The groundbreaking new show premiered recently on CBS All Access streaming service, but they have now made the first episode of the show free for a limited time.
Now watch below the first episode, which was filmed in the heart of the Central Coast in the Santa Ynez Valley at Sunstone Winery. Take a look on YouTube only here! News broke this morning that NBA Superstar and Oscar Award Winner, Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash today. Cause of the crash is being investigated and the identities of the other passengers are yet to be released. However, multiple news outlets are reporting that Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna also died in the crash. They were reportedly en route to her basketball practice in Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. His Academy Award winning animated short film, Dear Basketball, had local Central Coast animator, Aidan Terry, work with him on the award winning film. You can read about that article written by Daniel Lahr here in the Santa Ynez Valley Star. Watch the award winning film below.
As I begin to write this, I think of the title for The Gentlemen, and then I think about who are they talking about? The whole cast of characters are bad and we are brought in to root for our anti-hero. They're all murderers and gangsters and that become very apparent in the opening scene. And the pace never lets up to the very end.
That is to say there is a lot of time jumping and some "fantasy sequences" as Hugh Grant's colorful character, Fletcher, is attempting to blackmail our main anti-hero, Matthew McConaughey's Mickey Pearson, as he has discovered the entire underground weed growing empire. Each of the characters, and actors, are unique and different. Collin Farrell's character, known simply as Coach, is a highlight, along with Hugh Grant. The film is filled with plot turns and twists enough to keep you guessing and leaves you with a very satisfying conclusion. This is for sure a dark comedy gangster film that modernizes the genre while still maintaining one foot in nostalgic cinematic premises. I am a fan of writer, director and producer Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes films with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, but this is a movie I feel that he was able to spread his wings and just be himself. He has his unique style of camera work as well as humor all throughout this film. If you're looking for a fun, dark and graphic comedy, this is a movie for you! But it can be a bit much sometimes, and even is borderline gratuitous. Some members of the audience in our theater couldn't stomach the constant blood lust and very graphic language and I saw two separate groups leave and not come back. But for me, it was a very fun ride! Rating: 3/5 Stars A titan of British comedy passed away yesterday. Terry Jones, actor, writer and director and member of the famous Monty Python troop finally lost his battle with dementia after four years, according to the BBC.
Fellow Python, and former Central Coast resident, John Cleese said: "It feels strange that a man of so many talents and such endless enthusiasm, should have faded so gently away..." He added: "Of his many achievements, for me the greatest gift he gave us all was his direction of Life of Brian. Perfection." Well, they're bad and badder than ever. Our (in)famous bad boys from 1995 are back and campier than ever. I sat there thinking they're just trying to say the name of the movie as many times as they could. Bad Boys for Life is an action movie that has the camp you'd expect to find from a 90's action movie. Complete with the constant "getting to old for this s**t" groans, James Bond style secret lab with apparently unlimited budgets and a bad guy twist that you see coming from a mile away.
I had someone ask if you need to see other Bad Boy movies to get what's going on here. Not at all. You don't need any backstory, because most of the movie is going back into their back story. Constantly looking back and not progressing anything. Where progress comes, it comes with groans. There's a death of a very familiar character and our villain is somehow forgiven for all of this because of the "big reveal" at the end. I had flashbacks of the "your mother's name is Martha too?" scene (and for those of you who saw Batman Vs. Superman know what I'm talking about). There's moments of fun action and stunt work, but most of the movie is lost in the sparkling gloss that goes over the entire movie. The humor is hit or miss and that makes it feel just worn out and tired, kind of like our stars (Will Smith and Martin Lawrence). This movie does work as a 90's action popcorn flick, but that was a long time ago and unfortunately, we've moved on. Rating: 2/5 Stars As we broke the news back when the first trailer dropped, we knew we were going to see a bit of the Santa Ynez Valley in the latest Star Trek installation. Now, as the first episode is less than a week away, and streams on January 23rd. Marketing is in full swing for the show and we're starting to get more glimpses of how much the show will feature the Central Coast. In a new feature on the show, we are treated with some additional footage that was shot at the Sunstone Winery Villa, and it appears a good portion of interiors and other part of the property were shot as well. Take a look and see for yourself. We may still be a ways away from having decaf Earl Gray tea made instantly just by asking it, but you can still visit the tasting room located on the property and get a sense of what it's like to really be at Captain Picard's retirement plan in real life. Watch this video below about the real Sunstone Winery and location in Santa Ynez, in the heart of the Central Coast. And watch Star Trek: Picard on the 23rd! What... was... that...?
