“Oh, Canada” Gives Us Great Acting
In Oh, Canada, director/screenwriter Paul Schrader has given his actors a stage on which to show their skills. The 95-minute film depicts an aging documentarian, Leo Fife (portrayed by Richard…
A Painful Examination of Grief
When Pansy awakes with a start early on in veteran director Mike Leigh’s new film Hard Truths, we get a close-up of her face tensed into a mask of confusion…
“Dahl’s Darlings” Is a True Original
In its most recent adventure into theatre, By the Sea Productions in Morro Bay took on a formidable task: producing a new work by a local playwright based on the…
“Cyclone” Is Smart, Witty, Dark, Funny, and Fresh
A decidedly weird little Canadian musical by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell has developed quite the online following since it debuted in 2008 in Victoria, British Columbia. By 2016, Ride…
Friendship in Final Days
In his first English language film, the Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar presents a tale of friendship between two women as they together confront the near and expected death of one…
Still Unknown
In the new Bob Dylan biopic, co-writers James Mangold and Jay Cocks present the young singer/songwriter's first years in the American folk music world of the early 1960s. The subject…
An Absorbing and Intense “Memoir”
Memoir of a Snail is the latest animated movie from Australian auteur Adam Elliot, who refers to his films as "clayographies," a portmanteau combining clay and biographies. It’s a fitting…
A Simple, Joyful Holiday Treat
Amid all the present-buying and house-decorating and party-going at this time of year, it helps to have a little break, less than a couple of hours, where you can sit…
Motherhood’s Canine Redemption
Courage often gets confused with bravado, especially in titles. Sometimes it takes a little risk to encounter true greatness, and in the case of Marielle Heller’s new film, we hope…
A Holiday Tradition Shines at SLO Rep
Photos by Ryan C. Loyd, Rylo Media Design The date is December 1, 1940. The town is Hohman, Indiana, currently being buffeted by blisteringly frigid winds carving through towering…