The Carmel Valley Life | Archive

Movie Review – Trolls: Trolling for Cash

Perry Chen’s movie review of Trolls: Trolling for Cash by DreamWorks Animation. “Once upon a time, in a happy forest, in the happiest tree, lived the happiest creatures the world has ever known: the Trolls.” Trolls are tiny fluorescent-haired creatures who live in a culture saturated with manic festivity. Their antithesis, the gargantuan puke-colored Bergens, […]

January 10, 2017 / No Comment / Read More

AT&T Congratulates San Diego Winner of First-Ever Student Film Competition on Cyberbullying

October 20, 2016 No Comment

Canyon Crest Academy Presented with Second Runner-Up Award and Cash Prize at Teen Indie Awards AT&T congratulates the student filmmakers of Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, who received the Second Runner-Up award and a $2,500 cash prize at this year’s first-ever Cyberbullying Film Invitational, held during the All American High School Film Festival in […]

Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese to Screen at SDCHM

October 18, 2016 No Comment

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum (SDCHM) will screen the film, Honor and Duty: The Mississippi Delta Chinese at the Chuang Archive and Learning Center on November 19, 2016 from 2:00 pm-4:00 pm. A Q&A will follow the film screening. Special guests including the executive producer, Samantha Chang, will help facilitate the discussion. This event […]

Outside the Lens Announces its 4th Annual Fundraiser

October 11, 2016 No Comment

Sip. Savor. Support. Outside the Lens (OTL), a San Diego non-profit organization that empowers youth through filmmaking, photography and digital media is proud to host its fourth annual fundraiser: Shutter & Stout, in support of its transformative youth outreach programs. The goal of the event is to build on the success of prior years, in […]

Perry’s Previews Movie Review – Kung Fu Panda 3

February 12, 2016 No Comment

Kung Fu Panda 3 begins with a scene of the late Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim), the wise old tortoise who served as former master of the Jade Palace and singlehandedly created the art of kung fu, now peacefully meditating below a peach tree in the spirit realm. Appearing for the first time since the first […]

Local Movie Critic Reviews “Inside Out”

July 15, 2015 No Comment

Ever wondered why people act and feel the way they do? Meet the emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust, five emotions that everyone has, determining each individual’s unique personality and behavior. In particular, the plot of Pixar’s new release Inside Out takes place in the brain of the 11-year-old girl Riley Anderson. Each of […]

San Diego Chinese Museum Screens “Frosted Yellow Willows”

January 21, 2015 No Comment

Film screening, Q&A with producer Elaine Mae Woo, and reception Saturday, January 24, 2015 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Join the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum for a special screening of this documentary that chronicles Anna May Wong’s (1905-1961) ascent from humble beginnings in a Los Angeles Chinese laundry to international film stardom. With […]

San Diego Movie Review: Big Hero 6

January 15, 2015 No Comment

I have to admit, I went in a bit biased the first time I saw Big Hero 6, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a film boasting quality more than what I had expected. After a pretty bland year in animation for Disney, loosely based on the identically named graphic novel series was quite […]

San Diego Movie Review “Interstellar”

January 2, 2015 No Comment

If you’re looking for a place to find a real San Diego movie review? Well, here’s the place. Today we’ll review Interstellar. In the near future, Earth’s oxygen is beginning to run out and humanity has devolved into a farming society in the new IMAX sci-fi film Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan (Inception). Natural resources […]

San Diego Movie Review: The Book of Life

December 11, 2014 No Comment

The animated movie “The Book of Life” begins when a school bus arrives at a history museum, full of rowdy, mischievous children. An experienced female tour guide leads the students on a secret tour, and tells them about the most famous Mexican legend of all time, written within the magical book of life. The main […]

The Boxtrolls – Movie Review & Filmmaker Interviews

October 29, 2014 No Comment

The story begins in a Victorian-era town called Cheeseridge, which holds a terrifying secret. Small, blue, humanoid creatures clad in cardboard boxes called boxtrolls emerge from the sewers every night to snatch up children and gobble them up to fuel their mountains of bones and rivers of blood. At least…that’s what the townsfolk believe. In […]

Perry’s Preview Movie Review – Rio 2

May 14, 2014 No Comment

Rio 2 is a vibrant musical comedy animation from Blue Sky, and a sequel of the first Rio. The story revolves around Blu and Jewel, the last two surviving Blue Sphinx Macaws left in the world, and their 3 rowdy children. The two are polar opposites: Blu is a quiet, apprehensive pet who knows how […]