By Charly SHELTON “The Avengers” came out this summer and it became the most successful film of all time that was not directed by Jim Cameron. Then “The Amazing Spider-Man” had a nice, big opening this last weekend over July 4th. And later this month, Batman makes his last hurrah on the big screen in […]
By Susan JAMES Director Marc Webb, with the help of an able cast, has spun pure gold from the overworked tale of a boy, a spider and the birth of a superhero. With “The Amazing Spider-Man,” Webb offers us a fully fleshed out origin story that is entertaining, at times comic and always involving. Framed […]
By Charly SHELTON Big things have been happening at Disney California Adventure. We visited Buena Vista Street, the 1920s-era land recently added to DCA. Then we saw Cars Land located in the same park, the biggest land expansion since the opening of Disneyland. And this week, to wrap it up, we will take a look […]
By Ted AYALA As fireworks whizzed and cracked in the night sky above and the USC Trojan Marching Band took the stage and added their powerful brasses to the closing bars of “Stars and Stripes Forever,” one thing became clear for the California Philharmonic and their music director Victor Vener: it was good to be […]
By Charly SHELTON Last week we looked at the reopening of Disney California Adventure park and the fantastic new opening statement of a land – Buena Vista Street, harking back to the ’20s and ’30s in Los Angeles when a young cartoonist named Walt Disney stepped off the train with a cardboard suitcase and a […]
By Ted AYALA The singing of Vanessa Carlton, the sounds of a superb symphony orchestra, the flash and brilliance of the USC Marching Band – and a few dashes of fireworks. It’s quite a way to kick-off a new concert season for any orchestra, but the California Philharmonic isn’t just any orchestra – nor is […]
By Ted AYALA In her autobiography, “My Life in France,” celebrity chef and television icon Julia Child wrote, “The sweetness and generosity and politeness and gentleness and humanity of the French had shown me how lovely life can be if one takes time to be friendly.” Those virtues permeated not only Julia Child’s Gallic sense […]
The story of Beatlemania as told through the music that changed the world. ‘The Stars of Beatlemania!’ which chronicles the musical history of the Beatles through live recreations of their electrifying stage shows, will be at the El Portal Theatre in No. Hollywood Friday, June 29 through Sunday, July 1. From their explosive debut on […]
Discovering Van Halen By Charly SHELTON I don’t like music. I have been listening to the same Disneyland album since 2005. Granted, I have added to it as new attractions arise, but it is largely the same. I have never really enjoyed music, so I don’t have new albums – or anything else – of […]