Page 2 December 30, 2021
Entertainment
Cinemacy’s Favorite Films of the Year
By Morgan and Ryan Rojas
for cinemacy.com
Licorice Pizza
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s ninth
feature film is as funny and heartfelt a film as
he’s ever made. Licorice Pizza is a comingof
age story centered around young love set
in the 70s-era San Fernando Valley. And its
cinematic bliss that will overjoy movie lovers.
Beyond its all-around enjoyability, Licorice
Pizza advances Paul Thomas Anderson’s filmmaking
style and voice as a director. And
that’s entirely exciting to see at this stage
‘Spencer’ (Neon) / ‘Summer of Soul’ (Hulu) / ‘The French Dispatch’ (Searchlight Pictures)
of his career. The film is quite simply one
of the best-looking films of the year as well
(Anderson again hops behind the camera as
cinematographer).
I saw the film projected on 70mm film at
Westwood’s The Regent theater, and it was one
of my very favorite big-screen experiences I’ve
had at the movies this year. I can’t recommend
seeking out this heartfelt and incredible film
for everyone I know.
Spencer
Based on the factual accounting of a stay
that Princess Diana spent with the Royal family
during a Christmas weekend, Spencer imagines
the conversations, events, and episodes that the
Princess of Wales may have secretly suffered.
Kristen Stewart might not be the first
person you’d think of to play the late figure
(perhaps because she isn’t British), but
when you look at her career of playing anguished,
grief-stricken women–along with
her own history of being fixated upon by
the media and public alike-the elements
all come together. They make for an experience
that feels spiritually connected (credit
the costume and makeup department too, for
masterfully capturing the alluring, misunderstood
royal).
The genius of Spencer is its ability to build
hallucinatory anxiety, specifically when portraying
Diana’s lack of control over her own life,
which Stewart channels with such vulnerability.
Memoria
Palme d’Or winning Thai director Apichatpong
Weerasethakul is a master of his craft.
Paying attention to the finest of details and the
most delicate of sounds, his films all share a
common thread of acute sensory exploration.
His canon is that of a true auteur. That said, it’s
not surprising that Memoria is a continuation
of his legacy. Winner of the Grand Jury prize
at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, Memoria is
Weerasethakul’s first dive into English-language
filmmaking; the only deviant from his otherwise
stereotypical “slow cinema” outputs. Tilda
Swinton plays Jessica, a woman who experiences
a mysterious sensory syndrome as she
attempts to locate and quiet a growing sonic
sensation in her head. Swinton’s performance
is transfixing, to be expected, and an integral
part of what makes Memoria an unforgettable,
spellbinding watch.
Summer of Soul
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution
Could Not Be Televised) is a feature documentary
about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural
Festival which celebrated African American
music and culture, and promoted Black pride
and unity.
I first saw this film make its premiere
at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and it
was rightfully awarded the Festival Winner
Documentary. Director Questlove knows that
music is always accompanied by stories, and
the stories here–along with never-before-seen
archival footage–make this one of the most
powerful films of the year.
The French Dispatch
Where Wes Anderson’s previous eight films
have all adhered to a single plot-driven storyline,
the writer/director breaks from that convention
only slightly in creatively making The French
Dispatch an anthology series of short stories.
That larger backdrop is a fictional magazine
(the Liberty Kansas Evening Sun) and its press,
which he clearly loves the history of both. It’s
actually obvious to see how The New Yorker
magazine–which he was fascinated with as a
child (can’t you just picture it?)–inspired his
particular and creative writing style that evokes
high-society intelligentsia. The French Dispatch
is an homage to the institution and people that
shaped that early artistic vision. •
Film Review
Morgan Rojas Ryan Rojas
Classifieds
The deadline for Classified Ad submission and payment is Noon on Tuesday to appear in Thursday’s paper. Advertisements must be
submitted in writing by mail, fax or email. You may pay by cash, check, or credit card (Visa or M/C over the phone).
Errors: Please check your advertisements immediately. Any corrections and/or changes in an ad must be requested prior to the following
Tuesday deadline in order to receive a credit. A credit will be issued for only the first time the error appears. Multiple runs will only
be credited for the first time the error appears. No credit will be issued for an amount greater than the cost of the advertisement.
Beware: Employment offers that suggest guaranteed out-of-state or overseas positions may be deceptive or unethical in nature. If
you have any doubts about the nature of a company, contact the local office of the Better Business Bureau, (213) 251-9696. Herald
Publications does not guarantee that the advertiser’s claims are true nor does it take responsibility for those claims.
