“I’m having a midlife crisis, do you want to go see Eddie Money at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez?” read the email from my childhood friend Lisa. “I have an important meeting from 1:30 to 2:30 this afternoon, but if a car just happened to be driving by and I somehow fell into the [...]
Archives: Good, Bad, and Ugly
LA LIVE’S SAINT PATRICK’S DAY MASSACRE
FOREWORD BY STAN LERNER: Downtownster does not celebrate its first birthday until February, but I still feel compelled to post the TEN BEST downtownster blogs of 2009. And while I think all of our blogs have been great, these are the ones that readers read the most and gave us the highest level of props [...]
MOVIE REVIEW: EVERYBODY’S FINE
What is about dysfunctional families that are so attractive to us? For me, as I am certain for many of you, it’s because we relate, because we are at times mired in it. I think most of us are the products of, or participants in, familial dysfunction. And not that that’s always a bad thing. [...]
A BLAST FROM THE PAST IN LAS VEGAS – NOT EXACTLY
“So you’re in Vegas staying at Fat Andy’s house?” asked Norm Rosenstein, my accountant, whom I put in charge of all of my former business interests from way back in my empire building years of insanity. “Yeah, he has an extra bedroom,” I responded…Norm usually gives me the business about my lack of interest in [...]
MOVIE REVIEW: DISNEY’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Originally published in 1843, Charles Dickens’ “ A Christmas Carol” is believed to be one of the greatest Christmas stories ever told. And I have to agree. Next to “Oliver Twist”, “A Christmas Carol” is my favorite Charles Dickens novel. I still remember on reading it back in my elementary school days, how I was [...]
MOVIE REVIEW: BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY
Ten years ago a cult phenomena was borne from the fertile imagination of Troy Duffy. Essentially an ode to vigilante justice, a topic on which Duffy speaks quite passionately (as he does about filmmaking) harkening back to the Bible and certain circumstances which warrant “an eye for an eye”, the stories of Duffy and the [...]
MICHAEL JACKSON – THIS IS IT
Foreword by Stan Lerner: in general blogs about Sin City / Las Vegas should read fast and fun. This blog won’t, because Michael Jackson “This Is It” is a brilliant film born from an incredible loss to the world—the musical genius of Michael Jackson. This story, for me, begins with a text message on my [...]
MOVIE REVIEW: ASTRO BOY
In addition to my love and mesmerization with movies from small on, a key visual element in my youth was cartoons – and not just your standard Bugs, Tweety, Taz or Tom & Jerry. No I went full bore along with my brothers for the early Japanese anime complete with dubbed voices. Part and parcel [...]
An Education – Movie Review
As the school bell rings the start of another day, let me say this – AN EDUCATION is some kind of education! Jenny is your average 16 year old schoolgirl. Attending a private school in the London suburb of Twickenham, her father pushes her to be the best, get those straight “A’s”, study, study, study, [...]
MOVIE REVIEW: WHIP IT
How many of you out there remember the Golden Ages of roller derby in the 50′s, the 70′s or even during the depression in the 30′s. For me, coming from Philly, roller derby in the 70′s was a staple of entertainment – particularly for viewing on UHF television. And while roller derby and the Philadelphia [...]
