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Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and the Real Funny Girl, Fanny Brice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Portraying Fanny Brice brought Barbra Streisand to Hollywood and Fanny Brice did end up in Los Angeles, too, starring and featured in some early Hollywood talkies. The 1968 film version of “Funny Girl” doesn’t use all the songs of the stage musical and makes some changes that  pay tribute to Fanny Brice’s Hollywood movies and New York stage performances. Funny Girl These days, Barbra Streisand…

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GO: 'Funny Girl' Is a Fun Family Evening ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice in the National Tour of Funny Girl. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade. The national touring production of “Funny Girl,” currently at the Ahmanson, is a must-see for fans of the film, old musicals and old Hollywood. The stage musical and the movie “Funny Girl” are both fairytales, an example of the tragedy of a talented woman overshadowing her man, and thus…

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'Ziegfeld Follies' Features Fanny Brice, Fred Astaire and Yellowface ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Directed by Vincente Minelli, “Ziegfeld Follies” gives audiences a taste of what the original “Ziegfeld Follies” were like. You get to see Fanny Brice as a comedian and not a singer, but the best segment is at the end, “The Babbit and the Bromide” which pairs Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly together to the music of George and Ira Gershwin. For many, this film will be like a nostalgic slice of stage…

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#yellow face #Yellowface

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'Be Yourself': Fanny Brice Sings and Looks for Love ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The black-and-white film musical comedy “Be Yourself” is best viewed as an example of what Fanny Brice was like singing, mugging and entertaining. The 1930 film which clocks in at just over an hour is currently available to stream for free on TubiTV. By 1930, Fanny Brice (b. 29 October 1891) was on her third marriage to Billy Rose (m. 1929-1938). She had already divorced Nicky Arnstein (m.…

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#Fanny Brice #Funny Girl

[janamonji]

'Guy Ritchie's The Covenant' Brings Up a Big Historical Question ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Guy Ritchie’s “The Covenant” was like a wake up call that echoed through my subconscious, reminding me of a debt that I could pay forward. From the title, you might not know what this film is about. At the end, we are given a definition. Covenant is “a bond” or “a pledge.” The film both a fictionalized story about debts of honor and a plea for very real people left behind in Afghanistan, a…

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'Nyad' Takes Directors from Documentary to Inspirational Drama ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was surprised when I heard that after winning an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, the husband and wife team of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin were taking on a biographical sport drama film based on swimmer Diana Nyad’s many attempts to swim the Straights of Florida. Starring Annette Bening as Nyad, and Jodie Foster as her former partner, Bonnie Stoll, the film received two Oscar…

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Dedicated Father Shows 'How to Kill a Tiger' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Oscar-nominated documentary “To Kill a Tiger” provides an intimate exposé on the problems all women face through the specific case of a young girl whose rape became the topic of controversy in her Indian village. Her father says, “I was once told, ‘You can’t kill a tiger by yourself, but I replied, ‘I’ll show you how to kill a tiger all by yourself.’ And so, I did.” Tigers are, by nature,…

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'Monkey Man': Dev Patel's Directorial Debut Feature Film Creates an Asian Indian Action Hero ⭐️⭐️⭐️

While it’s the Year of the Dragon, spring 2024 is shaping up to be the Year of the Monkey. First there was the inaccurately named “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” which was mostly about Kong, an oversized gorilla. On 8 May 2024, the next installment in the reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise, “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” will be released. While those about fantasy primates, Dev…

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WonderCon Confusion: A Ban on Lightsabers and Metal Cosplay Props?

In 2024, when being a geek can be cosplay cool, can you imagine a major comic convention without light sabers or absurdly awesome weaponry? The biggest day of a rain-soaked WonderCon almost veered into the dark side, unlit by light saber-wielding Jedi heroes (and villains) as attendees and performers verbally clashed with prop check management over whether light sabers and other weapons with…

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'Godzilla x Kong': A Movie for Alpha Ape Action Fans ⭐️⭐️

Godzilla fans will be disappointed with the Legendary Pictures MonsterVerse outing, but movie goers looking for Alpha Ape action won’t be disappointed. “Godzilla x Kong” is really a Kong film featuring an appearance by the Big G. If you want to see big action without any woke concern from human deaths and destruction of cites, this is your deafening movie match. If you’re concerned about…

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WonderCon: Swag Reveal

What is the true nature of Godzilla? Is the big G a hero or a villain? If he was a motor vehicle, would he be a truck? I don’t know the answers, but Heroes & Villains donated a few trucker hats to raffle off. WonderCon Saturday Panel. 30 March 2024 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Room 209

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Swag Hint: What Is the True Nature of the Big G?

What is the true nature of Godzilla? Is the big G a hero or a villain? If he was a motor vehicle, would he be a truck? Saturday Panel. 30 March 2024 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Room 209

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Godzilla Minus One: A Triumphant and Profound Kaiju Movie Panel at WonderCon

I’ll be part of a panel presentation on the big G called “Godzilla Minus One: A Triumphant and Profound Kaiju Movie” at WonderCon. Through my contacts, I’ve been able to procure some swag so cool even the panelists want them…so, there will be a raffle.   Dr. Drea Letamendi (psychologist/UCLA), Susanne Rust (journalist, L.A. Times), Jana Monji (film critic, Age of the Geek.org, RogerEbert.com,…

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#Godzilla #Godzilla Minus One #Wonder-Con #WonderCon

[janamonji]

'Arthur the King' Is Wait to Stream Average ⭐️⭐️

While I love a good dog story with a happy ending and who doesn’t love an armchair adventure, “Arthur the King” fails on so many fronts that its only redemption can be found in its outreach to dog adoption agencies.  The film stars Mark Wahlberg who is convincing as a last-try almost-over-the-hill elite athlete, but the failure lands mostly on the director Simon Cellan Jones (“The One and Only”…

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Kung Fu Panda: The Winning Western Wuxia Way Continues...

“Kung Fu Panda 4” is more than just a number; it seems to signal a mindset change for a series that hasn’t only been successful in the US, but also in the country it is purportedly about: China. The original “Kung Fu Panda” came out in 2008, a time when there wasn’t so much concern about matching ethnicity. Jack Black voicing the lead character of Po did not raise much concern. This film takes Po…

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Why Asian Americans Should Be Concerned About Orientalism in 'Dune: Part Two'

In the US, the word “Asian” is probably more closely associated with things “East Asian” while in places like the UK, it’s more likely to reference things “South Asian.” Of course, there is a world of difference between China, Japan and South Korea compared to India and Pakistan, but remember that Asia is a continent that includes the Middle East. Once upon a time, the word “Oriental” included…

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'Dune: Part Two' Goes Full on White Savior Mode ⭐️⭐️⭐️

In 2021, I found myself wondering if “Dune: Part Two” would make this saga a Laurence of Arabia White Savior in space saga.  For those familiar with West Asian and North African cultures, Part Two in an uncomfortable tale: Beautiful, brutal, but also a Western vision that could be translated as an interpretation and an indictment of Islamic history and traditions. I attended the press screening…

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