TheFrontPageOnline.com A & E

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

Frederik Sisa — 2:00 PM July 18, 2008

I’ve always been puzzled by descriptions of Guillermo Del Toro’s breakout hit, “Pan’s Labyrinth,” as a fantasy movie. Despite questionable metaphysics and short-lived glimpses into a world of fauns, fairies, and “Silent Hill”-type monsters, the film is, at heart, a fairly straightforward wartime drama. But there’s no questioning the fantasy pedigree of “Hellboy II.” Epic machinery and a formidable menagerie of imaginary creatures – from humanoids with architecture growing from their heads to stone giants that double as the secret entrance to long-lost cities – makes “Hellboy II” the dizzying phantasmagoria people believed “Pan’s Labyrinth” to be. Think of the cantina scene from Star Wars, filtered and magnified through Del Toro’s own unique imagination.

‘Cubes’ — Go Ahead, Think Inside the Box

Frederik Sisa — 1:00 PM July 18, 2008

The field’s already a tad crowded with commentaries on the peculiar nature of office life and its inhabitants, homo cubicularis. We’ve seen the absurd, the soul-crushing, the banal, the political, the bureaucratic, the conformist, the rebellious – all expertly skewered by the likes of the venerable “Office Space” and “The Office.” Enter “Cubes,” a film that starts out hinting at a limp retread of familiar terrain only to deliver a surprisingly attentive character piece. Structured as a series of interlocking, vignetted conversations between character pairs, this isn’t a film about the office drone’s relationship to the corporate environment, but about the relationship between workers in the context of corporate culture. “Cubes” looks beyond cubicle partitions to the barriers created by assumptions and expectations – and what happens when these break down.

Rush to Rush Street — You Can’t Go Wrong After a Smashing Opening

Bree Crocetti — 6:00 AM July 17, 2008

As soon as the staff meeting broke, my friends and I were the first to take seats at the bar at the brand-spanking-new Rush Street in Downtown Culver City (along with faithful http://triplecreme.blogspot.com/ readers Jessica and Andrew).

Doesn’t ‘Producer’ Sound Classier Than ‘Supervisor’?

Ross Hawkins — 6:00 AM July 14, 2008

If you look at the producers’ credits on films or television shows today, it seems they go on Forever. There’s Executive Producer, Associate Producer, Line Producer, Supervising Producer and more.

"Just what does a producer do?" asked a young novice director at a recent American Film Institute Seminar. Several answers were given but none seemed satisfactory.

Hancock — You Will Find It Gritty, Realistic and Generally Successful

Frederik Sisa — 10:00 AM July 11, 2008

Not based on any existing comic book, “Hancock” aims to leap beyond the bar described by the dreaded moniker of “comic book movie.” Gone is the origin formula rooted in traumatic events and scientific accidents, along with secret identities and the subsequent assumption of world-saving heroism. Instead: an alcoholic, amnesiac superhero with an abrasive personality and a destructive disregard, not to mention contempt, for the people around him — more Bad Santa than Superman.

Live Music, Fun and Festive — Sevilla Is a Place to Linger All Night

Bree Crocetti — 8:00 AM July 10, 2008

When my friend was attending grad school in Riverside, Sevilla was one of her favorite haunts.

When I would visit her, we always dined there, upstairs in the bar, loading up on tapas and wine, while listening to some Flamenco guitar. A fellow Riverside grad was in town, and itching for some of their alioli and sangria, so we went to Sevilla, but opted for the closer locale in Long Beach.

The Wondrous World of Wall E

Frederik Sisa — 10:00 AM July 04, 2008

“I don’t mean to say that storytelling is overrated (then again, maybe that’s exactly what I mean), but we know it's not necessarily the most important thing in a movie -- even a mainstream studio picture. How it feels will always be more significant than the tale it spins. Because it's a movie.” And thus Jim Emerson takes a waffling shot (http://blogs.suntimes.com/) at cinematic storytelling, the view that everything in a movie is meant to serve the “story.” Quoting Roger Ebert, “A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it,” and pointing to the formulaic nature of many movies, he piles it on:

Wait Until Next Week

Bree Crocetti — 8:00 AM July 03, 2008

Bree Crocetti’s weekly restaurant review , which usually appears in the Thursday edition, will be resumed next week. In the meantime, check out my blog.

