Reviews

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post “Licorice Pizza”Directed by: Paul Thomas AndersonRating: RRun time: 2 hours, 13 minutesShowing at The Loft Cinema “Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie is a charming and sweet coming of age story” is a sentence I never thought would be written or said, but that’s what “Licorice Pizza” is. Anderson’s films usually involve scenes with Daniel Day-Lewis throwing bowling balls and pins at a preacher-slash-hustler during the early 20th century oil rush in California. Or drug-induced shootouts in a living room with “Jessie’s Girl” and “99 Red Balloons” playing in the background. “Licorice Pizza,” however, is not a consuming character study nor an intense journey into darkness. It is a fun, hazy and more personal film for the eight-time Oscar-nominated auteur....

By JAVIER DOSAMANTES  “The Power of the Dog”Directed by: Jane CampionRating: RRun time: 2 hours, 6 minutesOpens at The Loft Cinema Dec. 10 and is currently streaming on Netflix In Michael Mann's "Heat," Robert de Niro's character tells his love interest, "I'm alone, I am not lonely."  Throughout "The Power of the Dog," a psychological drama set in the Old West, I kept thinking about that quote. Everyone in this film is not alone, but they are lonely. Nobody's happy where they are, with whom they are, or with whom they are not. One character rejects society and longs for his brother's love in their mentor's absence. Meanwhile, the other brother wants to be accepted by society and rejects their way of life. A widow who terrifyingly coexists with her new brother-in-law ...

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post “Julia”Directed by: Julie Cohen and Betsy WestRating: PG -13Run time: 1 hour, 35 minutesOpens at The Loft Cinema Nov. 24 Ending parties is a cross between an artform and a sport — it's social gymnastics — and you have to stick the landing.  Everything can go wrong, and if it does, people will remember the end instead of the rest of the festivities. Parties run the risk of going on for too long and plateau, someone can get into a fight or argument, you can start playing the wrong kind of music and people will fall asleep or walk out, etc. Hosts have to perfectly execute the move of telling guests it's over in a way they leave with a smile and good memories.  Party hosts also have to walk the thin line of choosing the right playlist t...

YSL Records BY NATE MARTINEZPima Post The month of October has been very kind to fans of hip hop across the United States. Recently, the highly touted singer/songwriter Young Thug dropped his second studio album “Punk” on Oct. 15.  The album opens up with a soft alternative rock kind of flow, something Young Thug fans have been used to for a while now.  Young Thug has been known to mix alternative genres with hip hop. In 2016, he dropped the mix tape, “JEFFREY,” which mixes influences of reggae and rock. Young Thug also gave his fans “Beautiful Thugger Girls,” which had heavy tones of country rock mixed in. Mixing punk and soft rock with hip hop may sound like an album that was destined for failure. Young Thug actually does an amazing job in blending the sounds tog...

Courtesy of Warner Brothers Entertainment By JAVIER DOSAMONTES “Dune”Directed by: Denis VilleneuveRating: PG - 13Run time: 2 hours, 35 minutes In all honesty, I'm not a big fan of sci-fi movie franchises, but because of the people involved in this project, I was looking forward to the first installment of "Dune." Director Denis Villeneuve ("Sicario," "Arrival") is at the top of his game and his trajectory is beginning to feel a little Nolan-ish in the "Batman Begins"-slash-"The Prestige" era. Everything he has done in terms of style and vision starts to come together in this movie, making it the perfect set up before he drops down the hammer in the second installment of the series  à la "The Dark Knight." Nolan invented the blueprint on how to successfully attack the...

By JAVIER DOSAMANTESPima Post “No Time to Die”Directed by: Cary Joji FukunagaRating: PG-13Run time: 2 hours, 43 minutes "No Time to Die '' is a great installment in the James Bond franchise and an awesome action movie — worth watching in theaters — but will make a great viewing when it hits a streaming service. It didn't redefine the franchise like "Casino Royale," and it's not as ambitious or stylish as "Skyfall." But it is wildly entertaining and is elevated to a more elegant popcorn movie because of the amazing directing, acting and score. Cary Joji Fukunaga, best known for directing the first season of "True Detective" — the dark HBO miniseries — gave this lighter screenplay a twist. His timing on when to inject comedic and cheesy moments gives the movie a blockbuster fe...