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INSIDE CAMPUS CIRCLE 12 6
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03 BLOGS TROJAN SIDELINES 03 BLOGS COLORS OF CULTURE 17 BLOGS HI FIVE! 19 BLOGS THE LAST LAUGH 23 BLOGS TREND BLENDER 05 FILM TV TIME 06 FILM THE LAST MOUNTAIN Director Bill Haney and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stand for change.
campus circle June 15 - June 21, 2011 Vol. 21 Issue 24
Editor-in-Chief Yuri Shimoda editor.chief@campuscircle.net Managing Editor/Art Director managing.editor@campuscircle.net Film Editor film.editor@campuscircle.net Music Editor music.editor@campuscircle.net Web Editor Eva Recinos Calendar Editor Frederick Mintchell calendar@campuscircle.net Editorial Interns Dana Jeong, Cindy KyungAh Lee
07 FILM DVD DISH 08 FILM THE CHANNEL SURFER 08 FILM PROJECTIONS 09 FILM SPECIAL FEATURES 09 FILM MOVIE REVIEWS 12 FILM GREEN LANTERN Ryan Reynolds is a true superhero. 14 MUSIC MARIA TAYLOR Don’t Overlook the talented songstress. 14 MUSIC CD REVIEWS 15 MUSIC FREQUENCY
Contributing Writers Priscilla Andrade, Scott Bedno, Zach Bourque, Kristina Bravo, Mary Broadbent, Jonathan Bue, Erica Carter, Richard Castañeda, Nataly Chavez, Naomi Coronel, Lynda Correa, Jewel Delegall, Natasha Desianto, Sola Fasehun, Stephanie Forshee, Jacob Gaitan, Denise Guerra, Elisa Hernandez, Josh Herwitt, Tien Thuy Ho44 Alexandre Johnson, Pamela Kerpius, Matthew Kitchen, Angela Matano, Patrick Meissner, Hiko Mitsuzuka, Samantha Ofole, Brien Overly, Ariel Paredes, Sasha Perl-Raver, Rex Pham, Ricardo Quinones, Eva Recinos, Dov Rudnick, Mike Sebastian, Doug Simpson, John Stapleton IV, David Tobin, Emmanuelle Troy, Drew Vaeth, Kevin Wierzbicki, Candice Winters
16 MUSIC NOTES 16 MUSIC REPORT 17 MUSIC LIVE SHOW REVIEWS 04 CULTURE PAGES: Summer Reads 05 CULTURE CURTAIN CALL 18 CULTURE LIFESTYLE 19 CULTURE BEAUTY BEAT 19 CULTURE FASHION FOCUS 20 CULTURE ON THE MENU
Contributing Artists & Photographers Tamea Agle, Rex Pham, Emmanuelle Troy ADVERTISING Sean Bello sean.bello@campuscircle.net Joy Calisoff joy.calisoff@campuscircle.net Jon Bookatz Music Sales Manager jon.bookatz@campuscircle.net
20 CULTURE GET UP, GET OUT 21 CULTURE L.A. MOVES 21 CULTURE GAME REVIEWS 21 CULTURE GAME ON 22 SPORTS SOCCER BRIEF 22 SPORTS DODGERS 411 22 SPORTS GALAXY KICK 23 EVENTS THE 10 SPOT Cover: Summer Books Credit: Neustock
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Follow CAMPUS CIRCLE on Twitter @CampusCircle TROJANSIDELINES
BY ELISA HERNANDEZ AFTER A TEDIOUS WAITING PERIOD AND MONTHS after USC football season was over, the NCAA finally gave its ruling over USC’s appeal to their harsh sanctions. A punishment that some sports analysts say is “the harshest sanctions in college sports history.” USC athletics have been under the NCAA microscope as it investigated allegations made about ex-2005 Heisman trophy winner and former Trojan Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo. USC’s basketball program self-sanctioned themselves during the 2009-2010 season to avoid further NCAA punishment. As for the football program, they chose to wait it out, and see what fate would have in store. The NCAA found that USC lacked “institutional control” and “turned a blind eye” to the obvious perks Bush was receiving, in the form of clothes, money, housing and transportation. They also found out that Mayo had received improper benefits while playing for the Trojans. As for Bush, the NCAA concluded that he had become an ineligible player as of December 2004. They then sanctioned USC with a four-year probation, a two-year bowl ban, vacating any wins they had with Bush and a loss of 30 scholarships over a three-year span. USC also had to eliminate Bush’s and Mayo’s images from campus and school-related publications. In July, USC removed the copy of Bush’s Heisman Trophy from Heritage Hall and sent it back to
COLORSOFCULTURE
RACHEL FLEISCHER
Debut Solo Photography Show BY CINDY KYUNGAH LEE IT ISN’T UNUSUAL TO SEE ARTISTIC WORK DONE by activists. But when that activist is an actress, director, writer, musician, artistic photographer AND activist … things are more than just interesting. On June 8, Rachel Fleischer made her grand entrance into the new sector of her career as a photographer through her first solo exhibition. Having graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Fleischer is an L.A.-based art guru who pays significant attention to homeless activism. She is known for her award-winning documentary, Without a Home, a film that chronicles her personal experiences and documents the lives of the homeless in her native city. The premier for the East Coast was made at the Woodstock Film Festival, gaining her the praise and support of filmmaker David Lynch. Although Fleischer has always been in love with the magic of photography, she found herself truly pulled to it when she studied abroad in Prague and travelled around Eastern
Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times/MCT
Life After Sanctions
Heisman Trophy Trust. Bush later announced that he would forfeit his copy as well, being the first player to ever do so. Because of USC’s strong mindset, the athletic department was quick to begin the appeal process, unwilling to simply take the punishment as is. In NCAA history, out of 11 appeals made only one ruling had been overturned; so the Trojans’ chances were already scarce. The school wanted to have the bowl ban reduced to one year, having served that sentence in 2010. As for scholarships, they wanted the reduction limited to five a year over three years, only losing 15 in total. Unfortunately, regardless of the prayers from hopeful fans, the NCAA announced May 26 that it has denied the appeal. Therefore, the Trojans will be ineligible to compete for the first Pac-12 Conference title. To add insult to injury, on June 6, USC was stripped from its National BCS title, the 55-19 win over Oklahoma in the 2004 Orange Bowl. Since Bush was ineligible during that time period, that win is now vacated and USC is in the process of returning the trophy. It seems the NCAA has used USC to make an example of how they will begin to discipline schools that are violating rules. The newest buzz aside from USC is focused on Ohio State and Auburn. Quarterback Cam Newton was at the center of Auburn’s scandal and Head Coach Jim Tressel is at the center of Ohio State’s. There were rumors that Newton was receiving money for playing time, but as suspicious as it looked there was no direct evidence that Auburn had paid or ever offered to pay Newton. The NCAA is still investigating the allegations made against him and the school. If Auburn is found guilty they will lose their BCS title that they won versus Oregon, and Newton would have to forfeit his Heisman Trophy. As for Ohio State, the NCAA is continuing to look into
Reggie Bush was the first player ever to forfeit a Heisman. the fact that Tressel didn’t disclose the allegations made against his players receiving benefits or report it to them. Ohio State is in a different situation than Auburn, the NCAA is likely to give Ohio State worse sanctions than given to USC, if found guilty of committing violations. The NCAA is doing what it can to crack down on corrupt athletics in college sports, and restore the good nature of simple competition. One thing that USC can take away from the sanctions is the fact that they weeded out corrupt officials and hired honorable candidates such as Pat Haden. They also went on to sign one of the nation’s top classes. Since they’re no bowl games in the near future for USC, the program can develop its young players, such as Robert Woods, Markeith Ambles and Nickell Robey. With extra off time and more practice, the Trojans can make a run once they’re able to compete for their first Pac-12 title; thus starting a new era of USC football.
Campus Circle > Blogs > Colors of Culture Europe. From then on, she officially began taking pictures concerning subjects she cared about, such as homelessness. Her images are being included in a Human Rights Watch show this summer, benefiting children’s human rights around the world. Her short but prolific career does not end here, as she is currently writing and developing an array of film and TV projects for herself to act in and direct. For Fleischer, the statement “There is only so much one person can do” is not something she stumbles upon. She has the strength and agility to complete numerous tasks and carry them out in ways that are so disctinctive from each other. Recently she launched a campaign called “What Can I Do?” to raise awareness and compassion about homelessness through art. And the photo exhibition that was held this time was also a benefit for those in need. Held at the gallery in Melrose called Portfolio 360, Fleischer presented to her audience a series of photographs that were weirdly unnerving. Yes, unnerving. The reactions perhaps may differ from person to person, but there was something so empty about them. I do not mean it in the sense that the photographs were lacking an element or two of artistic vision. Empty in the sense that they were so filled with nostalgic sensationalism that it could make a person feel empty and sore inside. The photographs are ordinary and unsurprising, but their effects on the viewer are a bit scary. A mixture of sadness, loneliness, a desire to understand are all emotions from photographs that depict the nonchalant daily lives of people. Perhaps this is why Fleischer is such a prolific and versatile artist. She knows how to use her art and stir the exact emotion she wants her audience to feel. She is an educator of such
Courtesy fo Rachel Fleischer
USC VS. NCAA
Campus Circle > Blogs > Trojan SideLines
Rachel Fleischer’s photographs, on subjects such as homelessness, evoke many emotions. feelings and a perpetuator of art who succeeds with the agility of an activist. Her work is multifaceted just like herself and is open to so much interpretation. Do not be fooled by the way I described her work, because the things I say make up only one way of looking at an artist’s work … as always.
For more information, visit rachelfleischer.blogspot.com.
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Campus Circle > Culture > Books from beginning to end. The story of a woman scorned by her true love, only to find another and then forced to choose between the two, fulfills many a revenge fantasy with aplomb. I’m Not Her Janet Gurtler’s poignant and utterly readable tale of sisters, family, boys and an unlikely battle with cancer walks this harrowing line with ease. Tess, often hidden by Kristina’s shadow, finds herself navigating a new identity in the wake of her sibling’s diagnosis. Hopeless romantics take heart: Vaclav & Lena may turn out to be your favorite book of the summer. Haley Tanner’s unironic, yet not in the least bit cheesy, debut follow love to the metaphorical moon and back.
Sigrid Estrada
Summer Regression
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants girls return in Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood Everlasting.
SUMMER BEACH READS
Great Gifts
For fans of The Devil Wears Prada comes Lauren Weisberger’s new novel, Last Night at Chateau Marmont, a saga of fame, tabloids and overexposure.
Culture
Daniel Clowes’ marvelous graphic novels, like Ghost World, nearly reinvent the genre. The author’s latest work, Mister Wonderful: A Love Story follows a lonely couple on a twisty blind date filled with searing and insightful moments of clarity.
Not everyone grows up in Beverly Hills with a pop star for a father. Nicole Richie gives you a front-row seat to the all the glamour and insanity with her new novel, Priceless. Mixing things up, this story traffics in fraud, stalkers and a trip to the Big Easy expanding on the author’s range literally and figuratively.
These days you can’t mention the word hip-hop without Lil Wayne’s name popping up. Whether you like it or not, Weezy and Southern hip-hop dominated the aughts, and in Dirty South, journalist Ben Westhoff interviews the artists and visits the places that reinvented hip-hop.
Modern Vintage Style, by Emily Chalmers, combines the best of today’s preference for clean interiors with the eclectic charms of the 20th century. The beautiful photos by Debi Treloar capture the philosophy of the author’s design aesthetic with aplomb.
Just because you age doesn’t mean you can’t return to your roots with Ann Brashares’ Sisterhood Everlasting. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants girls are 10 years older, and their life choices hang in the balance. Isn’t that what friends are for?
Tricia Rose (Black Noise) truly loves hip-hop. So even when she points out its criticism in The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop – And Why It Matters, she also highlights the defenders and follows it all up with six guiding principles for progressive creativity, consumption and community in hip hop and beyond.
Comedian Demetri Martin promises to find your funny bone with This is a Book. This mix of essays, short stories and even a few diagrams, will make you laugh, even in the doggiest days of summer.
Summer Substance
Food for Thought
Creepy in that way that gets under your skin and makes the hair on your neck stand on end, Melissa Marr’s Graveminder delivers a haunting tale. A ghost story of returning home and growing up that will keep you up at night.
BY ANGELA MATANO
Riveting throughout, In the Garden of the Beasts puts a new twist on the World War II genre. In this true tale, Erik Larson recounts the story of America’s first Ambassador to Hitler’s Germany and the creepy, astonishing events that unfold. Amusing and entertaining with a dash of introspection, Kyran Pittman’s Planting Dandelions will read a bit like looking in a mirror. In the vein of Elizabeth Gilbert, Pittman knows just how much to reveal before entering TMI territory. Cheeky in the best possible way, Jon Ronson’s writing, like The Men Who Stare at Goats, explores the weird subcultures of power and control. His latest work, The Psychopath Test continues his amusing/creepy quest by exploring the world of madness and the industry that surrounds. There is Power in a Union takes on this increasingly and surprisingly controversial topic. Philip Dray’s history of labor – both informative and entertainingly written – couldn’t have arrived at a more propitious moment. If you’ve even wondered about Hawaii’s place in the union but not enough to actually read a history book, Sarah Vowell’s unique blend of fact and cheek will keep you laughing while you unwittingly learn something new. Unfamiliar Fishes
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traces the Aloha State’s American timeline in a way that goes down easy.
With 2010 offering up Winter’s Bone and True Grit, and The Hunger Games coming up this year, the forecast for strong, young, female characters is bright. Jo Ann Beard’s In Zanesville, adds to the canon with the unforgettable tale of a not-so-average girl.
