Take a Peek Inside the Gorgeous Hollywood Home of Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford
If you live in or around LA, you may have hiked right by the longtime Hollywood Hills home of Helen Mirren and Taylor Hackford without even knowing it. Now it can be yours. I’d have to say my favorite Hollywood couple is the duo comprised of Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren and acclaimed director Taylor…
The High-Octane Digger Trailer Astounds
If the Academy gave out awards for trailers, you can be sure the Digger trailer would be a major contender. I haven’t been this excited about a trailer since, well, since…I can’t even remember a trailer that got me this excited. Just to clue you in, Digger stars Academy Award winner Tom Cruise in bizarre…
5 Exclusive Recipes From ‘RockTails: 102 Drinks That Rock’
Famous rock musicians share their favorite drinks, or “Rocktails” for fun and a good cause in Staci Layne Wilson’s raucous new book. When it comes to rock music and alcoholic beverages, you might picture Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones weaving around onstage clutching a bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and…
MOANA Review — The Live-Action Version Still Enchants
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Moana review says the award-winning music, the setting, the story and the cast bring a welcome island breeze to the cineplex. As a film critic, wherever I go there is someone, or two or three who asks me, “Have you seen ___? I heard it’s _____.” Lately, there are two films that…
GAIL DAUGHTRY AND THE CELEBRITY SEX PASS Review — Totally Oz-Some!
Lisa Johnson’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass review took hours to write, because she was repeatedly interrupted by fits of lascivious laughter and lingering libidinous lines. The title pretty much sums up the movie — if you know what a Celebrity Sex Pass involves. And those who are aware will giggle about it…
THE INVITE Review — The Dinner Party From Sexy Hell
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s The Invite review predicts Olivia Wilde’s small film with a four person cast will garner big laughs and bigger accolades. Although The Invite is the ultimate couples clash—an intimate evisceration of two very different marriages, I’d advise you not to see it with your romantic partner, but a good natured friend. Otherwise,…
MINIONS AND MONSTERS Review — Too Much of a Good Thing?
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Minions and Monsters review says the adorable little yellow guys are as engagingly chaotic as ever, but this time around they’re a bit overwhelming, proving that you can have too much of a good thing. I shamelessly confess that I adore Minions. So when I went to my critics screening of Minions…
SUPERGIRL Review — Caped and Confused, the New Girl Soars
Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Supergirl review admits that the movie is a bit messy and dark, but it’s also exciting, refreshing and moving, mostly thanks to the presence of fluffy sidekick Krypto. You know the plot of most superhero movies before you see the trailer, read the review or walk into the theater: big scary bad…
THE DEATH OF ROBINHOOD Review — A Dark and Stormy Antihero
In her The Death of Robin Hood review, Lisa Johnson Mandell feels that this take on the cinematically overexposed character is original, but it’s a long slog through violence and mayhem to get to the lovely end. Hollywood has decided, for roughly the four hundredth time, that what the world needs is another trip to…
10 Tips for Enjoying Summer Lemons — the Fruit, Not the Movies
Those big, juicy tarts known as summer lemons are literally falling off the trees here at home in Hollywood, and if you’re not collecting your own stash as we are, or graciously accepting bags full from friends, you’re fondling them in the supermarket, trying decide which would be best to accent your ice water, which would be best…
