Campus Circle Newspaper Vol. 19 Issue 18

2 | Campus Circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

qghu wkh xq Tattoo Company, Ink 4323 Melrose Ave. Hollywood, CA 90029 (323) 661-0607

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May 6 - May 12, 2009 • Vol. 19 Issue 18

Editor-in-Chief Jessica Koslow editor.chief@campuscircle.net

Managing Editor Yuri Shimoda

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managing.editor@campuscircle.net

Film Editor Jessica Koslow film.editor@campuscircle.net

Art Director Alance Ward Editorial Interns Christopher Agutos, Allyson Barkan, Marvin G. Vasquez, Farnaz Youshei

19 INSIDE

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Contributing Writers Geoffrey Altrocchi, Rafael Alvarez, Robert Sarah Bennett, China Bialos, Nicole Boisvert, Zach Bourque, Michael Buzzelli, Erica Carter, Richard Castaneda, Josh Herman, Zach Hines, Joe Horton, Jonathan Knell, Lucia, Ebony March,

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Spring Piercings

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contents

Axelrod, Jonathan Bautts, Elsy Benitez,

3 WOODEN NICKELS 3 CAMPUS NEWS

FILM

Angela Matano, Ryan McWhorter, Adrian

4 SONITA HENRY

Nevarez, Samantha Ofole, Brien Overly,

Star Trek’s Hot Doctor

Samantha Plotkin, Polites, Bonnie Priever, Sasha Perl-Raver, Gina Quattrochi, Parimal M. Rohit, Lauren Rosenblum, Dov Rudnick, Mike Sebastian, Henry Senecal, Doug Simpson, Amy Sommer, David Tobin, Anna Webber, TJ Webber, Kevin Wierzbicki, Candice Winters

Contributing Artists & Photographers Shaunt & Levon Gharibian, David Tobin, Emmanuelle Troy, Anna Webber

6 SUMMER FILM GUIDE 12 RUDO Y CURSI

Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna reunite on screen.

12 ADORATION

Atom Egoyan directs an emotionally jarring film.

4 PROJECTIONS 4 ETERNALLY COOL 10 SCREEN SHOTS 10 REVIEWS 11 DVD DISH

SPECIAL FEATURES

13 COLLEGE CENTRAL

Where to Have Your Parents Take You for Grad Dinner ADVERTISING Sean Bello

19 JET SETTER

sean.bello@campuscircle.net

20 GIFT GUIDE

Joy Calisoff

Mother’s Day Ideas

Study Abroad in Australia

joy.calisoff@campuscircle.net

Jon Bookatz

MUSIC

Music Sales Manager

16 MAE

jon.bookatz@campuscircle.net

Find Success in Giving to Others

Ronit Guedalia

16 THE B*SIDE PLAYERS

ronit.guedalia@campuscircle.net

Calendar Editor Frederick Mintchell

Campus Circle newspaper is published 49 times a year and is available free at 40 schools and over 800 retail locations throughout Los Angeles. Circulation: 30,000. Readership: 90,000.

PUBLISHED BY CAMPUS CIRCLE, INC. 5042 Wilshire Blvd., PMB 600 Los Angeles, CA 90036 (323) 939-8477 (323) 939-8656 Fax info@campuscircle.net www.campuscircle.com © 2009 Campus Circle, Inc. All rights reserved.

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FUN FOR LESS GAMES & GADGETS THE ART OF LOVE L.A. FACES CURTAIN CALL MUSICAL THE 10 SPOT ON THE MENU

COVER CREDIT: Brüno, photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

PIGS IN A BLANKET: Calming the Fear of Swine Flu

SO … SWINE FLU. YEAH. IT LIKE, IT COMES from pigs, right? Like, when you eat bacon that’s not cooked? You know, when pigs roll around in the mud and stuff they get really dirty because, you know, mud is dirty with like parasites and stuff, and when you don’t cook a pig and you eat its skin as bacon it can get you all infected and stuff.

Swine flu is like getting an STD except instead of having sex with like a dirty … you know … you’re eating dirty pig meat. Yeah.

Exactly.

Only time will tell whether the international response to the swine flu pandemic is too little, too much or just right. I think it’s safe to say that the flu has brought the issue of worldwide health emergencies back to the forefront of our collective consciousness, both on a local and international level, but has its wall-to-wall media coverage once again proven the capacity for the over-connected digital age to instill fear rather than provide information?

The numbers of the outbreak don’t tell the whole story. Hundreds of people have died in Mexico – a tragedy – and hundreds more have been infected around the world. Thousands have been screened for the illness, while millions and

campus news | B Y

JOE HORTON billions have been put on high alert, watching and wondering if constant press conferences by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and global leaders trumpeting their readiness to combat a wider outbreak signal something more sinister yet to come.

In an attempt to gauge the public response to the swine flu, I conducted a limited experiment. I called six pharmacies in our nation’s capital, chosen for its ostensible leadership position, to see if they currently had any Relenza in stock – a prescription flu medicine that, along with Tamiflu, stands as the best defense readily accessible against the swinery – and found that only two had any available. Two had never heard of Relenza, and the two others had run out despite, at that moment, no cases of swine flu reported within 200 miles of Washington.

I then expanded the scope of the inquiry with the help of a D.C.-area university medical center that suggested a major medical supply company that would likely be able to sell me N95 respirator masks. The N95 designation is provided by the government, signaling the mask’s ability to filter out about 95 percent of airborne particles that are 0.3 microns and larger – meeting, in theory, the CDC requirements for tuberculosis and anthrax spores. N95 masks have been a hot commodity for concerned citizens stocking up for a potential widening of the illness’s path, though the CDC says they offer at best limited effectiveness to stop the spread of the disease.

This major, interstate medical company was out of the masks. CVS and Walgreens drugstores were sold out.

G I N A Q U AT T R O C H I

International NO Dieting Day May 6 the Student Development Health Education at UCLA presents International NO Dieting Day, a fair promoting healthy eating habits and ways to stay fit and active without a restrictive diet.

The fair also challenges stereotypes of beauty.

International NO Dieting Day was established in 1992 by a British activist and a group called the Diet Breakers. Their goal was to challenge cultural values that contribute to chronic dieting, food and weight preoccupation, disordered eating and size discrimination. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Bruin Plaza.

million; University of North Carolina at Asheville got $1.5; the University of Iowa received $7 million; the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the University of Maryland University College got $6 million each; the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was given $5.5 million; and Penn StateHarrisburg received $3 million.

Most of the money must be used for student scholarships, which is awesome, and the remainder can be used towards research, equipment, strategic goals and operating support. Thank you anonymous-highereducation-supporter!

“Shifting Baselines in the Tijuana Tide,” a five-minute video produced by USC alum Randy Olson premiered on YouTube on Earth Day. Olson, now a marine biologist, attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, earned his MFA in 1997 and has since been producing films on the marine environment.

The five-minute short was produced by Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Project, which is based in Hollywood, and reveals how the Tijuana River carries loads of pollution across the border. Sixty percent of Tijuana’s raw sewage flows directly into the river, which then causes beaches north of the border, such as Imperial Beach, to shut down most of the year because of poor water quality.

The video is part of Olson’s ongoing collaboration with the Ocean Media Project to unite conservationists with filmmakers in order to communicate environmental issues to a wider audience.

Mystery Donors Give over $45 Million to Universities Nine universities have received surprise gifts in the form of over $45 million. Purdue got $8

event pick

site pick

Total São Paulo: A Guide to the Unexpected Book Signing Party

organiconthegreen.wordpress.com

May 9 @ Carmichael Gallery Meet author Phuong-Cac Nguyen with complimentary caipirinhas provided by Leblon Cachaça, the art of talented Brazilian artist Thais Beltrame, live silk screening, capoeira demonstrations and live music by DJ Marlon Fuentes and Andrea Ferraz. 3 p.m.-7 p.m.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT

TANNING! Misconception #7

“Showering after tanning will remove your tan.”

FACT: UVA and UVB stimulate melanin to be produced in the skin. Once natural melanin is produced, it takes 24-48 hours to develop your sun tan. Showering immediately after tanning will not affect your tan. After the melanin travels to the surface of the skin, it is lost in natural skin shedding, which is why a tan fades with time. Using a lotion can help keep skin healthy, moisturized, and extend the time needed between tanning sessions.

U-TAN

One Free Week (expires 5/31/09)

Must Present Student ID

213.747.8182

3163 South Hoover Street (located in the University Village) www.utanla.com

Earth Day Video by USC Alum to Premiere on YouTube

BoredLA Art Show Vol. 3 Saturday, May 9 come by the Ragazzi Room near USC for the third installment of BoredLA’s “Your Art Show.”As usual, there will be displays of student-submitted art, a full music lineup, Chalk Revolution will supply chalk for graffiti on the sidewalk, Ratscratch photobooth and of course, wine and tapas deals at the lovely Bacaro L.A. next door. Don’t miss the hippest student art show around, for free!

TOP10

Los Angeles

wooden nickels | B Y

I called some of the hospitals in my inner circle hometown of Denver who, despite having masks, would not sell them to the public. A colleague of mine, tasked with the inglorious assignment to travel to Mexico City to report on the swine flu, ordered masks at an online company only to receive notice that her order would have to be delayed because of a stocking problem. She then found another supply at a different Web site, only to see it vanish when the screen refreshed. She finally called the second Web site and spoke with a human being who, after hearing of her plight, brought one box of masks out of storage and agreed to sell them.

My point is this: For all our supposed readiness for a serious pandemic outbreak, some very basic chinks in our national medical armor are already apparent. It would be my hope that, facing a new and potentially deadly disease, the public could go about their lives at a relatively normal pace to avoid panic, that medicine and preventative tools would be available through normal channels – local drug stores, online shopping – to prevent a bottlenecked slavishness to a centralized government effort.

We must collectively remain calm and use this situation to prepare for challenges yet to come. Keep this small note in mind, scrunched into the end of an Associated Press article from last week: “Pulmonary specialist Dr. Leonard Horovitz … pointed out that while there has been just one death attributed to swine flu in the U.S., 55 children died last week from conventional flu, according to CDC records.”

And one very bright note: Guess who had plenty of N95 masks? My local Home Depot.

God forbid the apocalypse comes – viral or otherwise – but make your way to the Home Depot. That place is stocked.

Campus Circle | 3

Nina Merrill, a senior at Colgate Univ. in NY started this blog with the hopes of encouraging the development of organic food programs on college campuses around the U.S. She highly encourages student participation, so log on or call (516) 532-2309 if you’re interested in writing an entry.

ANTONIO’S MOTHER’S DAY AND “DIA DE LAS MADRES” CELEBRATION! There will be two Mother’s Day celebrations here at Antonio’s!

There is the one on the 10th of May, which is celebrated in Mexico. We celebrate that day here with a special menu, cards and goodies, as well as a musical trio performing.

Then there is the one on Sunday celebrated here in the U.S. We will have the special menu, cards, and goodies, as well as the trio to serenade the moms.

We at Antonio’s always treat the moms special, so make your reservations and whichever day you decide, the 10th or the second Sunday of May as celebrated here in the states, we will make sure mom is given the extra special treatment.

Call (323) 658-9060

for reservations and “Recuerde a Mama”!

7470 Melrose Ave.

Tues-Fri: 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat: noon-11 p.m.,

Sun: noon-10 p.m., closed Mondays

M AY 6 - M AY 1 2 , 2 0 0 9 • V O L . 1 9

ISSUE 18 • campuscircle.com

FILM IN LOS ANGELES SONITA HENRY

Star Trek’s hot doc plans her takeover.

BY EBONY MARCH AT FIRST GLANCE, MOST PEOPLE might not know what to think of Sonita Henry. After all, the British beauty is an outright stunner, born to Nepalese and Scottish parents. She gives off the same elusive sex appeal that has created instant stars out of Freida Pinto and Scarlett Johansson.

But what most people may not realize is that she’s probably the most downto-earth actress to come along in quite some time.

Henry is about to explode into theaters in the much-anticipated Star Trek film. Her character is integral to the early origins of one of its lead characters.

“I play the doctor who delivers the baby [Captain] Kirk,” she says.

This isn’t Henry’s first induction

into science fiction. In 1997, she played a presidential aide in Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element. However, working with J.J. Abrams held a special place in her heart.

“Well, I wanted to work with J.J. since ‘Alias,’” she says. “I was a really big fan of the show.”

Her shot came when the über producer-writer-director announced that he would be taking on and updating one of the greatest and most lucrative franchises in film and television history. For some, the novelty of collaborating with such a top name in the industry might have worn off after a couple of weeks – but not for Henry.

“Oh, I mean, first of all, J.J. Abrams is an absolute genius – the cool guy,”she

explains. “I’m sure he doesn’t think of himself as the cool guy, but you absolutely just want to sit at his feet.”

That said, her director did put his cast through the ringer on the blockbuster, starting with a very taxing time on set.

“The most challenging part was the first day. We were down at the Long Beach power station, which was doubling as the SS Kelvin. They had wet the floors, and about 50 extras were running full speed at us. I remember one of the extras ran full speed at [the Kelvin engineer] and knocked him flat,” she recalls.

Abrams spent a lot of time rehearsing his actors and extras, but surprisingly, Henry and a lot of her co-stars did their own stunts.

“We didn’t have any doubles,” she admits, save for the stand-ins used for lighting and blocking.

But that’s not even the weirdest aspect of the Star Trek shoot. It seems that Henry got a rather unusual request from the filmmakers when she least expected it.

“They wanted me to shave off my eyebrows,” she says. The makeup department and even Abrams felt that it would create a much more

authentic look for her otherworldly character.

She refused time and time again and is even able to laugh about the experience now.

“I said, ‘You can shave my head – I don’t care. But I won’t shave my eyebrows.’”

But for the actress, the rigors of a big budget motion picture are all in a day’s work. There is even one challenging genre that she would love to tackle if only she were offered a dream role.

“Comedy,” she confesses. “I never get asked to do comedy. I guess people just expect me to be running Sonita Henry has her sights set on comedy. around with a gun or with the best directors on the scene something like that.” today. So if you’re reading this, Peter Henry admits to loving the Jackson, Tim Burton or Guillermo del British series, “‘Absolutely Fabulous,’” Toro, there’s an enchanting actress and jokes, “My life is Patsy Stone!” who’d like a moment of your time.

As for the future of her career, she’s seriously hoping to partner up Star Trek releases in theaters May 8. with Hollywood’s elite and working

projections | essential film events

eternally cool | B Y

LEBOWSKI FEST LOS ANGELES

200 MOTELS (1971)

BY SARAH BENNETT

Jerry Duvall

ACHIEVERS UNITE! NOW IS EVERY The Big Lebowski fan’s time to shine.

