The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs Latino Heritage calendar is now available. In time to celebrate Latino Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15).
We are excited that our publisher, Angela María Ortíz S. is one of the artist who’s work is included in it. And also being one of the six artists featured in Artists Interviews, a new addition to the 2025 Guide.
The calendar is 188 pages, it features works by an array of Latino artists. This special digital publication contains art, poetry, and a listing of online and in-person Latino Heritage-related events.
UPDATE: This weekend, the last two shows, September 6 and September 7.
I enjoy live theater any chance I get. A week ago, I got to experience The Woolgatherer, at a great little place in Burbank, Ca, The Victory Theater.
Antonio Jaramillo, Angela Ortizand Ashley Alvarez
The Woolgatherer starring Antonio Jaramillo and Ashley Alvarez. Jaramillo five page monologue was flawless to me. Props to all of their scenes. Which can be tough when you are dealing with characters with so many angst.
Synopsis: Rose and Cliff search for connection in William Mastrosimone’s first play. Haunted by the past, one prone to daydreaming and fantasy, the other dodging discomfort left and right. Can two lonely hearts, damaged but hopeful, find love with each other?
The play is directed by Rob Nagle and runs until September 7, 2025.
We can’t wait to watch this new adaptation of Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro of Mary Shelley’s classic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
Written and directed by del Toro, Frankenstein is on Netflix this November. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, with Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz.
Renée Victor has–will always have–one of those faces. You will recognize her immediately…and not just her face, but her voice, the characters she played, and the strong, brave spirit she always embodied.
For almost forty years, in almost a hundred different appearances, we all had the real joy of seeing Renée perform as a truly memorable dancer, singer, actress, and voice actor. In many of those roles she stepped into characters who were maids, madams, and especially abuelitas, but she was never the stereotype. The characters she played were always something more, something special and richer than we had a right to expect.
She is probably best remembered for her voice performance as Abuelita in Pixar’s Coco, and for many episodes as the no-nonsense maid to Mary Louise Parker on Weeds. But she was also the voice of all the lizard people in the wildly popular video game Skyrim, the Abuelatron on Futurama, and the kind, brave, and doomed abuela in the cult horror classic Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. And that’s barely the beginning. Read the rest of this entry »
We caught up with the director of LOCKED David Yarovesky(Brightburn, Nightbooks), just before we screened the film with no spoilers. The film took nineteen days to shoot. Watch our quick interview.
Synopsis:No escape. No mercy. Just survival. A petty thief (Bill Skarsgård) breaks into a state-of-the-art SUV, only to find himself trapped inside. Controlled remotely by its vengeful owner (Anthony Hopkins), the vehicle becomes a deadly prison, hurtling him into a high-speed battle for survival. From producer Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell). The film is in theaters on March 21.
It was an enjoyable screening with two of the grandsons. The five year old said it was happy and sad at the same time. And he loved it! The twelve year old who has read most of the books, thought it was GREAT!
Dog Man is in theaters this Friday, January 31.
Jimmy, Milo, and Angela
Synopsis: When a faithful police dog and his human police officer owner are injured together on the job, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together and Dog Man is born. Dog Man is sworn to protect and serve—and fetch, sit and roll over.
As Dog Man embraces his new identity and strives to impress his Chief (Lil Rel Howery), he must stop the pretty evil plots of feline supervillain Petey the Cat (Pete Davidson). Petey’s latest plan is to clone himself, creating the kitten Lil Petey, to double his ability to do crime stuff. Things get complicated, though, when Lil Petey (Lucas Hopkins Calderon) forges an unexpected bond with Dog Man.
The rest of the cast includes Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, Billy Boyd, and Ricky Gervais. Dog Man is directed by Peter Hastings (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness).
The film is based on the Dog Man bookseries by Dav Pilkey. The author and award-winning illustrator of the Captain Underpants books.
“Sonic 3 will beat out Mufasa, for sure!” — JimmityCritic (12)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3, what a fun evening with the grandkids it was. When you have a 12, 10 and 5 year-old clap their hands at the end of a film, I think you have a hit.
Sonic 3 has fun with the audience and even within the filmmakers with their own story plot. All in all, it has something for everyone.
Synopsis: Sonic the Hedgehog returns to the big screen this holiday season in his most thrilling adventure yet. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.
Director Jeff Fowler returns along with the all-star cast of Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, and newcomers Alyla Browne and Krysten Ritter, with Keanu Reeves joining the franchise as Shadow the Hedgehog.
Mufasa: The Lion King was entertaining and the production value was amazing to watch. Set in Africa, all-new film blends live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery.
My 12 year-old grandson thought it was one of his best films of the year. See his reaction below.
JimmityCritic and Angela Ortíz
Mufasa is a great movie with less singing and more action which is a great way to let kids enjoy the movie. It’s a more enjoyable movie than the first live action movie which was boring. Compared to other Disney live action movies I could think about rewatching it because it makes sense as a movie to show how everyone came to be prior to the Lion King. — JimmityCritic, 12 years-old
Synopsis: Exploring the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.
Directed by Barry Jenkins, with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and starring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Theo Somolu, Braelyn Rankins, Anika Noni Rose, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Keith David, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, Dominique Jennings, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
I’m Still Here is an official Brazilian submission to the 97th Academy Awards.
We really enjoyed this film. It’s a tough story with a lot of heart. And it has a great cast.
Angela Ortíz and Martin Elfalan
Synopsis: In this true story, Eunice Paiva’s (Fernanda Torres) husband disappears during the heyday of the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1970’s. The pursuit of answers about Ruben Paiva’s (Selton Mello) whereabouts change the course of his family’s life.
Directed By Walter Salles. In theaters January 17, 2025.
Update: Torres has become the second Brazilian to be nominated by the Academy in the best actress category. Her mother Fernanda Montenegro had the historic achievement in 1999 for Central Station. Montenegro is also in this film.
One of my favorite time of the year is the holiday season. I love Christmas for many reasons, especially my grandkids and grandnephews. We always find time to watch our old and new favorite Christmas movies. And they are many of all genres.
Angela Ortiz and Rosa Rodriguez
Now it’s that time of year, we screened The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The film has some funny moments and of course it tugged at your heart.
Afterward, we did some arts and crafts. That was really fun. The film is in theaters, Friday, November 8.
Synopsis: The Herdmans are six siblings who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. However, when they take over the local church pageant during the holidays, they just might teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.
Starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Belle Wright, Lauren Graham, Vanessa Benavente, and directed by Dallas Jenkins.
