Vol 06 Issue 16 by Diana James

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CITYBEAT

L 2 l APRIL 17~23, 2008

P C ON T E N T W W W. L A C I T Y B E A T . C O M

EDITORIAL Acting Editor Rebecca Schoenkopf rebeccas@lacitybeat.com News Editor Alan Mittelstaedt alanm@lacitybeat.com

VO L U M E 6 ~ N O . 1 6 Film Editor Andy Klein andyk@lacitybeat.com

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Calendar Editor Alfred Lee alfredl@lacitybeat.com Editorial Contributors Donnell Alexander, Paul Birchall, Michael Collins, André Coleman, Cole Coonce, Mark Cromer, Perry Crowe, Samantha Dunn, Mick Farren, Richard Foss, Ron Garmon, Andrew Gumbel, Tom Hayden, Bill Holdship, Jessica Hundley, Chip Jacobs, Mark Keizer, Carl Kozlowski, Wade Major, Allison Milionis, Anthony Miller, Chris Morris, Amy Nicholson, Arrissia Owen Turner, Donna Perlmutter, Joe Piasecki, Ted Rall, Erika Schickel, Don Shirley, Kirk Silsbee, Brent Simon, Joshua Sindell, Don Waller Calendar Assistant Ayse Arf Editorial Interns Ashley Archibald, Ed Carrasco, Emma Gallegos, Daryl Paranada, Amanda Price ART Art Director Matt Ansoorian artdirector@lacitybeat.com Web & Print Production Manager Meghan Quinn Advertising Art Director Sandy Wachs

Stage. Don Shirley travels through time, space and class boundaries for The Immigrant and Great Expectations.

I WANNA SEE YOU AS A TREE

Eat. Richard Foss says Ciudad is a continent on your plate.

Jim Washburn takes the Wayback Machine to the first Earth Day in 1970, when Parliament and CS&N were howling at the moon for the fate of the planet, and Richard Nixon came along for the ride; Coco Tanaka looks askance at your $8,500 eco-sheets; Ron Garmon says doobs will save the world; and Alfred Lee gives you the down-and-dirty on where to park your Prius when you go play Hacky Sack with the rest of your dirty hippie friends.

Film. Andy Klein takes on the manipulative, know-nothing blowhardery of Ben Stein’s Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. If you read only one piece this week, may I recommend this one? Also, kick-ass kung-fu, with Chan and Li together at last in The Forbidden Kingdom.

22 8 Third Degree. Ashley Archibald chats with Laura Chick about the gang problem and how to solve it. Please do.

Classified Production Artist Tac Phun

Contributing Artists and Photographers Jordan Crane, Scott Gandell, Max S. Gerber, Alexx Henry, Maura Lanahan, Gary Leonard, Melodie McDaniel, Nathan Ota, Ethan Pines, Gregg Segal, Elliott Shaffner, Bill Smith, Ted Soqui

Letters & Letter from the Editrix <============ LA&E ============>

ADVERTISING Director of Business Development Joe Cloninger

Retail Sales Manager Diana James

Live. Arrissia Owen Turner sits through all six hours of Cary Brothers and Co. at the Hotel Café, and returns with handy checklist! Clip ’em and save!

Co-op Advertising Director Spencer Cooper Music & Entertainment Sales Manager Jon Bookatz Account Executives Norma Azucena, Jason Hobbs, Parra Martinez, John Metzner and Susan Uhrlass

FRONTLINES 6 Alan Mittelstaedt IS L.A. Sniper! What’s on the docket this week? I’m guessing something about Antonio Villaraigosa … oh, and it seems, once again, that I’m right.

Classified Supervisor Michael Defilippo Classified Account Executives Sarah Fink, Daphne Marina (Rentals/Real Estate), Jason Rinka

CALENDAR 38 7 Days and Listings. Alfred Lee will be your cruise director, while Ed Carrasco chats up Olivian Cha about the L.A. Public Library’s coming punk show. Please do not mosh in the stacks.

Free Will Astrology 44 Classifieds 44 ★

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16 Mick’s Media. Mick Farren buckles himself in for the fantastic voyage on Battlestar Galactica, and you come along for the thrill ride!

Sandow Birk Isn’t Laughing. And neither is Ron Garmon!

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VP of Operations David Comden

TA K E M Y P I C T U R E , GARY LE ONARD

Human Resources Manager Andrea Baker andreab@southlandweeklies.com Accounting Ginger Wang, Archie Iskaq, Tracy Lowe, Christie Lee, Angela Wang (Supervisor) Circulation Supervisor Andrew Jackson Front Office Managers Sheila Mendes Coleman, Candon Murry Executive Publisher Charles N. Gerencser charlesg@lacitybeat.com Los Angeles CityBeat newspaper is published every Thursday and is available free at locations throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Circulation: 100,000. One copy per reader, additional copies are $10 each. Copyright: No articles, illustrations, photographs, or other editorial matter or advertisements herein may be reproduced without written permission of copyright owner. All rights reserved, 2008.

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APRIL 17~23, 2008

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Jack Black (not that Jack Black) painted us this beautiful, happy tree, with its beautiful, happy complement of frolicking children. Oh, how they cavort and tumble! In five minutes, they are all going to have asthma attacks, and it’s entirely possible that one might die. We’re all going to, you know.

BUSINESS

Controller Michael Nagami

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ON THE COVER:

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We Are All Going To Die .......................................

can say with utter conviction – UTTER CONVICTION – that no one has ever taken more pride in her work in the history – THE HISTORY – of court-mandated community service. I spent Saturday picking up garbage in Irvine Regional Park (in a beautiful, still somewhat protected – for now – stretch of unincorporated Orange County), and I loved every second of it. I am for picking up trash, for one thing. Earth Day was coming right up, for another. And one of the many (many) things that irks holy hell out of me is going someplace away from it all and finding it blanketed with Capri Sun straw wrappers from your piggy little shitbags. Hey fuckwits, know what? It’s not actually juice. By the time I was done, a goodly stretch of the popular park was spotless – you could have eaten off it! – but I was no longer stopping (and stooping – it was like picking strawberries, except with trash) to pick up each plastic water bottle screw cap. It was a matter of triage; I’d spot Styrofoam from 40 yards and I would actually sprint to go get it so my fellow felons changing the Hefty liners wouldn’t have to wait for me to hop back in the truck. My point in all this, and I know you’re asking, is that all y’all are pigs. Oh, not you. You’re reading this, and so surely have your canvas bag in your Prius ready for your trip to Trader Joe’s. I am not making fun of you: I am for all those things. It’s your neighbors. The ones who drive their Yukon so there’s room for the dogs. I hate your neighbors. Please tell them I said so. And because of your neighbors, whom I hate, we are all going to die. We can all change our light bulbs and recycle some of the 2.5 million plastic bottles Americans throw away every hour. We are still going to die. Have you seen the air lately? You shouldn’t have; air is supposed to be invisible. The hurricanes, the melting ice floes: The earth is trying to protect itself from the infestation that is humanity, and the weather is its bottle of Rid. Al Gore doesn’t want me to freak out, and after my two (2) Nader votes, I figure I owe him one (1). But how can I not freak out, Al Gore? CityBeat readers’ neighbors are giving me cancer! So happy Earth Day. Maybe go vegan for a day or something – but really, not longer, or none of your friends can have you for dinner parties. Be sure to screw in the light bulbs you transported in your canvas bags. But of course you did that already. You’re not like your neighbors. They’re going to hell. ✶

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Death to ‘CityBeat’ I am appalled at the naming of Rebecca Schoenkopf as Acting Editor. Her cover story on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art [“Death to LACMA,” April 10] is vulgar, uninformative, uninformed, and irresponsible. Her “Letter from the Editrix” is similarly coarse and verges on the onanistic. I urge the publisher to better oversee the actions of his editor. --GREGORY A. DOBIE VIA E-MAIL

Jump Back, Hit Yourself You guys are all lah-dee-dah in your own damned existential hoo-hah with roof tingling mad mulligans and schizofied shenanigans. Who, would you opine, is the better abused substance that tars up the gummery and beats piecemeal puree on this Wonktown train? Um, no. It’s all gravy, my random friend confided in me as I tripped nougat all over the crock pot that is the mise-en-scene at the illustrious “what-did-she-just-say?” hall of mirrors. You can shoop it, sister, but in the end, is that the point? Sheet. You know it. That’s what this story felt like to me. Except multiply it by a million words, then hit yourself on the hand with a hammer. --WEEGEE MANLOVE VIA LACITYBEAT.COM

‘Lesbian Hitler’ Granted, I may find some of the exhibits

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in LACMA pretentious. I may find some of the works of art in LACMA laughable or overrated and the LACMA collection as a whole heavily weighted to white males. (LACMA does not house an exhibition of African art.) But I cannot possibly condone a cover and lead article that says “Death to LACMA: Burn it down.” Nor am I impressed by the closing words: “fuck tha police” or “burn the mother down.” Is the author, Rebecca Schoenkopf, trying to “relate” to the inner city by assuming the role of some crude, street persona? If so, she’s slamming the residents of south Los Angeles, the vast majority of whom are not violent, and some of whom actually work in law enforcement (including some of my former students). Schoenkopf’s call to destroy LACMA resembles the worst elements of the BushCheney-GOP regime, which passively stood by while looters destroyed the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad, one of the world’s most priceless collections of Mesopotamian art. It reminds me of Adolf Hitler who attempted to destroy every master work of 20th century German art. It resembles the know-nothing mouthings of various ignorant vixens of right-wing talk radio. As a retired teacher who spent a lifetime teaching in inner-city schools, I am not at all impressed by the display of profanity in Schoenkopf’s article or her editorial. This is not the hallmark of cutting edge journalism, but the language of illiterate thugs whom I often had to drive CITYBEAT

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out of the hallways, so that my students could have a safe place to learn. I’m even less impressed by the frequent references to various parts of the female anatomy that appeared in the last issue – as if I didn’t know and needed to be told. By including these gratuitous references, Schoenkopf does not strike me as a bold voice of the avant-garde, but instead, as some closeted soul desperately trying to advertise her assets to the local Lesbian community. Both Schoenkopf and Los Angeles CityBeat need to grow up. --WILLIAM JOSEPH MILLER VIA E-MAIL

Balls L.A. Times, L.A. Weekly, CityBeat. That’s the order of importance in this town. To me. Or was. Now it’s the other way around. Why? “Death 2 LACMA.” Wow! Tear it up and burn it down, Woman! ’Bout friggin’ time somebody with balls (oops, pardon me) ripped a strip off half-assed shows and polite museum going in this two-bit burg. Not that I’m not happy to see stuff by Frida and Claude and the Greeks, etc., cuz of course I am. But seems to me that there is a whole lotta pretension goin’ on (to misquote J.L. Lewis) when it comes to The Big Time Art Scene in The Big Orange. Your piece cleared away a bit of that foggy bottom and rearranged the order of newspaper importance at the same time. From now on, it’s, “Hmmmmmm, I wonder what good stuff Rebecca might be trumpeting this week and also

APRIL 17~23, 2008

what shibboleths, golden idols, and vacuous crap she might be pole-axing? Better check the’Beat .” And I like your wham-bam style. Thank you, ma’am. -- NEIL FLOWERS VIA E-MAIL

Roses for Perlmutter I must tell you the best review I read anywhere of Los Angeles Opera’s recent production of Verdi’s Otello was in your paper, written by your music and dance critic Donna Perlmutter (Feb. 28). She got it just right – the ever-enduring impact of Domingo’s Otello, the problems with the direction and characterizations apparent to the perceptive critic and operagoer. I used to read Donna Perlmutter in the late lamented Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and I welcome her return to the Los Angeles press. Ms. Perlmutter continues to display her discernment in her reviews of Dudamel and Swan Lake in your April 3 issue. Keep up the good work --DR. GERALD D. TURBOW BEVERLY HILLS

SEND LETTERS! Letters to the editor should include a return address and telephone number. All correspondence becomes property of Los Angeles CityBeat and may be edited for space. Send to LETTERS, CityBeat, 5209 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Or by fax (323) 938-1661 or e-mail: editor@lacitybeat.com.

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Conducts Bruckner Los Angeles Philharmonic • Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor Michele Zukovsky, clarinet MOZART Clarinet Concerto; BRUCKNER Symphony No. 6

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APRIL 17~23, 2008

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F R O N T L I N E S ★

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Dark Thoughts About Freeway Shootings Road rage isn’t only for criminals, is it? ~ BY ALAN MITTELSTAEDT ~

OK, A CONFESSION: THE RECENT spate of freeway shootings fascinates me. This sounds alarming, I know, but what would you expect from someone who calls himself L.A. Sniper, a name that came to mind watching CNN coverage of the Virginia shooting spree blamed on Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad in the summer of 2006? Calm down, and stop being so judgmental, though intolerance often wins out in a country where presidential campaign coverage can fixate itself for days on Obama’s three ill-chosen sentences. This just in: All the candidates are elitists and despise anyone who doesn’t give them money or votes. Get over it. L.A.’s freeways, on the other hand, are the great equalizers. Anybody can get shot on them. L.A.’s car-to-car shootings are more than crimes that scream out for the perpetuators to be brought to justice. The carnage – five dead in at least eight shootings in the past two months – also speaks to an out-of-control culture that awards near-sovereign-nation-status to our cars. People who drive Priuses and tank-like SUVs may appear to have little in common, but they are among the worst offenders when it comes to drawing up their own laws, good and bad, for the rest of us to follow. To try to come to terms with the phenomena of roadway shootings, I gave up the comforts of public transportation for one week and drove to work. It seemed the best way to see firsthand what’s going on out there in the Hobbesian state of nature. A couple theories needed investigation. Are the shootings related? No, I was repeatedly told. Are there any common threads that could suggest anything but random attacks? No, I was repeatedly told. “We haven’t made any connections in the recent shootings,” said CHP Officer and spokeswoman Heather Hoglund. “It does appear to be random.” A more thoughtful analysis of freeway conditions may be found in any number of places, but here are the highlights of my week on the freeways: You people are nuts. More of you deserve bad-ass reckless driving tickets – or the decrees of vigilante justice. Prius owners drive like morons. How do I know they own their wheels? Who else would drive so slowly but someone trying to keep their cost per mile close to the price of a piece of bubblegum?

To the guy who cut off the college student trying to shoot across four lanes and exit at Exposition Boulevard, slow the fuck down. It doesn’t matter if you have to brake and fall back in the line of cars on the eastbound 110. And to the woman on the southbound Pasadena freeway in the Mercedes SUV oblivious to anything but her cell phone and other likely head noises, no fair using the Chinatown ramp to race around the stopped cars and then darting at the last nanosecond back onto the freeway. You’re lucky no one shot out your tires.

display behind him, Mayor V’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign began taking shape in Parker Center on Monday night. You’ll recognize him in a little more than a year as the tough-on-crime candidate who finally called a halt to Los Angeles’s gang wars. The only cautionary notes sounded at the start of the evening when a Stevie Wonder number with the very unambitious title “Living for the City” blared through the auditorium as the mayor made his way to the stage. Give the mayor credit for not blowing any money on this hokey show. But he

SEEN IN L.A.

TUESDAY: L.A.'S THREATENED MIDDLE CLASS FIGHTS BACK IN A THREE-DAY MARCH FROM HOLLYWOOD TO SAN PEDRO TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE WOES FACING HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF UNION MEMBERS, FROM SCHOOLTEACHERS TO LONGSHORE WORKERS, FROM ACTORS TO JANITORS. PHOTOGRAPH BY MEGHAN QUINN

OK, I take that back. But exactly how are these drivers any different from someone who walks into your home waving a gun? OK, I take that back, too. But you haughty Prius owners, please take the clean-fuel-burning Metro bus if you’re so damn worried about your carbon footprint. Or are you really like all the other image-conscious drivers out there auditioning for the next sniper attack every day on L.A. freeways?

KING ANTONIO I: THE FUNNIEST GUY IN TOWN With a few dozen cops and firefighters on

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should remember to bring a speech next time. This one was a bomb for anyone looking for signs of inspiration and loyalty at City Hall. Mayor V rambled on for 40 minutes and never addressed the top question facing the city of Los Angeles: If he wins re-election in March 2009, will he turn his back on the people of L.A. in a few short months to kick his campaign for governor into high gear? Will he have the decency to resign, and when will the special election, at a cost of millions of dollars, be held to find his successor? How does he feel about making us blow that money with a $400-million deficit looming next year? How can he not lay all this on the line with the Angelenos he claims to love so

APRIL 17~23, 2008

much? Or, is he a soulless chump who only cares about himself and the next race? Most people wouldn’t keep a dentist as disloyal as the mayor. He can talk all he wants to about adding 1,000 cops by 2010 (what does Chief Bill Bratton have on the mayor anyway?), putting gang programs under his control (what difference will it make when the mayor abandons L.A.?), infiltrating the byzantine L.A. Unified bureaucracy and installing Ramon Cortines as second-in-command (why can’t his socalled “progressive majority” on the school board fire the do-nothing Superintendent Brewer?), and developing a publicprivate partnership to take on L.A.’s transit needs (what dumb-ass investment firm wants a piece of moneylosing subways and light rail?). All grand ideas, but who will finish Mayor V’s frenzy of projects? Bob Hertzberg? James Hahn? Karen Bass? Janice Hahn? Bill Rosendahl? Ron Kaye – in his dreams, at least? Ambition’s fine and blind ambition can be tolerable, too. But is there anything at the mayor’s core, like a heart? Or is that beating sound a stopwatch? If the mayor’s so bored with L.A., he should not even seek a second term. Get some bright do-gooder type who would consider two terms in office a gift rather than a burden or springboard or whatever role it fills in the shallow psyche of our fading star Mayor V. Just how big of a yawn was the mayor’s speech? It sounded like a compilation of his press releases instead of a narrative of the city’s hopes and dreams. But someone deserves credit for not editing out the most telling line of the evening. Possibly channeling his worst fears about running for governor against likely challengers Jerry Brown or San Francisco’s Gavin Newsom, the mayor said: “Let’s reach for the future beyond our grasp.” Then he left the stage to Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Maybe Mayor V’s ego would be satisfied with a new title – King Antonio I – and allow him to stick around long enough to accomplish at least one of his goals.

FABIAN, THE WATER BOY Disgraced state Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez no longer can ring up fancy ➽

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F R O N T L I N E S

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Sandow Birk Isn’t Laughing

Share your vision at metro.net/imagine.

The artist answers critics of his Hollenbeck mural ~ BY RON GARMON ~

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Boyle Heights will be an almost half-block-long and 14-foot-high tribute to Diego Rivera and the “Big Four” muralists Birk studied at the behest of the Mexican government. To be installed in late May, the mural comes after four years of research, interviews and Birk’s serious-minded immersion in this vibrant, contentious cultural hub. I live there myself, and the watery-looking photos making the Internet rounds look like acute observations of a joker in love. I know this impulse well, as does comedian George Lopez, whose megabuck mug is ubiquitous here. “I’m completely baffled by it,” admits Birk of the uproar. “So many people helped design the image and paint it; it’s been a real community project, as a project of this scale and importance should be. The criticisms I’ve heard are wacky and don’t make any sense and are simply not true. For example, there are no illegal activities depicted whatsoever – no beer-drinking, no wild dogs, no people ‘drying their clothes,’ no gangbangers, nothing ‘dark’ at all. What there are are renowned police officers and children and historical figures and buildings and events. Every image was suggested by the community, from the war veterans to the children with balloons and the boxers and the references to the history of the community and its Japanese and Jewish heritage. I can’t wait for someone to actually see it before making any judgment calls on it. It’s really spectacular. “As of now,” revealed the artist, “the only people who have seen the mural in its final state are those community members who worked on the project, due to the nature of firing the tiles individually and then storing them for delivery. The only images that can be seen are of the mural in the process of being painted. It’s the firing that gives the glazes a beautiful, bright, sparkling color. And in the photos the colors look dull and flat and chalky. It’s going to be spectacular when it goes up, it’s going to be vibrant and bright colors and brilliant in the sun.” ✶

Imagine The Possibilities Imagine a faster commute, synchronized signals, more left turn lanes and more rail lines to more places. Metro is now planning LA’s future and wants your input. See what’s achievable today and possible tomorrow with more investments in tra;c solutions. Share your vision at metro.net/imagine or call 213.922.2833.

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Metro’s 25-Year Plan Sparks Widespread Interest And the hits just keep on coming! More than 12,000 visitors have reviewed Metro’s Long Range Transportation Plan on the internet. On average, the plan for LA’s transportation future gets 550 views a day. Find out for yourself what the excitement is all about at metro.net/imagine.

Thousands Go With Metro Employer Pass

(Sniper cont’d) Bordeaux wine purchases or go on $3,000 shopping sprees at Louis Vuitton’s Paris Outlet on the campaign coin, but he still hasn’t found honorable work. Last week, the short-timer was doing a dirty deed for his close pal, girlfriend swapper and confidant, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Big F called for the head of Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chief Roger Snoble, blaming him for the region’s failure to bring home billions of dollars meted out for projects by the California Transportation Commission. It was an absurd charge. If there was any mystery who was behind the threat, hours later Mayor V released a statement urging the full Metro board to review Snoble’s tenure on an urgency basis. (If the mayor ever robs the corner market, expect him to leave fingerprints and his driver’s license behind.) It looks like the mayor still harbors bad feelings from the 2003 bus drivers strike, when he and fellow board member Martin Ludlow locked horns with Snoble, who was driving more of a hard line with the drivers. The mayor takes over as chairman of

MetroBriefs

the 13-member Metro board on July 1, three months before Snoble’s contract expires. Look out! Snoble’s been largely credited with restoring order to a transit agency hit by allegations of corruption and mismanagement, and ended the revolving door in the top management position. He also royally pissed off Mayor V, the Big F and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger when he blew the whistle on the heist they pulled last summer by balancing the state budget with Proposition 1B transportation bond money. Snoble made no bones about the theft of $300 million from L.A. transit projects: “That’s literally being stolen to balance the budget. Essentially, we all got hoodwinked,” he said at a July news conference. So if Mayor V can dump the straight-shooter Snoble, there’s an extra dividend: The governor will be happy, too, a move that could pay off in extraordinary ways – say, if the mayor could talk the popular GOP governor into endorsing him for governor in 2010. ✶ Send insults and ammo to BigAl@lasniper.com. APRIL 17~23, 2008

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More than 5,600 employees at 225 worksites in LA County enjoy their commute more now by going Metro. It’s a win-win situation: employees get the benefits of riding Metro and the company gets tax savings, reduced parking demands and improved employee morale. Find out more at 213.922.2811.

If you’d like to know more, please call us at 1.800.464.2111, or visit metro.net.

TO SANDOW BIRK, THE PUBLIC detonation over his new mural must have all the charmlessness of a premature joybuzzer. Soon to absorb a monumental stretch of the new Hollenbeck police station, the work took a preliminary PR beating last week while still packed in crates awaiting installation. Some Boyle Heights residents are angered by photos of sections reportedly depicting the venerable Mexican-American neighborhood as “a crime-ridden dump filled with fat women, stray dogs, beer-swilling men and illegal street vendors.” Admittedly, Birk’s made important bones as a satirist with a knack for ironically chosen subjects oft-rendered in terms of the mock-heroic, such as The Liberation of Baghdad, or mock-idyllic, like a series of landscape paintings of each of California’s 33 state prisons. Still, from public and official response to a relative handful of the mural’s 4,000-plus tiles, anyone would think the neighborhood had been reimagined as a MAD magazine cover, with LAPD station commander Blake Chow opining, “This really paints a dark picture of Hollenbeck.” Only the story isn’t so simple as an elite outsider cocking a snook at a working-class community. “I’m really quite distressed that there’s been such an outcry on what I think is a great project, and that the criticisms are so outlandish and false,” Sandow Birk let me know via e-mail. “The LAPD was involved in the project at every step of the way, and the imagery in the mural was suggested by LAPD officers from Hollenbeck station themselves. This has been a huge project that has been going on for five years, from planning to coming up with a design to the final creation of the mural. At every meeting that I have attended there have been LAPD members and community members involved. They told me stories about the history of the precinct, gave me a tour of the facilities, and showed me their favorite places to eat, as well as memorabilia and stories of remarkable police officers. All of their input was used in the creation of the final design.”

The City Controller blew the whistle on L.A.’s failed gang prevention programs and vows to hold the mayor accountable for fixing them MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, in his third State of the City address Monday night, focused on two of the biggest problems facing L.A.: burgeoning gang violence and the bloated public debt. Recent high-profile shootings that have been rocking Los Angeles have brought violence front and center, and the mayor talked up his plan to oversee gangprevention programs in his office. A big player in all of this is City Controller Laura Chick, who audited the mess of gang prevention programs overseen by the City Council’s ad hoc gang violence prevention committee and other city departments, and pushed for placing all of them under the mayor’s control. After a two-month row with Councilmember Tony Cardenas, the City Council finally signed off on the deal. Chick, in an interview with CityBeat, gives some insights into how L.A. might finally end up with gang programs that work. –Ashley Archibald

CityBeat: Why did you think it was so important to move the gang prevention programs from under the auspices of the ad hoc committee to the Mayor’s Office? Laura Chick: It was not so much about moving it from council to mayor, it was moving programs that have been uncoordinated, disconnected and not under the direct auspices and oversight of a single person or office. This was about consolidating and coordinating. Why will it work better now? Moving these programs to the Mayor’s Office creates a single point of accountability. We have a variety of different programs and they just were not all brought together with a single strategic plan that says this is about lowering gang violence. What about the way it will be organized now will make it more accountable? What’s being created now in the Mayor’s Office is a Request for Proposal at the very beginning when they’re picking the agencies that will be delivering services. Those agencies are going to know exactly what is expected of them, what outcomes they are supposed to be producing. We’ve been almost giving money to agencies as a matter of entitlement. That’s not a good way to go about it. What’s going to be different about these programs that’ll address the gang problem better than before? The old programs weren’t based on crime statistics, and that is something also that is changing radically. The dollars are going to be reallocated, and it’s not going to be that every council district gets a

Degree

program. It’s going to be that the neighborhoods that have been identified by high gang violent crime, those are the areas that are going to get the dollars and the programs. And there are going to be needs assessments. Some of the communities may need many other things beyond one or two gang prevention programs. They need parenting classes, they need job training, mentoring programs, they need safe passage for the kids to and from school. So it’s not just going to be an isolated gang prevention program that’s just dropped into these communities, it’s going to be a whole array of services that chip away at the root causes of why people are joining gangs to begin with. Are these the gang reduction youth development zones that I’ve heard about? You know, I’m not sure. I just know these are key features of how the city is going to run and administer its anti-gang-violence programs. It really is revolutionary when you think about it. Government usually gets dollars to pass out to various community-based organizations and nonprofits to target a problem to provide services to provide to a population in need. They’ve never really gone about it in any scientific way to say we need to measure our performance, we need to evaluate how we’re doing, we need to rank all these services. We really seem to throw money at things. It’s like government builds a building, we cut the yellow ribbon, congratulate ourselves that the building is open and then walk away. That is how the government has traditionally funded programs and services. What will be the criteria to evaluate whether these programs are working? It would be very difficult to say, “Well, x many lives were saved.” Right. Well, first and foremost, crime statistics will be closely watched. There are other things to be measured. School attendance, dropout rates versus graduation rates, young people employed in the geographic area, how many mentoring proCITYBEAT

grams exist in an area and how many kids are signed up as mentees. There are a variety of metrics that will be closely watched and followed because that’s the only way to be able to know whether a program is successful.

It sounds like you’re targeting mostly teenagers. We’d like to get in younger than middle school. By high school you’re starting to get awfully late, you’ll have to get intervention and reentry programs. Oh, and that’s another thing that’s changing. Sheriff Baca, Chief Bratton are saying we need intervention programs. We need interventionists, not just prevention. We need workers going in and actually pulling young people out of gangs, brothers and sisters of gang members away from gangs, and to give more dollars to intervention programs than we’ve been giving. There seemed to be some real tension between you and Councilman Cardenas on this issue. How did that play out for you? Clearly, there was a process that needed to take place for some of the key leadership in the City Council and maybe even in the Mayor’s Office for this to evolve and move toward the best of all worlds. Without being petty about it, expression “all’s well that ends well,” and we haven’t ended, we’ve just begun … but trying to figure out what direction to go in, that waiting game is over. What is the continued role in the ad hoc committee in this? My understanding from President Garcetti, who has reiterated this to me multiple times, is that the ad hoc committee on gang violence will finish its work by July 1. And the council wanted to help with the measurement tools and that sort of thing for the programs under the Mayor’s Office? Well, in my mind, the ad hoc’s role is to hand over to the mayor recommendations for an evaluation tool. Similarly, when the council requests the city controller to do something, requests the city

APRIL 17~23, 2008

attorney to do something, requests the mayor to do something, it will be in that spirit because the city council does not tell the mayor, does not order the mayor, does not advise the mayor. It requests, it communicates, in tandem and as a team player. I think the ad hoc committee has been stellar. They’ve used many of the same experts that the Mayor’s Office and I have used. That’s why I’m saying it’s all come together and whatever they turn over to the mayor as a measurement tool will be very, very helpful. But everyone is finally on the same page. The ad hoc’s work is winding down and the council will be very vigilant and will be watching and listening. And so will this office and hopefully so will the media. Everyone’s watching and we can’t fail. We can’t. And the goal was not to give these programs more money, but just to streamline them to make them more efficient? No. The mayor has increased the money that’s going into prevention and intervention. What my report called for and what the mayor’s agreeing with is that we’re not adding more money from the general fund for gang programs right now. We’re reallocating money that’s already in existence for similar programs. As you know, there is conversation from the council right now about asking the public for more money for gang programs and that is one potential way to get more funding.

