Can you picture a freeway that’s good for the environment? That collects storm water? That produces clean energy instead of pollution, quiet instead of noise? That stitches a neighborhood together instead of slicing it apart? I wrote a series of essays last year raising some of these questions —...
Los Angeles Opera said unaudited figures for its recently ended 30th anniversary season show a 19.9% increase in the number of tickets sold and a 27.6% rise in ticket revenue compared with the previous season. L.A. Opera sold 118,565 tickets for the 2015-16 season, compared with 98,861 for 2014-15,...
“How He Fell in Love” is a far more pensive, less sentimental romantic drama than its moony title might imply. To that end, writer-director Marc Meyers takes an effectively naturalistic, quasi-European approach to telling this Gotham-set tale of a misjudged affair, allowing scenes to breathe when...
Persuasively putting a face on the meals most of America consumes regularly without coming across as a sanctimonious expose, “At the Fork” serves up an even-handed perspective on the subject of eating ethically. Meat-eating filmmaker John Papola, at the behest of his longtime vegetarian wife, Lisa...
Veteran filmmaker and actor Henry Jaglom’s 20th feature film is the backstage drama “Ovation,” a story that takes place over the course of a week in and around a struggling small stage production of “The Rainmaker.” Tanna Frederick is a standout as Maggie, the breakout star of the show, torn between...
“Fathers and Daughters” might as well have been titled “Daddy Issues: The Movie,” lazily relying on that old chestnut that women who have complicated relationships with their fathers become self-destructive sex addicts — until of course, they find a man who reminds them of dad. That’s the overarching...
Feeble title aside, Alex Ranarivelo’s “The Dog Lover” would initially appear to be a standard issue, if heavy-handed, family-oriented drama about a young woman who goes undercover as a college intern to gather evidence against a suspected puppy mill operation. Considered an emerging talent at the...
It’s comforting to know that Hollywood isn’t the only place that produces needless sequels to box-office hits. Case in point: “Cold War 2,” the underwhelming follow-up to Hong Kong’s highest-grossing domestic film of 2012. “Cold War” directors Longman Leung and Sunny Luk, who co-wrote here with...
It’s never been easy to adapt a Stephen King novel, since much of what makes them special — like the characters’ rich interior lives — doesn’t translate easily to the big screen. When those personal touches are missing, what’s left are mediocre monster movies. Take “Cell.” The book’s story about...
Most B-pictures imitate other movies, but writer-director Mickey Keating’s “Carnage Park” steals so freely that it almost becomes derivative in an original way. Equally inspired by Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers and the seediest of ‘70s drive-in exploitation, “Carnage Park” is a frequently...
Hey there, how’d you like to see a part-animated, research-rich, narratively fleet documentary about an early 20th century doctor who a) discovered an impotence cure by grafting goat glands onto human testicles; b) was nearly elected governor of Kansas on a write-in ballot; c) built the world’s...
Although the premise is spelled out right there in the title, “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” makes very little sense. That's despite it being based (shockingly) on a book. Well, a “book,” written by brothers Mike and Dave Stangle as an obligatory cash-in on their viral Craigslist ad. But even...
A long-time Los Angeles gallery puts on its final show. A German photographer explores Brazil’s tropical Modernism. And wild installations take on identity, alienation and the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. Plus: The wry drawings of a California ceramicist and the flamboyant designs of a prominent Palm...
When Kanye West debuted his visual for “Famous,” in which he and a bevy of wax-like celebs laid in a bed nude, he received the reaction he was looking for. There was backlash, outrage and acclaim — basically, just another day at the office for the oft-polarizing performer. Folks in L.A. dropped...
“Our Little Sister" has to be seen to be believed. Not because it depends on huge explosions or special effects but because it doesn't. A delicate, unforced meditation on the bonds of family and the joys and wonders hidden in everyday life, this film is able to move audiences without apparent effort,...
Solea Pfeiffer’s last stage role was in a student production of “Guys and Dolls” at the University of Michigan. Her next is at the Hollywood Bowl. Pfeiffer, 21, has been plucked from relative obscurity to sing the role of Maria in Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” on July 14. She won the job...
There’s a moment early on in “Captain Fantastic” when Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen), while driving his six kids around in a lovingly refurbished old school bus, catches one of his teenage daughters reading “Lolita.” For Ben, a fount of erudition and progressive thinking, this discovery is not cause for...
The title of “Zero Days,” Alex Gibney’s chillingly astute glimpse into the shadowy world of global cyberwarfare, refers to what is known as a zero-day vulnerability — a security gap in a piece of software or hardware that, once exploited for the purposes of an attack, leaves the defender no time...
Who knew the world was so full of bright young Ravenclaws? That was one revelation among many during Wednesday’s celebration of the world of Harry Potter at the Hollywood Bowl, an evening in which the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed John Williams’ movie score live during a screening of “Harry...
Caleb Duffy is a man of exacting frames. Even his thick black rimmed glasses connote focus and blocking out the extraneous. A film location manager, Duffy can find dystopia on a Skid Row corner, small-town America in a Montrose bowling alley, a Hitchcock-era beach cottage south of Oxnard and a...
This week: A dark comedy about a man released from a mental institution, the L.A. premiere of a musical inspired by a famous documentary, and the West Coast premiere of a musical adaptation of a beloved novel. All Shook Up Jukebox musical, with book by Joe Dipietro, inspired by Shakespeare’s “Twelfth...
Garth Brooks fans will soon be able to hear the country superstar’s music 24/7 when Sirius XM satellite radio service launches a new Garth Brooks channel for its subscribers. The Garth Channel will premiere Sept. 8 and will be curated and presented by Brooks, who joins a short list of pop musicians...
