Sandra Miska
‘The Assessment’: Life Is Long, Stressful and Not Very Fruitful in Fleur Fortuné’s Dystopian Drama
Alicia Vikander • Published on March 2025
French director Fleur Fortuné feature debut “The Assessment” is the latest film to imagine what procreation might look like in the not-so-distant future. Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel are Mia and Aaryan, a…
‘Riff Raff’: Star-Studded Mob Comedy Is an Unfortunate Misfire
Bill Murray • Published on February 2025
Bill Murray is no stranger to flawed characters, but the seasoned actor and comedian plays against type as a full-on villain in Dito Montiel’s misfired dark comedy “Riff Raff.” Murray co-stars as…
‘Universal Language’: Warm Hearts Balance Out Cold Temperatures in Surrealist Canadian Fable
Features • Published on February 2025
The Middle East meets the West in “Universal Language,” an absurdist Canadian comedy-drama set in an alternate universe in which Winnipeg is a Persian-speaking town — All the signs, even at the…
‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’: Renée Zellweger Returns For a Final Lovable Chapter in Bridget Jones’ Diary
Bridget Jones • Published on February 2025
Renée Zellweger returns to her signature role with gusto in “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy,” the fourth installment in the rom-com series based on the works of author Helen Fielding. Twenty…
In ‘Kinda Pregnant,’ Amy Schumer Longs To Join the Mom Club
Amy Schumer • Published on February 2025
Amy Schumer experiences a strange kind of FOMO in her latest comedy, “Kinda Pregnant.” Schumer plays Lainy, a Brooklyn English teacher in her early 40s who wants to settle down and start…
‘The Damned’: Odessa Young Is Captivating as a 19th-Century Widow Facing a Haunted Icelandic Winter
Features • Published on February 2025
A frozen and eerily beautiful 1871 Icelandic fishing outpost provides the setting for the atmospheric psychological horror thriller “The Damned.” Odessa Young stars as Eva, a young widow who runs a remote…
‘One of Them Days’: Keke Palmer and SZA Are a Hilarious Duo in Issa Rae-Produced Buddy Comedy
Features • Published on January 2025
Keke Palmer and SZA are a pair of roomies who just seem to not get a break in the Issa Rae-produced “One of Them Days,” a hilarious buddy comedy set over the…
‘Better Man’: Robbie Williams Does Things His Way in Musical Biopic by Michael Gracey
Better Man • Published on January 2025
Musical biopics have not exactly been scarce in recent years, but Brit singer-songwriter Robbie Williams offers a creative spin on an increasingly tired genre with “Better Man.” Directed and co-written by Michael…
Marianne Jean-Baptiste Is Superb as the Most Miserable Woman in the World in Mike Leigh’s ‘Hard Truths’
Features • Published on January 2025
Nearly 30 years after “Secrets & Lies,” filmmaker Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste reunite to lay down some difficult facts about being human in the tragicomedy “Hard Truths.” Jean-Baptiste stars as Pansy…
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’: Alexandre Dumas’ Classic Comes Alive in Thrilling French Epic
Alexandre de La Patellière • Published on December 2024
Alexandre Dumas’ beloved 1844 adventure novel about betrayal, revenge and redemption in post-Napoleonic France gets an epic adaption with French filmmakers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière’s “The Count of Monte…
‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ Delves Into the Life and Enduring Legacy of the Legendary Rock Star
Disney Plus • Published on December 2024
In October 1975, at the height of his stardom, the one and only Elton John performed two sold-out shows at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the first concerts held there since the Beatles…
‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’: An Iranian Family Man Slowly Transforms Into a Terrifying Figure in Gripping Drama
Features • Published on November 2024
The very real and tumultuous political climate in Iran is explored through the eyes of a fictional family in “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” writer-director Mohammad Rasoulof’s daring drama that slowly…
In ‘A Real Pain,’ Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin Are Clashing Cousins on a Road Trip With a Deeper Meaning
A Real Pain • Published on October 2024
Two very different Jewish men, bound together by blood and a shared grief, make a pilgrimage in Jesse Eisenberg’s heartfelt comedy-drama “A Real Pain.” Eisenberg not only wrote, directed and co-produced this…
‘Memoir of a Snail’: Sarah Snook Voices an Orphan Who Seeks Refuge With Mollusks in Moving Tragicomedy
Features • Published on October 2024
A fine cast of Australian actors lend their voices to “Memoir of a Snail,” a moving stop-motion tragicomedy following a young woman, Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook), with an attachment to mollusks as…
Elijah Wood on Returning to Middle Earth for Ant Timpson’s Delightful Adventure Comedy ‘Bookworm’
