ENTERTAINMENT
August 21, 1987 | KEVIN THOMAS, Times Staff Writer
"Death Shadows" (at Little Tokyo Cinema) is the latest samurai movie from Hideo Gosha, the best director working regularly in the classic genre. "Death Shadows" has it all: outrageous plotting, dazzling swordplay, a gorgeous heroine and an equally spectacular woman villain, plus a dash of dark humor to keep us from taking everything too seriously. And there's such a keen sense of the visual in "Death Shadows," especially in its lighting, that it has a sculptured look.
ENTERTAINMENT
April 24, 2011 | By Mark Olsen, Special to the Los Angeles Times
In the waning days of Japan's feudal era, an army marches into a village and is ambushed by a small band of samurai determined to topple the merciless lord leading the much larger force. As "13 Assassins" moves toward its dazzling, dizzyingly over-the-top climactic battle sequence, it gains a momentum of startling inevitability, as if these events simply must come to pass. The lengthy frenzy of blood, mud, arrows, swordplay and honor righteously defended that ensues is furious, intense and unrelenting.
ENTERTAINMENT
April 23, 1987 | LYNNE HEFFLEY
It's a gas. It's a multimillion-dollar, high-tech, computerized theatrical extravaganza. "The Masters of the Universe Power Tour," a glitzy combo of sizzling special effects and non-stop action, opened Tuesday night at the Anaheim Convention Center, following much television and radio hoopla, and Mayor Bradley's proclamation of April 28 as "Masters of the Universe Day" in Los Angeles.
SPORTS
September 16, 1994 | VINCE KOWALICK, TIMES STAFF WRITER
En garde! A fledgling high school fencing league, including Chaminade, Harvard-Westlake and Villanova Prep, will begin swordplay next week and culminate with the crowning of team and individual champions in January and February. The Southern California High School Fencing League, sanctioned by the Southern California Division of the U.S. Fencing Assn., also includes Bellflower, Norwalk and Victor Valley highs. The first of three individual tournaments is scheduled for Sept. 24 at 9 a.m.
NEWS
February 5, 1997 | CANDACE A. WEDLAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
High time television viewers had a swashbuckler of their own. Adrian Paul, that heartthrob, is the right man for the job. He stars as Duncan MacLeod, a 400-year-old immortal, in "Highlander, the Series." As MacLeod, Paul has to fight evil forces, but the actor has no quarrel with calories. "It's really tough for me to gain weight," said Paul, 37, even in Paris where the syndicated TV series is filmed half of the year (the other half in Vancouver, Canada).
ENTERTAINMENT
March 3, 1994 | LYNNE HEFFLEY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
Don't expect Will & Co.'s new "family accessible" production of "The Three Musketeers" at the Los Angeles Theatre Center to be a faithful staging of Dumas' swashbuckling saga. If you thought the Disney version took liberties. . . . In this hourlong show, kicking off Will & Co.'s "Quicktakes" series for family audiences, a cast of six youthful adult professionals, led by the company's artistic director Colin Cox, plays multiple roles.