Eric Stonestreet has won two Emmys for his portrayal of Cameron Tucker, the flamboyant half of TV’s most famous gay couple, on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family.” But the Kansas native, 44, seems determined to defy expectations. In April, he starred in HBO’s “Confirmation” as former Reagan chief of...
Since its inception 34 years ago, Outfest Los Angeles has championed the stories of and by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community – long before it was trendy, profitable or politically correct. But as societal attitudes and local and national policies continue to change, major studios...
As a first-time director, Anna Rose Holmer is in an elite group. Her movie, “The Fits,” about an 11-year-old tomboy trying to fit in, was one of the fewer than 1% of submitted features Sundance Film Festival programmers chose last year, an acceptance rate tougher than that of an Ivy League college....
SERIES BattleBots 32 teams advance, and football star Vernon Davis serves as a guest judge, as the robot-fighting competition continues. 8 p.m. ABC Beauty and the Beast Cat and Vincent (Kristin Kreuk, Jay Ryan) find themselves at odds after a new threat to Vincent emerges on a new episode of the...
Veteran Fox anchor Gretchen Carlson, who quietly disappeared from her afternoon shift on Fox News Channel last month, stunned the TV news business Wednesday with the filing of a sexual harassment suit against her former boss, Roger Ailes. Carlson’s complaint, filed in Superior Court in New Jersey,...
Proudly propagandistic, “Church & State,” a new play at the Skylight that runs in tandem with “Obama-ology,” another premiere, offers a didactic political message in the theatrical tradition of “Waiting for Lefty.” As in “Lefty,” an impassioned plea for unionization, “Church” serves a specific...
Mish Barber-Way, the lead singer of the punk band White Lung, lounged by her pool in her Arcadia backyard. Peacocks screamed across the street as her husband brought out Mason jars of iced coffee, and a gentle Southern rock record played from the living room stereo. Everything seemed pretty sunny...
Right from the start, Hollywood struggled with the Vietnam War, a conflict that deeply divided public opinion and defied easy representation on-screen. The 1968 John Wayne film “The Green Berets,” released at the height of the conflict, was an old-fashioned war drama and ignored the moral gray...
This is the year when Kirk Douglas, one of Hollywood’s most iconic stars, will celebrate his 100th birthday. To mark the event the UCLA Film & Television Archive has put together a massive series that will run from the beginning of July through the end of September showcasing the range of his films....
“I think punk rock needs an ‘Amadeus,’ ” says actor-turned playwright John Ross Bowie, referencing Peter Shaffer’s 1979 drama chronicling the tension between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. He believes he’s found it in “Four Chords and a Gun,” a new play that opened this week at the...
Flying Lotus’ music has always been influenced by a profound visual and directorial sensibility: His shorts with Kahlil Joseph and Eddie Alcazar are essential works in his long catalog. Now the producer born Steven Ellison is making the connection official: He has announced both a new film division...
It’s time to whip up another batch of sweet green icing: Songwriter Jimmy Webb will return to Los Angeles for a performance July 9 at MacArthur Park, where he will sing his iconic 1968 ballad “MacArthur Park” in the place that inspired him to write it. It will be just the second time he has sung...
The fourth edition of San Diego’s CRSSD will take a slightly darker, all-club-music tone. The biannual dance music festival, which takes place Oct. 1-2 at downtown San Diego’s Waterfront Park, will sport the Swedish electronic pop act Miike Snow and the brooding house music producer Zhu atop the...
The art parties at Elyse and Stanley Grinstein’s sprawling, Spanish-style home in the 1960s and ’70s were legendary. They would rent a jukebox and clear out the living room furniture for wild dancing that would continue into the wee hours. Artists and entertainers would come from around Los Angeles...
Paul Feig’s new “Ghostbusters” movie has been one of the most scrutinized of the year, with a flood of pre-release debate over the need for an update. Then there’s that much-disliked trailer. But Ivan Reitman, the mastermind behind the original and a guiding force on the new film, has a message:...
Step aside, Tony Stark. A new Iron Man is in town, and she goes by the name of Riri Williams. In Marvel Comics’ relaunch of “Invincible Iron Man,” a 15-year-old black woman will take over Stark’s role and step into the armor for a more contemporary superheroine story. The cover of "Invincible...
The Sundance Next Fest program was announced Wednesday, filling in most of the gaps for the fourth installment of an event that has become a Los Angeles summer fixture. A mix of movies with post-screening events that brings films from January’s Utah-based Sundance Film Festival to Los Angeles,...
A hair and makeup artist was applying some last-minute touches to Jón Gnarr. With stiffly moussed hair and a crisply ironed shirt, the Icelandic man was looking downright mayoral as the groomer primped, layered, dusted and buffed. Gnarr, it turns out, used to be a politician. In fact, he used to...
Yes, yes, yes. Professional wrestling and comic book fans alike can share a rallying cry because Boom! Studios is partnering with World Wrestling Entertainment to produce comic books and graphic novels. Though the exact details of the partnership have yet to be announced, Hero Complex has the...
A girl and her Justin Bieber crush doesn’t exactly sound like the sort of material that darkly funny comics are made of. But artist Gina Wynbrandt’s first book takes seemingly innocuous girl culture and transforms it into something humorously abject. “Someone Please Have Sex With Me,” as her slim...
The Los Angeles Rams are celebrating their return to California in the most Hollywood way possible: with a reality TV show. E! has greenlighted “Hollywood & Football,” a six-episode docu-series focusing on six Rams players and their families as they relocate from St. Louis to Los Angeles. “We...
The Johnny Ramone Tribute 2016 event, set for on July 24 at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, will feature screenings of two classic punk rock films and a panel discussion about those movies led by two classic L.A. punk rockers, organizers said. Former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins and X bassist-singer-songwriter...