Kicking off over a month before other cities begin celebrating all things Lebowski, Lebowski Fest Los Angeles is the annual chance to show your appreciation for the cultfollowed Coen brothers film by dressing like your favorite character (ideally,“the Dude”), going bowling with Hispanic men in purple jumpsuits and drinking White Russians with women done up like the fat lady from a Nordic opera.

Born out of a boredom-killing moviequoting session at a 2001 tattoo convention, the first Lebowski Fest took place in Louisville, Ky. and after an amply-attended inaugural weekend in the unlikely Southern city, others caught on and movie screenings coupled with costumed bowling nights have popped up from Las Vegas and London.

But since the movie’s plot centers around our fair city, Los Angeles Lebowski Fests are particularly epic. Jeff Bridges hung around at the first one in 2005, the people who inspired the characters showed up in 2007 (including

Peter Exline – his rug really tied the room together, what-have-you) and the actress who played the Ralphs check out girl always shows up in costume with her twin sister.

Because last year’s Lebowski love got skipped over, this year’s fest is more insane than ever.

Thursday night’s movie party at the Wiltern includes a performance by an 8-year-old Japanese guitar prodigy (“Crazy Train” is his specialty.), appearances by nine obscure cast members (think Woo the rug-pisser and the kid that played Little Larry) and, of course, a Rocky Horror Picture Showworthy screening of The Big Lebowski. Then, Friday’s bowling party (21+) takes over Cal Bowl with trivia contests, prizes for best costumes, high fives for those that traveled the farthest (Maine for the win!) and unlimited pinknocking straight until last call.

Surround yourself with a weekend of live Lebowski reenactments and more red Maude wigs, German nihilists, East San Fernando Valley references and obsessed fans dressed up like ransom notes than one night can handle. It’s, like, Halloween without the October, man.

For more information, visit lebowskifest.com.

A YOUNG RINGO STARR MADE UP TO look like the young Frank Zappa is not much of a stretch.

Take the head shot of the Beatles’ drummer that came with the original White Album LP, paste a cheap soul patch under the lower lip and VOILA! – the moptop becomes the mother of all maestros.

But Captain Von Trapp from the Sound of Music as the Devil?

Not just any New Testament demon with village street cred, but Beezulbub himself, here going by the name Rance Muhammitz and played by Theodore Bikel, nominated for a 1959 Tony for his Daddy Von Trapp role in the Broadway Frank Zappa staging of the Sound of Music.

Naturally, the Devil appears dressed as an Army general.

These touches of genius (and the immortal Keith Moon as a “hot” nun) are sprinkled throughout 200 Motels, Zappa’s United Artists

May 7-8 @ The Wiltern & Cal Bowl

R A F A E L A LV A R E Z

1971 movie released – along with a double album soundtrack featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – by United Artists.

Screening at 98 minutes, it’s one of those inexplicable films, which ultimately needed a second movie to explain it: 1989’s The True Story of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels.

Made for $679,000, 200 Motels is one of the earliest feature films shot on video before transfer to 35mm celluloid for release.

It purports to be a documentary about life on the road, a favorite Zappa subject. Indeed, when the guitarist and composer died of prostate cancer in 1993, his family announced that their patriarch had embarked upon his final tour.

“Touring,” announces Starr as Zappa at the beginning of the film, “can make you crazy.”

Rafael Alvarez is a short story writer and former staff writer for HBO’s “The Wire.”

“‘STAR TREK’ IS WAY COOL”.

PETER TRAVERS

“‘STAR TREK’ IS A BURST OF PURE FILMMAKING EXHILARATION AND AN IRRESISTIBLE INVITATION FOR FUN!

WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK OF A SUMMER MOVIE?”

, MAY 7 AT 7 PM SPECIAL SCREENINGS BEGIN THURSDAY IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE FRIDAY MAY 8 AND EXPERIENCE IT IN FOR A LIMITED TIME ,

SPECIAL ENGAGEMENT - NO PASSES OR DISCOUNT TICKETS ACCEPTED

6 | Campus Circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

film

r e m m u SFILMS

Welcome to Blockbuster Season!

Whether it’s the rise of the Decepticons, Terminator’s salvation, G.I. Joe’s live action debut or the return of Sacha Baron Cohen, it’s time to beat the heat with a pail of popcorn, a bucket of soda and all the action you can fit into two hours.

BY SASHA PERL-RAVER

MAY 8 “Scrubs”’ Donald Faison, backed

by Mos Def and Mike Epps, plays a delivery man who accidentally delivers a package filled with bricks of cocaine at the wrong address. Think of it as Burn After Reading meets Scarface ... but funny.

Industrial Light & Magic

Next Day Air (Summit)

Angels & Demons (Columbia) Ron Howard’s follow up to the insanely successful The Da Vinci Code film adaptation. Tom Hanks returns as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon who finds himself in Rome, pitted, once again, against the Illuminati, a secret society, who are planning a terrorist attack on the Vatican. This time around, Audrey Tautou is replaced by a new foreign stunner, Ayelet Zurer, playing an Italian scientist.

(Summit) A tale of con men … but who’s playing who? Grifter brothers, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo, are looking for one last big score. But their final target, a beautiful, enigmatic wealthy woman (Rachel Weisz), offers more than they bargained for. Don’t they always?

Management (Samuel Goldwyn) Jennifer Aniston goes back to the indie romantic comedy roots that treated her so well in The Good Girl starring in this quirky comedy about a woman who has a chance encounter with the man who manages the motel she spends one night in,

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Remember when Alison Lohman was going to be the next big thing?

Yeah, that didn’t happen. But she does appear in this film by Sam Raimi about a loan officer ordered to evict an old woman from her home, which sets off a chain reaction of supernatural horrors.

played by underappreciated comedic genius Steve Zahn.

When he falls insanely, obsessively in love with her, despite the fact that she already has a boyfriend (Woody Harrelson), he proves just how big love can be.

Terminator Salvation (Warner Bros.)

2018, Skynet has destroyed most of humanity in a nuclear holocaust and machines have taken control of

O’Horten

Drag Me To Hell (Universal)

Summer Hours (IFC) Starring Juliette Binoche, the film deals with the end of childhood, the loss of a parent and the question of how to honor a parent’s final wishes after they’ve passed on.

JUNE 5

Away We Go (Focus Features) Maya Rudolph and John Kra-

(Sony Pictures Classics) Directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Bent Hamer, the film follows a pathologically habitual train driver on the eve of his retirement as he’s forced to reconsider his approach to life.

MAY 22

Dance Flick (Paramount) What the Wayan brothers did for scary movies, they’re now doing for dance movies in this send up of Save the Last Dance, Step Up (1 and 2) and You Got Served.

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

MAY 15

(l to r) Some of the Star Trek crew: Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Kirk (Chris Pine), Scotty (Simon Pegg), Bones (Karl Urban), Sulu (John Cho) and Uhura (Zoë Saldana)

The Brothers Bloom

losses his symphony and his job, forcing him to reexamine his life and his family.

(Twentieth Century Fox) Museum security guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) infiltrates the Smithsonian Institute in order to rescue his friend, Jedediah (Owen Wilson) and Octavius (Steve Coogan), who have been shipped to the museum by mistake. Also with Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams), Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) and General Custer (Bill Hader).

Star Trek (Paramount) The 11th Star Trek movie takes us back to the beginning for the first time Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the crew of the USS Enterprise boldly went where no man had gone before.

bergh’s drama set in the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election and centered on a high-end Manhattan call girl (Grey).

Christian Bale stars as John Connor and Sam Worthington stars as Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation.

Easy Virtue

Glen Wilson

The Girlfriend Experience (Magnolia) Charity (Essence Atkins) and her Baby Daddy (Shawn Wayans) have all the right moves in Dance Flick.

Porn star Sasha Grey makes her big screen debut in Steven Soder-

the planet. But John Connor is there to lead the human resistance. Hootie hoo! Starring Christian Bale, directed

by McG and continuing a 25-year strong franchise, this could be one of the best films of the summer!

MAY 29

Departures (Regent Releasing) Departures is the 2008 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. The film, by Yojiro Takita, is almost a Japanese version of American Beauty about a cellist who

sinski star as a rootless couple expecting their first child that travels around the U.S. looking to find the perfect place to raise their family.

Directed by Sam Mendes and littered with great supporting players like Allison Janney and Maggie Gyllenhaal, even the trailer is grating and obnoxious. Krasinski seems to be the good-movie kiss of death.

Downloading Nancy (Strand Releasing) CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

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(Sony Pictures Classics) Based on Noel Coward’s beloved play, Easy Virtue is the story of a young Englishman, Prince Caspian himself, Ben Barnes, who brings his new raucous American wife, Jessica Biel, home to meet his stuffy, buttoned up family including Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth as his parents.

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

Campus Circle | 7

summer film guide JUNE 19

Autobots first. Michael Bay returns to direct, and Megan Fox is back in glorious eye candy mode.

$9.99 (Regent Releasing) $9.99 is a stop-motion animated feature about people living in an apartment complex in Sydney, Australia, all searching for the meaning of life.

JUNE 26

Cheri (Miramax) Stephen Frears, who got one of the best performances of her career out of Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons, directs Pfeiffer again in

Irene in Time

Ralph Nelson

(Rainbow Releasing) Henry Jaglom lends his signature improvised, voyeuristic style to this exploration of the complex relationships between fathers and daughters, and how they inform women’s relationships with other men later in life.

Whatever Works

The Hangover (Warner Bros.)

(voiced by Kevin Spacey), sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.

Vegas, hangovers, Mike Tyson and the guy who directed Old School – need we say more? Three friends lose the groom during a wild bachelor party in Vegas. Warner Bros. is so sure they have a massive hit on their hands, they’re already working on the sequel.

Does that mean they don’t find their friend?

Sex Positive (Regent Releasing/here!)

Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M-hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited.

Land of the Lost (Universal) Based on the 1974 children’s sci-fi series, the film stars Will Ferrell as a disgraced paleontologist sucked into a space-time vortex alongside his research assistant (Anna Friel) and a redneck survivalist (Danny McBride).

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Columbia) Denzel Washington plays an ordinary dispatcher pitted against a criminal mastermind (John Travolta) in Tony Scott’s film about armed men, led by Travolta, who hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a

My Life in Ruins (Fox Searchlight) More like Nia Vardalos’ career in ruins. In a sad attempt to recreate her Big Fat Greek legacy, Vardalos plays a travel guide searching for romance, again, with a very unlikely match, again, as she whisks a group of tourists around Greece. Of course. We wonder if she recycled the Windex jokes too.

Year One (Columbia) Jack Black and Michael Cera star as two cavemen who are banished from their primitive village and set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

JUNE 24

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks/Paramount) The Decepticons are back and this time, they’re after Sam Witwicky (Shia

Imagine That (Paramount) Imagine that, another crappy looking movie starring Eddie Murphy.

This one is about a financial executive (Murphy) whose career is hitting the skids, until he’s invited into his daughter’s imaginary world, where he discovers the solutions to all his problems.

Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Jaimie Trueblood

An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry and the trickle-down effect it has on the country’s farmers and America’s health.

I Love You, Beth Cooper Sacha Baron Cohen in Brüno

another romantic drama, this one set in 1920s Paris, where Pfeiffer plays a cougar educating a young man in the ways of love. Scandalous.

The Hurt Locker (Summit) Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Point Break, one of the most underrated, fantastic action movies ever, and was the first person to ever do a handheld foot chase scene, turns her eye to the Iraq War, a subject filmgoers have rejected many times before (Stop-Loss, Rendition, In the Valley of Elah). The film is a thriller about a bomb-disposal team near the end of their rotation deadline that has to deal with a volatile new sergeant (Jeremy Renner).

JULY 1

Public Enemies (Universal) Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) and Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

ransom. Based on the book and 1974 movie of the same name.

LaBeouf). But they’ll have to get through Optimus Prime and the

(Twentieth Century Fox) In the third installment in the Ice Age series, Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), Diego (Denis Leary), Ellie (Queen Latifah), Eddie (Josh Peck), Crash (Seann William Scott) and Scrat encounter a dinosaur, reptile and amphibian population, which survived extinction in its tropical paradise, which existed below the thick layers ... until now.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to Borat. If the trailer is any indication, Brüno, a flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter who travels the world reporting on the latest style trends, is going to be even more outrageously hilarious.

(New Line) Nick Cassavetes doing what he does best: making people cry. The film, starring Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin, is based on the novel about a young girl who sues her parents for the right to make her own decisions about how her body is used when a kidney transplant is needed to potentially save her older sister.

Food, Inc. (Magnolia)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Brüno (Universal)

My Sister’s Keeper

JUNE 12

JULY 4

JULY 10

Frank Ockenfels

Redneck survivalist Will (Danny McBride), has-been scientist Dr. Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell) and research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) in Land of the Lost

(Sony Pictures Classics) No one really knows that a Woody Allen film is about until it’s released … and sometimes, even then, there are still questions. Whatever Works is rumored to be about an older man, Larry David filling in for Allen, who no longer stars as himself, dating a young Southern belle (Evan Rachel Wood stepping into the role that Scarlett Johansson has filled so often lately in Allen’s films). The pair fall in love, but can their worlds come together? Seriously, how about the fact that those two dating is just grody?

doggedly follows gangster John Dillinger (Depp) and others in an attempt to curb a rampant Chicago crime spree during the 1930s.

Michael Mann updates the good old Untouchables-style ganger film starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi and Channing Tatum. The film follows FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) as he

(Fox Atomic) The last night of high school takes an unexpected turn after geeky grad Denis Cooverman declares his love for hottie cheerleader Beth Cooper (Hayden Panettiere playing a cheerleader as usual) in his valedictorian speech. Directed by Chris Columbus and backed by the studio that brought you Turistas, we wouldn’t put our money on this being very good.

Soul Power (Sony Pictures Classics) Remember “The Rumble in the Jungle,” the legendary fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire? There was a three-day music festival held that coincided with the fight and featured acts like B.B. King, James Brown and Celia Cruz. Directed

by When We Were Kings editor Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Soul Power documents that 1974 concert.

JULY 17

(500) Days of Summer (Fox Searchlight) Marc Webb’s directorial debut was one of the best films at the Sundance Film Festival. Starring Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this is not a love story, it’s a story about love … and that’s what makes it brilliant.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.)

