Artsweek

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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The Neverending Story **

January 8, 2009 by

David Fincher and Brad Pitt have notably collaborated before, bringing Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club to the big screen, creating an icon of modern cinema in the process. It would then stand to reason t...
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The Sandman Cometh **

January 8, 2009 by

Adam Sandler seems an unlikely lead actor for a children's film, particularly one imbued with elements of magical realism and fairy tale-like fantasy. His crude humor, infantile antics and characteris...
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Top Dog ****

December 4, 2008 by

Hollywood films about heavy-duty social issues tend to fall into one of two categories: condescending melodramas that appeal to sentimental pre-teen girls ("Crash" and "Blood Diamond") and truly gut-w...
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The “Milk” Man ****

December 4, 2008 by

When it comes to addressing tragedy and hot-button social issues, director Gus Van Sant has plenty of experience - his previous films have addressed topics of school shootings, suicide and inner-city ...
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