The Desert of Forbidden Art marked its Los Angeles premiere on Thursday night at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. The doc tells the story of Igor Savitsky's quest to save avant-garde Russian art from Soviet censors and build a now legendary museum to house it in backwater Nukus, Uzbekistan. Celebrity narrators include Sally Field, Ben Kingsely, and Ed Asner, who ably portray the story's principals. more ›

No matter how hard I stare at my keyboard, I cannot escape the pull of the Oscars. The New Bev welcomes twice-nominated director Jason Reitman for its latest guestival. Since there's no official title for the program... more ›

(This is from the film's promotional material, rest assured I would never think a magician's assistant is an uneducated bimbo, Pam-Anderson-in-Vegas nonwithstanding. You don't trust your body parts to a man with a saw or knives just because you can't find another job.) more ›

Below, you'll find some short reviews of three documentary films that will only be in theaters for a couple more days. They each tell very different stories in unique ways and all of them are worth your time and money. I've said it before (and I'll keep saying it until my nemesis, Per Degaton, finally manages to capture and neutralize me): if you go to the theater and buy a ticket for a documentary it is virtually certain that you will enjoy the experience. So many people shy away from seeing docs on the big screen, but when they ultimately try it out they are always glad they did. Okay, enough speechifying--onto the reviews! more ›