Lowermybills.com has multi
immed openings for Software Quality
Assurance Engineers in Playa Vista,
CA to identify test scenarios and test
cases for functional testing and test
automation. BS - Comp Sci/Engnrg,
Mgmt Info Sys, or rel. Will accept
equiv. foreign degree + 3 yrs exp in
position above, as a Software Quality
Engineer, or rel softw quality engnrg
role. Exp. must incl. at least 1 yr w/
each of the following: Object oriented
programming languages, incl Java
or JavaScript; UI automation testing
using Selenium or TestCafe; Working
w/ product owners & app developers
to understand the functional reqs
& coding to derive test cases; &
Working on a sprint team, following
agile methodologies. Send resume
to S. Kim, LowerMyBills.com 12181
Bluff Creek Drive, Ste. 250 Playa
Vista, CA 90094
Lowermybills.com has multi immed
openings for Software QA Engineers
in Playa Vista, CA to develop manual
and automated testing for desktop and
mobile web applications. MS – Comp
Sci/Engnrg, Mgmt Info Sys, or rel. Will
accept equiv. foreign degree + 1 yr
exp in position above, as a Software
Quality Engineer, or rel softw quality
engnrg role. Exp. must incl. at least
1 yr w/ each of the following: Object
oriented programming languages,
Java or JavaScript; Automation
frameworks using Junit or TestNG;
UI automation testing using
Selenium or TestCafe; Working w/
product owners & app developers
to understand the functional reqs &
coding, to derive test cases; &
Working on a sprint team, following
agile methodologies. Send resume
to S. Kim, LowerMyBills.com 12181
Bluff Creek Drive, Ste. 250 Playa
Vista, CA 90094
Employment
Lowermybills.com has multi
immed openings for Senior Software
Engineers in Playa Vista, CA to solve
new and existing technical software
engineer issues. MS - Comp Sci,
Comp Info Sys, or rel. Will accept
equiv. foreign degree + 2 yrs exp in
position above, as a Software Engineer,
Software Developer, or rel softw app
development role. Exp. must incl. at
least 2 yrs w/ each of the following:
Core Java skills, incl collection API,
threads, interfaces/abstract classes,
exception handling, file handling,
serialization, JDBC, class loader, &
design patterns: Singleton, Observer,
Delegate Patterns, Domain Driven
Design, & Factory Pattern; Building
web apps from scratch, incl creating
JSP using JSTL Tags, configuring
Servlets & Servlet filters in web.xml,
& configuring JNDI resource in
Container; Designing scalable
distributed systems; Implementing
transaction services using JTA;
Spring & Hibernate framework, incl
Controllers, Restful Services, View
Resolvers, Spring Annotations,
Transaction Manager, Data Access
Layer, Singleton/Prototype Beans,
& Hibernate Caching & Annotation;
Multithreaded programming skills,
incl techniques to avoid deadlocks,
thread synchronization, & large
request wait times for highly scalable
serverside dvlpmnt; Writing complex
SQL queries & designing database
tables/views involving multi tables
w/ large data sets; Applying
test-driven & agile development
methodologies & design patterns; &
Using Web Service, XML, or XSL,
to enable communication protocols
between systems. Send resume to
S. Kim, LowerMyBills.com 12181
Bluff Creek Drive, Ste. 250 Playa
Vista, CA 90094
Wanted
WANTED. Vinyl, records, vinyl,
anything musical. Collectibles/antiques.
Typewriters, sewing machines, military,
silver, Japan, records, stamps, coins,
jewelry, Chinese, ANYTHING. Buy/Sell/
Trade. We sell for you on EBAY. Studio
Antiques, El Segundo. 310.322.3895.
To appear in next week’s paper, submit
your Classifed Ad by Noon on Tuesday.
Late Ads will incur a $20.00 late fee.
El Segundo Herald* • Hawthorne Press Tribune*
Inglewood Daily News* • Lawndale News*
EL SEGUNDO OFFICE • 531 MAIN ST, # 1160 • El Segundo • CA • 90245
Ad Sales / Legal Notices / Marketing: (310) 322-1830
Classifieds / Real Estate: (310) 322-1831 • www.heraldpublications.com
Employment
Employment
Staff and Departments
Editor-in-Chief: Heidi Maerker
Classifieds: Clara Nilles • class@heraldpublications.com
DBA: Debbie Waite • dba@heraldpublications.com • For Fictitious Business Name (DBAs) filings
Display Ad Sales: Debbie Waite • marketing@heraldpublications.com
Production: Michael Gonzales • ads@heraldpublications.com
Legals: Debbie Waite • legalnotices@heraldpublications.com
For legal notices, name changes, obituaries
Letters to the Editor: letters@heraldpublications.com
Marketing: Debbie Waite • marketing@heraldpublications.com
Real Estate: Clara Nilles • graphics@heraldpublications.com • For new realtors, contracts, ads
General Inquires: web@heraldpublications.com • For general questions or announcements
Our website can no longer take inquires or emails
* Our newspapers are adjudicated of general circulation accordance with the laws of California. El Segundo Herald, Case Number 372819;
Hawthorne Press Tribune, Case Number 187530; Inglewood Daily News, Case Number 601550; Lawndale Tribune, Case Number 479346.
Herald Publications
Wishes Everyone a Safe and Happy New Year