And what programs are we thinking about unfunding to bolster gang prevention funding? We identified about $19 million worth of programs that did not seem to have clear goals and objectives and priorities. For instance, there are some programs funded for domestic violence. We are not saying, “Don’t fund domestic violence programs,” but we’re saying, “How does this fit with anti-gang programs and how can we make this fit as part of the program? How can we make this more effective?” That decision will be up to the mayor. We can’t be all things to all people. ✶

ILLUSTRATION BY SCOTT GANDELL

Laura Chick

Coming

MAY 15 2008

Summer in Los Angeles is a time for kicking back and relaxing but it is also a time for action! It is a time for cool days in the water and warm nights on the town. In this special issue of CityBeat we help our readers get their summer off to a great start! This is a great opportunity to grow your business, ad programs start at $299!

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CITYBEAT

APRIL 17~23, 2008

“Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time …” – Come on, you know the words, intone along – “… for y’all have knocked her up, I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe, I was not offended, For I knew I had to rise above it all, Or drown in my own shit.” That’s the intro to “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic, in case you were absent when American History stopped dead as 10 minutes of Negro fuzztone lamentation washed over it in 1971. “What the truckful of fuck was that?” you might have asked then, for this was not progressive supergroup fuzz guitar; it was a raw cry, Funkadelic guitarist Eddie Hazel operating under first-take instructions from George Clinton to play as if he’d just heard his mother had died. Clinton didn’t tell him it was Mother Earth. That’s where that was coming from. When you heard Jimi Hendrix play “Machine Gun,” you knew it was the sound of war, but from some extra-human perspective. Listen long enough and you realize it’s the cry of the planet, avulsed by napalm and carpet bombs. That’s where that was coming from. Things were always coming from somewhere back then. “Dying trees … It’s nature’s way of telling you something’s wrong”; “Look at Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen-seventies” – that was coming from Topanga Canyon. Over in Laurel Canyon, it was “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” and escaping the apocalypse in wooden ships. In Brian Wilson’s purple BelAir retreat, the Beach Boys weren’t singing “Catch a Wave” anymore, but “Don’t Go Near the Water.” The sound from Woodland Hills was Captain Beefheart warning, “The rug’s wearin’ out that we walk on/Soon it will fray and we’ll drop dead into yesterday/Must the breathing pay for those who breathe in but don’t breathe out?” That’s how it was circa 1970, with the best and brightest of L.A. and the world’s other cultural centers sounding the environmental alarm. And don’t forget the Motor City: “Mercy, mercy me/Things ain’t what they used to be/Where did all the blue skies go?” They thought it was almost doomsday back when the first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. Now, we call it the good old days. In 1970, the world’s human population was only 3,692,492,000. It had taken nearly 2,000 years to plump that number up from the mere 200 million who had peopled the Bible days. Now it’s taken only 38 years to bloat the 3.6 billion by another 3 billion. People may not have been listening too deeply to Marvin Gaye’s music, but they were sure fucking to it. In 1970, gas was 34 cents a gallon and few people pondered what the lead in it was doing (outside of those in the DuPont boardroom, which had covered up lead’s deadly downside for decades). Our oceans were still teeming with fish, and they weren’t anywhere near full of mercury yet. Honking Delaware-sized chunks of Arctic and Antarctic ice shelf weren’t yet crumbling into the sea. Back then, the weather extremes, species die-offs and oceanic dead zones of today still lived in a murky realm between scientific conjecture and science fiction. Some shit that has since come to pass even sci-fi writers couldn’t have imagined, such as in 2004, when Australia’s epic drought got so bad that thirst-crazed kangaroos began go-

ing into towns and attacking humans. Bad Kanga! Soylent Green is people, if you’re a kangaroo. In 1970, the dichotomy of us regarding the world as both our oyster and our toilet hadn’t taken so obvious a toll on the planet, nothing like what’s happening now. But it was enough to get people singing and organizing. Earth Day was a huge deal in which some 20 million Americans participated, and it wasn’t just Arbor Day with a splash of patchouli behind the ears. Yes, some of those 20 million were teachers and kids spending an hour at tide pools poking sea urchins, but Earth Day’s participants also fostered substantive legislative, scientific and academic change. It has since gone global – let’s say hooray in 173 languages – but here at home Earth Day’s slowly become an

HEADIN’ FOR THE TAR PITS, ONE AND ALL ~ BY JIM WASHBURN ~

other testament to our inertia, particularly over these last seven years of environmental rollback. We can bang drums and chant slogans until even the moon says shut up, but it won’t change a thing at the EPA, even though the agency owes its very existence to the first Earth Day.

❧ Oh, tell us the story of the first Earth Day, will you, Hippie Granddad? Sure, kids. Pretend it’s a blustery day and you’re off the California coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara, but you’re not on a boat; you’re on the Union Oil Company’s Platform A, drilling for oil. It’s six miles out at sea, where the oil is and where California’s bothersome regulations aren’t. Those end at the three mile limit, and federal regulation is much more lax. For example, out here you can use thinner sheathing in your wells. So there you are giving old Mother Earth a good drilling when – Jiminy Cricket! – there’s a rupture, which is sort of like the rapture except instead of souls shooting up everywhere it’s millions of gallons of oil. Whoopsidaisy! That was January 29, 1969, and the resulting oil slick cov-

APRIL 17~23, 2008

CITYBEAT

ered 800 square miles along the then-pristine coast. Birds, seals, dolphins, fish and their invertebrate brethren all sucked it up – oil that is, Texas tea – and died a horrible death.

❧ Union Oil’s president Fred Hartley was unimpressed, quoted as saying, “I am amazed at the publicity over the loss of a few birds.” But Wisconsin aenator Gaylord Nelson happened to be in Santa Barbara, witnessed the unction in action and was sufficiently appalled to shortly thereafter call for a national environmental teach-in. Harvard University student Denis Hayes was moved by Nelson’s speech and visited the senator to see if he could help organize the teach-in on his campus. Since Nelson hadn’t yet developed the idea and had sacks of mail from Americans supporting it, he enlisted Hayes to organize the event, not just at Harvard but across the USA. From that happenstance, oil-flecked beginning, Earth Day was born. The public will carried some weight then, and the significance of Earth Day was not lost on then-President Richard M. Nixon. Hayes once told me of a night years later that he’d spent drinking with Nixon insider John Ehrlichman, who told him that “Nixon didn’t care much for the environment and thought all this whining about pollution was a sign of moral decay, a weakening of the American fiber by people who weren’t prepared to suck it up and pay the price of progress. “But Nixon looks out the White House window and sees the mall full of people, turns on his television and sees gigantic crowds in cities across the country, and reads the Associated Press report that more than 20 million people are involved. He had barely won in 1968 and figured he had to be a player in this.” Nixon the tactician noted that both his chief Republican rival, New York Mayor John Lindsay, and his putative Democratic presidential opponent Edmund Muskie were involved in Earth Day. Ehrlichman told Hayes he’d suggested Nixon could outflank them by combining various elements of the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Health, Education and Welfare and the Atomic Energy Commission, tying a bow around them and calling it the Environmental Protection Agency. That was a direct result of Earth Day, according to Ehrlichman, who was a pretty straightforward guy if you overlook his convictions for perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. “We can change the world,” Crosby and Nash sang back then. While some things remained impossible – such as getting CS&N to sing in tune in concert – change certainly was in the air: The Clean Air bill passed, Nixon was toppled, the Vietnam War ended. Today, people couldn’t be more anxious for change if they were stuck inside a seven-year Pampers. Watergate was a mere bagatelle compared to stuff Bush has tried to get away with, yet Bush did get away with most of it, and he just will not go away. A great deal of the shenanigans was bad for the environment. Nearly Bush’s first act was reneging on a campaign promise to control power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions, going beyond that disgrace to also have the EPA drop its existing suits against power plant polluters. His excuse was that we needed the energy, citing as a reason California’s energy crisis, omitting that it was rigged by his friends at Enron. But why stop there? He tried to replace the Nixon-signed Clean Air Act with his Clear Skies plan, which, among other niceties, would have allowed 50 percent more carbon monoxide emissions, this despite a National Academy of Sciences estimate that the new standards 8

would cause an additional 30,000 premature U.S. deaths per year. When even the Republican Congress rejected the plan, the administration did an end-run, “reinterpreting” EPA rules, over the objections of staff and a federal advisory panel. While the smokestacks spewed, the administration was instead branding eco-terrorism as our chief domestic threat. Since then they’ve rolled back or reversed hundreds of environmental laws, usually at the behest of lobbyists and against the better advices of government experts. Here’s one example: The flame retardants PDBEs and deca BDE are banned in Europe and elsewhere because studies found both that they disrupted the brain development, memory, learning ability and hearing of lab animal offspring and that they concentrate in humans at alarming speed. The breast milk of U.S. mothers had 70 times the PDBEs of European mothers – near the levels that were damaging lab rats – yet the Bush administration sided with lobbyists in opposing regulation. Judging by a glut of similar rulings, you’d pretty much have to be pouring effluent straight into a baby’s mouth before they’d intervene. Lobbyists are in charge of agencies that should be policing the lobbyists’ polluting industries. Whistleblowers are fired. Science has been so censored and distorted by this administration that over 4,000 scientists, including 127 members of the staid National Academy of Sciences and 48 Nobel Prize winners, issued a 49-page detailed letter condemning it. In one example it was found that the reports of NASA’s head climate scientist, James Hansen, were being censored by a political hack, and a 23-yearold college dropout at that. California has been particularly victimized. There was the rigged energy crisis and the higher rates the feds stuck us with. There was the emergency request from the state for FEMA’s help in clearing trees killed by bark beetles, saying they posed an imminent threat of catastrophic forest fires, a request FEMA sat on for six months, then denied on the same day that catastrophic fires swept the state. Due to federal inaction, California has been screwed out of much of the water it was getting. Then there’s the tooth and nail fight by “states’ rights” Republicans in Washington to deny California the right to set its own smog rules, as L.A.’s sky has grown more sepia by the day. We could fill this paper with similar depressing stuff, but to what avail? It bums us out, and nothing changes. I just had to go sit under an olive tree for half an hour to watch the leaves and sky and listen for the peepings of the little brown birds in our eaves, to recall that life goes on despite our ruinous idiot schemes. Years ago the lovely U. Utah Phillips mused, “You know, maybe we’re winning and we don’t even know it.” He was talking about the slow silent acceptance of organic foods, of neighborhood vegetable gardens, about women’s rights, gay rights and global human rights, about our growing respect for the fragility and majesty of the natural world. There is that, but also this: Walter Cronkite once said – and I can only paraphrase from memory – that the most frightening interview he ever conducted was with a scientist who was studying the effect of pesticides and other toxins on the human brain. “You know,” the scientist said, “one day the human race is going to lose its ability to reason, and we won’t even know it.” Colony Collapse Disorder – it’s not just for bees anymore! Where are those damn bees? Where are the salmon? Maybe the other species see the writing on the wall and are getting out while the getting’s good. Except the kangaroos. They are going to fuck you up. Do we rise above it? ✶

o, you’ve got the holiday spirit this week and feel like giving up some hard-saved hours for Mother Earth. Rather than hear some politician stumble through public remarks or look at a bunch of green whatsits that people want you to buy, here’s CityBeat’s guide to get up, get out, and see/do something meaningful – or at least a little weird. There’s a whole world of activity out there, from the splendors of fine art to the fine art of weed-pulling. –Alfred Lee

S YELL FIRE

SAY AWWWWWWW

HONK FOR TREES

Of course you’d expect a place called The Folk Tree to be playing the Earth Day card. There, we go from recycled goods to Endangered Species, another group show dedicated to the natural world, featuring 12 artists working in painting, printmaking, assemblage, papier mache, mixed media and ceramics. From 3:15 to 5 p.m., the Pasadena Humane Society’s mobile unit will be visiting with big-eyed animals available for adoption; at the same time, the place also hosts a book event with Elizabeth Pomeroy, who’ll sign Pasadena: A Natural History. Opening reception Sat., 2-6 p.m. The Folk Tree, 217 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, (626) 795-8733. Folktree.com.

Speaking of tree-hugging centers, Santa Monica’s Treesavers – led by peace activist staple Jerry Rubin – holds a march and rally on Tuesday, as part of a long fight against increasing odds to save those beautiful ficus trees along Second and Fourth streets in downtown Santa Monica. The city plans to replace them with ginkgos, which don’t cast as much shade, in order to make the streets more attractive to shoppers. Blech. Tues., 6 p.m. March from Santa Monica Palisades Park to Santa Monica City Hall, 1685 Main St., Santa Monica. Info: (310) 399-1000 orTreesavers. blogspot.com.

THE SCAVENGER

This one’s special: CityBeat’s sponsoring it. Even if we weren’t, though, how much would you love a “Musical Yoga Experience” with Michael Franti (Spearhead) and Seane Corn (she’ll be the one directing your down dog)? Probably a lot, right? Also: Chris Pierce, Cava, Naked Rhythm, Cipes & the People, Luminaries and more, plus your usual green magicians, live animals (PETAfriendly, one presumes), puppet shows, and other stuff. Bike, walk, train or skate, because there is a stilt circus, and you could not ask for more than that. Tues., 10 a.m.5 p.m. Wilshire Center, Wilshire Blvd. between Western and Harvard, Los Angeles. Free.

If you like your Earth Day art to be more Captain Beefheart than Captain Planet, there’s the singular (in name, at least) Treiops Treyfid at MJ Higgins. Treyfid’s show, Animals of the Future, literally does away with endangered species altogether, imagining (via sculpture and mixed media 3-D) which animals will survive an oncoming ecosystem catastrophe/loss of habitat. The answer is those animals that can best thrive alongside us humans: raccoons, opossums, rats, roaches, crows, squirrels and other critters that eat our garbage and such. Reception Tues., 6-9 p.m. Closes May 3. MJ Higgins Gallery, 400 S. Main St., ste. 103, L.A., (213) 617-1700. Mjhiggins.com.

TREASURING TRASH

IN THE CITY

Materials recycled at 2534 Eagle Rock Blvd.: Wood, paper, cardboard, newspaper, plastic, glass, tile, metal, aluminum, steel, concrete, plant material (?), toys (!) and wire. What kind of magical enviro-messiah is this place? None other than some snooty art gallery – Cactus – where group show Found exhibits works by over 30 artists who collected discarded resources and turned ’em into art. From the trash can to your wall! Reception Sat., 7-10 p.m. Closes May 8. Cactus Gallery, 2534 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock, (323) 256-6117. Eclecticcactus.com.

South L.A. is hardly the tree-hugging center of the green movement – maybe that’s the point of its “South L.A. Earth Day Festival,” now in its third year. (I live in not-quite-SouthL.A., near ’SC, where we rely on marvelously efficient citizen-collectors for recycling instead of city waste services.) Comedian Rodney Perry hosts the all-day event, which includes health screenings, a farmers market, e-waste recycling and an urban gardening show. Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 3650 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., L.A. Info: (323) 298-5077 or Southlaearthfest.org.

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD… Man, people are really excited about this 2012 business. A one-time “Earth Day L.A. Screening” of Timewave 2013: The Future Is Now is only the latest area event by and for mind-body-spiritual types (2012 is the apocalyptic last year of the Mayan calendar) living off a steady diet of yoga and aromatherapy. The 91-minute documentary covers everything from global warming to “the mystic work of Benjamin Franklin.” I don’t think they’re talking about that Puff Daddy song. Tues., 7:30 p.m. $10. Vine Theatre, 6321 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Info: (800) 984-0897 or Cabaretvoltaire.org.

AND I FEEL FINE Want to really feel good about yourself? The state wants you to help clean one of its parks and wake up early on a Saturday morning. At the Ballona Wetlands Ecological reserve, volunteers get to remove invasive plant species from the sand dunes, and of course trash as well (Sat., 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Parking at 303 Culver Blvd., Playa Del Rey; Info: 310-739-8613 or Calparks.org). Exciting opportunities such as trail maintenance and graffiti removal await at Malibu Creek State Park (9 a.m.noon; Las Virgenes and Malibu Canyon Rd., Malibu; Info: 818-880-0372). Rio de Los Angeles State Park’s watershed restoration also includes tours for kids and plant drawing activities (9 a.m.-noon; 1900 San Fernando Rd., L.A.; Info: 323-441-8634 x18).

BUY MORE NOW Of $8,500 sheets and organic cocaine ~ BY COCO TANAKA ~

TED TURNER’S DAUGHTER WANTS to enlighten me on greening my home, and I might let her, if only she didn’t own $8,500 sheets. The environmental activist’s Atlanta home (her ecomanor, she calls it) recently landed in the “green issue” of décor-porn Domino magazine, and it is indeed a bastion of sustainable floors, recycled countertops and nontoxic paint — all 6,200 square feet of it. ❧ I don’t care if those sheets are ecologically sensitive (as they claim to be, minus specifics on how) or custom-made by magical fair-labor elves; hearing the Heal Mother Earth message from a mogul’s scion who spends a small fortune on bedding grinds my gears to a halt, as does the same magazine’s feature on CITYBEAT

“100 Easy Ways to Go Green at Home,” all of which involve shelling out for stone plates, flue-less fireplaces and chemicalfree lingerie (along with global warming and pesticides, my bras are apparently killing me). I threw the issue away. That’s right: I didn’t even recycle it. Such backlash is booming in the wake of green consumerism, the terribly misguided idea that climate change can begin with a shopping spree. I am among the 35 million Americans who literally bought into the hype, swapping my perfectly good crap for other crap because it claimed to be earth-friendly, nontoxic or 100 percent organic (StuffWhitePeopleLike.com shrewdly noted the yuppie obsession with all-natural propaganda: “It’s almost guaranteed that if some Colombian drug lord APRIL 17~23, 2008

can start offering ‘organic’ cocaine, he’ll be the richest guy ever”). Like the Catholic Church selling indulgences, companies smartly capitalized on our quick-fix naiveté and desperation to undo our sins: Everything from mattresses and sex toys to bleach and motor oil was suddenly labeled biodegradable, edible, aiding Rwandan orphans. I think it was when British Petroleum reinvented itself as Beyond Petroleum, changing its logo (from an oil-blackened duck or whatever) to a cheery sunflower, that I realized I’d been had. Al Gore warned us against such false idols. I can see through the eco-initiatives of Hummer, Exxon and Clorox, but in a world where only the stupidest or laziest corporations don’t make an effort to jump on the bandwagon, telling the

EARTH DAY HIGH

From the Farm to Your Baggie, Mother Nature Abides ~ BY RON GARMON ~

the national mores than the first tentative steps toward a way out of the post-industrial impasse America has reached before any other country.

Homegrown’s all right with me. Homegrown is the way it should be. Homegrown is a good thing. Plant that bell and let it ring.

❧ American holidays ought to come complete with a rustic Jeffersonian hymn or two and Neil Young’s canniboid dirt-ditty celebrates the wake’n’ bake spirit that rang in the first Earth Day. Proclaimed in San Francisco in 1970 as a temporal container for growing eco-awareness, April 22 inevitably became fixed in the public mind with the aligned cultural horrors of free love, burning reefers and self-respect, with no less a bulwark of patriotic correctness than the Daughters of the American Revolution, with one matron warning Time magazine that “subversive elements plan to make American children live in an environment that is good for them.” Well, as noted linguist Sam Goldwyn once mourned, “We’ve passed a lot of water since those days,” much of it into plastic bottles for employers to sniff for illicit substances, chiefly marijuana. Urinetesting as a condition for employment is a $4 billion a year industry spun off from the War on Drugs, a gigantic federal effort seeking to do the same execution on dopesucking as the War on Terror does

earth-friendly from the greenwashed faux has gotten a little sticky. ❧ Watchdog collective CorpWatch is there to help, defining greenwashing as “the phenomena of socially and environmentally destructive corporations, attempting to preserve and expand their markets or power by posing as friends of the environment.” I define it as “lying.” But it’s not the Cloroxes of the world that fool me (how green can you be if you’re still testing on bunny rabbits?); it’s the wolves in pesticide-free lambswool. Chip Giller, the founder of Grist, has noted this “cosmo-izing of the green movement,” and the misconception that building a second home with green infrastructure is on par with owning one home, or that buying three pairs of organic cotton jeans might be better than buying one regular pair. Just look at this year’s L.A. Fashion Week, where selfcongratulatory phrases like “ecocouture” were tossed around like confetti and the brilliantly named Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show sent conscious

❧

on anxiety. Still, as bad environmental news continues to match ongoing physical and economic deterioration visible everywhere, awareness of the limits of industrial enterprise have become acute and we are back to 1970, an anno horribilis John Lennon proposed renaming Year One.

❧ Partisans of industrial hemp and other green-futurists point to the near-miraculous handiness of this non-psychoactive cousin to cannabis, with uses in plastics, packaging, construction, clothing, wood-pulp and biofuel. These glassy-eyed utopians have proven remarkably successful in convincing hard-headed farmers and bucolic libertarians in Kentucky, Michigan, South Dakota and elsewhere to unite in attempts to legalize cultivation. Results have been meager, but their efforts appear to be less product of the long countercultural march through

❧ I am among the 35 million Americans who literally bought into the hype, swapping my perfectly good crap for other crap because it claimed to be earth-friendly. looks down a bamboo-lined runway. On the big dogs’ side of design, American Apparel has started pushing organic tops, and fast-fashion mill H&M has launched an eco-line of its own. Irony, thy face is trendy sustainability. ❧ Possible case in point: Environment Furniture, the stunning HD Buttercup showroom of lumberjack-masculine desks and beds whose allure is spreading through the celeb circuit. In terms of craftsmanship, price and sheer density, Environment is basically the anti-

Indeed, the stuff I’ve been smoking of late gives the lie to the myth of American sloth and ineptitude. Tribute to some unknown Cali hydroponist’s illegal art, this is thick, rancoroussmelling booj lightly bristling with purple fuzz, a last chunk wedging with difficulty into the hollow of a pipe already packed with the baggie’s last sweepings. Application of flame soon kindles an un-Bushian fire in the mind and I can see the broad swaths of hemp verdantly rolling over the former Rust Belt. Acres of greenhouse cultivation spread across the inside of my eyelids, all tended by resettled urbanites grown fat and prosperous as so many nosering Babbitts. Traditional Open Door trade policy will push U.S. strains of marihooch into the eager lungs of all humanity and a cheeba-based dollar will reign supreme over an increasingly blissed and distracted global market.

❧ This Earth Day, I urge Americans to toke for a better tomorrow. ✶

Ikea, especially when one hears the trash-into-treasure background stor y of each piece, hewn from wood reclaimed from Brazil. One can’t help but briefly wonder if shelling out thousands for someone’s abandoned barn, reincarnated as foyer eye candy, is an “emperor has no clothes” situation … but hey, a gorgeous bench is a gorgeous bench. The price, of course, is probably why most of us are still DIY Ikea types, throwing away another cheap bookcase every year or so. And therein lies the problem: Buying eco-friendly wares is obviously a step in the right direction, but consumption is consumption. Sustainability can’t be bought. ❧ None of this is to say that buying eco-conscious sheets isn’t a noble and valid way to slow the destruction of the Amazon. But if you have another $8,500 lying around, the World Land Trust could use it to save 85 acres of threatened rainforest. Just a thought. ✶

APRIL 17~23, 2008

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Crooner Eclipse The Hotel Café Tour, Saturday at the Fonda ~ BY ARRISSIA OWEN TURNER ~

~ JIM BIANCO: SO INTO YOU ~

HE McDREAMIES WERE IN THE house – doubtless tormented and pouting. The Hotel Café troupe is quickly becoming a phenomenon thanks to Chandra Wilson’s sex-crazed surgeons on Grey’s Anatomy, as well as Scrubs, Eli Stone and various other enjoyable middlebrow entertainments. That sort of exposure helps take the troubadours and torch singers out of their crappy apartments and onto the big stage for the fourth year. The tight-knit group – which includes Cary Brothers, Jim Bianco, William Fitzsimmons, Ingrid Michaelson, Jesca Hoop, Jesse Baylin and a rotating cast of others – is on its way to Europe to spread a heartfelt gospel, 15 minute sets at a time. But first, it was time for two sold-out, six-hour loveins (six hours!) in their hometown. Midway through the tour, the critics have been less than kind, but that stinks of laziness, and condescension. The whole Grey’s Anatomy thing has become an easy way to degrade the genre and dismiss it as Dawson’s Creek yearning. Seriously. If it was 30 years ago, James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot would probably be singing during those celluloid break-room screws and it wouldn’t make them less relevant. But then, I’m a girl, and what do I know besides how to pot plants and watch my stories? So here’s the rundown: The One Most Likely to Be Prone to Fits of SelfLoathing William Fitzsimmons helped prepare the crowd for the marathon of maudlin music. “I make songs that make you want to call your parents,” he said. For a towering bearded guy, he was more akin to the Snuggle Bear than a burly biker. When he needed the band to back him up the bass player was nowhere to be found. “No one respects the beard,” he said. His songs are full of quiet guitar noodling in the best way, though. Fitzsimmons’ whispery soft croon lent a sexiness to his cover of “Cecilia.” The One Most Likely to End Up Linked Romantically to Ryan Gosling Next up was Meiko, who got her start serving beers at Hotel Cafe. Now KCRW is playing entire performances, and she’s got a slot with her former drink ticket customers. Her song “Reasons,” which we previously thought was a Feist song, is impossible not to lose ourselves in. The most heartfelt ditty was “How Lucky We Are,” originally called “Shitty Apartment” or something like that. The Sonny and Cher ideals translate into optimistic future-hunting, escaping said shitty apartment for a lux-

ury resort hotel and marveling at their luck over morning coffee and the morning papers. One day, she says, there will be peace on Earth, too. It’s hard not to believe in a better tomorrow when it’s coming from such a songbird. The One Most Likely to (Maybe) Go Easy on the Bourbon Jesca Hoop is a recovering Mormon who worked as Tom Waits’ nanny and a homesteader and who fancies big Daniel Boone fur hats (even on a 162-degree day), elaborate cowboy boots, whimsical expression and fanciful arrangements. Hoop let us in on an intimate Hotel Café Tour detail: “This is my first tour,” she said looking over at the backstage area littered with her mostly male counterparts. “And now I’ve seen a lot of balls.” What would Brigham Young say? The One Most Likely to Vow He’s So Into You He Can’t Function, and Then After You Sleep With Him He’d Bring Another Woman to Your Birthday Party

LIVE Jim Bianco’s gravelly Tom Waits-like speakeasy sounds, drenched in blues, jazz and irresistible pop, set the stage for his charms. “There are a lot of lovely motherfuckers out there,” he said, greeting Los Angeles. He introduced the song “I’ve Got a Thing for You,” a little ditty about being a semi-stalker. “Do we have any stalker-creepy lighting?” he asked the crew. They did! Songs like “Goodness Gracious” are the sort that could turn any girl into a Rock of Love stripper thanks to multi-instrumentalist Brad Gordon’s pocket trumpet. And then it came time for his showstopper – his repertoire includes a crowd-crashing number, “Sing,” when the Cahuenga coterie descended on the audience singing the romptastic sing-along. Luckily, we knew the words. The One Most Likely to Date a Hotel-Smashing Rock Star Jessie Baylin, with her shaggy dirty blonde rocker hair and scratchy, seductive tunes, reminded us of Christine McVie from her early days, although she’d probably rather be the new Stevie Nicks. At other times, she APRIL 17~23, 2008

CITYBEAT

came off with the soul of a Sharon Jones. (But white, which would make her Amy Winehouse, but American, and without all the fuss and hooha, which again makes her Sharon Jones.) The One Most Likely to Dance It Out Then it was the anti-rocker, New York-bred Ingrid Michaelson, who is a bit melodramatic in verse, but she knows it. Michaelson got clap-happy over unconditional love in “The Way I Am.” Then she sang sweetly about fragility, saying we’re all “breakable boys and girls.” Michaelson told the story of a boy whose heart she shattered when she was an asshole, self-absorbed co-ed, and how two years later in a moment of maturity she wrote him a song to make amends. She sent him a letter about it and he never responded, so fuck him. We visited her MySpace page the next day to try and remember which song it was, but we got distracted reading blog posts about what selling out means (her song “The Way I Am” was recently on an Old Navy commercial, which helped pay some struggling artist bills) and who would win in a fight between Mona from Who’s the Boss? and Blanche from The Golden Girls. She’s also oddly obsessed with the show Full House. The One Most Likely to Secretly Want to Date Izzie Stevens Because She’s Hot, Not Because She’s Funny, Sweet or Cool You might recognize Cary Brothers, who is not two men who share a surname, from the year you spent obsessed with Garden State. He unapologetically rocked the otherwise hushed stage, most notably “Blue Eyes,” the Zach Braff-friendly ballad. For this night’s rendition, the rest of the Hotel Café crew joined for the chorus, a big sloppy hug of melody. The near-highlight of the night was when Michaelson joined Brothers for “If You Were Here,” the Thompson Twins song that made girls in the Sixteen Candles years hold out for their own personal Jake Ryan, and then went on to believe that there were Lloyd Doblers walking among us. This pay-dirt paean was only topped by Michaelson, again, who did a stripped-down, ukulele-fueled rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep.” This time the creepy-stalker lighting didn’t seem so menacing. Just gorgeous. ✶

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‘Battlestar’ Breaks Out ~ BY MICK FARREN ~

HE HOOK LINE ON the Sci Fi Channel promo spot read, “What the frak is going on with Battlestar Galactica?” A good question, and the answer is “plenty.” The show’s writing team, in addition to coming up with the word “frak” as a workable substitute for “fuck” – still unacceptable on basic cable – has managed, as Battlestar Galactica moves into its fourth and final season, to elevate the series well above the juvenile Sci Fi fare of shows like Stargate SG -1, or their banal remake of the classic Flash Gordon. That Sci Fi placed a print ad in The New Yorker to promote the climactic 2008 season indicates someone over there is well-aware what the frak is going on. With Battlestar Galactica, Sci Fi has a breakthrough show that has caught the imagination of a more sophisticated audience. The now fully formed science fiction saga functions as a guilty pleasure or comfort television for adults who have read both J.K. Rowling and Philip K. Dick, hooked by the complexity of plot and characters and even a generous helping of fantasy metaphysics. Executive producers David Eick and Ronald D. Moore have achieved the near-impossible by transforming a Very Bad Idea into something that motivates fans to do more than just set their TiVos for Friday night. The original Battlestar Galactica, a Star Wars knock-off with a grafted-on disco ambience, which aired at the end of the 1970s, was the most expensive, and maybe the worst ever, space opera on the small screen. Spinning its tale of human survivors – either in the far past or the far future, they never seemed sure – who flee the menace of the robot Cylons to search for Earth, their legendary home planet, the formative Battlestar Galactica had sophomoric characters and endless raygun battles that paid little attention to either physics or literature. Refitted for 21st century consumption, the new Battlestar dumped the kitschy cargo of its predecessor. It became cavernous and metallic, with an ever-present sense of threat. Names were carried forward from the old show,

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but the characters were diametrically changed. They now had drinking problems, issues with authority, and dysfunctional relationships. Some, like fighter pilot Starbuck (played by Katee Sackhoff), were given a new dynamic by changing their gender. The bad guys were also radically developed. In the original, the evil Cylons were merely lumbering chrome robots. Now they can become human replicants, indistinguishable from the real thing. And they have the capacity to be highly sexual, as demonstrated by Tricia Helfer’s Caprica Six, and also suffer a near-human angst. An extra and twisted revelation was, of course, that humanity created the Cylons in the first place. The original arch villain, Gaius Baltar, was two-dimensional. Updated and played by James Callis, he is an outstandingly flawed conniver. The writers on the modern Battlestar are also not afraid to push boundaries; at the climax of the last series, they went crazy-psychedelic with a version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” echoing eerily from the bulkheads as the Cylons attacked, and Starbuck returned, supposedly from the dead, to lead her people home. The Sci Fi Channel couldn’t have picked a better time to have an original drama series connect with a wider audience, as, in the aftermath of the writers’ strike, HBO flounders without The Sopranos or Deadwood, and even Paul Giamatti can’t save John Adams from being a ponderous history lesson. Meanwhile, Showtime makes it through with little but The Tudors and The L Word to pull in crowds until Weeds returns in June and David Duchovny in the freshly re-upped Californication comes back in the fall. But, before we all become too addicted to Battlestar Galactica, the bad news is that the show definitely ends with this season, when humanity will either come home or be Cylon fodder. All that’s offered in its place is a prequel, a series about the first Cylon war 50 years before this current storyline. But you know you can’t trust prequels. ✶ Mick Farren blogs at Doc40.blogspot.com.

