REVIEWS

This is Us: A Case for Cathartic Television

When “This is Us” won for Best TV Drama Ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards this past January, the reactions from its cast were priceless. Each member emanated joy and humility: Chrissy Metz threw her hands up, incredulous; Sterling K. Brown performed an epic handshake with his beaming wife; Mandy Moore reached the microphone first, and warned with breathless delight, “It’s going to be a minute, there are quite a few of us!” As the actors filed onto the stage, their diversity – in terms of race, gender, and age – was apparent, a reminder of the varied voices that frame the show. There seemed to be a genuine sense of closeness amongst the cast, too—a warmth that was palpable....

Frieze: LA’s Pop-up art fair in a faux NYC

Kelly green stickers papered the ground, emblazoned with philosophical quandaries in Futura all caps: “ARE THERE ANIMALS IN HEAVEN?” “WHO BUYS THE CON?” “IS THERE LIFE WITHOUT PAIN?” But this wasn’t just aimless litter underfoot; it was artist Barbara Kruger’s installation “Untitled (Questions 3),” one of the many exhibits on display at the art fair, Frieze LA. Frieze, which bills itself as a “media and events company,” is an arts and culture magazine publisher that has grown into an international powerhouse, throwing well-attended bashes in New York and London. Over the weekend of February 16 and 17, artists, curators and celebrities descended upon Paramount Studios to see and be seen at Frieze’s inaugural LA festival....

Something Less than Revolution with Roxane Gay and Amanda Nguyen

Revolution Nothing Less," his t-shirt read. I passively, bored-but-curious, accepted one of his newspapers into my glad good hand, while standing in front of Bovard Auditorium in a long line for the much-anticipated USC Annenberg's Visions and Voices' conversation on February 13 between author Roxane Gay and activist Amanda Nguyen, moderated by Tara McPherson. ...

Messob’s Higher Purpose Bread in Little Ethiopia

The earth-colored collage of stewed meats and lentils you find at Messob is already a beautiful mess. And the situation only gets stickier when the restaurant staff encourages you to share in gursha – the Ethiopian ritual of hand-feeding your companion chunks of this aromatic, peppery mash-up....

Netflix’s ‘Bodyguard’ brings back the earnestly fun political thriller

The Golden Globe Awards  are a bit of an odd duck. Presented by journalists covering the film industry for foreign outlets, the Globes mark the unofficial beginning to movie award season, but also recognize excellence in television. And while the Oscars and Emmys might be considered more prestigious, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association does its best to make the Golden Globes stand apart from its glittery rivals. This year’s Golden Globe ceremony brought plenty of surprises, but no one was shocked to see Netflix continue its formidable rise as an award-winning juggernaut. The streaming network’s new comedy The Kominsky Method took awards for best comedy series and best actor in a comedy series, while critically acclaimed Roma won best foreign language film and best director....

Sundance Sparks Hope for Women in Film

The Sundance Film Festival attracts critics, distributors, celebrity-sightseers, and movie-lovers alike to the snowy locale of Park City, UT for 10 days in January. The intimate loveliness of Park City seems picturesque and unassuming but the films that premiere here often become Oscar winners. “Call Me By Your Name” and “Get Out” were among last year’s programming. But for this year’s festival, which ran from January 18th to 28th, a number stood out: 37% of the films were directed by women. Although this statistic is nowhere near where it should be in 2018, it remains the highest percentage of women-directed films ever to be programmed at Sundance....

The Best Movies of 2017 That You Didn’t See

With all the acclaim buoying “Lady Bird” in awards season, it’s easy to forget about another charming little film set in relatively the same period with many of the same themes, “Landline.” Jenny Slate steers this funny, family drama about two sisters Dana and Ali (played by Slate and Abby Quinn), their complicated, feuding parents Alan and Pat (John Turturro and Edie Falco), plus Dana’s beleaguered boyfriend Ben and her one night stand Nate (Jay Duplass and Finn Wittrock)....