Hungry for more? Check out http://triplecreme.blogspot.com/ �

For the Love of Dance: The Shakti School of Bharata Natyam’s Annual Program

Frederik Sisa — 11:00 AM July 02, 2008

In a lovely moment between performances at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center’s James Armstrong Theatre, as the program shifted gears from Company to student performances, dancers Namitha and Ananya Ananth offered the deepest bow I’d ever seen – a prostration at a worthy individual’s feet, with head and hands to the floor. As unfamiliar as the gesture might be to hand-shakers and huggers, there was no mistaking the great dignity and respect it embodied. Even now, days after the moment, I remain touched by its simple elegance and profound emotion.

The Happening: Something Happens, but It’s Not Good

Frederik Sisa — 10:00 AM June 27, 2008

As the title, “The Happening,” says, something does happen in M. Night Shyamalan’s latest offering: we reach the end of the road for Shymalan’s aspirations of being a latter-day Hitchcock by way of Rod Serling. The cross-pollination of “The Birds” with “28 Weeks Later” and “The Twilight Zone” results in, arguably, the worst film in Shymalan’s portfolio to date and, perhaps, the death of his cachet. The Shymalan brand has lost its luster. A shame.

Animal Is a Tasty Treat, But No Place for a Vegetarian to Dine

Bree Crocetti — 8:00 AM June 26, 2008

I had a great experience at the brand new Animal on Fairfax the other night. It is not called Animal for nothing. The menu is filled with pork belly, sweetbreads, quail, rabbit, chorizo, steak — and don’t forget the chocolate crunch bar with bacon bits.

Got Funny? Get Smart!

Frederik Sisa — 1:00 PM June 20, 2008

Erik: “You were a bit skeptical going in.”

Fred: “Sure. I liked the teasers for ‘Get Smart,’ but the trailer’s cartoon violence humour turned me off. Oh look. Here’s Smart harpooning himself. Oh look. Here’s a guy getting a piece of paper stapled to his head. This is humour? People getting hurt is funny?”

Erik: “That’s a good point. In the film’s defense, though, I’d say that the bulk of the film’s jokes doesn’t consist of violence inflicted or self-inflicted.”

Fred: “That doesn’t make it right.”

Vegan Fare, and the Neighborhood Ain’t Bad, Either

Bree Crocetti — 8:00 AM June 19, 2008

While on the lookout for new (to me) interesting neighborhood joints, I came across this vegan one. Right across the street from giant karaoke dive Boardwalk 11 on National, The Vegan Joint is a small, cozy little cafe with a huge vegan menu. Heavy on the Asian fare, they offer many soups, salads, wraps, sandwiches, noodles, curries, and fake meats. They use soy fish, soy meat, tofu, soy cheese, "egz" and soy bacon. When I eat vegan, I prefer to stick with vegetables nuts and grains, and pass on the phony meat. I eat meat, so I don't need a substitute.

Who Let the Cats Out of the Mixed Bag?

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM June 13, 2008

Six short films, unrelated except for whatever it was that Echelon Studios’ marketing people were smoking when they came up with the title “Shorts for Cats.” It’s a cute idea – catnip affair. Perhaps that’s why the fuzzies slept through the whole thing.

Rah, Rah for Some of the Raw Delights at Euphoria in Santa Monica

Bree Crocetti — 12:00 PM June 12, 2008

Every once in a while, I feel the need to eat lighter, perhaps detox a bit.

So I will head to Leaf, a raw vegan cafe in my neighborhood.

As much as I try, I usually enjoy the first couple of bites, then find myself struggling to enjoy the rest. Surprisingly, raw cuisine (other than your average salad) is quite filling.

‘Futile Attraction’: Nothing Futile About This Kiwi Comedy

Frederik Sisa — 11:00 AM June 06, 2008

Deftly putting the “mock” in mockumentary in enough ways to make a mad punner happy, “Futile Attraction” peels back Reality TV’s implicit structural flaw and exposes it to withering satire. Director/co-writer Mark Prebble hits on a clever way to simultaneously propel the narrative “story” of the people making the documentary and their subjects while also taking apart, po-mo style, reality dating shows on a meta-level.

