Sunday, June 29

Alumnus rolls out film aiming to stir pot with fresh take on marijuana culture

Michael Masukawa is exploring the lighthearted comedy affairs of contemporary stoner culture in his film “4/20.” The UCLA alumnus and co-executive producer said the film’s team wanted to emulate the atmospheres of ensemble movies like “Valentine’s Day,” “Love Actually” and “New Year’s Eve.” However, rather than following a primarily white cast through romantic plots, he said “4/20” leans into its comedy, and a multicultural cast aims to reflect modern-day marijuana culture. Read more...

Photo: UCLA alumnus Michael Masukawa released the film “4/20,” exploring the importance of the April 20 marijuana holiday on its industry. The comedy follows Joy, a co-owner of a dispensary, and he said it portrays a different side of weed culture than is typically expected in media. (Daniel Leibowitz/Daily Bruin staff)


Student seeks to spread aloha spirit in Hawaiian-inspired line of wire jewelry

Metal is putty in Malia Zoraster’s hands. With just pliers and coils of wire, the second-year business economics student started her own metal wire jewelry business, Mai’a Hawaiian Jewelry, last August in person and recently moved it onto Etsy. Read more...

Photo: Second-year business economics student Malia Zoraster started her own metal wire jewelry business, Mai’a Hawaiian Jewelry, last August. (Amy Dixon/Daily Bruin senior staff)


Alumna brightens up pandemic with affordable, colorful masks

Lia Wallfish adds bursts of color to times of darkness with her face masks. After graduating with a degree in costume design and entrepreneurship in 2019, the alumna started her own clothing company, Simplicity Vintage, in September. Read more...

Photo: Alumna Lia Wallfish wanted to put her costume design and entrepreneurship background to work, so she began make affordable yet fashionable face masks. (Kanishka Mehra/Assistant Photo editor)




TV review: ‘Hollywood’ offers a hopeful story but is too fantastical to be realistic drama

Warning: spoilers ahead. Hollywood made Ryan Murphy, so Murphy went and made “Hollywood” right back. Murphy, producer and creator of myriad series of episodic television from “Glee” to “American Crime Story” developed the recently released miniseries with Netflix along with producer Ian Brennan. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Saeed Adyani/Netflix)


Movie review: ‘The Half of It’ offers fresh perspective on what a teenage rom-com can be

“The Half of It” distills the messy and reckless bits of teenage love into a heartfelt coming-of-age story, complemented by modern sensibilities and nuanced personas. Inspired by the French play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” Alice Wu wrote and directed the 2020 Netflix film, transposing the classic tale into the small fictional town of Squahamish. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of KC Bailey/Netflix)