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Summer Chills
Like Barbara Vine and Kate Atkinson, Rosamund Lupton locates that sweet spot where crime and character intertwine. Sister tells a story of sibling loyalty fueled by a potential murder, laying a path toward either madness or enlightenment.
Summer Escapes Blind Sight, a first novel from Meg Howrey, delves into the life of a boy on the cusp of manhood. With humor and authenticity, the fractured world of Luke Prescott’s divorced – and wildly different – parents gets put under a microscope revealing secrets, lies and, sometimes, the truth. For those with a more exotic bent, Esmeralda Santiago’s Conquistadora (available July 12) offers romance, adventure and a Spanish Scarlett O’Hara. Our heroine, Ana Cubillas, yearning to break away from her life, journeys to 1844 Puerto Rico, in the midst of turbulent times, to run a plantation. The perfect length for a cross-country plane ride or a long day at the beach, The First Husband, by Laura Dave, captivates
A best seller that renews your faith in American reading habit, Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone starts out strong and ends even stronger. Like The Kite Runner or Zeitoun, this novel plants you firmly in another world and leaves you breathless. A good relationship drama can be just as much of an escape from your life as a foreign getaway. Sara Gardner Borden’s Games to Play After Dark will make you completely forget your own troubles and get captivated by those of the indelible Kate and Colin. Everyone wonders “what if?” at some point in their lives, and Tom McNeal follows this train of thought to its resting place in his novel, To Be Sung Underwater. A love story that makes you rethink the concept of romance, truth and destiny. The Watery Part of the World haunts as it bewitches with the story of a tiny island off the coast of North Carolina and the last three people who end up inhabiting it. Both romantic in its way and tragic, Michael Parker weaves a tale that ends up filtering through your dreams. A grown-up book about family, death and moving on, Stewart O’Nan’s Wish You Were Here pulls you deep into the lives of the Maxwell clan – a pleasure from start to finish. Family + time = drama, at least in literature. The Year We Left Home, by the remarkable Jean Thompson, thrusts us into the lives of the Ericksons for nearly 40 years as the family triumphs and flounders, mirroring the changing country around them.
CURTAINCALL
TVTIME
“Charlie! The Death of Nancy Fullforce”
PAY THE PIPER
June 17 & 24 @ ArtWorks Theatre Things are looking up for Charlie Max, a reporter on his last leg, when he thinks he sees Nancy Fullforce minutes before the media announces the premature demise of the rock celebrity. It’s up to Charlie to find out if the rock star staged his own death in a bid to report a story that will define his career. What follows is a rock ’n’ roll-laced chase to discover the truth behind Fullforce’s seemingly fake death. Writer-director Jasten King, who also plays Nancy Fullforce, does just about everything else in “Charlie!” adding lyricist and videographer to his credits. But King’s 100 mile-per-hour storyline can be hard to follow at times to the point where Charlie has to monologue in the middle of the play just so the audience can keep up. The show, which runs just short of an hour, has a frenetic tempo perhaps due its rock ’n’ roll nature. “Charlie!” does some interesting things with its limited set, projecting pre-recorded videos that are timed with the script, at times adding and at times detracting from the hectic viewing experience. A show with entertaining rock ’n’ roll musical numbers such as “Charlie!” deserves to have louder acoustics, and ultimately suffers in its uncomfortably small venue. “Charlie!”’s other strengths are a blend of its animated characters and strong actors. Robin Hall expertly plays a desperate Charlie, and Tyler Clement (‘Horsey’) is equally amusing as the disinterested associate of Charlie’s. But it is Kelly Mantle who stands out, both figuratively and literally (in stilettos), for his jocular performance as Kitty Glitter. Billed as a show for people who don’t like musicals, “Charlie!” is filled with great individual components all compressed into a way-too-short amount of time, but even though it’s a brief one, “Charlie! The Death of Nancy Fullforce” stands out as a unique experience. —Jonathan Bue ArtWorks Theatre is located at 6567 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. For more information visit facebook.com/nancyfullforce.
“Cover Affairs” star does what it takes to get ahead. BY LUAINE LEE
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE (MCT) NOT MUCH FRIGHTENS ACTRESS PIPER PERABO. SHE’S NOT AFRAID of auditions, a roomful of strangers or hauling off to New York fresh out of college with only a coffee pot, a cluster of books and a gym bag of clothes. What does scare her is doing mediocre work, she confides in the garden cafe at the Chateau Marmont Hotel. While she doesn’t claim to be a perfectionist, she quit her burgeoning career for two years to work on her acting. That kind of dedication makes her ideal for the role of the CIA agent Annie Walker in USA’s “Covert Affairs.” Annie’s fluent in 12 languages and can out fox the most fearless of foes, her brain as fleet as her feet. “I’d done a movie and wasn’t particularly happy with the work I’d done so I was kind of down about it,” she says. Perabo, who grew up in New Jersey, enrolled in the class that follows the method of the legendary teacher Sanford Meisner. She ejected her old way of working and started over from the beginning. “And the combination of the experience and cleaning of the slate and rebuilding my process really changed my work,” she says. She is so devoted to the moment that she broke her leg executing a stunt on the finale of the first season of “Covert Affairs.” They placed a pin near her knee while she healed and then went back in to remove it. Today just a small red trail on the outside of her left knee testifies to that ordeal. Perabo, who costarred in the films Coyote Ugly, Cheaper by the Dozen and The Prestige, thinks she always wanted to perform. She and her two brothers would act out on her grandmother’s sun porch making folding doors and heavy curtains into an imaginary stage. © 2011, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. “Covert Affairs” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on USA.
“Sylvia”
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John Heller
Now-July 10 @ Edgemar Center for the Arts “Sylvia” is the best play I have ever seen, and I have watched quite a few. A comedy written by A.R. Gurney, directed by Gary Imhoff and produced by Alexandra Guarnieri, “Sylvia” is now playing at Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica – the perfect venue for this play. “Sylvia” stars Tanna Frederick as Sylvia, a homeless dog picked up by Greg (Stephen Howard) and brought home with him even though his wife Kate (Cathy Arden) does not agree with the notion. Yes, Frederick portrays a dog. This is by far the most creative play-plot I have encountered. “Sylvia” is simply remarkable for its comedy, uniqueness, mixture of true-to-life elements and the message behind it. Oh yeah, did I mention that it is Tanna Frederick, Stephen Howard and Cathy immensely hilarious? Arden in “Sylvia” As Kate slowly comes to grips with Sylvia’s presence in their New York apartment, she begins to have problems with the dog. They just do not get along. The dog loves Greg, and Greg loves both of his females but is now tending to care and spend more time with Sylvia. Soon after a series of funny, yet unfortunate events with the dog, Greg indirectly befriends Tom (Tom Ayers) – a guy who walks and unleashes his male dog at the dog park. Tom also plays the role of a woman named Phyllis, who randomly bumps into Kate in Manhattan. Phyllis comes over to the apartment and witnesses the negative aspects of having a dog as a pet – or better yet – as a member of the family. “The dog?” Phyllis says as the entire crowd vigorously laughs. With additional laughs and some drama in a cancelled move to England, Kate eventually gives in to Sylvia and Greg gets his wish. —Marvin Vasquez Edgemar Center for the Arts is located at 2437 Main St., Santa Monica. For more information, visit edgemarcenter.org.
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Eric Grunebaum
Campus Circle > Film > Interviews
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks to a crowd in Bill Haney’s The Last Mountain.
THE LAST MOUNTAIN
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and director Bill Haney inspire courage to fight. BY ARIEL PAREDES WHEN YOU SWITCH ON A LIGHT, WATCH YOUR television or charge your iPod, I’m sure that you never really stop and think about where that energy is coming from. Fifty percent of our energy comes from coal, which is rapidly depleting, and retrieving it is destroying our natural ecosystems. Director Bill Haney and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. worked tirelessly on the documentary The Last Mountain to show that we need to understand and be aware of this disengaged relationship. The story follows the local townspeople of Coal River Mountain, W. Va., who decided to stand up and fight against the coal industry. “This is a complicated tale, we feel that these are people far, far away, yet we make decisions that directly affect us without realizing it,” states Haney. “We shouldn’t be disconnected from those consequences.” “I try to make movies that would move an audience the same way they would move me. I find stories of ordinary people who press into finding things in their character that
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are extraordinary,” Haney continues. “I find that inspiring.” The documentary follows regular people who take a daily stand and protest. “That’s what made me like this community in Coal River Mountain so much. These people gathered together and were ordinary people standing up for what they believed in. There is a 91-year-old woman getting thrown out of the state building,” says Haney. Passionate environmentalist Bobby Kennedy, Jr. also couldn’t just sit by. “The air, the water, the wildlife, the fisheries – whether you’re rich or poor, young or old you have an absolute right to it, and they are being stolen by powerful political entities in order to privatize,” states Kennedy. “I have always seen pollution as an act of theft. The commons belong to the people.”
“I have always seen pollution as an act of theft. The commons belong to the people,” states Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Recalling a memory from the film, Kennedy shares, “There is a scene in the movie where local activists try to have an demonstration in front of the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), and they are surrounded by barriers preventing them from getting anywhere near the building. The coalition between government and corporate
power was blatantly obvious there.” Pressing that point further, Haney adds, “In West Virginia, two-thirds of the people are against mountaintop mining, yet how come the politicians are in support of it? Bobby began to ask these questions which awakened me.” With conviction, Kennedy urges, “They are tearing down an entire mountain range, and so much of American culture is rooted in West Virginia. The richest eco system north of the equator is being destroyed.” “I’ve always been into the environment, my mom said since I was very little. I started really fighting for it when I was 6 years old. I wrote my Uncle, who was then President at the time, a letter about pollution and asked if I could meet with him about it,” Kennedy recalls. “Bobby wrote a book called Crimes Against Nature that really called to me,” states Haney. “I absolutely wanted him to be a part of this project.” Haney also wanted to find a way to humanize the story but to be impartial at the same time. “I am not a fan of films that don’t propose a solution. You need to do both sides. They had to know what they were against, and what they were for. To take action as a waitress or an ex coal miner in West Virginia takes a lot of courage. These folks were giving something up, everyday,” Haney emphasizes. “Finding a balance between being deeply moved enough to be committed to something and being respectful enough of the audience and trying to share the information,” implores Haney. “I wanted to let the audience take the journey with me and let them decide.” Haney concludes, “For me to be working on a project for three years, I have to feel like it means something to me, inspiration and justice matter to me.” The Last Mountain releases in select theaters June 15.
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SPECIAL FEATURES BY MIKE SEBASTIAN The Majors:
Owen Wilson and “SNL”’s Jason Sudeikis are granted a week off from their marriages in the Farrelly brothers comedy Hall Pass. The best friends live it up but don’t realize that their wives (Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate) are doing the same. Val Kilmer, Christopher Walken and Vincent D’Onofrio star in Kill the Irishman, the true story of Irish-American mobster Danny Greene, who went to war with the Cleveland mob, surviving countless attempts on his life. When Los Angeles comes under attack from alien invaders, it’s up to Marine Staff Sergeant Aaron Eckhart to take back the city in the sci-fi action flick Battle: Los Angeles. Red Riding Hood stars Amanda Seyfried as a medieval girl betrothed to a wealthy aristocrat but in love with a poor woodcutter. Meanwhile, a werewolf has killed her sister and could be any one of her fellow villagers. Billy Burke and Gary Oldman co-star. Also available: Marvel Knights: Spiderwoman Agent of S.W.O.R.D.
Stranger Than Fiction: The China Question examines the far-reaching implications of China’s rise to a global superpower and what it means for America. Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein (Gunner Palace) direct How to Fold A Flag, an affecting look at several Iraq War veterans as they return home and try to start their lives again. From the Vault: A new batch of MGM classics is available on demand from online retailers. Maverick auteur Sam Fuller brought his tabloid journalism background to bear in Park Row (1952) about a man who goes to war with his old employer by starting an opposition newspaper. A college psych professor sets out to disprove the occult but is in for a rude awakening in Burn, Witch, Burn! (1962). Harry in Your Pocket (1972) stars James Coburn as the leader of a crack team of pickpockets. Report to the Commissioner is a gritty New York cop drama about a naive rookie who finds himself in the middle of interdepartmental political maneuvering. Double features: Robot Wars/Crash and Burn, Gordon’s War/Off Limits, Elvira’s Movie Macabre: The Satanic Rites of Dracula/The Werewolf of Washington and Night of the Living Dead/I Eat Your Skin
Under the Radar: Donnie Yen (Ip Man) stars as legendary martial arts master Chen Zhen in Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen. Zhen is reinvented as a crime-fighting superspy who takes to the streets at night to dispense justice during the Japanese occupation of 1920s China. Bradley Cooper stars as one of two very different men vying for the affections of the same woman in the romantic comedy Bending All the Rules. A witness to a serial killer’s murder is trapped in an office building during a blackout with a bunch of strangers as the psycho picks them off one by one in Fall Down Dead.
The Idiotbox: Based on Stephen King’s The Colorado Kid, Haven: The Complete First Season takes place in a small town where all the residents have supernatural abilities. Emily Rose and Eric Balfour star in this Syfy series. SGU: The Complete Final Season follows the final voyage of the spaceship Destiny. Trapped aboard a ship programmed to explore the farthest reaches of the universe, with dwindling supplies and no knowledge of their ultimate destination, the crew of the Destiny has to contend with unknown enemies and each other. Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) stars. Blu Notes:
Keanu Reeves stars as a futuristic courier who has to deliver the data installed in his brain in the cyber thriller Johnny Mnemonic. Dolph Lundgren and Ice-T co-star. Two brothers crisscross the country hunting otherworldly evils in Supernatural: The Complete Second Season. This surprisingly deft and intense series features some of the best horror writing around. Also available: Legends of Flight
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THE YEAR’S MOST ADDICTIVELY QUOTABLE MOVIE.’’
