“The Ocean of Helena Lee” Directed by Jim Akin and Maria Mckee Shootist Films 2.5 Paws If director Jim Akin intended for his movie, “The Ocean of Helena Lee,” to be an unoriginal and dull parody of Luc Besson’s 1994 drama “Léon: The Professional,” he most certainly succeeded. The film opens Friday at the American […]
Author Archives: Marina Romanchuk-Kapralau
Alumna’s Spilt Arts offers creative outlet for underserved youth
A 16-year-old juvenile hall inmate wrote her first poem, “My Lifestyle,” in a creative writing class taught by UCLA alumna Christina Han. “My lifestyle is a living hell. Wake up in the morning, knowing that I’m in jail. When I heard the sound of handcuffs, I thought I was tough. Thinking, thinking, thinking my life […]
English department hires two new creative writing professors
Writers Justin Torres and Fred D’Aguiar read excerpts from their novels at UCLA in February, part of the hiring process searching for a new creative writing professor in the English department. Rather than one, both D’Aguiar and Torres will join the English department in fall 2015 and winter 2016, respectively, adding more potential courses to […]
Movie Review: ‘Monkey Kingdom’
Disneynature’s eighth theatrical release, “Monkey Kingdom,” opens with a breathtaking view of a fog enveloping the jungles of South Asia at sunrise. Directed and produced by Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill, the movie premieres this spring and will join the ranks of Disney’s amusing and illuminative films about nature. Disneynature was created in 2008 and […]
Theater & More: LA Fashion Week brings styles of late ’60s, ’70s down the runway
Cameras flashed, high heels clattered and the guests smiled as excitement vibrated through the air. Organized by Kelsi Smith, the director and founder of the Los Angeles Fashion Council, Los Angeles Fashion Week was held in downtown Los Angeles from March 7 through Saturday. Several designers presented their fall and winter 2015 collections Wednesday in […]
UCLA theater brings Polish play ‘Trash Story’ to life in US debut
Inside the silent walls of Auschwitz, with her head bent over the World War II archive documents, a young woman discovers the mysterious fate of her family. After conducting research in an Auschwitz concentration camp near Krakow, Poland, the Polish award-winning playwright Magda Fertacz was inspired for her new play. “Trash Story,” a contemporary drama […]
Louis Vuitton exhibit traces brand through past, present, future
Twilight, mystery and fashion week atmosphere reigned at the Louis Vuitton exhibit in Hollywood. The Louis Vuitton exhibit closed on the day of the Oscar’s on Sunday. The exhibition, “Series 2: A Presentation of the Timeless Inspirations Behind a New Collection,” was held to promote the Spring 2015 Women’s Ready-to-Wear Collection by Louis Vuitton. There […]