Review: White Bird in a Blizzard
Gorgeous and talented little Shailene Woodley got naked on the screen for the first time in this? What a waste! That’s my overall reaction to the quality of the film, but I am intrigued by White Bird in a Blizzard for a completely different and irrelevant reason. This could be the first and only time…
The Good Wife Loses Her Best Frenemy
The Good Wife fans were gobsmacked last season when Will Gardner (Josh Charles) was shot by a client and left the show for good. But we won’t be so taken aback at the end of Season Six when Kalinda meets her ultimate fate, because it’s been announced Emmy winner Archie Punjabi has just signed a…
Review: Gone Girl
And they’re off! The Oscar race has officially begun, with David Fincher’s Gone Girl pulling ahead for an early lead. And it may well have the legs to carry it right across the finish line first come Oscar time. The film is, in a word, sublime. If you’re an avid fan of Gone Girl, the novel, like I…
Where Desi Loved Lucy
“Lucy, I’m home!” You can almost hear that iconic television phrase wafting through the entry hall of this most classic of Beverly Hills mansions, which recently came on the market for a very reasonable (for the area) $6.985 million. It was the temporary love nest of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez back in the 1950’s, while they awaited another regal…
Review: The Judge
Will someone please explain to me how such a stellar cast can wind up in such a miscarriage of movie justice? I mean, it’s Robert Downey Jr., for heavens sake, along with Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga and Billy Bob Thornton. You need a really bad script and an inept director to show some of the greatest actors…
Hollywood Hound Must Have: Healthy Paws Pet Insurance
Most of the “Must Haves” I write about are not absolute essentials — they’re more like “Really Wants.” But when it comes to pet health insurance, unless you want to go into debt or feel tremendously guilty, it really is an imperative that you keep your pet covered. I don’t mean to sound like an ad,…
Review: The Book of Life
I’m always up for a major studio movie that focuses on Mexican lore and culture, a segment of North American society that I think is shamelessly underrepresented in the media. I’m also enthusiastic about anything that flows from the original and creative genius of Guillermo del Toro, who backed an produced The Book of Life, while Jorge…
Review: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Since there are so many words in the title, I sum up Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in one word: Cute. But since you’re expecting a little more out of this review, I’ll add a few more. It’s fast, it’s fun, it’s frolicsome, it’s family friendly. Add it to your current…
A GOOD MARRIAGE Review — A Troubled Relationship With the Script
Let me qualify this review of Stephen King’s A Good Marriage by telling you that I’m a huge Stephen King fan. I think he is an important, uniquely American literary voice, and, as a writer, I can’t help but admire his prolific output. So I’m always eager to see any film he touches. All his stories aren’t perfect cinematic translations,…
A Pretty Fabulous Pre-Fab Home
Sometimes the home I write about does not belong to a celebrity, it is the celebrity, as is the case with the new Blu Home model that was recently “placed” on a hillside lot on Kanan Road in Aguora Hills. It will cause you to rethink all the preconceptions you’ve ever had about pre-fab homes,…