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THE SKY IS ‘FALLING’
Connor Jessup battles aliens on his summer vacation. BY HIKO MITSUZUKA IF YOUR HOME IS ABOUT TO BE BLOWN TO smithereens by a fleet of alien invaders, what’s the first thing you would grab before escaping with the rest of your family? Your prized laptop? Some photo albums? A camera to capture all the action? The first thing Connor Jessup would grab: a stack of his favorite books. “If I was being practical,” he second-guesses, “I’d probably want to bring some sort of survival kit.” But books? “If we didn’t have power,” he further explains. How admirable … and surprising. A 16-year-old who loves to read? “If we did [have power] I’d bring my favorite movies.” That’s more like it. Such rationalizations had to be made while preparing for his role in TNT’s new sci-fi series, “Falling Skies,” one of my picks for the season (as seen in last month’s “Summer TV Preview”). The young, Toronto-based Jessup plays Ben Mason, the kidnapped middle son of a historian played by former “ER” doc Noah Wyle (“one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, incredibly kind and intelligent”). The elder Mason leads a human resistance movement against a group of hostile E.T.s
Campus Circle > Film > The Channel Surfer that look nothing like the celestial entity Katy Perry serenades in the music video for her ode to otherworldly beings. The show is also a far cry from Jessup’s days on “The Saddle Club,” a hit Australian-Canadian kid series about the trials and tribulations of a group of equestrian competitors. Sharing screen time with a bunch of girls and horses is great and all, but dodging death rays shot by creatures from outer space is an entirely different thing. The FX-heavy pilot for “Skies” was shot in the fall of 2009, back when it was known as the Untitled Steven Spielberg Alien Invasion Pilot “which is a pretty awesome title for a pilot,” says Connor. “It can’t really get any much better than that.” Having been added to the cast halfway through production, he couldn’t believe he was getting the chance to work on a project so massive. As a child, his parents, avid film buffs, raised him on the likes of Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Wizard of Oz. “I’d watch the Batman movies for weeks in a row,” he says. Now, his DVD shelf is full of his favorites like Lost in Translation, Magnolia, Network and Raging Bull – an indicator of his matured taste in cinema. And now he gets to work for the guy who directed Jurassic Park on a project written by the guy who penned Saving Private Ryan (that’d be Robert Rodat). It has been an amazing experience worthy of several pinch-me moments I’m sure he’s had. “To have someone say ‘Steven loved your tape’ is like a dream come true,” he tells me in awe, describing the time he had to re-audition for the role last summer when changes were made to his character. When he got the part – again – he had to brush up on his American history and study the American Revolution in order to grasp the parallels made apparent in the series. As for those changes in the script regarding his character, his lips are sealed … Let’s just say he
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June 16-26 @ Various Locations BY KRISTINA BRAVO LATELY, I’VE BEEN FINDING MYSELF IN CONVER– sations with out-of-state transplants about their opinions of Los Angeles. The words “weird,” “crazy” and “fake” come up a lot, and as someone who spent her formative years narrowing down the best whole-in-the-wall Mexican drive-thru’s in town (a grimy exterior is usually a good sign), enjoying sunny winter days and meeting interesting people from elsewhere in the country or even the world, it has been increasingly difficult to keep smiling during these talks. Like any other city, Los Angeles isn’t perfect. You spend a lot of time driving. You spend even more looking for parking. Then, the nice attendants in the lot will ask you for your money. You will see tanned, bleach blond, thin women with disproportionately sized breasts. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I guess that’s where someone might come up with the word “artificial.” With this and other kinds of what can be construed as superficialities, people are not as direct with each other – but that doesn’t mean that deep down they are all vicious liars. Maybe they are just being polite. Synonymous with Los Angeles, the film industry lately has been accused of being fake, in the sense of unoriginality and being too sexualized or too reliant upon all the special effects
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plays a pivotal role in why the aliens are abducting teenagers during their attempts to wipe out humanity. Jessup appears to be very humble and appreciative of all that has happened thus far. After all, there are only a handful of actors who can be considered having been “discovered” by the iconic auteur. Christian Bale in 1987’s Empire of the Sun comes to mind, another epic tale in which a young boy is separated from his parents during wartime. For now, Jessup is enjoying the ride, having started the whole professional-actor thing when he was an 11-yearold theater geek (waaay back in 2006). His mom eventually helped him find an agent, and it has been a life of film shoots and on-set tutors ever since. Luckily, he also attends a Toronto high school that’s kid-performer-friendly. And there seems to be no lull in his career anytime soon. In between running away from CGI aliens and hanging out with Wyle off set (“We play chess.”), the talented Mr. Jessup is concentrating on producing and directing his own short films, wrapping up on the Canadian indie, Blackbird, and of course, finishing school – which can be a challenge: “Sometimes it’s hard to focus on schoolwork when there’s a car blowing up nearby on set.”
Josh Madson
FILM
“Falling Skies” premieres June 19 at 9 p.m. on TNT.
Campus Circle > Film > Projections that a production company can afford. Lower-budget movies, no matter how good they are, aren’t as likely to be noticed and exposed to the world. This is where the Los Angeles Film Festival comes in. In talking about big Hollywood and smaller independent movies, associate director of programming Doug Jones says, “For every big time director, there’s a scrappy young filmmaker who’s just getting started here in Los Angeles. The festival gives us a chance to bring [them] together.” Produced by the Film Independent and presented by the Los Angeles Times, this year the festival will bring to downtown Los Angeles a curated set of the best of the 5,025 submissions from filmmakers around the world. Here are five of the many things to look forward to in the festival: 1) The festival’s international spotlight will focus on Cuba, showcasing screenings of Habana Eva, Operation Peter Pan: Flying Back to Cuba, Suite Habana and Ticket to Paradise. Sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the UCLA Latin American institute, these four films will satisfy your fix for culturally diverse entertainment that Los Angeles nurtures in its residents. 2) How to Cheat is L.A.-based actor and filmmaker Amber Sealey’s entry to the festival’s narrative competition. It will surprise you with nudity that isn’t without purpose and touch you with a creeping, too-real picture of life, all while making you laugh with wry, dark humor. 3) Entrance is Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath’s thriller about a woman who leads an aimless and unhappy life in Los Angeles. The film begins by lulling the audience into a seemingly mundane and depressing life, and then it sneaks upon you with open-mouthed fear and paranoia. Walking the streets of Los Angeles won’t be quite the same after the last disturbing scene, which will stay in your head beyond the end credits.
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James Franco presents a screening of The Broken Tower. 4) James Franco once upon a time graced the halls of UCLA for his undergraduate degree in English and creative writing. At An Evening with James Franco, you’ll get to see the actor, writer and filmmaker to present one his latest ventures: an experimental biopic of poet Hart Crane titled The Broken Tower. 5) Guillermo Del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is a Hollywood remake starring Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce that will screen on the festival’s closing night. The film’s frightening trailer has been making the rounds, and the festival will give you a chance to see the movie before its Aug. 26 release date. The Los Angeles Film Festival is a celebration of both the city and the movie industry. Who said that the extravagantly beautiful and the inspiring but grimy can’t exist in the same city? Despite some insanely budgeted special effects, there is an authenticity to be found at the core of passion and talent. Los Angeles may be “weird” or “fake” to some, but only to those who haven’t gone and experienced all of it. Besides, what’s wrong with a little crazy mixed with the nitty-gritty? For more information, visit lafilmfest.com.
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BY SAMANTHA OFOLE QASIM BASIR WAS IN LONDON PROMOTING HIS independent drama, Mooz-lum, when he heard the news of Osama bin Laden’s demise. For the writer-director, who was raised in a Muslim household, the news was bittersweet. “I was asleep in my hotel room in London. I got a text and then a call,” says Basir. “There are lots of pivotal moments you have in your life, and it was one of those moments.” Despite the lack of distribution from a major studio, Basir, a relatively unknown director, has managed to garner interest in his drama Mooz-lum, a story about a young Muslim man (played by Evan Ross) struggling to find his passion for a faith that he feels has ostracized him from his peers. “People are afraid of certain things,” says Basir who initially approached several studios for distribution. “This word Muslim or Islam just has a bad rap, so when it came to getting the movie distributed commercially, people weren’t really ready to do that. When studios think of movies with primarily an African-American cast, a lot of times it’s comedy, and they don’t think of socially conscious films.” “This movie has a much wider audience, but they weren’t ready to take the risk. So we are going to do what we have to do to get it out there as much as we can,” adds the 30-year-old director, who enjoys tackling subjects with substance.
MOVIEREVIEWS The Art of Getting By (Fox Searchlight) A wise man once said that “life is full of misery, loneliness and suffering – and it’s all over much too soon.” The same thing can be said about high school and all of its wonderful experiences. Yes, I am being sarcastic. It’s the moment of truth in which we must shed our innocence and make our transition into society’s wondrous adulthood. By now, I’m sure you’ve got the gist of what The Art of Getting By is about. George (Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland) is a witty, Holden Caulfield-ish, New York high school student who breaks out of his shell when he strikes up an unlikely friendship with popular girl Sally (Emma Roberts, Scre4m). You know what this means? Yes, it’s another “coming-of-age” movie, this time from rookie writer-director Gavin Wiesen. The film starts off with George going through a teenager’s “midlife crisis.” Instead of worrying about graduating and getting into a decent college, he’s aware of his own mortality. He chooses the “We’re going to die anyway, so what’s the point of it all?” mantra, yet miraculously makes it to his senior year without doing his homework. The intrigue to see his journey to self-discovery fades quickly, when the story becomes just about the complicated friendship between George and Sally. Now, friendship is not the correct word. In fact, it never is. Falling in love never looked so simple, as they wander the streets of New York, searching for their identity, while trying to figure out what they want, for themselves, and from each other – and ultimately, life. “Find something that you’ve never had the courage to say before, find what you care about, what you believe,” is a line that resonated with me the rest of the night. It’s proof of the script’s potential only to see it go to waste on the rom-com.
Peace Films
Qasim Basir attempts to squash negative stereotypes.
Basir took a similar independent journey with his first project, 1Nation 2Worlds, which he screened at several colleges and universities all over the country, challenging students and professors to open discussions on the important issue of race. His second movie, Glimpse, dealt with erasing ignorance, and the third, Mooz-lum – which is deliberately misspelled – focuses on Muslims in America. “There are going to be a lot of things people take away from this film, but the movie really is a coming-of-age story about a guy trying to find his place in society. Yes, he is Muslim, but overall that is the biggest thing,” adds Basir who feels the biggest misconception people have of Islam is that it teaches something violent. Loosely based on Basir’s life, the heart and soul of Moozlum, is Evan Ross, who stars as the socially crippled Tariq, a young man conflicted between his strict Muslim religion and the normal social life he’s never had. Ross, who has made a specialty of playing mentally tortured characters in movies Life is Hot in Cracktown and ATL, brings much of the same intensity and strength to this role. For Basir, making Mooz-lum, which he shot in his hometown in Michigan, meant revisiting a painful chapter in his childhood. “Some of us have wounds from our childhood or from our youth that we never explore, and they affect us whether we know it or not. I was able to deal with those issues, and it ended up being one of the most therapeutic things that I have done,” says Basir, a recipient of the Inspirational Filmmaker of the Year award from the Memphis Black Writers Film Festival. Also starring Danny Glover, Dorian Missick, Roger Guenveur Smith and Nia Long, who plays Tariq’s mother, Mooz-lum is set against a background that includes the attack on New York’s World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Mooz-lum’s writer-director Qasim Basir “I feel like ignorance is one of the most significant issues hindering our society today, and I want to give people a human version of Muslims,” says Basir. “A perspective you have never seen before and not of extremism or terrorism. The extremists have created certain acts in the name of Islam and have sort of hijacked Islam in a way to make people believe that this is what it represents. I was born and raised Muslim and have been around all kinds of Muslims and all kinds of nationalities. I have never heard of anything like that and have always known of something very different – something much more peaceful.” Produced by Dana Offenbach, Mooz-lum will force you to think of this often-misunderstood religion in a new and unbiased way, for Basir coaxes performances out of his actors that blend well with the overall tone and atmosphere. Mooz-Lum is currently available on DVD.
Campus Circle > Film > Movie Reviews Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on first love, but why must teen movies almost always be reduced to the love experience? Even with some genuine moments, The Art of Getting By quickly becomes a forgettable movie. As great as it was to see George see some beauty in the world and have something matter in life because of Sally, it was unfulfilling to see that the “lesson” he learned was to say those three words. But hey, maybe the answers to the “Who am I? What am I going to do with my life?” never surface without that one special person by our side, who’s going through the same discovery to push us through. Maybe the ups and downs and uncertainty of young love really is the transcendence into adulthood. Maybe we need that first love to show us something about ourselves that we never knew we had. Grade: C—Nataly Chavez The Art of Getting By releases in select theaters June 17.