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Aliens Among Us ‘The Immigrant’ and ‘Great Expectations’ move merrily along ~ BY DON SHIRLEY ~

Y ANCESTORS ARRIVED IN America so long ago that no one remembers their stories. Maybe I enjoy more recent immigrant sagas so much because I never heard such tales from my own family chronicles. These narratives are often schmaltzy, yes, but they’re also naturally dramatic – or at least that’s true of the ones that are remembered. Of course, fresh immigrant stories happen every day in L.A. This doesn’t necessarily invalidate the older stories. It can make them more relevant. That’s what happens in the second act of the musical version of The Immigrant, now in its West Coast premiere at the Colony Theatre. As in the earlier, non-musical edition of Mark Harelik’s account of how his Russian Jewish grandparents fled pogroms and settled in small-town Texas a century ago, the first act follows the standard template – except that it takes place in rural America, not in a big city. We see Haskell and Leah Harelik (Christopher Guilmet, Monica Louwerens) gradually assimilated into an otherwise nonJewish culture, with considerable help from the banker Milton (Joe J. Garcia) and his wife Ima (Cynthia Marty). But deep in the second act, when you’d expect the story to settle peacefully into a happily-everafter stupor, all hell breaks loose. As World War II approaches, the Hareliks – still the town’s only Jewish family, three decades after their arrival – host Milton and Ima at Shabbas dinner. The conversation turns to the desperate European Jews who are trying to escape from Hitler. Haskell can’t stop talking about them. Milton tells Haskell to relax – he’s in America, safe and secure. Soon Milton is explaining that he was glad to help the Hareliks – but there is no way he (or by extension, America) could help the millions who now want refuge. Then he goes one step further – he accuses Haskell of insufficient gratitude. In this musical version, Steven M. Alper’s score (lyrics by Sarah Knapp) becomes increasingly jagged and atonal until Milton’s bitter tirade finally breaks into song, as he storms out of the Hareliks’ house. There, in a nutshell, we’ve got the ingredients

of the debate over immigration that still rages. The two men stop speaking to each other, until it’s literally too late – Haskell visits Milton again only when the older man is severely incapacitated and virtually speechless. The next scene further reveals the cultural chasm that disturbs the complacency of melting-pot notions. The now-widowed Ima, talking to Leah, ignores Leah’s maternal concerns about her sons, who are fighting the war in Europe, in order to sing an obsessive solo about her late husband’s failure to turn to Jesus before he died. Surely those who don’t accept Jesus are going to hell, frets Ima, oblivious to the fact that she’s venting in front of a Jew. These second-act scenes lift The Immigrant far above its own feel-good formulas. Hope Alexander’s staging, Dean Mora’s musical direction, and the cast bring professional luster and heartfelt conviction to each scene. Great Expectations, a new musical based on the Dickens classic, is about another kind of migration – from 19th century British working class to leisure class. Jules Aaron’s direction and a strong cast make it work for a long time, but much of it feels like work – and unlike The Immigrant, this show’s second act is its downfall. After intermission, the novel’s convoluted plot is awkwardly compressed and rushed. Yet the narrative (adapted by Margaret Hoorneman, shaped by Brian VanDerWilt and Steve Lozier) still must pause for the requisite songs (by Richard Winzeler and Steve Lane). F. Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. But then he wasn’t reviewing these two musicals. ✶

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The Immigrant, Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Burbank, (818) 558-7000. ColonyTheatre.org. Closes May 4. Great Expectations, Hudson Backstage Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 960-4442. greatexpectationsmusical.com. Closes April 27.

For more reviews by Don Shirley, see Stage listings, page 41. APRIL 17~23, 2008

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EAT City of Angels Ciudad is a continent on your plate ~ BY RICHARD FOSS ~

THE

T IS A DIFFICULT THING FOR A restaurant to present the cuisine of an entire continent, unless you select either Australia or Antarctica. These are special cases; in the first, it’s the population and culture of a small country spread over a large area, and in the second, penguins have never developed a cuisine more complicated than a very primitive form of sushi, minus the rice. To represent the cuisines of a continent as varied as South America would seem to be madness, except that a local establishment has achieved fame and fortune doing exactly that. Ciudad doesn’t attempt to be comprehensive or rigorously authentic, but to give a sense of the style and flavors of an area extending from Mexico to the Southern pampas. In the wrong hands this could be disastrous, bythe-numbers cooking with no sense of the soul of the cuisine. Happily, the hands in this case are attached to famed chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feininger, who have made a career of reinterpreting Latin flavors. Our meal started out on a bad note with a server named Tony who rushed through the specials and seemed impatient when we didn’t immediately order drinks. Yes, the restaurant was full, but I want to examine my menu before deciding,

thanks. After he left, we scanned a list that did indeed span the continent from Mexican tortilla soup to Argentine gaucho steak. We decided to start with Argentine empanadas ($9.75) and a shrimp tamale negro ($12.50). There were two empanadas, one with wild mushroom and chipotle sauce, the other with Swiss chard, cheese, and tomatillo. This was a fusion of Central and South American ideas, since neither chipotle or tomatillo are Argentine, but both were excellent. The slightly bitter chard and rich, spicy tomatillo is a great combination, and I could have eaten several of these. The shrimp tamale had a slightly less assertive flavor, the sweet black corn masa and shrimp overlaid with sharp scallion and a spicy yellow chile sauce. It was visually arresting and very good, but less odd than it looked – I had never had black corn before, but don’t taste any great difference between it and the standard stuff. We accompanied our starters with flights of wine, which is what I would advise anyone to do – Ciudad allows you short pours of any three wines they carry by the glass for only $11, which is a steal. We found the Puerto Viejo Chard and a Tapena Garnacha to go particularly well with the spicy flavors, while the flavor of the Portuguese Meritage disappeared without a trace.

~ A WELL-LIGHTED PLATE ~

We continued with olive-oil-poached arctic char ($29) and (against our server’s suggestion) black beef with carrot vinaigrette ($30). Tony had suggested the Andalusian steak, but we were so curious about the idea of braising beef in a mix of Coca-Cola, catsup, wine and Worcestershire sauce that we ordered it anyway. I had heard about braising meat in Coke before – the acids in the drink break down tissue, making it very tender. It doesn’t however, give it any very distinctive flavor; it was a good fork-tender cut of beef with savory and spicy hints, but not an eyeopener. It was probably perfectly authentic, but not to my taste. The accompanying carrot humita – a kind of Peruvian tamale – was actually more interesting. The char, on the other hand, had a startling mix of flavors. The fish, which is similar to a mild white salmon, was topped with braised orange and fennel, a superb combination. The flavor of the fish alone

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was good – with the topping, it was exquisite – and the Peruvian “tacu tacu” lentil and rice mixture that accompanied it was a perfect match. Dessert was offered, but nothing caught my eye, though I momentarily considered ordering more empanadas and another glass of wine and spending some time at the lively bar area up front. Ciudad has playful geometric décor with cartoonish motifs around the walls, and though it’s startling at first, it fits the modern, buzzing atmosphere. It’s a creative, modern place in which to enjoy creative modern food, and one of the better spots downtown. ✶ Ciudad, 445 S. Figueroa St., in the Union Bank building, (213) 486-5171. Open daily for lunch and dinner, underground parking, patio dining, wheelchair access good. Vegetarian/vegan-friendly, reservations recommended.

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Win Ben Stein’s Sympathy Who are all these people being so mean to Stein’s friends? Could they be … Nazis??? ~ BY ANDY KLEIN ~

THE MONOTONE WITH A “MEGAPHONE”: BEN STEIN POSES WITH HIS “BULL” HORN ~

ILM CRITIC CONFESsion #342: It is impossible to review an informational documentary without assessing (to some degree) the reliability of its information. This, of course, requires being an expert. Film critic confession #343: It pains me to admit it, but I am not an expert in everything. In a perfect world, I would have an infinite corral of authorities on call, each hugely knowledgeable in a different subject, and none with an ax to grind. Sigh. In this imperfect world, when reviewing a documentary, I spend what time I can checking some facts, I keep my bullshit detector on Extra Sensitive, and I look for certain red flags – inadequate or misleading identification of interviewees, aggressively manipulative editing, extraordinary claims without extraordinary evidence, and extreme leaps of logic … particularly suggesting guilt by association … and, more particularly, invoking – you know where this is going, right? – Nazis, Hitler, and/or the Holocaust. (Consider this a corollary to Godwin’s Law.) Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the new documentary cowritten by and starring Ben Stein, the former Nixon speechwriter who has managed to parlay an effete drone into an onscreen career. The gist of the film – the “plot outline,” if you will – is that sweet, naive Stein is shocked, shocked, to discover that the groves of academe have been overrun by a plague of Darwinists, serpents who have proclaimed that the mere mention of Intelligent Design – let alone its less reputable sibling, Creationism – is enough to get one summarily banished from Eden. (Hey, I can mix a metaphor with the best of ’em.)

The case that opens Stein’s eyes is that of Rick Sternberg, who lost his job editing a journal at the Smithsonian after publishing a “peer-reviewed research paper describing the evidence for intelligence in the universe” (as the film’s production notes characterize it). The notes later tell us that “this attack on scientific freedom was so egregious that it prompted a Congressional investigation and report entitled Intolerance and the Politicization of Science at the Smithsonian, spearheaded by Rep. Mark Souder ... .” (The notes don’t mention the participation of the more publicly ludicrous Rick Santorum.) There is plenty of evidence on the Web suggesting that Sternberg was a victim of his own deceptive behavior rather than an “attack on scientific freedom.” (For instance: Was the only “peer” to review the paper Sternberg himself?) Which forces us back to the notion of internal evidence of unreliability. The very first visuals in Expelled involve the Berlin Wall. (Actually there may have been some World War II images in there as well; even if not, the film returns to WWII later, in the worst way.) It takes a while before the message becomes clear: The enforcement of rigid Dar winism is akin to Stalin’s repressive thought police tactics. It’s only a few minutes before Sternberg’s account of his persecutors is intercut with images of Khrushchev banging his shoe at the U.N. and anonymous stockfootage bullies ganging up on someone. One might accuse Michael Moore of similarly facile, manipulative techniques – and I have – but Moore has never gone to lengths nearly as outrageous as the makers of Expelled. (For what it’s worth, he’s also funnier.) In the third act, Stein and company move beyond mere visual associations, when they build a case linking Darwinism CITYBEAT

to Nazism – which is not merely insultingly lame, but also ranks as one of the cheapest, most offensive exploitations of the horrors of the Holocaust I’ve ever witnessed (and I’ve witnessed plenty). In its simplest terms, Expelled sees Hitler’s push for racial cleansing as a natural result of Darwin’s ideas. Whoa. Big Fucking Whoa. I dare say that genocide and other forms of lethal tribal warfare existed before Darwin. In fact, you can find more justification – even approval – for wiping out entire tribes in the Old Testament than in On the Origin of Species, a point that the devout audience the filmmakers have targeted might do well to remember. Hitler may have used some Darwinian language – though I’m not sure I trust the filmmakers on that one either – but his purpose was an ancient one. The presence of this argument/suggestion should be enough to make one suspicious of the film’s trustworthiness, but the presentation of it is far worse. Stein uses his own Jewishness as a sanctimonious cudgel, heading to a concentration camp to remind us that the Holocaust was evil ... and to imply that some of that evil derives from Darwin’s studies. At one point, discussing his experience there on a park bench, he expresses grief by covering his face with his hands. The gesture has all the dramatic verisimilitude of a 30th take; Stein’s limited skill as an actor has never been more apparent. Toward the end, one of the interviewees says, “The spirit of eugenics lives on in Planned Parenthood” – huh? – and then lumps together “abortion and euthanasia” in one breath. This is yet another tip-off as to Expelled’s true goal. That is, the film claims not to be about atheism vs. religion or Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design, but rather about aca-

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

demic freedom. I’ll agree with the first half of that: Among the reasons this film was made – excluding (for the moment) the omnipresent profit motive – religion is second and science (at best) third. But the No. 1 agenda has much less to do with academic freedom than with political ideology. Here’s an experiment: Look at the film’s defenders. What do they have in common? Ethnicity? Religion? Academic background? No. The only common element is that they are all far, far to the right. Expelled is another expression of the right wing’s victim complex. It’s classic paranoid thinking: Since we’re pure and correct, any setbacks we suffer must be the result of an Evil Conspiracy. Communists are fluoridating our water. Purity of Essence. We couldn’t be doing substandard academic work. Our poor advancement must have to do with a blacklist! (Stein himself used this idea to bully Norman Lear into giving him a writing job.) Maybe I’m not giving them enough credit. Maybe their behavior isn’t crazy at all. Maybe it’s just a tactic – crazy like a fox. Their constant whining about victimization by the mythical “liberal media” has effectively pushed much of the not-very-liberal-to-start-with media to bend over backwards to accommodate the right. It’s worked in that arena, and it’s worked in Congress to cow the Democrats. There’s nothing at all crazy about repeating a successful strategy. ✶

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Directed by Nathan Frankowski. Written by Kevin Miller and Ben Stein. Hosted by Ben Stein. Opens Friday in selected theaters.

p. 23

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“One

of the Funniest Movies of the Decade.“ STARTS FRIDAY

APRIL 18

I want to get down on my knees and declare my undying love for this movie. I don’t think I can oversell this, I loved it.

ONE OF THE FUNNIEST DAMN ’ ” ” . MOVIES I VE EVER SEEN. Richard Roeper

HILARIOUS RIP-ROARINGLY FUN ” . AND SURPRISINGLY TOUCHING ”“ .

“

” .

Peter Travers

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MUSIC JONATHAN KARP UNICOSTUMEVERSAL PICTURES PRESENTS AN APATOW PRODUCTI ON “FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL” JASON SEGEL KRISTEN BELL MILA KUNIS RUSSELL BRAND MUSICBY LYLE WORKMAN SUPERVISOR DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE PRODUCED DESIGNER LEESA EVANS EDITOR WILLIAM KERR DESIGNER JACKSON DEGOVIA PHOTOGRAPHY RUSS T. ALSOBROOK ASC PRODUCERS RICHARD VANE RODNEY ROTHMAN BY JUDD APATOW SHAUNA ROBERTSON WRITTEN DIRECTED BY JASON SEGEL BY NICHOLAS STOLLER AUNIVERSALPICTURE SOUNDTRACK FEATURES THE SMASH HITS “WE’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING” AND “INSIDE OF YOU” BY INFANT SORROW SOUNDTRACK ON VERVE FORECAST

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DOTCOM # ~ GOLDEN SPARROW WIELDS HER TWIN BLADES IN SUPPORT OF A DRUNK, A MONK, AND A KID WITH SPUNK ~

WE’RE ALWAYS ON

Journey to the West ””

! D E T S TWI

HHOOSSEE ATT’’SS BBOOTTHH T T F F O O SS TTHHA ““OONNEE FFIILLM M RRAARREE ND

A T R A SM

Jackie Chan and Jet Li bring the Monkey King to Hollywood

G IE BBLLOOG M MOOVVIE aa,,TTHHEE e p e p m Caam Jo Johhnn C

~ BY ANDY KLEIN ~

DUGEH!S I R N “ FU ITH LA RE! A LLED W OF GO

FI L LENTY ECOME AND PINED TO BLASSIC!” M .COOM DEST A CULT C INGG.C STTIN ISGGUUS -DIS OOODDYY-D BBLLO iskkaa,, Mis radd M BBra

ESENT T PICTURES PRTON AND ALYSSA MILANO IN HAEL WES N HORE ENTER”TAMILO VENTIMIGLIA MNICOVSKY PHYLLIS CARLYTLEAYLOR SKIP WILLIAMSO ES K LA ES R A Y & TU G M E IC O P LO ED IN O -R D UC ER PROD BY NEVEL TION “PATH AN FISHER WYN-MAY METRO-GOLDRE ENTERTAINMENT PRODRUCEID BARRETT STUART &RYIGHT GARY GILBERT ICHARD W A LAKUTESIVHE O BIENSTOCK ERIC EXEC S MARC OEDSENBERG CRHO¨ LERMANN R M TO I PRODUCER ES H LUCC R DIRECT BY MARC S S GARY PRODUCER E & TAYLO WRITTEN NEVELDIN BY

ELO MENT AND CAM

View the trailer and exclusive content at www.enterpathologylab.com

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HE MOST OBVIOUS SELLING point of The Forbidden Kingdom is the first-ever onscreen teaming of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, the world’s two best-known martial arts stars – for that matter, the world’s two best known Chinese actors and two best known Asian actors. But it also represents another first: It’s the first big Hollywood production in two decades (i.e., since Big Trouble in Little China) to really absorb the kinds of Chinese stories that have formed the basis for much of Hong Kong action cinema. It’s still unmistakably an American movie, with an Anglo hero and a Boston-based framing story. Michael Angarano (Snow Angels) plays Jason, a teenager completely absorbed in martial arts movies. He would do better to have spent his time studying actual martial arts, given the abusive treatment he gets from local bully Lupo (Morgan Benoit). Lupo and his gang force Jason to get them into a local pawn shop after hours, through his friendship with the doddering old owner (Chan, buried in makeup). In the course of their attempted robbery, Lupo shoots the old guy and comes after Jason, who grabs a huge metal staff and soon finds himself transported into the ancient China of myth, where he’s supposed to return the staff to the imprisoned Monkey King (Li) and thus defeat the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou). He is aided by Lu Yan (Chan again), a drunken bum who turns out to be a powerful Taoist immortal; the Silent Monk (Li), a sterner companion of more curious origin; and Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), a sweet young thing who plans to use her own lethal fighting skills to avenge the slaughter of her family. If this sounds like a knockoff of a million supernatural kung fu costumers – with dollops of The Wizard of Oz and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – well, it is. But the important thing is that it’s a very good knockoff. Not only do director Rob Minkoff and screenwriter John Fusco clearly love the movies they’re plundering, but they’ve done their homework. And, at least as importantly, the filmmakers have been smart enough to hire cinematographer Peter Pau (Crouching

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Bride with White Hair, both of which are name-checked in the dialogue) and, even more crucially, action choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping (Crouching Tiger ... , Kill Bill, the Matrix trilogy). Yuen has worked on several Li films, but this represents a kind of reunion for him and Chan: Yuen’s first two outings as director were Snake in Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master (both 1978), the movies that made Chan a star and are often credited as inventing kung fu comedy. The fights are as great as one would expect, if you’re into the unreal “flying-people-and-visible-bolts-of-spiritual-power” variety. (I am.) Martial arts devotees who are interested in realistic displays of the various styles of kung fu may be less thrilled. (But they already knew that.) The Monkey King is one of the central figures in mythological Chinese history, and The Forbidden Kingdom retains elements from stories that are probably over a millennium old ... and from their far more recent cinema incarnations. There are the requisite training sequences, the group of strangers forming an alliance on a magical quest, the disruption of the quest for a necessary side adventure that will turn out to be more relevant than thought. In sheer name-dropping terms, The Forbidden Kingdom is full of chuckles for buffs. I was pleased at the many references – both trivial and more deeply in terms of character and action – to King Hu’s Come Drink with Me, one of my all-time favorites (which will finally be out on American DVD in a few months). But you don’t have to know any of this stuff to enjoy The Forbidden Kingdom. Minkoff and his collaborators have distilled much of the essence of kung fu movies and packaged it in American terms without ruining the fun. ✶

The Forbidden Kingdom. Directed by Rob Minkoff. Written by John Fusco. Action choreography by Yuen Woo-Ping. With Michael Angarano, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Liu Yifei, Collin Chou, and Li Bing Bing. Opens Friday citywide.

p. 25

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A JON AVNET FILM

MILLENNIUM FILMS PRESENTS A RANDALL EMMETT/GEORGE FURLA PRODUCTION FOR EQUITY PICTURES MEDIENFONDS GMBH & KG I I AND NU IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT GMBH A JON AVNET FILM AL PACINO “88 MINUTES” ALICIA WITT LEELEE SOBIESKI AMY BRENNEMAN DEBORAH KARA UNGER BENJAMIN MCKENZIE AND NEAL MCDONOUGH DIRECTOR OFOF CASTING EDITED MUSIC COSTUME BY RICK PAGANO, CSA BY PETER BERGER, A.C.E. BY EDWARD SHEARMUR DESIGNER MARY MCLEOD PHOTOGRAPHY DENIS LENOIR, ASC, A.F.C. PRODUCTIO RODUCTIONN LINE CODESIGNER TRACEY GALLACHER PRODUCER SHAWN WILLIAMSON PRODUCERS GERD KOECHLIN MANFRED HEID JOCHEN KAMLAH MICHAEL FLANNIGAN EXECUTIVEE EXECUTIV FURLAA BOAZ DAVIDSON PRODUCERS AVI LERNER DANNY DIMBORT TREVOR SHORT JOHN THOMPSON GEORGE FURL EXECUTIVEE EXECUTIV PRODUCED PRODUCERS JOSEF LAUTENSCHLAGER ANDREAS THIESMEYER LAWRENCE BENDER JOHN BALDECCHI BY RANDALL EMMETT AND GARY SCOTT THOMPSON WRITTEN DIRECTED PRODUCED BY JON AVNET BY GARY SCOTT THOMPSON BY JON AVNET STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 18 WEST LOS ANGELES The Landmark At Pico & Westwood Blvd. 310/281-8233 On 2 Screens Fri-Sun 11:30 AM, 12:15, 2:10, 3:00, 4:50, 5:35, 7:30, 8:10, 10:00 & 10:45 PM Mon-Thur 11:30 AM, 12:15, 2:10, 3:00, 4:50, 5:35, 7:30, 8:10 & 10:00 PM

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LATEST REVIEWS BEYOND THE CALL Director Adrian Belic’s documentary tells the story of Ed, Jim, and Walt, a trio of wealthy, semiretired Alpha Male American dudes, who spend their time on humanitarian missions to some of the world’s most dangerous places. For the most part, the three men – an osteopath, a businessman, and a new energy consultant – pay for their relief operations with their own money, preferring to give supplies of food and medicine directly to the people they’re trying to help, rather than working through the various

corrupt governments. It feels almost uncharitable to note that, as the camera follows the three men to Afghanistan, Myanmar, and the Philippines, the trio’s good intentions make for less than compelling filmmaking. The result feels like one long, flatly told “Feed the Children” infomercial, with endless images of starving urchins of all colors. A cynical observer might note that the three men sometimes appear to be relishing overmuch the “role” of the patronizing Great White Hope for the miserable underclasses, who are forced to accept the lagniappes with that mix of resentment and naked need that is the inevitable reaction of the truly desperate. And the film pointedly lacks any interviews with the three men’s families, suggesting that perhaps some of them might not be supportive of the elders’ burning through their

potential inheritance to bring cut-rate antibiotics to Afghanistan. Yes, we see the three men performing kindly deeds, but we are unable to avoid the impression that they’re ego-massaging dilettantes. (Paul Birchall) (Laemmle’s Grande 4)

DARK MATTER Brilliant Chinese student Liu Xing (Liu Ye) enters an American university to pursue a Ph.D. and study the origins of the universe under venerated department head Jacob Reiser (Aidan Quinn). Liu becomes Reiser’s protégé, but, when his dissertation topic threatens Reiser’s theories, the professor deems Liu arrogant and not a team player. Soon, Liu’s golden boy status is co-opted by another, more fully assimilated, Chinese student, which begins send-

ing him over the edge. Opera-director-turned-film-director Chen ShiZheng advances simplistic views of America and his native China, but when those views collide, they form a complex, baroque take on human frailty and cross-cultural disconnect. While the film is based on a 1991 student shooting at the University of Iowa, it’s not a Virginia Tech harangue. Instead, by coaxing subtle performances from his leads (including Meryl Streep as a local Sinophile), Chen uncovers the dual undertows of ego and racism that can subconsciously push people’s agendas. The movie’s double entendre title refers to the invisible particles that influence the universe, and Liu’s increasingly fragile state. His final act may be a dramatic leap, but Liu’s wholesale purchase of the American concept of success seems destined to result in its own big bang. (Mark Keizer) (Laemmle’s Sunset 5, Laemmle’s Playhouse 7)

JACK AND JILL VS. THE WORLD Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is a career-focused, stick-in-themud who says things like “Fun is overrated.” Jill (Taryn Manning) is a free-spirited cutie who says things like “Let’s start a revolution!” Soon after their Manhattan rooftop meet-cute, fiery Jill teaches joyless Jack that life totally rules. But wait! There’s less! Jack discovers that Jill’s been mysteriously disappearing for days because she’s being treated for cystic fibrosis. But this kind of CF won’t kill her. Incredibly, she has the kind of CF that’ll make audiences want to kill themselves, especially when she and Jack draft a cockamamie manifesto of Rules to Live By. (Rule #1: Avoid Freddie Prinze Jr. movies.) This film is bad in ways that other bad films can only envy. Co-writer and director Vanessa Parise manages to rip off movies (Sweet November) that ripped off other movies (Love Story) until the clichés devour Manhattan like the monster from Cloverfield. And the oh-so-intelligent references to Ibsen and Thomas Jefferson are just plain conceited, much like the character (played by Parise) who sings about a corporate slave who watches too much TV. Even worse, Parise only seems to care about cystic fibrosis for its ability to generate sympathy. It’s enough to make one start a new, much ruder manifesto. (Mark Keizer) (Selected Theaters)

THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES Pot-smoking, promiscuous troublemaker Diana (Evan Rachel Wood) and her born-again best friend Maureen (Eva Amurri) are pattering inanely and affectedly in the high school girls’ bathroom when they hear gunfire. A classmate bursts in and declares he’s going to shoot one of them – it’s up to them which. Flash-forward 15 years: Diana (now Uma Thurman) has transformed into a middle-class housewife with a professor husband, a beautiful daughter, and a parttime teaching job at the local community college. As the anniversary of the life-changing event draws near, however, her picture-perfect existence begins to unravel. Director Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) certainly has fine taste in contemporary literature, but he takes a gross misstep in this adaptation of Laura Kasischke’s novel about a school shooting, an impossible choice, and the effects of violence on its victims. Concerned with dreams and memory, The Life Before Her Eyes in some ways could have benefited from the subtlety of the visual cues of cinema. But Perelman and first-time screenwriter Emil Stern don’t trust the material, repeating scenes unnecessarily, beating us senseless with clues about consciousness and conscience, and changing a pivotal line of dialogue – thus radically compromising the story’s authenticity and complexity. (Annlee Ellingson) (The Landmark West Los Angeles, Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Laemmle’s Town Center 5)

NOTE BY NOTE: THE MAKING OF STEINWAY L1037 The beauty of a nine-foot Steinway & Sons concert grand piano is celebrated in Ben Niles’s documentary, not only for its gleaming ebony finish and its inimitable tone, but for its handcraftsmanship, based on tools and techniques from 150 years ago. Boys who get their first job at the Steinway factory in Queens still often stay there the rest of their lives, learning their craft from the artisans of the previous generation in the sort of apprenticeship rarely seen anymore. In the Steinway showroom in Manhattan, concert pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard painstakingly auditions pianos for a specific piece of music he’ll be playing at an upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall. Meanwhile, classical and jazz celebrities Lang Lang and Harry Connick Jr. relate their early experiences with the instrument – like hearing a Liszt piece in a Tom and Jerry cartoon – and Hélène Grimaud and Bill Charlap wax poetic on the individual personalities of pianos. Their music accompanies golden-lit images of the utopian factory where the workmen who actually build, string, and tune the Stein-

CITYBEAT

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

ways express immense pride in crafting – with bare hands that are scarred and calloused, in stark contrast to those who will ultimately play them – instruments they themselves can’t afford to own. (Annlee Ellingson) (Laemmle’s Music Hall 3)

PROM NIGHT The fact that Rob Zombie’s “Living Dead Girl” is the official song of the evening should tip off the high school revelers in Prom Night that something is amiss. That may be an exaggeration, but not much of one, considering the laboriously plotted moves on display in this very literal, very clichéd slasher-suspense picture. Three years prior, Donna (Brittany Snow) was the only member of her family to survive a murderous rampage by Richard Fenton (Johnathon Schaech), a teacher obsessed with her. In the present day, when Fenton breaks out of prison and reassumes his stalking ways, it’s up to Detective Winn (Idris Elba) to try to protect the sanctity of Donna’s prom experience. The latest slice of the PG-13 horror pie not screened for critics, Prom Night – an in-nameonly remake of a 1980 film with Jamie Lee Curtis – is a forgettable separator of teens from their money. Television director Nelson McCormick, already booked for next year’s remake of The Stepfather, gives the movie a slick design, but the plot is yawn-inducing and the performances forgettable. Says one character of her date: “If he were any dumber, I’d have to water him.” Ditto Prom Night, a potted plant of laid-track mock suspense and desultory jump scares. (Brent Simon) (Citywide)

WATER You drink it. You wash in it. You might even pour it into little balloons and toss it at your friends. But, as director Anastasiya Popova’s eccentric documentary strives to convey, there’s much more to H2O than being a wet, less flavorful version of Gatorade or Red Bull. Water, it turns out, has memory, meaning the little crystalline nuggets of its essence retain just a bit of the psychic essence of whatever it touches. Or something like that. Frankly, Popova’s documentary is more than a little spacy, relying on a troupe of the most unreliable-seeming scientists ever to be hauled out of the Quackenbush Home For Crackpots. Wearing a procession of white coats – the whiter the coat, the crazier the commentary – they say things like “We pollute water spiritually; it adapts our hatred and malice!” and “If you approve water with good thoughts and bless it, and say thanks to it, the quality of water will improve!” The filmmakers undercut some fascinating discussion on water’s possible use in computers by instead endlessly discussing parallels to Kirlian photography and biblical mythology. The end result is a bizarre and unconvincing “scientific” discussion. The film’s dreamlike visuals are somewhat appealing and moody, but the best thing to do is to cut the sound of the yammering scientists, turn on a Philip Glass soundtrack, and let the material flow over you like, well, water. (Paul Birchall) (Laemmle’s Sunset 5)

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? With Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock became the most famous of those who tread in Michael Moore’s stylistic path. The title of his new film is a semi-joke: Spurlock isn’t really interested in tracking down ObL and would probably have had a nervous breakdown if he had found him. (Who wouldn’t?) But, as he wends through the Middle East, he uses the question (in slight variations) as a sort of disarming icebreaker with the people he encounters. “Pardon me,” he asks Egyptians, Moroccans, Afghans, and others, “do you know where I can find Osama bin Laden?” What he finds instead is no great surprise: The overwhelming majority of people – of any nationality, color, religion, class position, and education – would really like no more than a peaceful, comfortable life for their families, with hopes of their children having greater opportunities than their own. It’s still a point worth making, particularly after the last seven years of America’s official demonization of various “enemies.” In some sense, Spurlock doesn’t prove anything: Do we really expect even the most rabidly hostile to spout “Kill All Yankees!” on camera to an American documentarian? (Amazingly, one or two interviewees are angry enough to say “Death to Israel!” and “Fuck America!” for the record.) There are only a few real gotcha moments, like the shot of a Saudi student nervously glancing at his teachers whenever Spurlock asks a question for which he doesn’t have a rehearsed answer. Spurlock gooses things up with every kind of crowd-pleasing trick he can – songs, animations, videogame representations of him fighting Osama – and a lot of not-bad jokes. (Andy Klein) (The Landmark West Los Angeles, Pacific’s ArcLight, Mann Criterion, ArcLight Sherman Oaks, Laemmle’s Playhouse 7, Laemmle’s Fallbrook 7)

ZOMBIE STRIPPERS The chicks may be topless, but this horror

p. 31

J ACK IE CH A N E T L I

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 18TH!

LWESTWOOD F CENTURY CITY LHOLLYWOOD LSHERMAN OAKS F SANTA MONICA F LOS ANGELES F WEST LOS ANGELES LL.A./BEVERLY HILLS F UNIVERSAL CITY Mann Village AMC Century 15 (310) 289-4AMC ArcLight Hollywood at Sunset & Vine AMC Magic Johnson Crenshaw 15 ArcLight Sherman Oaks at the Galleria AMC Santa Monica 7 The Bridge Cinema De Lux Pacific’s The Grove Stadium 14 CityWalk Stadium 19 with IMAX (310) 248-MANN #051 (323) 464-4226 On 2 Screens On 2 Screens Fri. & Sat.: 10:10 • 11:10 • 1:00 (818) 501-0753 On 2 Screens (310) 289-4AMC On 2 Screens (800) FANDANGO #703 On 2 Screens (310) 568-3375 On 2 Screens (323) 692-0829 (#209) (800) FANDANGO #707 On 2 Screens Daily: 1:30 • 4:30 Fri.- Tues.: 11:05 • 12:00 • 1:35 • 4:25 • 5:20 2:00 • 4:10 • 5:05 • 7:05 • 8:10 • 10:05 • 11:15 Daily: 1:30 • 2:30 • 4:35 • 5:30 Fri.- Sun.: 11:00 • 11:45 • 1:40 • 2:25 Fri. & Sat.: 10:00 • 10:40 • 1:00 • 1:45 • 4:05 • 4:45 • 7:00 Daily: 1:15 • 1:55 • 4:15 • 4:55 • 7:15 • 7:55 On 2 Screens Daily: 10:40 • 11:35 Fri. & Sat.: 11:10 • 12:45 • 1:45 • 3:25 • 4:25 • 6:15 • 7:15 7:15 • 10:10 7:25 • 8:20 • 10:25 • 11:20 Wed.: 11:05 • 12:00 • 1:35 12:40am Sun.: 10:10 • 11:10 • 1:00 • 2:00 • 4:10 7:35 • 8:30 • 10:35 • 11:30 4:30 • 5:15 • 7:15 • 8:00 • 10:00 • 10:45 7:40 • 10:00 • 10:40 Sun.: 10:00 • 10:40 • 1:00 • 1:45 • 4:05 • 4:45 10:00 • 10:40 Fri. & Sat. Late Show: 12:35am 1:35 • 2:30 • 4:30 • 5:30 • 7:30 8:50 • 9:50 • 11:35 • 12:25am Sun.: 11:10 • 12:45 • 1:45 2:30 • 4:05 • 5:20 • 8:20 • 11:20 Thurs.: 11:05 • 12:00 5:05 • 7:05 • 8:05 • 9:55 • 10:45 Mon.- Thurs.: 1:25 8:25 • 10:35 • 11:20 Sat. & Sun.: 11:40 • 1:30 • 2:30 • 4:35 Mon.- Thurs.: 1:40 • 2:25 • 4:30 • 5:15 7:00 • 7:40 • 10:00 Mon.- Wed.: 1:00 • 1:45 • 4:05 • 4:45 • 7:00 Sat. & Sun.: 11:15 • 1:15 • 1:55 • 4:15 • 4:55 3:25 • 4:25 • 6:15 • 7:15 • 8:50 • 9:50 Mon.- Thurs.: 1:45 2:05 • 4:15 • 4:55 • 7:05 • 7:45 • 9:55 • 10:35 1:35 • 2:30 • 5:20 • 8:20 • 11:20 5:30 • 7:35 • 8:30 • 10:35 • 11:30 7:15 • 8:00 • 10:00 7:40 • 10:00 Thurs.: 1:45 • 4:05 • 4:45 • 7:00 • 7:40 • 10:00 7:15 • 7:55 • 10:00 • 10:40 Fri. & Sat. Late Show: 12:25am 3:25 • 4:25 • 6:15 • 7:15 • 8:50 • 9:50

LPresented in

AND AT THEATRES EVERYWHERE!

FPresented in

GPresented in

schlock wears its pretensions on its sleeve. In Sartre, Nebraska, the military has concocted a zombie serum to recycle dead soldiers into the fearless fighting undead. After an uprising, one government-issue corpse shuffles toward a strip club named Rhino, owned by wicked capitalist Ian Essko (Robert Englund). Yes, writerdirector Jay Lee is making an allusion to Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist play about conformity. (It’s possible he might have even read it.) Ionesco gave us an everyman who refuses to follow his town in turning Rhinocerotidae. Here, strippers weigh the merits of reanimation after headliner Kat (Jenna Jameson) sees her tips skyrocket after she becomes an undead dancing diva. Jameson may have grody, molting skin sprayed with so much blood that, when she throws off her top, you can see the outline of

her bikini, but post-life and post-inhibition, she’s totally wild on the pole. (Jenna’s acting wunderstroke is changing up the way she shakes her assets.) “Fuck it, what’s the worst that could happen?” shrugs Essko as his dancers line up for their fatal bites – he’s raking in enough cash that he can afford to lose a dozen customers each shift when his girls get hungry. There’s gore and death and a billiard ball scene more hardcore than the wickedest Bangkok dive, but what’s most painful is Lee’s Bush- and Arniebashing political humor, which could have been ripped from a 2003 episode of SNL. Neither incredibly smart nor incredibly sexy, the film succeeds as a drunken, sloppy, ballsy, shameless romp, complete with two strippers catfighting over existentialism. (Amy Nicholson) (Nuart)

ALSO OPENING THIS WEEK: 88 Minutes. A forensic psychiatrist (Al Pacino) gets a phone call telling him he has only 88 minutes to live ... unless he find his potential killer. This thriller from director Jon Avnet – apparently in the D.O.A./Crank subgenre – has sat on the shelf for a year and a half, despite the presence of Pacino. (It came out on video in Brazil fourteen months ago.) What can we assume? Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Benjamin McKenzie, and Deborah Kara Unger costar. (AK) (Citywide) The First Saturday in May. Brad and John Hennegan directed this documentary about six trainers trying to get their horses into the 2006 Kentucky Derby. (AK) (Laemmle’s Sunset 5)

Q&A with Producer Janet Yang (Joy Luck Club) after Friday 7:30pm show at Sunset 5

Forgetting Sarah Marshall. After breaking up with his girlfriend (Kristen Bell), a young man (Jason Segel) goes on a Hawaiian vacation, only to discover that his ex is there as well, with her new guy in tow. Nicholas Stoller directed; Paul Rudd costars. (AK) (Citywide) Kiss the Bride. Matt (Philippé Karner) heads to the wedding of ex-boyfriend Ryan (James O’Shea) to save him from marriage to ... a woman (Tori Spelling)! Farcical complications ensue. C. Jay Cox directed from Tyler Lieberman’s script; the cast also includes Joanna Cassidy, Tess Harper, Robert Foxworth, and Amber Benson. (AK) (Laemmle’s Regent Showcase) Lost in Beijing. Li Yu directed this drama about the romantic and social complications between a middle-aged businessman (Tony Leung KarFai), his wife (Elaine Jin), and a younger couple (Tong Da Wei, Fan Bingbing), in the milieu of the new China. (AK) (Laemmle’s Grande 4)

SHOWTIMES April 18-24

“

”

Marshall Fine, Star Magazine

“

”

EXEMPLARY

Note: Times are p.m., and daily, unless otherwise indicated. All times are subject to c hange without notice.

CULVER CITY, MARINA DEL REY

Stephen Holden, NY Times

LIU YE AIDAN QUINN MERYL STREEP

DARK MATTER

The Bridge: Cinema De Lux & IMAX Theater, The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center, 6081 Center Dr, Westchester, (310) 568-3375. 21 Fri 1:45, 2:15, 5, 7:45, 10, 10:30; Sat 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5, 7:45, 10, 10:30; Sun 11:30 a.m., 1:45, 2:15, 5, 7:45, 10, 10:30; Mon-Thur 1:45, 2:15, 5, 7:45, 10, 10:30. 88 Minutes Fri 1:10, 4:10, 7, 9:40, 12:10 a.m.; Sat 10:45 a.m., 1:10, 4:10, 7, 9:40, 12:10 a.m.; Sun 10:45 a.m., 1:10, 4:10, 7, 9:40; Mon-Thur 1:10, 4:10, 7, 9:40.

Bob the Builder: On Site: Roads & Bridges Sat-Sun 10 a.m. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri 1:15, 1:55, 4:15, 4:55, 7:15, 7:55, 10, 10:40, 12:35 a.m.; Sat 11:15 a.m., 1:15, 1:55, 4:15, 4:55, 7:15, 7:55, 10, 10:40, 12:35 a.m.; Sun 11:15 a.m., 1:15, 1:55, 4:15, 4:55, 7:15, 7:55, 10, 10:40; Mon-Thur 1:15, 1:55, 4:15, 4:55, 7:15, 7:55, 10, 10:40. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20, 12:40 a.m.; Sat 11 a.m., 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20, 12:40 a.m.; Sun 11 a.m., 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20; Mon-Thur 1:50, 4:50, 7:40, 10:20. Leatherheads Fri-Sat 12:15, 2:55, 4:45, 5:35, 7:25, 12:30 a.m.; Sun-Thur 12:15, 2:55, 4:45, 5:35, 7:25. Meet the Browns Fri-Sat 9:15, 11:45; Sun-Thur 9:15. Nim’s Island 11:40 a.m., 2:05, 4:30, 6:55, 9:20. Prom Night Fri-Sat 12:05, 2:25, 4:50, 7:10, 9:35, 11:55; Sun-Thur 12:05, 2:25, 4:50, 7:10, 9:35. The Ruins Fri 12:45, 3:10, 10:25, 12:35 a.m.; Sat 10:30 a.m., 12:45, 3:10, 10:25, 12:35 a.m.; Sun 10:30 a.m., 12:45, 3:10, 5:35, 8, 10:25; Mon-Thur 12:45, 3:10, 5:35, 8, 10:25. Smart People Fri-Sat 12:10, 2:35, 4:55, 7:20, 9:45, 12:10 a.m.; Sun-Thur 12:10, 2:35, 4:55, 7:20, 9:45. Street Kings Fri 1:20, 1:50, 4:10, 4:40, 7, 7:30, 8, 9:40, 10:10, 10:40, midnight, 12:30 a.m.; Sat 11:30 a.m., 1:20, 1:50, 4:10, 4:40, 7, 7:30, 8, 9:40, 10:10, 10:40, midnight, 12:30 a.m.; Sun 11:30 a.m., 1:20, 1:50, 4:10, 4:40, 7, 7:30, 8, 9:40, 10:10, 10:40; MonThur 1:20, 1:50, 4:10, 4:40, 7, 7:30, 8, 9:40, 10:10, 10:40. Culver Plaza Theatre, 9919 Washington Blvd, (310) 836-5516. 10,000 B.C. Fri-Sun 12:20, 5:10; Mon-Thur 1:40, 6. The Bank Job Fri-Sun 2:40, 7:35, 9:55; Mon-Thur 3:20, 8. College Road Trip Fri-Sun noon, 3:40; Mon-Thur 12:35, 4:10. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Fri-Sun 11:50 a.m., 1:45, 3:40; Mon-Thur 1:45, 3:40. In Bruges Fri-Sun 12:30, 5:05; Mon-Thur 1:20, 5:50. Meet the Browns Fri-Sun 5:35, 7:45, 9:50; Mon-Thur 5:55, 7:55.

ILLUMINATING.”

“

Kenneth Turan

“A

TWO-HOUR

CELEBRATION OF ROCK-AND-ROLL LONGEVITY.” NEWSWEEK David Ansen

AMERICAN STERLING PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SALTMILL, LLC “DARK MATTER” LIU YE AIDAN QUINN MERYL STREEP CASTING MUSIC COSTUME BY ELLEN PARKS, C.S.A. SUPERVISOR HAL WILLNER DESIGNER ELIZABETH CAITLIN WARD EDITOR PAM WISE, A.C.E. MICHAEL BERENBAUM, A.C.E. PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF LINE EXECUTIVE DESIGNER DINA GOLDMAN PHOTOGRAPHY OLIVER BOKELBERG PRODUCER JEFF T. MILLER PRODUCERS KIRK D’AMICO LINDA CHIU DIRECTED PRODUCED STORY SCREENPLAY BY CHEN SHI-ZHENG BY JANET YANG MARY SALTER ANDREA MILLER BY CHEN SHI-ZHENG AND BILLY SHEBAR BY BILLY SHEBAR COPYRIGHT © 2007 AMERICAN STERLING COMMUNICATIONS.

HOLLYWOOD ArcLight Hollywood at Sunset & Vine • (323) 464-4226 CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES

WWW.DARKMATTERTHEFILM.COM WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DARKMATTERMOVIE

Exclusive Engagements Start Friday, April 18th

WEST HOLLYWOOD Laemmle’s Sunset 5 (323) 848-3500 Daily:12:45 • 2:55 • 5:10 • 7:30 • 10:00 PM

4 Hours Validated Parking - $2

IRVINE Edwards University Town Center 6 (800) FANDANGO #143

PASADENA Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Cinemas (626) 844-6500

Bring your Dark Matter ticket stub for free dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth with every entree purchased at the world famous Crustacean Restaurant, 9646 Little Santa Monica Blvd Beverly Hills Expires 5/1/08 CITYBEAT

BEVERLY HILLS Beverly Center 13 Cinemas (310) 652-7760 CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES

UNIVERSAL CITY IMAX at Universal CityWalk (800) FANDANGO #707 CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES

SANTA MONICA Mann Criterion 6 (310) 248-MANN #019 CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES

IRVINE WEST LOS ANGELES The Bridge Cinema de Lux IMAX Edwards IMAX Theatre The Irvine Spectrum Theatre • (310) 568-3375 (800) FANDANGO #140 CALL THEATRE CALL THEATRE Movie Parking Rebate $5 General Parking Rebate with FOR SHOWTIMES FOR SHOWTIMES Movie Ticket Purchase (Excludes Preferred & Valet). www.thebridgecinema.com FOR GROUP TICKET SALES INFORMATION CALL: 1-877-PAR-GRP5

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

ONTARIO Edwards IMAX Theatre Ontario Palace (800) FANDANGO #153 CALL THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES

TEXT SHINE TO 33287 FOR SHOWTIMES AND MOBILE CONTENT. STANDARD MESSAGING RATES APPLY.

p. 33

uma thurman

evan rachel wood

“A

BEAUTIFULLY ETCHED, HAUNTING MEDITATION on the choices young women make. Uma Thurman does her best work in years.” Graham Fuller,

“ THE KIND OF ARTFUL

FILMMAKING THAT YOU CAN REALLY SINK YOUR TEETH INTO. A lovely, nuanced film packed with imagery and bracketed by an intriguing storyline. People who appreciate and enjoy unraveling mysteries will have much to savor.” Kim Voynar, CINEMATICAL

from the director of House of Sand and Fog

the life before her eyes “AN INTRIGUING THRILLER boasting two terrific performances from Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood and an ending that’s destined to generate discussion.” Michael Rechtshaffen, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

###H “

IT SNEAKS UP ON YOU AND HAUNTS YOU AFTERWARD.” Marshall Fine, STAR MAGAZINE

Your life can change in an instant. That instant can last forever.

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 18TH!

L WEST LOS ANGELES The LANDMARK at W. Pico & Westwood (310) 281-8233 Free Parking. www.landmarktheatres.com Daily: 11:00 • 1:15 • 3:30 • 5:45 • 8:00 • 10:15

www.lifebeforehereyes.com 9

G ENCINO Laemmle's Town Center 5 (818) 981-9811 F IRVINE Edwards University Town Center 6 (800) FANDANGO #143

L PASADENA Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Cinemas (626) 844-6500 Tickets available @ laemmle.com SORRY, NO PASSES ACCEPTED FOR THIS ENGAGEMENT F

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Fri-Sun 11:40 a.m., 1:35, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30; Mon-Thur 1:35, 3:50, 6:05, 8:05. The Ruins Fri-Sun 2:45, 7:25, 9:25; Mon-Thur 4, 8:15. Stop-Loss Fri-Sun 12:25, 5:15; Mon-Thur 1:05, 5:45. Superhero Movie Fri-Sun 1:50, 5:25, 7:20, 9:20; Mon-Thur 2:20, 6, 7:45. Under the Same Moon Fri-Sun 2:50, 7:20, 9:35; MonThur 3:35, 8. Loews Cineplex Marina Marketplace, 13455 Maxella Av, (310) 827-9588. 21 1:15, 4, 7, 9:55. 88 Minutes Fri 1:45, 4:45, 7:45, 10:35; Sat-Sun 11 a.m., 1:45, 4:45, 7:45, 10:35; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:40, 7:30, 10:15. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri 1:35, 4:15, 7:15, 10; Sat-Sun 10:45 a.m., 1:35, 4:15, 7:15, 10; Mon-Thur 1:35, 4:15, 7:15, 10. Leatherheads Fri-Sun 1:05, 3:50, 6:50, 9:30; Mon-

“

Thur 1:30, 4:05, 6:50, 9:30. Smart People Fri 1:50, 4:30, 7:30, 10:05; Sat-Sun 11:30 a.m., 1:50, 4:30, 7:30, 10:05; Mon-Thur 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 9:50. Street Kings Fri 1:25, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45; Sat-Sun 10:50 a.m., 1:25, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45; Mon-Thur 1:25, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45. Pacific Culver Stadium 12, 9500 Culver Bl, (310) 8557519. 21 Fri-Sun 1:05, 4:25, 7:40, 10:25; Mon-Thur 1:15, 4:25, 7:40, 10:20. 88 Minutes Fri-Sun 11:55 a.m., 12:55, 2:30, 4, 5, 7:35, 8:35, 10:10; Mon-Thur 1:10, 2, 4:10, 5:15, 7:10, 8:15, 9:40, 10:40. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sun 11:45 a.m., 2:20, 5:05, 7:45, 10:35; Mon-Thur 1, 4, 7:30, 10:05. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sun noon, 1, 2:45, 4:30, 5:30, 7:10, 8:10, 9:45, 10:45; Mon-Thur 12:30, 1:30, 3:15, 4:30, 7, 8, 9:45, 10:35. Leatherheads Fri-Sun 12:05, 2:40, 5:15, 8:05, 10:40;

Mon-Thur 1:25, 4:50, 7:45, 10:25. Nim’s Island Fri-Sun 12:35, 3:20, 5:40, 8, 10:20; MonThur 12:35, 2:50, 5:05, 7:25, 9:55. Prom Night Fri-Sun 12:50, 1:45, 3, 4:05, 5:25, 7:20, 7:50, 9:35, 10:15; Mon-Thur 12:50, 1:45, 3, 4:05, 5:30, 7:20, 8:10, 9:35, 10:15. Smart People Fri-Sun 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:40, 7:25, 9:55; Mon-Thur 12:40, 3:05, 5:20, 7:35, 9:50. Street Kings Fri-Sun 1:15, 4:15, 7:05, 9:50; Mon-Thur 1:20, 4:20, 7:55, 10:30. UA Marina, 4335 Glencoe Av, (310) 823-1721. The Bank Job 11:40 a.m., 2:50, 5:20, 8, 10:30. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! 12:10, 2:20, 4:30, 7:10, 9:30. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed 11:30 a.m., 2:10, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50. The Forbidden Kingdom 11:20 a.m., 2, 4:40, 7:40, 10:20. Nim’s Island noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10.

EXHILARATING...‘YOUNG@HEART’ SENDS YOU OUT OF THE THEATER TRANSFORMED.” David Ansen “A

CROWD-AND-CRITIC-PLEASING sleeper that is joyous, wrenching, intimate and HILARIOUS.” Karen Durbin,

“AMAZING

AND INSPIRATIONAL.”

Richard Roeper,

AT THE MOVIES WITH

Prom Night 11:50 a.m., 2:40, 5:10, 7:50, 10:10.

DOWNTOWN & SOUTH L.A. Laemmle’s Grande 4-Plex, 345 S Figueroa St, (213) 617-0268. 21 Fri 5:10, 8; Sat-Sun 1:55, 5:10, 8; MonThur 5:10, 8. Beyond the Call Fri 5:30, 7:45, 10; Sat-Sun 1, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45, 10; Mon-Thur 5:30, 7:45. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri 5, 7:40, 10:15; Sat-Sun 1:50, 5, 7:40, 10:15; Mon-Thur 5, 7:40. Lost in Beijing Fri 5, 7:35, 10:10; Sat-Sun 1:45, 5, 7:35, 10:10; Mon-Thur 5, 7:35. Magic Johnson Theaters, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 4020 Marlton Av, (323) 290-5900. 21 Fri-Sun 10:30 a.m., 1:15, 4:10, 7:05, 10:05; Mon-Thur 1:15, 4:10, 7:05. 88 Minutes Fri-Sun 11 a.m., 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10:15; Mon-Tue 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10; Wed 11 a.m., 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10; Thur 1:50, 4:35, 7:15, 10. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Fri-Sun 10:25 a.m., 12:50, 3:15, 5:35, 7:45, 10:15; Mon-Thur 12:50, 3:15, 5:35, 7:45. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 10 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 1, 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7, 7:40, 10, 10:40; Sun 10 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 1, 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7, 7:40, 10; MonWed 1, 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7, 7:40, 10; Thur 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7, 7:40, 10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m., 2:10, 4:55, 7:35, 10:20; Mon-Thur 2:10, 4:55, 7:35, 10:15. Meet the Browns Fri-Sun 12:15, 2:55, 5:30, 7:55, 10:20; Mon-Thur 12:15, 2:55, 5:30, 7:55. Nim’s Island Fri-Sun 10:35 a.m., 12:55, 3:25, 5:45, 8, 10:25; Mon-Thur 12:55, 3:25, 5:45, 8. Prom Night Fri-Sat 10:20 a.m., 12:15, 12:45, 2:30, 3, 4:50, 5:25, 7:10, 7:50, 9:50, 10:30; Sun 10:20 a.m., 12:15, 12:45, 2:30, 3, 4:50, 5:25, 7:10, 7:50, 9:50; Mon-Thur 12:15, 12:45, 2:30, 3, 4:50, 5:25, 7:10, 7:50, 9:40. The Ruins Fri-Sun 10:10 a.m., 12:25, 2:50, 5:05, 7:20, 9:45; Mon-Thur 12:25, 2:50, 5:05, 7:20, 9:45. Street Kings Fri-Sat 10:15 a.m., 10:55 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:10, 1:40, 2:15, 3:50, 4:30, 5:15, 6:45, 7:25, 8:05, 9:40, 10:10, 10:45; Sun 10:15 a.m., 10:55 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:10, 1:40, 2:15, 3:50, 4:30, 5:15, 6:45, 7:25, 8:05, 9:40, 10:10; Mon-Wed 1:10, 1:40, 2:15, 3:50, 4:30, 5:15, 6:45, 7:25, 8:05, 9:40; Thur 1:10, 1:40, 3:50, 4:30, 5:15, 6:45, 7:25, 8:05, 9:40. Superhero Movie Fri-Sun 10:05 a.m., 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:30, 9:55; Mon-Thur 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:30, 9:55. University Village 3, 3323 S Hoover St, (213) 7486321. Be Kind Rewind Fri-Sat midnight. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 1:30, 4:15, 7, 9:45, 12:15 a.m.; Sun-Thur 1:30, 4:15, 7, 9:45. Prom Night Fri-Sat 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8, 10:15, 12:20 a.m.; Sun-Thur 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8, 10:15. Street Kings noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10.