That's probably what you'd be thinking when (or if) you see this movie. I decided to take the family to go see what appeared to be a fun family movie, and at very least, the kids will like to see the animals run around on the screen. Well that's not true either and they barely were able to stay in the same theater for this movie, but resorted to just jumping around on the chairs of a mostly empty theater. That about sums up the reaction to this movie. With the cast present and the money spent on this movie, there was so much potential! But it crashed hard. I had heard about a questionable scene that is at the end of the movie, which if you want to know, there is a creature with a blockage, and Dr. Dolittle reaches right up and removes the blockage. I mean, Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen and Jim Broadbent have decent on-screen presence, but still can't hold this movie up. Big name actors lend their voices to the animals, including Emma Thompson, Tom Holland, Ralph Fines and Selena Gomez, but they're lost completely in this. Emma Thompson's Poly is maybe the only one you can connect with and is the sole voice of reason. Lots of questionable choices, but again I saw the potential of actually doing a proper steam-punk style Dr. Dolittle movie could be fantastic! Honestly, there really should be more in that genre, but this movie is a mess. Is it a kids movie? Is it an adult humor movie? I'm still not sure. It was a hard mess and even had times where my wife and I looked at each other like "what... was... that...?" You'll be scratching your head during and after viewing of this movie, and more than likely it won't even matter to your kids. There's much better stuff out there. Rating: 1/5 Stars "Fox" will be dropped from the studios' name with near immediate effect. Variety reports that Disney will be dropping the "Fox" name of 20th Century Fox, a name in the Hollywood Industry since 1935, to simple "20th Century Studios." Fox Searchlight Pictures is also getting the fox-less rebranding of simply "Searchlight Pictures." Variety goes on to say that "those logos won’t be dramatically altered, just updated. The most notable change is that the word “Fox” has been removed from the logo marks. Otherwise, the signature elements — swirling klieg lights, monolith, triumphal fanfare — will remain the same." No word on what, if any, changes will be made to 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios names. However changes are already being made internally with e-mail addresses already switching to the new names, and new movies poster's and logos are being upgraded currently.
Variety also learned that Disney and Peter Chernin are ending Chernin Entertainment’s long-standing film production deal with 20th Century Fox. “I have nothing but praise for Disney,” Chernin told Variety. “They were gracious, classy and paved the way for me to continue to build the company however we want.” Chernin Entertainment’s most recent films have been financial disappointments. The Kristen Stewart thriller, and Central Coast local director, William Eubank's “Underwater,” debuted with only $7 million domestic opening weekend, and the animated comedy “Spies in Disguise” has grossed a only $116.7 million to date. Disney’s $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox in March 2019 included the 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, but not the Fox broadcast network or Fox News. Change to the name was seen as "inevitable" to help close the confusion on the name branding. Variety also notes that "Disney chief Bob Iger saw his compensation for 2019 drop to $47.5 million, a 28% decline from his 2018 pay package." "Disney’s leader earned $3 million in salary and a $21.8 million bonus, plus another $10 million in stock awards and $9.6 million in stock options, Disney disclosed in the company’s annual proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday. The $47.5 million total includes the current market value of options and stock awards that won’t be paid out for some time and thus could lose value." Early this morning, nominations were announced for the 92nd Academy Awards. Joker takes the lead with 11 nominations with The Irishman, 1917 and Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood came in a close second with 10 nominations each. Be sure to come to our Oscar Viewing Party to watch, at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. in Arroyo Grande. The show will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. OSCAR NOMINATIONS 2020 BY CATEGORY - 92ND AWARDS Best motion picture of the year nominees: FORD V FERRARI Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and James Mangold, Producers THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers JOJO RABBIT Carthew Neal and Taika Waititi, Producers JOKER Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers LITTLE WOMEN Amy Pascal, Producer MARRIAGE STORY Noah Baumbach and David Heyman, Producers 1917 Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall, Producers ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh and Quentin Tarantino, Producers PARASITE Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon Ho, Producers Performance by an actor in a leading role nominees: Antonio Banderas in PAIN AND GLORY Leonardo DiCaprio in ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Adam Driver in MARRIAGE STORY Joaquin Phoenix in JOKER Jonathan Pryce in THE TWO POPES Performance by an actor in a supporting role nominees: Tom Hanks in A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Anthony Hopkins in THE TWO POPES Al Pacino in THE IRISHMAN Joe Pesci in THE IRISHMAN Brad Pitt in ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Performance by an actress in a leading role nominees: Cynthia Erivo in HARRIET Scarlett Johansson in MARRIAGE STORY Saoirse Ronan in LITTLE WOMEN Charlize Theron in BOMBSHELL Renée Zellweger in JUDY Performance by an actress in a supporting role nominees: Kathy Bates in RICHARD JEWELL Laura Dern in MARRIAGE STORY Scarlett Johansson in JOJO RABBIT Florence Pugh in LITTLE WOMEN Margot Robbie in BOMBSHELL Best animated feature film of the year nominees: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis and Bonnie Arnold I LOST MY BODY Jérémy Clapin and Marc du Pontavice KLAUS Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh and Marisa Román MISSING LINK Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight TOY STORY 4 Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera Achievement in cinematography nominees: THE IRISHMAN Rodrigo Prieto JOKER Lawrence Sher THE LIGHTHOUSE Jarin Blaschke 1917 Roger Deakins ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Robert Richardson Achievement in costume design nominees: THE IRISHMAN Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson JOJO RABBIT Mayes C. Rubeo JOKER Mark Bridges LITTLE WOMEN Jacqueline Durran ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Arianne