Artsweek

Sonic Youth at the Wiltern

January 14, 2010 by

One more reason to hate tennis (as if you needed another one): Last September, the veteran experimental rockers of Sonic Youth announced they would be cancelling the remainder of the dates on their We...
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Weekend Delights Again ****

January 14, 2010 by

Despite the backlash from its much-hyped debut album, the NY-based Vampire Weekend avoids showing any signs of a sophomore slump with its latest album, Contra. The foursome of Ivy-Leaguers preserves t...
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Another Michael Cera-nade ***

January 14, 2010 by

Twenty-five years ago, Michael Cera wouldn't even have been cast as the goofy sidekick in a John Hughes film. Today, he's shaping up to be an honest-to-god movie star.
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Terry Gilliam’s “Parnassus” Is Quite a Trip ***

January 14, 2010 by

Visionary director Terry Gilliam ("Brazil," "Time Bandits") swings for the fences in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," a mostly successful but uneven film about an ancient storyteller struggling to ...
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The Best of the Decade

January 7, 2010 by

"Mulholland Drive" - Dir. David Lynch (2001) A perfect movie with my favorite sequence ever (the scene outside the diner with the homeless person) Mullholland Drive has haunted my dreams for years. I ...
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Deliver Us From Re-run Hell

January 7, 2010 by

Over the break, after a terribly lame night of untangling Christmas lights or being your parents' own personal Geek Squad, you may have hunkered down in front of the trusty TV for some much-needed qui...
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Love, Senior-Citizen Style ***

January 7, 2010 by

Filmed and set in our own Santa Barbara, Nancy Meyers' new romantic comedy, "It's Complicated," delivers the laughs and a hell of a view along with it.
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Lil Wayne Denied Rebirth *

January 7, 2010 by

PREFACE: Lil Wayne's newest record, Rebirth, was accidentally shipped to some 500 Amazon customers who had preordered it. I was lucky enough to track down one of the physical copies. It appears that t...
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Artsweek’s Favorite Films of ’09

December 3, 2009 by

1. "Inglourious Basterds" We're all well aware of Quentin Tarantino's notoriety for dirty, unpolished cult classic cinema. What "Basterds" accomplishes is a popular culture version of his taste, where...
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Nic Cage Is the Good, the Bad and the Utterly Insane “Lieutenant” ****

December 3, 2009 by

A man drives down a dark, empty Louisiana street in an unmarked sedan. He spots a couple coming out of a nightclub heading toward the car. He flips on his red and blue lights and pulls up to the coupl...
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Timbaland’s “Shock Value” Fizzles Out **

December 3, 2009 by

Following up the first successful installment of the Shock Value series, hit-making producer Timbaland presents his new collection, Shock Value II. The 16-track LP includes new collaborations with the...
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See What All the Madness Is About

December 3, 2009 by

Last month, AMC wrapped up its third season of the critically acclaimed series, "Mad Men" with one of the best episodes to date. So, if you've flipped past it on a Sunday night or heard rave reviews f...
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“New Moon” Rises Slightly Above Low Expectations

December 3, 2009 by

It is a generally agreed-upon fact that Stephenie Meyer's Twilight novels are absolutely god-awful. Through the character of Bella Swan (She's a totally average girl! Really! Except that everybody in ...
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DV8 Veers From Straight In Santa Barbara

December 3, 2009 by

Melding technology, dance and theater forms into their own, distinct performance genre, DV8 Physical Theatre creates a new picture of homosexuality with its production of To Be Straight With You.
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UCSB Theater Dept. Presents

November 19, 2009 by

Last weekend saw the very successful opening of David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole, the first main stage production for the Department of Theater and Dance 09-10 season.
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