Buck (IFC) Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award, Buck follows horse trainer Buck Brannaman, inspiration for both the book and film versions of The Horse Whisperer, as he traverses the country teaching four-day seminars for nine months out of the year in the ways of natural horsemanship. Brannaman, an individual one might envision when thinking of the ideal all-American cowboy, is a compelling character that dispenses his Zen-like wisdom to those trying to solve their equestrian problems through means of trying to understand the majestic creatures rather than just trying to “break” them. We soon find that much of Brannaman’s empathy comes from his own history of being abused by his biological father; leaving him emotionally scarred and
Mark Schafer
MOOZ-LUM
Campus Circle > Film > Special Features
Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore in The Art of Getting By eventually placing him in foster care where he begins his healing process. Eventually Brannaman finds his way to the seminar of one Ray Hunt, recognized as one of the pioneers of natural horsemanship, and becomes his protégé. It’s truly fascinating to watch as Brannaman skillfully runs through his seminars, guiding both humans and horses with seemingly common-sense advice. Part of Brannaman’s charm is his straightforward, almost philosophical, way with words that make the whole process of horse training look and sound way too easy. In fact, the climax of the film is when a violent young colt, that is assumed to have been oxygen deprived at birth, is brought to one of Brannaman’s seminars in what is the first CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 >>>
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Emily Knight
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Horse trainer Buck Brannaman in Buck <<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 real example of conflict between horse and “whisperer.” Even then, Brannaman manages to calm the horse enough to get it in its trailer even after it has already hurt another individual and attacked others. Even the most mundane scenes in Buck, generally those not involving horses, are entertaining to watch because of the subject’s humble wit and captivating background. Brannaman displays his rope skills in one scene, a skill he seems to have passed on to his daughter, and Robert Redford appears in the film giving some behind-the-scenes credence to Brannaman’s influence on The Horse Whisperer. Buck is surprisingly Cindy Meehl’s first film and is put together wonderfully, with beautiful cinematography and an excellent soundtrack to go along with it. Meehl chose a captivating subject in Brannaman, and the film will end up whispering more than a few positive thoughts the audience’s way. Grade: A —Jonathan Bue Buck releases in select theaters June 17.
City of Life and Death (Kino International) Chinese films have something in them that is very unique yet extremely difficult to explain at times. The same can be said about City of Life and Death, which is written, directed and executive produce by Lu Chuan (The Missing Gun, Mountain Patrol: Kekexili). The film, originally released in China in 2009, was shot in Cinemascope and is in black and white from beginning to end. This is what makes City of Life and Death so special and intriguing. Depicting a story based on true events that occurred in the late 1930s, Lu reaches soaring heights with his third feature film. To be precise, it is a war movie portraying the nationwide rivalry and struggle during the Japanese occupation of the capital city of Nanjing, China in December 1937, has been classified as “The Rape of Nanking” or the “Nanking Massacre.” City of Life and Death begins with film footage of war letters and postcards that serve as proof that an attack by
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the Imperial Japanese Army was coming to Nanjing. The Japanese brutally executed attacks on all of those residing in Nanjing. To place a stop to the deaths, a Safety Zone was created while views were assessed. Sacrifices were made and additional crimes occur, as some gain wins and others suffer defeat. There are a multitude of languages spoken throughout the two-hour film: Mandarin, Japanese, German and Shanghainese – all with English subtitles. Don’t be alarmed though, as this asset is not boring or annoying. The various languages and subtitles give the film a flourishing touch. City of Life and Death stars Liu Ye, Hideo Nakaizumi and Qin Lan – who all deliver impeccable and unforgettable performances. Each breathes life into his/her character. An immensely vivid plot also adds to the film. The way in which Chinese soldiers, civilian men and both American and European refugees are depicted is beautifully stunning. Death is not option for them. Rather, courage and bravery rule. With the recorded witness testimony utilized from some real-life survivors of these catastrophic events, City of Life and Death is an epic film. Lu Chuan delivers an ambitious drama for the ages. Grade: B+ —Marvin Vasquez City of Life and Death releases in select theaters June 17.
Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? (Collective Eye) “Great rascals of venom! It’s a beard of bees!” screams the second shot of Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?, the newest documentary from director Taggart Siegel. The shot is zoomed-in, up close next to a woman’s skin that’s fair and bright white against the sunlit sky, and coated in a layer of … live bees! They swarm in a tangle cooled by the solace of the bee-lady’s presence, a strange shelter to prove the point this film is in a frenzy to make: Hey, you, don’t tell bees to buzz off! “They’re cool,” the bee bedecked lady might say, “we can cohabit this earth together, totally.” It’s a new age circus act out of time, but still an impressive spectacle. (Can you wear a jacket and beard of bees?)
That is the last we see of the bee woman, and the film proceeds forth with ultra-bright, ultra-crisp digital imagery as it explores the history of bees in our flora filled world. The handheld camera (also manned by Siegel) dives into the pollen-dusted center of a sunflower. The golden petals mark a tremendous contrast with the blue sky surrounding it; and you can see the texture of the soft flower, the miniscule body parts of the bee at its center. This could very well be a glossy demo shot for a color printer ad. But while the sparkling digital style of Queen of the Sun is simply rapturous, the content is less so. The film is an exploration on the role of bees and beekeeping in modern society, and the history both have had on our planet. Which, with the long slate of beekeepers, organic farmers, entomologists and biologists speaking on record, suffice it to say that role is integral to our survival. “Pollen is, so to speak, materialized life,” says molecular biologist Johannes Wirz, one of Queen’s characters. Without it and without bees spreading it about, the natural world would simply collapse. Didactic, yes. Dire consequences, absolutely. Before the world ends, it’s worth noting Siegel’s previous feature, The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005), about an organic farmer in rural Illinois who is gay and ostracized from his community because of it. At the center of that film is an affable, colorful character who brought vitality to the screen. Farmer John (whose Real Dirt I recommend you check out) was the focal point of a cause: organic farming and community building. The sweet affection and humor of this central character is replaced in Queen of the Sun with a slate of specialists who merely relay facts. It’s a cooled elixir that’s less palatable, but certainly informational, and despite Queen’s grave prognosis there is an upbeat conclusion. And thus the message of our times: Respect nature, green is the new black, buy organic, buy organic and always buy organic. Moreover, respect the bee. Yellow jackets are always in season. The bee lady could have told you that. Grade: B —Pamela Kerpius Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? releases in select theaters June 17.
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Franç ois Duhamel
Campus Circle > Film > Interviews
Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern
GREEN LANTERN
Ryan Reynolds, the Superhero BY SASHA PERL-RAVER IF PEOPLE COULD BE BOUND UP BY ANTI-TRUST laws, Ryan Reynolds might find himself on the business end of some serious litigation. Between Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity, Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Hal Jordan in this summer’s Green Lantern, the former sitcom star-turned-hard-bodied leading man has created a superhero monopoly. Sitting down to chat with the actor one gloomy June afternoon in Beverly Hills, his obvious abdominal and pectoral supremacy aside, one has to ask, what makes Reynolds so superhero-y? “Well, first of all, Hannibal King is not a superhero,” Reynolds deadpans with his signature sardonic wit. “He’s a human being who bleeds and dies if you stab him. Deadpool is kind of an anti-hero, not a superhero. In fact, he’d probably kill you if you called him a superhero. Green Lantern – now that’s a superhero,” he grins. Evasive answers aside, the 34-year-old Canadian has undeniably become one of Hollywood’s go-to action idols, a distinction Reynolds shrugs off with charming humility.
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“I’d like to think that I can encompass some sort of an average Joe,” he offers. “That’s what [Green Lantern] is. This ring selected this guy for reasons totally baffling to him and everyone around him, for an unbelievable, extraordinary task. But it could be anyone.” “He’s a great superhero, but, specifically, he’s a great Green Lantern,” Reynold’s co-star, Blake Lively, who plays Carol Ferris, Hal’s contentious love interest, explains. “Green Lantern is a person who is a strong, capable man, but he’s also very human and he gets by on his charms. Having someone like Ryan play this character, who has such a heart, humanity and incredible likability, who’s disarmingly charming and witty; you really need that.” Peter Sarsgaard, who plays the evil, bulbous headed Dr. Hector Hammond, adds, “I think it’s a kind of honesty. There are a lot of good actors who always seem like they’ve got a card face down somewhere that they’re not telling you about. With Ryan, it seems like he has all his cards out all the time. And he manages to still be interesting when doing that.” Another of Reynolds’ numerous charms is the feeling that, although he’s built like a brick house and has a matinee idol’s chiseled good looks, there’s an inner geek lurking juuust below that well-hewn surface. At the mention of possible unspoken nerdiness, he laughs. “Yeah, I was a drama geek and all that crap when I was a kid,” he admits. “I looked like a young Asian girl until I was 19.” Speaking of nerds, you can’t touch a beloved comic universe nowadays without losing sleep over what the fan reaction is going to be. Still Reynolds says he’s excited for devotes of Green Lantern and DC Comics to see their
adaptation. “You have to service the fanboys,” he insists, “They’re the ones who really brought this character into the zeitgeist. And you also have to make sure it’s available for a broader audience. You have to walk that tight rope. You can’t discount what it is the die-hards loved about the character, you have to bring that to the screen because chances are a broader audience is going to follow suit and also fall in love with those aspects.” For filmgoers unfamiliar with Hal Jordan’s newfound powers as Green Lantern, he finds that thanks to a ring bestowed by an alien, he has the ability to actualize anything he can imagine. It was a fitting ability considering Reynolds spent a great deal of shooting on an empty green screen stage wearing a suit that he describes as making him look “like a crash test dummy.” “The real super power in this movie is imagination,” he says. “You spend month and months and months on a stage with nothing to look at and nothing to react to, so you have to use your imagination in ways you never would before.” He lauds Grant Major, the film’s production designer who worked on Lord of the Rings, for guiding him through the process. “He’d come down and show me all of the sketches and say, ‘This is what you’re looking at, this is what’s in front of you, what’s behind you, what’s beside you. This is what’s flying above your head.’ And after a while, you see it, you start to believe it and then you’re just hallucinating by the time you get home.” Green Lantern releases in theaters June 17.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. & Filmmaker BILL HANEY IN PERSON for Q&A on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15 following the 7:20pm show at the LANDMARK.
“AN EPIC PORTRAIT… POWERFUL and BREATHTAKING.” -Jeff Biggers, THE HUFFINGTON POST
“INFORMATIVE, STIRRING, and most importantly, INSPIRING.” -James Greenberg, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“A MUST-SEE!” -The Joan Hamburg Show, WOR RADIO
OFFICIA L SELEC TION
2011
STARTS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15
▲WEST LOS ANGELES The LANDMARK at W. Pico & Westwood (310) 281-8233 Free Parking www.landmarktheatres.com
10" x 13"
STARTS FRIDAY, JUNE 17
● ENCINO ❋ IRVINE ▲PASADENA Laemmle’s Edwards University Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Town Center 5 Town Center 6 (626) 844-6500 Tickets (818) 981-9811 (800) FANDANGO #143 available @ laemmle.com
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❋ ● ▲
CULTURE EVENTS DVD GAMING SPORTS MEDIA BLOGS CD Reviews Frequency Interviews Live Show Reviews Music Notes Music Report Special Features
MUSICINTERVIEWS
Campus Circle > Music > Interviews
MARIA TAYLOR Not One to Overlook
BY PRISCILLA ANDRADE IT’S DEC. 1, 2010. MARIA TAYLOR HAS JUST FIN– ished one leg of the recently reunited Azure Ray tour and finds herself living in her childhood bedroom. It has been over a year since she moved back to her hometown of Birmingham, Ala., and she hasn’t written a song since the move. “I was kind of scared that I was never going to write a song again,” says Taylor. “And I was thinking, maybe the move to Birmingham wasn’t a good idea because I wasn’t even sure why I did it. I was living in Los Angeles and I loved it, but something told me it was time to go back to Birmingham.” Being inside of her old home located on Overlook Road, Taylor locked herself inside her room and found inspiration in asking herself the big question: Where is my life going? Her writer’s block was officially over. Taylor spent two weeks hunched over her computer, singing licks, playing guitar and recording drums in her basement. After all nine songs had been written, she moved straight into the studio to polish them up. Seven days later, her fourth solo album (and her first self-produced venture) was completed and fittingly named Overlook. “The songs aren’t so much retrospective on this record. It’s a little more like looking ahead, just kind of asking questions about the future and not really coming up with the answers,” she shares.
Taylor says that writing songs in her hometown had an influence on the tone of the album as well. “It’s definitely got some southern influences, it’s more guitar driven and there’s more elements of rock ... I tried to use a lot of my friends and family to play on the record. They added so much and contributed to the direction that it went.” Her talent for song lyrics may be described as prolific, and their creation certainly was for her in some cases. “A lot of the times when I write songs I feel like they’re kind of foreshadowing something that hasn’t happened yet. I do that a lot, and it kind of freaks me out sometimes. ‘Along for the Ride’ might be one of those songs. I was listening to that song the other day, and I got chills.” Another technique that contributes to Taylor’s sound is her ability to play guitar without the high-E string. She doesn’t like the treble-y sound. “It actually makes it harder to play, and there are some chords I can’t play because I don’t have that string. But that’s why I have another guitar player on stage with me, so he can play those chords,” she jokes. She is currently on tour with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. What makes this tour so special is that for the first time, her backing band is made up entirely of her family. Her sister Kate is on drums, while her brother Macey plays bass and banjo. On what it has been like touring with her relatives Taylor says, “We get along really well, so it’s just been a great family vacation.” Playing music as a family is something that the Taylor children grew up on. This may have something to do with the fact that their father was popular for writing jingles and built a home studio in the basement. They would often get together, grab an instrument and play along with him. Taylor is a bit older than her siblings, so she had to wait a bit before
Jason Hamric
NEWS FILM MUSIC
she could bring them on tour with her. “As soon as they turned 18, I swiped them up and took them on the road and showed them what debauchery looks like,” she says. What’s great about Taylor is how open and down to earth she is. She still lives with roommates, is saving up to buy a house in Los Angeles and waits in line to pump gas, just like everyone else. To learn more about her lifestyle, just listen to “Bad Idea,” which is a literal translation of it. “It’s just kind of asking if it’s a bad idea to be 35 and still be living like a 20-something, sleeping all day and being messy and staying up all night,” says Taylor. “That one’s really fun to play live.” Overlook will be available Aug. 16. Maria Taylor performs June 19 at the Troubadour. For more information, visit mariataylormusic.com.
