Where big fans of Hayao Miyazaki and  studio Studio Ghibli here at Lost in Reviews. As such with the release of their latest film THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY we wan’t our readers to get the first chance to see the film by winning a screening pass for you and a guest to see THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY in Kansas City before anyone else! Residing quietly beneath the floorboards are little people who live undetected in a secret world to be discovered, where the smallest may stand tallest of all. From the legendary Studio Ghibli (“Spirited...

Saturday night at the RecordBar one could find a motley crew of Kansas City music lovers, listeners, and performers. It was not just another bill of local bands on this night, but a celebration honoring local radio personality Michael Byars’ 50th birthday. Byars, an announcer and coordinator for NPR satellite station KCUR, also runs local music podcast The Mailbox, with frequent contributor and music guru Chris Haghirian. The guest of honor seemed to be in good company, as the whole of the venue was filled with people in...

This week on Blu Monday Angela and I discuss Drive, The Woman, PJ Harvey Let England Shake: 12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy, Outrage, The Other F Word, and In Time. Check out the video below and let us know what you think! By Ryan and Angela Davis

It’s that time of year again, folks: The Super Bowl for movie lovers! The 84th Academy Awards are Sunday, February 26 and your pals at Scene-Stealersand Lost in Reviews are hosting the coolest movie party in Kansas City. This is your chance to walk the red carpet, see Hollywood’s best and worst dressed, watch the Academy Awards broadcast with a bunch of other film nerds, drink to your heart’s content, and try to best the rest of KC by picking the most winners correctly on your ballot! The winner gets a cash prize and all runners...

There really isn’t much to say about Lemonheads front man (and sole original member) Evan Dando that has not already been mentioned at some point in the songwriter’s 25+ year career. The word “prolific” can be associated with Dando just as much as the word “junkie,” and though you could condemn the use of the word in respect of the man’s personal life, his habits have been public fodder in his own writing for years. Songs such as “Style” (I don’t wanna get stoned / but...

If there is ever an award given for “Creepiest Wax Statue Impression,” it would surely go to Glenn Close. Playing the title character in Rodrigo Garcia’s Albert Nobbs, she spends a good chunk of the film quietly observing, not moving a muscle, as any good butler in the early 1900′s would do. And that’s what she plays here. A butler working in an Irish Hotel, trying to make a living while passing herself off as a man who secretly hides his earnings in the floorboards of his room, with aspirations...

The film stars Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) as former cop Nick Cassidy, who is out to clear his name with help from his brother Joey (played by Jamie Bell) and girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez).  He places himself on a ledge and requests to have Lydia Mercer (played by Elizabeth Banks), a police negotiator, work to talk him back in.  This only serves as a distraction full of police and onlookers, so that the heist being carried out at the same time may prove successful.  The target of this ambitious plan...

Liam Neeson in the past few years has become the actor known for “kicking a** and taking names.”  Just look at what he did in Taken and Unknown.  The Grey is not a huge departure from those roles, but this time he is going up against some nasty wolves instead of unseemly humans. The Grey is a survivalist film, pitting man against nature.  A plane crashes that contains part of the crew of a plant that is in a remote part of Alaska.  They are on their way to Anchorage when something goes amiss and they crash land in the...

An indie film created for $175,000 and shot in 20 days, Things I Don’t Understand (TIDU) is one film you aren’t likely to forget, but I can’t say definitively whether that means you will love it or hate it.  There is much to love and not love in this film about that age-old question of ‘what happens when you die?’ Our story revolves around Violet (Molly Ryman), a jaded grad student who has become emotionally detached from the world around her after a failed suicide attempt and a poor relationship...

Podcast: Play in new window | Download On this episode of the Almost Locals Only podcast John and Shannon give their reviews of the Liam Nesson staring The Grey. They also discuss A Dangerous Method and this Tuesday’s Academy Award nominations, and the snubs that always come every year with them. Show notes (podcast recorded Thursday January 26, run time 39mins 36 sec. Intro Music “Fluorescent Grey Deerhunter Fluorescent Grey Outro music “A Method” TV on the Radio Return to Cookie Mountain) You...

Podcast: Play in new window | Download On this episode of the Almost Locals Only podcast John, Shannon and Nat get together for the third year running to talk their favorite films of the year 2011. Great goodness that concession stands packed with snacks salty and sweet! Give the show a listen! Show notes (podcast recorded Wednesday January 18, run time 1hr 14mins Intro Music Nightcall Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx from the Drive (original motion picture soundtrack) Outro music “Put The Gun On The Floor” BigBlackDelta) John’s...

The 84th Academy Awards or The Oscars as they are more commonly referred to, are what it all comes down to; the last chance a movie has of being recognized for it’s greatness before being forgotten for 2012. Here are the 2012 Oscar nominations and below we have selected Lost In Reviews’ favorites for winners. We would love to hear your thoughts on the nominations. Who got snubbed, who should have been forgotten… BEST PICTURE The Artist (Who will win) The Descendents (Lost In Reviews’ pick) Extremely Loud & Incredibly...

This week on Blu Monday Angela and I discuss Happy, Happy, Limelight, Real Steel, and The Whistleblower. Check out the video below and let us know what you think! By Ryan and Angela Davis

Awolnation returned to Kansas City on Sunday night, but this time it wasn’t under the banner of a radio call sign. Having seen Awolnation countless times in a wide array of atmospheres, I’m shocked that the band still has the ability to surprise me. This time around you could feel the energy in the air even before singer Aaron Bruno took the stage. The crowd that filled the capacity club was just waiting for the first lyric of “People” to explode. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen...

Win a screening pass for you and a guest to see WANDERLUST in Kansas City! Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston star in Wanderlust, a comedy from director David Wain (Role Models) and producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) about a couple who leaves the pressures of the big city and joins a freewheeling community where the only rule is to be yourself. George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are an overextended, stressed out Manhattan couple. After George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George’s...