deftones - sextape

The new Deftones record, Diamond Eyes, is pretty spectacular -- just read my review if you don't believe me. Or you could just dig on this song, which is my favorite off the record. As you'll be able to figure out pretty quickly, this is a fan-made video.

fringe - "brown betty" recap

1940s noir attitude + song selections ranging from A Chrous Line to Tears for Fears + the Fringe characters = a rather mediocre episode. I break down last night's episode over at Vulture.

'a nightmare on elm street' review

I cheered when Jackie Earle Haley was announced to played Freddy Krueger in the new Nightmare on Elm Street. Then I saw the movie. My review is up at Screen International (subscription required).

'dirty hands: the art & crimes of david choe' review

If you can roll with its rough, homemade quality, director Harry Kim's documentary, Dirty Hands: The Art & Crimes of David Choe, is well worth seeking out at the Sunset 5. I make my case for the film over at L.A. Weekly.

hole - 'nobody's daughter' review

Courtney Love and I have been through a lot. When Hole's 1994 record, Live Through This, came out, I really thought she was something special. Then came Celebrity Skin, an album that signified everything cynical and opportunistic about her. (Nick Broomfield's anti-Love documentary, Kurt & Courtney, probably didn't help matters.) Now she and her band are back with Nobody's Daughter. I kiss and make up in my review, which you can read here.

colcoa jury prize winners, and my own top favorites

Saturday night, my fellow COLCOA jury members and I deliberated at Greenblatt's Deli and selected our critics prize winners from the festival. You can read the full list of winners (including audience and short-film prizes) here. I'm very pleased with what we came up with, but I'd also like to offer my own list of favorites, with links to their plot descriptions:

1. Silent Voices
2. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno
3. Rapt
4. The Father of My Children
5. An Ordinary Execution
6. Farewell
7. Irene

As I had hoped, being a jury member for the festival was a real treat. I thank my fellow jurors, COLCOA director/programmer Francois Truffart, and his entire staff for a great experience. Let's do it again next year.

'lust for life' and norman corwin

It's no exaggeration to say that Norman Corwin changed my life when I was his student at USC. I thank him immensely and owe him a lot. He turns 100 on Monday, May 3, and in honor of the occasion the Aero will be screening Lust for Life the day before. I talk about the film and the man at L.A. Weekly.

justice - valentine

A movie that I saw recently (review forthcoming) made great use of an instrumental that I recognized but couldn't place. Eventually, I figured it out: It was Justice's "Valentine" off the band's underrated 2007 album, Cross. So I went to YouTube and found this: a video in honor of the song "made out of 880 photos from Sea World." Happy Friday, everybody.

fringe - "the man from the other side" recap

A pretty great episode of Fringe last night -- one of my favorites, in fact. I go into all the nitty-gritty details over at Vulture.

'kenny chesney: summer in 3D' review

2010 is shaping up to be a great year for concert documentaries. We've already had Neil Young Trunk Show and the White Stripes' Under Great White Northern Lights, and although it's not up to the level of those two films, Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D is pretty damn impressive, too. It's made by the same people who brought us U2 3D, which first demonstrated the possibilities for marrying big arena shows with 3-D technology. My review of Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D is here.

george michael - father figure

A year ago this weekend, I was up in Seattle at the Pop Music Conference presenting my paper on "How George Michael's 'Father Figure' Made Me a Man." It was a real highlight of 2009, and I got to meet several music critics whose writing I've long admired from afar. So, it seemed appropriate that this was today's video.

fringe - "white tulip" recap

Gotta be honest: When I learned that Peter Weller was going to be the guest star on last night's Fringe, I sorta rolled my eyes. ("Oh great, they're dragging out the washed-up sci-fi actors to impress the fan boys.") But I owe Weller an apology: He was damn good. My recap is up at Vulture.

'death at a funeral' review

The original 2007 Death at a Funeral was pretty mediocre. The new film, despite a bigger-name cast, isn't any better. In fact, it's a lot worse. My full review goes into all the horrid details.

'harry brown' review

Harry Brown, the forthcoming revenge drama/thriller starring a very good Michael Caine, will be compared to Taken and Gran Torino a bunch. It's better than both of them. My review is here.

Ambulance Ltd. - "Stay Where You Are"

As you might know, I love Ambulance Ltd. So I decided to see if they ever made any videos for their singles from LP. And I found this.

fringe - "olivia. in the lab. with a revolver." recap

Last night's Fringe was a little meh for my taste. My full recap is up at Vulture, but I'd like to add two things here. First, the guy who played James Heath, Omar Metwally, will soon be seen in James Ivory's The City of Your Final Destination. Second, there seems to be some disagreement over the name of this episode. Most places have it as "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver." But Fox's official Fringe page has it as "Olivia. In the Lab. With a Revolver." More mysteries!

'date night' review

In my latest Consumables column, I have nice things to say about all three films I review: Greenberg, How to Train Your Dragon and (most improbably) Date Night. Check it out at The Simon.

'kick-ass' review

When Kick-Ass premiered at SXSW, the reviews were ecstatic. I've seen it now, and I have to say, "Yes, it's good, but..." My more in-depth thoughts are here.

girls - 'album' review

The San Francisco duo Girls released their much-hyped debut, Album, in September, and now they're touring behind it. To celebrate the occasion, I reconsider Album for Detroit's Metro Times. (Spoiler Alert: They're one of the few "precious" indie-pop bands I can actually tolerate.)

'the city of your final destination' review

The City of Your Final Destination is director James Ivory's latest film -- and his first produced since the death of his longtime partner Ismail Merchant. It's a slight but affecting light drama. You can read my full review here.

fringe - "peter" recap

Well, the consensus is that last night's Fringe was the show's best episode ever. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was damn good. I dig through all the yummy morsels over at Vulture.

radiohead - meeting in the aisle

Best Radiohead B-side? I'm going to go with the instrumental "Meeting in the Aisle," which was recorded during the OK Computer era.