CDREVIEWS
FRIENDLY FIRES
Neil Young and the International Harvesters
with
with WISE BLOOD June 10 » The Music Box
THE THERMALS AUTOBOT FROM FLOSSTRADAMUS June 17 » The Music Box
rooney-band.com
June 23 » The Music Box
June 24 » El Rey Theatre
CHARGE: 800-745-3000 • TICKETMASTER LOCATIONS THE MUSIC BOX BOX OFFICE MON–FRI 10AM–6PM
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A Treasure (Reprise) This collection of live cuts was culled from shows in 1984-85 during Neil Young’s ill-fated Geffen era. After a long relationship with Reprise where he sold millions of records, Young signed with Geffen only to deliver several bombs: the horrible electro album Trans, the rockabilly effort Everybody’s Rockin’ and the uneven Old Ways. Despite sales woes and legal troubles (Geffen sued him over the “unsalable material.”), Young was in a country mood for A Treasure and clearly having a great time on the road with the International Harvesters, an aggregation of crack session men like Spooner Oldham, Hargus “Pig” Robbins and the late Ben Keith. Much of what’s here is pure old-style country, like “Bound for Glory,” driven to the height of hillbilly by Keith’s pedal steel guitar and honey-dripping fiddle from Rufus Thibodeaux. Outlaw country anthem “Are You Ready For the Country?,” originally from Young’s Harvest album and later covered by Waylon Jennings, is performed here with more energy than the original; this souped-up version is at once more country and a little bit rockier too. Super-countrified versions of “Motor City” and “Southern Pacific,” both originally cut with rock band Crazy Horse for Re-ac-tor, Young’s last album of the era for Reprise before leaving for Geffen, sound good here as does the swinging “Soul of a Woman.” Young’s rock music often finds him in an angry mood, but he’s absolutely carefree here with hayseed in his hair, and the fun easily translates for the listener. Grade: B —Kevin Wierzbicki A Treasure is currently available.
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Caleb Kuhl
FREQUENCY
Matt & Kim bring synth-laden punk jams to the Music Box June 15 & 17.
BY BRIEN OVERLY Augustana June 15 @ House of Blues Sunset Strip June 16 @ House of Blues Anaheim It has admittedly been a good while since this band was in the public spotlight, and while most things that go into obscurity after a big initial showing are usually the ones most deserving to be back in obscurity, Augustana is one band worth turning that spotlight back toward again. Because even for the million times you might have heard “Boston” playing in the background of your teen drama TV series of choice, it’s still hard to get sick of it. That said, the band’s newest material is even better than their work on their 2005 debut album. While maintaining the signature piano-driven sing-along jams that their sound is built on, frontman Dan Layus has taken his whiskey-and-cigarettes vocal style to new levels of emotiveness for a very grown-up effect. Channeling the great classic rock acts of previous generations, the SoCal locals are one of few hyped up “next big thing” bands that were actually worth said hype at their introduction, and one of even fewer who are still worth it now, years later.
Matt & Kim June 15 & 17 @ The Music Box Since y’all know I’m big on cohesive themes for Frequency whenever possible, this week I’m going with “more grown up than you think.” It’s catchy, right? It’s also the title of my eventual autobio. Anyway, the Matt and Kim duo are one of precious few bands within the pop-punk genre who can be branded as awesomely legit. Bringing the signature indie coolness that only native Brooklynites inherently possess on this level, the pair write synth-laden punk jams that you can sing along to just as easily as you throw a few fists to. Oddly enough, their video for “Cameras” is exactly the kind of barroom-style brawl I envision happening while their music plays in the background for maximum badass effect. Because I have so many already.
Kid Cudi June 20 & 21 @ Nokia Theatre There’s a lot of trash to be talked about mainstream hip-hop these days. Like, a lot. I know, because I’m usually doing it when I’m not trashing current joke-core bands or rescinding statements of trash talk aimed at bands who went from joke to legit out of nowhere. Luckily, Kid Cudi might be the bright shining beacon of hope for mainstream hip-hop. Indie hip-hop has more than its share of heroes who are championing their genre, but Cudi might be the only person who has recorded a track with Snoop Dogg that I actually like, and the only mainstream hip-hopper to guest on a non-hip-hop track that was actually worthwhile, as his Dan Black collabo displayed. On further investigation, his solo material has proven to be one of the best things hip-hop has offered to the music world in a long time, bringing the same real talk ethic of the indie MCs to the big stages and bigger audiences. So if he can bring mainstream hip-hop back from a status of unsavable … what do I have to do to get him to work on punk rock?
Panic! At the Disco June 21 @ The Wiltern There was a time once, when I, as a young and inexperienced columnist, would take any and every opportunity to include a pointed jab at the members of Panic! At the Disco and their ilk. Granted, this was back when they had four original band members, dressed like a turn-of-the-century circus sideshow, took themselves way too seriously and likewise had fans who took themselves way too seriously. Apparently, all they had to do was cut their lineup in half and instead dress like regular non-circus performing Victorian gentleman for me to start liking them. Regardless of the hows or whys, the members of Panic! have grown up quite a bit since their early days, grown into their respective instruments and grown to be deserving of that early buzz they got years ago. Though, there’s still the same theatrical aesthetic element to a Panic! performance, the fact that the band outlived the criticism to become a full-fledged art-pop band is a respectable feat by itself. The Panic! fandom still terrifies me a little bit, but hey, baby steps.
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CULTURE EVENTS DVD GAMING SPORTS MEDIA BLOGS CD Reviews Frequency Interviews Live Show Reviews Music Notes Music Report Special Features
MUSICNOTES
BY EVA RECINOS
‘OH MAMA, MAMA, MAMA / I JUST SHOT A MAN down / in central station.” These are not exactly the words you want to hear from your daughter. But they aren’t necessarily new words in the music world. The deep, smooth voice of Rihanna confessing a murder can call up any other song, by artists from Maroon 5 to Queen, dealing with murder. So what’s so bad about this particular song? The lyrics might not be enough cause for sensation, but the accompanying music video apparently is. Here, a woman in the shadows, played by Rihanna, pulls out a gun and shoots a man in a street full of passersby. The video jumps back to the day before where a carefree Rihanna stops to hug little kids and kiss an older woman before heading to the club on a night where she ends up being sexually assaulted in nearby alley. What has riled up the Parents Television Council and others is the starkness of the murder scene that shows the man lying dead on the ground surrounded in his own blood. In what is quite a violent scene, Rihanna takes revenge on a fictional character but, as many watchers feel, comments on a wider issue. As the victim of physical abuse stemming from
her relationship with Chris Brown, she has suddenly found herself with the responsibility of using her fame to spread out messages of hope for other women who have been victimized. Much to the dismay the council and critics, murder seems to be advocated in the video. But in a string of statements online, Rihanna has backed up her violent music video, stating that she is no one’s parent and that parents have the responsibility of making sure their kids don’t end up like her and other famous music figures. With that statement, it’s obvious that Rihanna sees herself in a completely different position than the one she’s been put in. Bursting onto the scene with enough sex appeal to conquer countless hearts, Rihanna has only continued to garner success, even with the incident between her and Brown. What kept her going is the utter power to control her image and whom she wants to be. Rarely has a pop star taken the reins so strongly as she has since recovering from her injuries. She’s licking her wounds through the caliber of aggressiveness and bluntness in her tracks. From “S & M” to “Man Down,” it’s obvious Rihanna is trying to carve out a new, less innocent identity. The music video is only a step in that direction. It’s the fantasy of a woman who has obviously been hurt. Even in the music video, it seems as if the viewer is getting glimmers into the fragmented state of Rihanna. She might seem to glorify violence because of the brash and blunt way in which she shows it, along with her ever-sexy presence, but even in the video she shows a girl who went from happy and carefree to a woman staring back at us in pain, pondering how long her sentence in jail might be. For some, music is the ability to relate to someone else and burst out feelings you normally wouldn’t utter in front of others. Rihanna’s “Man Down,” therefore, shouldn’t be taken as anything more. This is Rihanna’s desire to let out the
MUSICREPORT BY KEVIN WIERZBICKI Brothers of Brazil It’s probably safe to say that you’ve never heard anything like Brothers of Brazil before. For the past three years, the brotherly duo of Supla and Joao have been making some of the most original songs around by combining elements of traditional Brazilian music such as bossa nova and samba with rock and funk to create a unique sound that has won over countless fans in their home base of South America. Now SideOneDummy has readied the band’s first American release, and the self-titled Brothers of Brazil drops on July 26. In the meantime, the guys are previewing the release at shows all over town throughout June; catch them at the Hotel Café on the 27th or visit sideonedummy.com/ brothersofbrazil for a list of other area dates.
The Red Button: As Far As Yesterday Goes The music of L.A. pop duo the Red Button is noted for having a warm and sunny feeling to it, so much so that the guys (Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg) have decided that June 21, the first day of summer, is a perfect time to release their latest, As Far As Yesterday Goes. But Swirsky says that outlook is a bit deceptive since As Far As Yesterday Goes also features worldweary lyrics set to those bouncy melodies. “I like the fact that not everything is just happy and perfect all the time,” the singer says. “The catchy melodies inspire people to sing immediately before they realize there’s a dark and light thing happening.” Ruekberg adds that the album is a little Beatlesque while also generally giving a nod to the golden age of singersongwriter-driven pop/rock; “This time we’ve leapt boldly into the ’70s!” theredbutton.net.
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Ellen von Unwerth
RIHANNA’S ‘MAN DOWN’ VIDEO
Campus Circle > Blogs > Music Notes
Rihanna unleashes pent-up emotion in “Man Down.” things that are torturing her and find a new self through her songs, and that is any artist’s privilege. With Rihanna, it seems that the growing controversy of her music videos is only her attempt to create herself as a completely free woman, free from any concern with what others might think, which to some can be a good or bad thing. As for the video, any R-rated material will of course be cried out against, and murder is the last thing any assault victim should resort to. But it truly is the parents’ responsibilities to keep their kids from watching what they deem inappropriate. From her statement, it seems highly unlikely that Rihanna is actually advocating murder in cold blood. Until the next controversial video comes around, Rihanna has got some fighting to do in terms of how she creates her videos and transforms her identity from a well-known pop princess to a controversy-causing, risk-taking artist in her own right. But she seems more than willing to fight the battle.
Campus Circle > Music > Music Report Puddle of Mudd Rediscovers Rock Classics In the decade that they’ve been putting out records, Puddle of Mudd has sold over six million albums and collected nine Top 20 rock hits, seven of which went to No. 1, so it’s pretty safe to say the band knows a little something about hit singles. Still it must have been hard for them to decide which artists to honor on their upcoming all-covers album re:(disc)overed. Every band member submitted a list of potential cuts that eventually got whittled down to eleven tracks including takes on AC/DC’s “TNT,” Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Maker,” Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” Steve Miller’s “The Joker” and the Stevie Nicks/ Tom Petty duet “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” where BC Jean handles Nicks’ vocal part. “This record was a lot of fun to make,” comments lead guitarist Paul Phillips. “They were all songs and bands that we have been a fan or fans of forever. We chose some that may be unexpected to some just so we could push the Puddle envelope a bit.” The album drops on Aug. 2.
Drummer of Tomorrow Contest Several of the biggest names in today’s current drum industry have announced a search for the Drummer of Tomorrow. Drummers can film a solo or play-along performance, upload their video to drummeroftomorrow.com and be entered to win over $50,000 in prizes and drum gear. Prizes include drum sets from Mapex, Zildjian cymbals, drumheads from Remo, sticks from Vic Firth and songbooks from Alfred Music Publishing. In addition, the top winner will win an artist endorsement contract from Mapex Drums and will appear on the company’s official artist roster. Elimination rounds will progress all the way into 2012 and as winners advance through the contest
Mateus
NEWS FILM MUSIC
Hear songs from Brothers of Brazil’s debut at Hotel Café. they will be flown to various locales to perform, possibly including a Nashville studio, the winter NAMM show in Anaheim and the 2012 Musikmesse show in Germany. Entries will be accepted through July 31.
(John) Maus in the House Former Cal Arts student John Maus has readied a new release called We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. The much raved-about Maus includes his first ever duet on the album, “Hey Moon” performed with the song’s writer, Swedish singer Molly Nilsson. Another surprise on Pitiless Censors is “Cop Killer;” this isn’t the controversial 1992 protest song, but Body Count’s original was the inspiration for Maus’ song. Pitiless Censors drops on June 28, and Maus will play a co-headlining show with Puro Instinct at the Echo July 15.
