Month: February 2017

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89th Annual Oscars RECAP

It’s the biggest night in Hollywood as celebrities fill the Dolby Theater in Hollywood to welcome the newest inductees into the Academy Award Family and the stakes are high as to who will take the prized Oscar.

At 5:30 p.s.t, the show kicked off with Justin Timberlake singing the opening number dedicated to his Oscar nominated song, “Can’t Stop The Feeling”.

Jimmy Kimmel took the stage after lightening the moment with jokes after jokes about stars as well as politics, as Kimmel introduced various oscar nominees, including the first Amazon Film, Manchester By The Sea and Casey Afflict, Isabelle Huppert for Elle and Denzel Washington for Fences.

  1. Mahershala Ali took the Oscar for best supporting actor in Moonlight.
  2. Suicide Squad took the Oscar for hair and makeup, while best costume design went to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
  3. O.J: Made In America won the Oscar for Best documentary feature, presented by the actresses from Hidden Figures as well as the real life hero, Katherine Johnson.
  4. Auli’i Cravalho performed her Oscar nominated song, from Moana, “How Far I’ll Go” with a stunning flag routine depicting waves and the island.
  5. Arrival received its first Oscar for sound editing and Hacksaw Ridge took the Oscar for sound mixing.
  6. Viola Davis took home the Oscar for Best Actress in a supporting role for the film Fences.
  7. Shirley MacLaine and Charlize Theron presented the best foreign language film to Iran’s film, The Salesman.
  8. Sting performed his song, The Empty Chair which is up for best original song.
  9. Piper took home the Oscar for Best Animated short film and the Oscar for best animated feature film went to Zootopia.
  10. La La Land took its first Oscar for production design.
  11. The Oscar for Visual Effects goes to the Jungle Book and the Oscar for Film Editing goes to Hacksaw Ridge for its second win.
  12. The White Helmets took the Oscar for documentary short subject and the Oscar for live action feature film goes to Sing.
  13. The Oscar for Cinematography goes to La La Land for its second Oscar.
  14. John Legend performs the last two songs from La La Land up for best original song, “City of Stars” and “Audition”.
  15. The Best original music score goes to Justin Hurwitz for La La Land and the best original song goes to “City of Stars” for La La Land’s fourth win  and the second win for Justin Hurwitz.
  16. Jennifer Aniston introduced the ‘In Memoriam’ to those lost in the 2016 year, including, Gene Wilder, Patty Duke, Gerry Marshall, Mary Tyler Moore John Hurt, Anton Yelchin, Nancy Reagan, Ken Howard, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Debbie Reynolds, and Carrie Fisher, including a special shout out to Bill Paxton who just passed away one day before the Oscars.
  17. Kenny Lonergan took the Oscar for Best original screenplay for Manchester By The Sea in its first Oscar for an Amazon film.
  18. The Best adapted screenplay Berry Jenkins and Terrell Alvin McCraney for Moonlight giving the film its second Oscar Win for the night.
  19. Damien Chazelle takes the Oscar for best director, becoming the youngest director to date at just 32 years old.
  20. Casey Afflict takes the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the Amazon film Manchester By The Sea making its second win for the night.
  21. Emma Stone takes the Oscar for best actress in a leading role in the film La La Land, making its 6th win out of 14 nominations.
  22. And finally, the best picture for the 89th Academy Awards is Moonlight, despite the error.  This makes Moonlight’s third Oscar, for best picture. Congratulations.

The 89th Academy Awards aired exclusively on ABC from 5:30 PST til 9 on February 26, 2017.  The winners are chosen by a collection of former actors and members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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Oscar Picks Now

With less then a day away from the 89th Academy Awards, people are buzzing with their top nominees for who will walk away as Best Picture.

Take a moment and cast your vote now as we are gathering last minute favorites from our followers.

And stay tuned for more exclusive coverage from the 89th Academy Awards.

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“Love” Still Possible

Pantelion Films brings the possibility of love to the big screens on what is recorded to be a wet weekend for So Cal, as a handful of patrons came out to see the bilingual romance comedy.

