Steven Morris

May 28, 2009

A Vintage Filmgoing Experience

By Steven Morris

Hats off to Lillian Nicklesen, Sara Weitz and Carl Lindner for producing a quality show that ran smoothly and on time more so than any previous year I've attended.

May 21, 2009

Campbell Hall To Host Reel Loud Friday

By Steven Morris

Finally legal and of age, the 18th annual Reel Loud Film Festival will fill Campbell Hall tomorrow evening. Each year, Reel Loud challenges local filmmakers and musicians to make a silent project on 16mm film stock and c...

May 14, 2009

’90s Pop Phenoms The Vaselines Revisited ****

By Steven Morris

You've probably never heard of the Glasgow indie-pop band The Vaselines. And, if you have heard of them, it's probably only because Kurt Cobain was madly in love with them. Luckily, Sub Pop Records has reissued The Vasel...

May 7, 2009

Comedy Prospers at the I.V. Digital Film Fest

By Steven Morris

Just barely in its infancy, the second-annual Isla Vista Digital Film Festival premiered Saturday night in I.V. Theater to a decently packed and ultimately unenthusiastic crowd, despite the variety of programming and pas...

April 23, 2009

Low-fi Love at the Biko Co-op

By Steven Morris

I avoided Kimya Dawson like a plague the last time she came through Isla Vista and played at the Pink Mailbox back in 2007. "Juno," the Oscar-nominated "indie" darling of that year, had recently come out and the soundtra...

April 16, 2009

Mirah Shows Another Side at SOhO

By Steven Morris

A roommate, a classmate and my favorite cat lady all bailed on our plan of going to see Mirah last Wednesday evening at SOhO, but I didn't let it get me down. I headed downtown all by my lonesome to hear three very lovel...

April 16, 2009

Grading the GreenScreens

By Steven Morris

UCSB's GreenScreen program is one more step in the film & media studies major's recent emphasis that links cinema with environmentalism. The four films, more than two quarters in the making, premiered last Saturday eveni...

April 16, 2009

“Dance Dammit!” Soars Over Expectations

By Steven Morris

as a backdrop. Up front, several dancers tore off their pea coats to reveal orange and blue outfits designed by Jessica Chernicki. The synth-filled glitch pop of Múm combined with the contrast of styles made for a s...

February 19, 2009

Student-Starring

By Steven Morris

Performing Chekhov is notoriously difficult. The theatrical premiere of "The Seagull" in 1896 was a famous disaster, and Chekhov reportedly hated the first production of "The Cherry Orchard" in 1904. His plays operate s...

February 12, 2009

SBIFF ’09: Festival Honors Five Virtuosic Actors

By Steven Morris

Last Wednesday evening, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival honored five actors for being standout performers in 2008. The award was created last year to "recognize a select group of actors who have distinguish...

January 29, 2009

Winslet Honored With Montecito Award

By Steven Morris

Six-time Oscar-nominated British beauty and talented actress Kate Winslet has come back to Santa Barbara for this year's 24th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival to receive the Montecito Award. This award is...

December 4, 2008

The Sounds of the Season

By Steven Morris

That voice... Arkansas' Adam Faucett comes straight from the netherworld releasing his second album, Show Me Magic, Show Me Out, that somehow manages to upstage his brilliant debut. Here, Faucett again showcases what an ...

November 20, 2008

C’mon, Get Happy ****

By Steven Morris

Poppy (played in a beautifully nuanced performance by newcomer Sally Hawkins) is an optimistic person. She is a 30-year-old elementary school teacher and lives a somewhat carefree life in London with her friend Zoe and h...

November 13, 2008

Slumber Party

By Steven Morris

Oklahoma synthpop, electroclash, electronica-rock band Shiny Toy Guns attempted to rock the stylish - if a bit too small - club Velvet Jones on State Street, but Sunday night is no match for even the most danceable bands...

November 6, 2008

Readers React to Prop 8 Passing

By Steven Morris

Editor, Daily Nexus, I’ve always believed in live and let live, but this is unacceptable. What the hell is wrong with 52% of California voters (and voters in many other states)? I know my home of Orange County prob...

November 6, 2008

From the Heart ***

By Steven Morris

Solo albums are a tricky thing. How does an artist "do their own thing" and manage to make a relevant and enjoyable record without sounding like an ego gone awry? Luckily for lead singer Tom Gabel of Against Me!, he's on...