You know him, you love him, he’s Harry Potter, this time in his sixth year CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

«

Astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has an intensely personal encounter after a three-year stay on the moon where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY

Starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric, the film follows an unhappy housewife who hires a hit man from the Internet to kill her, but the two fall in love.

film

8 | Campus Circle

film

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

summer film guide

« CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Starring High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens and tween pop star Alyson Michalka of Aly & AJ.

Jaap Buitendijk

government desperately wanted the story that director Louie Psihoyos exposes to remain uncovered. A group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Richard O’Barry, infiltrated a cove near Taiji, Japan, to expose shocking animal abuse and a serious threat to human existence and health.

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (Paramount Vantage) Legendary used-car salesman Don Ready (Jeremy Piven) is hired by a flailing auto dealership to turn their

AUG. 21

Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Company) An American-led killing squad known as “The Basterds” was sent on a mission to brutalize and terrorize the Nazis in German-occupied France during World War II. It’s Quentin

Funny People

at Hogwarts.

The kids are getting older, the movies are getting darker and this one brings the death of a beloved character.

Humpday (Magnolia) This Sundance darling is about two straight best guy friends who decide to make a porn film and submit it to a film festival.

JULY 24

The Answer Man (Magnolia) Jeff Daniels stars as the reclusive author of a spirituality book titled Me

Orphan (Warner Bros.)

After their unborn baby dies, a couple, played by Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard, decide to adopt a child. And, you guessed it, the little girl they bring home might be the devil.

Another creepy-kid movie starring Vera Farmiga that will probably fade into obscurity just like Joshua did.

The Ugly Truth (Columbia) A loud-mouthed, womanizing, machismo morning TV show correspondent (Gerald Butler) makes a bet with his love-challenged newly assigned producer (Katherine Heigl): If his tips on how to land and keep a

Lorna’s Silence (Sony Pictures Classics) Written and directed by Cannes Film Festival darlings, brothers JeanPierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, the film follows Lorna, an illegal immigrant from Albania, who agrees to an arranged marriage scheme with Claudy, a drug addict, to acquire Belgian citizenship.

They Came From Upstairs (Twentieth Century Fox) A group of teenagers, including High School Musical’s Ashley Tisdale and Step Up 2’s Robert Hoffman, fight to protect their Maine vacation home from the aliens who have taken over the attic.

AUG. 7

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Paramount)

Saeed Adyani

Go Joe! One of the best toys of the ’80s makes the leap to the big screen.

All I know is, this movie had better be awesome. And knowing is half the battle.

Julie & Julia (Columbia) Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in The Ugly Truth.

and God, which is hugely successful 20 years after it was first published.

When a single mother (Lauren Graham) and a young man just getting out of rehab (Lou Taylor Pucci) come to him looking for answers to the meaning of life, he has to admit, he has no clue.

The film also stars Kat Dennings (Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) and Olivia Thirlby (Juno), who are practically interchangeable in the indie film scene.

In The Loop (IFC) A political farce about what happens when the U.S. president and UK prime minister team up to create a war. Not “The” war, just a war.

Starring My Girl’s Anna Chlumsky, James Gandolfini, Tom Hollander and Peter Capaldi.

guy don’t work, he’ll quit the business.

Guess which man she lands? Duh, that’s why it’s a romantic comedy.

JULY 29

Adam (Fox Searchlight) When Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into her new apartment, she meets and falls for her handsome neighbor, Adam (Hugh Dancy). But this isn’t another boy-meets-girl by-thenumbers romance. Adam has Asperger’s syndrome, making him basically a high-functioning autistic.

JULY 31

The Cove (Roadside Attractions) This documentary had to be shot as a covert mission using state-of-theart equipment because the Japanese

Based on Julie Powell’s memoir about deciding to spend her 30th year tackling all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, as well as Child’s posthumously released autobiography, the film interweaves the story of Julie (Amy Adams) and Julia (Meryl Streep who will, no doubt, get another Oscar nom for this role.)

Paper Heart

(Overture) Super hipster artist Charlyne Yi created a mockumentary about what love means to different people set around the narrative of what happens as she’s courted by her real-life boyfriend, Michael Cera.

AUG. 14

Bandslam (Summit) A group of unlikely high school friends come together to form a rock group and compete in their school’s upcoming Battle of the Bands.

Tracy Bennett

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’s Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe

(Universal) Judd Apatow’s third film is about a beloved comedian, played by Adam Sandler, who decides to take an up and comer (Seth Rogen) under his wing when he learns he has a terminal, inoperable health condition.

(l to r) Leslie Mann, Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen and Eric Bana in Judd Apatow’s Funny People

Fourth of July sale into a blowout extravaganza. It’s Ari Gold gone low rent.

Tarantino’s version of Saving Private Ryan.

It Might Get Loud

When Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel) can’t find a good job after graduating from college, she moves back in with her oddball family to reconsider her options.

(Sony Pictures Classics) It Might Get Loud, directed by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), is a documentary about the electric guitar as seen by rock icons Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White.

Spread (Anchor Bay) Set in a grotesque version of Los Angeles, where everyone’s either a gigolo or a gold digger, Ashton Kutcher stars as Nicki, a homeless, jobless drifter who spends his life finding women to pleasure in return for food and shelter. This was one of the weaker films at Sundance, which only got distribution because of Kutcher.

Taking Woodstock (Focus Features) Ang Lee’s film, which will debut at the Cannes Film Festival, is about what happens when a young man, struggling to keep his parents’ motel afloat, inadvertently sets in motion the historical, generation-defining event known as Woodstock.

The Time Traveler’s Wife (New Line) Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the film stars Eric Bana as a Chicago librarian who is born with a gene that causes him to involuntarily time travel. Obviously, that tends to create issues in his life, especially with his wife, played by Rachel McAdams.

Post Grad (Fox Searchlight)

AUG. 28

The Boat That Rocked (Universal) In the 1960s the best music on the radio was coming from an illegal radio station run by a band of rogue DJs on a ship in the middle of Britain’s North Sea, a neutral territory that allowed them to play whatever they wanted without censorship by the government. This is where “Pirate Radio” began. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh, written and directed by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral).

Final Destination: Death Trip 3D (New Line) You know how the Final Destination movies work by now; someone’s supposed to die (This time it’s Nick Zano.), they evade it and death comes hunting after them for the rest of the film leaving a sea of carnage in its wake. But, now it’s in 3D.

H2 (Dimension) They’re calling it “Halloween 2,” but this is actually the 10th film in the Halloween series. Rob Zombie, who directed the 2007 remake, returns for a second trip to Haddonfield, Ill.

Diego Luna

Gael García Bernal “WONDERFUL! VERY FUNNY!” -Ty Burr, BOSTON GLOBE

“A CROWD PLEASER!” -David Fear, TIME OUT NY

OFFICIAL SELECTION

OFFICIAL SELECTION

FILM FESTIVAL

FILM FESTIVAL

SUNDANCE

TRIBECA

From the creators of Y Tu Mamá Tambien A new comedy by Carlos

Cuarón

Produced by

Alfonso Cuarón Alejandro González Iñárritu Guillermo Del Toro A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE CHA CHA CHÁ IN ASSOCIATION WITH FOCUS FEATURES INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS “RUDO Y CURSI” GAEL GARCIA BERNAL DIEGO LUNA GUILLERMO FRANCELLA AND SPECIAL APPEARANCE BY DOLORES HEREDIA CASTING MANUEL TEIL SOUND DESIGN MARTÍN HERNÁNDEZ ORIGINAL SCORE FELIPE PÉREZ SANTIAGO COSTUME DESIGN ANNA TERRAZAS AND ANNAI RAMOS PRODUCTION DESIGN EUGENIO CABALLERO EDITED BY ALEX RODRÍGUEZ CINEMATOGRAPHY ADAM KIMMEL LINE PRODUCER TITA LOMBARDO PRODUCER FRIDA TORRESBLANCO PRODUCED BY ALFONSO CUARÓN ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU GUILLERMO DEL TORO WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CARLOS CUARÓN www.sonyclassics.com

SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON

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STARTS FRIDAY, MAY 8 IN NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES! VIEW TRAILER AT WWW.RUDOYCURSIMOVIE.COM

film

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

screen shots | B Y

film notes | reviews

ZACH HINES

All sequels and remakes today, folks. That’s just the state of things right now. Some are good ideas, some don’t make any sense at all, but if this is what the money people will write the checks for, what can you do?

First up is something I’m actually excited about because it involves one of my favorite filmmakers.

Tilda Swinton tries to flip the script in Julia.

in fact Tilda, trying her hand at a woman not uncommon in America.

Grade: B+ —China Bialos Julia releases in select theaters May 8.

Sex and the City 2

Julia

Surprised? Didn’t think so. When you make the kind of money the first film did you can bet your ass there’s going to be a sequel. All the usual suspects will be back, along with director Michael Patrick King.

Generally when something works it kicks off a big trend and everyone else clamors to follow. Considering that Sex and the City: The Movie made so much money and is getting a sequel, are other hit TV shows going to follow?

Will a series get a film before it goes off the air, or is the new protocol to do a movie after the show goes off the air in order to Get ready for Sex and the City 2. extend the money-making past the show’s departure from TV? One thing is for sure, the new rule of thumb in movie making is “if you do two, you have to do three.” Maybe Sex and the City 3 will tackle the subject of senior citizen dating.

(Magnolia) An alcoholic in financial need, Julia (Tilda Swinton) meets Elena (Kate del Castillo), a nervous neighbor, at an AA meeting she’s Love N’ Dancing forced to attend and in turn accepts an (Screen Media) offer to kidnap Elena’s son from his Writer and producer Tom Malloy wealthy grandfather on the basis of (The Attic) plays Jake Mitchell, a deaf financial reward for herself and a swing dance champion with lots of mother-son reunion for Elena. insecurities. Although he has won the However, Julia twists her own plot, US Open Swing Competition two and Elena becomes obsolete. We see years in a row, he does not believe in Julia then escape to Tijuana with the his movements. Thinking he was young Tom (Aidan Gould, destined to given the title out of sympathy for his become the next “Chunk” à la disability, Jake gives up competing and Goonies), and foil her own criminal becomes a dance instructor. plans.

Swinton’s claimed that her character is a woman not in touch with her maternal instinct. Yet this is a terribly inaccurate description – in a motel room, she instructs the half-naked, kidnapped Tom to wash the shit off himself, to drink down all of his water and take the pills that’ll make him feel better, and nurses him with water when he’s collapsed from dehydration in the desert. An odd twist on motherhood, but it’s there through the film’s inconclusive ending. Julia is a woman who’s nurturing despite her hard facade, and even in striving to become a millionaire through her crime, ensures that her subject is well-cared for, just as she, even while living as a criminal, only wishes to be taken care of, her only real goal one of finances.

Amy Smart and Tom Malloy in Love N’ Dancing There’s also a moment that’s uncomfortably Murmur of the Heart, sans intercourse and shared blood, Jessica Donovan, played by Amy and rather gripping sound editing, Smart (Crank, Just Friends), is a sad used via a deafening rumble of Union English teacher, as described by one of Station’s trains, nasal breathing, the her students. Engaged to Kent (Billy click of heels on every floor. The thrill in this thriller, really, is due largely to sound, as well as the film’s final scenes, making it easy to not just to see but experience, alongside Julia, her stress, her confusion, her sensory overload in a city whose language she doesn’t speak. And just as this is the case, it is Void only when you realize she’s repulsively May 8 @ Mark Goodson swaggering or licking her lips, trying Theater so very hard to retain a masculine You know what? I’m a big pride, that you more easily separate fan of the cinema. And free yourself from her and notice that she’s

Drop Dead Fred – Again Universal is developing a remake of Drop Dead Fred. Interestingly enough, I used to watch that film all the time when I was a little kid. The original starred Phoebe Cates (Gremlins) as a woman whose childhood imaginary friend, Fred, comes back when she’s grown up and wreaks havoc on her life.

I probably wouldn’t dig it now as much as I did when I was little because the film probably has more of an appeal to children, but from what I understand, Universal is going over the top with this one. From the press release they’ve compared their new version to Beetlejuice.

The project is apparently being developed for Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) to play the role of Fred, who was played by British actor Rik Mayall in the original. No director is attached yet, but Dennis McNicholas who wrote the upcoming Land of the Lost adaptation starring Will Ferrell, is writing the script.

What I find amusing about this is Hollywood is starting to remake films that came out in the ’90s. That’s sad.

Courtesy of Screen Media Films

New Line Cinema

Oliver Stone is returning to direct a sequel to his 1987 hit film Wall Street that starred Michael Douglas in the Oscar-winning role of Gordon Gekko. Who can forget that classic line, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed works.” The film also starred Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen playing father and son characters.

I think this is a very appropriate film to make given that the events and attitudes of the first film brought us to where we are right now. I understand that Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) will be playing a young Wall Street trader much like Sheen in the original and, of course, Douglas is returning as Gekko. This one is going to be awesome, just you wait.

Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Oliver Stone to Direct Wall Street Sequel

staff pick

Zane), a money crazed workaholic, she is amazed and rocked when she sees Jake and his former partner Corinne (Nicola Royston) show a few dance moves at the school assembly.

Deciding that she wants to learn swing for her wedding, Jessica signs up for private lessons with Jake. As with any drama about sad, unsatisfied women, after taking a few dance lessons Jessica starts to change. She starts using contacts instead of glasses, wears sexier and more stylish clothing and makeup, does her hair differently and even her body language changes.

Missing the allure of the dance floor and the adrenaline of the competition, Jake convinces Jessica to be his partner for the next US Open, although he believes they don’t have a shot at winning. With all the long hours spent practicing, it is not long before Jake and Jessica want to become partners in other adventures in life.

Although the extraordinary dance moves and fantastic music has the audience craving their own private lessons, the acting is disappointing. In one scene, Jake expresses concern about not being able to connect with their audience and judges. What Robert Iscove, Love N’ Dancing’s director, does not realize is that Malloy and Smart are not able to emotionally connect with their audience and end up coming across as corny and trite.

The conversations and dialogues occur as if the actors are reading from the script. Malloy’s performance is similar to a soap opera actor, with useless facial expressions and unnecessary drama. Furthermore, Jessica’s constant optimism and interest and Jake’s invariable insecurities become annoying after the first few scenes, making the only good thing about this movie, apart from the music and dancing, Caroline Rhea’s performance.

Grade: D —Farnaz Youshei Love N’ Dancing releases in select theaters May 8.

Revanche (Janus) It’s a quiet thriller less gripping and more easily emotionally latched onto; Revanche follows the increasing connection between brothel assistant Alex (a greasy Johannes Krisch) and Robert (Andreas Lust), a cop.