Phillips Achievement in directing nominees: THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese JOKER Todd Phillips 1917 Sam Mendes ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino PARASITE Bong Joon Ho Best documentary feature nominees: AMERICAN FACTORY Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert THE CAVE Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts HONEYLAND Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev Best documentary short subject nominees: IN THE ABSENCE Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva LIFE OVERTAKES ME John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson ST. LOUIS SUPERMAN Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan WALK RUN CHA-CHA Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt Achievement in film editing nominees: FORD V FERRARI Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland THE IRISHMAN Thelma Schoonmaker JOJO RABBIT Tom Eagles JOKER Jeff Groth PARASITE Yang Jinmo Best international feature film of the year nominees: CORPUS CHRISTI Poland Directed by Jan Komasa HONEYLAND North Macedonia Directed by Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevksa LES MISÉRABLES France Directed by Ladj Ly PAIN AND GLORY Spain Directed by Pedro Almodóvar PARASITE South Korea Directed by Bong Joon Ho Achievement in makeup and hairstyling nominees: BOMBSHELL Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker JOKER Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou JUDY Jeremy Woodhead MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White 1917 Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) nominees: JOKER Hildur Guðnadóttir LITTLE WOMEN Alexandre Desplat MARRIAGE STORY Randy Newman 1917 Thomas Newman STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER John Williams Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) nominees: "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away" from TOY STORY 4 Music and Lyric by Randy Newman "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" from ROCKETMAN Music by Elton John Lyric by Bernie Taupin "I'm Standing With You" from BREAKTHROUGH Music and Lyric by Diane Warren "Into The Unknown" from FROZEN II Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez "Stand Up" from HARRIET Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo Achievement in production design nominees: THE IRISHMAN Production Design: Bob Shaw Set Decoration: Regina Graves JOJO RABBIT Production Design: Ra Vincent Set Decoration: Nora Sopková 1917 Production Design: Dennis Gassner Set Decoration: Lee Sandales ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Production Design: Barbara Ling Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh PARASITE Production Design: Lee Ha Jun Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo Best animated short film nominees: DCERA (DAUGHTER) Daria Kashcheeva HAIR LOVE Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver KITBULL Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson MEMORABLE Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre SISTER Siqi Song Best live action short film nominees: BROTHERHOOD Meryam Joobeur and Maria Gracia Turgeon NEFTA FOOTBALL CLUB Yves Piat and Damien Megherbi THE NEIGHBORS’ WINDOW Marshall Curry SARIA Bryan Buckley and Matt Lefebvre A SISTER Delphine Girard Achievement in sound editing nominees: FORD V FERRARI Donald Sylvester JOKER Alan Robert Murray 1917 Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Wylie Stateman STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Matthew Wood and David Acord Achievement in sound mixing nominees: AD ASTRA Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano FORD V FERRARI Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow JOKER Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland 1917 Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano Achievement in visual effects nominees: AVENGERS: ENDGAME Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick THE IRISHMAN Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli THE LION KING Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman 1917 Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy Adapted screenplay nominees: THE IRISHMAN Screenplay by Steven Zaillian JOJO RABBIT Screenplay by Taika Waititi JOKER Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver LITTLE WOMEN Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig THE TWO POPES Written by Anthony McCarten Original screenplay nominees: KNIVES OUT Written by Rian Johnson MARRIAGE STORY Written by Noah Baumbach 1917 Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD Written by Quentin Tarantino PARASITE Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won Story by Bong Joon Ho Watch the nomination announcements here: There has been lots of Oscar buzz around Sam Mendes' WWI epic 1917. But is that buzz justified? Short answer: Absolutely. The performances, the camera work and the direction is outstanding. If you don't already know, the film is presented as one long take, to be as real-time and first person as possible. That means massive amounts of pre-planning, massive set pieces and massive amounts of extras. You do have small intimate moments but it does get big at times. We follow two young soldiers who are given a special mission. Scattered throughout the film are a few A-List actors who give great performances, albeit brief ones. They play characters who have large ranks, and it seems like the more popular the actor, the higher the rank. Which I thought was an interesting take, because to the soldiers themselves, generals, colonels and other officers were sometimes celebrities themselves among their men. But their roles are brief as the camera is always moving, always following our heroes on their journey. I wanted to love the hell out of this movie. I am a huge fan of Saving Private Ryan and as the film progressed, I started to feel that this movie IS Saving Private Ryan but set in a different war. Also, having the camera seemingly never cut became, to me at least, a distraction. The movie was not shot all in one take, rather several very long takes and then cleverly edited together. However, I began looking for those edits, hunting for those, rather than thinking about the story. But on a technical level, I think Sam Mendes did an amazing accomplishment and feat in this movie that should be experienced on the big screen. It's moving, well performed and has some of the best production design you'll see in a WWI movie. I also want to commend the visual effects team who helped paint out some of the tools of the movie making process (wires, roads, crews, etc.). It really feels like you're there. Mark my words: This will win a lot (if not then some of the top) of Oscar gold. Rating: 4/5 Stars PS: for a bonus, check out this behind-the-scenes video. |
AuthorDaniel Lahr, Archives
January 2023
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