By Dan Cohen, Santa Monica reporter I view an article like this the same way I regard movie reviews. May be time to revive the Santa Monica reporter. I watched the entire debacle yesterday and came away with a bad taste in my mouth over Kavanaugh’s opening statement and general posture. His anger, his […]
Category: Santa Monica Reporter
Santa Monica Reporter, the entertainment blog for Newslanc.com
The 2016 Oscars; an apology and a last few words.
By Dan Cohen, our Santa Monica Reporter I had every intention of writing a piece on the 2015 Oscar race, officially called the “2016” Oscars. But I kept putting it off. As time passed I refined my objectives, from speculating on probable award nominees, to ranking the front-runners, to a postscript on the outcome. I […]
Overlooked or Under-loved in 2015: “Grandma,” “Pawn Sacrifice,” “Mustang” and “Tangerine.”
By Dan Cohen, our Santa Monica Reporter The movies were so dismal this spring and summer that the outpouring of quality towards years end came as a shock, and that was true of both domestic and foreign releases. But in the thick of it, as the studios accosted us with “Aloha,” “Ted 2,” “The […]
“Ex Machina” and “While We’re Young:” a mechanical woman and a mechanical plot
Robots have always been prominent in filmed science fiction; from Maria in Fritz Lang’s 1926 silent, “Metropolis,” to Robbie, (the Robot) in “Forbidden Planet” to Hal in Kubrick’s “2001, A Space Odyssey” to the gun slinging robot in Michael Crichton’s “Westworld.” And now, as artificial intelligence expands to include robots with the ability to outwit their human creators, comes the inspired and witty “Ex Machina.”
Post Mortem on Winter; Fifty Shades of Whips, Tyrants, and a Bond parody
Like the critically reviled novel on which it is based, “Fifty Shades of Grey” elicited a virtual tsunami of bad reviews; only 25% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. But the grousing about nudity and perverse sex did little to discourage the books’ massive fan base; if anything the static only raised the movie’s profile.
Notes on Oscar: A Few Last Minute Observations
2014 was a lousy year for narrative features. Then, suddenly, at years’ end, it wasn’t. Starting around Thanksgiving distributors offered up a handful of quality features that were aimed at adults.
Polar Opposites: “Birdman” and “Foxchaser”
Two energetic and entertaining films that take on the struggle of artists to transcend their quotidian lives top the list of “must see” releases for early winter. Right now I’ll focus on “Birdman,” because it’s playing on a local screen. The second movie, “Whiplash,” a winner of two awards at this year’s Sundance festival, won’t be arriving for several days, so I’ll talk about that in the next column.
Catch these two films before they go!
Two current films, both of them successful at the box office, are worth seeing in theaters, before they’re replaced by an avalanche of late year entertainments and Oscar contenders.
Movie Reviews: “The Skeleton Twins”, “Keep on Keepin’ On” and “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”, restored.
The first lifelike drama of the fall, “The Skeleton Twins” has opened at one of the local theaters and there hasn’t been a better adult, English language movie since the Oscar nominees finished their theatrical runs late this winter. That’s right, it’s been that bad a year.
Movie Reviews: “The Skeleton Twins”, “Keep on Keepin’ On” and “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”, restored.
The first lifelike drama of the fall, “The Skeleton Twins” has opened at one of the local theaters and there hasn’t been a better adult, English language movie since the Oscar nominees finished their theatrical runs late this winter.
A Mainstream Sci-Fi, and several overlooked indies
“Lucy” is a fizzy midsummer diversion, driven by the visual flair of director Luc Besson and a full throttle performance from Scarlett Johansen. It’s less than the sum of its several high points, and ultimately a head scratcher, but its energy brings a smile to your face in a season that, up to August, has offered mainly duds.
A watery apocalypse and a spelling bee
Director Darren Aronofsky had a number of options in realizing the Noah story; as a straight biblical tale, as a Disney-ish fantasy for children, as an adventure like “Gladiator,” as an apocalyptic nightmare, as a warning about the imperiled environment, or as a simple folk tale. As it turns out he chose all of them, and more.
Belated Oscar Commentary
The show itself was mostly engaging, studded with the occasional rude joke, two dynamic music numbers, and a nostalgic look back at the recently departed. There was the average quotient of self-importance about the proceedings, ameliorated by some welcome nastiness, (think Ellen’s remarks on Liza Minelli,) and a handful of stand-out screw-ups.
The Movie Roundup (part 2)
The Golden Globes and most of the motion picture guild awards have been presented, so now we race towards the Academy’s big night, which comes early in March. In the meantime, here’s a continuation of the best of 2013, for your big screen or home viewing pleasure, accompanied by the usual crabby commentary.