To solve their debts, Alex plots out a one-man bank robbery and invites his Ukrainian prostitute girlfriend, CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

hooch ain’t bad, either. Check out Void – director Meredith Berg’s short film that will be screening at the Mark Goodson Theater. The cast and crew will also be on tap to chat afterwards.

8 p.m.

—Ebony March

«

10 | Campus Circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

SPECIAL FEATURES

finally arrive on DVD. One of the first animated shows imported from Japan, “Gigantor” premiered in the mid-’60s.

This first volume contains 26 restored episodes, plus commentary tracks and the original comic books.

Major Releases

Under the Radar

Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in Last Chance Harvey, a solid if unoriginal romance that is remarkable for the sole fact that it is intended for adults. It’s a pleasant film, with great London locations and two charming leads.

Wendy and Lucy is the latest from Old Joy director Kelly Reichardt. Michelle Williams stars as a poor young woman traveling across the country with her dog who gets stranded in a small town when her car breaks down. She has little money to fix her car,and her only companion has gone missing. It’s a micro-budget indie for fans of minimalist, verité-style films.

Winona Ryder, Ray Romano and the criminally underutilized Wes Bentley star in The Last Word,a little romantic comedy

dvd dish | B Y

MIKE SEBASTIAN

“

film poses as an amnesiac’s boyfriend after he hit her with his car. When the actual boyfriend shows up and her memories return, things get dicey.

Also Available: A Little Princess, Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills

IMPRESSIVE, SEDUCTIVE AND EVOCATIVE.”

- Stephen Rebello, PLAYBOY

The Vault As part of their ongoing Greatest Classic Films collections, Turner Classic Movies is releasing several new sets, including WWII: Battlefront Europe, WWII: Battlefront Asia, John Wayne Westerns, Western Adventures, American Musicals and Broadway Musicals.

These inexpensive sets are a great way to beef up your collection, with four films in each, including: The Wild Bunch, Jeremiah Johnson, Rio Bravo, The Searchers, The Dirty Dozen, Singin’ in the Rain and Meet Me in St. Louis.

about a poet who writes suicide notes for the soon-to-be departed who gets romantically involved with a client’s sister.

Just Another Love Story is the ironically titled new film from Danish filmmaker Ole Bornedal, director of the cult favorite Nightwatch. Nominated for the Sundance Jury Prize, it’s like a darkly twisted take on the Sandra Bullock rom-com While You Were Sleeping. A disaffected crime scene photographer

Campus Circle | 11

Singer’s sharp entries make up for it. It’s a perfect, effects-filled series for Blu-ray.

Imported John Howard Davies, producer of such British series as “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”and “Mr.Bean”co-created “The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin”

“ MIND

BLOWINGLY BEAUTIFUL”.

- Gabe Doppelt, W MAGAZINE

Javier BELTRÁN as Federico García Lorca

Robert PATTINSON as Salvador Dalí

Matthew McNULTY as Luis Beñuel

Marina GATELL as Magdalena

Funny Business Stand up comedy is in dire straits.

It seems that in a time of public figures like Sarah Palin and Rod Blagojevich who are walking parodies, the only kind of comedy that can keep up is improv-based, absurdist humor from the Frat Pack to “The Office.”

So Adam Ferrara’s new special, Funny as Hell, feels a bit like watching a one-man show version of a sitcom.

There’s a few chuckles along the way, but his anecdotal,“I just broke up with my girlfriend and let me tell you about it” style is on the whole toothless and anachronistic.

Blu Notes Now that Wolverine’s in theaters, bone up on your X-Men mythology with

with author David Nobbs (based on his novel). It’s a hilarious satire of the rat race, a portrait of a respectable company man at wits’ end. Originally premiering in 1976, all three seasons are collected here. They remain surprisingly fresh.

Hailing from the distant future of 2000 A.D., Gigantor the giant robot and his boy master, Jimmy Sparks

Neo-Neo Realism DVDs: FACTOTUM BARCELONA ARIA FILMS AND MET FILM PRESENTATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH APT FILMS REGENT ENTERTAINMENT AND KATAPULT FILM SALES “LITTLE ASHES” JAVIER BELTRÁN ROBERT PATTINSON MATTHEW McNULTY MARINA GATELL ESTHER NUBIOLA BRUNO ORO WITH SIMÓN ANDREU VICKY PEÑA AND ARLY JOVER AS “GALA” LINE PRODUCER FERNANDO BOFILL SOUND RECORDIST JAUME MELÉNDEZ CASTING BY MERCÈ ESPELLETA MAKE UP & HAIR DESIGN PATRICIA REYES COSTUME DESIGNER ANTONIO BELART PRODUCTION DESIGNER PERE FRANCESCH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY MIGUEL MERA EDITOR RACHEL TUNNARD DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM SUSCHITZKY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS STEPHEN P. JARCHOW PAUL COLICHMAN DEBRA STASSON LUKE MONTAGU CO-PRODUCERS PHILIPPA GOSLETT STEWART LE MARÉCHAL PRODUCERS CARLO DUSI JONNY PERSEY JAUME VILALTA WRITTEN BY PHILIPPA GOSLETT A FILM BY PAUL MORRISON A REGENT RELEASE OF A

the X-Men Trilogy now in hi-def. Each film comes in double-disc special editions and includes digital copies. Sure Brett Ratner’s third film was a bore, but Bryan

1) Wanda 2) Wendy and Lucy 3) Mala Noche 4) Ballast 5) Killer of Sheep 6) Chop Shop 7) Raising Victor Vargas 8) Half Nelson 9) George Washington 10) Man Push Cart 11) Our Song 12) All the Real Girls 13) Frozen River —Angela Matano

© 2008. FACTOTUM BARCELONA SL / LITTLE ASHES LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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12 | Campus Circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

A Bond Between Brothers and Friends

Ivonne Venegas, Sony Pictures Classics

BY SASHA PERL-RAVER THE CONGLOMERATE OF TALENT INVOLVED IN RUDO Y CURSI consists of some of the best and brightest Mexican filmmakers working in Hollywood today.

Y tu mamá también scribe Carlos Cuarón makes his directorial debut by pairing real-life best friends Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna and having the behind-the-scenes support of the film’s producers – all usually directors – Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy), Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 Grams, Amores perros) and Carlos’ brother, Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Children of Men). The film is a coming out party for Carlos witnessed by his closest friends and collaborators.

García Bernal describes the group dynamic as supportive, compassionate, creative and emboldening.

“I think we’re very good at Rudo y Cursi’s Beto (Diego Luna) and Tato pushing each other to make ourselves (Gael García Bernal) better,” he says, smiling a warm, easy grin and fluttering his Snuffalophagus eyelashes. “We help each other, we push each other, we rival each other in the most sane and healthy of competitions, which is to make ourselves better.”

Del Toro has a lighter take on the group’s fiercely loyal friendship, saying, “This is the Darwinian process of all the sub-species who didn’t play football, the kids who got beaten up at school; we got together. This is like Revenge of the Nerds. This is the nerd squad.”

The Hellboy director describes Rudo y Cursi as “a very simple fable about two brothers who look for fame and riches and find at the end of the day that the real treasure they have is each other. Said like that, it sounds like a real Hollywood movie, but what is great is the way Carlos re-interrupts that formula.”

But the film is also largely about sibling rivalry and jealousy; it’s Cain and Abel on a soccer field as two banana farming brothers get scouted on their local “football” field and suddenly find themselves in Mexico City playing against one another in the big leagues. The film could easily be seen as slightly autobiographical, a fictional account of the loving yet combative relationship that exists between the Cuarón brothers.

“Every brother is an ally and every brother is a rival,” del Toro muses.

“I’ve known them for 22 years. All I’ve seen is them being great collaborators, [but] Alfonso will always be the older brother, no matter what. He’s a sort of mentor in that way.”

“The dynamic between brotherhood is completely universal,” García Bernal adds. “But, at the same time, anyone who has a brother, either a blood brother or a chosen brother or sister, would empathize with and recognize this dynamic.”

As part of Cuarón’s chosen brotherhood, both del Toro and García Bernal are quick to dismiss any mention of this being Carlos’ first movie.

“Carlos, in reality is a first-time filmmaker, but he understands films better than people who have done 10 films in a row,” García Bernal contends.

“We’re here as glorified bodyguards; the bouncers at the club. He’s the owner,” del Toro laughs.

Besides being Carlos’ official feature film debut, the film is the first to reunite García Bernal and Luna since Y tu mamá también, a highly anticipated repairing, though, del Toro says, it’s not the most appropriate casting.

He reveals, “These guys could not be further apart from these characters. … Diego playing Rudo is such a stretch because Diego’s so nice. He wants to be loved, and he wants to make everything easy. And Gael playing Cursi? Gael is really focused and determined. He’s not a child. They do a great job. They couldn’t be more different from Y tu mamá también and yet, the one thing that remains true is the incredible chemistry between the two of them.”

Rudo y Cursi releases in select theaters May 8.

Simon (Devon Bostwick) and Tom (Scott Speedman) in Adoration

ADORATION

A teenage boy dangerously weaves fact and fiction.

BY SASHA PERL-RAVER IN HIS 12TH FILM, ADORATION, writer-director Atom Egoyan once again investigates the themes he’s committed so much of his previous work to: emotional and literal terrorism, perceived reality and a fractured family dynamic.

The film revolves around Simon (Devon Bostick, who has shades of a thinking man’s Jay Baruchel), the teenage son of a Palestinian father and Caucasian mother who both died when he was a child. He has since been raised by his uncle, Tom (played with brilliant restraint and unexpected depth by Underworld star Scott Speedman).

When his French teacher (Arsinée Khanjian, Egoyan’s wife, muse and frequent collaborator) asks her class to translate a news story about a terrorist who planted a bomb in the luggage of his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child at the time, Simon takes the assignment and re-imagines it as a fictional first person account of his own family as a way of deciphering the events that led to his parent’s death.

With the encouragement of his teacher, Simon continues to fan the fires of his story, passing it off as the truth, until it eventually makes its way onto the Internet, sparking rabid debates and a venomous backlash.

The story has been sitting on the back burner of Egoyan’s mind since 1986 when he came across a news story that stunned and haunted him.

“A Jordanian man talked his Irish girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child, onto an El Al flight and, unbeknownst to her, he’d planted a bomb in her bag,” Egoyan recounts, a tremor of alarm still lingering in his voice. “At the last moment he decided he couldn’t take the flight, so he was basically using her as a detonator for this bomb.”

In 2006, the story resurfaced when the man, Nezar Hindawi, who is currently serving the longest jail sentence in British history, became eligible for parole and proved to be entirely unrepentant or remorseful about his actions.

“I couldn’t imagine how someone

film notes | reviews « CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

identity to protect himself while deciding whether to seek revanche, retaliation, on the cop who’s damaged his life by murdering his

love.

Along the way to revenge, he gets tangled up with Robert’s wife Susanne (Ursula Strauss), who’s hiding from her own husband that it is his infertility that’s prevented her from getting pregnant. Alex makes his way into Robert’s home via Susanne, but Susanne uses Alex as a way to achieve the pregnancy that Robert cannot offer her. Secrets are kept from all, and Robert is forced to live in Revanche’s Alex (Johannes Krisch) and Susanne (Ursula Strauss) guilt, while unaware of how he’s connected to Alex, either through Alex’s connection leading to the accidental shooting to Tamara or the rendezvous he’s had death of Tamara, Alex has to with Susanne. simultaneously execute a life of quiet Tamara (Irina Potapenko), along for the ride. When Alex’s quick and simple robbery is unexpectedly interrupted by a nosy cop (Lust),

Lukas Beck

RUDO Y CURSI

Sophie Giraud, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

film

could abstract a loved one like that,” Egoyan says, shaking his head. “That has to be the most extreme example of someone who is apparently just evil.”

As he was molding and shaping the story, Egoyan worked in other elements that spoke to him and can be found as a common thread throughout much of his work.

“The notion of sincerity and where feelings are, how they’re passed on, is an endless subject of fascination for me,” he smiles, shyly. “Roles we feel we should play as opposed to who we really are.”

Truth of character is something that deeply resonates with Egoyan, which is why casting is often a painstaking process for him. The first major hurdle in making Adoration was finding a young actor who could carry the emotionally demanding lead role of Simon without turning the audience against him when he makes opprobrious decisions.

“Devon was just an incredible gift,” Egoyan says. “There was such a sincerity to him, which is really rare.

There’s something endearing about him. This character could have been incredibly manipulative and reprehensible, and what he does is really irresponsible, but I just knew, with Devon, it could feel like there was something sincere about it.”

The final piece of the puzzle came in casting the role of Simon’s uncle, Tom, which was originally written for an older actor. Speedman, who campaigned tirelessly for the role, convinced Egoyan that the character had the potential to be more tragic and compelling if it were a man who’d given up his 20s, rather than his 30s, to care for his sister’s child. “[Scott] was incredibly insistent on auditioning, and I was insistent that he was too young,” says Egoyan.“When we finally connected it was amazing to see that character with a whole other dimension I hadn’t anticipated.”

Adoration releases in select theaters May 8.

Set in Vienna, Revanche is unmistakably European, foreshadowing not with a wink – the way most American films of this plot would – but with utmost solemnity.

And then there’s a marvelous primal quality to the characters, who act on instinct and with sudden movement.

From the initial rock thrown solidly into a body of water, which we later find comes from Alex’s arm just after encountering and perhaps finding peace with Robert, to the way Alex shoots off his bed in a reversesomersault upon Tamara’s arrival, to the realistic love scenes we’re intruding on – all characters are portrayed with human truth here, and there’s nothing glamorous or exaggerated that comes, nor an ending of more than simple acceptance.

Grade: A—China Bialos Revanche releases in select theaters May 8.

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

college central | B Y

NICOLE BOISVERT

GRAD DINING GUIDE Where to Grub When It’s Time to Celebrate … (With the ’Rents)

You’re graduating – congratulations! This means you’re on your own, it’s time for a job and your parents are about to cut you off.

Translation: You better really enjoy your final goodbye meal on them after commencement, because from now on your on-your-own-diet will probably consist of Top Ramen and fast food pit stops. It’s a tough job market out there, but at least you’ll be able to face it with a full stomach!

Benihana (benihana.com): You still haven’t outgrown the erupting volcano, fried rice beating, heart-and-shrimp-tail-flipping, and neither have we. At Benihana, you know you just can’t possibly go wrong. From delicious fried rice to steak, chicken and shrimp, you’ll leave very satisfied and delighted from watching the chef at work along the way.

Crustacean (9646 Little Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; 310-205-8990): For you graduates

Feast of a plate of killer garlic rolls at C & O Trattoria.