Arrivederci to Your Old Tastes — Welcome to the Fragrances of Rome

Bree Crocetti — 1:00 PM June 05, 2008

Before reading any further, go to itunes and download a podcast called Rome Review.

Two years ago, during my first trip to Rome, we ate at this charming "restaurant" in Trastevere. Prior to that trip, I had read about it in New York magazine, which did not give the address. Believe it or not, it was on our street in Rome (of all the streets in Rome).

Indiana Jones and the Bag of Mixed Results

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM May 30, 2008

It’s the snap of the whip! The tip of the fedora! The leap of death! The hanging off the cliff! The last minute of the escape! The crack of the wise! The poison of the dart! The thrill of the chase! The dust off the artifact! The bones in the grave! The idol in the temple! The x on the map! In other words, it’s Indiana Jones!

But – well, there is a but.

Bree Is Back. Vinoteque on Sepulveda — A Great New Date Spot

Bree Crocetti — 7:00 AM May 29, 2008

There were a couple of openings in Culver City I eagerly awaited – and they all opened while I was out of town!

Father’s Office, M Caf� de Chaya and Vinoteque.

I have been to M Caf� several times, and it is just as good at the original location. We tried to go to Father’s Office, but at 7 o’clock on a Tuesday night the place was full, and no one was budging.

The Forbidden Kingdom: One Heck of a Popcorn Popper

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM May 23, 2008

The surprise in “The Forbidden Kingdom” isn’t the lack of a real surprise in terms of plot or characters. Any familiarity with the film’s component genres – Hollywood romances, Hong Kong Kung Fu, and so on – will make plain how this unabashed crowd-pleaser paints strictly by the numbers. Hence, the bullied kid will learn Kung Fu, exasperating teachers bewildered by his ineptness, and eventually turn the tables on the bullies. He will meet a pretty, and tough, girl (Liu). He will become, in short, a noble warrior steeped in the spirit of martial art virtues. No, the surprise doesn’t lie in the parts but in how the whole transcends its constituent clich�s to become a fun-loving, thrill-seeking homage. It’s like inviting some good ol’ friends over for one heck of a popcorn-popping party.

A Double-Dram of David

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM May 20, 2008

David Mamet’s amusing souffl� “Keep Your Pantheon,” about the misfortunes of a desperate acting troupe, would be right at home with “historical” farces put on by Renaissance Faire troupes like Sound & Fury. Granted, this new short play by a playwright who needs no introduction is not quite so blatantly bawdy or low-flying as, say, “Testaclese and Ye Sack of Rome,” but the overall silly spirit of mirth and merriment is comparable, as is the discernible lack of any goal other than to make the audience laugh. Mamet throws enough jokes that most of them stick. Bonnie Grisan and director Neil Pepe stack the deck in the audience’s favour by casting actors of proven comic worth – David Payner and Ed O’Neill – alongside worthy co-performers. It’s ye olde-tyme comedy of errors, indeed; funny if inconsequential, with a deliberately old-fashioned theatricality that includes big, mouthy, quasi-stentorian dialogue.

Better than Even Odds in "Crap Shoot"

Frederik Sisa — 11:00 AM May 16, 2008

Is the Hollywood machine’s decision-making process, the formula by which it sorts out the wheat scripts from the chaff, merely a crap shoot? Is there an explanation for why Hollywood puts out such awful movies on a consistent basis? These are, perhaps, serious questions at the cotton-candy heart of “Crap Shoot”, but they're also not especially profound.

‘Iron Man’: Cool, Exciting and Ironic

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM May 09, 2008

Womanizing, gambling, larger-than-life merchant of death Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) finds himself on the service side of his own weapons and, as a result, becomes the proud papa of a moral epiphany. This, in a film in which the heroic journey celebrates the condemnation of war profiteering with an orgy of gunfire, explosions, and general mayhem. Call him “Irony Man.”

The Water’s Lukewarm at the ‘Pool Party’

Frederik Sisa — 10:00 AM April 25, 2008

Why is it that overweight women in wannabe quasi-nudie-cuties are typically the butt of jokes, strange creatures whose sexuality is treated as something not to be taken seriously – something repulsive, even? Here’s another question: What would happen to films like “Pool Party” if there weren’t a surplus of nubile young women willing to take their tops off for the chance of being in a feature? The answer, of course, has to with Sarah Horvath, the boss’s daughter, appearing in various states of undress in all her scenes. There’s nothing quite like parading a bevy of bikini-clad beauties to keep viewers from noticing the plot’s recycled content and the used-joke smell of the comedy.

