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MOVIE REVIEW: EASY MONEY (SNABBA CASH) Based on the internationally acclaimed novel by of the same name by Jens Lapidus, EASY MONEY (“Snabba Cash”) was already wildly successful in Sweden and Europe before this US release. And it’s easy to see why. EASY MONEY is “easy” in more ways than one. Easy on the eyes with Joel Kinnaman as JW, for starters. Easy to grasp and follow (even were there no subtitles; the film is in Swedish, English, Spanish and Russian) thanks to the superb craftsmanship of ed...
Many may recall that I have never been a huge Woody Allen fan. His material has always been hit or miss, more on the miss side as a rule. However, as Allen has aged, his material has become more resonating and he has excelled at blending generational actors, mixing mature established talent with young upstarts, and capturing a level of magic that warms the heart with laughter. With TO ROME WITH LOVE, Allen has achieved casting perfection with chemistry, energy, likeability, and performance...
Now in its 18th year, and bigger and better than ever, LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL 2012 is a guaranteed winner. Returning to the LA Live complex in Downtown Los Angeles, the energy and excitement is already at an anticipatory fever pitch - and that’s just from looking at the line-up! While the main screening venue will be at the Regal Cinemas L.A. Live Stadium 14, LAFF will have the stars shining all over town with special events at additional venues, among them, Disney Concert Hall Redcat, D...
Workshop Yields Angry Feedback Outside Culver City Hall on Tuesday evening protesters carried signs and cars honked at the protesters in support. The signs had slogans like “Ban Fracking Now” and “Frack Off.” Someone dressed as a skeleton carried a sign that read “I (Heart) Fracking.” When the doors of City Hall opened, people flooded into the Mike Balkman Chambers, filling the auditorium to standing room only. All this for a state-organized but locally hosted workshop to gauge the public sent...
Paul Pitti (88), the last of Culver’s City’s cowboys, passed away peacefully in his home in Culver City. Paul was born at 4191 Lincoln Ave. in Culver City. Baptized at St. Augustine Catholic Church, he remained a faithful parishioner serving as a head usher for over 20 years. The Pitti family was among the first 500 families to settle in the town that would become known as “The Heart of Screenland” home to several motion picture studios. Paul’s father, Bennie Pete Pitti, was renowned in the movie industry for his expertise with bullwhips...
Who could ever imagine that Friday, April 13th would give birth to one of the richest weekends of new film releases that we have seen in a long time. With so many to choose from, I thought I’d give you a taste of some of my faves: DETENTION Joseph Kahn’s comedic genre-busting love letter to the 90's that is brilliantly constructed with rapier dialogue, sharp creative visuals, meticulously tapestried themes and plots, a soundtrack that is to-die-for, an off the charts performance by Dane Coo...
Steven Soderbergh - you are forgiven. After The Girlfriend Experience starring porn star turned wannabe actress, Sasha Grey, I didn’t think I would ever watch another Soderbergh film. Although visually stunning thanks to impressive cinematography, the heinous “acting” of Grey left me cold. Then came Contagion, a rehash of a rehash of a rehash just with bigger names than the prior rehashes. And I was saddened wondering where was the Steven Soderbergh of old? The Soderbergh who gave us the fun,...
The new school year is upon us and the first meeting of the Culver City School Board got off with a bang—in the form of some angry words from a resident. Superintendent Patricia Jaffe had praise for the School District in her report, saying the first day of school had gone smoothly as she visited all the school sites. “We are fortunate to have such dedicated teachers, classified staff, and students,” she noted. But a presentation about Special Education compliance brought protest from a woman...
• Abraxis Bioscience (9920 Jefferson Boulevard) – Plans were submitted for an existing two-building site and surface parking to be repurposed and developed into an office campus. Components of the new project include replacement of existing windows, roofing and additional skylights. The project will also have the removal of some areas of the second floor framing to allow natural light into the first floor. The project will have enhanced or replaced landscape materials. The existing parking str...
In this post-Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer, the theatres are full of little gems to satisfy every demographic out there (well, except for my brother). So for a little change this week, rather than one in-depth review (which you will still be able to find on my website), I’ll take a look at several of this weekend’s openers. SUBMARINE What a quirky little delight SUBMARINE is! Filled with cuteness, laugh out loud funny and dark comedy that I just can’t praise enoug...
The whistle just blew this week, so there’s still time to join “Itty Bitty Sports” at the Culver-Palms Family YMCA. Session 1 is Mondays & Wednesdays February 7 to March 2 (8 classes) 4 p.m. to 4:45. for boys and girls ages 3-5 years. This program is designed to ensure children have lots of fun while learning the basic skills used in a variety of sports such as soccer, football, with the right amount of hand and foot-to-eye coordination, teamwork, and sportsmanship. For more details call Eric Lane, Director of Sports and Recreation at the C...
February 4, 2011 City Manager’s Office • Appropriations Update - Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Inouye announced that the Appropriations Committee will implement a 2-year moratorium on Congressionally-directed spending that will apply to Fiscal Year 2011 and Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations bills. Senator Boxer has announced that she will be holding off on accepting appropriations requests for FY 2012 until the Senate Appropriations Committee provides further guidance on the definition of an “earmark.” These statements come after H...
During the day this Saturday (9 a.m.to 3 p.m.) enjoy browsing a great Yard Sale on the front lawn of the Culver City Scout House, 10866 Culver Blvd. There’ll be a vast array of goodies, including holiday decorations, toys and games, camping equipment and more. The sale is sponsored by the Friends of Culver City Scout House (FOCCSH) a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation. For more information on the Friends visit their website at www.culvercityscouthouse.org. More this Saturday: the Culver City Emblem Club #254 in conjunction with the Gardena C...
