Share: We made it, friends! Summer is finally here and the sun has been shining extra bright over Los Angeles. To celebrate, I rang in the first weekend of the season the right way, at Day Trip Festival. Insomniac’s Day Trip Festival returned to Long Beach, CA right at The Queen Mary’s waterfront on June 24-45, showcasing some of EDM’s hottest house music artists as well as rising house artists. Despite Day Trip selling out of tickets all year long, this highly anticipated festival strictly …
‘Jedi: Survivor’ forces itself to the top of ‘Star Wars’ gaming
Share: In 2019, Respawn Entertainment released “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order,” which completely revived single-player “Star Wars” games. Four years later, they have returned to amaze fans once again with a brand new game, and sequel to their beloved game, “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” The game once again follows Cal Kestis (played by Cameron Monaghan) and the crew of the Mantis, five years after the events of “Fallen Order.” Now a Jedi Knight on the run, Cal must navigate an ever-changing galaxy as the Empire …
The official guide to a killer weekend in LA’s EDM scene
Share: While the weeks and nights become longer as summer approaches, the search for weekend outing plans can be tough when it feels like you’ve done everything. Feeling like you’re running in circles between hipster bars and ridiculously priced nightclubs can be all too familiar for people living in Los Angeles. Luckily, there’s a whole world of live music entertainment in LA if you’re looking to break the cycle of your typical weekend night out and try something different. Reader, follow me for a night …
‘Beau Is Afraid’ amuses and confuses in odd audacious odyssey
Share: There’s little to be afraid of in “Beau Is Afraid,” a surprisingly not-so-scary comedy from one of the most exciting horror directors, Ari Aster. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, it’s the sort of comedy where everyone, including the audience, is in on the joke. Everyone except for Beau, who is relentlessly tortured by any and every absurd creative choice Aster could imagine. Not every ambitious idea works in the film’s favor, yet the ungodly fever dream remains hilarious in a perverse, perturbed sense of humor. Beau …
As vampire stories go, ‘Renfield’ kinda sucks
Share: Chris Mckay’s modern day Dracula horror-comedy is one to be remembered, if not for the wonderful talent of the people in front of and behind the camera, then for its lackluster plot. What began as a wonderfully delightful movie filled with equal parts comedy and drama, ended in a less than satisfying way, leaving the audience wanting more from such a spectacular cast. Nicolas Cage delivers us a Dracula that far exceeded all expectations, a terrifying yet hilarious performance that undoubtedly became one of …
‘The Secret Conversations’ does more for McGovern than it does for Ava Gardner
Share: Some 34 years after she was dubbed “The Most Beautiful Animal Alive,” a financially struggling, physically ailing Ava Gardner contracted a journalist to ghostwrite her memoir as the less humiliating alternative to pawning off her old jewels. So began the working relationship between writer Peter Evans and Gardner. The relationship would span across a year and ultimately culminated with Gardner abruptly withdrawing her permission to publish. This didn’t stop Evans’s estate from posthumously publishing “Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations,” in 2013. The book was …
‘Air’ is the slam dunk story of Nike’s game changing shoe
Share: A movie about Michael Jordan who is considered the best basketball player to exist and one of the greatest athletes of all time certainly isn’t exactly rare. That’s why “Air” sets out to tell the lesser-known story of how a group of employees at Nike came together to create a shoe specifically for Jordan so he could switch his endorsement. Despite the expansive amount of awards Michael Jordan has received over the course of his life including the incredibly rare switch from the NBA …
New Mario Bros. movie is a warp pipe to the mushroom kingdom
Share: The Mario franchise has come a long way from a simple Donkey Kong arcade game. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” does a fantastic job of displaying every aspect of the Nintendo universe, from the comedy to the animation, to the soundtrack, there was no visible weak spot. Recently after quitting their steady plumbing job, Mario and Luigi,who are played by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, test their luck and attempt to start their own plumbing company. With hardly any success and limited external support, …
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Something for everyone in late maestro’s music
Share: Rarely do artists of any discipline have the privilege to explore their interests with as much international attention and critical acclaim as Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. Ever since the world first met Sakamoto as a member of the electronic trio Yellow Magic Orchestra, he routinely reinvented himself without losing sight of what made him an exciting and multifaceted talent. Last month, after his third fight against cancer, Ryuichi Sakamoto passed away at 71. When the news broke out, multiple publications and news outlets had …
‘Resident Evil 4’ remastered into modern masterpiece … again
Share: After 18 years, two additional remakes, and a load of spin-offs, Capcom has finally released “Resident Evil 4” and with it, has once again revitalized the survival horror genre. Capcom started its remake trend in 2019 with their remaster of “Resident Evil 2,” which they continued with 2020’s “Resident Evil 3.” The game follows the exact same story as the original, making it easy for people to jump in whether they’ve played the original or not. Eight years after the events of “Resident Evil …