Ant Timpson • Published on October 2024
Elijah Wood has played the son many times throughout his 35-year career, but for the first time he explores the parent-child relationship from the other side by portraying a father in Ant Timpson’s “…
‘Woman of the Hour’: Anna Kendrick’s Chilling Directorial Debut Focuses Its True Crime Story on the Victims
Anna Kendrick • Published on October 2024
It is one of those pop culture stories that sounds like an urban legend – a woman goes on “The Dating Game” and selects a bachelor who is later outed as a serial…
‘We Live in Time’: Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield Navigate the Fragility of Life in Affecting Love Story
Andrew Garfield • Published on October 2024
Life comes at a millennial couple fast in “We Live in Time,” director John Crowley’s romantic tear-jerker that sees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield’s characters, Almut and Tobias, navigating some of the…
‘The Outrun’: Saoirse Ronan Soars Magnificently in Nora Fingscheidt’s Poetic Addiction Drama
Amy Liptrot • Published on October 2024
In her first feature as a producer, Saoirse Ronan delivers an exceptionally nuanced performance as a recovering alcoholic in Nora Fingscheidt’s stirring addiction drama, “The Outrun.” Ronan stars as Rona, a 29-year-old…
‘Saturday Night’ Tells a Lively Tale of How ‘SNL’ Almost Never Was
Features • Published on September 2024
With “Saturday Night Live” going into its 50th season, it would be fair to say that creator and producer Lorne Michaels knows what he is doing and steers his ship with confidence. But…
‘Lee’: Kate Winslet Embodies WWII Photojournalist Lee Miller in Fascinating True Story
Alexander Skarsgård • Published on September 2024
Many of us have seen the provocative image of American photographer Lee Miller bathing in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub, but few know about the woman herself or the journey that led her to the…
Tig Notoro’s ‘Tig and Friends’ Has a Home at Largo
comedy • Published on August 2016
Born Mathilde O’Callaghan Notaro in Mississippi, Notaro was given the nickname “Tig” as a child. Before getting into comedy, Notaro worked in the music industry, managing bands under the name Tignation Promotions. Notaro’s comedy career took off…
Chris Isaak to Play Fred Kavli Theatre
Associated Press • Published on July 2015
Chris Isaak is best known for his song “Wicked Games,”, which was released in 1989 but didn’t become a hit until a year later when it was featured in the David Lynch film,…
Yusuf/Cat Stevens First U.S. Tour in 35 years to Come Through Nokia Theatre
Hall of Fame • Published on December 2014
Get ready to sing along to “Here Comes My Baby” and “Wild World,” when British singer-songwriter Yusuf/Cat Stevens performs at the Nokia Theatre on Dec. 14 as part of his first North American…
Los Angeles Ballet to Perform ‘The Nutcracker’ Throughout December
Alex Theatre • Published on December 2014
Nutcracker fans, rejoice! Not only will the Moscow Ballet be performing the beloved Christmas show at The Wiltern on December 21, but also our very own Los Angeles Ballet will be doing…
Moscow Ballet to Bring the ‘Great Russian Nutcracker’ to The Wiltern
Calgary Herald • Published on December 2014
Angelenos’ may not be able to build snowmen, engage in snowball fights, or go sledding come the holiday season, but we will have the opportunity to experience a bit of a Russian Christmas. The…
Sundance Favorite ‘The Green Prince’ Opens in L.A. Dec. 5
Film • Published on December 2014
On December 5, “The Green Prince” will finally be released out of the festival circuit bubble and granted a limited release. This gripping documentary details the true story of Mosab Hassan Yousef, the…
Spectacular Rubens: Triumph of Eucharist on Display at Getty
Annibale Carracci • Published on December 2014
Many great artists of the past have made their mark creating vibrant religious art, and Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens is no exception. In the early 1620s, he designed a series of tapestries, “The…
Xu Bing Debuts his Exhibit ‘The Language of Xu Bing’ at LACMA
Art • Published on December 2014
When one thinks of a person who works with words, they almost always envision a writer typing away at a laptop. However, words can also be visual art, as Chinese artist Xu Bing will…
Christine Corday to Bring Protoist Series to LACMA
Art • Published on December 2014
Art and science will intersect this month at the LACMA when Christine Corday: Protoist Series, Selected opens on December 13. This will be the first solo presentation of Christine Corday’s art at an…
Capital Cities to Perform in Their Hometown of Los Angeles
antiMusic • Published on November 2014
Indie-rock band, Capital Cities, will be performing at the Fonda Theatre on November 20 and 21. However, less than six years ago, in 2008, members Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian met through a Craigslist ad.