(Palmer Room at Cucina Paradiso; 3387 Motor Ave., Los Angeles; 866-4960535): Sure the future seems like a mystery, and so too can be your graduation dinner and show. While you try and solve the crime, feast on Grilled King Salmon or Beef Tenderloin among other dishes and delectable desert options. A fun experience for the whole family, it’s Catch the action at Benihana.

who feel like a small fish in a giant pond, even if you are feeling a little uneasy about the times to come, I assure you that you will not feel seasick any longer when you experience all this restaurant has to offer. The restaurant’s lovely ambiance includes a serpentine aquarium winding through the cocktail lounge that leads you to the French Colonial-themed main dining room. From Asian tapas to incredible

seafood to a menu for the “Crustacean Lite Vegetarian,” this restaurant has got it down!

your own impending future.

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill (189 The Grove Drive, Los Angeles; 323-937-6800): If you’re looking for an All-American menu, and you aren’t afraid to get your hands a little sticky, check out the Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill at the Grove. They might be known for their ribs, but you should know there is also a lot more on the menu if you aren’t feeling the barbecue. Other options include seafood, prime rib or a refreshing salad. It’s upscale without being too proper, so you can enjoy a casual but delicious meal!

Yamashiro (1999 N. Sycamore Ave., Hollywood; 323-466-5125): Tucked away in the Hollywood Hills, Yamashiro has unparalleled “Calasian cuisine” in the setting of a Japanese palace.

You are sure to feel like graduated royalty when you look out at the Hollywood and downtown L.A. skyline and feast on sushi, lobster, filet mignon and Kobe beef.

Engine Co. No. 28 (644 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles; 213-6246996): Maybe you want to start off your post-grad journey not by setting sail, but by fire truck? Reminiscent of the classic grills of San Francisco and New York, the menu at Engine Co. No. 28 is inspired by the regional cooking of country-wide firehouses – and it is delicious! With a menu ranging from fried chicken (get it, trust me!) to pastas of all kinds and their famous meatloaf, fire up your post-graduation with Engine Co. No. 28.

The Ivy (113 N. Robertson Blvd., Los Angeles; 310-274-8303): Hopefully you will have a white picket fence of your own someday, but in the meantime start your post-grad journey with a restaurant that has one of its own. The Ivy attracts all the celebrities, who choose the Ivy for the comfy, warm atmosphere where

inner circle

Lawry’s The Prime Rib Sir Winston’s (1126 Queen’s Highway, Long Beach; 562(100 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly 499-1657): Before you set sail after Hills; 310-652-2827): Since 1938 graduation and embark on new Lawry’s has been doing something journeys, first start by feasting at the right, and hopefully you’ll have the same success rate in your future endeavors. Lawry’s makes it their goal to make you feel like a privileged guest. Now, go ahead and eat like one. In a warm and luxurious atmosphere, choose from a variety of cuts of Prime Rib, lobster or salmon and lots and lots of Yorkshire pudding. With food cut at tableside, Lawry’s is certainly a “cut above the Feel like a “cut above the rest” at Lawry’s The Prime Rib. rest,” and so too are you, you graduate!

Queen Mary’s most elegant resMorton’s The Steak- taurant: Sir Winston’s. You can expect house (mortons.com): If you’re award-winning Continental and California cuisine as well as an looking for your classic upscale steak extensive wine list and panoramic restaurant, think about choosing views of the city. Consider finishing Morton’s, known for pleasing its off the night with a stay in one of the guests with unparalleled steaks. You ship’s 314 rooms, especially if you just can’t go wrong. Plus, when are have really tapped into that extensive you going to get another steak like wine list. that for a while? Think last-bang-foryour-buck, graduates!

Mystery Dinner

Larry D. Moore

C & O Trattoria (31 Washington Blvd., Marina del Rey; 310823-9491): If you’re looking for great Italian food and an even better time, choose this restaurant. C & O is known for serving plates and plates of killer garlic rolls, which you can now feast on since you don’t have to sit next to anyone in class, and for their nightly sing-along to “That’s Amore.”

Stand up and toast glasses with the ones you love, enjoy enormous portions for reasonable prices and a Venice Beach landmark known for its great food and even friendlier service.

Now that’s amore!

pillows adorn ever seat and certainly for the unbelievable food. You name it, the Ivy’s got it. You little graduated starlets deserve to eat like A-listers, so remember to book early!

Campus Circle | 13

Dine like royalty in the lush setting at Yamashiro.

sure to provide good fun and some definite laughs! A good option for you graduates looking to avoid parental questions surrounding the mystery of

Now choosing from this list is the hard part, but at least you know you have a college degree’s worth of experience to enlist in making your final decision. Wherever you choose to go, spend time with the people you love who are so proud of you and excited for you.

And good luck on the journey ahead. I bet it will be a great one! Now eat, graduates, eat!

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

live show reviews

spin cycle | l.a. dj culture

The Heartless Bastards

Paolo Nutini Showcase

Anna Webber

April 21 @ The Viper Room Following his performance at Coachella, Paolo Nutini played an intimate showcase luncheon at the Viper Room to debut his upcoming release, Sunny Side Up. The venue and his label (Atlantic) supplied the open bar and luncheon, however, it didn’t matter how drunk they got the guests, the music was phenomenal.

By the first song, enough honest sweat was flowing out of Nutini’s pores to mean he would not be letting up anytime soon – he’d done this before. Nutini has got the same Jonny Lang-

Paolo Nutini is adorable; his music phenomenal.

music

SATURDAY, MAY 9

Audiotistic NOS Event Center, 689 S. E St., San Bernardino; audiotisticfestival.com All ages/8 p.m./$50 advance

Anna Webber

April 21 @ Spaceland She’s what Stevie Ray Vaughan would look like without a soul patch and the Texasflooder Manny Gammage hat. There was a certain likeness – and the first immediate good sign.

She could have a wailing match on par with Caleb Followill, and her cracking, pitchy, snarling voice would surely win. If she wasn’t wearing little heels, she could probably jump around a little more, but dirty blues woman Erika Wennerstrom packs a punch and holds no mercy.

The Heartless Bastards took the stage and needless to say, the shimmery blue background of the bandstand disappeared, and the crowd was slammed into what could have been Townes Van Zandt’s Hole in the Wall in Austin, Texas, Wennerstrom’s hometown. Her little physique was no foolin’, and her strapping bronchial tubes tore through all the lonely ones out there saluting their Shiner Bocks dry.

The Heartless Bastards are a bare-bones band, whose sound may possibly be as enduring as the music genre they’ve landed in. —Anna Webber

Campus Circle | 15

Erika Wennerstrom of the Heartless Bastards

elated, scathing rasp and quiver, mixed with Jeff Buckley moans and lingering “oohs” during the sultry ballads that were to die for.

The timelessness of his music would throw a smile across anyone’s face and a chill down their spine as his boyish sincerity dabbled in Motown and blues, reggae and barbershop bebop. As he picked up what appeared to be a watered down whiskey, smiling, he said, “It’s the first one I’ve done of these things where everybody’s listening.”

Not because he’s not extraordinary, but because he can be seen most often playing at big music halls, bigger concert venues and music festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo.

His giddy Scottish accent would sometimes sound more like a thick island one. It was adorable.

In fact, all but one of the six-piece band is from Scotland. His 2007 record, These Streets, went platinum in the UK and sold about two million copies. Nutini played the single off of These Streets, “New Shoes,” which he is most notably known for.

He showed no deficit of talent and no elevated ego.

Keep an eye on Paolo Nutini and await the June 2 release of his Sunny Side Up. —Anna Webber

Each year Audiotistic separates itself from all of the typical “raves” with a full blown stage of live hip-hop acts alongside all of the electronic acts. This year Insomniac Events and Channel 36 have spared no expense to bring out some of the best in each genre. The Roots crew is stamped to headline the hip-hop stage as well as the Cool Kids, Z-Trip and Amanda Join Z-Trip, the Cool Kids, Amanda Blank and more!

Blank (Check her out!); not to mention a special reunion of Talib Kweli and DJ HiTek performing as Reflection Eternal.

If hip-hop isn’t your thing, no worries; Chromeo will be playing live and Does It Offend You Yeah? will be throwing down a DJ set. Armand Van Helden, Above & Beyond, Donald Glaude and Goldie will also be manning the decks, making Audiotistic one of the best yet.

FRIDAY, MAY 8 Pete Rock/Beat Junkies Nightlife @ The Echoplex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park; attheecho.com 18+/10 p.m./ $15 Legendary hip-hop producer Pete Rock crashes Nightlife at the Echoplex for a special May birthday celebration. Rock is lined up to rock the decks, which I’m sure won’t be anything short of amazing. His catalogue of music touches the soul and moves the body, whether it’s an instrumental jam off of Petestrumentals or a lyrically heavy track from Lost and Found.

Joining him are the resident Beat Junkies (J.Rocc, Babu, Rhettmatic and Mr. Choc), who have been affiliated with quite a few projects themselves. All in all, this will be heavenly night for any hardcore hip-hop head.

SATURDAY, MAY 9 All Out Dubstep The Echoplex 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park; smogla.com 21+/9 p.m./$10 Dubstep is quickly gaining popularity, and the supply of quality evenings doesn’t yet meet the demand. But Smog has taken care of that bringing you a full night of dirty dubstep.

The line up consists of Irk & Trickykid, Emu & Pawn, Steady, Kelly Dean, MC Sandor and Kemst; a crew from all over the globe. But the closer is Swedish duo L-Wiz performing To submit an event for a live set. If dubstep is your groove of choice, consideration, e-mail this event has your name written all over it. spincycle@campuscircle.net.

—Ryan McWhorter

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[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

music

cd reviews M A K I N G TH E G R A D E : A B C D F

EXC E PTI O N A L WO RTH W H I L E MEDIOCRE SAVE YOUR MONEY WILL BE ON HELL’S JUKEBOX

Chester French Love the Future (Interscope) If Chromeo and Rufus Wainwright procreated … they’d likely have horribly disfigured, three-headed hipster dandies as offspring. Luckily, the duo of Chester French prove that if said coupling were to ever happen, it would at least result in some musically gifted monstrosities.

Effortlessly mixing classical orchestral arrangements with an indie rock grittiness, do-it-alls D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey bring in everything from clapalong country folk to classic 1950s rock ’n’ roll to modern hiphop beats within the disc’s 13song course. While the songs feel more like a collection of singles at times than a cohesively planned album, each song does take on its own infectious personality, growing increasingly catchier with each listen.

Their strength undoubtedly lies in the more emotive slowjam tracks that show off Wallach’s vocal range, as with lead single “She Loves Everybody,” but if the Chester French boys can show this kind of artistry on their debut album, we’ll surely be loving what they’ve got in store next.

Grade: B+ —Brien Overly Love the Future is currently available.

music 101 | artist features

MAE

Redefining Success

B Y J O N AT H A N B A U T T S IN TODAY’S STRUGGLING ECONOMY and downward spiraling music industry, success is not what it once was, no longer determined by how many albums an artist sells.

“Success is redefined for us now,” Mae frontman Dave Elkins believes.

“For us, success is raising $35,000 in three and a half months independently. It’s going on tour with no label. If you sell out a room, that’s success. If you don’t sell out a room, the success comes in learning what we didn’t do correctly and how we can make sure that people will be coming to that city to see us play next time.”

Just a few years ago, Mae was on Capitol. Following two well-received releases on independent label Tooth & Nail, the band was poised to break out in a big way. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

Mae’s major label debut, Singularity, garnered a split reaction, with the band losing two members and splitting with Capitol along the way.

Elkins and the two remaining musicians, guitarist Zach Gehring and

drummer Jacob Marshall, found themselves at a crossroads, unsure of what to do next.

“We just didn’t really know why we would continue,” admits Elkins.

“We really needed a spark. We needed something that was going to grow into something bigger for us to understand our purpose, both individually as men and collectively as a band.”

The band found that purpose with a revolutionary new idea it has dubbed “12 songs. 12 months. 1 goal. Make a difference.” During 2009, the band will be releasing one digital download every month through its Web site, WhatIsMae.com.

All profits from the purchases will then be forwarded to humanitarian and charitable causes the band is sponsoring. Currently over $35,000 has been raised for Habitat For Humanity, which is building a house for a single mother and her three kids in Newport News, Va., close to where the group resides.

Mae will also be releasing a series of three EPs, entitled (m)orning,

B*SIDE PLAYERS Students of Music Celebrating Their Cultures B Y M A R V I N G . VA S Q U E Z

Crocodiles

TO CELEBRATE THEIR 15-YEAR career, the B*Side Players have released their latest album, Radio*Afro*Mexica.

“It is a balance of different music genres, which all root to Africa,” admits lead vocalist Karlos “Solrak” Paez.

Radio*Afro*Mexica consists of 14 songs that blend cumbia, funk, soul, reggae, afro-beat, salsa, son jarocho and jazz. Salsa is representative of Puerto Rico, cumbia of Colombia and son jarocho of Mexico.

At times, the B*Side Players have received comparisons like War meets Lenny Kravitz by way of Ben Harper.

“We all met in an African-

Summer of Hate (Fat Possum) San Diego’s surf and sand does not always compute to fun in the sun. Case in point: synthpunk Crocodiles, who thrive in the shadows. Charles Rowell and Brandon Welchez etch minimalist, doomy rock with a debt to the Velvet Underground, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Suicide. When Crocodiles sing

about hanging out in their bedroom solitude, during dirge descant “Soft Skull,” life centers around six-inch gashes, shotguns and lying beneath the blanket like a stranger in a strange land.

Scuzzy keyboards, gritty guitars, modified vocals and warped percussion wreck havoc on tracks

rhythmic class, so we are celebrating our pre-Hispanic culture, such as Azteca and Maya,” Paez indicates. “We are students of music still, and we are studying a lot.”

The charismatic Paez, who also plays guitar, relays that the B*Side Players are a multicultural sounding band.

“This is something that we have always done. We have incorporated different genres in our music,” he adds.

Some of the prominent songs on the album are “Angelita Perdida” (Lost Angel) and “La Bula” (The Boat). “‘Angelita Perdida’ is regarding a personal experience I had in the past,”

(a)fteroon and (e)vening, an acronym that coincidentally spells out the band’s name. The discs, which feature additional content that supplements the digital downloads, will be available for purchase at the band’s shows throughout the year, with (m)orning currently available.

Now completely self-supporting and running its own label, Cell Records, the band has encountered a new set of challenges.

“Sometimes it’s a no-brainer.