HOLLYWOOD

ROCK ’N’ ROLL

WILL NEVER DIE.

www.foxsearchlight.com MOBILE USERS - FOR SHOWTIMES - TEXT YOUNG AND YOUR ZIP CODE TO 43 KIX (43549)

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SANTA MONICA

WEST LOS ANGELES

SHERMAN OAKS

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ArcLight Sherman Oaks at the Galleria

IRVINE Edwards Westpark 8 PASADENA Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Cinemas

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ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Bl, (323) 464-4226. 21 . Amal Tue only, 7:30. Before the Rains Wed only, 7:15. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Tue 11:05 a.m., 1:35, 4:25, 7:25, 10:25; Wed 11:05 a.m., 1:35, 4:25; Thur 11:05 a.m., 1:35. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 11 a.m., 1:40, 4:30, 7:30, 10:10. Four Women Wed only, 9:30. A Home in the Sky Wed only, 7:30. IFFLA 2008 Opening Gala Tue only. Joy Division Wed only. Kissing Cousins Thur only, 7:15. Lost Moon Thur only, 9:30. My Blueberry Nights Fri-Tue 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:20, 7:10, 9:30; Wed 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:20; Thur 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:20, 7:10, 9:30. Pathology 11:35 a.m., 1:45, 4:35, 7:45, 10:05. The Pool Thur only, 9:30. Shine a Light Fri-Tue 1:55, 5:25, 8:25, 11:05; WedThur 11:15 a.m., 1:55, 5:25, 8:25, 11:05. Shorts & Docs I Wed only, 7:15. Shorts Narrative Thur only, 6:45. Son of Rambow Thur only, 8. Street Kings Fri-Mon 11:10 a.m., 2, 5:10, 8, 9:50, 10:50; Wed-Thur 11:10 a.m., 1:30, 2, 5:10, 8, 10:50. The Visitor 11:45 a.m., 2:05, 4:10, 5:05, 7:55, 10:45. Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? 12:05, 2:25, 4:55, 8:05, 10:15. Young at Heart Fri-Wed 11:25 a.m., 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:55; Thur 11:25 a.m., 2:15, 4:45. Grauman’s Chinese, 6925 Hollywood Bl, (323) 4648111. 88 Minutes 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:30. Los Feliz 3, 1822 N Vermont Av, (323) 664-2169. 21 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30. 88 Minutes 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30. Smart People 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30. Mann Chinese 6, 6801 Hollywood Bl, (323) 4613331. 10,000 B.C. Fri-Wed 4:20, 10. 88 Minutes Fri-Sat 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30, midnight; Sun-Wed 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30. The Bank Job Fri-Wed 1:20, 7:20. Leatherheads Fri-Wed 1:10, 4:10, 7:10, 10:10. Prom Night Fri-Wed noon, 1, 2:20, 3:20, 4:40, 5:40, 7, 8, 9:20, 10:20. Superhero Movie Fri-Wed 12:40, 3:10, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50. Pacific’s El Capitan, 6838 Hollywood Bl, (323) 4677674. The Little Mermaid 10 a.m., 12:30, 3, 5:30, 7:45. Pacific’s The Grove Stadium 14, 189 The Grove Dr, Third St & Fairfax Av, (323) 692-0829. 21 10:55 a.m., 12:50, 2:05, 4:05, 5:10, 7:10, 8:10, 10:20. 88 Minutes Fri-Sat 10:30 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 1:20, 2:15, 4:10, 5:05, 7, 8, 10, 11:05, 12:30 a.m.; Sun-Thur

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

10:30 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 1:20, 2:15, 4:10, 5:05, 7, 8, 10, 11:05. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 10:40 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:35, 2:30, 4:30, 5:30, 7:30, 8:25, 10:35, 11:20, 12:25 a.m.; Sun-Thur 10:40 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:35, 2:30, 4:30, 5:30, 7:30, 8:25, 10:35, 11:20. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sat 10:35 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 1:25, 2:25, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:05, 11:15, 12:35 a.m.; Sun 10:35 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 1:25, 2:25, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:05, 11:15; Mon 10:35 a.m., 11 a.m., 1:25, 2:25, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:05, 11:15; Tue-Thur 10:35 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 1:25, 2:25, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:05, 11:15. Leatherheads 11 a.m., 1:55, 4:50, 7:50, 10:45. Nim’s Island 11:15 a.m., 2, 4:40, 7:25, 10:10. Prom Night 12:10, 2:50, 5:20, 7:45, 10:30, 11:15. Smart People 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:55, 7:35, 10:15. Street Kings 10:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:30, 2:35, 4:25, 5:25, 7:20, 8:20, 10:25, 11:10. Regent Showcase, 614 N La Brea Av, (323) 934-2944. Kiss the Bride Fri-Sat 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10; Sun-Thur 2:30, 5, 7:30. Vine, 6321 Hollywood Bl, (323) 463-6819. Call theater for titles and showtimes. Vista, 4473 Sunset, (323) 660-6639. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri 4:20, 7, 9:40; Sat-Sun 1:40, 4:20, 7, 9:40; Mon-Thur 4:20, 7, 9:40.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, UNIVERSAL CITY Century 8, 12827 Victory Bl, (818) 508-6004. 21 FriMon 10:40 a.m., 1:30, 4:25, 7:15, 10:10; Thur 10:40 a.m., 1:30, 4:25, 7:15, 10:10. 88 Minutes Fri-Mon 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5, 7:50, 10:25; Thur 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 5, 7:50, 10:25. The Forbidden Kingdom 10:50 a.m., 1:35, 4:20, 7:05, 9:50. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 11:05 a.m., 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 10:05. Nim’s Island Fri-Mon 11 a.m., 1:40, 4:10, 7, 9:20; Thur 11 a.m., 1:40, 4:10, 7, 9:20. Prom Night 10:35 a.m., 12:55, 3:10, 5:25, 7:40, 9:55. The Ruins Fri-Mon 10:55 a.m., 1:10, 3:25, 5:40, 7:55, 10:20; Thur 5:40, 7:55, 10:20. Street Kings 11:15 a.m., 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15. Loews CityWalk Stadium 19 with IMAX, 100 Universal City Dr at Universal CityWalk, (818) 508-0588; IMAX Theater (818) 760-8100. 10,000 B.C. Fri-Sat 12:40, 5:50, 11:05; Sun 12:40, 5:50; Mon-Thur 1:10, 6:25. 21 Fri-Sat 11:20 a.m., 2:10, 4:55, 7:45, 10:45; SunThur 1:25, 4:15, 7:05, 9:55. 88 Minutes Fri-Sat 11:15 a.m., 12:50, 1:50, 3:35, 4:35, 6:10, 7:10, 8:45, 9:45, 11:30, 12:20 a.m.; Sun 11:15 a.m., 12:50, 1:50, 3:35, 4:35, 6:10, 7:10, 8:45, 9:45; Mon-Thur 1:50, 3:35, 4:35, 6:10, 7:10, 8:45, 9:45. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Fri-Wed 1:05, 3:20, 5:45, 8:05, 10:15; Thur 1:05, 3:20, 5:45, 8:05. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 11:10 a.m., 12:45, 1:45, 3:25, 4:25, 6:15, 7:15, 8:50, 9:50, 11:35, 12:25 a.m.; Sun 11:10 a.m., 12:45, 1:45, 3:25, 4:25, 6:15, 7:15, 8:50, 9:50; Mon-Thur 1:45, 3:25, 4:25, 6:15, 7:15, 8:50, 9:50. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, 3:30, 4:30, 6, 7, 8:30, 9:30, 11:05, 12:05 a.m.; Sun 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, 3:30, 4:30, 6, 7, 8:30, 9:30; MonThur 1, 2, 3:30, 4:30, 6, 7, 8:30, 9:30. Leatherheads Fri-Sat 11:25 a.m., 2:10, 5, 7:40, 10:35; Sun 12:25, 3:30, 6:20, 9:15; Mon-Wed 1:20, 4:10, 6:55, 10; Thur 1:20, 4:10, 6:55. Nim’s Island Fri-Sun 11:45 a.m., 1:55, 4:20, 6:45, 9; Mon-Wed 1:55, 4:20, 6:45, 9; Thur 1:55, 4:20, 6:45. Pathology Fri-Sun 12:35, 3, 5:30, 8, 10:20; MonThur 1:40, 4, 6:35, 8:55. Prom Night Fri-Sat 11:35 a.m., 12:30, 2:05, 3:05, 4:40, 5:40, 7:20, 8:20, 10:10, 11; Sun 11:35 a.m., 12:30, 2:05, 3:05, 4:40, 5:40, 7:20, 8:20, 10:10; MonThur 2:05, 3:05, 4:40, 5:40, 7:20, 8:20, 10:10. The Ruins Fri-Sat 12:20, 2:40, 5:05, 7:25, 10, 12:15 a.m.; Sun 12:20, 2:40, 5:05, 7:25, 10; Mon-Thur 1:35, 3:55, 6:20, 8:35. Shine a Light: The IMAX Experience IMAX Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m., 2:20, 5:10, 8:15, 11:10; IMAX Sun 11:30 a.m., 2:20, 5:10, 8:15. Street Kings Fri-Sat 11:40 a.m., 1:15, 2:15, 3:50, 4:50, 6:30, 7:30, 9:05, 10:05, midnight; Sun 11:40 a.m., 1:15, 2:15, 3:50, 4:50, 6:30, 7:30, 9:05, 10:05; MonThur 1:15, 2:15, 3:50, 4:50, 6:30, 7:30, 9:05, 10:05. Superhero Movie Fri-Sun 11:20 a.m., 1:30, 3:40, 5:55, 8:10, 10:25; Mon-Thur 1:30, 3:40, 5:50, 8, 10. Under the Same Moon Fri-Sun 3:15, 8:25; Mon-Wed 3:45, 9:10; Thur 3:45.

SANTA MONICA AMC Santa Monica 7, 1310 Third Street Promenade, (310) 395-3030. 21 Fri-Sun 11:05 a.m., 1, 1:50, 4, 4:50, 7, 7:45, 9:45, 10:40; Mon-Thur 1, 1:50, 4, 4:50, 7, 7:45, 9:45. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sun 11 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:40, 2:25, 4:30, 5:15, 7:15, 8, 10, 10:45; Mon-Thur 1:40, 2:25, 4:30, 5:15, 7:15, 8, 10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m., 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15; Mon-Thur 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:10. Nim’s Island Fri-Sun 11:15 a.m., 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15. Prom Night 1:45, 4:10, 6:40, 9:05. Laemmle’s Monica 4-Plex, 1332 Second St, (310) 3949741. Bra Boys 1, 3:15, 5:30, 8, 10:15. The Counterfeiters Fri 1:45, 4:20, 9:30; Sat-Sun 1:45, 4:20, 7, 9:30; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:20, 9:30. Smart People 12:15, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10:10. Young at Heart 1:20, 4, 7, 9:40. Loews Cineplex Broadway, 1441 Third Street Promenade, (310) 458-1506. The Bank Job Fri 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 10; Sat-Sun 11:20 a.m., 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 10; Mon-Thur 1:50, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45. Pathology Fri 2:25, 5, 7:40, 10:15; Sat-Sun 11 a.m., 1:10, 3:20, 5:35, 8, 10:15; Mon-Thur 2:10, 4:25, 6:45, 9:10.

The Ruins Fri 2:15, 7:30, 10:05; Sat-Sun 11:45 a.m., 2:15, 7:40, 10:05; Mon-Thur 1:55, 6:55, 9:20. Stop-Loss Fri-Sun 4:45; Mon-Thur 4:10. Street Kings Fri 1:45, 4:20, 7, 9:45; Sat-Sun 11:10 a.m., 1:40, 4:20, 7, 9:45; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:20, 7, 9:35. Mann Criterion, 1313 Third Street Promenade, (310) 395-1599. 88 Minutes Fri-Sat 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 2, 3, 4:30, 5:30, 7, 8, 9:30, 10:30, midnight; Sun-Thur 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 2, 3, 4:30, 5:30, 7, 8, 9:30, 10:30. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed Fri-Sat noon, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:50, 12:10 a.m.; Sun-Thur noon, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:50. Leatherheads 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 5, 7:40, 10:20. Shine a Light 1:50, 7:20. Superhero Movie 11:40 a.m., 4:40, 10:10. Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? Fri-Sat 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40, 11:50; Sun-Thur 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:30, 9:40.

SHERMAN OAKS, ENCINO ArcLight Sherman Oaks, 15301 Ventura Bl, Sherman Oaks, (818) 501-0753. 21 Fri 2:20, 5:10, 8:20, 11:10; Sat-Sun 11:20 a.m., 2:20, 5:10, 8:20, 11:10; Mon-Thur 2:20, 5:10, 8:20, 11:10. 88 Minutes Fri 1:25, 2:15, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:15, 10:55; Sat 11:30 a.m., 1:25, 2:15, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:15, 10:55; Sun-Thur 1:25, 2:15, 4:15, 5:15, 7:15, 8:15, 10:15, 10:55. The Bank Job Fri-Sat 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 10:20; SunMon 1:50, 4:30; Tue-Thur 1:50, 4:30, 7:20, 10:20. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri 1:30, 2:30, 4:35, 5:30, 7:35, 8:30, 10:35, 11:30; Sat-Sun 11:40 a.m., 1:30, 2:30, 4:35, 5:30, 7:35, 8:30, 10:35, 11:30; Mon-Thur 1:30, 2:30, 4:35, 5:30, 7:35, 8:30, 10:35, 11:30. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11; Sat-Sun 11:10 a.m., 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11; MonThur 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11. Leatherheads 1:15, 4:05, 7:05, 10:05. Neil Young: Heart of Gold Mon only, 7:30. Nim’s Island Fri 1:55, 4:45, 7:25, 9:55; Sat-Sun 11:15 a.m., 1:55, 4:45, 7:25, 9:55; Mon-Thur 1:55, 4:45, 7:25, 9:55. Prom Night Fri 2:05, 4:55, 7:55, 10:45; Sat-Sun 11:45 a.m., 2:05, 4:55, 7:55, 10:45; Mon-Thur 2:05, 4:55, 7:55, 10:45. Smart People Fri 2:10, 4:40, 7:50, 10:30; Sat-Sun 11:50 a.m., 2:10, 4:40, 7:50, 10:30; Mon-Thur 2:10, 4:40, 7:50, 10:30. Street Kings Fri 1:45, 4:25, 7:45, 10:25; Sat-Sun 11:05 a.m., 1:45, 4:25, 7:45, 10:25; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:25, 7:45, 10:25. Up in Smoke Sun only, 7:30, 10:15. The Visitor Fri 2:45, 5:35, 8:25, 11:05; Sat-Sun 11:35 a.m., 2:45, 5:35, 8:25, 11:05; Mon-Thur 2:45, 5:35, 8:25, 11:05. Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? 1:10, 3:30, 5:55, 8:10, 10:40.

Young at Heart Fri 1:40, 4:20, 7:30, 10:10; Sat-Sun 11 a.m., 1:40, 4:20, 7:30, 10:10; Mon-Thur 1:40, 4:20, 7:30, 10:10. Laemmle’s Town Center 5, 17200 Ventura Bl, Encino, (818) 981-9811. The Counterfeiters 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10. The Life Before Her Eyes noon, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:40. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 12:15, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 9:45. My Blueberry Nights noon, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:30. Priceless 1:20, 4:10, 7, 9:35. Mann Plant 16, 7876 Van Nuys Bl, Panorama City, (818) 779-0323. 21 12:40, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30. 88 Minutes 11:45 a.m., 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! noon, 2:15, 4:30, 6:40, 9. Drillbit Taylor noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10. The Forbidden Kingdom 11:50 a.m., 1:20, 2:30, 4:10, 5:10, 7, 7:50, 9:50, 10:30. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 11:30 a.m., 2:10, 4:50, 7:30, 10:10. Nim’s Island 11:40 a.m., 2, 4:20, 6:50, 9:20. Prom Night 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50. The Ruins 12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:20. Shutter 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:15. Street Kings 11:40 a.m., 12:30, 2:10, 3, 4:40, 5:30, 7:10, 8, 9:40, 10:30. Superhero Movie 12:10, 2:40, 3:40, 5:10, 7:40, 8:45, 10:10. Under the Same Moon 11:30 a.m., 1, 2, 4:30, 6, 7, 9:30. Pacific’s Sherman Oaks 5, 14424 Millbank St, Sherman Oaks, (818) 501-5121. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! 1:50, 4:35, 7:30, 9:45. Leatherheads 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:55. The Ruins 2, 4:40, 7:45, 10:05. Shine a Light 1:30, 4:15, 7, 9:50. Stop-Loss 1:35, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, BEVERLY HILLS, CENTURY CITY AMC Century City 15, 10250 Santa Monica Bl, (310) 277-2011. 21 Fri-Sat 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 1:05, 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7:10, 7:50, 10:20, 11:05; Sun 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 1:05, 1:45, 4:05, 4:45, 7:10, 7:50, 10:10, 10:40; Mon-Wed 1:05, 1:40, 4, 4:40, 7, 7:40, 10, 10:30; Thur 1:05, 1:40, 4, 4:40, 7:40, 10, 10:30. The Bank Job Fri-Sat 10:40 a.m., 1:35, 4:40, 7:55, 10:50; Sun 10:40 a.m., 1:35, 4:40, 7:55, 10:30; MonThur 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:15. DCI: The Countdown Thur only, 7:30. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Fri-Sun 9:50 a.m., 12:25, 2:45, 5:15, 7:25, 9:45; Mon-Thur 2:35, 5, 7:25, 9:35.

Drillbit Taylor Fri-Sun 9:55 a.m., 12:20, 2:55; Mon-Thur 1, 3:25. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 10:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., 1, 2, 4:10, 5:05, 7:05, 8:10, 10:05, 11:15, 12:40 a.m.; Sun 10:10 a.m., 11:10 a.m., 1, 2, 4:10, 5:05, 7:05, 8:05, 9:55, 10:45; Mon-Thur 1:25, 2:05, 4:15, 4:55, 7:05, 7:45, 9:55, 10:35. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sat 9:35 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 12:05, 1:10, 2:50, 4, 5:30, 7, 8:15, 9:55, 10:55, 12:35 a.m.; Sun 9:35 a.m., 10:20 a.m., 12:05, 1:10, 2:50, 4, 5:30, 7, 8:10, 9:40, 10:45; Mon-Thur 1:50, 2:40, 4:30, 5:20, 7:10, 7:50, 9:50, 10:30. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Fri-Sat 9:40 a.m., 12:15, 2:40, 5:20, 7:45, 10:40; Sun 9:40 a.m., 12:15, 2:40, 5:20, 7:45, 10:15; Mon-Wed 1:45, 4:25, 7, 9:30; Thur 1:45, 4:25, 10:10. Nim’s Island Fri-Sat 9:35 a.m., 12:05, 2:25, 4:55, 7:35, 10:10; Sun 9:35 a.m., 12:05, 2:25, 4:55, 7:35, 10:05; Mon-Thur 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:45. Pathology Fri-Sat 9:30 a.m., noon, 2:30, 5, 7:40, 10:25, 12:30 a.m.; Sun 9:30 a.m., noon, 2:30, 5, 7:40, 10:20; Mon-Thur 2:30, 5:05, 7:55, 10:25. Prom Night Fri-Sat 9:45 a.m., 10:25 a.m., 12:10, 12:50, 2:35, 3:15, 4:50, 5:45, 7:20, 8:20, 9:50, 11, 12:10 a.m.; Sun 9:45 a.m., 12:10, 12:50, 2:35, 3:15, 4:50, 5:45, 7:20, 8:20, 9:50, 10:35; Mon-Tue 1:55, 2:55, 4:35, 5:35, 7:15, 8, 9:40, 10:25; Wed 1:35, 2:55, 4:05, 5:35, 8, 9:40, 10:25; Thur 1:55, 2:55, 4:35, 5:35, 7:15, 8, 9:40, 10:25. The Ruins Fri-Sat 5:25, 8, 10:30; Sun 5:25, 8, 10:25; Mon-Thur 5:50, 8:05, 10:35. Street Kings Fri-Sat 10:30 a.m., 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10, 12:45 a.m.; Sun 10:30 a.m., 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10; Mon-Thur 1:15, 4:20, 7:35, 10:20. Laemmle’s Music Hall 3, 9036 Wilshire Bl, (310) 2746869. The Counterfeiters Fri 5, 7:30, 9:55; Sat-Sun noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 9:55; Mon-Thur 5, 7:30, 9:55. My Brother Is an Only Child Fri 5, 7:30, 10; Sat-Sun noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10; Mon-Thur 5, 7:30, 10. Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 Fri 5:10, 7:20, 9:30; Sat-Sun 12:50, 3, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30; Mon-Thur 5:10, 7:20, 9:30. Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theatre, 8000 Sunset Bl, (323) 848-3500. Dark Matter 12:45, 2:55, 5:10, 7:30, 10. Extra Ordinary Barry 1:30, 4:15, 7:15, 9:55. The First Saturday in May 1:40, 4:20, 7, 9:40. Remember the Daze 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40. Water 1:20, 4:10, 7, 9:30. Beverly Center 13 Cinemas, 8522 Beverly Blvd., Suite 835, (310) 652-7760. 10,000 B.C. 12:20, 2:50, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30. The Bank Job 12:10, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:20. Be Kind Rewind 2:30, 7. Chaos Theory 1:10, 3:30, 5:40, 7:30, 9:40. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! 1, 3, 5, 6:50, 9. Drillbit Taylor 12:30, 3, 5:10. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7, 9:10. Meet the Browns 4:40, 7:10, 9:40. Penelope noon, 2:20.

APRIL 17~23, 2008

Persepolis 12:50, 3:20, 5:40, 8:10, 10:30. The Ruins 1, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 10:10. Run Fat Boy Run 12:50, 3:10, 5:30, 8, 10:10. Shine a Light noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10. Stop-Loss 12:10, 2:40, 5:20, 8, 10:20. Superhero Movie 12:20, 4:40, 9:30. Vantage Point 7:20, 9:30.

Majestic Crest Theater, 1262 Westwood Bl, (310) 4747866. 88 Minutes 2:45, 5:05, 7:30, 9:50. Mann Bruin, 948 Broxton Av, (310) 208-8998. 21 FriSat 1, 4, 7, 9:50; Sun 7, 9:50; Mon-Thur 1, 4, 7, 9:50. Mann Festival 1, 10887 Lindbrook Av, (310) 208-4575. 21 Sun only, 1, 4. Prom Night Fri-Sat 12:30, 2:40, 5, 7:30, 10; Sun 7:30, 10; Mon-Thur 12:30, 2:40, 5, 7:30, 10. Mann Village, 961 Broxton Av, (310) 208-5576. The Forbidden Kingdom 1:30, 4:30, 7:15, 10:10.

WESTWOOD, WEST L.A. AMC Avco Center, 10840 Wilshire Bl, (310) 475-0711. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri 12:25, 2:50, 5:15, 7:40, 10:05; Sat-Sun 10 a.m., 12:25, 2:50, 5:15, 7:40, 10:05; Mon-Thur 2:15, 4:40, 7:15, 9:45. Leatherheads Fri 1:50, 4:25, 7, 9:35; Sat-Sun 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:25, 7, 9:35; Mon-Thur 1:50, 4:25, 7:05, 9:40. Nim’s Island Fri 12:20, 2:35, 4:50, 7:05, 9:20; SatSun 10:05 a.m., 12:20, 2:35, 4:50, 7:05, 9:20; Mon-Thur 2:10, 4:30, 7:10, 9:25. Street Kings Fri 2, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40; Sat-Sun 11:30 a.m., 2, 4:30, 7:10, 9:40; Mon-Thur 2:05, 4:35, 7, 9:30. Laemmle’s Royal Theatre, 11523 Santa Monica Bl, (310) 477-5581. Flight of the Red Balloon 1:20, 4:10, 7, 9:45. Landmark’s Nuart Theater, 11272 Santa Monica Bl, (310) 281-8223. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Sat only, midnight. Zombie Strippers Fri noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10, midnight; Sat-Sun noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 10; Mon-Thur 5, 7:30, 10. Landmark’s Regent, 1045 Broxton Av, (310) 281-8223. Smart People 2:15, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45. The Landmark West Los Angeles, 10850 W Pico Bl, (310) 281-8223. 88 Minutes Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m., 12:15, 2:10, 3, 4:50, 5:35, 7:30, 8:10, 10, 10:45; Mon-Thur 11:30 a.m., 12:15, 2:10, 3, 4:50, 5:35, 7:30, 8:10, 10. Leatherheads 11:50 a.m., 2:25, 5:10, 7:50, 10:25. The Life Before Her Eyes 11 a.m., 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8, 10:15. My Blueberry Nights 11:20 a.m., 1:30, 3:40, 5:50, 8, 10:10. Priceless 11:15 a.m., 1:45, 4:20, 7, 9:30. Smart People noon, 2:30, 5, 7:30, 9:50. The Visitor Fri-Mon 11:45 a.m., 1, 2:15, 3:30, 4:45, 6, 7:15, 8:35, 9:45; Tue 11:45 a.m., 1, 2:15, 3:30, 4:45, 7:15, 9:45; Wed-Thur 11:45 a.m., 1, 2:15, 3:30, 4:45, 6, 7:15, 8:35, 9:45. Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? Fri-Mon 12:30, 2:50, 3:45, 5:15, 7:40, 8:45, 9:55; Tue 12:30, 2:50, 3:45, 5:15, 7:40, 9:55; Wed 12:30, 2:50, 5:15, 7:40, 9:55; Thur 12:30, 2:50, 3:45, 5:15, 7:40, 8:45, 9:55. Young at Heart Fri-Mon 11:10 a.m., 12:30, 1:50, 4:30, 6:10, 7:10, 9:45; Tue 11:10 a.m., 12:30, 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 9:45; Wed 11:10 a.m., 1:50, 4:30, 7:10, 9:45; Thur 11:10 a.m., 12:30, 1:50, 4:30, 6:10, 7:10, 9:45.

CITYBEAT

WOODLAND HILLS, WEST HILLS, TARZANA AMC Promenade 16, 21801 Oxnard St, Woodland Hills, (818) 883-2262. 21 Fri-Sat 10:40 a.m., 1:35, 4:35, 7:30, 10:35; Sun 10:40 a.m., 1:35, 4:35, 7:30, 10:25; Mon-Thur 1:35, 4:35, 7:25, 10:15. 88 Minutes Fri-Sat 10:20 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 12:55, 2:10, 3:40, 4:55, 6:25, 7:40, 9:20, 10:30; Sun 10:20 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 12:55, 2:10, 3:40, 4:55, 6:25, 7:40, 9:20; Mon-Thur 1, 2:10, 3:40, 4:55, 6:20, 7:40, 9:20. The Bank Job Fri-Sat 4:50, 7:35, 10:15; Sun-Thur 4:50, 7:35, 10:10. Bratz: Girlz Really Rock Sat only, 10 a.m. College Road Trip Fri-Sun 11:55 a.m., 2:20; MonThur 2:30. DCI: The Countdown Thur only, 7:30. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! Fri-Sat 10:25 a.m., 12:40, 3:05, 5:25, 7:45, 10:20; Sun 10:25 a.m., 12:40, 3:05, 5:25, 7:45, 10:05; Mon-Thur 1, 3:10, 5:25, 7:50, 10:05. Drillbit Taylor Fri-Sun 1, 5:40, 10:35; Mon-Thur 2:15, 7:20. The Forbidden Kingdom Fri-Sat 10:45 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:30, 2:15, 4:20, 5:05, 7:10, 8, 10:05, 10:45; Sun 10:45 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 1:30, 2:15, 4:20, 5:05, 7:10, 8, 9:55; Mon-Thur 1:30, 2:20, 4:15, 5, 7, 7:45, 9:45. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sat 10:15 a.m., 12:20, 2:55, 5:30, 8:05, 10:45; Sun 10:15 a.m., 12:20, 2:55, 5:30, 8:05, 10:30; Mon-Thur 1:20, 4:30, 7:05, 9:35. Leatherheads Fri 11:20 a.m., 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:10; Sat 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:10; Sun 11:20 a.m., 2, 4:45, 7:30, 10:05; Mon-Wed 1:55, 4:45, 7:25, 10:05; Thur 1:55, 4:45. Nim’s Island Fri-Sat 10:15 a.m., 12:35, 3, 5:25, 7:55, 10:20; Sun 10:15 a.m., 12:35, 3, 5:25, 7:55, 10:15; Mon-Thur 2, 4:25, 7, 9:25. Pathology Fri-Sun 11:50 a.m., 2:15, 4:40, 7:05, 9:40; Mon-Thur 2:25, 4:40, 7:10, 9:40. Prom Night Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m., 12:45, 1:50, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15; Mon-Tue 1:50, 2:05, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10; Wed 1:50, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10; Thur 1:50, 2:05, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10. The Ruins Fri-Sat 10:40; Sun 10:25; Mon-Thur 9:15. Smart People Fri-Sat 10:30 a.m., 12:45, 3:10, 5:35, 8, 10:25; Sun 10:30 a.m., 12:45, 3:10, 5:35, 8, 10:20; Mon-Thur 2:35, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55.

