FilmWeek

The LA Times released a list of the best 101 films set in Los Angeles. The number one spot went to the 1974 film Chinatown , directed by Roman Polanski, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, with the backdrop of a 1930’s Los Angeles. Second place went to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001), and some other notable picks include Blade Runner (1982), Her (2013), Tangerine (2015) and...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Peter Rainer , Tim Cogshell and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. And we remember the beloved animation director Roger Allers, known best for co-directing Disney’s The Lion King , and award-winning actress Joan Plowright. Films: Mercy , Wide Release Mr. Nobody Against Putin , Streaming...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: 28 Years Later: the Bone Temple , Wide Release                        The RIP , Streaming on Netflix   &n...

The new film Sheepdog was over a decade in the making. Writer, director, and star, Steven Grayhm, spent 14 years talking to veterans about their mental health struggles after returning home, and families of veterans who have taken their own lives. The film follows combat veteran, Calvin Cole (played by Grayhm), as he goes through court mandated therapy. His therapist, played by Oscar-nominated act...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Lael Loewenstein and Beandrea July review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. And we remember Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Films: Dead Man's Wire , AMC Burbank & AMC Grove|Expands Jan. 16                    &n...

South Korean director Park Chan-wook is considered one of living legends working today, known for his dark comedies inspired by film noir like his breakout hit Oldboy . His work also plays with shifting tones, like the paranoia and romance in the 2022 film Decision to Leave . Chan-wook’s newest film No Other Choice continues this pattern, melding the dark tone of a crime thriller with the sl...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Amy Nicholson and Manuel Betancourt review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.   Films: Marty Supreme Wide Release Song Sung Blue   Wide Release No Other Choice In Select Theaters|Expands January The Testament of Ann Lee In Select Theaters|Expands January Anaconda Wide Release The Plague At Select Laemmle...

Rental Family explores the unique phenomena of Japanese rental family agencies through an underemployed American actor living in Tokyo. Anchored by Brendan Fraser’s empathetic performance, Rental Family explores the lyricism of loneliness and the solace we can find in connection. Joining Larry to talk about Rental Family are director and co-writer of the film HIKARI and lead actor Brendan Fr...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell , Peter Rainer , and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.   Films: Avatar: Fire and Ash , Wide Release The Housemaid , Wide Release The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants , Wide Release Is This Thing On? , In Select Theaters The Voice of Hind Rajab , Laemmle Royal [West L...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Christy Lemire and Beandrea July review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.

Pantone as a company is synonymous with our ideas around ‘color.’ They set the standard for what we expect “olive green” or “electric blue” to look like. But what about the man behind the iconic Pantone color square, each with a unique I.D. number? In the new documentary The King of Color , director Patrick Creadon focuses on the man who created Pantone’s...

 Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Claudia Puig and Tim Cogshell review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Five Nights at Freddy's 2 , Wide Release The Secret Agent , AMC Century City 100 Nights of Hero , Wide Release                    &...

Horror films have been a consistent draw for movie theaters, even in a post-pandemic, streaming world. And one of the most well-known production studios in horror is Blumhouse. The production house came on the scene in 2009 with Paranormal Activity , a low-budget found-footage film that became a smash hit spawning a franchise. Blumhouse would repeat this formula with The Purge and Insidious franch...

For our most recent FilmWeek screening event, where we show quintessential L.A. films across the city, we went to the family-owned Garden Cinema to present the Coen Brothers’ classic The Big Lebowski . The 1998 noir-comedy opened to mixed reviews during its initial release, but has since gained cult status and even mainstream praise. In 2014, it was designated a "culturally, historically or...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell , Manuel Betancourt and Charles Solomon review the latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery In Select Theaters Nov 26|Streaming on Netflix Dec 12 Hamnet In Select Theaters Nov 26|Expands Dec 5 Zootopia 2 Wide Release Nov 26 Eternity In Select Theaters Nov 26  A Magnificent Life...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Claudia Puig and Peter Rainer review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Wicked: For Good , Wide Release Rental Family , Wide Release Left-Handed Girl , In Select Theaters|Streaming on Netflix Nov. 28 Rebuilding , AMC Century City|AMC Burbank Out of Plain Sight , Laemmel NoHo Auction , Laemmle Town Center [En...

Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve earned international recognition for her performance in the Joachim Trier film The Worst Person in the World . After roles in Hollywood in Presumed Innocent and A Different Man , Reinsve and Trier have reunited in their new film Sentimental Value about a theater actress and her estranged film director father in Oslo. Larry Mantle speaks with Renate Reinsve about he...

Actor Cesar Romero is probably best known for his role as The Joker in the 1960s Batman series, a portrayal that would later define the character and cast a large shadow over future screen adaptations. But well before Romero put on the green wig and red lipstick, he had a successful and varied career. He acted alongside the Rat Pack in Ocean’s Eleven and Carmen Miranda in Week-End in Havana...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Tim Cogshell and Beandrea July review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Jay Kelly In Select Theaters|Streaming on Netflix Dec 5   The Running Man Wide Release Come See Me In The Good Light Laemmle NoHo|Streaming on Apple TV+ The Carpenter’s Son In Select Theaters Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Wa...

Sir Roger Deakins is the award-winning cinematographer behind the films Bladerunner: 2049, 1917, and No Country for Old Men (just to name a few). Although those behind the camera often do not reach the heights of mainstream recognition, Deakins is the rare case of a cinematographer becoming a household name, considered one of the greatest of all time. In his new book Reflections: On Cinematography...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Christy Lemire and Lael Loewenstein review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Predator: Badlands , Wide Release                                 &nbsp...

Despite only lasting four short years from 1930 to 1934, the pre-code era of Hollywood’s Golden Age produced films that pushed the boundaries of cinema and storytelling, even by today’s standards. Hollywood classics including King Kong (1933), Freaks (1932), and Grand Hotel (1932) all came out during this time, just before the enforcement of the Production Code in 1934. Films of the pr...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Peter Rainer , Tim Cogshell , and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.   Films: Nouvelle Vague In Select Theaters|Streaming on Netflix Nov 14 Love+War Laemmle Monica Film Center|Streaming on Disney+ and Hulu Nov. 7  Ballad of a Small Player Streaming on Netflix  Little Amé...

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics Manuel Betancourt and Christy Lemire review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms. Films: Bugonia , In Select Theaters Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere In Select Theaters Hedda The Culver Theater [Culver City]|Streaming on Prime Video Köln 75 Laemmle Royal [West LA]|Laemmle Glendale|Laemmle Town Center [Encino...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show created a blueprint for other initially unsuccessful films to find second lives through fervent fans. Its unapologetic celebration of difference continues to resonate on the 50th anniversary of the film. In the new documentary Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror , director Linus O’Brien delves into the phenomenon of “Rocky Horror” through inte...