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Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie
Afrojack May 31 @ The Music Box Right now, electronic dance music is dominating the radio waves and nightclubs, and one of the key individuals leading the genre’s crossover to the mainstream is Afrojack. The 23-year-old Dutch producer/DJ has been performing for sold-out crowds all over the world (including a very memorable set at Coachella) and producing some of music’s current hits (Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” Chris Brown’s “Look at Me Now”). His recent stop at the Music Box left fans in awe. The sold-out venue was jam packed with revelers who were prepared for a ridiculous night. Afrojack took the stage around 11:30 p.m., and commenced with a pretty rhetorical question for the raucous crowd: “You guys ready for a crazy, fuckin’ night?” He then dropped “Bangduck,” and chaos ensued. The Dutchman has an extensive catalogue of hits, as every track played garnered a roar of approval. One of his most popular, “Take Over Control,” got the crowd singing along with every word. He mixed in Martin Solveig’s “Hello” with his remix of “Pon de Floor” which got everybody hyped, with the help of the fog cannons. Towards the middle of the set, he announced that he had a special guest in the house. He cued up “OMG,” and Usher appeared on the DJ stage to the crowd’s surprise. Afrojack continued to play some of Usher’s more electro inspired songs as the singer posed for the plethora of cameras. The DJ had the crowd in the palm of his hand, as he could drop a slow jam and still have the place go bonkers. The show was epically awesome, and it was one worthy enough to gloat to all your jealous friends who couldn’t attend. —Rex Pham
The Vaccines June 3 @ The Palladium I am constantly asking friends for new music and favorite bands that I just have to see. The Vaccines were brought to my attention in just such a case. I asked for a band to listen to, and like you would expect from the good friends I have, I was introduced to the band’s “Post Break-Up Sex.” After hearing that, I had to see them live. Taking some technical issues in stride without missing a beat, the band was completely entertaining and a perfect opener for the Arctic Monkeys. The energy was contagious, and the audience was singing and screaming for the band early on. Their debut album, What Did You Expect From the Vaccines, was released earlier this year with quick praise from critics and audiences in their native U.K. The Vaccines formed in 2010 and have quickly been gaining recognition for themselves in the states as well. —Tamea Agle
Death Cab for Cutie June 7 @ The El Rey The line at the El Rey was around the block, and the theater was packed for the sold-out Death Cab for Cutie show. First act, the Lonely Forests opened the night for the already very excited audience. Death Cab came out to play some of their newer music from the recently released Codes and Keys. While the new music was well received by the fans in the audience, the band got a response of ear-piercing screams when they started 2006’s “Crooked Teeth.” The band – made up of Ben Gibbard on lead vocals, Chris Walla on guitar, Nick Harmer on bass and drummer Jason McGerr – formed in 1997 and has since been releasing popular alternative and indie records making a name for themselves worldwide. —Tamea Agle
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VIP $150 GENERAL ADMISSION $75
HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM
SATURDAY JUNE 25TH 2011
benefiting
DOORS OPEN AT 9PM
HIFIVE!
FIVE FUN, FREE THINGS TO DO THIS SUMMER
Emmanuelle Troy
Tamea Agle
LIVESHOWREVIEWS
BY EMMANUELLE TROY
SUMMER IS ALMOST OFFICIALLY HERE, AND YOU’RE ALMOST OF– ficially broke. Don’t walk around with shoulders shrugged, arms folded or hands on your hips because you don’t have much money: You can’t do any hi-fives that way! Here are five things you can do for free this summer: 1) Make history: Many art galleries and museums in L.A. are free everyday, but all have free days once a month, or even specific days weekly. 2) Get high: So many beautiful mountains and trails to climb and hike here, so little time. Oh wait, you have a lot of time – all summer in fact! 3) Do some blow: You don’t have to be a little kid or a raver to rediscover the art of blowing bubbles! It’s amazing that a little change can buy a lot of fun! 4) Scream and shout: You may not have “The Voice” or sing like an “Idol,” but everyone can sing and has stories to sing about. If no one from television discovers you, you may just discover you can actually be a decent songwriter yourself. 5) Run away: Run to the nearest museum or gallery, mountain or trail, toy store, music store or just for fun! Fun is what summer is all about. Grab a friend and celebrate your freedom with a hi-five!
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Campus Circle > Culture > Lifestyle
Viveca Jensen (right) the creator of Piloxing and her instructor Sara Vorce lead a class in Toluca Lake.
A TWO-FORONE WORKOUT The world of fusion exercise classes is expanding. BY JEANNINE STEIN LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)
MOST PEOPLE WOULDN’T THINK OF COMBINING seemingly polar opposite pursuits such as Pilates and boxing. But the odd pairing makes perfect sense to one fitness instructor. Former dancer and certified Pilates teacher Viveca Jensen thought the mindful core-strengthening properties of Pilates would complement and counterbalance the quick cardio-heavy pace of noncontact boxing with weighted gloves. The class she created, called Piloxing, is a prime example of a fusion fitness class, one that melds two often disparate disciplines and throws in an element of fun to create a comprehensive, challenging workout. “These combination classes are really popular right now,” says Pat Soley, group exercise director at the Sports Club/LA. That gym offers a class called “The Barre Code,” which combines ballet moves, Pilates and core conditioning. “Some people found that they didn’t need a whole Pilates mat class, or they didn’t want to stretch for an hour. They want to gain the benefits of different disciplines, but they want to compress it.” Jensen, whose main studio is in Toluca Lake, came up with Piloxing because she wanted to offer a class that featured cardio, core strength, alignment and balance. She even threw a little dance into the mix. “I wanted to incorporate it all in an hour,” she says. “Those disciplines may seem like they’re disconnected from each other, but they really do go together.” The class is divided into blocks of high-intensity cardio
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(the boxing) with more moderate core work and dance. The world of fusion classes has expanded to include increasingly popular core training combined with group cycling; ones that fuse Pilates, yoga and calisthenics; hybrids that incorporate ballet barre work with boot camp; and sessions that combine high-intensity cardio with vinyasa yoga. Other types of fusion classes blend a workout with something completely unrelated, such as a class called “Pound” – Pilates with drumming. Creators Cristina Peerenboom and Kirsten Potenza wanted to combine the best aspects of Pilates with something that added a more exciting element. “My stool was broken on my drum kit,” says Peerenboom, a certified Pilates mat instructor, “and I was drumming while squatting over my kit. I realized all the muscles in my core and my body were working at once.” That light bulb moment became the class, now offered at Crunch Fitness in Los Angeles. While doing core moves – either standing or sitting on mats – students keep the beat with lightly weighted drumsticks. Drumming not only adds some enjoyment to the exercise, but moving the arms with the sticks also forces the body to work harder to keep the core stabilized. “I’ve been running marathons and doing Pilates for a while, and to be honest I was completely burned out,” Peerenboom says. “I thought, if I could make this a clever workout, you could get even better benefits than normal Pilates without having an obsessive workout. You really get into the music while you’re working out.” As discretionary time becomes more and more scarce for many people, a one-hour class that offers various elements such as stretching, resistance training and cardio becomes more appealing. It’s also a good way to dip a toe into a workout that might be intimidating for first-timers, such as yoga or boxing. “If [a fusion class] can get someone to do boxing when they’ve never tried something like that before, great,” says Neal Pire, president of New Jersey-based Inspire Training Systems and a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. “Or maybe they’ve done Pilates before but private classes are too expensive. A Pilates/boxing class might be
a good answer, and it might turn them on to doing more activity.” But for purists, combining disciplines may not be such a good thing if basic principles and techniques get watered down. Some fear that the tenets of yoga might be lost, traditional ballet positions could turn sloppy and a mean right hook could lose its sting. Not everyone is worried. “I don’t care what people do,” Pire says, “as long as they move and are going to get some kind of healthy benefit, feel good and become less stressed.” “ If someone is looking for a pure Pilates experience, then they should take a pure Pilates class,” says Shirley Archer, a Florida-based former IDEA Health & Fitness Association instructor of the year and author of Fitness 9 to 5: Easy Exercises for the Working Week. “But if you’re just interested in experiencing a new kind of class, then it’s great to do something that combines things you may be interested in.” Fusion classes, Archer adds, “tend to be developed by fitness professionals who understand and design movements in a responsible way. People should be able to get a good workout even though it may not be a pure discipline.” A good teacher should correct a bad plié to prevent an injury, she says, but not whack someone’s calf with a yardstick for an imperfect turnout. How does a prospective student know whether a fusion class achieves the right blend of fitness, fun and technique? Instructors should have a reputable certification or solid teacher training. Pire recommends asking current students what they like about a class. Felicia Linksy has lost 30 pounds and 14 inches since starting Piloxing last August. The L.A. hair and makeup artist has tried traditional boxing and Pilates but was looking for something more affordable that would fit into her hectic schedule. Mixing the workouts provides gains, she says. “The boxing moves incorporate the elongation of the body from Pilates. When you go to do a jab, your followthrough is more extended. By getting those extensions you get that much more benefit.” © 2011, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Follow CAMPUS CIRCLE on Twitter @CampusCircle THELASTLAUGH
BY ERICA CARTER
STREET SLANG HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE WELL, THE STREET, AND ALL of us want to be in the know and the now, knowing what to say and when to say it. Unfortunately some people don’t know exactly when or where to say these things and even worse, when to stop saying these things all together. Catchphrases are cool, of course – we all got that memo a long time ago – but if I hear “I didn’t get that memo” one more time after this, it will not be “epic,” it’ll just be even more annoying. Here are some more words and phrases that should be stopped now or forever no longer hold their peace in pop culture. 1) Opening cans of whoop ass. Opening a can of whoop ass is, at this point, at the level of “Whoomp! There it is” on the annoying phrase meter. Sure, it was good for a few action movies, but when my neighbor said he was going to open a can of whoop ass when someone didn’t use the correct recycle bin last week, I knew it was time for the phrase (as well as my neighbor) to just stop. Open a dictionary and find a new phrase or a can of tuna – it won’t smell as bad as the stench of this played out phrase – and recycle that tuna can! 2) Its like crack to me, or it tastes like crack! As much as I do like tuna, cereal or fame from writing for Campus Circle, and as much as people LOVE their mocha chai latte or their vanilla almond grande mocha or whatever, I can safely assume that it is NOT like crack. I know you love your coffee and cocoa beans originally do play their part, but it’s not quite THAT much of an addiction. It doesn’t taste like crack, and unless you have made the switch from crack rocks to Starbucks, it’s not that cool to say these things. Being in the know with catchphrases is one thing, but acting like you know what crack is all about is a whole other can of worms (and possibly whoop ass). 3) Foodie. Everybody loves food – it’s delicious and gives us an excuse to gain weight with our BFF chocolate – but that doesn’t make us all “foodies.” Everybody’s a blogger these days and everyone likes to feel like their blog is special, but making up silly words just because you’re tasting food and have an opinion about it that the world needs to know doesn’t make you special, it makes you pompous and pretentious. I’m not going to eat or not eat something just because some person typed that I should or should not – especially when that person calls themselves a foodie. I think after hearing “foodie,” the abbreviation WTF? was started, and that abbreviation deserves four stars and to be recycled for all the people who call themselves foodies. 4) Izzles. Fo shizzle, this was the thing to do – adding izzle to already silly words – back in the day, but the downpour of izzles turned into annoying drizzles and now it’s just fizzled to the point of wanting to give a mizzle-excuse me, MUZZLE to whoever is still saying this. Rappers only look and sound cool saying nonsensical words because they’re rappers. We of the non-platinum album or platinum teeth variety on the other hand, just look and sound nonsensical saying these words, and the only reason our friends don’t call us out on this is because they are saying them (and sounding stupid) too! If Lil Wayne wasn’t Lil Wayne and you saw him on the street, admit it – you would think, “WTF is this dude saying?” But he is Lil Wayne, and he says whatever he wants and it’s cool, whether it makes sense or not. We can’t. It’s NOT COOL. Especially phrases like this from 2001. It’s almost as bad as the whoop-ass inducing “hammertime.” 5) I’m a DJ. Speaking of 2001, or the Hammer Times, remember when rappers and people getting the party started did more than pushed a button to play music and DIDN’T call themselves a DJ? Now our neighbors, bloggers, foodies and wannabe rappers – which is everyone – is a DJ. We know they’re not; I wish they would just stop saying it.
ONCE UPON A TIME, IN 1987, A HUSBAND AND WIFE TEACHING TEAM working abroad in China decided to explore the world. They took their daughter and ventured to territories less explored by the common tourist. Sometimes they slept in the grass, sometimes on plain, unlined mattresses. But they made due with their surroundings, and even put together a “Dreamsack” – two old sheets sewn together to create a liner that brought comfort and familiarity. This one keepsake sparked the phenomenon that is Yala Designs today. “Here’s one thing you should know about our family: We didn’t set out to start a company. We simply stepped into the sunlight one bright morning without a map, determined to fully meet ourselves by meeting those living around us in the world,” a sentiment from Larry and Nancy Morgan that resonates throughout the brand. When you shop on the Web site, you see inspirational messages of chasing dreams and not giving up on whatever journey you are on. Yala’s simple yet elegant products are not only sustainable but extremely likable. I have the Bamboo Dreams Organic Cotton Towels, and I can’t wait to buy more. They are truly the softest towels I’ve ever owned, and not to mention durable. I have washed them twice with not one thread unraveled or are there signs of shrinkage. It’s like having luxury towels at a fraction of the price. These are perfect for dorms, as they start about $11.50. Another great addition for your room would be to order the “Dreamsack.” It’s like sleeping in a soft pod! The Dreamsack can be folded down to a small size so it’s easily transportable. Yala makes clothing for men, women and babies, and the simple yet elegant theme runs through the line. V-necks, camis and maxi dresses are the way to go, and I love their lightweight but sturdy construction. Check out Yala for your next housewares or clothing purchase. For more information, visit yaladesigns.com.
