Sorted by date Results 913 - 937 of 1155
With BEST NIGHT EVER, co-writers/directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, take us on a bachelorette party road trip to Las Vegas under the guise that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. Or does it? Vacillating between laugh-out-loud funny and “WTF?”, BEST NIGHT EVER feels original and fresh in certain instances, but then repeatedly falls into hackneyed, poorly mimicked skits from other ventures. Bride-to-be Claire is being feted to a Las Vegas bachelorette party by her sister, Leslie,...
Relationships are never easy and neither are movies about relationships. In THAT AWKWARD MOMENT, writer/director Tom Gormican focuses on three male 20-something best friends navigating the course of sex, love and relationships in 2014. Although falling into some genre tropes and cliche, Gormican keeps the ship of love steady as it treads through some rocky waters predicated on the relationship “So???” question (So, are we a couple? So, are we planning a future? So....). A constant buoy is the...
Written and directed by first-time director Herschel Faber, CAVEMEN boasts some entertaining and emotionally arced performances by Skylar Astin, Chad Michael Murray, Kenny Wormald and the lone gal in the group, Camilla Belle (look, she faced off with baby Velociraptors in "The Lost World", I think she can hold her own with the guys), but its strongest suit is its cinematography and technical excellence. Dean is a struggling screenwriter. Jay is a wannabe actor and prides himself on screwing a...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter The Los Angeles Master Chorale, a cultural icon heralded around the globe for its exceptional artistry, pulled out the stops for their 50th anniversary weekend celebration. The program featured two performances of Bach’s B Minor Mass - the choral masterpiece that founding music director Roger Wagner inaugurated in 1965 at the just-opened Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Chorale’s home for 37 years. This time, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the residence of the Mas...
Kentwood Players presents "Becky's New Car" by Steven Dietz which began on Jan. 10 and will continue until February 15, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with Sunday matinees at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester. The production is directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Larry Jones by special arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service, Inc. "Becky's New Car" is a thoroughly original and contemporary comedy about love, loss, choices and what...
Take one look at the purity of a magically light, bright and ethereal fountain scene in AT MIDDLETON and you immediately know how love feels, or should feel; how bliss and joy feel, or should feel. Take one look at Andy Garcia’s face in the car or hear the sweet sadness in his voice as his character George and son Conrad “take the long way home” so the beauty of a day can linger a bit longer and that also tells you not only how love and bliss feel, but also heartbreak. One look at the wisp...
For many of us who grew up in or were familiar with the tri-state area encompassing the Delaware Valley of Philadelphia north into New York/Newark, New Jersey and southeast into Delaware, the 1980's was a tumultuous time for not only national and international news, but local news as well. One of those news stories that stuck with me for decades originated out of New Jersey surrounding Kathy DiFiore. For those unfamiliar with DiFiore's story, she is the founder of Several Sources Shelters, a...
I am in awe of THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. Directed by Ralph Fiennes and written by Abi Morgan based on Claire Tomalin's book, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN is the story of Charles Dickens and Nelly Ternan, a much younger woman who becomes mistress to the much married Dickens, in a love story for the ages. An intensely enlivened multiple character study that speaks not only to character but character within the confines of socio-politcal mores of the day, while much of the film is quiet introspection, Fiennes...
Thank you director Peter Segal, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Jon Bernthal and Kevin Hart for giving me a great Christmas present with GRUDGE MATCH. The fictional story of former boxers Henry "Razor" Sharp and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen, Razor and The Kid haven't spoken in 30 years. Each winning hotly contested bouts against the other with a third match set to "break the tie", on the eve of the final bout, Razor abruptly throws in the towel, announcing not only his retirement from the...
Culver City's children's musical theatre group, dee-Lightful Productions, announces its upcoming production of Disney's High School Musical, Jr., on January 18 and 19. Under the direction of Founder and Artistic Director Dolores Aguanno, dee-Lightful Productions has partnered with the Culver City Department of Parks & Recreation since 1999, and has been the recipient of several "Best of Culver City" awards in the last few years. Families and kids of all ages love the shows, which run about 90...
One of the great strengths of THE LEGEND OF HERCULES lies in the story origins and bringing in Sean Hood and Daniel Giat as screenwriters, tapping into Hood’s experience with mythology and reimagination with films like “Conan the Barbarian” (2011). The other is having Renny Harlin direct. The mythology of Hercules is a centuries old favorite and one of the most enduring legends. Hollywood has long ago embraced its wonder as it provides ample fuel for fantasy and visual mastery of techn...
"I'll Go On" by Samuel Beckett opens Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City Previews of the Gate Theatre production are January 10 and 11. A celebrated interpreter of Beckett, Barry McGovern is known to Los Angeles audiences for his performance as Vladimir in the acclaimed 2012 production of "Waiting for Godot" at the Mark Taper Forum (LADCC Awards, Best Revival and Best Ensemble; Ovation Award Best Production and Best Ensemble). "I'll Go On," which i...
Thanks to a special double feature of fun next week (not to mention some strict review embargoes currently in place), I start off the first full week of 2014 with an early review of REASONABLE DOUBT, a riveting legal thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper that is available now on VOD and in theatres next week, plus, THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL, the sophomore directorial efforts of a keenly executed psychological coming-of-age thriller compliments of writer/director Francesca...