‘Wait Up Harriet,’ but Maybe You Shouldn’t — It’s a Drama Without Drama

Frederik Sisa — 8:00 AM April 18, 2008

Review: Wait Up Harriet

The deus ex m�achina in “Wait Up Harriet” makes a near-literal appearance in the story of a depressed widower, a firefighter named Jake (Benfield), presented like Saul on the road to Damascus. The endlessly turning machine of grief, the monumentally dull grind of a grieving character, only shrieks to a stop when the screenwriters drag in religion. But not only religion. As Jake isn’t initially convinced by the bribe to believe in God to avoid everlasting hellfire and receive, instead, a happy and heavenly reunion with his dead wife, he is subjected to a mystical dream experience to drive home the epiphany. It’s theologically silly, convincing only to the already convinced, and it involves the inevitable angry-at-God clich� defined by a whiny “Why, God, why? You abandoned me! You suck!” But worse yet, it’s a cop-out for screenwriter Hanna Eichler, who struggles to pull Jake out of his deep, deep funk only to get mired in the quicksand of a drab character portrait and magical problem solving.

Whether or Not You’re in the Klub, The Actor’s Gang Makes Magic

Frederik Sisa — 9:00 AM April 15, 2008

The program describes KL�B as an existential comedy in which actors trapped in a play must audition to get out. To some extent, this is an accurate summary. Like a theatre of the absurd, KL�B is a place outside the normal space/time continuum, a metaphorical stand-in for life and the acting profession, a continuation of Camus, Beckett and friends. A troupe of actors, harassed by the unseen, god-like voice of the Director, stages desperate performances in an effort to escape the paradox of an existence in which the only rule is that there are no rules.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: Love, Laughter, and Charm

Frederik Sisa — 8:00 AM April 11, 2008

All too often, doe-eyes from across a room stand in for a credible romantic spark, and it’s only because we have to accept that two characters are in love that we indulge shallow characterizations. For plot’s sake, of course. But the cleverness of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day lies in its being both romantic and comic without obviously falling into the romantic comedy genre trap.

Fodor’s Hamlet: Visionary Method, Inspired Madness

Frederik Sisa — 11:00 AM April 04, 2008

Denmark isn’t Denmark in this adaptation of Hamlet, directed by Alexander Fodor and co-written with Emeke Nwokedi. It’s a child of low-budget necessity set in a room above a pub, door-lined corridors and the odd outdoor settings. The film could have been a theatrical production filmed in someone’s apartment complex or basement. But low-budget isn’t a liability to Fodor, who does the only sensible thing: he makes an art film. Denmark, through Diego Indraccolo overexposed (occasionally unstable) cinematography, inverted colours, and other avant-garde rock-video tricks, takes the ordinary and makes it hallucinatory. It’s as if we’re watching the drama unfold in a kind of timeless, spaceless limbo, a purgatory in which mundane places become haunted spaces with the characters serving as ghosts enacting tragedy in a kind of eternal recurrence. Recalling, at least in the broad strokes, Lars Von Trier’s “Dogville” experiment in which the sets consisted of lines on the floor, the lack of conventionally identifiable locations in Fodor’s Hamlet creates a tingly feeling of claustrophobia and otherworldliness. The drama’s the thing; everything else is supernatural.

If You Have a Tasty Food Itch, Why Don’t You Skratch It?

Bree Crocetti — 8:00 AM April 03, 2008

I heard that a friend of mine had been getting sandwiches from a new cafe in downtown Culver City called Skratch.

As a seasoned food blogger, I pride myself in knowing about all the new eateries around town, especially in my jurisdiction of Mar Vista/Culver City.

I stopped by this morning and found out they have already been open for five months. How could I have missed a new restaurant in Culvert City for five months?

Lucky Man: The Future Looks Bright for Orbach

Frederik Sisa — 8:00 AM March 28, 2008

Writer/director Ruvin Orbach lands a solid punch in thirty minutes, despite the undefined feeling of deja-vu that comes with circumstances surrounding the moral quandary faced by two brothers entangled with the mob.