“Everybody Loves Somebody“, stars  Karla Souza as Clara, a successful doctor who has everything except love, but when her parents decide to finally get married nearly forty years later, and she is her mom’s bridesmaid, she has a problem, no boyfriend.  Quickly she invites her friend at Los Angeles Children’s hospital, Asher (played by Ben O’Toole), to go with her as her boyfriend, not realizing that there is a deeper connection, especially when her ex boyfriend, Daniel (played by Jose Maria Yazpik) shows up to crash the party.   Now it’s a question of whether Clara will let Daniel back in or is she ready to find “new” love with Asher?

Set in both Los Angeles and Baja, California, “Everybody Loves Somebody” is a traditional tale of what happens when old flames meet new flames, but with a slight twist, that of mixing Spanish dialogue with English, though most of the film is entirely Spanish, it holds true to the way families of mixed race speak to one another, from the humorous banter to the heartfelt talks that take place among siblings about the important matters.

“Everybody Loves Somebody” came out February 17, and due to its language barrier is not expected to beat out some of the big name films like The Batman Lego Movie, which is projected to take number one for the second week, according to box office mojo.  That being said, it’s a great movie to see if you want a love comedy with a twist.

See it in a theater near you.  It’s completely worth it.

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“Jackie” Review

It’s the story of beloved first lady Jackie Kennedy, who endures all in the wake of her husband’s assassination as she goes from first lady to widow in less just two years after JFK became president.

Natalie Portman beautifully portrays the third youngest first lady and we see first hand the struggle that she goes through from being with her husband when he was shot to telling her young children about the tragedy and finally to insisting on a walking procession even against everyone’s better judgement of her safety.

With a run time of just over an hour and thirty minutes, Jackie delves into the autobiographical tale of Jackie Kennedy through her eyes and Portman’s performance is well worth the opportunity of an Oscar.  We’ll see what happens on February 26 at the 89th Annual Academy Awards.

Until then, see Jackie in a theater near you, before it leaves the theaters or wait for it to come to DVD, March 7th.

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“Comedian” Review

Robert De Niro is The Comedian in the latest Sony Classic film about a former star who tries hard to make a new name for himself as a stand up comic. The film follows the life of Jack Burke (De Niro), an insult comic who tries to make a name for himself. Through the process, he ends up doing jail time, which in turn puts him volunteering at a soup kitchen where he meets, Harmony (Leslie Mann), a young woman, who also has a knack for slight insult comedy as well though her father, Mac (Harvey Keitel) keeps her down by relocating her from New York to Florida.

Not wanting romance, DeNiro and Mann end up on a one night stand that ends up having consequences that he has to decide if he wants to pursue that or stick to his solo bachelor life.

At 2 hr run time, The Comedian is a movie that will have you laughing from the first joke on.  With select cameos, from iconic comedians including Danny Devito as Jack’s Brother, Patty Lupone as his brother’s wife, Cloris Leachman, as May Conner and Billy Crystal, Jim Norton, Jimmie Walker, Brett Butler and Gilbert Gottfried to name a few of the iconic comic greats, The comedian is a great movie for anyone who wants to have a great laugh in the mix of the troubles of the world.

The comedy came out in limited theaters last December and despite its low audience turn out, it’s a movie that should be seen on the big screen.   To date, it has grossed nearly 2 million and is currently out in more theaters as a February 3rd.  See it, it’s a movie that will have you coming back for more and more laughs and proves that laughter is the best medicine for anything.

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21s Annual Pow Wow in Lawndale

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“Grey” Gets Darker

After a two year wait, the most famous love story written by author E.L James, is going darker in their second tale of billionaire Christian Grey, who attempts to woe Anastasia Steele one more time in Fifty Shades Darker.

The movie reunites Jamie Dornan as Mr. Grey as he especially captures the poise and power that ultimately no woman can resist, but Anastasia, played once again by Dakota Johnson, is skeptical as to his true intentions, especially when secrets come out from previous women he had seduced.  The question is can this man truly change and what is the ultimate power of love?

At 118 minutes, Fifty Shades Darker will have audiences glued to their seats as they watch true love can develop even in the mix of cruel dominatrix and sadist rituals.  It’s a movie that is currently playing in theaters for the Valentine’s Day weekend and is the ultimate romantic getaway for you and your loved one.  Just make sure to leave the kids at home.

