“World Trade Center” Directed by Oliver Stone Paramount Pictures 2 OUT OF 5 STARS One thing already seems too clear about Hollywood’s versions of Sept. 11: It looks as if they’re going to keep suffering from the same problems plaguing Holocaust movies for decades. Despite the difference in scale of the two tragedies, these new […]
Author Archives: Alfred Lee
[Online Exclusive]: Soundbites: Sufjan Stevens
“The Avalanche” Sufjan Stevens ASTHMATIC KITTY RECORDS (Out Of 5) If you haven’t already jumped off the Sufjan Stevens bandwagon, there isn’t a better time than now. It’s been more than a year since the release of Stevens’ fifth album, “Illinois,” ““ an album that received more critical acclaim than just about any other last […]
SCREEN SCENE: "Clerks II"
"Clerks II" MGM Director: Kevin Smith Few directors are as popular among the college crowd as Kevin Smith. His movies appeal to twenty-something guys the same way that "Gilmore Girls" appeals to high school girls: The bubble they take place in is a male geek wet dream, in which everyone talks the way we’d all […]
Good writing grows from the bad
It may be one of the biggest and best college newspapers in the country, but there’s a lot of bad writing in the Daily Bruin. I can’t remember the last time I picked up the paper and didn’t wince at a cliche or inaccuracy within a few seconds ““ and this is after the articles […]
[Screen Scenes] “A Prairie Home Companion” ““ Directed by Robert Altman
The setup of “A Prairie Home Companion” is classic Robert Altman, who’s long been a master of juggling multiple character arcs and story lines (“Nashville,” “Short Cuts”). It begins in Minnesota, as a radio show of the same name is about to be aired. Not surprisingly, there’s no shortage of colorful characters milling about, from […]
WEEKEND REVIEW
Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre actually consists of two theaters ““ the lavish, 616-seat Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre, and the lesser known, 78-seat Spielberg Theatre. The cynical explanation for this is that it allows the Egyptian to hold less appealing screenings in the smaller theater without having to operate the larger one. But on Saturday, the […]
SCREEN SCENE: "United 93"
The fuss about “United 93,” which details the by now well-known story of said flight’s passengers and how they fought back against their hijackers on Sept. 11, is whether it’s being released too soon. Of course, art of any kind should never have to wait; but what people are really worried about is not art, […]