Out and About in LA: Random Bits

I honestly have no theme this week when it comes to traveling LA. So enjoy some random observations and moments I took throughout the month of June.

Great Movie Scenes #009: Midnight in Paris (2010)

Around this time last year I took a week’s vacation to the city of Paris. It was an incredible experience and it is one that has not been matched since. (Well I guess getting a career in Los Angeles comes pretty damn close.) Seeing the sights such as the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, and the Seine River are things that will never leave my brain. Why did I want to go across the Atlantic though? I mean in general it is an experience but there had to have been some catalyst to make me wanna drop everything and go to the ‘City of Lights’.

Enter Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.

Out and About in LA: La Brea and The Berlin Wall

So shocking news: I went to ANOTHER set of museums! But I went to two completely opposed themes. One involves old relics and the other is the La Brea Tar Pits. (BOOM! Take that 1960s!) Enjoy some ancient animals from cavemen past and a Cold War museum that shows how we used to be cavemen in relations to Russia.

   

Tar Pit

  

Tar (Smells like ass!)

    

Harlan’s Ground Sloth (Glossotherium Harlani)

  

Antique Bison (Bison Antiquus)

  

California Saber-Tooth (Smilodon Californicus)

  

Dwarf Pronghorn Antelope (Capromeryx Minor)

  

American Mastodon (Mammut Americanum)

  

Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus Columbi)

    

California Turkey (Parapavo Californicus)

  

Dire Wolf (Canis Dirus)

  

Saber-Tooth Cat (Smilodon Fatalis)

  

Naegele’s Giant Jaguar (Panthera Atrox)

  

Lab

  

Extinct Western Horse (Equus Occidentalis)

  

Pit 91

  

Fossils in Pit 91

  

Scientists cleaning fossils from Project 23

 

The Wende Museum is a free exhibit of all things Cold War. Interestingly, across the street of the LACMA, there is a fragment of the Berlin Wall donated to the museum. It’s pretty damn cool to see what was an integral piece of the Cold War all the way in SoCal. The rest of the pictures involve pieces from the actual museum in Culver City.

Fragment of the Berlin Wall

25 Favorite Films: The Dark Knight (2008)

What else can I say about this that has been expressed already? The Dark Knight is a seminal picture in that it has changed the way people looked at superheroes. This might be a movie involving the likes of Batman and The Joker but Director Christopher Nolan took this entry into his Bat-trilogy very seriously. There are consequences to everyone’s action and it is about as realistic as you can get in a heightened atmosphere. Like, the idea of The Joker as a home grown terrorist is much more terrifying than a dude killing people with clown fish. (It’s in the comics, go read it if you haven’t.) But we all know why we will remember this film forever and that’s one man: Heath Ledger.

SDCC ’15: Entertainment Breakdown

This year’s buzz at San Diego Comic Con was what you expect a comic book convention: Movies! No I’m joking. It was also about television. Okay, mostly everything was about TV and Film. But hey, they are all based on comic book properties….So there’s that. Not a sign that the industry didn’t learn its lesson from Birdman or anything….(coughs)….

Here’s a breakdown of some of the big teases from this past weekend:

Out and About in LA: The LACMA

So a few weeks ago I decided to go to, wait for it, ANOTHER museum! I guess this makes me a snob of the fine arts since I seem to always go to museums. Anyways, I had a lot of fun at the LACMA or ‘The Los Angeles County Museum of Arts’. Probably my favorite of the ones I’ve been to so far. (The Getty had the prettiest layout and landscapes but this had more collections.) I hope you all have fun with some of the sampling I will show below. If you haven’t been, whether a regular in LA or a tourist, I would recommend going when you get the chance.

25 Favorite Films: Anchorman-The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

I could go on a whole spiel on why the first Anchorman is hilarious. But why not actually show instead of tell? Here are some of my favorite jokes and what’s great is that, for the most part, you don’t really need to see the film to get the context. This film is improvised so well you could probably turn this into a web series where we get tiny blasts of scenes. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is over ten years old and yet it still feels timeless. I have a feeling decades from now we will all be saying the same thing.

Best Movies of 2015 (So Far…)

Hope you are all enjoying the hamburgers, hot dogs, and fireworks for this holiday weekend. I assume that’s what you all are doing….The most generic things I can think of to keep this post relevant years from now. Anyways, here are the best films of the year so far. Click on the Review tabs above the page to see all of these films reviewed (except for, strangely enough, the top spot!).

Worst Movies of 2015 (So Far…)

It has been a hectic year for me so far. What with moving literally on the other side of the country and working in the TV industry. Luckily I have still had a lot of time to go to the movies and watch some of the best & worst the big screen has to offer. With this being the holiday weekend and also the midway point of 2015 I would like to express my opinion on what were the highlights in film on both ends of the spectrum. Below are the ‘Worst Films of 2015’ while tomorrow you will see some of the Best. Also, make sure to click on the ‘Review’ tab on this blog to check out all my reviews for these films and more. Hope you enjoy and have a great holiday weekend!