It’s like write good music, put it out there and play for people who like what you’re doing,” Elkins says. “But we also know that if it doesn’t get done, it only didn’t get done because we didn’t Dave Elkins, Jacob Marshall and Zach Gehring of Mae make it happen. We don’t have any blame to throw anywhere more ways than one. except for us and our resources, which “It’s felt like this is the first time is a learning experience.”

I’ve been in Mae, in some respects,” he These days, though, Elkins finds confesses. “That’s the most amazing little reason to complain. feeling to be doing this for basically “To have a record label at the age almost seven years now and feeling like of 27, to have produced this EP and a lot of things are happening for the these other EPs that are coming out, first time. The mission that we’re on and to have raised $35,000 in about now is exactly what we needed to get three and a half months – these are all us to where we are today.” dreams come true and some things I couldn’t even dream up when I was (m)orning is currently available. Mae younger and dreaming about what this will perform May 6 at Chain Reaction music life could be.” and May 7 at the Troubadour. For more For Elkins and the rest of Mae, information, visit whatismae.com. (m)orning has become a rebirth in

Paez says. “For six straight years, the band played nearly 300 concerts a year. It tore my marriage because it became second. So, I lost my love.”

Paez, who is based in San Diego along with the rest of the group, clarifies that he never meant to put this piece out on the record, but that it is a song talking about the process of learning from a lot of pain and suffering.

“Angelita Perdida” is a rather lowkey and sand song, but Paez’s vocals are superb. Moreover, the acoustic guitars in the background add a divine flavor that makes the tune complete.

“La Bula,” on the other hand, is an upbeat song describing the group’s experience of when touring in Mazatlán, Sinaloa in Mexico.

“The melody is about a friend and a boat in Mazatlán,” Paez describes. “It is about being on this boat. It also means hello and goodbye.”

The track also mentions how they eat ceviche and drink the local beer Pacifico. In brief, the single makes

filled with alienation, frustration and youthful withdrawal, such as electroclash cutlet “Refuse Angels,” which surges with a dance floor pulse, but is anything but comfortable.

Hidden underneath the reverb, distortion and corrosiveness, though, is an appreciation for melody, especially during fuzz-drenched “Flash

people want to dance, feeling the presence of live festivity.

Other notable songs are “Refugio” (Shelter), which is a tribute to Paez’s mother and “Poste” (Pole), a story about his grandfather. In addition, “Noche y Dia” is a tune speaking of everything he loves.

“It is cool to be bilingual. We like and strive for diversity. Nowadays, our crowd is both young and old. They are not just Latinos, but all cultures. Our crowds are getting bigger, too,” Paez says humbly.

Radio*Afro*Mexica is currently available. For more information, visit bsideplayers.com.

of Light,” unexpectedly poignant “Here Comes the Sky” and album-ending epic “Young Drugs,” akin to Spiritualized stripped to enervating essentials.

Grade: B —Doug Simpson CONTINUED ON PAGE 17

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16 | Campus Circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

music report | B Y

with myself, sometimes to a fault. I’m really outgoing and I’m a little scattered.”

Chances are that Donnelly won’t be scattered at all when she showcases material from the new record at the Roxy May 29. We Had a Thing drops a few days later on June 2.

KEVIN WIERZBICKI

LeToya’s Lady Love

partner in the fusion rock band OHM, The new album from former have joined forces with jam band Destiny’s Child singer masters Jake Cinnger, Joel LeToya will be called Lady Cummins and Kris Myer Love. LeToya earned a of Umphrey’s McGee to platinum certification with form a new band cleverly her 2006 self-titled debut, called Ohmphrey. and Lady Love will Magna Carta will be probably garner more releasing the band’s selfprecious metal as the titled debut May 19, and if album’s first single “Not you wonder what the Anymore”is already racing collaboration might sound up the charts. like you can preview the The song, written and entire album at the co-produced by Ne-Yo, Ohmphrey MySpace page. reaches out to female If you really like what you listeners in particular – it’s hear then you’ll want to about being tired of LeToya releases check out Ohmphrey in straying boyfriends. The Lady Love June 23. person when they open for new album is just one of the North Indiana All Stars the projects that LeToya’s been working at the Roxy May 14. on lately; she owns and operates two upscale women’s boutiques in Houston Lisa Donnelly: called Lady Elle, she’ll be co-starring in We Had a Thing the film The Preacher’s Kid releasing this She’s not in Kansas anymore! summer and she’s also about to begin Actually Lisa Donnelly hasn’t lived in pre-production on a comedy for her native Sunflower State for quite Lionsgate Films. some time. You might remember the Lady Love drops through Capitol L.A.-based pop singer from her time June 23. fronting A.M. Pacific, but now she’s about to release her debut as a solo artist, We Had a Thing.

OHM + Umphrey’s When asked to describe herself in McGee = Ohmphrey three words, Donnelly says “Oh! My! Former Megadeth guitarist Chris God!” but then adds, “I’m comfortable Poland and Robertino Pagliari, his

Christy Hemme is a rocker.

Former WWE diva Christy Hemme has reinvented herself as a rock musician. Hemme has been on the cover of Playboy and is currently a TNA knockout on Spike TV, but her current focus is on her just-released debut EP entitled Where Are You. The singer has spent the better part of this year trying to heal up after discovering that she had two herniated disks in her neck, and it’s only fitting that the first single from her band (simply called “Hemme”) is called

staff pick The Library Foundation of Los Angeles presents:

Steve Martin’s Big Bad Banjo and a Conversation with Dave Barry May 11 @ Club Nokia Steve Martin: A real square, charming and ageless, lacking irony

frequency | essential concerts | B Y May 6 @ Chain Reaction May 7 @ Troubadour There’s something about the Virginia natives of Mae that’s infectiously likeable. I can’t quite place what it is exactly, they just seem like such nice dudes.

They’re just so catchy, without having to venture into the trite and clichéd synth-y power-pop territory that some of their peers have opted to with varying degrees of (un)success. Emotive while still being simple and understated, the threesome somehow manage to pack a lot of feeling into a bare minimum of actual sound and just as impressively manage to put on an engaging live show with it as well.

Oh, and 100 percent of the proceeds from the band’s latest batch of downloadable songs goes straight

Summer of Hate is currently available.

Matthew Barber

Van Morrison

Keane May 9 @ The Palladium May 10 @ The Grove of Anaheim There are precious few bands

folk troubadours of today.

Ghost Notes is characterized in one word: simplicity. This is not to say the songs aren’t bursting with emotion, though. From the plaintive “Easily Bruised” to the upbeat piano-driven “I’m Gonna Settle My Accounts with You,” Barber’s soulful lyrics and soothing voice grab you by the

Luaka Bop’s Twenty First Year Luaka Bop is finally old enough to drink. The imprint, founded by former Talking Heads honcho David Byrne, has turned 21 years old and is celebrating with the May 26 release of a compilation CD called Twenty First Century, Twenty First Year.

The comp boasts 15 cuts that were issued over the past couple of decades by artists like Shuggie Otis, Jorge Ben, Os Mutantes, Tom Ze, Jim White, Susana Baca and of course, David Byrne. The variety of sounds featured on Luaka Bop recordings is so disparate that the label figures they reinvent themselves with every single release, and Byrne humorously says that the label’s staff is “just as confused as you are.”

whether at 30 or 60. So it should come as no surprise that he’s actually quite a swell banjo player, and on this night, he’ll be backed by the Steep Canyon Rangers for some selections from his bluegrass album, The Crow: New Songs for the FiveString Banjo, of which he gave a taste on “SNL” a few months back.

What makes Martin even easier to love? The show’s a benefit for the L.A. Public Library. —China Bialos

Keane are awe-inspiring live.

who can write songs entirely void of shredding of any sort whom I’ll willingly get behind, but somehow Keane just does it for me. I mean, I

heartstrings and won’t let go.

Grade: A —Yuri Shimoda Ghost Notes is currently available.

Nomo Invisible Cities (Ubiquity) Nomo’s sublime counterpart to

music an already unique band. Known for their electric kalimba side business, Nomo utilized their homemade instruments to play a predominant role throughout the entire nine-song listen.

Although both albums were recorded at roughly the same time, they are two different beasts. Each album seems to build an empire of soul that the band thrives on.

“Waiting” is perhaps the finest song produced out of the joint venture of both albums. Not far behind is the title track and “Patterns.”

Invisible Cities offers nine reasons why Nomo pushes the envelope of genre classification: They’re just too damn good for any label.

Grade: A+ —Richard Castañeda Invisible Cities is currently available.

Sinem Saniye guess what pianists Tom Chaplin and Tim RiceOxley do when they get behind the keys really is the classical equivalent of the thrashiest of guitar solos … so technically this isn’t a breaking of my standards at all.

With Chaplin taking a cue from Brandon Flowers in his vocal style for the band’s latest work, the Sussex trio has breathed some new coolness into their already emotive and artfully arranged music.

Regardless of style, however, Chaplin’s impressive vocal range is nothing short of aweinspiring when heard live, so get thee to a Ticketmaster already.

last year’s Ghost Rock features a more robust rhythm section that has a jazzier, organic feel to it than Ghost Rock’s electronica vibe.

Recorded over the last year, Invisible Cities picks up where the last album left off and adds personality to CONTINUED

«

Ghost Notes (Outside Music) This latest album from the Junonominated singer-songwriter from Toronto cements a place for him on the short list of great, country-inspired

to charity. Charity. What good deed have you done today?

May 8, & 9 @ The Orpheum It’s not often I put artists in Frequency whom I know my parents are familiar with, let alone approve of themselves, but I’m willing to take a break from the usual skinny-jeaned, asymmetrically-coiffed hipsters, scenesters and punks for a little Van Morrison support.

The dude’s been making iconic music since the ’60s, music that’s stood the test of time, and he’s still rockin’ it on the road at 63 years old.

That’s rock ’n’ roll if ever there was.

“Don’t Give Up.” You can hear the single and send get-well wishes to Christy at myspace.com/hemmepowered.

B R I E N O V E R LY

Alex Lake

Mae

Campus Circle | 17

When I Don’t Sleep...

(6/8) The worlds of culture and pop music collide on Sinem Saniye’s debut album, When I Don’t Sleep. Demonstrating a mature, well-developed degree of artistry, the New York-based Saniye is unique, captivating and present. Saniye’s artistic relevance is fueled by the ingenious blends of jazz, bossa nova, Latin and Middle-Eastern tastes that could be enjoyed by diverse music listeners of all preferences.

And though she may still be a fresh face on the music scene, the songstress is able to engulf herself completely in her music, revealing engaging lyrics about youth tribulations, the experiences of growing up and personal joys of being in love.

Her single and the album’s standout track “Are We In Love” remarks Saniye’s quiet confidence, one that is pleasant yet entirely attention-grabbing.

If the album’s title has anything to do with her creative process, a blessed case of insomnia just might be the secret to Saniye’s success.

Grade: A —Christopher Agutos When I Don’t Sleep.. is currently available.

18 | Campus Circle

inner circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

fun for less | B Y

EBONY MARCH

PARKS-N-REC, YO! ONE OF MY FAVORITE NEW shows this season is NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” You’ve got to love a motley crew of city workers looking to beautify their surrounding areas.

Besides, the park is always a much safer bet than the beach because it has trees and lush greenery as well as plenty of cool, open space in which to play – as opposed to smelly seaweed, bacteria-laden waters and other assorted, skanky goodies.

Lucky for me, Los Angeles is home to a series of really incredible parks that are not only clean, but also 100 percent CoPro (that’s community property, bitches!).

Robert E. Lundigan Park (2701 Thornton Ave., Burbank) is a great place to kick it like you’re “this many” again. Although this outdoors area is tiny, it’s filled with all the rad playground equipment you enjoyed while you were young. Take it from

Barnsdall Art Park is part historical funhouse and part arts and crafts heaven.

me: It’s super fun (and good cardio) to swing and play Ebony March on the monkey bars while your more serious friends wig out over adult problems like rent and relationships.

Los Angeles’ answer to Central Park is certainly Griffith Park (4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Los Angeles).

There is no shortage of fun to be had here. I recently moved to an area adjacent to this wonderland, and I’m still discovering fun stuff to do. If you’re an animal lover, you can ride horses here or check out the worldfamous Los Angeles Zoo. Or take a walkabout among the trees or the hiking trails. Travel all the way up to the top of the road and spend the day at the Griffith Observatory, which is better than ever following extensive renovations. You could spend the entire day in nature and beyond for well under $20, depending on your interests.

Now for anyone who was a fan of the 2003 hit Lost in Translation, have I got the park for you. A quick trek over to Glendale will put you on the grounds of the “Shoseian” Whispering Pine Teahouse & Friendship Garden (1601 West Mountain St., Glendale). Open every first and third Sunday of the month (by reservation

“Shoseian” Whispering Pine Teahouse & Friendship Garden

only), this place will allow you to harness your chi while ridding yourself of painful sha (translation: relax and unwind). Grab a group of your besties for a day of catching up and reflection. Just remember: Respect for nature is respect for oneself, so don’t go running around the place like you have no home training.

A park of a slightly different nature is the Barnsdall Art Park (4800 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles). It technically offers more recreation than outdoorsy fun, but hey, it’s all good. Barnsdall is part historical funhouse (architect Frank Lloyd Wright put his personal stamp on the Hollyhock house when he designed it in the 1920s), part arts and crafts heaven. Children and adults can

enjoy a number of awesome classes and activities geared toward expanding one’s aesthetic horizons.

They’ve got onsite galleries for the art lover in you and excellent views from atop Olive Hill.

But perhaps one of the coolest places to visit is Poinsettia Recreation Center (7341 Willoughby Ave., Los Angeles). I used to teach at a nearby elementary school, and a lot of my students would chill here after classes. Sure, it’s got lots of fun stuff for the kids like cheerleading classes, pre-school and tap dance. But for older peeps, there are tennis courts and even basketball hoops to perfect that non-existent jump shot.

Centrally located in West Hollywood, this one’s a great find for the entire town.

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California State University, Long Beach University College and Extension Services

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

jet setter | B Y

LAUREN ROSENBLUM

‘IT’S A SMALL WORLD (AFTER ALL)’ Studying abroad invites students to think globally.

