By Ted AYALA The California Philharmonic brought some cool musical relief from the persistent heat wave on Sunday afternoon. Those who packed Disney Hall in search of refuge from the wilting heat were met with the refreshing sound of the orchestra in its usual mash-up of friendlier classical fare and show tunes. A choice sampling […]
By Ted AYALA Oppressive heat, stifling humidity, and the mournful wail of the dàn-bu (a kind of cross between a theremin and a monochord) mingling gently with the chorus of crickets and the sound of the occasional mosquito. A scene that only needed the joyous noise of the night markets and the taste of a […]
By Susan JAMES Full disclosure: I’ve never seen Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1990 version of “Total Recall,” so I have nothing to compare with director Len Wiseman’s current version. But I doubt if the Schwarzenegger take on a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world and the role of memory in shaping perception would have lingered in the popular culture if […]
Marvin Hamlisch, renowned composer of stage and screen, director of the Pasadena Pops, dies at 68. By Ted AYALA Marvin Hamlisch, the revered Broadway and film composer who had recently become a fixture on the local cultural landscape through his leadership of the Pasadena Pops, died unexpectedly on Monday at age 68. Hamlisch, according to […]
By Susan JAMES Despite the title, “The Bourne Legacy” under the direction of Tony Gilroy is trying to move the franchise on from Jason Bourne and reinvent it around another government medical experiment gone rogue named Aaron Cross. Cross is played with grim determination by Jeremy Renner but Matt Damon’s Bourne, the boyish, brain-washed assassin […]
The landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars has spectators turning to NASA and JPL for their information. But what if you want to live the exciting decent into the martian atmosphere yourself? Well now you can. On XBOX 360, you can download a game that allows you to become the lander craft as you […]
By Ted AYALA Is the music of the great Romantic composers of the 19th century so different from the well loved songs that modern day Broadway and the West End have produced? In the program presented at Disney Hall on Sunday afternoon, conductor Victor Vener and the California Philharmonic affirmed their belief in the old […]
By Susan JAMES Imagine you’re in the living room of a 30-something single someone you’ve just met when she receives an unexpected visit from a former college lover. Nine years ago these two were close but things ended badly and they haven’t seen each other since. It all seems perfectly civilized for a while but […]