Clever Moments, Worn-out Tropes by Andrew Collins At film number three, the Iron Man series is starting to feel like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The first film had a solid story and was wildly entertaining thanks to a brilliant central character — Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow. The following films? Not so much, […]
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Life Portraits by Jack Simons I first encountered Édouard Manet while in the army. A friend spread prints of his paintings across a bunk to show me. I had somehow mixed up Manet in my mind with the ever-present Claude Monet — and who could avoid Monet in this modern world? — Christmas cards, public […]
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It’s an Animal Thing: Why Riddick is a Franchise With Teeth by James Roland Less than a year after The Matrix caused a sci-fi frenzy, Universal dumped its low-budget space flick Pitch Black into the desert of February film releases and left it to die. But like its feral anti-hero, the film survived, earning more […]
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Scimitars: Tasting Wine in Monterey by J. Hamilton Ocean bays that face westward onto open seas exercise a strong fascination. My ancestors left such bays to travel to the New World, and as a youth I found my way across the country to Monterey Bay. The bay and its city opened before me like a […]
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The Call by Esther J. Brown 1. They began to call to me in 2009. I remember the day, a late September afternoon in Jerusalem, while I climbed around some limestone tombs south of the Old City walls. I sat on a stone to listen, looking east at the Palestinian village of Silwan, toward Mecca. […]
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Watching Old Movies: Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Jack Simons When I attended Baylor University in 1962, I had to choose one of three dormitories: Penland: the newest and most expensive; Brooks: the oldest and cheapest; Kokernot: twelve years old and middle-priced. I reasoned I didn’t want to live with the rich, nor did I […]
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Back There Again by Andrew Collins Just like its villainous character Gollum, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey suffers from multiple personality disorder. Director Peter Jackson’s attempt to be true to the tale of a beloved children’s story while setting it in the context of an epic history is commendable, but he ends up treading a […]
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Epic Saturday by Andrew Collins I’m not a huge fan of the “favorite movie” designation. It’s kind of like calling someone your “best friend.” But if you pointed a gun at my head and told me to make a list of my top films, I’d have to start with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Growing […]
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Epic Ride, part 2 by Titus Gee (Big D and I continue the adventure we started in Epic Ride, part 1.) A weathered Mazda convertible from sometime in the early ’90s rounded the hill and crept toward us. The driver crawled it over the heaps and creases of dirt washed across the pavement and splashed […]
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“Starry Night” by L. Angelenos by Lena Rivera Andrea Bogdan’s studio window perches right above 5th and Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles. Cars rush past, people on the corner scream and laugh, and a siren wails out; this music swirls up to her ears and pushes her deeper into the vibrant and imaginative piece […]
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