The Reel

On this week’s episode of The Reel, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) previews the 2019 Academy Awards with Justin Chang (@JustinCChang), Mary McNamara (@marymacTV) and Glenn Whipp (@GlennWhipp). They discuss their favorite films of the year and explore some of the possible outcomes in this year's top award categories.

On this week’s episode of The Reel, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) is joined by Director Spike Lee and two of his longtime collaborators, composer Terence Blanchard and editor Barry Alexander Brown. They discuss the success of their latest, “BlacKkKlansman” and the lasting impact of the film.

On this week’s episode of The Reel, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) was joined by Director Steven Soderbergh, to talk about his new film “High Flying Bird,” which premiered at Slamdance Film Festival last month. The Oscar-winning filmmaker takes us inside his movie-making process, including what it's like shooting a movie entirely on a smartphone.

On this week’s episode of The Reel, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) was live in Park City, Utah for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. After watching many of this year's movies and documentaries, he sat down with Justin Chang (@JustinCChang), Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA), Kenneth Turan (@KennethTuran) and Jen Yamato (@jenyamato) to discuss the best films they saw and why.

On this week’s episode of The Reel, L.A. Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) sits down with Glenn Whipp (@GlennWhipp) and Justin Chang (@JustinCChang) to take an early look at the 2019 Oscar nominations. They discuss key takeaways from the nominated films, including an increase in internationally focused nominations and the significance behind the “best director” category.

On this week’s episode of The Reel, LA Times feature writer and reviewer Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) sits down with Meredith Blake (@MeredithBlake), Robert Lloyd (@LATimesTVLloyd), and Yvonne Villarreal (@villarrealy) to discuss HBO’s latest season of 'True Detective' starring Mahershala Ali. They also reflect back on David Chase's HBO series ‘The Sopranos’ 20 years after its premiere.

This week Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) leads a discussion about the importance of last week's Golden Globes and how they might shine a light on what we can expect from the Oscars as we start to wrap up awards season.

This week Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) talks to reporter Carolina Miranda (@cmonstah) after she and director Alfonso Cuarón walked through the streets of the Mexico City neighborhood where he shot his film Roma.

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) and TV writers Yvonne Villarreal (@villarrealy), Lorraine Ali (@LorraineAli) and Robert Lloyd (@LATimesTVLLoyd) break down whether 2018 was a good year for TV. They talk about Barry, Killing Eve, and more as they make their assessment about whether we've gone beyond the "peak TV" era.

Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) and film critics Kenneth Turan (@KennethTuran) and Justin Chang (@JustinCChang) break down their favorite movies of 2018, including Vox Lux, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and Black Panther. Sifting through the big studio blockbusters, independent films, foreign-language films, and documentaries their recommendations will add to your list of the "must watch" movies of the year.

This week LA Times music reporters Gerrick Kennedy (@GerrickKennedy), Mikael Wood (@mikaelwood), and Randy Lewis (@RandyLewis2) join Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) to discuss the intermingling of music and film. First, the group focuses on capturing live performance on film, as seen in the new Springsteen on Broadway special on Netflix and the archival the Aretha Franklin documentary, Amazing Grace. Then, the group discusses the act of music creation and recording on film, with A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book as the main examples.

This week Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) leads a conversation breaking down the Golden Globe nominations and what they mean for the awards season landscape. We discuss the controversial nominee Green Book, how Black Panther earned Marvel Studios it's first nomination, the crowd-pleasing results from the Globe's distinct drama and comedy categories, and what we might expect from the unusual host pairing of Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh. Mark is joined by Glenn Whipp (@GlennWhipp), Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) and Ashley Lee (@cashleelee).

This week, host Mark Olsen (@indiefocus) hands the mic to reporter Yvonne Villarreal (@villarrealy) as she interviews Alex Cunningham, the show-runner of Bravo's new TV series Dirty John. Based on the L.A. Times podcast by the same name, the show further explores the complicated and manipulative relationship between Debra Newell and John Meehan. Cunningham breaks down the show's casting choices, how the the series gives Debra a stronger voice and what fans of the podcast might expect to see on the TV adaptation.

Focusing this week on the music business, Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) sits down with music reporter Randy Lewis (@RandyLewis2), pop music critic Mikael Wood (@mikaelwood) and Times television critic and former music editor Lorraine Ali (@LorraineAli) to discuss the recent releases of Bob Dylan's "More Blood, More Tracks," which features unreleased takes from the session for his 1975 album "Blood on the Tracks," and the 50th anniversary remastered release The Beatles' "The White Album" with unheard demos and session tracks. What do these two pillars of the classic rock era still have to say to the modern ears of current audiences, and how does the contemporary music industry treat their legacy artists?

This week our team breaks down what to expect next year at the Academy Awards and which movies have already started to make a splash. Mark Olsen (@IndieFocus) is joined by Glenn Whipp (@GlennWhipp) and Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) to break down Marvel's history at the Oscars and Black Panther's potential for success, Netflix's drama Roma, and which movies have passed Amy's "cry test" this year.