‘The Running Man’ Delivers Sharp Truths Even When it’s a Bit Overhyped

November 12, 2025 Michael Lee

In a world where entertainment thrives on dehumanization, Stephen King’s The Running Man remains one of the most unsettlingly relevant dystopias. The book made for a memorable 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now Edgar Wright’s adaptation pays clear homage to the source while recalibrating it for an era of algorithms, streaming spectacle, and disposable labor. The premise still excites, but the film’s frantic energy sometimes scatters its sharpest ideas.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi

NOC Review: ‘Predator: Badlands’ is an Enjoyable Sci-Fi Romp

November 11, 2025November 11, 2025 Mike Manalo

Redefining a classic franchise is a difficult thing to do. Countless remakes and reboots of beloved classics from Poltergeist to Child’s Play have withered and died at the cinema. The Predator franchise, specifically, has even seen its share of wasted potential (see Shane Black’s failed attempt from 2018).

Animation, Movies, Reviews

‘In Your Dreams’ Balances Candy-Colored Chaos with Real Heart

November 7, 2025November 7, 2025 Michael Lee

Dreaming is one of the most powerful ways kids make sense of chaos or imagine what comes next. Whether it is school pressure, first crushes, or home shifting under their feet, dreams turn fear into something they can face.

Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: ‘Palestine 36’ is an Epic Historical Film of Resounding Importance

November 5, 2025November 5, 2025 Edward Hong

Annemarie Jacir’s Palestine 36 is an epic historical film that takes the audience back to 1936 when Palestine began to make a great push resisting British colonial rule. It is not only an astoundingly well made film with incredible performances, it is a film that is a much needed history lesson that needs to be shown in every school and university in western nations and around the world. At its core, the film shows the Palestinian resistance for what it really is: a fight for freedom and independence which has been going on for many, many decades.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘नेहा & Neel’

October 19, 2025October 19, 2025 Edward Hong

For better or worse, one of the oldest tropes in Asian American identity stories is often the generational & cultural divide between the immigrant parents and their American-born children. Ankita Raturi’s नेहा & Neel, now having its world premiere at Latino Theater Company in collaboration with Artists At Play, manages to breathe new life into this trope while also being downright hilarious in such an inexplicable mad genius kind of way, thanks to one of the actors playing over a dozen(!?!) characters.

Horror, Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: Blumhouse Phones It In with ‘Black Phone 2’

October 17, 2025October 30, 2025 Mike Manalo

Traveling back to 2022, I remember leaving my screening of The Black Phone, touched, thrilled, and genuinely surprised having seen what became one of my favorites of that year.

Reviews, Theatre

NOC Review: ‘The Night of the Iguana’ at Boston Court Pasadena

October 13, 2025October 12, 2025 Rosana Maris Arias

Boston Court Pasadena’s production of The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams opened on September 11. Set at the Costa Verde hotel in a quiet Mexican village in 1940, at the cusp of Hitler’s advancement on Europe, the rarely staged play tells the story of Episcopal clergyman Reverend Shannon (Riley Shanahan), who is in constant anguish as he questions his faith, God, and his choices, all while on the hotel property of Maxine Faulk (Julanne Chidi Hill) who recently became a widow.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Paranormal Inside’

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025 Edward Hong

Prince Gomolvilas’ Paranormal Inside, now having one of its rolling world premieres at East West Players, achieves the astounding feat in being a play that is so compelling while fully utilizing multiple global majority actors across different spectrums in meaningful ways, completely deliver on its supernatural premises to jaw-dropping effect, and also be a sequel that welcomes those who have knowledge of the previous play while not being entirely necessary for those who are unfamiliar. It is the perfect play arriving just in time for this year’s Halloween season.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘In Response 2025: Rise Up!’

October 12, 2025October 12, 2025 Edward Hong

I’m normally not a fan of watching an anthology of short plays, but attending the opening night of Towne Street Theatre’s In Response was a most pleasant surprise as there were some exceptionally strong short plays that truly stood out.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi2 Comments

‘Tron: Ares’ and the Algorithm of Humanity

October 7, 2025 Ainsley 'LadyL' Landry

In IMAX, Tron: Ares doesn’t just unfold, it engulfs you. From the first neon pulse to the last flicker of light, I felt like I wasn’t just watching a film but being uploaded into it. The franchise that once imagined the world inside a computer now feels eerily close to our own, a mirror made of code and conscience.

Reviews, Theatre1 Comment

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘The Little King of Norwalk’

October 5, 2025October 5, 2025 Edward Hong

Latino Theater Company returns for their fall season with a laugh out loud hit in Israel López Reyes‘ The Little King of Norwalk, now having its world premiere at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Not only is this play a meaningful tribute to Chicano identity, it is a love letter to the city of Norwalk wrapped up in a hysterically wacky film noir with a touch of magical realism and a nod to Nikolai Gogol‘s The Inspector General.