Street Kings Fri-Sat 11 a.m., 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10; Sun 11 a.m., 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:50; Mon-Thur 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:50. Superhero Movie Fri-Sun 10:50 a.m., 3:25, 8:20; Mon-Thur 4:45, 10. Laemmle’s Fallbrook 7 Cinemas, Fallbrook Mall, 6731 Fallbrook Av, West Hills, (818) 340-8710. 21 Fri-Sun 1, 4, 7:10, 10:10; Mon-Tue 2, 5, 8:10; Wed 11:20 a.m., 2, 5, 8:10; Thur 2, 5, 8:10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall Fri-Sun 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 10; Mon-Thur noon, 2:40, 5:30, 8:20. Krazzy 4 Fri-Mon noon, 6:15; Wed noon, 3, 6, 9; Thur noon, 6:15. Leatherheads Fri-Sun 1:30, 4:15, 7, 9:45; Mon-Thur noon, 2:30, 5:15, 8. My Blueberry Nights Fri-Sun 12:30, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50, 10:10; Mon-Tue 1:30, 3:50, 6:20, 8:50; Wed 11:10 a.m., 1:30, 3:50, 6:20, 8:50; Thur 1:30, 3:50, 6:20, 8:50. Smart People Fri-Sun noon, 2:25, 4:50, 7:30, 9:55; Mon-Tue 1, 3:25, 5:50, 8:30; Wed 10:45 a.m., 1, 3:25, 5:50, 8:30; Thur 1, 3:25, 5:50, 8:30. U, Me Aur Hum Fri-Sat 2:30, 9:30; Sun-Mon 2:30, 9; Tue noon, 5:30, 9; Thur 2:30, 9. Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? Fri-Sun 12:20, 2:40, 5:10, 7:40, 10; Mon-Tue 1:20, 3:40, 6:10, 8:40; Wed 11 a.m., 1:20, 3:40, 6:10, 8:40; Thur 1:20, 3:40, 6:10, 8:40.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS THURSDAY, APRIL 17 American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Av, Santa Monica, (323) 466-3456. Aerotheatre.com. David Mamet Retrospective – Redbelt, 7:30; followed by discussion with director David Mamet. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Egyptiantheatre.com. Return to Noir City: The 10th Annual Festival of Film Noir – Steve Cochran Double Feature – Tomorrow Is Another Day, 7:30; followed by Highway 301. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre, 611 N Fairfax Av, Hollywood, (323) 655-2520. Silentmovietheatre.com. Marxist Musicals – Carnival Night (Karnavalnaya Noch), 8. Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N Alvarado St, Echo Park, (213) 484-8846. Echoparkfilmcenter.org. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, 8. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Bl, L.A., (323) 938-4038. Newbevcinema.com. Dante’s Inferno – The Secret Invasion, 7:30; Tomb of Ligeia, 9:25. Mini-festival curated by director Joe Dante.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18 American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre David Mamet Retrospective – Glengarry Glen Ross, 7:30; followed by American Buffalo. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre Return to Noir City: The 10th Annual Festival of Film Noir – Edward G. Robinson Double Feature – Night Has a Thousand Eyes, 7:30; followed by The Red House. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre Cinevegas: 10 Years on the Edge – All God’s Children Can Dance, 7:30, Bubba Ho-Tep, 10; Garbanzo Gas, midnight. Cinespace Dinner & a Movie – Walk Hard, 8. Film in a restaurant/bar setting; call for reservations. Echo Park Film Center Political Film Night – Loose Change: Final Cut, 8. Fine Arts Theatre, 8556 Wilshire Bl, Beverly Hills, (310) 360-0455. Studioscreenings.com/FAT. Los Angeles United Film Festival, 7. Info: 213-840-9382 or Launitedfest.com. Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium, 1200 Getty Center Dr, L.A. (310) 440-7300. Getty.edu. The Lifted Hem: Seduction and Betrayal at the Court of Versailles – Madame DuBarry (aka Passion), 7:30. Co-presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Hammer Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre, 10899 Wilshire Bl, L.A. Info: (310) 206-3456 or Hammer.ucla.edu. 18th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema – shorts from Iran

and Iranian diasporas around the world, 7:30. L.A. County Museum of Art, Leo S. Bing Theatre, 5905 Wilshire Bl, L.A., (323) 857-6010. Lacma.org. A Sterling Legacy: British Directors in Hollywood – Don’t Make Waves, 7:30; The Loved One, 9:20. Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, 11272 Santa Monica Bl, West L.A., (310) 281-8223. Landmarktheatres.com. Zombie Strippers, midnight. New Beverly Cinema Dante’s Inferno – Wrong Is Right, 7:30; mystery movie, 9:50. With Wrong actor John Saxon, in person.

SATURDAY, APRIL 19 American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre David Mamet Retrospective – The Spanish Prisoner, 7:30; followed by Heist. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre Return to Noir City: The 10th Annual Festival of Film Noir – Unjustly Accused? Double Feature – Boomerang, 7:30; followed by Count the Hours. Cinespace Dinner & a Movie – Walk Hard, 8. Film in a restaurant/bar setting; call for reservations. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre Fat Man & Little Boy: Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre – The Verdict, 1; with Three Strangers. Harmony Korine – sneak preview – Mr. Lonely, 7; shown with The Lonely, a documentary about the making of the film. Followed by Q&A with director Harmony Korine. HolyFuckingShit: 2007 – The Boy Who Cried Bitch: The

Adolescent Years, 10:30. Fine Arts Theatre Los Angeles United Film Festival, 11:15 a.m. Info: 213-840-9382 or Launitedfest.com. Getty Center, Harold M. Williams Auditorium The Lifted Hem: Seduction and Betrayal at the Court of Versailles – Marie Antoinette, 4; When a Man Loves, 7:30. Co-presented by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Hammer Museum, UCLA Film & Telivision Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre The Talking Pictures of Manoel de Oliveira – Day of Despair (O Dia do Desespero), 7:30. L.A. County Museum of Art, Leo S. Bing Theatre Sterling Legacy: British Directors in Hollywood – Marathon Man, 7:30; Point Blank, 9:30. Landmark’s Nuart Theatre The Rocky Horror Picture Show, midnight; with live performance by Sins O’ the Flesh. New Beverly Cinema Wrong Is Right, 3:10, 7:30; mystery movie, 5:30, 9:50. With Wrong actor John Saxon, in person.

SUNDAY, APRIL 20 American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre Claude Lelouch Double Feature – Roman de Gare, 7:30; followed by A Man and a Woman. Discussion between films with director Claude Lelouch. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre Return to Noir City: The 10th Annual Festival of Film Noir – The Clay Pigeon, 7:30; followed by Nora Prentiss. Discussion between films with Clay Pigeon actress Barbara Hale. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre The General (1927), 4. Hou Hsiao-Hsien – Millenium Mambo, 7. You Hit Like a Girl: The Ladies of Kung Fu – Fire Dragon, 9:30. Echo Park Film Center Works in Progress: Narrative, 7. Fine Arts Theatre Los Angeles United Film Festival, 11:30 a.m. Info: 213-840-9382 or Launitedfest.com. Hammer Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre 18th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema – Dandelions Dance in the Wind (Ghasedak-ha dar bad Miraghsand), 7. LA FilmForum at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Egyptiantheatre.com. An Evening with Carolee Schneeman – Kitch’s Last Meal. Showtime TBD. With filmmaker Schneeman, in person. New Beverly Cinema Dante’s Inferno – Blood on Satan’s Claw, 3:45, 7:30; Horror Express, 5:40, 9:25.

MONDAY, APRIL 21 Hammer Museum, UCLA Film & Television Archive at the Billy Wilder Theatre The Movie That Inspired Me – Dumbo, 7:30; with John Lasseter and screenwriter/director Curtis Hanson, in person. With a Lasseter selection of animated shorts. New Beverly Cinema Dante’s Inferno – Blood on Satan’s Claw, 7:30; Horror Express, 9:25. REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall, 631 W Second St, downtown L.A., (213) 237-2800. Redcat.org. An Evening with Carolee Schneeman, 8; including films Fuses, Viet-Flakes, Plumb Line and Devour. Wadsworth Theatre, Veterans Administration grounds, 11301 Wilshire Bl, bldg 226, Westwood, (310) 4793636. Wadsworththeatre.com. Reel Talk with Stephen Farber – Before the Rains, 7; followed by discussion with actor Rahul Bose and producer Andrew Spaulding.

TUESDAY, APRIL 22 ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Bl, Hollywood, (323) 464-1478. Arclightcinemas.com. Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles – Amal, 7:30. Info: (310) 364-4403 or Indianfilmfestival.org. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre The Life and Work of J.X. Williams – Peep Show, 8; with shorts The Virgin Sacrifice, Satan Claus, and Psych-Burn. L.A. County Museum of Art, Leo S. Bing Theatre Tuesday Matinees – Bright Lights, 1. New Beverly Cinema Dante’s Inferno – The Movie Orgy, 7:30. Director Joe Dante’s first project; a four hour-plus jumble of clips from 1960s film, TV, commercials, etc. Pacific Design Center, Silver Screen Theatre, 8687 Melrose Av, Green Bldg, second floor, West Hollywood, (310) 652-3472. ITVS Community Theater – A Dream in Doubt, 7:30. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N Sepulveda Bl, L.A., (310) 440-4500. Skirball.org. Classic Films – Don’t Knock the Rock, 1:30.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23 American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre David Mamet Retrospective – House of Games, 7:30; Homicide, 9:30. American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre Oh, the Animation! 7:30. Several animated shorts including Intruder, The Girl Who Swallowed Bees, For the Love of God, Key Lime Pie, Joshua His Tree, Lapsus, Down the Road, The Toll, The Pearce Sisters, Apeshit Wa-Hoo, Shut-Eye Hotel, The Needful Head; followed by discussion with filmmakers Alessandro Ceglia (Intruder), Bob Ray (Apeshit Wa-Hoo), and Michael Robinson (Joshua His Tree). ArcLight Cinemas Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Bl, Hollywood, (323) 464-1478. Arclightcinemas.com. Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles – Shorts program: Documentaries – Quamar – Working to Live, 7:15; followed by Silent Hues and Under the Ahmedabad Sky (Sotto Il Cielo di Ahmedabad). Before the Rains, 7:15. A Home in the Sky (Aevdhese Aabhaal), 7:30. Four Women (Naalu Pennungal), 9:30. Super 30, 9:30; with The Lost Rainbow. Info: (310) 364-4403 or Indianfilmfestival.org. CineFamily at the Silent Movie Theatre Soviet Silents – Happiness (1934), 8. New Beverly Cinema Persepolis, 7:30; Paprika, 9:25.

CITYBEAT

l APRIL 17~23, 2008

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NOW PLAYING CENTURY CITY AMC Century 15 • 310/289-4AMC On 2 Screens Fri & Sat 9:45 & 10:25 AM, 12:10, 12:50, 2:35, 3:15, 4:50, 5:45, 7:20, 8:20 & 9:50 PM Sun 9:45 AM, 12:10, 12:50, 2:35, 3:15, 4:50, 5:45, 7:20, 8:20, 9:50 & 10:35 PM Mon-Thur 1:55, 2:55, 4:35, 5:35, 7:15, 8:00, 9:40 & 10:25 PM Fri & Sat Late Shows 11:00 PM & 12:10 AM

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WALT DISNEY PICTURES

A FLIGHT OF INSPIRATION (SEE MONDAY) ~

THURSDAY 17

FRIDAY 18

SATURDAY 19

SUNDAY 20

JUILLIARD TO SKID ROW

R E V O L U T I O N A RY M A P S

JUNGLE RUMBLE

FEEL GOOD DANCE

The only mental image most of us have of Steve Lopez is that ornery headshot for his L.A. Times column. He’ll likely be more personable at his Writers Bloc talk with Eva Marie Saint. The talk is in support of his latest book The Soloist, about a promising violinist who ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles – and hopefully a better read than Birds of Paradise,”the serialized collaborative novel he’s currently working on with participating readers of the Times (7:30 p.m.; $20; Writer’s Guild Theatre, 135 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills; Townhall-la.org). If you don’t feel like shelling out 20 bucks, see him for free at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena tomorrow.

Alexis Bhagat makes the world of maps scintillating. Bhagat is one of the editors of An Atlas of Radical Cartography – having to do with activism via mapmaking – and the Atlas collects 10 maps and essays about social issues from globalization to the L.A. water cycle. Bhagat will examine some of the projects and discuss the politics of cartography in a presentation at the landuse-dedicated Farmlab. Noon. Free. Farmlab Public Salon, 1745 N. Spring St. #4, downtown L.A., (323) 226-1158. Farmlab.org.

(Sweet) science meets art at M + B Gallery’s opening reception tonight for The Rumble in the Jungle, an exhibit of photographs by Howard L. Bingham. Bingham chronicled the eight-week cultural event that was Muhammad Ali’s 1974 trip to Zaire, where he fought George Foreman for the heavyweight title. Ali would go on to visit ailing villages, kiss babies, and triumph as the only fighter to ever win by knockout against the favored and ferocious Foreman. 7-9 p.m. Free. M + B Gallery, 612 N. Almont Dr., West Hollywood, (310) 550-0050. Mbfala.com.

The L.A. Contemporary Dance Company is a homegrown success story, hatched in the halls of USC just a few years ago and now a full-fledged nonprofit dance company ser ving L.A. Latest production Modern Myths and Monsters will even feature two extra performances (April 17 and 24) exclusively for education and outreach groups. As for the general public, this is the first of two weekends of performances, with works by three area choreographers and a focus on the fantastic and mythological. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 5 p.m. $20. Diavolo Dance Space, 616 N. Moulton Ave., downtown L.A. Info: (800) 838-3006 or Lacontemporarydance.org.

CITYBEAT

APRIL 17~23, 2008

IN THE STACKS ertoyu

Written and edited by Alfred Lee

The Richard J. Riordan Central Library is the center of information for Los Angeles, situated proudly amid skyscrapers downtown. On a given Sunday afternoon, it’s a quiet place to study, thumb through Flaubert, and listen to the loud, thumping sounds of punk rock at the Mark Taper Auditorium. Wait – wha? Punk at the library? The auditorium has been host to moderated talks by authors and Nobel Prize winners, but this Sunday, two local bands – experimental/punk/noise compadres No Age and Mika Miko – will take the stage. “[The auditorium] is far away from the study areas or the subject rooms,” says Olivian Cha, Arts/Music/Recreation/Rare Books librarian at the Central Library. Despite concerns, she assures CityBeat that people studying will be safe from the thrashing noises and doesn’t expect the fans in the auditorium to be too rowdy. “I’m not anticipating any noise complaints.” Cha says that the concert at the 230seat Mark Taper is the first time the LAPL has held a rock concert in any of its branches. It could hardly have picked a more fitting pair of bands to start with: As staples of nearby venue and DIY-epicenter the Smell, both Mika Miko and hipster crossover No Age are the faces of downtown’s resurgence as a rock music force. “They are local L.A. bands that are willing to play at really eclectic venues for free,” Cha says admiringly. “They’re great and have a lot of energy.” Cha hopes that the concert will lead not only to more such events, but will also encourage people to come into the Central Library, especially its large music and arts department. “The library has so much space, not just in the auditorium, but also in the rotunda where more low-key, acoustic bands would perform,” she says. “It’s a good opportunity for the Los Angeles Public Library to get a lot of younger people to be part of this culture, into the library, because we have a lot of great resources here.” –Ed Carrasco

MONDAY 21

TUESDAY 22

WEDNESDAY 23

W H E N E L E P H A N T S F LY

FLASHING LIGHTS

HE’S NOT THERE

Dumbo, like Bambi, is one of those oldschool Disneys where you go back and realize the message is a little more complicated than you remembered – sure, all the characters end up loving the little elephant who can fly, but only because the trick can be exploited by those cruel circus masters. Perhaps animation giant John Lasseter, of Pixar and the Toy Story franchise, can shed some light. He screens and talks about the film with Curtis Hanson, as part of the UCLA Archive’s “The Movie That Inspired Me” series, along with a selection of animated shorts. 7:30 p.m. $9. Billy Wilder Theater, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, (310) 206-8013. Cinema.ucla.edu.

A week after big brother Jay-Z came through and filled the Hollywood Bowl, Kanye West is in town for two appearances at L.A. Live. Jay may be the better rapper, but this figures to be the show to go to. Part of the reason is that Kanye’s last album – the synthcrammed, Daft Punk-sampling, grand-gesturing Graduation – was his most arena-ready yet. The other is his supporting cast of Lupe Fiasco and the Pharrell Williams-led N.E.R.D. Oh, and Rihanna will be there, if that’s your kind of thing. Mon.-Tues., 7:30 p.m. $59.50 and up. Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Ct., downtown L.A., (213) 463-6030. Nokiatheatrelalive.com.

The first half of this year at the Skirball has been all Bob Dylan, from its 160-artifact “Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956-1966” exhibit to its hosting of countless panel discussions and lectures that parse and poke at the wild-haired one’s legacy yet again. Oh yes, the songs: Tonight’s “Like a Complete Unknown” concert finds Zack de la Rocha, John Doe (of X), Lucinda Williams, Michael Franti and other musicians taking their turns to reinterpret the Dylan songbook. 8 p.m. $45. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A., (310) 440-4500. Skirball.org.

APRIL 17~23, 2008

CITYBEAT

No Age and Mika Miko. Sun., 2 p.m. Free. Los Angeles Public Library, 630 W. Fifth St., downtown L.A. Info: (213) 228-7246.

HOW TO LIST WITH US Listings in “7 Days” and our world-famous calendar are accepted for arts and community events in the greater Los Angeles area. The deadline to be considered for “7 Days” is at least two weeks in advance of the event. Send all information to: “7 Days,” Los Angeles CityBeat, 5209 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Fax to (323) 938-1661, or e-mail calendar@lacitybeat.com. No phone calls, please.

Times are p.m. unless otherwise indicated. Listing order does not necessarily indicate billing order. All events subject to sudden (hopefully not violent) changes.

For additional listings, visit WWW.LACITYBEAT.COM

SOUNDS UPCOMING IN-STORES at AMOEBA! All shows are FREE and ALL AGES! For full calendar of events visit: AMOEBA.COM

Saturday • April 19 • all day!

RECORD STORE DAY! PEANUT BUTTER WOLF (Stones Throw), DANIEL ASH AND DAVID J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) and THE DONNAS — guest DJ sets! Hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will unite to celebrate the culture and the unique place that they occupy both in their local communities and nationally. Amoeba Music will honor this day with special guests, giveaways, contests and more at all 3 of our store locations from 12-6.

Wednesday • April 23 • 7pm

THE DODOS San Francisco’s the Dodos combine savage rock percussion with folk-inspired melodies in a truly unexpected way. Their new album, Visiter (out now on French Kiss Records), forges a new direction on the well-trodden path of folk rock. Playing May 2nd at the Natural History Museum! GIFT WITH PURCHASE: Buy a copy of the Dodos’ Visiter and get a limited edition commemorative poster!! (Day of in-store only — while supplies last.)

ROCK, POP, ACOUSTIC Alex’s Bar, 2913 E Anaheim St, Long Beach, (562) 434-8292. Alexsbar.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: Flametrick Subs, The Bermondsey Joyriders, Red Exiles. Fri: Dios Malos, Los Mysteriosos, Slippers, Bella Novela. Sat: KNAC-DC. Sun: Thinking Aloud, BlowUpBlow, Forcefield ON, Knives of the Official Disappointment, Tijuana Knife Fight. Wed: Swapmeet. Avalon Hollywood, 1735 N Vine St, Hollywood, (323) 462-8900. Avalonhollywood.com. Thur: Club Tigerheat. Fri: Spider After Dark with Doug Otero. Sat: Sander Kleinenberg, 16 Bit Lolitas. Boardner’s of Hollywood, 1652 N Cherokee Av, Hollywood, (323) 462-9621. Boardners.com. Thur: Karaoke. Fri: Dekada. Sat: Bar Sinister. Mon: Blue Mondays. Tue: Institution Tuesdays. Wed: Club Moscow. Bordello, 901 E First St, downtown L.A., (213) 687-3766. Bordellobar.com. Mon: Norfolk & Western, Weinland, Next of Kin, Lamps, 8:30. Boulevard Music, 4316 Sepulveda Bl, Culver City, (310) 398-2583. Boulevardmusic.com. Call for showtimes. Sat: Michael Chapdelaine. Sun: Variety Nite. Café-Club Fais Do-Do, 5257 W Adams Bl, L.A., (323) 954-8080. Faisdodo.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info. The Canyon Club, 28912 Roadside Dr, Agoura Hills, (818) 879-5016. Canyonclub.net. Shows at 8 unless otherwise noted. Thur: Strunz & Farah. Fri: John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. Sat: Edgar Winter. Wed: Leon Redbone, Ronny Cox. Cat Club, 8911 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 657-0888. Myspace.com/thecatclub. Shows at 8. Thur: The Walker Trio, Stefano Giorgini, Eric Knight, Chasing Saints, The Drills, Starfuckers. Fri: Ben Justus, Mike Shanley, Stella Notch, Bad Things, Rent to Own, Burning Sky. Sat: Flake, Dizzy Lilacs, Seven 40 Seven, Lustra, Vicious Licks. Tue: Trish Monaco, Kevin Adamson, Angela Leo, Megan Moreaux, Pauli Pesh, Shaley Scott, Shelly Page. Wed: Par ty with the Lizard Queens, High Priestess, Madam Sunset, Belly Dancers, Holly Boots. CIA, 11334 Burbank Bl, North Hollywood, (818) 5066353. Ciabnormalarts.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info.

Cinema Bar, 3967 Sepulveda Bl, Culver City, (310) 390-1328. Myspace.com/thecinemabar. Shows at 9 unless noted. Thur: Peach Fuzz, Neighborhood Bullys. Fri: Mike Stinson, 10. Sat: Cheatin’ Kind. Sun: Garrick Rawlings, 8. Mon: Vicki Lee. Tue: Duane Jarvis and the Cinematics. Wed: David Olney, Jeremiah, David Serby. Cobalt Café, 22047 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, (818) 348-3789. Cobaltcafe.com. Fri: They Were Martyred, A Cause of Collapse, Straight Down, Coerced Into Battle, Your Own Destroyer, I Shot the Sheriff, Sufficate, 6:30. Sat: Ignition, Empires Ablaze, Standard Profile, Deminuere, Amfybia, 8. Sun: The Dictions, Rotten Brains, Destructive Bastards, Disorderly Conduct, Aggressive Bastards, Isolated Victims, Border Bandits, 6:30. Tue: Open Reading. The Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 N Lake Bl, Altadena, (626) 398-7917. Coffeegaller y.com. Thur: Terry Talbot and Rocky Mountain High, 8. Fri: Michael Chapdelaine, 8. Sat: High Hills, 8. Sun: The Alley Cats, 7. Tue: David Olney, 8. Wed: Hot Club of Cowtown, 8 and 10:30. Cowboy Palace Saloon, 21635 Devonshire St, Chatsworth, (818) 341-0166. Cowboypalace.com. Call for showtimes. Thur-Fri: Christian Simmons and Jessica. Sat: Grand Junction. Sun: Brant Vogel. Mon: Mike Stinson. Tue: Debra Lee. Wed: DooWay Riders. The Derby, 4500 Los Feliz Bl, Los Feliz, (323) 6638979. Clubderby.com. Fri: Sue Jin Kim, ID & Ego, Down & Blue, The Dirty Diamond, Visa; VIP Lounge: Ray Jordan Band, Shotgun Honeymoon, Koah, Blue Jungle, XXYX, Halloween Swimteam, 8. Sat: Bridges. Sun: Big Sandy and his Fli-Rite Boys. Mon: Glen & The Sunshine Gang, Falling for Tomorrow, Tshizabi, Sexocide, Znkoma. Wed: Tristessa, Mark MacMinn, Future Portals, Hellokopter, 8; VIP Lounge: Starlit, Don Caverly Jazz Trio, Jazz Quartet, The Play Nicies, Joey Ryan, Pinky & The Brain, 8. Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Bl, Hollywood, (323) 466-6111. Thedragonfly.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info. The Echo, 1822 Sunset Bl, Echo Park, (213) 4138200. Attheecho.com. Thur: Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Jail Weddings, The Shakeltons, Don Cavalli, 8:30. Fri: Club Underground, 8. Sat: Hang the DJs, 10. Sun: Grand Ole Echo with Dan Janisch, Rich Mahan, Last Campfire, 5; Par t Time Punks, 10. Mon: Radars to the Sky, You Me and Iowa, Rademacher, 8:30; Tue: Indian Jewelry, Geneva Jacuzzi, The Muslims, 8:30. Wed: The Ruby Suns, The Happy Hollows, 8; In The Echoplex: Dub Club with Michael Prophet, 9.

Thursday • April 24 • 7pm

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement’s trademark acoustic guitars lead the blitz, backed by a diverse array of instrumentation and production technique. Their self-titled full length album (with cool poster inside) comes out on Sub Pop, April 22nd.

Friday • April 25 • 8pm

BOMBAY DUB ORCHESTRA In town for the Indian Film Festival, Andrew T. MacKay and Garry Hughes spin a set for Amoeba’s Friday night DJ series Resonance. “An absolutely dream-inducing brainwave.” — Billboard

Tuesday • May 6 • 7pm

EVEREST “Everest consists of members with ties to a handful of reputable bands like Alaska!, Earlimart, the Watson Twins, Folk Implosion, Great Northern, and Stanford Prison Experiment. Combine that with the epic alt-rock, Tom Petty/Wilco-esque nature of their tunes and it’s plain to see why they’ve earned such lofty labels.” — LAist.com Their debut album Ghost Notes comes out May 6th on Vapor Records.

AMOEBA MUSIC 6400 SUNSET BLVD. (323) 245-6400 MON-SAT 10:30AM-11PM • SUN 11AM-9PM BUY-SELL-TRADE: CDS, LPS, DVDS, VIDEOS, LASERS, TAPES, POSTERS, 45S, 78S, MEMORABILIA & MUCH, MUCH MORE!

