Bouldering Hikes in Joshua Tree

By Patricia Lamkin
Photos by Randolph Scott

About two and a half hours east of Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Park is a rock climbers dream. But for those not ready to scale a vast rock face, there is still adventure at higher elevations.

Switzer Picnic Area and Switzer Falls

By Patricia Lamkin

Hidden deep in the cradle of the Angeles National Forest is a true hiker's dream: the rugged trails of Switzer's Falls.

Part of the Upper Arroyo Seco River Basin, Switzer's is located off the Angeles Crest Highway, seven miles north of interstate 210 above La Canada/Flintridge. The shady trail head features a generous picnic area, which includes picnic tables, charcoal grills, and restrooms situated along a gurgling, stony creek. Switzer's offers beginner to advanced trails, sunny mountain views, cool wooded glades, and the highlight of it all: the falls!

Film Review: The Baxter

By Patricia Lamkin

Michael Showalter's wholesome but choppy tribute to the screwball comedies of the 30's and 40's, tells the untold story of the guy who is always left at the altar; a guy Showalter calls "the Baxter."

Film Review: The Warrior

By Patricia Lamkin

A troubled warrior named Lafcadia (Irfan Khan) tires of being sent by his arrogant lord to murder innocent people in the villages of feudal India.

Griffith Park Trails

by Patricia Lamkin
Photos by Patricia Lamkin
View of Griffith Observatory from Mount Hollywood.

The largest municipal park and urban wilderness area in the United States is right here in Los Angeles.

Film Review: Land of the Dead

By Patricia Lamkin

We all know the classic zombie formula: they're dead but not dead; they move slowly, but they're relentless; they hunger for human flesh, but this isn't brain food; and most importantly, the living work together to survive the undead.

Film Review: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D

By Patricia Lamkin

Ten-year-old social misfit Max (Cayden Boyd) has finally made some friends. Unfortunately, they live in his dreams.

Film Review: The Island

By Patricia Lamkin

In The Island, director Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) creates a fast-paced and exciting sci-fi action adventure - one of the best of the summer.

Film Review: The Life Aquatic

By Patricia Lamkin

In the quirky underwater world of oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), a cynical and depressed version of Jacques Cousteau, there are man eating jaguar sharks, whimsical and beautiful animated tropical sea creatures, and a delightful guitar player who sings David Bowie covers in Portuguese. Sound appealing? Well, yes... but it's all so very strange.

Film Review: La Niña Santa ("The Holy Girl")

By Patricia Lamkin

Writer/director Lucrecia Martel walks in familiar territory for many women, who as adolescent girls have experienced sexual advances from older men. What is unfamiliar is the unusual twist in her tale, which strays from the stories most women tell. For in Martel's second film La Niña Santa ("The Holy Girl"), it is the child who becomes the predator, not the man.

Film Review: Undertow

By Patricia Lamkin

David Gordon Green's UNDERTOW is a poetic, atmospheric thriller with touches of the surreal. After escaping his haunted past and settling deep in rustic Georgia, a widower, John (Durmot Mulroney) carves out a simple life with his sons Chris (Jamie Bell) and Tim (Devon Alan).