Author Archives: Jake Tracer

An open letter. To those whom it concerns: Living in a nation where people are already starting to think about Christmas, I’m no longer surprised when people set up for holiday celebrations long before they should. After all, it’s the American way: Why should we rely on something like, oh, a calendar, to tell us […]

By Jake Tracer dB MAGAZINE SENIOR STAFF jtracer@media.ucla.edu At 6613 1/2 Hollywood Blvd., among the sex and novelty shops, east of the wax museum and tourist traps, there exists, well, a boarded up building with a big “For Lease” sign posted on it. The sidewalk in front of the abandoned storefront is dirty, including the […]

I think I may be the only person over the age of, say, 7 to be excited for the release of “Brother Bear,” the newest animated film from Disney. Sure, I had some reservations, but looking at the company’s track record with animated films, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Still, I had […]

Although it upset him, Charlie Chaplin felt he had to cut the opening scene of his 1931 film “City Lights.” In it, Chaplin’s Tramp finds a stick stuck in a crack in the sidewalk, and spends almost seven minutes of screen time trying to remove it, running into humorous challenges along the way. “That was […]

For better or for worse, “Runaway Jury” is an extremely historic film, even if it’s not an extremely good one. In the same way “Heat” paired Al Pacino and Robert De Niro together for the first time (They were never in a scene together in “The Godfather, Part II.”), “Runaway Jury” does the same for […]

I was sick last weekend with one of the worst stomach flus ever. I won’t go into detail, but on Friday, my mattress was my death bed, my dorm room my own personal tomb and crypt. Looking back, it wasn’t that bad. Although I’d certainly rather be healthy than sound like Don Corleone in “The […]

There are plenty of reasons Coen brothers fans should feel nervous with the release of “Intolerable Cruelty.” For one, it was produced not just by independent-minded Ethan Coen, but also by studio-man Brian Grazer. Secondly, it’s not the Coen brothers’ story, even if they did help rewrite the script. Also, have you seen the posters […]