Screen
Three’s a charm
If Toy Story 3 had sprung, Slinky Doglike, from any creative think tank besides Pixar Animation Studios, it might be considered a classic. As is, it’s a good sequel to the 1999 Toy Story 2 and the 1995 original. After a rather shrill and conventional first half, ...
A tale of dirty, stinking apes
What if there was a research drug in the laboratory right now that had a good chance of curing Alzheimer’s but needed more testing on animals before it could be released for human trials? And what if that same drug made its research subjects smarter? That’s the ...
Reel to reel | Week of September 19, 2013
Afternoon Delight Rachel (Kathryn Hahn) is a quick-witted and lovable, yet tightly coiled, 30-something steeped in the creative class of Los Angeles’ bohemian, affluent Silver Lake neighborhood. Everything looks just right — chic modernist home, successful husband, ...
Freaky Frequency
For a movie reviewer, having a favorite genre kinda feels like a parent having a favorite child; oh, they totally do, they’re just not supposed to talk about it. Well, just like your mom told your sister when you were out of earshot, if all other genres were out of ...
Reel to reel | Week of December 12, 2013
All is Lost Robert Redford is brilliant in his role as a nameless man who must survive after his sailboat sinks leaving him lost at sea. Rated PG-13. At Colony Square. The Armstrong Lie In 2008, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney (We Steal Secrets: The ...
Don’t pity the A-Team
Based on the 1980s TV series of the same name, The A-Team starts with the formation of the team by former Army Rangers. Eighty successful missions later, they’re tricked into recovering stolen U.S. Mint plates that threaten to enable terrorists destroy the nation’s...
Corporate fate
David Norris (Matt Damon) is a young go-getter New York politician who has a chance encounter with the quirky, engaging Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a ballerina who captures his attention immediately. Strange forces are at work and Norris is assaulted and wakes up in ...
Hocus poke-my-eyes-out
Like a scathing satire of the Soviet Union or a mockumentary musical on grunge, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone sets its eyes on an expired target of cultural derision nobody gives a fuzzy rabbit about anymore. Dressing Steve Carrell in a Siegfried and Roy bedazzled ...
Company bust
A single spontaneous moment pops up in the otherwise obsessively well-ordered ensemble drama The Company Men, written and directed by ER and West Wing alum John Wells. It’s a quick shot in a hotel room tryst of Maria Bello bopping back into frame, unexpectedly, ...
Reel to reel | Week of April 12, 2012
21 JUMP STREET Two young police officers and ex-classmates go undercover at a local high school to investigate a dangerous drug ring. Rated R. At Century, Colony Square and Twin Peaks. — Los Angeles Times/ MCT AMERICAN REUNION A decade after their teen adventures ...
















