Jesus Camp has been getting a lot of attention and a lot of awards lately, not only because it features a pre-scandal Ted Haggard. Jesus camp is good in that it remains objective while still bringing out a dark side of the organization presented. But I couldn't help wishing that the subject matter wasn't so specific, and tracked evangelism and extreme evangelism as a national phenomenon. 4/5, mainly for interesting content.

It's not playing in theaters anymore (at least in OC) but it's available on amazon for pre-order.

0 Comments Wednesday, December 06, 2006, 12/06/2006 02:27:00 PM

7/19 Videoworks - Sadie Benning
7/26 Hiroshima Mon Amour - Alain Resnais

They begin at 7PM but apparnetly there are "free refreshments, novelty films and raffle" starting at 6:30 PM.

At .. The Irvine Fine Arts Center

0 Comments Wednesday, July 12, 2006, 7/12/2006 11:19:00 PM

An Inconvenient Truth outlines the science of global warming and tracks the understanding of it in the American consciousness. One of the film's achievements is it's ability to articulate the difference between controversial understandings of global warming and other environmental concerns in the media and the academic scientific consensus on data that isn't controversial at all.

Al Gore narrates, and his personal ancedotes and experiences abound, but the documentary is saved from being propaganda by its scientific soundness. There are, of course, a few jabs at the "current administration," but they are muted and ultimately justified within the context of the film. And while the tagline that my friend Ryan came up with of "The Story of One Man and his Powerbook" isn't that far off the mark, the film is definitely worth your time. 5/5.

1 Comments Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 6/13/2006 11:37:00 AM

Ever wanted to hear Scarlett Johansson talk? Then check out the trailer for Scoop, the upcoming Woody Allen movie opening on July 28th, 2006.

0 Comments , 6/13/2006 10:16:00 AM

Sudden cravings for ramen and a visit to Mitsuwa has brought back memories of Tampopo (1985). Juzo Itami's "Noodle Western" is a hilarious and entirely competent take on a plethora of familiar sounding narratives: the quest for the perfect recipie, the unfulfilled patriarchal needs of a woman and her son, reference to the japanese revival of western themes in film, sex and food (quite literally), and the shining fulfillment of monetary, capitalist, needs. Itami infuses his film with irony and wit, and Yamazaki Tsutomu is excellently cast with Nobuko Miyamoto.

Sadly, Tampopo is out of print, but I'm loving these DVD covers and posters I'm finding online. 5/5.

0 Comments Friday, June 09, 2006, 6/09/2006 02:18:00 PM

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's Last Life in the Universe is a fully nuanced film about lonliness and sadness, supported with existential themes. But the thing most striking about Last Life in the Universe is the respect that the characters recieve from the director and narrative. Ratanaruang obviously cares about them-- they escape movie archetypes without being boring, and their emotions are full ranged and real. Impressively, Kenji(Tadanobu Asano) the OCD librarian and Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak) the playgirl's bodily and sexual desires are handled without turning them into caricatures: Kenji is psychologically sufficient and Noi isn't oversexed.The beautiful camerawork and the desaturated film help to make their temporal situations meaningful within the narrative. 4.5/5.

Ratanaruang's latest movie is Invisible Waves

0 Comments Saturday, May 06, 2006, 5/06/2006 08:49:00 PM

There's a photo essay on Pixel Press about Chernobyl. But there are even more photos from the same photographer on this Flickr.

0 Comments Sunday, April 23, 2006, 4/23/2006 11:50:00 PM

The Golden Age of Polaroid Advertising is screening at the Museum of Television & Radio in both LA and NY (Apr 7-Jul 9, 2006). I have no idea if it's any good or not, but it looks interesting.

For now, I'll have to console myself by watching Charles and Ray Eames' SX-70 Film (download the film in avi format for better viewing resolution), and reading Paul Giambarba's The Branding of POLAROID, 1957-1977 ("How we beat Eastman Kodak and its little yellow boxes at point of purchase despite a clunky product and an irrelevant corporate name"). Old news, I know, but Eames films are always a treat, and Paul Giambarba's story is amazing.

0 Comments Sunday, April 09, 2006, 4/09/2006 12:34:00 PM

How did I go for all these years without reading Jeffery Eugenides' Middlesex? Middlesex is some 550 pages of an epic novel. It is as "thrilling" as its book cover makes it out to be.

Mrzyk & Moriceau and Félicien Rops's "You Only Live 25 Times" at the LACMA right now (till June 4th) is also worth seeing. As single pieces of art, I wasn't all that interested, but the presentation was fabulous.

1 Comments Sunday, April 02, 2006, 4/02/2006 11:22:00 AM

Lisa Alisa's "Playground" solo show will have its opening reception tomorrow night at Magpie Gallery & Boutique. For more information, chek out the calendar on Magpie's website. It ends April 26th.

Thank You for Smoking opened today at the Edwards University Town Center 6 in Irvine. At just over an hour and a half, Jason Reitman's direction and writing is witty, hilarious, and perfect. I'm predicting a much wider release soon. Check the NPR movies podcast, entry for Friday, March 17th, for an interesting interview with Aaron Eckhard, the film's lead.

0 Comments Friday, March 24, 2006, 3/24/2006 08:02:00 PM