Artsweek

A Giant Black Hole **

The story of "Pandorum" is this: By the year 2174, the planet Earth has become significantly overpopulated; the only possible solution to the overcrowding is to send a large spaceship of humans to a p...
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“Star” Is Not So “Bright” ***

Director Jane Campion's "Bright Star," the latest of this year's Cannes selections to be given a theatrical release, is a period film based on the final years of Romantic -literarily and literally - p...
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New Album Reviews: No Age (***) and The Swell Season (****)

No Age returns to smaller releases after flirtation and romance, brought singer-its last two projects have produced LPs. The Losing Feeling EP - due out Oct. 6 - is a bit of a departure for the band, ...
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A&L Celebrates Its 50th Birthday in Style

If there's one thing most students don't take enough advantage of during their four-year stay at this fine institution of higher learning, it's UCSB's very own Arts & Lectures... not that you'd know i...
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New Noise Festival To Debut in Downtown SB

Featuring a beautiful beachside locale, tons of reggae, a number of jam bands and copious amounts of ganja, the West Beach Music & Arts Festival pretty much embodies the Santa Barbara image, love it o...
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“Jennifer’s Body” Doesn’t Need Any Work ***1/2

Walking in to see "Jennifer's Body," I was prepared to experience something similar to that which was depicted in the first shot of the film: picking at a scab. After all, Megan Fox really hasn't show...
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“Meatballs” Provides Large Serving of Fun ****1/2

In the fall of 2002, MTV premiered "Clone High," a deliriously funny spoof of teen dramas and world history. Less than 4 months later the show was canceled due to the fatal combination of mediocre rat...
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Off The Beaten Path: “Brain Damage”

This year, Artsweek will be trying out some new columns and features as a way to better serve you, the student. This column is the first in a series designed to alert students to films that they might...
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Magical Mystery Tour *****

Reviewing a video game is a strange experience, and one that has little to do with actually playing the game. True, you play more of the game than probably 80 percent of the people that play the game ...
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Relevatory Resistance ****

Muse's fifth album, The Resistance, is a perfect display of what the Brit band does best: It blends hard rock rhythms with haunting, orchestral melodies to create one very eclectic listening experienc...
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This Wrong’s Alright ***

A product of the burgeoning Brooklyn scene, Vivian Girls attracted a lot of attention and acclaim over its 2008 self-titled debut album - along with a lot of reductive backlash. The trio's enthusiasts...
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Let’s All Go To The Movies: Fall 2009

The summer of 2009 was Hollywood's most profitable ever, with studios raking in over $4.3 billion. Of course, most of the movies sucked. From the obnoxious "Wolverine" to the soporific "Transformers: ...
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The Idiot’s Guide to Local Culture

Any dummy can figure out how to navigate Isla Vista's ridiculous party scene, but if you're looking to make the most of your four (or five) years in this crazy little beachside community without compl...
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A Vintage Filmgoing Experience

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.
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“T4” Is Mechanical As They Come *

When it came out back in 1984, "The Terminator" was a wild ride full of action and adventure with killer science fiction hook.. It was so good that few people noticed that the sequel, subtitled "Judgm...
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