A & E

	Brilliant Pairing of Buddies Creates a Western That Truly Works By Frederik Sisa @ 10:00 AM October 03, 2008 Found in: Film Appaloosa: A Tale of Love and Bullets Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris didn’t share nearly enough screen time in David Cronenberg’s comic book treatise “A History of Violence.” But along comes “Appaloosa,” a classical Western rooted in a mature formulation of the buddy movie, to show just how comfortably these two pros fit together. As two friends and partners in the peacekeeping-for-hire business, Mortensen and Harris (who co-wrote the screenplay and directed) bring a wordless chemistry into the surgically-precise dialogue. read
	Take an Impassioned Stroll in…This Beautiful City By Frederik Sisa @ 11:00 AM September 30, 2008 Found in: Theatre ...I lumped faith and ignorance together. Without all the necessary philosophical and theological qualifications that would normally accompany that kind of statement, this particular lumping could come across as insulting. That’s how atheists feel when people like Danny Bental presumes to tell them they can’t really find meaning in their lives without God, beauty, or anything worthwhile... ...The disconnect I illustrated above arises from a simple letter to the editor, yet it hints at a greater disconnect like the one that exists between Evangelical Christianity and not only atheism, but other religions as well. This Beautiful City, based on actual interviews conducted by theatrical production group The Civilians, looks at the Evangelical movement through an exploration of Colorado Springs prior to the 2006 mid-term elections...It is arguably the best production put on by the Kirk Douglas in recent memory.read
	‘Hell’s Gate’ is More Like Heck’s Gate By Frederik Sisa @ 10:00 AM September 26, 2008 Found in: Film The railroad bridge in New York called Hell’s Gate got its name, we’re told, on account of lurking above the shipwrecking intersection of two waterways. It’s an ideal place to dispose of inconvenient corpses – divers never find anything dumped there – and a good title for the familiar morality play of a down-on-his-luck felon forced to make difficult choices in a situation that spirals far outside his control.read
	Silent Screen’s Last Great Epic at the Old Town Music Hall By Ross Hawkins @ 7:00 AM September 26, 2008 Found in: A & E Douglas Fairbanks Sr.’s last great costume drama in the 1920s, “The Iron Mask,” is playing at the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo this weekend. Fairbanks produced and starred in the epic swashbuckler, and he also wrote the screenplay. read
	Burn After Reading: Laugh While Watching! By Frederik Sisa @ 12:00 PM September 19, 2008 Found in: Film I suppose one could read into “Burn After Reading” a commentary on the quality and nature of intelligence gathering in the U.S. “war on terror.” Or, to wax philosophical, one could see in the film a cinematic, almost existential, musing on how humanity is adrift in a universe without any real knowledge or – eek! – truth. But my feeling is that the attempt to extract any kind of metaphysical significance ultimately strains the film to give more than it actually can, and not just because it’s a featherweight in comparison to the Coen Brothers’ previous film, the oppressive and heavy “No Country for Old Men.” There’s simply no real ambiguity, in either the characters or the slightly convoluted plot, on which to hang allegorical interpretations, and the film’s end drives the whole point home bluntly, if it isn’t already obvious beforehand. read
	A Bravura Revival in a Renewed Taper Forum By Frederik Sisa @ 6:00 AM September 18, 2008 Found in: Theatre How swanky is the rejuvenated Mark Taper Forum? Let’s put it this way: The urinals in the men’s toilet (of all things) aren’t stainless steel or the usual boring white ceramic, but black. That’s right, black. In a lithe and sexy designer environment – think retro sci-fi lounge chic with a touch of glam – it’s the kind of small touch that acts like sequins on a little black dress. But the curious side-effect of the Forum’s year-long remodeling effort is as much a highlight of the (original) Forum’s architectural shortcomings as a glossing over. While the iconic exterior, with its defining circularity and cement mural by Jacques Overhoff, has been preserved, the interior suffers from flow control issues stemming from the crowding of circulation spaces on the edge of the Forum by the central theatre space. read
	Not Quite Farewell By Bree Crocetti @ 8:00 AM September 04, 2008 Found in: Dining Editor’s Note: With regret, we report that Bree Crocetti, our prized restaurant critic, no longer will be able to contribute weekly reviews under the banner “Real Food for Thought” because of an accelerated work schedule. Ms. Crocetti tells us that she will write on an occasional basis, as her busy life allows. In the meantime, as she would say read
	With Fred Crane’s Death, a Distinction Ends for ‘Gone With the Wind’ By Ross Hawkins @ 7:00 AM September 01, 2008 Found in: Film Actor, radio announcer and film historian, Fred Crane who died on Friday, Aug. 22, was the oldest surviving adult male cast member of the 1939 David O. Selznick classic film “Gone With The Wind.” read
	‘The House Bunny’ — Dumb but Fun Bunny By Frederik Sisa @ 7:00 AM August 29, 2008 Found in: Film In terms of contemporary identity politics, feminism gets sold out, tarted up and sugar-coated for mass consumption. Entrenched in the assembly line plot of black swan “losers” confronting big meanies to save their sorority home – and naturally becoming transformed in the process – “The House Bunny” offers a watered-down girl power message that boils down to praising smarts, but only when packaged in supermodel hotness. This is the conformity of fashion magazines and pop culture: it’s okay to be yourself…provided that you look good doing it and do it for boys too stupid and shallow, but ruggedly handsome, to appreciate women of substance. read
	Time Out from Dining By Bree Crocetti @ 1:00 AM August 28, 2008 Found in: Dining Editor’s Note: Just because one of the truly gifted food mavens on the Westside, our columnist, is ailing today, there is no need to miss her extraordinary insights into the dining emporiums of Los Angeles. As Ms. Crocetti herself says each Thursday: read

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