Artsweek

February 26, 2009

“Friday the 13th” to the Nth Degree **

By Hunter M. Daniels

You already know if you want to see "Friday the 13th" or not. If you can hum or pant the iconic score, you might very well enjoy the movie. But if it takes more than blood, tits and hockey masks to get you going, you're ...

February 26, 2009

Charming, But Slight ***

By Jacob Mark Schpall

Morrissey has been freakishly successful in his attempt to separate himself from the legendary Smiths. It is an understandably difficult task for an artist to surgically remove him or herself from the original group. Pro...

February 26, 2009

Within the Fray ***

By Sara Weitz

It's hard to believe that it has already been four years since the debut album of the Fray. The titular track for that album, "How To Save a Life," became a huge television-fueled phenomenon of a single after being featu...

February 19, 2009

Legends Perform Ginsberg Tribute

By Amy Silverstein

Most college students might assume that "hipster" is a recently coined term, but the late poet Allen Ginsberg wrote about "angelheaded hipsters" in "Howl," his famous 1955 poem that celebrates the rebellious Beat movemen...

February 19, 2009

A Haunting Presence

By Stephanie Leong

Friday, Feb. 13, at downtown Santa Barbara's Lobero Theatre was a fittingly haunting night, thanks to the entrancing power and surrealist beauty of Chan Marshall's truly unique voice. The mystique and magic of the artis...

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 19, 2009

Actually Lily, It IS You ***

By Hunter M. Daniels

When Lily Allen burst onto the scene in 2006 with her iconic, ska-fueled hit, "Smile," she became the first person to transcend Internet stardom and become an honest-to-god pop idol. Her debut record, Alright, Still, wen...

February 19, 2009

Case of the Missing Keys ***

By Artsweek Editor

The Black Keys will always suffer from comparisons to the White Stripes. Like the band's Midwestern garage-rock duo counterparts also named after a color and a noun, the Black Keys has spent its time in the dingy but pow...

February 12, 2009

Cleese Cheered at Campbell Hall

By Jimmy Fremgen

John Cleese, living comedic legend of "Monty Python" fame - who also happens to be a Santa Barbara resident - graced the stage at Campbell Hall Monday night for his annual film screening and Q&A. The event, the proceeds ...

February 12, 2009

CD: International Dischord **

By Artsweek Editor

Based on his undeniable talent and innovation as a producer for acts like Spank Rock and M.I.A., Diplo probably deserves to have his work released as part of a compilation.

February 12, 2009

FILM: A Stop-Motion Scarytale *****

By Hunter M. Daniels

As a child, everything is magical. The wind can whisper messages. There is no question but that you are special and magical, and very likely, a lost prince or princess from some far-off land. And that monster under your ...

February 12, 2009

FILM: A Killer of a Thriller ****

By Justin Kruszona

January is typically the month when studios release their leftovers, the films that are not deemed worthy of the main film seasons (summer and winter).

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...

February 12, 2009

SBIFF ’09: “Ink” Is Stained With Promise **

By Hunter M. Daniels

"Ink" is a frustrating movie. It is generally idiotic but has brief moments of genius, totally half-baked but kind of fascinating, a cheap knockoff of other films but also surprisingly filled with ingenuity. Unfortunatel...

February 12, 2009

SBIFF ’09: Twisted Pleasure *

By Hunter M. Daniels

As a rule of thumb, anyone who claims to do something in order to "protect the children" is more than likely ethically bankrupt and morally repugnant. I really should have known better than to go see "Follow the Prophet,...

February 5, 2009

The Curious Case of David Fincher

By Virginia Yapp

"You kind of wonder if I should [have] been in therapy more regularly," director David Fincher cracked to an appreciative audience Friday night at the Arlington Theatre after seeing a couple clips from his filmography ru...