Artsweek

The Curious Case of David Fincher

February 5, 2009 by

"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 fro...
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Clint Eastwood Has Still Got It, Baby

February 5, 2009 by

You almost begin to feel like cattle as a journalist covering red carpet events at Santa Barbara International Film Festival. You're sent through the chute with your fellow journalists and paparazzi a...
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Rourke Keeps It Real While Accepting the Riviera Award

February 5, 2009 by

After a long wait by the Arlington Theatre red carpet last Saturday, I finally stood face-to-face with actor Mickey Rourke, who is currently enjoying a career comeback this year with his Oscar-nominat...
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Down and Out in L.A.

February 5, 2009 by

Rating: ***
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By Reason of Insanity

February 5, 2009 by

Rating: ***
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Rolling Down the Red Carpet

January 29, 2009 by

"Did you talk to Jeff?" director Rod Lurie asked me on the opening night of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, referring to Jeff Bridges, a.k.a. "The Dude" from "The Big Lebowski," who als...
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Penelope Cruz Takes Acting Honors

January 29, 2009 by

Crowds at the Arlington Theatre were bustling with anticipation as they awaited the arrival of Penelope Cruz, the 2009 award recipient for Outstanding Performer of the Year at the Santa Barbara Intern...
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Winslet Honored With Montecito Award

January 29, 2009 by

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 ...
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Festival Free Flow

January 29, 2009 by

In an earlier draft of Andrew Stanton's "WALL-E" script, the humans of the future were "big, green gelatinous blobs" who had lost the ability to read or speak, so that "the whole movie was basically i...
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STUDENT CINEMA SPOTLIGHT: “Clams With Green Onions”

January 29, 2009 by

One of the best things about the festival is that is often screens work by local filmmakers and UCSB students and alumni. One such film that ran at this year's festival is "Clams With Green Onions," a...
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Tears of Joy *****

January 29, 2009 by

The first thing that will strike you about listening to The Crying Light, the latest release from Antony and the Johnsons, is the almost ridiculously heartbreaking beauty of the whole affair. Antony H...
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Fresh Blood ****

January 29, 2009 by

The Allmusic Guide compares him to Marvin Gaye; the UK music zine Drowned in Sound calls it a "fine appendix to the ... story so far;" even Pitchfork gives it a lofty 7.9 out of 10. This might just be...
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What Was Great in ’08

January 8, 2009 by

This year, Artsweek staff, like the rest of the U.S., and indeed, most of the world (besides China, perhaps), was not immune to the superpowers of Batman.
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Targeting a Net Audience

January 8, 2009 by

Independent and big-time producers alike have been pouring money into creating shows and films that are aired exclusively online. Some of these Web series have caught the attention of network televis...
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Domestic Dysfunction ****

January 8, 2009 by

I felt a sense of inevitable déjà vu as I took in Sam Mendes' "Revolutionary Road." The film stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as a young married couple attempting to rebuild their br...
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