BLACK MASS Review — Deep Dark Depp Returns
I remember a few years back when Federal agents discovered that the harmless-looking old guy living in plain sight in a Santa Monica apartment was actually a savage murderer, head of Boston’s vicious Winter Hill Gang, and directly responsible for at least 19 brutal killings. If Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) can’t make a decent film…
EVEREST Review — Over the Top Insanity
What kind of self-obsessed insanity induces people to forsake their loved ones and suffer the most extreme physical torture, just for bragging rights about climbing the world’s highest mountain? When that’s the foremost impression you get from a film, you know there’s something wrong with Simon Beaufoy’s and William Nicholson’s script, as well as Baltasar Kormákur’s directing.…
At Home In Hollywood is at Home in Ireland Via the Irish Retreat
Those of you who follow me here will note a number of features lately on fascinating lifestyle and design in Ireland. While I’ve traditionally focused on life At Home In Hollywood, I need to get out of this place every now and then, as we all do. Especially when the temperatures are in the three digits, we’re…
PAWN SACRIFICE Review — Well Played
Critic Colleague: Who knew Toby Maguire could act? Me: Who knew chess could be so riveting? Finally, an excellent film to end the long August/September draught. Toby Maguire’s labor of love, Pawn Sacrifice, is the best surprise of the year so far. I wasn’t expecting much of this Bobby Fisher story. I mean, how exciting…
Sam Heughan, Jamie from Outlander, Sets Fall Fashion Trend
Just in case you want to wear a little piece of Jamie Fraser close to your heart (and who doesn’t?) Sam Heughan, who plays the russet-haired Scottish hunk in Starz’ TV adaptation of the bestselling Outlander book series, has inadvertently set a hot new fashion trend. It’s the simply forged Celtic brooch, perfect for keeping the loosely woven scarf or…
PROPHET'S PREY Review — Exposing Polygamy's Dark Underbelly
You could say I’ve been what most people would consider shockingly intimate with polygamists. I’ve visited the Hildale/Short Creek/Colorado City area where polygamist families suffered great losses during the recent floods, and I’ve played a part in helping kids escape from that bizarre lifestyle. So when I say that filmmaker Amy Berg’s latest documentary, Prophet’s…
STEVE JOBS — THE MAN IN THE MACHINE Review
Writer/director/producer Alex Gibney is one of the most talented documentarians of our time, with great films under his belt like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side, We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks, The Armstrong Lie and recently, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, for which he is still getting flack…
Check Out Irish Fashion Icons Lainey Keogh and Louise Kennedy
When you think of superstar European designers, the first names that come to mind are probably Italian, French or perhaps English. All that’s about to change. You are about to have your fashion worlds rocked by a couple of fabulous ladies from…Ireland, if you can believe it. Lainey Keogh and Louise Kennedy are such well established…
Cook in Wolfgang Puck's Kitchen — for a Mere $8.495 Million
Think of the inspiration! Think of the history! Think of the outrageous dinner parties you could throw when you cook in Wolgang Puck’s kitchen. Now you have the rare opportunity to do just that every night of the week, as Puck’s Mediterranean Revival style home in the Beverly Hills flats is on the market for $8.495 million. You’ll…
Warby Parker Saves Frankie Feldman’s Bacon — AGAIN!
Oops! He did it again! It seems like just a few months ago that my Australian Labradoodle Frankie Feldman decided to use my gorgeous new Watts Blue Saphire glasses from Warby Parker as a chew toy. But yesterday, in a fit of puppy pique, he laid waste to my gorgeous Warby Parker prescription sunglasses. I loved those…
