Artsweek

FILM: A Killer of a Thriller ****

February 12, 2009 by

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).
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SBIFF ’09: Festival Honors Five Virtuosic Actors

February 12, 2009 by

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

February 12, 2009 by

"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 ing...
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SBIFF ’09: Twisted Pleasure *

February 12, 2009 by

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 ...
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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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