Kentwood Players presents "Becky's New Car" by Steven Dietz from January 10 to February 15, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm with Sunday matinees at 2 at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester. The production is directed by Susan Stangl and produced by Larry Jones by special arrangement with Dramatist's Play Service, Inc. "Becky's New Car" is a thoroughly original and contemporary comedy about love, loss, choices and what makes life worth living, a...
THE BOOK THIEF has stolen my heart. To describe the film in a word, it's quite simply, MAGNIFICENT. Adapted from the 2005 best-selling novel of the same name by Markus Zusak (a book that remained on The New York times best-seller list for almost seven years), THE BOOK THIEF is the story of Liesel, a young German girl shipped off to live with foster parents just prior to the onset of WWII. Taken away from her mother due to the changing political and ethnic cleansing being implemented as Hitler...
There couldn't be a more appropriate film to hit theatres this Thanksgiving weekend than HOMEFRONT. Based on Chuck Logan's best selling novel, HOMEFRONT is rooted in hearth and home. Adapted for the screen by Sylvester Stallone, HOMEFRONT boasts a stellar cast, performances that go through the roof and a perfect blend of action and emotion, all expertly choreographed by director Gary Fleder. Led by Jason Statham and James Franco, each performance is as superb as the next, particularly when it...
Kentwood Players will hold open auditions for the Tony Award winning musical "Fiddler on the Roof" with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Jerry Bock, and music by Sheldon Harnick. The auditions will be held on Saturday, January 11, 2014 from 11 am to 5pm (please arrive no later than 3 pm) and on Sunday, January 12 from 6 pm to 10 (please arrive no later than 8pm). Callbacks will be held on Monday, January 13 from 7 pm to 10. Auditions and performances take place at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301...
The Second City's "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" opens this Thursday, December 12 at 8 p.m. at the Center Theatre Group/ Kirk Douglas Theatre in culver City. Written by Second City alumni Peter Gwinn and Bobby Mort and directed by fellow Second City alum Marc Warzecha, "A Christmas Carol: Twist Your Dickens!" continues through December 29. The cast is made up of a talented group of Second City performers. Returning to "Twist Your Dickens!" for the second time are Frank Caeti, Amanda...
In his sophomore outing with OUT OF THE FURNACE, writer/director Scott Cooper proves that he is no "flash in the directorial pan." Facing the daunting task of at least equaling, if not surpassing, the excellence of his award winning debut feature "Crazy Heart", Cooper pulls no punches, delivering a prosaically melancholy tale of hearth, home and the ties that bind. Set in the Rust Belt region of the United States outside Pittsburgh in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Cooper again embraces the...
Amidst all the early awards hoopla and limited release of some “big” movies, this week I direct your attention to a very special indie film - HOURS. Written and directed by Eric Heisserer, who here makes his directorial debut, HOURS is also one of the final films of Paul Walker and the one of which he was most proud. Close to Walker’s heart, his passion and dedication to the story results in a tour de force performance that makes his recent passing all the more poignant, as with HOURS we see t...
Lester Bangs, the rock critic who reached iconic status in the 1970s with his passionate, intellectually honest writing, is the subject of "How to be a Rock Critic," presented in a staged reading as part of DouglasPlus at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City on Sunday, December 15 at 1 p.m. The reading will take place in the Douglas' rehearsal space, Upstairs@KDT. Written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, performed by Jensen and directed by Blank, "How to be a Rock Critic"...
The literary world first met young Ender Wiggins back in 1977 when he appeared as the protagonist in a short story written by Orson Scott Card. This was the story of a young boy named Ender set centuries into the future in a world that had fought, and barely defeated, an alien race known as "Buggers" (changed to "Formics" in later writings). In order to prepare for anticipated future battles with the Buggers, the best and the brightest children were taken from their families and shipped off to...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter I know that Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi is smiling with pleasure from the beyond as The Verdi Chorus presented its fall gala concerts this past weekend in honor of his 200th birthday at First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica. The program, titled Viva Verdi, was dedicated solely to his works and included scenes and arias from many of his masterpieces. The night kicked-off with President Thelma Sherman and chorus consultant and musicologist Dr....
Opening for FROZEN is the latest animated short from Disney and this is unlike anything you've ever seen. And yes, just hand director Lauren MacMullan (who holds the title of being the first female director to direct a film for WDAS solo) now for GET A HORSE. A perfect hybrid of hand-drawn 2D animation and CG, set to a 3D format, this is the stuff for which 3D (and Disney dreams) was made. Working off original 1928 black & white renderings of Mickey Mouse and company, MacMullan and her artisans...
Kentwood Players will present its next Kentwood Kids production, "Mr. Potcher's Holiday," a family musical comedy with book and lyrics by Bob Silberg, music by Barbara Klaskin Silberg. Performances will take place on Saturdays, November 30, December 7 and 14 at 11 am and 2 pm at the Westchester Playhouse, wo blocks west of the San Diego Freeway and two blocks north of Manchester at 8301 Hindry Avenue in Westchester. The production is directed by Drew Fitzsimmons and Melodie S. Rivers,...
