AMERICAN ULTRA Review: Not Your Basic Stoner Movie
Previously, I’d found that watching a “stoner” movie is a lot like watching people smoke pot. The ones actually partaking are having a great time, and the rest of us feel left out, bored and annoyed without understanding what’s so funny, intriguing and/or profound. And never having inhaled myself, I especially don’t get the entertainment value. So my…
THE MAN FROM UNCLE Review
If you’re old enough to have been cognizant in the ’60’s, you can probably remember whether you were on Team Illya Kuryakin or Team Napoleon Solo. Now, with the release of The Man From UNCLE, a whole new generation gets to take sides. As for me, although I used to watch the show between the bars of…
GRANDMA Review — My, What Big Teeth You Have
Just because this film has a warm and fuzzy title like Grandma doesn’t mean it’s going to be all home baked sugar cookies and bedtime stories. Lily Tomlin’s “Grandma Elle” is cruel, acerbic and abrasive. That’s not to say that the septuagenarian’s performance isn’t stellar. It’s just that when you take an unlikeable character and put her in a…
RICKI AND THE FLASH Review — Can Meryl Streep Rock It?
Ricki and the Flash has all the ingredients of a fabulous film: written by Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult), directed by Jonathan Demme (That Thing You Do, The Manchurian Candidate) and stars Kevin Kline as Ricki’s ex-husband, Meryl freakin’ Streep as Ricki, and Streep’s real life daughter, Mami Gummer, as Ricki’s daughter in the film.…
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE Review — A Rogue Nation of Spiffy Spies
It isn’t often you witness a theater full of critics clapping, cheering and laughing out loud, but that’s exactly what happened at the all media screening of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation. That film is just so much fun and rife with heart stopping action that you can’t help but become immersed. And for all Tom…
Only in Hollywood: Catbaret Feline Fundraiser
With apologies to At Home In Hollywood Hound Frankie Feldman, L.A. has not only gone to the dogs, it’s gone to the cats as well — at least for one night, as stars like Amy Schumer, Fred Willard, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Nia Peeples, Nicole Sullivan and Keith David lent their support to the Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats at the annual…
BEST OF ENEMIES Review — Best of Docs
There are so many documentaries out these days that seemingly serve no other purpose than to force an agenda down our throats. Few filmmakers dare to present both sides of an issue, and you come away feeling as if you’ve just been beaten over the head with a spiked propaganda stick, no matter how you originally…
Barry Weiss, the Bubble Car and Me at Auctions America
I admit that I’m not really a car girl. When I tour celebrity homes, I’m usually more interested in the decor style of the garages than in the cars they house. But all that changed last weekend, when my hubby and I attended Auctions America’s California Auto Sale at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. I originally went to see our buddy…
PAPER TOWNS Review — More Like (Wet) Paper Towels
By Lisa Johnson Mandell In the beginning, teen coming of age drama Paper Towns has potential. Childhood friends find a dead body in their neighborhood. Fast forward to the friends’ senior year, and Margo (Cara Delevingne) climbs through Quentin’s (Nat Wolff) window, cajoling him to embark on a revenge mission against a number of classmates…
SOUTHPAW Review: Timing is Everything
Let’s face it: boxing movies are all about the final big match. Everything that happens up to that point is there just to build tension. So ultimately, if that last match delivers suspense, excitement and impact, the film can be considered a success, right? Well, not so much. While Southpaw is punctuated with brutally and effectively…
