A genre that has been skyrocketing in popularity in the past year is science fiction, evident in the steady rise of television shows, films and programs available through online-streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime: Blade Runner 2049, Bright, The Lure, The Void, Altered Carbon, Legion and The Handmaid’s Tale are just a number […]
Newsletter - Arts
Our Guide to the 2018 Newport Beach Film Festival’s Tasteful Culinary Film Series
For the first time in its epic 19-year history, the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) will include a slate of documentaries and films revolving around the illustrious world of cuisine and the culinary industry. Many of the Culinary Film Series’ eight films are global and West Coast premieres, all of them scattered throughout other showcases […]
![Lasso of Hell Yeah [Special Screenings, April 19-26]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/screenings-wonder-woman_Warner-Bros-18-348x180.jpg)
Lasso of Hell Yeah [Special Screenings, April 19-26]
Borg vs McEnroe. Janus Metz Pedersen’s multilanguage, internationally co-produced, 2017 sports biopic is set during the 1980 Wimbledon Championships, at which Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason), the placid, No. 1 professional tennis player in the world, was challenged by John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf), a volatile, rising star. The Frida Cinema, 305 E. Fourth St., Santa Ana; […]
A Diverse Lineup Takes Center Stage at South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival
Twenty-one years ago, the following names graced the inaugural Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF), South Coast Repertory’s foray into the mostly uncharted (at least on the Left Coast) waters of new plays: Richard Greenberg, Anthony Clarvoe, Cusi Cram, John Glore, Jessica Hagedorn, Howard Korder, Chris Van Groningen, Karen Zacarias. Okay, okay, that was supposed to be […]
Designer Betsey Johnson Shares Her Guide to Living and Loving with Style
When it comes to matters of happiness, career and style, Betsey Johnson’s advice on all three are essentially the same: “decide it, then do it.” The iconic fashion designer knows there’s a time and place to be superfluous (which is to say, often) but when it comes to success in all aspects of life, […]
The Handmaid’s Tale Starts Season 2 Just as Intense; Plus, a Writer Comes to Town
Based on the intense first three episodes of the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, it is obvious why Elisabeth Moss and Ann Dowd were Emmy winners for Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series respectively. The Handmaid’s Tale was also the Emmy winner for Outstanding Dramatic Series, and among the […]
Despite the Movies, Godfather of Ganja Cheech Marin Defies What It Means to be a Stoner
“Hey, you wanna get high, man?” The camera pulls back to show a 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport driving along the coast. “Does Howdy Doody got wooden balls, man?” “I’ve got a joint here that I’ve been saving for a special occasion.” The next shot shows the infamous godfathers of cannabis: Richard “Cheech” Marin, with […]
The Well-Curated ‘LA ATTITUDE’ Show at Sue Greenwood Fine Art Captures the City’s Intimidating Spirit
One of the most important talents a curator can possess is corraling artists in one place and making it seem as if their works belong together. Sue Greenwood has done just that, bringing a trio of Los Angeles painters—William Wray, Scott Yeskel and Danny McCaw—into her Laguna Beach gallery, with the resulting exhibition, “LA ATTITUDE,” […]
![Who Are You Really? [Special Screenings, April 12-19]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/screenings-imitation-girl_illium-pictures-7-348x180.jpg)
Who Are You Really? [Special Screenings, April 12-19]
Isle of Dogs. Wes Anderson’s latest animation has, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City exiled to a vast garbage dump called Trash Island. That sends 12-year-old Atari off alone in a miniature turbo prop to find his bodyguard dog, Spots. He is assisted on his epic journey by a pack of […]
![Call for Submissions [Savage Love]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/savage.jpg)
Call for Submissions [Savage Love]
I’m a 36-year-old straight woman. I was sexually and physically abused as a kid and raped in my early 20s. I have been seeing a great therapist for the past five years, and I am processing things and feeling better than I ever have. I was in a long-term relationship that ended about two years […]