AMOEBA.COM CITYBEAT

El Cid, 4212 W Sunset Bl, L.A., (323) 668-0318. Elcidla.com. Thur: Almardiente Flamenco Dinner Theater, 6:30; The Super Sexy Show, 10. Fri: Flamenco Dinner Theater, 6:30. Sat: Flamenco Dinner Theater, 6; Club Macondo, 10. Sun: Flamenco Dinner Theater, 6:30. Mon: Garage Comedy, 8. Tue: Open Mic, 7. Wed: Flamenco Dinner Theater, 6:30; Sean Hayes, 9:30. El Rey, 5515 Wilshire Bl, L.A., (323) 9366400/4790. Theelrey.com. Shows at 8. Thur: Eels. Fri: The Sword. 14 Below, 1348 14th St, Santa Monica, (310) 451-5040. 14below.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: Soul Cloud. Fri: Flatline, Ketaset, The Pitch. Sat: Bonsai Tribe, Zen Robbi, Cranberry Sauce. Sun: Kelly McGrath, Chris Morris, Brett Young. Tue: Acoustic Tuesdays, 8. Wed: 3 heads and Pascale GoodrichBlack. Genghis Cohen, 740 N Fairfax Av, West Hollywood, (323) 653-0640. Genghiscohen.com. Thur: Kai Brown, With A Bible and a Gun, Jeremy Lichter, 8. Fri: Jeremiah James, Dan and Leland, Chelsea Alden, 8. Sat: Monica Richardson, Jessica Callahan, Jeanie Willets, B-Sides, 7:30. Mon: Genevieve Lopez, The Goop, 8. Tue: Nathan Gaunt, Tiba, Mia Sable, Rich Jacques, 7:30. Wed: Fran Lucci, Lisa Gold, Jon Stowers, Taylor Cornell, Allegra Shock, Joanna Barbera, 8. The Gig, 7302 Melrose Av, L.A., (323) 936-4440. Liveatthegig.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info. Good Hurt, 12249 Venice Bl, West L.A., (310) 390-1076. Goodhurt.net. Thur: Sputnik Monroe CD Release Party, 8. Fri: Moonchild, 33 Degrees, Creatures Of A Beautiful City, Casa Do Samba, 8:45. Sat: Lindsay White, Eric Swan, Lost in the Crawlspace, Disaster in the Desert, VTG, Tek Support, Jimbotron, 8:30. Sun: Fatal Drop Kick, Ferbus, Dead Panda, Are You A Cop, 8:45. Mon: Abe Quigley, This Evening, Clyde Bonnie Clyde, Black Whole Songs, 8:30. Tue: Pure Pressure Productions presents, 8. Wed: Rustic Tone Kings, 10. Hallenbeck’s General Store & Café, 5510 Cahuenga Bl, North Hollywood, (818) 985-5916. Hallenbecks.net. Tue: Open Mike, 7. The Hotel Café, 1623 N Cahuenga Bl, Hollywood, (323) 461-2040. Hotelcafe.com. Thur: Johnnie Newman, Keaton Simons, James Combs, Actress, Sonia Leigh, 7. Fri: Ken Oak Band, Big Phony, Aaron Beaumont, Mike Mangione, Seneca Hawk, 7. Sat: Rachel McGoye, Michelle Featherstone, Terami Hirsch, Nikki Kat, The Denim Family Band & Jonathan Wilson, 7. Sun: Justin Currie with Angie Mattson, 7. Mon: Dan Bern, Renee Stahl & Jeremy Toback, The Hereafter, Blondfire, 7. Tue: Serena Ryder, Audra Mae, Michelle Shaprow, Delta Goodrem, 7. Wed: WAZ, Ben Pringle and The Endless Awesome, The Kin, Before Balance, Model K, 7. House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (323) 848-5100. Hob.com. Thur: La 5TA Estacion, 8. Fri: Year of the Ratt! Featuring Warren DeMartini, Stephen Pearcy and Bobby Blotzer with White Lion, and Little Caesar, 8. Sat: Symphony X with Epica and Into Eternity. Sun: Gospel Brunch, 10 a.m. Mon: Gospel Brunch, 1. Tue: Nikhil Korula Band. Key Club, 9039 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 274-5800. Keyclub.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: 3Against1 with Pigmoney, Line Up For Cinco. Fri: Helmet. Sat: Powder. Mon: Steel Panther. Tue: Ruby Tuesdays presented by Spin with Drive A, 8. Wed: Pieces (of ass), Matthew Santos. King King, 6555 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 9609234. Kingkinghollywood.com. Thur: L’Effleur Des Sens, 8. Sat: Electronic Nights, 9. Wed: Genesis Sarajevo with Amy Danielson, Nick Drago, Flow 40, 7. Knitting Factory, 7021 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 463-0204. Knittingfactor y.com. See also Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge. Thur: In the Front: Voltaire, Ego Likeness, The Last Dance, 8. Fri: Converge, The Red Chord, Baroness, Genghis Tron, 7:30; In the Front: The Funeral Pyre, The Unborn, Black Sheep Wall, 7:30. Sat: L.A. Murderfest Version 4.0: Entombed, Massacre, Repulsion, Anal Blast, Waco Jesus, Sepsism, Meat Shits, Morgion, Denial Fiend, Epicedium, Vital Remains, Monstrosity, Impaled, Letum Ascensus, Rise, Abysmal Dawn, 2. Sun: L.A. Murderfest Version 4.0: Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, Today Is The Day, Ghoul, Scarecrow, Strong Intention, Cattle Decapitation, Trap Them, Terminally Your Aborted Ghost, Bad Acid Trip, The Dolemite Project, 1. Mon: Marc Rizzo of Soulfly, Black Chapel, 7. Tue: K.O., Lizzle Productions, Chokeholdz, Vital Mindz, Fresh, Ak4, Stargang Ent., Raymeo, Magnificent, 7:30; In the Front: The Supervillains, Chris Murray, Combo, Chase Long Beach, 9. Wed: The Blackout, 7:30. Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge, 7021 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 463-0204. Knittingfactory.com. See also Knitting Factory. Thur: Veritas, Man Without Wax, Bank, 8. Fri: Moscow, Pretty in Stereo, China Rose, Airika, DJ Spicy Mango, 7:30. Mon: Battle Flask, The Rocketz, The Scuffs, 7:30. Wed: Songs Rock! An Industry Showcase, 7. Kulak’s Woodshed, 5230 1/2 Laurel Canyon Bl, North Hollywood, (818) 766-9913. Kulakswoodshed.com. Thur: Dutch Newman and Friends, 8. Fri: The Jack Tempchin Show, 8. Sat: Americana Songwriters Circle, 8. Sun: Performance Workshop, 7. Mon: Open mic with Lisa Turner, 7:30 Wed: Acoustic Jam Session. Largo, 432 N Fairfax Av, L.A., (323) 852-1073/1851. Largo-la.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: The Watkins Family Hour. Fri-Sat: Jon Brion. Mon: Patton Oswalt, Greg Behrendt. Tue: The Ian Harvie Show. Wed: Nellie McKay. Little Temple, 4519 Santa Monica Bl, L.A., (323) 660-4540. Littletemple.com. See also Temple Bar. Shows at 9. Thur-Wed: Call for info. The Malibu Inn Bar and Restaurant, 22969 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, (310) 456-6060. Malibu-inn.com. Shows at 8. Fri: Half Pint. Fri: A.I. Sun: Beautiful Girls 4:20 Party. Tue: 2 Live Crew. McCabe’s Guitar Shop, 3101 Pico Bl, Santa Monica, (310) 828-4497. Mccabes.com. Fri: Carol Kaye Bass Clinic, 7:30. Sun: Holly Near with Emma’s Revolution, 7 and 9. The Mint, 6010 W Pico Bl, L.A., (323) 954-9400. Themintla.com. Thur: Coyote Grace, Psychedelic Cowboys, Neon West, Grant Langston, 8. Fri: Kevin Hayes, Dylan, The Oblivious Driver, The Indio Bait, 8. Sat: Ben Justus, Suburban Plight, Louden Swain, The Capshuns, Ryon Thomas, Heard, 8. Sun: Simply Rose, 4; Nataniel Cowden, Tarbedner, 7:20. Mon:

APRIL 17~23, 2008

The Groove Pocket, 7:30. Tue: Flora Bujdoso, Lemon Road, Melissa Chester, Present Tense, 7:30. Wed: Corina Brouder, DJ Jounce, Love Campaign, DJ Closer, 7. Molly Malone’s Irish Pub, 575 S Fairfax Av, L.A., (323) 935-1577. MollymalonesLA.com. Thur: Hodges, The Mighty Regis, Shade Quinn, 8:30. Fri: Stephanie Erdel, Jeanna Jolley, Shawn Davis, Darius Lux, 8. Sat: Max Gomez, Jane Carrey band, Kevin Misajon, Artichoke, 8. Mon: Adjoa Skinner, Rob Giles, Carney, 8. Tue: Hodges, Freeman, Bryan Senatore, 8. Wed: Levi Kreis, Lily Wilson, Philip Sayce, 8. Mr. T’s Bowl, 5621 1/2 N Figueroa St, Highland Park, (323) 256-7561. Mrtsbowl.tripod.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: The Cat Hair Ensemble, Ema and the Ghosts. Fri: Almighty Opp, Bavab Bavab, Fish Circus. Sat: Nightshift. Sun: Matinees, Sadie Contini of Invisible Cities, Clark 8. Mon: Kate Kilbane and the Porters, Abe Lincoln Story, The Knockout Spunx. Tue: Coca Cola, Lamicaela, Bastidas, Naima Earth Band, Excessive Arts. Wed: Security Productions, Bad Poetry Minute, Waterlaso, The Hell Surfers, Kamikaze. Portfolio Coffeehouse, 2300 E Fourth St, Long Beach, (562) 434-2486. Portfoliocoffeehouse.com. Fri: Hugh Defrance, 9. Sat: Josiah, 9. Wed: Open Mic. Room 5 Lounge, 143 N La Brea Av, second floor, Hollywood, (323) 938-2504. Room5lounge.com. Thur: Mark Franco, 8. Fri: Acoustic Playhouse, 12. Sat: Pi, Rosanna, 8. Sun: Higher Level Comedy, Michael DeWinter, Michael Silversmith, 7. Mon: Acoustic Mondays, 8. Tue: Sarah Greene, Mikal Blue, Rett, James Bonn, Corey Nitschke Experience, 8. Wed: Natalie D’Napoleon, Nathan McEuen, Dawn Thomas, Alex Troup, 7. The Roxy, 9009 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 276-2222. Theroxyonsunset.com. Thur: Another Sky, Jupiters Ring, Evolocity, Gregg Butler, 7:15. FriSat: Mickey Avalon, Andre Legacy, Dirt Nasty, Beardo, 8. Tue: Collie Buddz, The Grouch, C-Mon & Kypski, 8. Safari Sam’s, 5214 Sunset Bl, Hollywood, (323) 6667267. Safari-sams.com. Thur: Scissors For Lefty, Oliver Future, The Frequency, 8. Fri: Emergenza Festival, 8. Sat: Black Diamond Heavies, The Morlocks, Flash Express. Sun: 100 Artists, 100 Bucks, Darrin Stout, James Wilsey, Noon; Rock City News Anniversary Show, 8. Mon: The Last Gang, Noise Attack, The Ignorant, The Booze Hounds, 8:30. Tue: Virtual Tuesdays with Guitar Hero Competition, The Eye Podz, 8. Wed: The Manhattan Monologue Slam, Slushbelt, XUK, 7. Scene Bar, 806 E Colorado St, Glendale, (818) 2417029. Thescenebar.com. Shows at 9. Thur: Monolators, The Natural Disasters, The Breakups, Sister Grizzly. Fri: The Pacific & Friends, Ladies and Gents, Panic Club. Sat: The Deludes, Barrio Tiger. Sun: The Rainman Suite, Clash City Rockers, Tommy Peacock and The Gas, The Lincoln Bedroom. Mon: Seasons, Mind Sound, Ghost Machinists, The Beeters. Silverlake Lounge, 2906 Sunset Bl, Silver Lake, (323) 666-2407. Foldsilverlake.com. Mon: The Lieutenants, HMS Terror, Go Betty Go, 10:30. Tue: Mark Mallman, Dorian Wood, Fascinoma, 8. Wed: Bigbang, The February Fifths. The Smell, 247 S Main St, L.A., (213) 625-4325. Thesmell.org. Shows at 9. Fri: Megafuckers, Rats, Silver Daggers, Peter Kolovos. Sun: Health, Pre, Teenage Moms, Foot Village, Ima Gymnist, David Scott Stone. Mon: Sissy Spacek. Spaceland, 1717 Silver Lake Bl, Silver Lake, (213) 833-2843. Clubspaceland.com. Thur: The Western States Motel, Hello Dragon, Flashing Red Lights, Happy Stars, 8:30. Fri: Pre, The Mae Shi. Sat: Bodies of Water, Elf Power, Flowers Forever. Sun: Long Hair Illuminati Records Showcase. Mon: Johnathan Rice, Jonathan Wilson. Tue: Rocco Deluca, Annie Stela, Club NME with His Mischief. Taix 321 Lounge, 1911 W Sunset Bl, L.A., (213) 484-1265. Taixfrench.com. Shows at 10:30. Thur: Patria Jacobs, Quazar & The Bamboozled, 10:30. Fri: Naughty Bird, Wild Weekend, Sister Grizzlly, 10:30. Sat: Kingsizemaybe, Tony Gilkyson Band, Dave Gleason, 10:30. Wed: Dogweed, 10:30. Tangier Lounge, 2138 Hillhurst Av, L.A., (323) 6668666. Tangierrestaurant.net. Thur-Wed: Call for info. Temple Bar, 1026 Wilshire Bl, Santa Monica, (310) 393-6611. Templebarlive.com. Thur: Sr. Mendez, Mr. Vallenato, Boogaloo Assassins, 9. Fri: Freeman, Peter Goetz, Porcelain, 9:15. Sat: Supa Lowery Bros, Lina, Russell Taylor, 9. Sun: Soul Expressions, 9. Tue: Suzy Williams and Her Solid Senders, 8:30. Wed: J Henry, YRF, Kiyo, DJ Dame, 8:30. Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 276-6168. Troubadour.com. Thur: Tift Merritt, Sara Watkins. Fri: Facing New York, Division Day, The Outline. Sun: South Toward Benefit Concert. Mon: Ruby James, Shane Alexander, Matt Ellis. Tue: ASCAP Presents Oliver Future, The Weather Underground, Ausha, Karin Tatoyan. UnUrban Coffee House, 3301 W Pico Bl, Santa Monica, (310) 315-0056. Unurban.com. Fri: UnUrban Open Mike, 7:30. Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 358-1880. Viperroom.com. Thur: Bloody Social, Jinnrail, The Cheat, Brian Simpson, 8. Fri: Building a Better Spaceship, The Angel Devil, F. Scott and The Ashbury Band, 8:15. Sat: People, Hillbilly Herald, Broken Soviet, Four Wall, 9:45. Sun: Free Form Orchestra with Danny Chaimson and Drew Decaro, That Was Then, Slow Car Crash, 7:30. Mon: Mercy Mercy, Skyparada, Moon Rats, Warpaint. Tue: Skybombrs, Justin Hopkins & The Guilt, Bassboosa. Wed: The Bangkok Five, Thinking Aloud, Garden Spiders, Anina Stane. Viva Cantina, 900 Riverside Dr, Burbank, (818) 8452425. Vivacantina.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info. Whisky a Go-Go, 8901 Sunset Bl, West Hollywood, (310) 652-4202. Whiskyagogo.com. Thur: Sabbat, 6:30. Fri: Shotgun, Vem. Sat: Invitro, 6. Mon: World Class Liars, Smokin’ Aces, Jebel. Tue: Jon Geiger, Chris Bendt, Sean Hughes, Lisa Pollack, Justin Sheehy, Liz Anty. Wed: Scarlet Red. Zeropoint, 1049 E 32nd St, L.A. Zeropointspace.org. Thur-Wed: Call for info. –Ashley Archibald and Daryl Paranada

JAZZ CRITIC’S CHOICE

✭ ✭ ✭

✭ ✭ ✭ ~ ANDY BEY ~

Stirring Stories If you’ve caught Bennie Maupin in his role as featured saxophone soloist with Charles Owens’ Luckman Jazz Orchestra, you’ve seen a great artist in a state of grace. Maupin always tells a story when he solos. His pungent post-Coltrane contributions add immeasurably to that band’s elevated status. Maupin has a fine new CD (Early Reflections on Cryptogramophone) that he’s celebrating at Catalina’s on Friday. His band contains two of the best to be heard in SoCal: bassist Darek Oles and drummer Mike Stephans, so it should be something special. A good double bill sur faces Saturday at the Metropol. The lyrical youngblood pianist Josh Nelson leads his band; trombone wizard Mike Vlatkovich and tuba conceptualist Bill Roper make for a hilarious and stirring duo. The cooperative band that convenes Tuesday at Charlie O’s presents another flavor of John Coltrane’s legacy. Tenor saxophonist Benn Clatworthy, pianist Theo Saunders, bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Jimmy Branly raise the bandstand and run the demons out of the place through the cleansing of modal frenzy. There’s no cruising when these guys hit. Vocalist Andy Bey moves into the Jazz Bakery on Wednesday for four nights. He’s one of the few singers who emphasizes interpretation as much as he does form. Bey gets into the deeper layers of a given song and he’s one of those per formers whose visits are mandatory. –Kirk Silsbee For info, see Jazz, Blues, Latin listings.

JAZZ, BLUES, LATIN Arcadia Blues Club, 16 E Huntington Dr, Arcadia, (626) 447-9349. Arcadiabluesclub.com. Fri: Dennis Jones Band. Sat: Zac Harmon. Babe’s & Ricky’s Inn, 4339 Leimert Bl, Leimert Park, (323) 295-9112. Bluesbar.com. Thur: Jam Session with Mama’s Boys. Fri-Sat: Mighty Balls of Fire. Mon: Jam Night, Mickey Champion. Back Room at Henri’s, 21601 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, (818) 348-5582. Shows at 8. ThurWed: Call for info. The Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Bl, Studio City, (818) 980-1615. Thebakedpotato.com. Shows at 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Thur: Triple Spec Allstars. Fri: The Scott Henderson Trio. Sat: Don Randi & Quest. Sun: Mitch Forman Allstars. Mon: Monday Night Jammmz. Tue: Artaya’s Enclave. Wed: Gryphon Labs. B.B. King’s Blues Club, 1000 Universal Center Dr, Universal City, (818) 622-5464. La.bbkingclubs.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info. Blue Café, 210 Promenade, Long Beach, (562) 983-7111. Thebluecafe.com. Call for showtimes. Thur: LB Rat and Rod Show; In the Blue: Live music. Fri: A Benefit & Tribute to Martin Fierro; In the Blue: Club Isolation. Sat: “Time To Celebrate” 420 Party; In the Blue: OSal8, Universal Speakers. Sun: Live music; In the Blue: Live music. Tue: Mic Check Tuesday; In the Blue: Live Music. Wed: Live Music; In the Blue: Live music. Café Boogaloo, 1238 Hermosa Av, Hermosa Beach, (310) 318-2324. Boogaloo.com. Thur: Omar Torrez, 9. Fri: Catherine Denise, 9:30. Sat: The Soul of John Black, 9:30. Sun: Kirk ‘Eli’ Fletcher & Dave Melton, 8. Wed: Trunk Full O’Funk, 9. Café Metropol, 923 E Third St, downtown L.A., (213) 613-1537. Roccoinla.com. Fri: Adam Benjamin’s Acoustic Trio, 8. Sat: Josh Nelson Quintet, Michael Vlatkovich & William Roper, 8. Sun: Mark Dresser & Jen Shyu, 5. Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Bl, Hollywood, (323) 466-2210. Catalinajazzclub.com. Shows at 8:30 & 10:30 unless noted. Thur: Keith England. Fri: Bennie Maupin CD Release. Sat: Sally Kellerman. Sun: Byron Winston Quartet, CSU Northridge “A” Band. Tue: Linda Purl. Wed: Rachelle Ferrell. Charlie O’s, 13725 Victory Bl, Van Nuys, (818) 994-3058. Charlieos.com. Thur: Joe LaBarbera Quintet. Fri-Sat: John Heard Trio. Sun: Doug Webb Quartet. Mon: Frank Capp Juggernaut Big Band. Tue: Clatworthy Colangelo Saunders Branly. Wed: Jack Sheldon Quartet. Cozy’s Bar & Grill, 14058 Ventura Bl, Sherman Oaks, (818) 986-6000. Cozysblues.com. Thur: Michael William’s Band. Fri: Jubu and friends. Sun: Livin’ the Music Songrwiters’ Showcase and Salon. Mon: Pro Blues Jam. Tue: Watchawount. Wed: CSON Lounge. Csardas, 5820 Melrose Av, Hollywood, (323) 9626434. Thur-Wed: Call for info. El Floridita, 1253 N Vine St, Hollywood, (323) 8718612. Elfloridita.com. Fri: Jam Sessions with Orquesta Charangoa. Sat: Salsa bands. Mon: Johnny Polanco y Su Orquesta Amistad. Wed: Cuban Jam Session with Conjunto Guama. Harvelle’s, 1432 Fourth St, Santa Monica, (310) 3951676. Harvelles.com. Thur: Little Chris and the Nightcrawlers, 9:30. Fri: House of Vibe, 9:30. Sat: Delgado Brothers, 9:30. Sun: The Toledo Show, 9:30. Mon: All-Star Pro Jam, 9. Tue: Bongo Fury, 9:30. Wed: House of Vibe, 9:30. JAX, 339 N. Brand Bl, Glendale, (818) 500-1604. Jaxbarandgrill.com. Thur-Wed: Call for info.

The Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Av, Culver City, (310) 271-9039. Jazzbakery.com. Shows at 8 & 9:30 unless specified. Thur-Sat: Chembo Corniel Latin Jazz All-Stars. Sun: Judy Wolman’s “Sing! Sing! Sing!” 4; Ricky Hopkins Urban Band. Mon: UCLA Contemporary Jazz. Tue: Bill Cunliffe solo. Wed: Andy Bey. La Granada, 17 S First St, Alhambra, (626) 227-2572. Letsdancela.com. Thur: Salsa Dance. Fri-Sat: Salsa Central. Sun: Ballroom, 5:30. Mon: Ballroom, 8:30. Tue: Salsa Dancing, 10. Wed: Disco Hustle, 8:30. La Vé Lee, 12514 Ventura Bl, Studio City, (818) 9808158. Laveleejazzclub.com. Shows at 8:30 & 10:30. Thur: CD Release Party, Tommy Locket, Steve Weingart, John Lewis, Scott Gilman. Fri: David Garfield & The Cats. Sat: Brazil Brazil Show. Tue: Brad Rabuchin, Andy Suzuki, Ralph Humphrey, Jerr y Watts. Wed: Scott Henderson, Deron Johnson, Jimmy Earl, Gary Novak. Mama Juana’s, 3707 Cahuenga Bl W, Studio City, (818) 505-8636. Mamajuanas.com. Shows at 7. Thur: Sabor Salsa Thursdays, 7. Fri: Tropical Fridays, 7. Sat: Latin Experience Saturdays. Tue: Burning Salsa Nights. Wed: New Band Wednesdays with Lucky7 Mambo, 7. Miceli’s, 1646 N Las Palmas Av, Hollywood, (323) 466-3430. Micelisrestaurant.com. Live per formances at 6. Thur-Wed: Call for info. 2nd Street Jazz, 366 E Second St, downtown L.A., (323) 680-0047. Myspace.com/landon2ndstreetlivejazz. Thur-Wed: Call for info. Spazio, 14755 Ventura Bl, Sherman Oaks, (818) 7288400. Spazio.la. Shows at 8. Thur: Robertito Melendez Latin Jazz Quintet. Fri: John Beasley Trio. Sat: Howlett Smith Trio. Sun: Sunday Brunch with Bevan Manson and Mike Valerio; Tom Rizzo Quartet. Mon: Carol Chaikin Quartet. Tue: John Pisano’s Guitar Night with USC Thornton Studio Jazz Guitar. Wed: Bill Cunliffe Trio. Vibrato Grill Jazz, 2930 Beverly Glen Circle, Bel Air, (310) 474-9400. Vibratogrilljazz.com. Thur: Mark Sherman. Fri: Ron Stout. Sat: Barbara Morrison. Sun: Deborah Shulman. Tue-Wed: Dennis Michael Trio. World Stage, 4344 Degnan Bl, Leimert Park, (323) 293-2451. Theworldstage.org. Call for showtimes. Thur: Jazz Jam Session, 9. Fri: World Stage Stories, 8. Sat: Saturday School, 9:30 a.m.; Jazz workshop, noon; Concert Series, 8:30 & 10. Sun: Sisters of Jazz, 7:30. Mon: Drum workshop, 7. Tue: Vocal workshop, 6:30. Wed: Anansi Writers Workshop, 7:30. –Daryl Paranada

CONCERTS APRIL 17-23 Note: Unless otherwise indicated, tickets are available through Ticketmaster, (213) 480-3232 or Ticketmaster.com. “Celebrating Rumi,” Thur, Music Box @ Fonda, 6126 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, at 7:30. (323) 4640808. 3 Doors Down, Thur, The Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E Katella Av, Anaheim, at 8. (714) 712-2700. Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Fri, Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, 8808 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, at 7:30. (949) 855-8095/6111. Ghostland Observatory, Fri, Music Box @ Fonda at 8.

Alejandra Guzman, Fri, Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk, 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, at 8:15. (818) 622-4440. Pete Rock vs. DJ Premier, Fri, Crash Mansion, 1024 Grand Av, downtown L.A., at 9. (213) 747-0999. Seether, Flyleaf, Fri, The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Bl, L.A., at 7. (213) 380-5005. Aeromyth, Pyromania, Sat, Crash Mansion at 8. Bel Biv Devoe, Heavy D, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Sat, Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk at 7:15. Elton John, Sat, Honda Center, 2695 E Katella Av, Anaheim, at 8. (714) 704-2400. Lovin’ Spoonful, The Grass Roots, Sat, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Dr, Cerritos, at 8. (800) 300-4345. A Sunny Day in Glasgow, Sat, Pehrspace, 325 Glendale Bl, Historic Filipinotown, at 9. (213) 4837347. Kottonmouth Kings, Sun, The Grove of Anaheim at 7. Monolators, Mon, Pehrspace at 9. Moving Picture Show, Mon, Crash Mansion at 10. Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., Lupe Fiasco, MonTue, Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, 777 Chick Hearn Ct, downtown L.A., at 7:30. (213) 763-6000. The Dodos, Wed, Amoeba Music, 6400 Sunset Bl, Hollywood, at 7. (323) 245-6400. Calvin Harris, Wed, Music Box @ Fonda at 8. Chris Rock, Wed, Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal CityWalk at 8:15. –Alfred Lee

STAGE

Evaluations in the San Fernando Valley

OPENING THIS WEEK The Andrews Brothers. Stationed on a South Pacific Army base during World War II, three soldiers perform when a trio of singing sisters fail to show up for their USO gig. Written by Roger Bean. Directed by Nick DeGruccio. Musical Theatre West at Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 Atherton St, Long Beach, (562) 856-1999 x4. Opens Sat at 8. Call for performance schedule. Closes May 4. Coffee Will Make You Black. Adaptation of April Sinclair’s novel about a black teenager on the brink of sexual awakening during the late ’60s. Written by Michael A. Shepperd. Directed by Nataki Garrett. Celebration Theatre, 7051-B Santa Monica Bl, Hollywood. Info: (323) 957-1884 or Celebrationtheatre.com. Opens Fri at 8. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes May 25. Dinner With Friends. A couple grapples with how to respond to the infidelity that’s tearing apart their friends’ marriage. Written by Donald Marguiles. Directed by Laura James. Theatre 40, 241 Moreno Dr, Beverly Hills, (310) 364-0535. Theatre40.org. Opens Sat at 8. Mons-Sats at 8; Sats-Suns at 2. Closes May 18. Emergency. Daniel Beaty wrote and performs a one-man show featuring over 40 characters who respond to the emergence of a slave ship from the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty. Directed by Charles Randolph Wright. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Av, Westwood, (310) 208-5454. Geffenplayhouse.com. Opens Wed at 7:30. TuesThurs at 7:30; Fris at 8; Sats at 4 & 8:30; Suns at 2 & 7. Closes May 25. Fahrenheit 451. Play based on the classic science fiction novel about a future where individual liberties and critical thought is suppressed. Written by Ray Bradbury. Directed by Alan Neal Hubbs. Fremont Center Theatre, 1000 Fremont Av, S Pasadena, (323) 960-4451. Plays411.com/raybradbury. Opens Sat at 8. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes May 24. The Importance of Being Earnest. A new take on Oscar Wilde’s famous play about the seriousness of society. Written by Oscar Wilde. Directed by Julie Sanchez. Knightsbridge Theatre, 1944 Riverside Dr, L.A., (323) 667-0955. Knightsbridgeteatre.com. Opens Sat at 8. Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes May 25. The Injured Party. New Yorkers watch the art installation of Christo’s The Gates in Central Park, where a man is hindered and aided by them in this comedy. Written by Richard Greenberg. Directed by Trip Cullman. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Dr, Costa Mesa, (714) 708-5555. Scr.org. Opens Fri at 7:45. TuesFris at 7:45. Sats-Suns at 2 and 7:45. Closes May 11. Nevis Mountain Dew. Comedy and drama ensue after a family in 1954 Queens celebrates a birthday and drinks the infamous rum from the island of Nevis. Written by Steve Carter. Directed by Nancy Cheryll Davis. Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood. Info: (213) 624-4796 or Townestreet.org. Opens Fri at 8. Fris-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes May 18. Pest Control … The Musical. A New York City exterminator is misidentified by the underworld and CIA as being a notorious assassin. Written by John Jay Moores, Jr. Directed by James J. Mellon. NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Bl, North Hollywood, (818) 508-7101. Thenohoartscenter.com. Opens Fri at 8. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes May 26. Testosterone: How Prostate Cancer Made A Man Of Me. A comedy about the meaning of masculinity and morality. Written by Hal Ackerman. Directed by Michael Arabian. The Powerhouse Theatre, 3116 Second St, Santa Monica, (310) 396-3680. Powerhousetheatre.com. Opens Fri at 8. Fris-Sats at 8; Suns at 4. Closes May 10. Trapezoid. A robot falls in love with its human creator, a Korean American poet. Written by Nic Cha Kim. Directed by Scott Horstein. Lodestone Theatre at GTC Burbank, 1111-B W Olive St, Burbank, (323) 993-7245. Myspace.com/trapezoid2008. Opens Sat at 8. Fris-Sats at 8; Suns at 2. Closes May 25. –Daryl Paranada and Alfred Lee

★★★ CONTINUING ★★★

APRIL 17~23, 2008

CITYBEAT

MEDICAL MARIJUANA EVALUATIONS PERFORMED BY LICENSED PHYSICIANS UNDER CALIFORNIA STATE LAW PROP 215 (HS11362.5)

WEST COAST EVALUATIONS Northridge Medical Building 8349 Reseda Blvd., Ste. F Northridge, CA 91325 ph: 818-701-0420 Fax: 818-701-7420 www.westcoastevaluations.com

CALL NOW FOR AN APPOINTMENT

✭ ✭ ✭

HENRY DIROCCO/SCR

THEATER CRITIC’S CHOICE

✭ ✭ ✭ ~ MATT LETSCHER AND MARIN HINKLE ~

‘What They Have’ A Hollywood power couple (Matt Letscher, Marin Hinkle) and their arty, less affluent friends (Kevin Rahm, Nancy Bell), all of them hovering close to the age of 40, take turns envying each other over issues of money, creative fulfillment, and parenthood, then finding the tables turned, not necessarily happily. Kate Robin’s script is saturated with the kind of expressive conversations that might be on prestigious TV (she’s a Six Feet Under veteran) but that cut a little deeper and go on at considerably greater length. Everyone speaks so articulately that there isn’t much of the dramatic tension that arises when words fail. However, if you’re in the frame of mind for this kind of play, you’re in luck – the elegantly shifting designs of Chris Fields’s staging and the lived-in performances from all the actors mitigate incipient feelings of heady claustrophobia. The play is structured much more cohesively than Robin’s Anon, seen in L.A. last year. –Don Shirley South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, (714) 708-5555. Southcoastrepertory.com. Tue.-Wed. at 7:30 p.m.; Thur.-Fri. at 8 p.m.; Sat. at 2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.; Sun. at 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Closes May 4.