FASHIONFOCUS
BYE-BYE BLOND, HELLO RED
BY MELISSA MAGSAYSAY LOS ANGELES TIMES (MCT)
Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/MCT
BY EMMANUELLE TROY
YALA DESIGNS
Emmanuelle Troy
FIVE WORDS/ PHRASES THAT NEED TO BE BANNED
BEAUTYBEAT
Red-tressed Christina Hendricks
RED IS THE BLAZING HOT TREND IN HAIR COLOR THIS SEASON. LONG– time redheads Christina Hendricks, Florence Welch and Karen Elson stand out with an almost angelic glow of gorgeous color framing their faces. And hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear of some celebrity – such as blonds Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively or brunet Rihanna – switching to a ginger tinge. The color makes a bold statement, and whether someone spent a few hours in a colorist’s chair or was naturally blessed with red tresses, the punchy hue is as much an attention grabber as any bold accessory. “I’ve always thought of red as a state of mind,” says Marie Claire magazine beauty director Ying Chu who adds that only 2 percent of the world’s population has naturally red hair, though many adopt the color for its striking qualities. “The color portrays a fiery, seductive, standout personality. One can hardly blend in the crowd when sporting it – think Florence Welch, Julianne Moore, Lucille Ball.” L.A colorist Vanessa Spaeth at the Andy Lecompte Salon in West Hollywood has observed a stronger demand for red hair in the last few months. Spaeth says a few of her clients were inspired by the crimson-wigged models who walked in Mulberry’s springsummer 2011 runway show last fall. “Those red wigs had my fashionista clients in a frenzy,” she says. “The fear of red is being washed away.” © 2011, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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ONTHEMENU
PACIFIC DINING CAR
1310 W. 6th St., Downtown BY SCOTT BEDNO WITH FATHER’S DAY AROUND THE CORNER, IT IS only fair to reward Pops for the years of love and support (financially and otherwise) he has provided over the years. And how does one reward a red-blooded American dad? Meat, and lots of it! There are a fair number of high-quality steak restaurants in Los Angeles to take Dad, but only a few have the goods to be called a “steak joint.” You know, the ones where shotcallers make deals in dark quiet corners, the wait staff have been there for over 30 years and the moment you enter you feel like you’ve been transported back in time, to an era when no one has ever heard of “saturated fat” or uttered the phrase, “No thanks, I’m watching my figure.” One place that has all the bona fides of a true steak joint is Pacific Dining Car in Downtown Los Angeles. One might say it is the original steak joint as it is not only one of the oldest (doors opened in 1921), but has been owned by the same family for four generations. Can’t get more old school than that. Also, the place is open 24/7! That’s right, you can get a steak and lobster for breakfast and an omelet for dinner, if that floats your boat. There is no drinks list, so don’t ask for one. Our waiter,
Campus Circle > Culture > Food Sergio (35 years at the place) was glad to discuss our options. I went with a Side Car, essentially a margarita using Cognac instead of tequila. Also, instead of a salt-rimmed glass, they use sugar. My girlfriend, Kristen, ordered the Manhattan, and both were perfect fits for the evening. A strong drink made impeccably – a classic start to a classic meal. For starters, we elected to go “surf,” in anticipation of the “turf ” to come. A place like Pacific Dining Car is no place to scrimp, so we went with two starters and the Wedge salad. We shared the Sautéed Scallops with Lobster Sauce and the Maine Lobster Appletini. The Appletini is chilled lobster with a vodka-infused Louis dressing on a bed of julienned apples. The scallops were plentiful and meaty, and the Appletini was good, but I felt the Louis dressing overpowered the subtle flavor of the lobster. Word to the wise, split the Wedge salad, as there is plenty for two: crisp baby iceberg lettuce with aged Roquefort with a vinaigrette dressing and a hint of basil oil. Before moving into our main course, we asked the sommelier, Ehsan, about the extensive wine list. And when I say extensive, I mean over 500 bottles to choose from! As the opening cocktail had us pretty warmed up, we elected for a glass of wine each, instead of a bottle. At Pacific Dining Car they do an eight-ounce pour, so one glass each was perfect for us. We each had a red, a Meritage and a blend, and both were delicious. On to the star of the show: the beef. I’ve tried all cuts of beef, and the one that delivers the perfect combination of flavor and texture is the filet mignon. Others go for the ribeye or porterhouse, and both are fine cuts, but I love the feeling of gently pressing my knife into the seared flesh of a rare filet and having it cut with the slightest pressure. The beef just melts in your mouth and the world fades away; you become one with the beef and with the universe. Filet mignon is my
GETUPGETOUT
NEW ADVENTURES At Disneyland
BY ERICA CARTER THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH HAS ALWAYS been one of my favorite California destinations. From Sleeping Beauty to the Princess and the Frog, Disney characters have been with me throughout my childhood. Going to Disneyland to me was getting to meet all of my favorite characters in person, and ride through the sea with the Pirates of the Caribbean and run from the Queen in Alice in Wonderland. But with new advances in technology and season changes, the rides and attractions have changed to stay modern. When Captain EO went away, admittedly I was pretty angry with that, but for the 20 or so years it was around, I always went to see it. I heard that the brass at Disneyland wanted to change up Star Tours and make it 3D. I’ve been on Star Tours probably over 30 times, and it never occurred to me that the experience would be that much better with the 3-D experience. Let me tell you, it’s eons better. Walt Disney Imagineering, Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic teamed up to create this new and improved excursion with over 50 different possibilities. So chances are, your five-minute hi-def Dolby 3-D ride will never be the same experience twice. In keeping with “reality”, I noticed the Droid who tells you
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Trainspotting. I ordered the Filet Oscar, a filet mignon topped with crab and asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. Decadent? Yeah, kinda. Honestly, the meat was so tender and flavorful, I don’t remember much about the crab and asparagus! But that’s the way it’s supposed to be, there is only one star of this show, the filet. Kristen ordered the ribeye, a generous cut, which also delivered great flavor and was cooked to perfection. Pacific Dining Car recently started a late-night menu, so having a great meal doesn’t have to be reserved for a special occasion. Menu items include Huevos Rancheros, Prime Rib Open Face Sandwich and, one I can’t wait to try, a Lamb Burger. Prices range from $12-$20, certainly reasonable for a great meal with a side of classic ambience. So, whether you’re taking Dad for a full-blown old-school steak and martini dinner, having a late-night post-event nosh or simply Tuesday morning breakfast, Pacific Dining Car is the place to be. Pacific Dining Car also has a Santa Monica location. For more information, visit pacificdiningcar.com.
Campus Circle > Culture > Get Up, Get Out funny little anecdotes right before you get on the ride, now informs you that you are being thermally scanned. Fortunately it’s not invasive or scary as it is in real life, but a little sad that we have come to that nonetheless. There are new characters, new missions and even new worlds to travel in the Star Tours: The Adventure Continues attraction. Even Main Street, U.S.A. got an upgrade with the Soundsational Summer parade. This summer, Mickey and friends, including Princess Tiana and Mary Poppins, travel through the town showing off their drumming, singing and dancing skills. The opening lines of “It’s a music celebration” are an understatement. So many Disney movies are featured in the parade, with musical arrangements provided by “Glee”’s vocal director Tim Davis. From Aladdin to the Lion King, Peter Pan to the Three Caballeros, the Soundsational parade truly has something for all ages. Over on the other side of the “globe” – OK, across the park – lies Disney’s California Adventure. June 2011 is the first time I’ve ever visited California Adventure, and the only real reason why is because I thought it was all about roller coasters. A fan of these, I am not. Then, I found out that California Adventure not only house elecTRONica … a club modeled after that virtual world of lightcycles and Flynn, but also one of my top three favorite Disney movie and characters, Ariel and her Undersea Adventures. A cross between Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, Ariel’s Undersea Advenures takes you on a dark ride through the abridged version of the movie. You get to meet Ursula, Prince Eric and, of course, Sebastian the Crab. All of the colors and melodies really do make you feel like you’re either a part of the movie or … a kid again. After you walk out, head over to Ariel’s Grotto and grab some pasta! It’s Disney domination in the seas as Disney Cruise
Star Tours is now 3D with over 50 different possibilities. Line added a West Coast stop at Port of Los Angeles. The 2,400-capacity cruiser takes you on a seven-night cruise to the Mexican Riviera, including Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan. Also, Disney is currently working on a hotel in Hawaii called the Aulani. It’s shaping to be as authentic as you can get to the native land with it’s amenities like Kapa cloth and quilts. Walt Disney Imagineering has been working with locals of Hawaii to ensure that the hotel embodies the true spirit of Hawaii. Of course, the Disney trademarks will be hidden throughout the room: Mickey in the walls and fixtures, and even a Minnie Mouse silhouette through the lamps. One thing is for sure about Disney, they will always remain modern and continue to capture the hearts of all ages. For more information, visit disneyland.com.
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LA UNBOUND
BY JEWEL DELEGALL
Chiabella James
L.A.MOVES
FEATHERS, SEQUINS AND TUTUS, OH MY! THAT’S WHAT WAS HAPPENING at Studio A in Silver Lake as dancers from the LA Unbound dance company prepared for their upcoming (June 18) performances at El Portal Theatre. The dress rehearsal was packed with wall-to-wall dancers as they filled the room with costumes, mohawks, bells, hats, hugs, quiet chaos and an overall feeling of excitement of what was to come. In a town where most dancers are not only competitive but flat-out cut throat, the LA Unbound company has seemed to surpass all of that animosity by creating a collective where many styles and types of dancers receive support and recognition. Betsy Uhler and Elizabeth Tramontozzi, who run the company, have done very well at putting many styles on stage and establishing positive creative energy in a community that can be very judgmental. On the company’s Web site, it reads “A sanctuary for the artistic. A gathering of creative souls. Possessing a flair for the dramatic. Having a true passion for dance in all of its forms.” Need I say more? For anyone planning to go to the El Portal performances, you will definitely be entertained and inspired. With over 100 dancers and 20 dance pieces, you’ll get your money’s worth. From hip-hop to musical theater to contemporary dance pieces, there’s something for everyone. This youthful company, which seems like it’s run by a large organization, operates in a very professional and organized way. They are about the creative but posses a business mind, which is probably why they’ve been in the game since 2007. Former members of IC Unbound, the student dance company of Ithaca College, Uhler and Tramontozzi have brought a piece of that energy to Los Angeles. In a city that is dominated by commercial dance and Hollywood, it’s refreshing to see more and more unique companies emerge and succeed. LA Unbound performs June 18 (at 4 p.m. & 8 p.m.) at El Portal Theatre, North Hollywood. For more information, visit launbound.com.
GAMEREVIEWS “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Activision) With a release just over two weeks before the Transformers movie, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” surely builds the anticipation for the third film in the series. The game is a prologue to the events of the latest movie, providing information on new characters and back-story such as how Decepticon leader Megatron gains his new Transformers: Dark of the Moon form. As a movie-based game the developers at High Moon Studios sought for it to be quickly accessible by any fan of the film. Thus, even with a variety of playable characters gameplay allows for easy pick up and play controls. At the same time, the game features many Easter eggs for longtime Transformers line fans, such as appearances by characters that have been fan favorites but have not made it into the Transformers movies. The game features a slight change from previous Transformers games with its single storyline that has players play the role of both Autobots and Decepticon robots. This has allowed for customization of individual characters with an array of abilities and designs that are reflective of their personas. Character design is where the game really shines as with the variety of abilities choice of fighting and playing styles come into effect. Players are able to decide how they want to play with each character, transforming and fighting at anytime as robot, vehicle or in the new “stealth force” mode, a hybrid form of robot and vehicle. Action often flows freely with extensive and detailed environments that range from jungles and cities to aerial dogfights. While the exact number of playable characters is being kept secret, it promises to be a solid list. For online multiplayer gaming there is a further bonus as gamers can choose from even more Transformers characters to play as. This is definitely a game to look out for. Grade: A —Alexandre Johnson “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is currently available.
GAMEON
GAMES TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS SUMMER
BY ALEXANDRE JOHNSON ONE THAT IS ALREADY MAKING A SPLASH THIS SUMMER IS “INFAMOUS 2.” The first “infamous” game definitely made its mark on the gaming community with an impressive open-world environment and mixture of features. “inFamous 2” features an even stronger Cole who gets in the middle of a fight with new enemies, including a group called the Militia and mutated creatures. The story continues for Cole as he heads to a new city, New Marais, that resembles New Orleans to gain objects called Blast Cores in order to get stronger. With the new game, Cole gains new and improved powers, creating tornados of electricity. For melee combat the player gains the amp, basically a cattle-prod that uses Cole’s energy to wail on enemies with a variety of combos, shocking them at the same time. The game continues with the idea of good karma versus bad in a slightly changed manner. It has been shown that Cole can at some point gain a separate power from his electricity, either pyrokinesis (control over fire) or cryokinesis (control over ice) which will likely depend on what side he chooses. “InFamous 2” promises to carry over trophies and karma gained from the previous game as well as allow those who haven’t played the first “inFamous” to quickly interact and pick up gameplay. For those looking for an online component, players can create additional missions for others to play through. With all its features, the game promises to be a great ride. Another game that can be expected to be a big hit is “Dungeon Siege 3” (available June 21). This action role-playing game is again in the Kingdom of Ehb. This time, however, the kingdom has been torn apart, and the player will basically end up trying to rebuild it. As other games in the series, this one follows a simple idea with the player fulfilling quests in order to battle evil forces and obtain his goal. What makes this game stand out is the four playable characters. Each has an interesting story and very different abilities. They range from the expected – a melee warrior in the character Lucas – to a gunsmith – in the character Katrina – and a god-like figure – in the character Anjali. The differences of characters may be most notable with the game’s online co-op gameplay that allows for up to four players. As well as having very different powers from the other, each has a different type of abilities allowing for a quick change from one to another in order to make it through the game. Most action will deal with alternating between these modes of play – going from attack to defense, close range to long challenge. This makes for a quick-paced game that will be easy to get addicted to.
