Entertainment - LA Canada

DVD Review: 'Predestination' is a sci-fi film worth the time

By Andy Klein — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 14:53:00 PDT

"Predestination" opened quietly at the very beginning of the year, when New Year's Eve hangovers had barely faded. It's the sort of film that requires the viewer's undivided attention, so this may have been bad timing. Regardless, three months later it remains handily my favorite nondocumentary of this year.

Author William Hackman chronicles a culture of creativity

By Kirk Silsbee — Thu, 9 Apr 2015 22:41:00 PDT

Hackman shines a revelatory light on L.A.'s '60s art scene.

When art critic Peter Plagens published “Sunshine Muse: Art on the West Coast, 1945-1970” in 1974, it was a long-needed history of California’s contribution to contemporary art. Though there were the inevitable gripes (“How could he leave out…?”), it’s proven an enduring outline. He never meant the volume to be a definitive history. Plagens hoped it to be a catalyst.

Film Review: Levin's '5 to 7' doesn't always add up

By Andy Klein — Thu, 9 Apr 2015 22:37:00 PDT

Victor Levin’s “5 to 7” — written and directed by the TV veteran (“Mad Men,” “Mad About You”) — feels as though it was intended as a romantic comedy, and it certainly fulfills the promise of that phrase's first word. It does far less well with the second, so perhaps it was supposed to be a romance, period.

Dining Review: Westside Italian without hitting the 405

By Lisa Dupuy — Thu, 9 Apr 2015 22:29:00 PDT

Residents looking for fine dining can find opportunity around the corner.

A gem of an Italian trattoria has just opened on an unexpected corner in Burbank. Housed in an old cheesesteak joint, Centanni Trattoria is poised to become a favorite for nearby residents who don’t have much to choose from in the way of fine dining in this part of town. It may even become a favorite for faraway residents. This is some tasty classic Italian food.

Glendale teen follows his musical passion

By Kirk Silsbee — Wed, 8 Apr 2015 12:17:00 PDT

Young jazz enthusiast will play with the All Star Youth Band at the Alex.

In May 2011, the gifted Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval was one of the featured artists at the Los Angeles Jazz Institute's biannual festival. He was out front onstage, playing the arrangements of Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band. As is the custom at the LAJI weekend festivals, he also sat down for a Q&A. But there was something uncharacteristic about the customarily geriatric audience that afternoon: a 12-year-old boy sat in the front row; hanging on to Sandoval's every word.

DVD Review: Bergman's angst 'Cries' on Blu-ray

By Andy Klein — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 01:52:00 PDT

Following the poor reception of “The Touch,” his first English language film, Ingmar Bergman, one of the two or three towering figures in European film at the time, came roaring back with “Cries and Whispers,” which is solidly in the existential/emotional angst mode of his best work. (It received five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, extremely rare for a foreign film back then.)

Dining Review: Some of the finest pizza in the area

By Lisa Dupuy — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 01:48:00 PDT

Pickup or delivery, Romo's Pizza & Wings brings their best to your table.

As far as fears go, starting a small business has got to rank right up there with public speaking and heights. There’s so much to lose — money, reputation, time. But there’s potentially so much to gain — money, reputation, and the sheer joy of doing something you love.

Film Review: Baumbach skewers the generation gaps

By Andy Klein — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 01:42:00 PDT

Your response to films revolving around generation gaps is very likely to be informed — or even dominated — by your own generational affiliation. Writer/director Noah Baumbach is in his mid-40s, as are Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts, the stars of his new “While We’re Young,” and Josh and Cornelia, the characters they play. Those not in that age bracket may find it harder to sympathize with their world.

Stage Review: Documenting a nation at war with itself

By Lynne Heffley — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 01:34:00 PDT

Theatre Banshee remembers the end of the Civil War with consummate skill.

No dry history lesson here. Theatre Banshee is marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War with a deeply affecting reprise of its 2005 “stage documentary,” “Mine Eyes Hath Seen,” bringing to life, through their own words, long-dead men and women who witnessed and participated in the conflict that fractured the nation and left an enduring psychic scar.

A Police story not all black and white

By Katherine Tulich — Fri, 3 Apr 2015 01:11:00 PDT

Musician Andy Summers chronicles his career in a documentary featuring his photography and voice.

It’s been nearly 30 years since the legendary British band the Police officially announced they were splitting, following a seven-year run of hits such as “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take” and arena-busting shows around the world. Those turbulent years are addressed by guitarist Andy Summers in a very personal documentary, “Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police,” which opened last week at Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 in Pasadena.