If you see folks walking around with some dirt on their foreheads today, they proabably did it on purpose. It is Ash Wednesday, where Christians are supposed to fast, pray, repent after the debauchery of Mardi Gras and (Super Tuesday). So here' are a few debauch-free events for tonight: WORDS The ALOUD series continues with John Burnham Schwartz, author of Reservation Road, who talks about his new novel set in 1959 Japan where a non-aristocratic......

Whether you are a devoted fan of Joy Division or simply a casual listener, Control should be high on your must-see list of movies. It is a masterfully and intimately told story about one of the more opaque musical figures of the last thirty years, Ian Curtis (my LAist review of the film is below). Yesterday, I had the chance to speak with one of the film's producers, Orian Williams, who spent ten years......

Like Jim Morrison before him, Ian Curtis exists in the mind's eye as more of an idea than a real person. Certainly, his early death contributes mightily to this perception. Anton Corbijn's Control, however, rescues him from the murky fog of legend and restores him to a state of full humanity. It is, simply, a remarkable film, as much for what it is as for what it is not. It resists the temptation towards......

After the disaster that was Evan Almighty, Steve Carell seems to have recovered (albeit slightly) with Dan in Real Life. Carell stars as a widower who inadvertently falls in love with his brother's girlfriend--hey, who fucking hasn't?! Celebrated French hellcat, er, actress Juliette Binoche stars as said girlfriend (which is good). Dane Cook is the brother, though, which is bad. Which is awful. Which sucks so hard there's no way I'm seeing this movie.......

The Swerve Festival is taking place at Barnsdall Park on Friday, Sept. 28th and goes till Sunday the 30th. There will be movies, music and art for all three days. ...