In 1974, with the support of an aging Groucho Marx, a group of UCLA students took on the might of Universal Studios and won. Steve Stoliar and his then-roommate Daryl Busby created The Committee for the Re-release of “Animal Crackers” (CRAC) when Stoliar was a second-year history student, and successfully petitioned Universal Studios to re-premiere the classic Marx Brothers film and eventually fully re-release it in the U.S. Read more...

Photo: When he was a second-year student at UCLA, Steve Stoliar (above) and his roommate founded The Committee for the Re-release of “Animal Crackers” (CRAC) to petition Universal Studios to re-premiere the Marx Brothers’ film “Animal Crackers” in 1974. (Keila Mayberry/Daily Bruin)

It’s no mystery why the trailer for “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” received a standing ovation at this year’s Comic-Con. It capitalizes on everything that makes director Zack Snyder one of the kings of fandom fodder: the gritty tone, the unfathomable destruction and the score that is more accurately described as loud than anthemic. Read more...

Photo: The first “Suicide Squad” trailer (above) premiered at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend. (Warner Bros.)

“Trainwreck” is not Judd Apatow’s best movie. The distinction still goes to “Knocked Up,” a consistent and organic comedy known for its explosive hilarity. In the midst of a dry summer season for comedy, “Trainwreck” is a female-driven movie that, in great Apatow form, comments on the realities of the sexual mindset in a world, much like our own, where sex isn’t everything – it’s just the most important thing. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

The fact that “Ted 2” isn’t outright terrible speaks wealths about director and animated television magnate Seth MacFarlane. But the film is really more the cinematic equivalent of a sigh – one has to sigh a bit, after all, when purchasing a ticket to a film where Mark Wahlberg is coated in semen by surprise. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Universal Pictures)

When senior lecturer Hal Ackerman was first asked to teach at UCLA, he was terrified. He said he had no confidence that he could offer students any advice that merited real value. Read more...

Photo: Hal Ackerman originally transitioned into screenwriting from his role as an off-off-Broadway playwright in New York. After 30 years as a screenwriting lecturer, Ackerman will retire and move back to New York to focus on writing novels and plays. (Jessica Zhou/Daily Bruin)