Fifty shades is rated R for very explicit sexual conduct and adult behavior and is expected to be a good front-runner for the box office where The Lego Batman movie is giving it a run for it’s money.  Based on the Friday totals, it is in number one with 21.5 million domestically.

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“Elle” Review

The foreign language film which took two Golden Globes both for the film itself as well as Isabelle Huppert’s dramatic role as Michele Leblanc, is putting France on the map with it’s recent Academy Award nomination for best actress.

Sony’s Elle is the tale of tech savvy business woman, Michele Leblanc who goes on a search for the masked man who breaks in a forces himself on her one evening.  Leblanc doesn’t go to the police, for fear of her dark history with her father, but decides to take on the mask man herself.

All in all, the film set clearly in France, is wonderfully staged, from the details in the video game which Leblanc is producing to Huppert’s stunning acting ability as she plays the victim who seems to enjoy the forcefulness of her attacker.  Huppert has a stunning way of delivering her lines that, although in french, the audience captures every moment including the heart pounding realization of just who her attacker really is.

At 2 hours and 10 minutes, it’s a film that even non french speaking audiences will be sitting on the edge of their seats wondering who and what will happen next.

Elle came out in limited theaters, November 11th, 2016 and is still playing at several independent theaters.  It is rated R for language, adult content and graphic nudity, so beware, it’s not a move for the faint at heart, however it is a great movie for the nature and the acting.

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“Moonlight” Review

The independent film about an African-American man, who struggles to find his place in the rough urban neighborhood of Miami Florida is bringing in over 150 wins including Best Picture for a drama at the Golden Globes as well as Best supporting Actress and Actor and is currently up for 8 additional Oscars.

The film chronicles the life of Chiron (Little) (Black) from childhood (roughly ages 10-through his late 20’s) and the situations that he encounters which ultimately shapes him into the man he becomes.  Having to deal with bullying from classmates as well as his drug addicted mother, Chiron finds comfort in the friendliness of Juan, (Mahershala Ali) and his girl, Teresa, (Janelle Monae) who ends up taking him in as a second home, when he can’t go home to his own.

All in all, with a run time of nearly two hours, there is power in the acting from the first scene with Alex Hibbert in his first theatrical debut as “Little”.  Hibbert excels in portraying the troubled young boy who just wants to be accepted, by both his friends and his mother.  Through “Little’s” emotion we see without little words, the deep struggle as well as the beauty in bromance as his only friend, Kevin encourages him to keep fighting.

Moonlight came out in theaters, November 18, 2016, and has brought in over 18 million domestically.  It’s currently still playing in select theaters, leading up to the 89th Annual Academy awards, which will air on February 26, 2017, where we will see if Moonlight has what it takes to win the ultimate award.

See it now either on the big screen or when it comes out on February 28, 2017 after the awards show.

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Romance comes Early

The newest epic romance of the year about star cross lovers is coming to screens and getting crowds ready for Valentine’s Day in a couple of weeks.

 Asa Butterfield plays Gardner, the son of lead astronaut Sarah Elliot (Janet Montgomery), whose voyage to Mars to live for four years turns into 16, when she realizes she is pregnant thus has the first child born on Mars shortly after arriving.  Through the delivery, the baby is fine however Sarah doesn’t make it and the team, on earth, lead by Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman) is fearful to bring the baby back for fear of different atmospheres.  They decide to keep the boy a secret.

Gardner is fine living on Mars, but as he ages, his curiosity grows and he finds himself communicating with a young teen on earth, Tulsa, (Britt Robertson) which causes him to want more of a physical connection as well as to find father.

But now, on Earth, it’s a race against time to find out the truth about his father before his large heart stops beating.

At 2 hour run time, The Space Between Us is a romantic teenage drama that will have you laughing and reminiscing at childhood innocence, cheering as Gardner and Tulsa races to find his last remaining family without getting caught and ultimately will have you tearing up with emotion as it comes down to the ultimate decision of staying on Earth or going back to Mars in order to survive.

The movie came out in theaters on the first Thursday night in February and will be buying for a top spot at the box office against the much-anticipated sequel, Rings.

See it in a theater near you.