ENTERTAINMENT
February 5, 2012 | By J. Hoberman, Special to the Los Angeles Times
No one watches a movie in a vacuum. You don't check your real-world baggage at the door — something for which any good critic must account. Several days before catching the new Steven Soderbergh action thriller "Haywire," I learned that Soderbergh had made the movie on the rebound, fired from "Moneyball" on the eve of its shoot. Moreover, he got the idea of starring champion mixed martial arts fighter and glamorous "American Gladiator" ingénue Gina "Crush" Carano in the days after his termination, after watching her televised loss to a rival named Cyborg.
ENTERTAINMENT
May 4, 2011 | By Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Film Festival has a reputation for appealing to both the average popcorn-chomping moviegoer as well as the high-brow cinéaste . Take last year, when the festival hosted the premiere of the latest "Twilight" film within days of screening a retrospective of work by little-known Argentinean director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. This year's edition, running June 16 to 26, will again offer a wide assortment — more than 200 films, music videos and shorts from more than 30 countries will be shown (including 27 world, North American and U.S. premieres)