Carey and Daniels Reunite for ‘Dumb and Dumber To’
ABC7 • Published on November 2014
A lot of memorable films came out in 1994, “Forrest Gump” and “Pulp Fiction,” just to name a few, but only one of the cinematic gems from that year is getting a sequel, and that…
Cold War Kids to Play The Regent
Cold War Kids • Published on November 2014
Cold War Kids, an indie rock group based in Long Beach, will be performing at The Regent Theater on Nov. 18. Having started in 2004 in downtown Fullerton, Cold War Kids’ original…
Pierre Huyghe to Bring Avant Garde Exhibition to LACMA
Art • Published on November 2014
Just a week after the arrival of the celebrated painting “Greece on the ruins of the Missolonghi” by Eugène Delacroix, the museum will debut the first major retrospective of avant-garde French artist Pierre Huyghe on…
‘The Old Woman’ Starring William Dafoe is Coming to UCLA
Brooklyn Academy of Music • Published on November 2014
Those who like their theater a bit on the Russian and avant-garde side are in luck. The theatrical production “The Old Woman,” based on a story by the Russian author Daniil Kharms, is coming…
All-Male Dance Company BalletBoyz to Perform in Los Angeles
balletboyz • Published on November 2014
When thinking of ballet, one often imagines young women prancing around in tutus to elegant music. Well, ballet enthusiasts and casual fans will have their expectations defied when all-male dance company BalletBoyz visit the…
Foster the People are ‘Coming of Age’ and Coming to Shrine Auditorium
Foster the People • Published on November 2014
Hailing from Los Angeles, Foster the People will be playing the Shrine Auditorium on Nov. 14. Having risen to fame in 2010 with hit “Pumped Up Kicks,” the band formed in 2009 after…
Delacroix’s ‘Greece on the ruins of the Missolonghi’ on Display at LACMA
Art • Published on November 2014
Sometimes a painting is more than just a painting, such is the case with “Greece on the ruins of the Missolonghi,” one of the most celebrated French paintings, ever. This masterpiece by Eugène…
Photographer Larry Sultan to be Remembered at LACMA
Art • Published on November 2014
The late Californian Photographer Larry Sultan will be remembered at LACMA with the show “Larry Sultan: Here and Home.” The first retrospective show of the artist’s work, “Here and Home” will run from…
Discover Transit Art on Metro Art Moves
213 Nightlife • Published on November 2014
During your daily commute, you may be surprised to see beautiful works of art on display at underground train stations. What you may not know is that since 1989, Metro has commissioned artists of all…
Batsheva Dance Company Celebrates 50 Years at UCLA
Batsheva Dance Company • Published on October 2014
Move over, Russia and England, some of the best dancers in the world happen to live in Tel Aviv, Israel, and they’re coming to Los Angeles this month. The Batsheva Dance Company will stop by…