Most of the students here are on Lauren and her group in the Outback I REMEMBER SITTING CROSSprograms that include weekend legged on my bed waist deep in travel reason why the rest of the world holds excursions, day trips to the city and brochures, Frommer’s guides and such shatterproof stereotypes that we barbeques on the beach. Their study abroad packets. I imagined live in nothing more than the land of experience in Sydney too closely getting lost among the cobblestone primitive capital punishment, oppresresembles a school field trip to streets of London, learning Cantonese sively privatized health care, comDisneyland – name tags, bathroom in Hong Kong, expanding my mercialized mass religion, material buddies and all. wardrobe in Milan, dancing tango in excess, pervasive solipsism and much The accommodation and Buenos Aires, overcoming language more. resources that these expensive study barriers in Singapore and staying out After a month and a half of living abroad programs spoon-feed to all of of trouble in Amsterdam. in “Little America,” I decided I All I knew was that I wanted needed to get out and do something something different. I wanted to get quintessentially Australian over out of Los Angeles and see a new mid-semester break. I packed a part of the world. I wanted to be in small bag and headed to Alice a place a dozen time zones away Springs, a town in the Northern where I could have my first shot at Territory – also known as the true and prolonged independence.

Outback.

Most people assume that I It was the best decision I have chose Australia because it was the ever made, bar none. I was alone “safest” choice: an English-speaking and independent, facing the Western culture with nice weather unknown with no expectations. I and a laid-back lifestyle. But the met people from all over the world, truth is that I wanted total spending six days trying to make immersion. Experiencing a new sense of our differences. culture means staying there long I relished their stories of gapenough to get into the flow of life. year-travelling, army experience Studying abroad in Europe or Asia Lauren Rosenblum in the barren Outback and seemingly unplanned lives as would come with a temptation to they listened with envy when I told travel to a new country every them I was 20, from Los Angeles, an the study abroad students, myself weekend. I didn’t want to live out of a aspiring journalist with one more included, is unbelievable. It is enough suitcase, let alone travel so much that I year left of university. To them, my life to make me wonder: Are study abroad didn’t get a chance to enjoy where I was high-speed and impressive. Their programs sheltering us from culture was staying. first question: Are you friends with instead of exposing us to it?

In Australia, I have a life, a Paris Hilton?

It seems that a truly immersive beautiful home and a routine – all In just one week, I experienced semester abroad is becoming a rare thanks to the University of New South everything I ever wanted from a commodity these days. The fact that Wales. I’ve gotten to know little semester abroad. I tripled my Rolodex my friends in Florence and Beijing say hideaway restaurants, scenic walking with global numbers. I witnessed life is similar to being in America unfamiliar cultures and habits, while proves that something’s wrong. simultaneously giving others an The crux of the problem, as I insight into American life. I opened am experiencing it in Sydney, is up my eyes and mind and had the that students aren’t willing to time of my life. surrender certain standards of This is what the brochures were living in exchange for a broadening talking about, and this is why it has of their proverbial horizons. always been assumed that sending Somehow we’ve tricked ourselves students abroad bodes well for into believing that it’s possible to America’s respectability. A semester in experience new ways of life without a foreign country ought to be about abandoning our comfort zone. exploration.

There are also plenty of Programs should emphasize students who go abroad in search stepping out of comfort zones and of an extended spring break where breaking free from the American the workload is low and the Lauren and her roommate Katie in Sydney pack. Students should experience all inhibitions are lower. To most of that is truly indicative of a region’s them in Sydney, getting a meat pie culture and heritage, not a Disneyfied doused in sweet chilli sauce on the way paths and local families. It’s unversion of it. We shouldn’t receive back from the bars is considered being doubtedly my home away from home. academic credit for denying reality. “totally Australian, dude.”

While I would recommend this After all, whether it’s in a classroom We’ve all heard of these experience to every student, a semester setting or not, we’re here to learn.

Americanized bubbles. They are the abroad merits careful consideration.

Campus Circle | 19

games and gadgets

inner circle

CAN’T STOP THE BEAT:

Why We Still Love Music Games B Y J O N AT H A N K N E L L CONSIDERING THAT WE HAVE JUST SEEN THE RELEASE OF A Metallica-themed “Guitar Hero” title and a Beatles-based “Rock Band” is set for a September release, cynics would have a point in saying that music games have reached a saturation point. Sure, they will sell well, but this movement towards specialization rather than reinvention is a familiar theme for music gamers. If you do not have personal experience with music titles being stretched too thin, track down a “Dance Dance Revolution” loyalist.

Fortunately, even if the mad rush to put out newer, even more specific titles does wear the guitar-based music gaming genre to the point where fans just stop caring, the music gaming genre seems to keep coming back. Even in the face of critics who bemoan the fact that you aren’t really playing an instrument or dancing by playing these games, great music games seem to always find a loyal following.

While there is definitely something to be said about catchy music – whether it is classic rock or J-pop – perhaps the biggest draw of music games is the fact that they draw you in with a pounding beat and keep you playing by rewarding you with the insinuation that you are directly responsible for the rock experience. Sure, you are just pressing buttons, tapping a screen or jumping on sensors, but when the game starts cheering you on to the beat of music that improves when you excel at higher levels, it really feels like you are the unique cause of the good times rather than just the audience.

Perhaps the greatest recent example of this is Nintendo’s latest taphappy DS music game, “Rhythm Heaven.” Granted, the game plays out like a WarioWare-style mini-game collection, but this is not for the easily distracted.

Each mini-game in “Rhythm Heaven” challenges players to quickly learn to tap and flick the touch screen in time with a collection of toetapping tunes. While these games may not be as intense as the constant rhythmic death march of “Patapon,” “Rhythm Heaven” can be a rhythm hell for players that can’t keep a beat.

Once you start to beat the first few challenges of the game, “Rhythm Heaven”’s truly addictive power takes over. The mix of colorful, cartoony graphics and simple yet addictive tunes draws you into the game, while the promise of medals and rhythm-based unlockables will have you replaying the same levels over and over until you can finally reach the game’s incredibly high prerequisite for a “Superb” rating.

“Rhythm Heaven” draws you in even further by adding Remix stages that frantically jump between mini-games you have already beaten. If you are lucky, you will realize just how addictive and time-consuming the game is before you have hit the 30th unique mini-game.

So why did you just spend the whole weekend scraping a screen in the hopes of making a synchronized swimmer launch off a dolphin in unison with her partner? Like other music games, “Rhythm Heaven” is challenging enough to keep players trying while the music and colorful graphics keep it from seeming too intense. If you happen to be playing in front of onlookers, the sudden popularity that comes from tapping in time with the tune is a hard addiction to kick.

This is why music games never seem to truly die out and why we still love them. Music games do require skill, and they reward the patient and talented with the feeling of accomplishment. By succeeding at a genuine challenge, you come off as a star even though you are just strumming a string-less guitar.

gift guide | B Y

A L LY S O N B A R K A N

SHOW YOUR MOM LOVE

Whether It’s Brunch, Afternoon Tea, Wine Tasting or Playing Ball!

WE ALL LOVE OUR MOTHERS, that’s a given. And while as college students we can get away with a Hallmark card and a phone call, wouldn’t it be nice to really show Mom how much we appreciate her by going a step further? Whether she’s the spa, brunch, artsy or outdoor type, we’ve got a few suggestions to help you show how much you care.

If your Mom could use a little pampering, try one of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics’ new gift sets made exclusively with Mom in mind.

Choose between the Mum gift set ($39.95), which includes all the ingredients for the quintessential bath, and the Sugar Mama gift set ($17.95),

which indulges Mom with a sweet and sugary bubble bath and a vanilla body lotion to lather up after that long soak.

Maybe instead of a relaxing bath

away from the daily errands and the kids, your Mom prefers to spend her day with you. Nothing says classic Mother’s day like a scone and a cup of tea, and lucky for you, Los Angeles abounds with options for afternoon tea.

For a more organic approach, try Siptea (siptea.biz) and take advantage of their Organic Afternoon Tea package, priced at $19.95 a person and complete with scones and cream, assorted tea sandwiches,

cookies and sweets and a pot of tea of your choice. Or go traditional with the Biltmore Hotel’s Afternoon Floral Tea in the Rendezvous Court (506 South

Grand Ave., Downtown).

While sitting amidst fresh flowers, sip tea and champagne and nosh on an assortment of sandwiches, scones and desserts as live music plays in the background. As an added bonus, Mom gets to choose from the selection of fresh flowers to create a bouquet to take home.

If brunch is more your thing, Smeraldi’s at the Biltmore offers a Mother’s Day Treat mom to a tea party on her special day. brunch for $49 per person. For other brunch options, try dining al menu and a complimentary glass of fresco in the Huntington Library’s sparkling wine if you choose to dine at Rose Garden (1151 Oxford Rd., San the restaurant.

Marino) with their European Country If you’d like to spend the day Basket. The basket, priced at $149.99, outdoors and your Mom has a knack serves four or more, so share the cost for sports, take her to the park, the with a friend or two or bring the whole ballpark that is. The Dodgers play San family along. Also, check out the Francisco at 1:10 p.m. on Mother’s Mother’s Day brunch at the Blue Day, and Dodgers Stadium (1000 Ribbon Garden at Walt Disney Elysian Park Ave., Los Angeles) will be Concert Hall (111 S. Grand Ave., hosting an array of events to showcase Downtown), complete with a full Mom. During pre-game, players and buffet and a complimentary glass of coaches will be handing out roses to pink champagne for Mom. Two fans as they enter the gates. Randomly seatings are offered, at 10:30 a.m. and selected Moms will be chosen to take 12:30 p.m., but advanced reservations the field with the players, and one are required, so call (213) 972-7660 to lucky mother will be selected to say book now.

“It’s Time For Dodgers Baseball!” After For the over 21 crowd, wine the game, you and your Mom can walk tasting is a great way to spend an the warning track and meet some of afternoon with Mom. Head to The San the Dodgers.

Antonio Winery (737 Lamar St., Los No matter what you choose to do, Angeles), open since 1917, and just make sure you let your Mom know experience a free wine tasting and how much she truly means to you, and winery tour, a special Mother’s Day let her know how much you care.

Ana Venegas/Orange County Register/MCT

inner circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

the

20 | Campus Circle

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[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

BY LUCIA

Dear Lucia, I recently met a man who is 10 years younger, very savvy, attentive, full of energy and successful. He was very upfront about being very interested and sincere and asked me out. I said I had plans that day but would be available another day. After that he couldn’t find the time.

I have known two older men who treated me horrendously and had no energy. I mentioned this to him, as I didn’t want the same thing from him.

There was loads of attraction on both sides, great sizzling e-mails wanting to do the boyfriend/girlfriend scenario (his idea).

However, he has recently made a complete turnaround from extremely sizzling to extremely coldhearted. When I tried to call to wish him a happy birthday I got a gruff, “I’m in a meeting.” When I mentioned buying him a fish for his exotic fish tank, I got a foul reaction saying,“You can’t afford it, but I can!”

At first he wanted to take me to dinner, but then it was, “You don’t want dinner do you?” as though I’m not good enough. He also mentioned he was a manipulator which was not what I read.

I was kind, friendly, tried to be compassionate and warm, mentioned I do have good values and like to wait for a good thing. He said,“I’m busy and will be busy for at least 20 months plus,” whereas he seemed to have the time before!

It was difficult to pinpoint him (switched his phone off). I can’t get to know someone in a couple of weeks of conversation, which was mainly Xrated.

Do I continually self sabotage since I didn’t say yes straight away? I was expecting something better from a younger guy with no cynicism and so much life.

I just got the same as the older blokes (which I Lucia know I am not suited to).

How can I be so wrong?

I hope you may be able to shed some light on where I have gone wrong, as he seemed completely upfront. He mentioned he wanted to share himself and his home with someone, yet he jumped around by being great one moment and cruel the next.

Am I the perennial sucker! I am very disillusioned and my self-esteem has plummeted to an all time low.

—Ann Hi Ann, Please pick up your self-esteem.

You didn’t do anything wrong, except not see all the red flags.

I don’t care what this guy said about wanting a relationship and someone to share his home. Don’t look at what a guy says, look at what he does.

If you had simply looked at his actions, you would not have missed the flags.

The only time you should look at what a guy says is when his conversation is X-rated. That immediately tells you he’s just looking for sex. A man who is interested in you is not going to risk offending you by talking like that, especially if he hardly knows you.

This guy is not looking for a relationship – at least not with you.

Forget him!

l.a. faces | B Y

My pastor is also a neighbor. I sent a card as a neighborly gesture, asking to meet for coffee.

When we met up, he asked me if I like being alone. I said yes, when in reality, I would like a family.

I am thinking that when I go to the next prayer meeting, I should pray out loud for a mate so he can hear. Is that the wrong thing to do?

I would like to see him again.

Should I ask him out or should I let him do that?

—Julie Dear Julie, You should have been honest and said you get lonely and would like to have a family one day. That would have been a way to bond.

You can certainly ask for a mate at the next meeting, however, in terms of asking him out again, you’ve already made the first move. The next one is up to him.

If he’s interested, he’ll ask. If not, then try to become friends and see where that goes.

‘APPLE’

Now-May 24 @ Theatre 40

BY ROBERT AXELROD

Write to Lucia at theartoflove.net.

Read an excerpt from Lucia’s Lessons of Love at lessonsoflove.net.

Theatre 40 is located at 241 S. Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills. For more information, visit theatre40.org.

Listen to Lucia live every Sunday at 3 p.m. PST on latalkradio.com.

Remember: Love inspires, empowers, uplifts and enlightens.

musical | B Y

The Art of Love is sponsored by Cougar Energy Drink.

‘AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’’ Now-May 31 @ Ahmanson Theatre

ALISON WOODS Is Fantastick!

Woods started taking dancing lessons at age 2 and never looked back.

All her free time and extracurricular activities were devoted to the performing arts, and it has paid off in her adult life as she continues to do what she loves. At Agoura High School, Woods performed in the musical theater productions of “Carousel” and “Guys and Dolls,” and then went off to college at UCSB. Although she chose to major in psychology, Woods missed performing by her sophomore year. She and a group of likeminded friends put together a fully operated student-run theater company called Shrunken Heads Productions and presented a musical theater/cabaret-like show every quarter. To this day the program is running strong, complete with student-run cast, crew and orchestra.

inner circle

PLAYWRIGHT VERN THIESSEN’S AWARD-WINNING PLAY “Apple” is being given a good once over by Beverly Hills group Theatre 40. When viewed as a story of choices rather than of love, this play, starring Carmit Levité, Albie Selznick and Ellyn Stern, bristles with sharp, insightful dialogue and well-defined characters.

Stern is remarkable as Evelyn, delivering an opening monologue with wit and a bravado that works hard to overshadow the character’s insecurity. Selznick plays her jobless husband, Andy, a man who falls into an affair because of the loveless marriage he finds himself in.

Levité is strong and sexy as the other woman, Samantha, who also happens to be the doctor Evelyn goes to when Carmit Levité and Albie Selznick in “Apple” she’s stricken with cancer.