Shake it Out! Beginning this year Culver City will combine its former December 7 City-Wide Disaster Drill with California’s Great Shake Out, set for October 21. Now we will join millions of other Californians at 10:21 a.m. to Drop, Cover and Hold On, plus display our “OK” signs prominently in a window or on the front door by 7 p.m. when first responders will travel the neighborhoods counting them. (In a real disaster if your family was not all right, you’d of course eliminate the sign and call 911.) Get more info by going to www.cul...
On Monday night the City Council and Redevelopment Agency approved an amendment to the Settlement Agreement between the City and West Los Angeles College regarding the 2010 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (FSEIR) for the College’s Facilities Master Plan. The Master Plan had been approved by the WLA College District Board of Trustees on August 11, who also certified the FSEIR. Previously, on July 12, the Council/Agency considered, but did not approve, a prior version of the A...
When George Bernard Shaw wrote “Youth is wasted on the young”, he obviously didn’t know of writer/director Nicholas Fackler. Now only 26 years old, at age 17 Fackler began writing what would ultimately become LOVELY, STILL. Capturing the exuberance, magic and wonder of falling in love for the first time, Fackler went beyond the story of a first love, and turned this into a love story for the ages and for any age. The end result is LOVELY, STILL. Magical, memorable, tender, sweet and fille...
When Jason Bateman first talked to me last year about an upcoming film of his called "the Baster", it sounded incredibly amusing (particularly as he described it with his patented droll ironic delivery). When I heard that Josh Gordon and Will Speck, the team who brought us the Will Farrell vehicle "Blades of Glory" had directed, my hopes based on Bateman’s recommendation dropped, believing that the film would go for the guffaws rather than have any defined comedic substance and heart. On s...
Rich, young, beautiful and the belle of the ball. We should all be so cursed. But what happens when despite all of your "gifts", you still crave one thing above all others - a father’s love for his little girl? And what happens when your wealth and beauty and the appearance of "having it all" makes you a prime target for ransom from a supposedly loving father? If you’re Alice Creed, nothing good. Danny and Vic became buddies in prison. With time on their hands and nothing better to do than plo...
It’s that time again! Time for the Los Angeles Film Festival! Now in its 16th year and running from June 17th to 27th, LAFF 2010 has plenty of surprises in store for you, not the least of which is its relocation to the LA Live complex in Downtown Los Angeles. Infusing the new level of energy and excitement of the Downtown area into the Fest, it looks like we’re in for a festival of blockbuster proportions. Still calling on the beauty and magic of selected screenings under the stars at Ford Amp...
The following is the complete text Of Mayor Andy Weissman’s speech at Culver City’s 30th Annual Mayor’s Luncheon. The Luncheon was held on Wednesday March 24th, 2010 at Veteran’s Auditorium. Mayor Weissman: Thank you all for coming. Like many of you, I have attended many of these lunches over the years. In truth, and probably unlike you, this is the first Mayor’s lunch that I’ve actually paid attention to. Each year, our annual Mayor's Lunch affords us an opportunity to look back on the past year, reflect on the current year and look forwar...
I am writing you because I have recently been through the ordeal of losing a pet (my cat –Kiki). When it first happens you think, “Oh she’ll be home she’s probably in a garage or something, but being Christmas week, how long would she be in that garage? As time went on and worry set in, I started to extend my search with the help of friends, from calling her name, searching the Shelters, to littering flyers to neighbors around my home, telephone poles, registering her on SPCA-LA web site, both shelters, Pet finders, all the local vet’s b...
In his documentary,. Culver City resident, actor, author and cartoonist Darrell Fusaro returns to his hometown of Clifton, NJ to give a benefit performance of his play, The Basement at his alma mater, Clifton High School. That’s where the plot becomes very interesting. And here’s the behind the scenes of The Basement. Jeff Trujillo joined Darrell on the journey back to his hometown of Clifton, New Jersey, simply to record the benefit performance of The Basement, as a keepsake for the high school. It wasn’t until reviewing the footage that Truji...
In addition to my love and mesmerization with movies from small on, a key visual element in my youth was cartoons - and not just your standard Bugs, Tweety, Taz or Tom & Jerry. No I went full bore along with my brothers for the early Japanese anime complete with dubbed voices. Part and parcel of a 60's era Philadelphia tradition, Wee Willie’s Cartoon Corners was the only place to get your afternoon fix of futuristic adventure complete with Speed Racer and my fave, the 1960's black & white Osuma...
Things will definitely get a little bit loud with the rockumentary IT MIGHT GET LOUD, a sit down with three generations of rock legends, guitarists Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2) and Jack White (White Stripes). Three very different gentlemen. Three very different backgrounds. Three very different styles. One common passion. This is one room in rock ‘n roll heaven. Director Davis Guggenheim could have done no better than his subject selection so Page, White and The Edge. Each represents...
Movies. They have served many a purpose over the past century, affecting each of us in a different way; drawing us to the celluloid images with individualized magic. During WWI and WWII, movies promoted the sale of bonds, gave a glimpse to those at home of their loved ones and the news abroad. Movies served and still do serve as a tether between families, friends and strangers, instant "Crazy Glue" if you will, bringing people together that wouldn't normally gravitate towards each other. During...