Driver Digs the Drive and Riders Relish the Ride in 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring
A recent turnaround trip to the Phoenix area was made quickly, comfortably and classily (?) by a “Soul Red Crystal Metallic” Mazda CX-9. The all-wheel-drive ride arrived on my doorstep (or driveway, to be more precise) with a heap of praise. Car and Driver lists it among the 2018 10Best Trucks and SUVs, and U.S. […]
SanTana Art Walk Finally Gets Some Theater
Bob Tully is a well-paid, well-traveled middle-aged white man living in Orange County. Definitely the kind of authority qualified to mansplain about abortion, #metoo and police shootings of black people, right? But though Tully, who has launched an innovative theater company called Playhouse, which will stage its second production Saturday amid the Santa Ana Art […]
Revisiting the Legacy of Sam’s Seafood, Sunset Beach’s Original Polynesian Palace
The buildings that have stood at what’s now 16278 Pacific Coast Highway in Sunset Beach or Surfside (call it what you want, just don’t DARE call it Huntington Beach around a local) have weathered their fair share of storms over the years. They’ve endured the tradewinds of new development, a flaming inferno and even Hurricane […]
A Look At the Most Memorable Music DJs in Film
In the roughly 112 years that Hollywood has been churning out feature-length films, radio disc jockeys have made for some interesting, if not iconic, cinematic characters. Record spinners really started appearing onscreen in the 1970s—back when DJs were still able to pick their own music—and here are some of the best. Stevie Wayne, The Fog […]
![No More Hammer Time [Special Screenings, April 5-12]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/screenings-basket-case_basket-case-productions-1-348x180.jpg)
No More Hammer Time [Special Screenings, April 5-12]
Psiconautas, los niños olvidados (Birdboy: The Forgotten Children). Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero’s darkly comic animated feature is based on Vázquez’s graphic novel and is not intended for children. Stranded on an island in a post-apocalyptic world, teenager Dinky and her friends hatch a dangerous plan to escape for a better life. Meanwhile, her old […]
Questions From the Royal Oak [Savage Love]
I visited Royal Oak, Michigan, for Savage Love Live at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. I didn’t get to all of the questions submitted by the large and tipsy crowd—a crowd that skipped the Stormy Daniels interview on 60 Minutes to spend the evening with me (so honored, you guys!)—so I’m going to race through […]
Party for Leonora Carrington This Friday at Makara Center for the Arts
We are all invited to a birthday party for artist and writer extraordinaire Leonora Carrington, but an RSVP is required for the free event. Hosted by SanTana’s Makara Center for the Arts, the celebration will have two special guests: the surrealist’s son and grandson. Leonora Carrington‘s art and writing can’t get enough celebration as far […]
KLOS Sabroso Fest Offers OC Festival Flavor With a Kick
There’s nothing more OC than beer, tasty tacos, wrestling and punk rock. Anything less is like trying to talk about Charlie Brown without mentioning Snoopy… that just doesn’t work. Now that Warped Tour’s last run is upon us, Sabroso Craft Beer and Taco Festival may be the next big thing for SoCal. This year’s […]
Emmanuel Nkuranga Lights Up Casa Romantica
Emmanuel Nkuranga was flying from his home in Kigali, Rwanda, to attend his solo show at San Clemente’s Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens, but, as I mentioned in my preview, because of plane delays, he missed the March 20 opening reception. The self-taught artist’s thick, painterly works dazzle with a riot of color and […]
A Ghost Is Resurrected at the Bowers With ‘American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times’
I.F. Stone once described John F. Kennedy as “simply an optical illusion,” and nowhere is that more evident than in “American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times,” the curated showing of Kennedy photographs now at the Bowers Museum. Tracing the life of the 35th president of the United States from his privileged birth to […]
A Clockwork Orange: A Mormon, a Cop and a Fraud Defendant Walk Into a Bar . . .
It took The Book of Mormon to make me believe. Huh? In musicals. What did you think I meant? The muse moves in mysterious ways, and so it was that the WTF With Marc Maron podcast was my bedtime listening before I caught the March 20 opening performance of The Book of Mormon at the […]
