michael alarcon: malibu monthly magazine

TRAVEL

Malibu Beach Inn
Originally published: November 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
You may have driven by it thousands of times and unless you’ve actually had a reason to be there, you probably haven’t really thought too much about the Malibu Beach Inn. The expansive building itself is almost impossible to take in all at once as your zip down Highway 1.

Malibu Country Inn
Originally published: October 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Timing is everything and I learn that the hard way when I arrive at the Malibu Country Inn one Saturday afternoon. "Hmm, well Anthony Hopkins was here earlier, and you just missed Tom Petty -- he was in here for breakfast…"

Sea Mountain Inn
Originally published: September 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
The Sea Mountain Inn isn’t like most resorts – it’s practically like stepping into an FBI witness protection program, albeit a very plush and luxurious witness protection program. Don’t believe me? Look around its website (or anywhere else on the Internet for that matter): You’re not going to find the resort’s address anywhere.

Hotel Oceana
Originally published: August 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
So there I am, in the late morning sun, at the curb of Ocean Avenue, waiting for the valet to bring my car around. Normally, this is a routine task and can usually be accomplished while checking voice mail, sipping a fresh cup of coffee, and skimming the morning paper, or flipping through my wallet in search of a suitable tip.

The Viceroy Hotel
Originally published: July 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
The biggest misconception people have about the Viceroy Hotel’s lounge, the Cameo Bar, is that unless they pull up to the valet with a Range Rover the size of a Sherman tank, wrapped from head to toe in Prada, they’ll be promptly asked to retreat to Yankee Doodle’s – the bawdy pool hall up the block on the 3rd Street Promenade.

FILM

21 Grams
Originally published: November 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Sure the third installment of The Matrix premieres this month and just about every monthly publication is giving it major coverage, but frankly, the trilogy has gotten a bit pedestrian. The rigid acting and cold dialogue (camouflaged by once-revolutionary editing hokum) has now lost its novelty.The Barbarian Invasions
Originally published: November 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
November just isn't a happy month for films at Malibu Monthly Magazine. First we cover 21 Grams and although in our opinion it's the second best film of 2003 (top honors have to go to Lost in Translation), it's still an extremely depressing tale. And so the same gets said for The Barbarian Invasions - another gloomy story about the tragedies of strained interpersonal-relationships, reunions with childhood friends, and the cinematic classic: heroin abuse.

Kill Bill, Volume 2
Originally published: October 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
In what’s probably been the most anticipated follow-up film for a director since George Lucas announced the first sequel (The Phantom Menace) to his Star Wars franchise, Quentin Tarantino -- the reclusive enfant terrible of the American cinema -- finally releases a proper full-length film after a six-year-plus hiatus.

The Station Agent
Originally published: October 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Although The Station Agent’s leading man (Peter Dinklage) is a dwarf, the film doesn’t exploit Dinklage’s stature for sympathy (like in the sappy tearjerker Simon Birch), nor does it patronize little people like so many other films have done in the past. As a matter of fact, rarely does this movie even make mention to Dinklage’s height and frankly, we feel a little silly mentioning it here.

The Human Stain
Originally published: September 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Admittedly, The Human Stain doesn’t hit theaters until the last Friday of this month (as we usually like to preview films closer to the beginning of said month), but I’d be remiss if we let this one slip by us.

Party Monster
Originally published: September 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
While Party Monster isn’t going to win any awards come Oscar night, look for it to rack up its share of trophies at alternative galas like the Independent Spirit Awards. Although this film is adapted from James St. James’ tome, “Disco Bloodbath,” the horrific story is actually true.

Gigli
Originally published: August 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Surely most people are going to spend the majority of their time looking for the knowing glances and hidden romantic innuendos between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez that may have occurred during the filming of this movie, but rest assured, they’ll be disappointed.

Le Divorce
Originally published: August 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
There are certain names in the movie industry that set the tone for a film even before you know what said film is about. For example: with Jerry Bruckheimer, you know you’re going to get a shoot-‘em-up action-adventure with at least one big car chase.

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Originally published: July 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Reese Witherspoon has done something that very few young actresses have ever been able to accomplish with success: create a young character with brains, style, individuality, and most importantly, values.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Originally published: July 2003 for Malibu Monthly Magazine.
Having been hyped for months as the summer blockbuster of 2003, as well as Schwarzenegger’s comeback (he really hasn’t struck box office gold since 1994’s True Lies), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the stuff that cult movies are made of.