Reviews, Theatre

NOC Review: ‘Eureka Day’ at Pasadena Playhouse

October 2, 2025October 10, 2025 Rosana Maris Arias

Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day, opened on September 10. The Tony Award-winning play follows a group of PTA parents at a private elementary school in Berkeley, CA, in the Fall of 2018, as they attempt to navigate a mumps outbreak at the school.

Movies, Reviews

Celebrating 25 Years of the Stunning Yet Oddly Paced Romance, ‘In the Mood For Love’

September 29, 2025September 25, 2025 Lauren Lola

It’s been 25 years since Wong Kar-wai’s pièce de résistance, In the Mood For Love, premiered in Hong Kong. Set in the early 1960s, it follows two neighbors (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who find out their spouses are having an affair with each other.

Movies, Reviews1 Comment

NOC Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ is the Movie We Need Right Now

September 26, 2025 Mike Manalo

Every day we wake up to a divided nation. Anti-immigration sentiment is at an all-time high. White privilege has never been more prevalent and has inserted itself into the nation’s capital. Elected officials use BS excuses to invade our cities and shut down free speech. At this point, all we can do is laugh about the state of the country. Thankfully, that’s exactly what Paul Thomas Anderson does in his cathartic satirical triumph, One Battle After Another.

Movies, Reviews

NOC Review: Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, and Tonatiuh in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’

September 23, 2025October 10, 2025 Rosana Maris Arias

Kiss of the Spider Woman, starring Jennifer Lopez, Diego Luna, and Tonatiuh, is slated to hit theaters on October 10. The two-hour film pays tribute to Hollywood, the film industry, the movie musical, actors, and the idea of celebrity. Highlights from the film include actor Tonatiuh’s performance, Lopez’s dancing, and the use of Technicolor film processing.

Reviews, Theatre2 Comments

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘West Side Story’

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025 Edward Hong

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the classic 1961 West Side Story film. But after watching the opening night of the staged musical at the LA Opera, I have come to the realization after all these years that while still delightful, this musical is a severely outdated product of its time and may need to dance off into the sunset.

Horror, Movies, Reviews, Sports

How ‘HIM’ Exposes the Cult of Sports and the Commodification of Black Athletes

September 20, 2025 Ainsley 'LadyL' Landry

American football isn’t just a game; it’s a religion. The rituals, the chants, the stadiums packed with worshippers draped in team colors, it all mirrors a form of collective devotion. In Justin Tipping’s new psychological thriller HIM, produced by Jordan Peele, football becomes something far more literal: a site of sacrifice, worship, and horror.

Animation, Reviews

‘LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past’ Mixes Fun and Brick-Built Chaos

September 19, 2025September 19, 2025 Michael Lee

LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past is more than just kids with a wild imagination playing “what if” with their minifigs, brick builds, and BrickHeadz. It’s a fully realized box of bricks clicking together, where one can play with iconic Star Wars moments to their heart’s content.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Torera’

September 17, 2025September 18, 2025 Edward Hong

Having its Los Angeles premiere and performing for the first time in Outside In Theatre’s new ArtSpace home, Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Torera is an auspicious beginning for the theatre company in their new home as it is a deeply gorgeous play with an astounding lead performance from Melissa Carvajal and its beautiful quiet moments that stayed with me long after the play ended.

Horror, Reviews, Theme Parks

Halloween Horror Nights Returns to Universal Studios Hollywood with a Sold-Out Bang

September 15, 2025September 15, 2025 Nikita Francois

Last Thursday, Universal Studios Hollywood celebrated the terrifyingly exciting opening of Halloween Horror Nights with new haunted houses, returning fan favorites, and an all-new dining pass. We were there to get a first look at opening night and try it all.

Reviews, Theatre

A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Fly Me to the Sun’

September 10, 2025September 10, 2025 Edward Hong

Having its west coast premiere at The Fountain Theatre, Brian Quijada‘s Fly Me to the Sun is a unique take on the identity play that incorporates puppetry in a late night TV show format. While it needs some significant dramatic muscle flexed into it throughout to give it more of a definitive shape, it is a hilarious and deeply moving journey into a boy’s efforts to understand more of his Salvadoran heritage in the most imaginative ways.

Movies, Reviews, Sci Fi

NOC Review: ‘The Long Walk’ is a Harrowing Journey Worth Taking

September 8, 2025September 8, 2025 Mike Manalo

At the time of writing this, I’ve had the opportunity to see The Long Walk twice. Once at a conventional screening, and another at an interactive experience where we walked on a treadmill for 3.4 MPH for the full screening to simulate the film’s experience. Why put myself through an emotionally devastating movie twice in a row, with a second experience being a physically exhausting one? Because this emotionally devastating movie is actually one of the year’s best.

Reviews, Streaming, Television

‘The Comic Shop’ Turns Traditional TV on Its Head

September 3, 2025September 18, 2025 Nikita Francois

The Comic Shop is a new web series that delivers big laughs and dynamic characters in the world of comic book geeks. After a highly successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign, Cheyenne Ewulu’s series brings to life a workplace comedy that centers a Black female lead and a diverse group of supporting characters.