Entertainment: Jazz stars take the stage in Hawaii; Fashion fundraiser

Many of the most critically acclaimed movies in 2022 were box office failures and didn’t last more than a week or two in theaters. But most of these overlooked films are streaming now. One of those excellent films is EMILY THE CRIMINAL, starring Aubrey Plaza. Plaza is best known for her six years playing a comic character the TV series, PARKS AND RECREATION. But for the past seven years she’s shown she has serious acting chops. In EMILY THE CRIMINAL, she plays a tough but vulnerable young woman whose conviction on an assault charge keeps her from getting a decent paying job. Emily is saddled with 60,000 dollars of student and she’s desperate. She works at such a low paying food delivery job that she can barely cover the interest payments on her loans. But a friend shows her how she can get involved in a credit card buying scam and she enters the criminal world. The dark story develops in surprising ways and eventually comes to a shocking climax. EMILY THE CRIMINAL does not excuse criminality, but it does explain how society can inadvertently turn desperate people into criminals. (Netflix)

Ohana Casting Group is looking for a 6- to 8-year-old Hawaiian girl to play Lilo in the upcoming live action remake of "Lilo and Stitch."

Hawaii is mourning the loss of our own Danny Kaleikini. He entertained presidents, foreign dignitaries, celebrities, visitors and Hawaii people alike.

Every one of my favorite half dozen movies made last year stirred my emotions and proved to be unforgettable. Here’s the list: CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH (Apple TV+), GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE (Hulu), BLONDE (Netflix), EMPIRE OF LIGHT (not yet streaming), THE FALLOUT (HBO Max, $14.99 on Amazon and Apple TV) and THE WHALE (Consolidated Theaters at Ward & Kahala). Watch this video to see my very brief descriptions of each of them.

Brad Pitt and Margo Robbie star in BABYLON, the new film from filmmaker Damien Chazelle, whose hit movie LA LA LAND won six Academy Awards in 2017. But BABYLON is unlikely to win even one Oscar unless except maybe for its elaborate production design. In this new film Chazelle depicts Hollywood in the late 1920’s as chaotic movie sets and wild drug and alcohol fueled parties moving at a frenzied pace. Much of the movie is a fever dream of one shocking scene of debauchery and depravity after another. The actors do well with their underwritten characters and a few dramatic moments are compelling. But after three hours and nine minutes of over-the-top spectacle, I felt exhausted and disappointed. What’s good about BABYLON in addition to the fine acting are the fascinating scenes showing how movies were filmed in the 1920’s. What’s really bad is an elephant defecating on a worker, Robbie’s character projectile vomiting on a socialite, and a muscle bound man eating live rats. BABYLON feels like a runaway train on a mad rush to extinction. It could have been so much better. (In theaters only)

Former President Barack Obama is back home in Hawaii. He was spotted Thursday at Mid-Pac Country Club.