Joey Luft to fete Mother in MGM ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’
Dec
10
2024
Luft & Mom (1954) Judy Garland’s son, Joey Luft 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/FilmMagic) Our friends at Hollywood Heritage have invited us to attend an event at the Lasky-DeMille historic film-making “barn” on Highland Avenue, across from the Hollywood Bowl. They entreat us to join them at the Fair – the 1903 ...
REVIEW: Nickel Boys’ immersion-cinema rings true in sadness
Dec
9
2024
They look innocent, right? And why shouldn’t they? Two young guys growing up in the late ’50s to early ’60s contemporaneous to the launch of the U.S. space program — where the sky was literally the limit — shouldn’t look any other way. But things on the ground were very different for some. Innocence was ...
‘Fifth Beatle’ Billy Preston in impressive, heartfelt documentary 2
There are many documentaries and docudramas about performing artists lately. So much so that people are joking that everyone is getting one. Soon to open will be Maria, starring Angelina Jolie playing the Italian coloratura/diva. But a gripping new documentary, That’s the Way God Planned It: Billy Preston, about the great, nearly gone-missing, Los Angeles-born ...
Down in the dumps about democracy? Try an evening of French animated shorts at The Kabbaz
Nov
14
2024
Feeling deflated, depleted, depressed, and disappointed? Somewhat disoriented, downhearted, down in the dumps, or demoralized? Get thee to the cozy Theatre Raymond Kabbaz on Pico Boulevard for a singular foray through fantasy, futurism and fun. It’s the Kabbaz’s annual French Animation Festival, and, attending last year, we came out smiling from ear to ear. But, ...
On Hallo•meme, be bewitching, like ‘Gilda’ 6
I was thinking about my costume for this Halloween. Who better to embody than Rita Hayworth in her hallowed role as a film-noir temptress in the movie of the same name, Gilda (1945), from Columbia Pictures?Here she is in her nightclub number in the movie, “Put the Blame on Mame.” Rita was dressed in a ...
Box of sixty bon-bons: The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) starts Oct 29
In the run-up to The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) at the end of October, we picked through a box of “chocolat” to select a few of the yummier-looking titles of the sixty films that will be on offer at the Director’s Guild of America, October 29 thru November 3, 2024. This Festival is among ...
So long, Alain Delon, at The American-French Film Festival
Oct
7
2024
with natalie baye, notre histoire One of the most charismatic leading men to grace the silver screen, Alain Delon appeared in 107 films, starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and ’70s, and worked with many of the most celebrated directors of his time. While there’s no denying his iconic ...
FILM REVIEW: ‘Conclave,’ as cardinals clash
Let’s face it, movies based on books can totally flop. Think Bonfire of the Vanities. Some surpass the book—The Godfather. And some make you want to read the book. Conclave, adapted from Robert Harris’s bestselling novel, presented by Focus Features and directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), falls in that category. ...
Female filmmakers find voice at German Currents Film Festival 2024
Oct
1
2024
The German Currents Film Festival in the year 2024 has a surprising surfeit of films directed by women. The Festival opens on October 11 with a Los Angeles premiere of a comedy/drama by a multi-award-winning woman writer-director Sonja Heiss. It’s the German box office and festival favorite, WHEN WILL IT BE AGAIN LIKE IT NEVER ...
Going! Panorama’s Mexico City screening-series continues with ‘Tivoli’
Sep
15
2024
A legendary vaudeville and burlesque theatre in Mexico City is slated to be torn down by developers, so a troupe of dancers, novelty performers and operators promiscuously mobilize to save their beloved theatre from demolition. That’s the subject of this cool documentary which will be screening Saturday September 28 at the Velaslavasay Panorama in Los ...