Friday, August 14

In the news:

Movie Review: ‘Spring Breakers’

Spring break is a spiritual thing, mostly. Or at least it is in “Spring Breakers,” Harmony Korine’s latest art film wrapped in provocation. Gathering up the opposite of a ragtag crew with erstwhile Disney innocents Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez, “Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson, his wife Rachel Korine and a freshly cornrowed James Franco, the director’s latest promises shallow fun, at least (appropriately) on the surface. Read more...

Photo: Disney Princesses and James Franco go wild in Harmony Korine’s new neon-colored celebration and critique of young American hedonism with “Spring Breakers.”


Movie Review: ‘Starbuck’

David Wozniak wakes up one day to discover that he has 533 children. A seemingly impossible fact, this is the basis for Canadian director Ken Scott’s latest French-language comedy. Read more...

Photo: David Wozniak finds out one morning that he’s the father of 533 kids in “Starbuck,” director Ken Scott’s latest enjoyable French comedy.


Alum’s film explores family relationships, food sources

As a child, Jason Kohl thought movies were made by space aliens. Read more...

Photo: UCLA alumnus Jason Kohl’s graduate directing thesis “The Slaughter” had its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this month. The short film stars “Breaking Bad” actor Michael Shamus Wiles, and is about a pig farmer who tests his unemployed son’s determination to join the family business.


Album Review: ‘The 20/20 Experience’

The sexy has been slowly fading away over the past seven years. Nowadays, no one remembers what it looks like, or is sure where it might have gone. Read more...

Photo: He’s bringing sexy back – again. Justin Timberlake returns after a six-year hiatus with the much-anticipated “The 20/20 Experience.”


Shakespeare at UCLA takes the stage with ‘King Lear’

Each evening this week, a group of students dressed in Elizabethan garb will practice sword fights and rehearse their lines. In addition to gearing up for finals, these students have Shakespeare on the brain. Read more...

Photo: Second-year psychology student Luis Ruiz (left), fourth-year anthropology student John Cody Fasano (center) and fourth-year physiological sciences student Olivia Marik-Reis (right) rehearse for Shakespeare at UCLA’s upcoming rendition of “King Lear.”



Movie review: ‘If I Were You’

Marcia Gay Harden once received a well-earned Academy Award for her role as expressionist painter Lee Krasner, opposite Ed Harris’ title character in “Pollock.” Twelve years later, Harden shows that her acting abilities have persisted, perhaps even evolved over time, but her ability to choose successful starring roles has clearly diminished. Read more...