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SOCCERBRIEF
MEXICO CRUISES INTO NEXT ROUND BY MARVIN VASQUEZ
MEXICO IS THE ONLY SOCCER SQUAD WHO HAS been consistent enough to earn respect from the media and other teams. After a 4-1 comfortable victory over the Central American nation of Costa Rica on Sunday in Chicago in front of 62,000 fans, Mexico quickly became the first to qualify for the Gold Cup’s quarterfinals this coming Saturday, June 18, at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New York. Mexico head coach Manuel de la Torre knows that an even more important feat has yet to be accomplished. “The main objective is to win the Gold Cup,” he tells the Associated Press after the victory. “This group very much knows what it needs to do to represent Mexico. Whatever situation is presented, the team knows the only way to get where we need to go is on the field. It’s true we played a good match. But there is always room for improvement.” With the three-goal win, Mexico earned its third triumph in the group stage. They pummeled El Salvador 5-0 in their opening match before sending Cuba to the same result of 5-0 in both squads’ second affair of this year’s tourney. Thus far, Mexico is the clear favorite to top every other competing country and, therefore, take the competition’s trophy home.
Costa Rica, who beat Cuba and tied with El Salvador, came in with some confidence in the efforts of shutting down El Tri, but that did not work. “All losses are ugly. You don’t want to lose,” Costa Rica head coach Ricardo La Volpe confesses to multiple media outlets. “You win and you lose in soccer. Today, I lost. But I’ll repeat it; this doesn’t end here. The ball keeps on rolling.” All of Mexico’s scores came in the first half, starting with veteran defender Rafael Márquez’s heading goal in the 17th minute to give them 1-0 lead. Márquez’s unstoppable run inside the box off of a Pablo Barrera well-placed corner kick ignited the powerful heading score. What followed was a serious of unfortunate events for Costa Rica. Left flank midfielder Andrés Guardado blasted two left-footed shots within a span of nine minutes to give Mexico a commanding 3-0 advantage by the 26th minute mark. Guardado directly shrugged off critics after the win. “We expected a tougher game,” he tells concacaf.com. “But I think we did everything right.” Twelve minutes thereafter, Mexico added another score past the suffering Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Off a Carlos Salcido pass, Barrera managed a left-footed shot for an eventual goal. El Tri outshot Costa Rica 14-1 in the first half, where they led 4-0. “We faced a great rival, and we were able to make them suffer early so we could better manage the circumstances,” de la Torre adds. “We made things complicated for them, and that opened up the way.” In the second half, Costa Rica finally netted a score when Marco Ureña chest-trapped the ball and watched it hit the ground before releasing a potent right-footed blast past Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera into the upper-right corner. Team captain Bryan Ruiz, who was credited for the
Team Mexico celebrates moving into the quaterfinals. assist on Ureña’s goal, signals a potential flaw of inexperience for the Costa Ricans. “There are very young players on this national team. Maybe it’s the first time that they played in front of a sold-out stadium,” Ruiz says to reporters. “That is against us, a team with players that succeed in Europe. I think that was very difficult for many of them in the first half. In the second half, we were able to position ourselves better, but it was too late.” Despite the loss, Costa Rica qualified to the quarterfinals stage, having done so in second place with four points that include a win, a tie and a loss. La Volpe claims that Mexico always carries a solid team in all competitions. “Mexico has been a very competitive team for a long time,” he states. “This is nothing that’s new. It always plays at a high level with players that can throw you off balance.” La Volpe used to lead the Mexican national squad via coaching, primarily in the 2006 World Cup held in Germany where he directed them to a second-round finish.
DODGERS411
L.A. LETS ONE GO
KEMP IS HOT
lagalaxy.com
GALAXYKICK
BY MARVIN VASQUEZ
Chris Birchall netted his first goal for L.A.
SECONDS AWAY FROM SEALING A VICTORY AT THE HOME DEPOT CEN– Center Saturday night, the L.A. Galaxy allowed a late tying goal to Toronto FC and settled for a 2-2 draw. The tie shifts the Galaxy’s overall record to 8-2-7 with 31 points, good enough still for a best mark in the league while placing at the top of the Western Conference. Also, the Galaxy improve their unbeaten streak to seven games, going 4-0-3 in that period. However, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena was not pleased with the result. “Disappointing result, certainly to work as hard as we had to work in this game. Give Toronto a lot of credit, I thought they played real hard,” he says during the post-game press conference. Midfielder Chris Birchall netted his first career MLS and team goal in the second minute of play. Forward Miguel Lopez received the assists, as Birchall gave the Galaxy an early 1-0 edge. “It’s nice. It has been a long time coming, two years,” Birchall says of the score, which came in during his 48th game played. “The guys have been giving me a bit of stick in the locker room, but a few people tonight said I would get my goal and it came to me in this game so I’m happy.” Toronto FC fired back with forward Alan Gordon’s game-tying goal in the 68th minute. However, Colombian striker Juan Pablo Ángel earned his third goal of the year during stoppage time, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 lead. “Those goals are very important, especially that late in the game. I thought it was the winning goal,” Ángel says. Gordon knotted the score yet again three minutes later and seconds away from the game ending. Los Angeles played without Landon Donovan (U.S.), Donovan Ricketts (Jamaica) and Juninho (wed in Brazil). Both Donovans are serving national soccer team duty in CONCACAF’s Gold Cup tournament. The Galaxy aim to get back to their winning ways on June 18, as they visit the Colorado Rapids for a 6 p.m. start time.
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Jeff Siner/Charlotte Observer/MCT
Campus Circle > Sports > Soccer
Campus Circle 6.15.11 - 6.21.11
BY MARVIN VASQUEZ
Luis SInco/Los Angeles Times/MCT
NEWS
THE SEASON HAS BEEN SHAKY thus far. The ownership conflict is ongoing. The investigation from Opening Day’s assault on a Giants fan is perplexing, to say the least. Nonetheless, there is one Dodger who is performing above par, above everyone on the team and perhaps above any other in the league. Say hello, once again, to outfielder Matt Kemp. As of today, Kemp is posting 20 home runs, 56 RBI, a .331 batting average to go along with 81 hits (14 doubles), 45 runs scored and 14 stolen bases. His slugging percentage reads .641 and walk total a solid 33. Although the Dodgers carry a 31-36 mark and are in fourth place in the NL West (6.5 games behind), they truly do remain with a chance to be atop of the division. And with his vigorous play of late, Kemp displays an honest belief in that. Take Los Angeles’ last road-series as example. Kemp brutally destroyed the Rockies’ pitching in Colorado, as both groups split the four-game set. In the first game of the series, Kemp went 3-for-5 and was a single shy of his first career cycle. He grabbed three RBI after a homer, triple and double in the team’s 9-7 loss. In Friday’s 6-5 defeat, Kemp ignited a comeback as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning with a solo bomb that helped the Dodgers grab an additional four runs and close the score to one run, but it was not enough. Kemp, however, did damage yet again. Kemp kept the offense coming in the last two games (Saturday and Sunday), where the Dodgers earned much needed victories. He produced performances of 1-for-4 with an RBI, double and run scored, and 1-for-3 with a homer, RBI and two runs scored, respectively. And now, Kemp leads the NL with 20 home runs, is second in RBI and third in batting average.
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Marie Chouinard
Dance Camera West Dance Film Festival dancecamerawest.org The 10th Anniversary Dance Camera West Dance Film Festival showcases many forms of dance including modern dance, post-modern dance, world dance, tap dance, dance theater, ballet, hip-hop and practically all dance that has been captured on film. Runs through Sunday.
WEDNESDAYJUNE 15 Stephen Sondheim’s Company
SUNDAYJUNE 19 Father’s Day with the Dodgers
companyonscreen.com Filmed over two days on Broadway for exclusive broadcast on the big screen, Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Martha Plimpton and Christina Hendricks headline this musical that revolves around Bobby (a single man unable to commit fully to a steady relationship, let alone marriage), the five married couples who are his best friends and his three girlfriends. At select movie theaters today through Sunday.
Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave.; dodgers.com Not only will there live music before the game, but dads will get a Dodger barbecue apron at the game followed by a round of catch on the field after the game. 1:10 p.m. Tix start @ $10.
THURSDAYJUNE 16 Hollywood Fringe Festival hollywoodfringe.org This annual celebration of the emerging arts includes both traditional and unorthodox venues hosting performances that are self-produced by local, national and international arts companies and independent performers, fostering the work of both the well established and the obscure. Runs through June 26.
FRIDAYJUNE 17 Expansion Hummingbird Nest Ranch, 2940 Kuehner Drive, Santa Susana; hummingbirdranchmusic.com An all-night party featuring Daedelus, NiT GriT, M.E.G.A. of Steel Lord, T/K Disko of Hot Biscuit/Jolly Jams, Alexandre of Making Shapes, Ricardo Carlos/Shake the Hand, Josh One and Ta’Raach. 9 p.m. $20 advance, $25 at the door.
FRIDAYJUNE 17 Simon Pegg Barnes & Noble, 189 The Grove Drive; barnesandnoble.com The star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz signs his book, Nerd Do Well.A Small Boy’s Journey to Becoming a Big Kid. 7 p.m.
SATURDAYJUNE 18 Evil Dead Trilogy Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; americancinematheque.calendar.com See Bruce Campbell battle skeletons, demons and his own possessed hand in back-to-back screenings of all three installments of Sam Raimi’s franchise. 7:30 p.m. $11, $9 w/student ID.
MONDAYJUNE 20 Standing on Ceremony (The Gay Marriage Plays) Renberg Theater @ the Gay & Lesbian Center, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood; standingonceremony.net A provocative evening of new plays by some of America’s most illustrious playwrights features a rotating all-star cast. Responding to the ongoing battle for marriage equality, these writers have created an evening that is at once as insightful and stirring as it is funny and heartwarming. 8 p.m. Also June 27. $35.
TUESDAYJUNE 21 Phil Varone’s The Sex, Standup, Rock & Roll Show Key Club, 9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood; philvarone.com Performances and music by Matt Kramer (Saigon Kick) along with a special appearance by Leif Garrett. Adult film stars Allie Haze and Shay Morgan liven up the show with their own brand of titillation, and the house band, the Curves, rock you throughout the night. Everyone attending has a chance to win incredible stash gift bags and prizes. 8:30 p.m. $20.
TUESDAYJUNE 21 Tim Minchin Largo at the Coronet, 366 N.La Cienega, Los Angeles; timminchin.com The Australian musician-actorcomedian-writer won Best Alternative Comedian at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival for his unique brand of musical comedy. 8:30 p.m. $25.
For more events, visit campuscircle.com/calendar. To submit an event for consideration, e-mail calendar@campuscircle.net.
BY DANA JEONG
GROWING UP WITH A FASHION-CONSCIOUS DAD ALWAYS HAD ITS perks. With his six-foot-tall figure and four closets full of suits, I was never embarrassed to introduce him to my friends, nor have I ever experienced the annoying “Honey, you can’t wear that in public” moment (My dad: “That dress would look so much better with boots.”). Every Father’s Day I have given him fashionable presents to add to his gigantic wardrobe, and this year is no exception. I wanted to share with you all what makes a stylish gift for other fashionable dads out there – and even more for the not-so-fashionable ones. So if you see your dad living in his old college football shirt and an ancient pair of faded jeans, it’s time to stuff this list into your purse and head over to the nearest department store.
For Business Dads: Shirt & Tie Combo If your dad wears a suit on a daily basis, he can never have too many ties. For those of you who have very limited experience of picking out ties, let me break it down for you: select a shirt that matches his skin tone, then get a tie that goes with it. In terms of choosing colors for his shirt and tie, the color wheel we all had to memorize back in sixth-grade art class will come in handy. Pick out two colors that are: a) opposite from each other, b) next to each other or c) of the same color but with different shades. Once you have the colors nailed down, time to move on to the prints. Solid or striped ties are always classy and work just fine in most occasions, but if his job allows him a little more fashion freedom, go for mini-prints or unusual patterns. (Hugo Boss Black Silk Diagonal Stripe Tie)
bloomingdales.com
THURSDAYJUNE 16
FATHER’S DAY MAKEOVER
For Casual Dads: Polo Shirt & Straight Jeans Just like how some of our boyfriends loathe formal occasions and anything that involves a black tie, there are some dads deathly allergic to suits and would rather be seen in their beat-up jeans from 1995. If such is the case, your best bet is to style him up within the boundaries of his comfort zone: shirts and jeans. Buy him a nice polo shirt that actually fits him well instead of that XXL Lakers T-shirt he practically lives in. As for jeans, make sure you know his exact size (waist and length). Nothing looks more skeptical than poorly fitted jeans dragging all over the floor. An original straight fit would always do: It sits right at the waist and provides plenty of leg room but still has a slimming effect. (Levi’s 501 Original Jeans)
levi.com
BY FREDERICK MINTCHELL
TRENDBLENDER
For In-Between Dads: Button-Down Shirt & Loafers What bothers me the most when I go out to Sunday brunch: men in Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts. Whenever I see one, my stomach turns at the thought of potentially marrying a guy who insists that such a colorful, palm tree-clad ensemble is considered “appropriate.” If you think your dad might be one – or if you know for a fact that you were sitting next to the man I spotted at Bottega Louie last week – I’m sorry, but there’s still time! Most department stores proudly present rows of cute button-down shirts that can replace those hideous palm trees. To complete his look, stop by the shoe section and pick out a pair of comfortable loafers – but make sure to tell him not to wear them with ankle socks. (Sperry Authentic Original Loafer Penny)
sperrytopsider.com
CALENDARTHE10SPOT
Campus Circle 6.15.11 - 6.21.11
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OMG! Friday night was a blast. You should have seen the crowd. The people were going nuts, and so did we. My best friend was sooo excited – she nearly fainted. LOL. Saturday night was “GIRLS” night. We were looking fine and feeling good. Where were you? XOXO
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