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Featured Film Foo Fighters Back and Forth Premiere at SXSW

March 21, 2011 - 10:14 am

People can’t seem to stop talking about the Foo Fighters right now. Having been around for over 15 years, they still remain as relevant as ever. On Tuesday night at the closing of the SXSW Film Festival and Interactive activities in Austin the band premiered their latest endeavor, a documentary film called Foo Fighters Back and Forth.

After hearing about this project for the past 6 months I had some expectations. I knew the band was recording in Dave Grohl’s garage in his home on tape, with legendary producer Butch Vig at the helm. I knew that cameras where there for something like 3 months capturing the process. I also knew that they shot at least 5 hours of footage at the bands secret show at the Roxy Theatre last month. So my anticipation was that this film would focus on the latest and greatest antics and the making of a fresh but yet nostalgic process of writing a record.

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Art/Design Gallery The “Unfinished” Works of James Franco and Gus Van Sant

by Nicole Pajer and Dustin Downing

March 9, 2011 - 10:46 am

If you love James Franco (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t right now?) you should high tail it over to the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills. The Oscar host, Academy Award nominee, soap opera star, author, painter, male model, film director, performance artist, and Tweeting mastermind has managed to squeeze one additional bullet point onto his resume: an art exhibit titled “Unfinished.”

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Film Gallery “Life’s a Pitch”- Voxhaul Video Contest

by Nicole Pajer and Dustin Downing

February 10, 2011 - 10:13 am

At this year’s inaugural Los Angels Music Video Festival (LAMVF), a very interesting experiment took place. An event titled “Life’s a Pitch” provided aspiring music video directors with the opportunity to pitch their ideas for a video to accompany the new single of Los Angeles rockers Voxhaul Broadcast. The band, named one of LA’s best new indie bands of 2010 by LA Times, plopped on a couch and sipped beer while four participants took turns standing before them and presenting their video concepts for the song, “Leaving On The 5th.” The prize for the winning pitch was the opportunity to produce Voxhaul Broadcast’s new video with the use of a Sony HDW F900 camera, provided courtesy of Alternative Records.

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Film The Green Hornet and The Dilemma

by Carter Jung

February 7, 2011 - 7:54 am

After a lackluster holiday season, two films are in theaters that are worth checking out: The Green Hornet and The Dilemma. Surprisingly still, both have something in common. “But wait,” you’re probably thinking. “One is a remake from an old radio serial turned TV show about a crime fighter and the other is about couples.” Yes, on the surface the two seemingly have little to nothing to do with each other except for their shared release day. So am I trippin’ balls? Nope. At least, not yet.

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Film Oscar Nomination for Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop”

by Richard S. Chang

February 3, 2011 - 10:35 am

We are firmly entrenched in awards season, though it could just as well be called Banksy season.

The famously incognito British artist is getting all sorts of accolades for his film “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” a documentary (or mock documentary, or neither) on a French filmmaker-turned-street artist, Thierry Guetta, aka Mr. Brainwash. The film is nominated for a BAFTA Award, and recently won the top prize at the Cinema Eye Awards.

And now it can add an Oscar nod.
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Film Gallery Los Angeles Music Video Festival

by Nicole Pajer and Dustin Downing

February 1, 2011 - 11:59 am

The First Annual Los Angeles Music Video Festival (LAMVF) took place January 23rd at the Downtown Independent Theater in Los Angeles. To celebrate a communal love of music videos, guests spent the day watching screenings, listening intently to speakers, and participating in discussions.

Out of 200 submissions from directors in over 16 countries, the screenings for student and independent videos resulted in awards being offered to:

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Film Blue Valentine: A Love Story With Shades of Grey

by Nicole Pajer

January 26, 2011 - 10:21 am

I had the chance this week to see the controversial new Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams movie, Blue Valentine. The film centers upon the fragile marriage of Dean (Gosling) and Cindy (Williams) and the back and forth emotional struggle involved in trying to save what is left of their once passionate romance. The film teeters between the couple’s initial courtship and birth of their relationship and their modern day attempt to reconcile what is left of it. The plot eventually drives Dean and Cindy to check into a hotel for one night where they attempt a to revive the pulse of their love.

For those of you who don’t know the full story surrounding this film, it’s quite a tale. Michelle Williams was first presented with the Blue Valentine script back in 2003, and in 2008 received a phone call from director Derek Cianfrance saying the money for the film production had finally been secured. “I think I was 21 when I read it and I’m 30 now, so almost a third of my life has been devoted to making this movie,” Williams told Nightlife in her first network interview since the tragic death of Heath Ledger.

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Art/Design One Man’s Garbage is Another Man’s Art

by Shop Keeper

January 18, 2011 - 11:44 am

Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world’s largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores” — self-designated pickers of recyclable materials.

Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives. Director Lucy Walker (DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND, BLINDSIGHT, COUNTDOWN TO ZERO) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.

The award winning film is currently screening at selected venues across the country and aboard including an open screening at Pepperdine University this Friday, Jan 21.

Check out the trailer to this inspiring film below.

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Film The 5 Must-see Movies of 2K11

by Shop Keeper

January 5, 2011 - 9:28 am

On average, there are seven new movies released in cinemas every week, that’s roughly 400 a year and clearly nobody has the time (or money) to watch them all. As 2011 dawns and a whole bunch of new cinematic endeavours vie for your attention, we’ve whittled down the list to the real essentials for your viewing pleasure…

127 Hours

A director who has rarely steered us wrong throughout his illustrious career, Danny Boyle follows up the Oscar-baiting Slumdog Millionaire with this based-on-true-life tale. James Franco stars as Aron Ralston, an extreme sports nut who, in 2003, fell into a canyon in the Utah desert and found himself trapped under a boulder for the titular time period. Quite literally caught between a rock and a hard place, he was forced to choose between a slow death or hacking his own arm off. With a helmer and a star both at the top of their game and a compelling premise like this, we can’t think of a better way to kick off the cinematic year… Released January 7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orxtqKeHEOs

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Film Black Swan: A Scary Tale

by Dustin Downing

January 3, 2011 - 11:58 am

In preparation for Natalie Portman’s role as “Nina” in director Darren Afronosksy’s (Pi, The Wrestler) dark take on classic ballet Swan Lake -“Black Swan”, Natalie has quipped that she shed 20 pounds from her already demure 5’3”frame as part of her transformation from “The Other Boleyn Girl” into ballerina. “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” Portman said. “It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.”

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