Socal Reviews

Arts & Culture

Books

IS KIM O'NEILL A BABY PSYCHIC? Sshh! Your Baby has Something to Say! Kim O'Neill's passion is clear: to empower and inspire all women to access this incredible gift, even for non-expecting ladies. Read More

Film

BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS - IT'S GOOD TO BE BAD Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a soaring achievement for Cage, who plays the titular lieutenant with passion and intensity oozing from his every pore. Read More PIRATE RADIO: NOTHING DANGEROUS ABOUT THESE PIRATES Pirate Radio is an entertaining film; the music rocks and the pacing of the film feels about right, but in the end, that’s about the only thing that can be said about the movie. Read More LOVE HURTS--AND CAN BE PAINFUL TO WATCH It’s hard to feel sympathy for Love's main character when viewers identify more with the character who’s causing him pain. Read More FILMMAKER DARES TO BREACH TEEN EXPERIENCE Dare is a wonderful film that intelligently handles the trials of maturing in the modern age without exploiting its characters. Read More TURNING GREEN: A PROJECT DESERVING OF ITS GREENLIGHT Chekhov’s gun mars an otherwise darkly funny and accomplished small Irish independent film. Read More

Food & Drink

Live Stage

THEATRE REVIEW – AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ It was delightful to watch these performers of different generations make Thomas “Fats” Waller’s music come alive. There was something for everyone. Read More Theatre Review: EVES RAPTURE ROCKS, FORSOOTH! Eve's Rapture, far surpassed my initial expectations Read More Scarcity I found myself cheering for the characters, squirming in my seat during particular scenes, and becoming offended and angered with the characters. Read More

TV & DVD

UP - DVD Review The DVD gods have smiled with three radically different takes on the lovably off-the-wall Pixar hit, priced for all wallets. Read More I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER - DVD Review It’s very possible that Miss Panettiere may have no career after this movie. Read More ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS - DVD Review Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, while mildly amusing and visually appealing, serves up the same thawed out leftovers viewers have seen in the two previous installments. Read More ORPHAN - DVD Review Director Jaume Collet-Serra and screenwriter David Johnson created a miniature female Hannibal Lecter--not a bad concept, but Esther becomes jarringly out of place in an otherwise compelling plot comprised of sympathetic characters with believable bad faith issues. Read More DRAG ME TO HELL - DVD Review Well aware of his own history and audience familiarity with horror, Raimi both uses the old genre tropes to reward, and at the same time, when the comfort level of the viewer is just high enough, completely overturns all expectations. Read More