Andy seems to go with the flow, being the effect in both relationships. Evelyn knows she’s dying: “I used to be beautiful but now I’m full of poison.” Funny thing here is the more Evelyn becomes unavailable to Andy, the more he reaches for her. Will he choose to stay with Evelyn to the bitter end, or run off with the appealing Samantha?

BONNIE PRIEVER

EVEN WITH A RUSHED INTERVIEW and learning the songs and material only the morning of her audition, Alison Woods scored the part of Luisa in “The Fantasticks.”After quite a short rehearsal and tech process, she and her fellow cast members (Eric McCormack, Harry Groener and Lucas Grabeel) will open the show for what promises to be an exciting run.

Woods recalls, “It was quick! I had only heard of the show before but didn’t know the music. It is quite beautiful, touching and universal, especially the song, ‘Try to Remember.’”

The play, loosely based on “Romeo and Juliet,” is about a 16-year-old girl falling in love with the boy next door, with very poetic dialogue and song lyrics. It’s about a time of innocence, teenage love and infatuation.

curtain call

Dear Lucia,

Ed Krieger

the art of love |

Campus Circle | 21

Upon graduation, Woods again found herself yearning for the stage and landed the role as Princess Giselle in “Disney’s Enchanted Experience” at El Capitan. She then performed in “42nd Street” at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza and now welcomes the chance to play Luisa in “The Fantasticks.”

Woods believes everyone will identify with the play’s theme, “especially college students, newly experiencing the real world and all life and love have to offer, with beautiful music taking us back to simpler times.

You’re sure to come out humming!”

“The Fantasticks” runs May 5-17 at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. For more information, visit reprise.org.

JESSICA KOSLOW

THIS INFECTIOUSLY UPBEAT MUSICAL IS THE MOST FUN you’ll have in a long time. Following the music of Thomas “Fats” Waller, the five vocalists segue from one number to the next. You’ll recognize popular tunes like “The Joint Is Jumpin’,” “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Black and Blue” and laugh at others like “Your Feet’s Too Big” and “Fat and Greasy.”

The cast looks like they’re having so much fun, teasing, flirting and poking each other, the joyous mood onstage is contagious. It’s hard not to smile, tap your toes and sway to the rhythms. From the first song Fats ever recorded (“’T Ain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do”) to the title song, the music of Fats and this soulful and celebratory production is a feast for all of the senses.

Eugene Barry-Hill and Debra Walton in “Ain’t Misbehavin’”

The Ahmanson Theatre is located at 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown. For more information, visit centertheatregroup.org.

22 | Campus Circle

inner circle

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

l.a. hoopla

the sports wanderer | B Y

PA R I M A L M . R O H I T

recruit who is good enough to make it an instant contender.

But, in the end, the risk is just not worth the reward.

That risk often takes the form of the recruit’s family members or associated in the 2010 NBA Draft, LOOKS LIKE USC HAS BECOME “friends.” Put in simpler allowing Sidney to cash in on a the University of Second Choice. terms, a school just does not guaranteed four-year, multiWhile Trojan-haters typically poke want to deal with the million dollar contract. Infun at the downtown L.A. university by questions that arise when the deed, it is hard to argue the labeling it with the aforementioned public inquires about the highly touted phenom is not moniker, for once the joke is actually recruit’s sudden newfound progressing. not on the University of Southern wealth.

Yet, here is Sidney, Parimal M. Rohit California.

Sidney is a perfect casesuddenly taking backward Following a precedent established in-point. A son of Renardo Sr. and steps from Bruin to Trojan to Bulldog. by its heated rival across town in Patricia, the high school senior does not Naturally, this begs the question: Why? Westwood, USC rescinded its exactly come from a well-to-do family.

The answer is quite simple, really: scholarship offer to blue-chip recruit According to reports, the Sidney fear. and future NBA lottery pick Renardo family lives off quite a modest income, It is rare for two top-notch college Sidney. yet has managed to move several times basketball programs to pass on a top Pity Sidney – the Mississippi native, throughout Los Angeles, living in some five recruit, so clearly, Sidney had red who left the Southern state for Los of the area’s most affluent areas. flags – and those red flags must have Angeles to further his basketball career Further, Renardo Sr. directs a club been waving ferociously these past three – has now come full circle and is going basketball team with unknown months. Neither school will go on back where he came from, as he financial backing, all while making no record in providing a detailed reportedly announced on April 30 his bones about the idea of profiting from explanation as to why third choice will be the his son’s success. they let such a phenschool he hopes to attend.

While no allegations have been omenal player walk off Just like that, a top made or direct links proven, the mere their respective camfive recruit and secondfact that there are already questions puses quicker than a best high school power surrounding Sidney’s financial wellstudent caught cheating forward went from being is enough to make a nationallyon a chemistry exam Pauley Pavilion to Galen recognized school think twice about while paying off the Center to Starkville, having him play hoops there. professor. Yet, do they Miss.. I am sure his Too bad – while it is commendable really have to provide an parents are quite proud of to see schools being proactive in taking explanation? how their six-foot-10 son potential NCAA recruiting violations The easy answer, of furthered his basketball Renardo Sidney, Jr. dunks in the seriously, it is also quite sad to see course, is “CYA” – as in career.

McDonald’s All-American game parents be equally proactive in cover your, err, behind.

Of course, all is not (April 1, 2009). attempting to profit off their child’s Increasingly, more and said and done. Sidney athletic talents a bit too early. more college athletic programs are may still have quite the promising Sure, it is the American way to try recruiting with a weary eye in an professional basketball career. to make a quick buck. But there is also a attempt to avoid a crackdown by the Considering his size and basketball heavy price to pay, and Sidney is paying NCAA. acumen, some lottery team will be that price right now.

Sure, a school may land a top-notch more than happy to take a risk on him

A RIVALRY RENEWED RENARDO SIDNEY

All stats as of May 4.

galaxy fyi | B Y M A R V I N G . VA S Q U E Z

Chuck Myers/MCT

FIRST WIN ARRIVES AGAINST NEW YORK. THE LOS ANGELES GALAXY PICKED UP THEIR FIRST VICTORY of the season after beating the New York Red Bulls 1-0 at the Home Depot Center Saturday night.

“It was a tough result to digest,” Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio said with a devastated face after the team dropped to 1-5-2.

Forward Landon Donovan scored a penalty kick in the 39th minute to lift the squad over the visitors. It was Donovan’s team leading fourth goal of the campaign.

“It is great to get the first win. I thought we were solid all over the field,” Donovan said.

The controversial instance came after Donovan attempted a service into the box, but the ball touched defender Seth Stammler’s Landon Donovan controls hand. The linesman nearby made the obvious the ball. call and the rest was history, as the Galaxy improved to 1-1-4 with seven points.

Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena likes the team’s direction thus far.

“We are taking baby steps,” he said. “If I’m not mistaken, there were 19 players on our roster last year that aren’t here this year. We have a vision as to what we are trying to do and despite what anybody thinks, it does not happen overnight.”

Los Angeles now heads on a two-game road trip, starting today against Real Salt Lake at 6 p.m. in Utah. They then pay a visit to the Seattle Sounders FC Sunday at 12 p.m.

the diamond dispatch | B Y

DOV RUDNICK

DODGERS BREAK FRANCHISE RECORD AH, IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME. Home where the palm trees sway, where the gentle tones of the organ play out happy show tunes, where good will abides among friends and neighbors dressed in blue. Yes, it is good indeed to be home when your home is Dodger Stadium.

On a perfect afternoon last Sunday with clear skies and temps hovering in the low 70s, the Dodgers accomplished something they haven’t done in 126 years of franchise history by winning all of their first 10 games at home. No one can figure it out. On the road they are like any other mediocre team struggling to play .500 ball. Come home and they are angels of victory.

“You’re supposed to win at home,” said Dodger ace Chad Billingsley, who improved his record to 5-0 on Sunday.

It seems simple enough to the softspoken, 24-year old pitcher with the best record in the National League.

What makes Sunday’s victory particularly special is that it came on a day when four regular starters had the day off. Catcher Russell Martin, shortstop Rafael Furcal, third basemen Casey Blake and outfielder Manny Ramirez were substituted respectively

by Brad Ausmus, Juan Castro, Mark Loretta and Juan Pierre, each of whom came up with big hits.

Manager Joe Torre noted after the game that the strength of veterans coming off the bench has been among the biggest additions to the team this year.

“We’re feeling pretty good about ourselves right now,” said Torre, as though it weren’t obvious.

Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune/MCT

IT BEGAN IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE ’81 PLAYOFFS. THE LAKERS – led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – squared off against the Rockets – anchored by Moses Malone. Houston defeated the legendary Showtime squad in a thrilling 89-86 game three upset and eventually made their way to the finals. Then in ’86, the Lakers came into the Western Conference Finals as the defending champs, but the Rockets’ Twin Towers (Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson) dominated the series.

The teams met four times in the playoffs during the ’90s: The Lakers won in ’90 and ’91; Houston prevailed in ’96; and their ’99 match-up (which the Lakers won) was starstudded – Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Scottie Pippen versus It's Kobe vs. Yao in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice.

Since then, the teams have only met in the first round of the 2004 playoffs (pitting Yao Ming against O’Neal) when the Lakers took the series 4-1, but they face off in this year’s Western Conference Semifinals.

The Lakers swept the Rockets in all four regular season meetings and should take the series in five games. Game two is Wednesday at Staples Center. Then they travel to Houston for the next two matches (Friday and Sunday). If game five is necessary, it will also be in Houston Tuesday.

Ron Jenkins/Forth Worth Star-Telegram/MCT

Michael Goulding/Orange County Register/MCT

BY TJ WEBBER

From Bruin to Trojan to Bulldog

Carl Juste/Miami Herald/MCT

Los Angeles Takes on Houston

Chad Billingsley has the best record in the NL.

The warmth emanating from the Dodger dugout can be felt in the upper decks. It’s all hugs and high fives whenever a player gets so much as a base hit.

Ramirez, sitting on the bench Sunday, was no less active as Dodger cheerleader. When catcher Brad Ausmus returned to the dugout after scoring, Ramirez very politely removed Ausmus’ batting helmet and placed it in his cubby for him. He then gave the veteran catcher a little back rub. Such gestures of good will are commonplace these days.

Joe Torre had this to say about the phenomena: “In my experience, chemistry comes from winning, rather than the other way around.”

[ MAY 6 - MAY 12 ’09 ]

the 10 spot | B Y

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SATURDAY, MAY 9

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Second Annual LA BBQ Festival

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Santa Monica Beach by the pier; labbqfest.com You have your choice of barbecue from over 10 pitmasters, cupcakes from Polkatots, drinks and live country and classic rock bands.

Noon-6 p.m. Also Sunday. $10 admission, plus $10 per plate.

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Family Fun Pack Angel Stadium of Anaheim, 2000 Gene Autry Way, Anaheim; losangeles.angels.mlb.com You and three of your friends can get four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for only $39. 7:05 p.m. Also Sunday at 12:35 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 7 Westfield Santa Anita Promenade Grand Opening 400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; westfield.com/santaanita To celebrate the opening of 30 new stores in an outdoor, garden setting, there will be live performances by California Philharmonic, appearances by the Radio Disney Street Team, giveaways, live fashion shows, food tastings and a special mother’s day gift for mom.

Through Sunday.

FRIDAY, MAY 8 IMAX® Opens at AMC Promenade 16 21801 Oxnard St., Woodland Hills; imax.com AMC Entertainment® brings the IMAX Experience® to AMC Promenade 16 when Star Trek: The IMAX Experience opens May 8.

Upcoming movies to be released in IMAX’s format include Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (May 22) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (June 24).

Masters of Horror Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles; steveallentheater.com/masters_of_horror Tonight’s showing is the cult classic It’s Alive with director Larry Cohen. The drive-in series continues through June 12 with a different movie each Friday. 8 p.m. $8 person; $30 per car.

SATURDAY, MAY 9 Revel with a Cause

Clover Park, 2600 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica; arts.santa-monica.org This festival features live music and dance on solar powered stages, recycled couture, earth-friendly workshops, free bicycle valet, global marketplace, international cuisine and more. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. FREE.

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Campus Circle | 23

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Splinter Generation Stories Books & Café, 1716 Sunset Blvd., Echo Park; storiesla.com Readings and performances from this collective of poets and writers, all under the age of 35. 8 p.m. FREE.

on the menu | B Y

NICOLE BOISVERT

SUNDAY, MAY 10

ROSSO’S PIZZERIA

Freaky Friday

3500 S. Figueroa Blvd., Los Angeles

Hammer Museum of Art, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood; hammer.ucla.edu Take your mom to see the original movie (the one with Jodie Foster, not Lindsay Lohan) about a mother and daughter who switch bodies and gain a better understanding of each other. 11 a.m. FREE.

Moms Eat Free Lola’s, 945 N. Fairfax Ave., West Hollywood; lolasla.com If your pockets are empty, then you can’t beat this price. Moms get a complimentary two-course prix-fixe dinner. Grab the bill before she sees it, and she will be none the wiser. 5:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

EVERY COLLEGE CAMPUS NEEDS A good pizza joint by it. There previously hasn’t been one by USC, and now there is.

Rosso’s Pizzeria is your typical pizza joint with good pizza and a decent atmosphere.

Filled with arcade games, a shuffleboard and red and white checkerboard tablecloths, it just feels like a traditional pizza place.

It has thinly sliced pizza you can order by the pie or individually. They make all of your typical favorites like pepperoni, sausage and Hawaiian. But they also offer Caprese, fresh

Mother’s Day Jazz and Blues Extravaganza The Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Los Angeles; jazznla.com Treat your mom to a picnic lunch and enjoy an afternoon of live jazz and blues. 3 p.m.-8 p.m. $25.

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For more events, visit campuscircle.com/calendar.

To submit an event for consideration, e-mail calendar@campuscircle.net.

mozzarella, a white pizza and different toppings to choose from like Canadian bacon, roasted garlic and artichokes.

If you aren’t in the mood for pizza, Rosso’s also makes meatball subs and

spaghetti with meatballs. You can also order a house salad or Caesar if you want to eat light.

What makes Rosso’s unlike your typical pizza joint, however, is that it carries various wines and drafts of beer. The restaurant is usually busy making it a fun place to hang out, but it also seems a little disorganized. I’m sure that once they adapt to the new space they will get their routine down. It should be hard competition next to the Lab, which has great food and a great atmosphere, but Rosso’s Pizzeria will definitely satisfy your pizza craving.

Another perk for USC students; they take discretionary dollars. So enjoy!

For more information, call (213) 743-2077 or visit rossospizzeria.usc.edu.

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