Artsweek

January 27, 2011

The Oscar Network

By Artsweek Editor

This year marks the second of the expanded Best Picture category and, while there are many worthy nominees, there is no clear favorite.

January 27, 2011

Coachella: The Best Holiday of the Year

By Demi Anter

The lineup for the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was released last week to the overwhelming joy of tens of thousands of music lovers.

January 27, 2011

Best Actor Nominations

By Derek Boeckelmann

It’s that time of year again. The award season is upon us, and with it comes a long list of faces (old and new) being recognized for their cinematic contributions.

January 27, 2011

“The Way Back” is Better Than Siberia

By Victor Banuelos

War is hell. If that’s true, why are we subjected to yet another movie about World War II?

January 20, 2011

The Dilemma: Typical January Fare

By Matthew Javidi

Welcome to January, moviegoers! This is the month where Hollywood’s finest release their most shameful work, allowing them to spend the rest of the year making up for it while us reviewers pick at their doodie like rav...

January 20, 2011

“The Green Hornet” Is Totally Decent

By Zach Edwin

Although “The Green Hornet” suffers from bouts of identity crisis and lack of restraint, it manages to utilize its leads to create an often-hilarious action-comedy that brings something original to the superhero genr...

January 20, 2011

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

By Artsweek Editor

For those of you unfamiliar with Patton Oswalt’s comedy: You’re wrong.

January 20, 2011

Minks “By The Hedge”

By Carly Bonilla-Flores

Brooklyn duo Minks released their debut By the Hedge on the Brooklyn label Captured Tracks. Heavily influenced by the post-punk sound, the album is a mixture of breathy vocals, fierce bass lines and a lo-fi fixation.

January 20, 2011

Rx Bandits Rock the Hub

By Artsweek Editor

The Rx Bandits played to a large audience in the Hub last Friday. The band hyped up the crowd with their lively and lyrically strong music.

January 13, 2011

You Crazy for This One, jj

By Carly Bonilla-Flores

On Christmas Eve, two months after releasing the single “Let Them,” Swedish electronic band jj released the mix tape Kills for free on their record label’s Web site.

January 13, 2011

Big Sean Busts Big Nut All Over Velvet Jones, Crowd Pleased

By Fabian Garcia

Detroit rapper Big Sean performed live at Santa Barbara’s Velvet Jones Night Club to a large audience on Saturday, Jan. 8.

January 13, 2011

The Future Is Now for James Blake

By Demi Anter

Up-and-coming electronic artist James Blake’s self-titled debut album is due for official release on Feb. 7.

January 13, 2011

Country Strong, Plot Weak

By Matthew Javidi

My musical tastes lie somewhere between gangsta rap and a little-known genre called “pirate metal,” so the honky-tonk bar tones and sappy, tongue-in-cheek, cowboy romance lyrics of country music aren’t really my ba...

January 13, 2011

Season of the Witch: Not Even Ironically Entertaining

By Rowan Byers

The simplest way to describe this miserable failure of a movie is that it is “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” without any jokes and worse special effects.

January 6, 2011

Natalie Portman: Lady in the Streets, Reportedly a Freak in the Sheets?

By Catherine Sylvain

Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” is a movie obsessed with doubles: mothers and daughters, mentors and protégés, teachers and students, mirrors and reality, art and life, layering on the tropes thicker than Natalie...

January 6, 2011

Tron is an Eyeball Massage with a Happy Ending

By Rowan Byers

I’m gonna get one thing clear and out in the open: I like 3D a lot. It’s easy to say it’s a gimmick only good for a cheap thrill when things pop out toward you or that movies are good enough, or better, flat.