that places the past and its lingering effects on the present as told through feuding Appalachian families who can't or don't want to move forward in a 1970's backwoods North Carolina, THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT is a microcosmic microscopic examination of introspection. Adapted from Ron Rash's 2006 novel by writer Shane Danielson and directed by David Burris, THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT is a slow, methodical, atmospheric burn that celebrates the gravitas of performa...
So much and yet so little happened in the year 2014. Surprisingly, gluten bored and angered me enough to change dining friends (yes I literally gave up the bores so I can eat bread in peace, Jesus did it?) and want to become a glutton. Deadly sins I salute you, but the sins of taste I cannot get past! The over sized and over used ass that that didn't break the Internet, just my literary heart, inspired me that I could indeed eat more and it would be OK as long as I...
Fans of the stage musical, and those who have heard of but never seen the wonder that is Stephen Sondheim, are in for a special holiday treat come Christmas Day as all tied up with a big red bow, er, cape, is Sondheim's acclaimed and long-running INTO THE WOODS which finally arrives on the big screen in this stunning adaptation written by stage scribe James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim and directed by Rob Marshall. What big eyes you'll have as you watch the magic of this fairyt...
Grant Gershon, esteemed Artistic Director/Conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), filled the Walt Disney Concert Hall with his passion and joy as they presented their annual holiday concerts. He channeled his un-rivaled enthusiasm during the LAMC’s presentation of “Festival of Carols” on December 13 and Handel’s Messiah on December 21. The LAMC rung in the holiday season with a concert of favorite carols sung by one of the greatest chorales in the world. Sprinkled with new arrangements (three by composer in resi...
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) opened its “Baroque Conversations” series on Thursday at Zipper Concert Hall at The Colburn School in downtown Los Angeles. It was a special affair honoring James Arkatov, artistic founder of LACO and original member of the cello section. There was a champagne toast for him at the pre-concert reception attended by musical director/conductor Jeffrey Kahane and then Arkatov kicked things off by saying a few words of thanks on stage before the concert. And that’s when the magic began...
Yusuf, formerly known as the incomparable Cat Stevens, made a stop on his "Peace Train" on December 14 during his five-city swing of America to present his "U.S. Peace Train...Late Again Tour 2014." Late again because it's been 35 years since the British singer-songwriter has played a concert in front of a live audience due to a decision he made in 1979, after 10 years of pop-stardom, to exit the music business to raise a family and explore his conversion to Islam. On this...
Delving into somewhat rare territory with bringing a true life story and real life individuals to the big screen (the last time being "Ed Wood"), one of whom is very much alive and very much a part of the making of BIG EYES, Tim Burton returns to the bemused wonder and charm that he demonstrated with "Edward Scissorhands". While in many respects a departure from what we have grown accustomed to in recent years from Tim Burton, in others, BIG EYES feels like the smooth fit of...
I was one of the lucky few press who, several months ago, was treated to some early clips of NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB. My appetite for more was quickly whetted on seeing just brief glimpses of Sir Ben Kingsley and Rami Malek in all their royal glory, Ben Stiller as history's best friend Larry Daley, and that pee-happy capuchin Dexter (aka Crystal the Monkey). Now having seen the film in its entirety, I can honestly say that my enthusiasm and delight for NIGHT...
The finger of God seems to have descended on Hollywood the past few years with a resurgence in the spectacle of the Old Testament and teaching of the New, on both the big and small screens. Perhaps a commentary on the world itself, perhaps as tool to give hope in desperate times, perhaps divine intervention, but we are none the worse for wear for the experiences given us by Roma Downey's "The Bible" and 'Son of God" or Darren Aronofsky's "Noah" and now, in perhaps the grandest...
As you are reading this very column, be it online or in print, one of the people responsible for this luxury is the very man celebrated in THE IMITATION GAME - Alan Turing. Although director Morten Tyldum focuses on Turing's life in the context of WWII and the genius of his mathematical and codebreaking skills, it is thanks to Turing's work for the Allies during this time at Bletchley Park, the Government Code and Cypher School, that an early version of the device we now know...
As has become crystal clear over the past several years, DreamWorks Animation more than gives Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar a run for their money when it comes to animated features. With it's own distinctive styling of rich, vibrant colors like those seen in "The Croods" or "Turbo", character and background design are drawn with a slightly skewed shaping and outlining that have a touchstone quality to Saturday morning cartoons, while action and adventure is...
The magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez was the inspiration for LA Opera's current production, Florencia en el Amazonas, which plays through December 20. Its creative team consisting of composer Daniel Catán, librettist Marcela Fuentes-Berain. and director Francesca Zambello travelled to Colombia to visit Gabriel García Márquez with the intention of putting together a new opera inspired by his works. He helped the team create a story which became the basis for the libret...
The Verdi Chorus triumphed in their presentation of their fall concerts titled “Distant Lands” this past weekend at the acoustically-sound First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica. The chorus is one of the jewels of the Los Angeles opera scene and showed the audience why as they presented two flawless performances. The concerts honored Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky’s retirement after 40 years of service to Southern California. Musical director/conductor Anne Marie Ketchum had Yaroslavsky, a big lover and supporter of opera...
The game is afoot with THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1, but it's no longer being played as a game within the confines of an electronically controlled and domed "arena". With the release of Katniss Everdeen's arrow as her final move in the "Catching Fire" Quarter Quell, all bets are off. The games are no longer "games" with a single victor (or victors, as in the case of Katniss and Peeta). The game is now very real and must be played by every single citizen in Panem if the...
There's nothing quite like the blend of good storytelling, great performances and a powerful emotional journey all skillfully woven together with a solid singular vision of a strong director to make for a powerful moviegoing experience. This week, we have two such films opening - BEYOND THE LIGHTS from writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood and THE HOMESMAN from writer/director Tommy Lee Jones. Both are examples of superb filmmaking and storytelling. Both more than worth a...
With BIG HERO 6, Walt Disney Animation Studios once again proves why they are heroes to generations and legions of fans the world over. Tapping into the recesses of the Marvel vaults, directors Don Hall and Chris Williams bring this somewhat obscure gem of heroes to life in what is destined to be the newest franchise in the Disney-Marvel universe.....not to mention my pick for Oscar gold. But setting BIG HERO 6 apart from the super heroes and fantasy we have come to know from...
Some guys just have a thing for snakes and it seems that our favorite parseltongue speaking Daniel Radcliffe is no different. In his new film, the devilishly delicious HORNS from director Alexandre Aja, Radcliffe flexes his serpentine skills yet again, this time as the young Ig Perrish. A supernatural thriller that in almost genre-bending fashion melds the battle of good versus evil with tines of fantasy, romance, a noirish murder mystery and even a little gothic flair, this...
Madness and mayhem are the watchwords of the day when it comes to STONEHEARST ASYLUM. Directed by Brad Anderson from a script by Joe Gangemi based on the 1844 story "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather " by Edgar Allan Poe, STONEHEARST ASYLUM abounds with twists and turns set against a richly textured and lush, stylized Victorian-era visual palette. Boasting a cast of Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Michael Caine, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Jim Sturgess and Kate...