Alice Sit-by-the-Fire. In James M. Barrie’s 1905 comedy, a British couple returns from years in India to reunite with their growing children. Misunderstandings multiply in a delightfully funny second act, but the third act provides a lyrical sense of generations exchanging roles. Joe Olivieri’s cast, with Alley Mills and Orson Bean, is remarkable. Pacific Resident Theatre, 705 1/2 Venice Bl, Venice, (310) 822-8392. Pacificresidenttheatre.com. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes Apr 20. (Don Shirley) Black & Bluestein. In 1963, a black doctor offers to buy a house in a white, mostly Jewish St. Louis suburb. The house is owned by the developer and

his liberal wife, who face opposition from neighbors and relatives. Jerry Mayer’s meatier-than-usual autobiographical tale achieves considerable pungency, despite a few clunky components. The Other Space, Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St, Santa Monica. Info: (800) 838-3006 or Santamonicaplayhouse.com. Sats 3 & 8; Suns 3 & 7. Closes May 3. (DS) Chico’s Angels: Chicas Are Forever. This Charlie’s Angels spoof features men (Oscar Quintero, Ray Garcia, Danny Casillas) in skimpy dresses, garish makeup, and outlandish wigs. James Quinn’s new episode has original music (Dan Ring) and lyrics (Mr.

Dan) instead of song parodies. Director Kurt Koehler maintains a gleefully raunchy ambience. Cavern Club Theater, 1920 Hyperion Av, Silverlake, (323) 6624255. Cavernclubtheater.com/chico.html. Thurs at 8; Fris-Sats at 9; Suns at 8. Closes May 4. (DS) Comic Potential. In a near future, TV soap operas are cast with “actoids” – computer-programmed robots. One of them (Oona Mekas and Katie Kocis alternate) has more human aspirations and runs off with a young writer (William Joseph Hill). Stan Mazin’s staging of Alan Ayckbourn’s intriguing comedy is a bit ragged around the edges. The Lonny Chapman Group Repertory Theatre, 10900 Burbank Bl, North Hollywood, (818) 700-4878. Lcgrt.com. Fris-Sats at 8; Suns at 2. Closes May 18. (DS) The Common Air. Alex Lyras convincingly plays six men who meet, one by one, during an 18-hour airport security incident, in sequence: Iraqi American cabbie, gay art dealer, hyped-up attorney, hip-hop DJ, Texas philosophy prof, and Iraqi American caterer – whose tale is the least plausible. Written by Lyras and director Robert McCaskill. Theatre Asylum, 6320 Santa Monica Bl, Hollywood. Info: (323) 960-4443 or Thecommonair.com. Fris-Sats at 8. Closes Apr 26. (DS) Don Juan. Molière’s version of the legendary rake’s story is boldly admiring, and it seems fairly up-todate in Michael Michetti’s quasi-modernist staging of Richard Nelson’s translation. Elijah Alexander and JD Cullum, per fectly cast as Don Juan and his skeptical valet, and the entire cast deliver savvy timing and perceptive performances. A Noise Within, 234 S Brand Bl, Glendale, (818) 240-0910 x1. Anoisewithin.org. Call for performance schedule. Closes May 24. (DS) The Dying Gaul. Craig Lucas’s mid-’90s Hollywood saga about a treacherous trio – a gay, bereaved screenwriter (Patrick Hancock), his bisexual mogul boss (Ken Arquelio), and the boss’s neglected wife (Mary-Ellen Loukas). Jon Lawrence Rivera’s staging fits well into its intimate space, but the two men don’t create a convincing sexual chemistry. The Elephant Theatre, 6322 Santa Monica Bl, Hollywood, (323) 960-7745. Plays411.com/dyinggaul. ThursSats at 8. Closes Apr 19. (DS) Great Expectations. See Stage feature review. Henry IV Part One. Shakespeare’s history play receives a sturdy, intelligent staging by Geoff Elliott – who doubles as Falstaff – and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, but it never quite surprises with unexpected insight. Freddy Douglas is an amused Prince Hal, perhaps a bit too centered from the get-go, while J. Todd Adams is a blisteringly hot Hotspur. A Noise Within, 234 S Brand Bl, Glendale, (818) 240-0910 x1. Anoisewithin.org. Call for performance schedule. Closes May 18. (DS) The Immigrant. See Stage feature review. Invasion of the Minnesota Normals. At a Chicago suburban cocktail hour in 1953, the pressures of conformity become all too obvious and heavy-handed in Jen Ellison’s one-act, which isn’t nearly as funny as the title might imply. Melissa Denton directs a strong cast for Buzzworks Theater, but a few anachronistic phrases don’t sound quite right. The Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Bl, Hollywood, (323) 960-5771. Plays411.com/mninva-

sion. Thurs-Sats at 8. Closes Apr 19. (DS) The Last Days of Desmond ‘Nani’ Reese. Heather Woodbury plays an ex-stripper, 108, as well as the would-be dissertation writer who interviews Reese at her Elysian Park shack in 2014. Woodbury’s virtuosity as writer, actor, and sound artist is impressive, but the scholar’s history isn’t sketched fully enough to explain her final transformation. Bang, 457 N Fairfax Av, L.A., (323) 653-6886. Bangstudio.com. Sat-Sun at 8. (DS) The Last Schwartz. A domineering older sister, three brothers, and two mates meet in upstate New York for the anniversary of a father’s death in Deborah Zoe Laufer’s comedy, which overcomes feelings of déjà vu with sharp dialogue and carefully timed revelations. Lee Sankowich’s staging is immensely helpful at illuminating the mishegas. Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av, L.A. Info: (323) 960-7789 or Plays411.com/schwartz. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 2. Closes Apr 27. (DS) The London Cuckolds. Edward Ravenscroft’s 1681 farce feels mechanical and long-winded in Richard Tatum’s adaptation. It’s about three husbands with straying wives and the bounders who tempt them. Darin Toonder injects the most energy into the show as the chief bounder, but seldom have such shenanigans seemed so tedious and less sexy. Ark Theatre, 1647 S La Cienega Bl, L.A., (323) 9691707. Arktheatre.org. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 7. Closes Apr 26. (DS) The Marvelous Wonderettes. Four queens (Bets Malone, Kim Huber, Julie Dixon Jackson, Kirsten Chandler) of the L.A. musical stage vie to become queen of a 1958 high school prom in the first act of Roger Bean’s mirthful musicalette, using period hits. Later, the women re-unite with new problems, ’60s songs and costumes. Fun but formulaic. El Portal Forum Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Bl, North Hollywood. Info: (888) 505-7469, Tix.com, or Marvelouswonderettes.com. Thurs-Fris at 8; Sats at 3 & 8; Suns at 2. Closes Apr 27. (DS) Mask. Don’t cry, we’re told near the end of this musical version of the 1985 movie about a terminally disfigured saint (Allen E. Read) at Azusa High, his loving but speed-freakish ma (Michelle Duffy), their biker surrogate family, and a blind girlfriend. Actually, Anna Hamilton Phelan’s script is designed to jerk tears. The Barr y Mann/Cynthia Weil score adds energy to Richard Maltby Jr’s staging, but the full-throttle bathos is wearing. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S El Molino Ave, Pasadena, (626) 356-7529. Pasadenaplayhouse.org. Tues-Fris at 8, Sats at 4 and 8, Suns at 2 and 7. Closes Apr 20. (DS) My Fair Lady. Trevor Nunn’s staging of the Lerner/Loewe musical take on Shaw’s Pygmalion adds Matthew Bourne steps to “Little Bit of Luck” (Stomplike props) and “Ascot Gavotte” (horsey moves among the aristocrats). It’s eye-catching but unsuccessful in explaining the final return of Eliza (Lisa O’Hare) to Higgins (Christopher Cazenove). Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Av, downtown L.A., (213) 628-2772. Centertheatregroup.org. TuesWeds at 8; Thurs at 2 & 8; Fris at 8; Sats at 2 & 8; Suns at 1 & 6:30. Closes Apr 27. (DS) Point Break Live! The New Rock Theater takeoff on the 1991 Hollywood thriller Point Break adds a

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tsunami of comedy to the original story, about an FBI agent (who’s cast nightly from the audience and gets to read cue cards) investigating a gang of bank-robbing L.A. surfers. Wicked caricatures and bare-bones action sequences abound. Charlie O’s in the Alexandria Hotel, 501 S Spring St, downtown L.A., (866) 811-4111. Theatermania.com. Sats-Suns at 7. (DS) Sexy Laundry. Middle-aged Alice (Frances Fisher) tries to heat up her marriage by booking a swank hotel room for fantasy games with her glum husband (Paul Ben-Victor), using Sex for Dummies. Directed by Gary Blumsack, Michele Riml’s comedy is predictable but well-crafted, emphasizing moods – not nudes. The actors are superb. The Hayworth Theatre, 2509 Wilshire Bl, L.A., (213) 389-9860. Thehayworth.com. Thurs-Sats at 8. Closes Apr 26. (DS) Snake in the Grass. Alan Ayckbourn’s psychological thriller pits long-estranged middle-aged sisters (Pamela Salem, Claire Jacobs) against their late father’s ex-nurse (Nicola Bertram). Mark Rosenblatt’s U.S. premiere achieves jump-in-your-seat moments, thanks to taut per formances, atmospheric design, and a score by ex-Dire Straitser Hal Lindes. Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave, L.A. Info: (323) 9604420 or Salemktheatreco.org. Closes May 4. (DS) Tallgrass Gothic. Melanie Marnich’s dose of rural Midwestern adultery and its unhappy results was inspired by a 1622 play by Thomas Middleton. So it’s an old story, grimly predictable and surprisingly restrained – with no nudity and scant onstage violence. An eye-catching performance by Carrie Witta helps. Jaime L. Robledo directed, tautly. Sacred Fools Theater, 660 N Heliotrope Dr, Hollywood, (310) 281-8337. Sacredfools.org. Tues-Weds at 8. Closes May 7. (DS) Tracers. The John DiFusco-instigated Vietnam War memory play remains powerful in Leon Shanglebee’s revival for Gangbusters Theatre. Think Iraq. We see six G.I.s before, during, and after their service, along with a medic one of them befriends and their drill sergeant. The theatricality goes over the top only during an excessive strobe lit scene. Little Victory Theatre, 3326 W Victory Bl, Burbank, (818) 8415422. Thevictorytheatrecenter.org. Fris-Sats at 8; Suns at 4. Closes Apr 20. (DS) The Violet Hour. Richard Greenberg’s oddity depicts a 25-year-old publisher (Thomas Burr) in 1919 Manhattan, wavering between books by his desperate friend and his secret lover, when a machine starts issuing detailed reports from the future. Stuart Rogers’s staging overcomes a strangely age-blind casting choice and second-act implausibilities. Theatre Tribe, 5267 Lankershim Bl, North Hollywood, (800) 838-6006. Theatretribe.com. Thurs-Sats at 8. Closes May 3. (DS) Wicked. New actors occupy four major roles in the Stephen Schwartz/Winnie Holzman musical steamroller about the formative years of Oz’s witches. Most important are Caissie Levy as a crackerjack Elphaba and Jo Anne Worley, perfectly suited to the overbearing cackles of Madame Morrible. I like the show more each time I see it. Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (213) 365-3500. BroadwayLA.org. Call for performance schedule. Closes Jan 11. (DS)

APRIL 17~23, 2008

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FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

Week of April 17 ARIES

By Rob Brezsny

(March 21-April 19)

A reader from Fiji is encouraging me to pay a visit. "Fiji is heaven on earth," she says. "You'll be ecstatic here." While I have no doubt that's true, it's hard for me to imagine being any more ecstatic than I am when I travel to Hawaii. It, too, has resemblances to paradise. And the plane flight there takes five hours less and is $600 cheaper than the jaunt to Fiji. Do I really need a more heavenly heaven on earth than, say, Waimoku Falls Trail in Maui? I expect you're facing a metaphorically similar situation, Aries. The question you may want to ask yourself is this: Should you pine and aim for a state beyond perfection, or will mere perfection serve you just as well?

TAURUS

(April 20-May 20)

The Washington Post solicited ideas from readers about innovative strategies for wasting time. I'll offer you a few in the hope that they'll inspire you to take a major break from the Big Pressing Issues you're obsessed with. It's high time, in my opinion, to give yourself an enormous amount of slack . . . to forgive yourself for not being perfect . . . to dissolve any guilt you feel for not having accomplished all your life goals yet. In that spirit, consider the following time-wasters: (1) Send letters to the editor about grammatical mistakes in the classified ads. (2) Make yourself the world's top expert on a person randomly chosen from the phone book. (3) Keep a logbook in your bathroom to verify that the toilet bowl cleaner really does work for 1,000 flushes. (4) Set the Guinness record for time spent reading the Guinness Book of Records.

GEMINI

has so much the look of toughness and permanence as a wart," he wrote. And yet "they can be made to go away by something that can only be called thinking . . . Warts can be ordered off the skin by hypnotic suggestion." (tinyurl.com/3clzc5) Thomas regarded this phenomenon as "absolutely astonishing, more of a surprise than cloning or recombinant DNA." According to my astrological reckoning, Cancerian, you currently have a comparable marvel at your disposal. Using the power of your mind, you can shrink, dissolve, or banish a wart-like vexation.

LEO

(July 23-Aug. 22)

This would be a perfect time for you to write your ultimate personal manifesto. I'm talking about composing a sweeping statement of the core ideas that fuel your lust for life. To get you in the mood, take a look at the following lyrics from Danny Schmidt's song "Company of Friends." "I believe in restless hunger . . . I believe in private thunder . . . I believe in inspiration . . . I believe in slow creation . . . I believe in lips on ears . . . I believe in being wrong . . . I believe in contradiction . . . I believe in living smitten . . . I believe our book is written by our company of friends."

VIRGO

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

"The Japanese believe that crying babies grow fast," wrote John Flinn in the San Francisco Chronicle, "and that the louder an infant wails, the more the gods have blessed it." The astrological omens suggest that a similar principle will soon hold true for you: The more you sob and blubber, the smarter you'll get. The louder you howl and moan, the more likely you'll be to attract benevolent influences and unexpected help.

(May 21-June 20)

In her book *Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation,* biologist Olivia Judson extols the male members of the fruitfly species Drosophila bifurca. Although they are barely one-eighth of an inch long, their sperm can be up to 2.3 inches long. If a man were capable of the same prodigious production, his sperm would be as big as a whale. Metaphorically speaking, you Geminis now have the ability to generate phenomena on this scale. That's why I hope you will devote all your ingenuity and resourcefulness to creating an intricate, beautiful masterpiece, not a humongous, complicated mass of confusion.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22) Lewis Thomas was a physician who wrote elegantly about biology in books like *The Lives of a Cell.* I want to bring your attention to his meditation on warts. "Nothing in the body

LIBRA

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

In order for some plants to thrive in the tropical forests of South America, they need bats to eat their fruits and poop out their seeds while flying around. Biologists call the bat excrement by a more lyrical name: seed rain. It's not too much of a stretch to invoke this relationship as an apt metaphor for your life right now, Libra. Like the bat-dependent plants, you now require the help of fertility agents whose work may be a bit messy.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

It's the Week of the Fabulous Smirk. Not the Week of the Arrogant Smirk or the Vengeful Smirk or the Hateful, Whiny, Passive-Aggressive Smirk. Rather, the Smirk that Passeth All Understanding. The Wise, Charitable, Forbearing Smirk. The

Uber-Smirk that says, "I've figured out what everyone's hiding, and I love them anyway." You are ready, Scorpio, to explore the Divine Smirk that arises naturally when you have outwitted an obstacle that was obscuring the truth from you; when you have finally seen through the delusion you were under and guessed the secret you weren't smart enough to see before.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

This would be a good week for you to compete in a flamethrower competition. You'd probably win. Why? Because according to my analysis of the astrological omens, you currently have an unprecedented knack for playing with fire. You would most likely also be victorious in a marshmallow-roasting contest or a jump-over-the-bonfire tournament. And you would probably do surprisingly well in any activity that might be described as "sitting in the hot seat."

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

"The great theme is not Romeo and Juliet," said poet Anne Sexton. "The great theme we all share is that of becoming ourselves, of overcoming our father and mother, of assuming our identities somehow." This is certainly your great theme, Capricorn. And it's especially important for you to devote yourself to it now. You're at a turning point in your life-long transformation. You're being presented with a clear-cut choice between sinking back into the ill-fitting yet comfortable mold that others have shaped for you, or else striding out into the frontier in a brave push to become a higher, deeper, more complete version of yourself.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

"We only hear questions that we are able to answer," said Friedrich Nietzsche. Luckily for you, Aquarius, there are two big, long-simmering questions for which you have recently begun to sniff out the answers. That means you're now able, at least potentially, to hear those questions. I have three pieces of advice to help ensure that you actually hear them. First, wash your brain out so it's got more free space in it. Second, give your listening skills a tune-up. Third, meditate on Edgar Allen Poe's idea that "Those who dream by day know many things which escape those who dream only by night."

PISCES

(Feb. 19-March 20)

Back in 1995, I began seeing a psychotherapist whose influence ultimately improved me in a thousand ways. At the end of our first session, she handed me a note as I left. It read: "If you don't articulate your conscious desires, your unconscious patterns will come true." She gazed at me firmly and said, "Don't come back until you've proved to yourself that those words are true. All my work will be of no use to you unless you take them to heart." It took me exactly 23 days to prove to myself that what she'd written was true. Now I offer you the same challenge, Pisces. Spend the upcoming week in intense contemplation on the hypothesis, "If you don't articulate your conscious desires, your unconscious patterns will come true."

In addition to the horoscopes you're reading here, Rob Brezsny offers EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES and Daily Text Message Horoscopes. To access them online, go to RealAstrology.com. The Expanded Audio Horoscopes are also available by phone at 1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700. Rob's main website is at FreeWillAstrology.com. Check out his book, "Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings" "I've seen the future of American literature, and its name is Rob Brezsny." - Tom Robbins, author of "Jitterbug Perfume" and "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates"

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$500! POLICE IMPOUNDS! Hondas, Chevys, Jeeps, Fords and more! Cars/Trucks from $500! For listings call 1-800-706-1759 X6443 (AAN CAN) CARS FROM $500! Hondas, Trucks, SUVs and more! For Listings 1-800-706-1785 ext. 6814 (AAN CAN)

Mind, Body, Spirit

APRIL 17~23, 2008

C M Y K

AAA AFFORDABLE HYPNOTHERAPY— Stop Smoking, Lose Weight, Increase Earning Power, Confidence, Memory, Stress, Anxiety, New Method Produces Incredible Success. CALL NOW! 951-461-1244 or 800-47-HYPNO Board Certified Master Hypnotist Kevin Stone. WWW.HYPNOTIST.COM ORIGINAL LIMU: The first and original Ficoidan-Rih Product of its kind, worldwide market leader Would you like to add an addi-

TECHNICAL/ CAREER SCHOOL FOR SALE Title IV Approved Vocational School. Plus, Certified Traffic Violation School. Owner Retiring. Established 2002. 295K.Great Clientele. Excellent Opportunity! Call (805) 647-5371 or (805) 340-5307

tional six figures to you monthly income? Call Bridget for more info @ 323-8378270 or visit my web site @ www.discoverlimu. com/Bridget

THE MILLENNIUM HAIR AND BEAUTY SALON FOR THE LADIES: Ask for Chanelle @ 323 335 6594 the best in: Relaxers, perms, colors, press, haircuts, updo Get 10% off with this ad 5320 Wilshire Blvd. Miracle Mile Los Angeles, Ca. 90046

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MedicalResearch

lacitylist.com

To Advertise Call 323-938-1001

post your ad free online

PARTICIPATE IN AN ADDICTION RESEARCH STUDY AT NO COST Experimental medications compared with placebos (sugar pills) with outpatient counseling available in research treatment studies for:

METHamphetamine Users For Information, Call 818-654-2577 You will be compensated for your participation. Research Investigators: Michael McCann, M.A. and Daniel Dickerson, D.O.

Matrix Institute, Tarzana This Research Project is sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Approved by UCLA and Biomed IRB UCLA/Matrix Site Preparation date: 9-21-07 UCLA IRB#: 07-05-072-01 Biomed IRB#:NIDA-CSP-1026

For those who are over the age of 60 and who are feeling stressed or depressed, hopeless, sad, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, anxiety, or insomnia. UCLA is conducting a 4-month research study using a study drug and placebo (an inactive substance) in conjunction with Tai Chi Chih (a set of slow-paced movements) or health education. If you are not currently receiving any psychiatric treatment with effective medications, you may qualify. Medical and psychiatric evaluations and limited physical exams are provided as part of the study. Evaluations and study drug are provided at no charge.

For more information, call UCLA at

(310) 794-4619

APRIL 17~23, 2008

C M Y K

CITYBEAT

APRIL 17~23, 2008

CITYBEAT

AdultEntertainment

lacitylist.com

To Advertise Call 323-938-1001 Sensual Massage

RAVISHING REDHEAD Relax and enjoy an exhilarating Rub Down in beautiful, comfortable surroundings. CALL ME 818-799-7575

Call Kristy Aged to perfection Great and caring massage

FOR WOMEN ONLY Nude gentle touch massage from nice Guy with good hands. Mind/Body Therapy. JUST $40 per hour. Outcall only - 562.639.0778

Adult Entertainment

Care free Haircuts Private Precision

post your ad free online HOT BBW LOVES 2 PARTY. Incall/Outcall (818) 738-8354

WE LIKE SEX!! www.900talkview.com 900-486-9700 800-680-5551 Only $1.99-4.99 per minute. You must be 18+ to call.

Relax at Rita’s Enjoy the Royal Treatment Lovely, Classy, Mature, Private. I Love Seniors

Personalized

Kara is Back by Request

11am-7pm

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For a fabulous Blow & Go haircut call…

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LIVE ONE ON ONE PHONE SEX http://chinatowngirlz.com/

DISCRETE DISCRETE DISCRETE $70 I’m a very lovely girl, gracious and kind. My home is a tropical, peaceful place to relax and enjoy a nude massage. 818-753-2970

TIFFANY Tranquility, peace & healing!! Just you and me. A Genuine magical massage. Swedish full body/sport, reflexology, Beautiful New Zealand. 27 No disappointments. Ask about our 2 person special! Myself and Sophia. Hollywood/ Melrose area. 323-661-1057

S i m p l y

San Fernando Valley

MEN!!! GET PAID TODAY!!! Need to make money NOW? Sierra Blue Internet is seeking young, attractive men for adult web, print, and video

DANCERS CA$H DAILY, Must be 18 yrs old. Very Busy Southern California Company, Female Owned and Operated. (951) 688-1555 or (310) 568-0288 Find What You Are Looking For?

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UNFORGETTABLE

NORTH HOLLYWOOD

the Best Thai Yoga by Asian Beauty

8708 Sunland Blvd Sun Valley 91352

818-768-8622

Studio Masseuse gives fabulous therapy to all!

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$60 FLAT RATE

818-508-6773 Danish Girl 120 lbs. 5’5” Beauty & Sexy All types of pampering massage therapy (strong or tender) & Prostrate Stimulation. Best Service

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626-796-0703

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Audrinna

& The Men That Adore Them! e Browse & Record Ads FREE! e Put the fun back into dating! e Meet REAL people in your local area! (213) 316-0336 (310) 873-0573 (323) 451-1043

work. Flexible schedules. Make up to $500 - $1000. For more information or to set up an interview, please call us at (619) 295-5729, email models@sdtalent.com or visit our website at http://www.sdtalent.com.

Amy Taylor

7 days 10am-9pm

818.903.5903

Adult Employment

(562) 304-1018 (818) 942-1103 (626) 940-0671

APRIL 17~23, 2008

C M Y K

CITYBEAT

Well-educated and well-bred beauty will provide you with the perfect companion whether traveling or simply relaxing for the evening. 34C-23-34 • 5’ 6” • 115 lbs.

www.AmyTaylor.com

Amy@AmyTaylor.com

Chinese Sunflowers Healing Hands, Warm Heart • Acupuncture • Acupressure • Swedish Oil Massage • Shower Available • Clean room very cozy

$50/hr. $35 1/2 hr. w/Ad

7 Days 10am - 9pm 178 W. Live Oak Ave, Arcadia 91007 Cross streets – El Monte between Baldwin & Sta Anita

626-294-2930 • Welcome Walk-in (non-sexual)

AdultEntertainment

lacitylist.com

To Advertise Call 323-938-1001

Sensual Massage

Adult Entertainment

RAVISHING REDHEAD Relax and enjoy an exhilarating Rub Down in beautiful, comfortable surroundings. CALL ME 818-799-7575

HOT BBW LOVES 2 PARTY. Incall/Outcall (818) 738-8354

FOR WOMEN ONLY Nude gentle touch massage from nice Guy with good hands. Mind/Body Therapy. JUST $40 per hour. Outcall only - 562.639.0778

WE LIKE SEX!! www.900talkview.com 900-486-9700 800-680-5551 Only $1.99-4.99 per minute. You must be 18+ to call. LIVE ONE ON ONE PHONE SEX http://chinatowngirlz.com/

post your ad free online DISCRETE DISCRETE DISCRETE $70 Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a very lovely girl, gracious and kind. My home is a tropical, peaceful place to relax and enjoy a nude massage. 818-753-2970 TIFFANY Tranquility, peace & healing!! Just you and me. A Genuine magical massage. Swedish full body/sport, reflexology, Beautiful New Zealand. 27 No disappointments. Ask about our 2 person special! Myself and Sophia. Hollywood/ Melrose area. 323-661-1057

Adult Employment

MEN!!! GET PAID TODAY!!! Need to make money NOW? Sierra Blue Internet is seeking young, attractive men for adult web, print, and video work. Flexible schedules. Make up to $500 - $1000. For more information or to set up an interview, please call us at (619) 295-5729, email models@sdtalent.com or visit our website at http://www.sdtalent.com.

DANCERS CA$H DAILY, Must be 18 yrs old. Very Busy Southern California Company, Female Owned and Operated. (951) 688-1555 or (310) 568-0288

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Treat yourself to a caring, great massage.

OLDER & BOLDER

y 38 DDD TIANNA y

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Sensual Massage, P*Massage, Alternative Pleasure, Toys, Sensual Domination, Role Play & More Westside Incall & Upscale Outcall

310-270-2043

CITYBEAT

C M Y K

APRIL 17~23, 2008

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Be on the BACKBEAT 323.938.1001

TELEPHONE ACTRESS

m ot i v a t e y o u r c r e a t i v i t y

Make money working from your own home!! Well established Entertainment Co. is in search of reliable, upbeat, open-minded individuals with great phone voice quality, for 1-on-1 phone conversations. Hourly pay plus bonus! FT/PT shifts available.

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(818) 558-7522 HAVE YOU BEEN FIRED? SEXUALLY HARASSED? DISCRIMINATED AT WORK? UNPAID WAGES & OVERTIME? Law Offices of Frank Hakim FREE CONSULTATION:

(310) 789-2240

SAVE $2.00 PER GALLON OF GAS New Coupon book save you $1000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on gas, send a self addressed envelope + $29.00 (money order only) to

John Hinton, PO BOX 82382, LA, CA 90082

YOUR OWN PERSONAL COOK AFFORDABLE Tasty,

Chic, Sexy meals that are Good 4 you. Dial Daphne for Delicious Dishes prepared in your own home for up to 10 people.(323) 843-4295. After all, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Oprah & Will Smith all have one. You Deserve one too!

AIRBRUSH ARTIST Professional Airbrush artist Shane Horrell. SPECIALIZE in Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Murals and Events.

Call 818-625-6457 www.myspace.com/jayecks

4/20/08 SMOKE OUT ALL DAY @ 4:20 PM 1/2 oz. BLUNT WILL BE LIT

7 F O U V S B #M W E 6O J U 4U V E J P $J U Z $"

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01&/ %": 4 " 8&&, /00/ 1. GRAMMY AWARD WINNING PRODUCER, MIKE SHIPLEY, (Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, Faith Hill), is looking for the NEXT "STAR" female singer (Ages 17 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 24) to sign to his production company, which includes Major Management and recording of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yourâ&#x20AC;? debut album.

â&#x20AC;˘ Need a Warrant Recalled?

Must Have the Look & Performance of a PRO!

â&#x20AC;˘ Want to Smoke Pot on Probation?

Auditions, Thursday, May 1, 2008

â&#x20AC;˘ All Criminal Defense, from Drugs to Murder.

Starting at 12 NOON (Callbacks that Night)

Harvard Law, Affordable

Space Station 1258 N. Highland Los Angeles, CA 90038

Office: 323-653-1850 (Ok to call from custody, 24-hours services)

APRIL 17~23, 2008

C M Y K

CITYBEAT

THERE IS SOMETHING YOU DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T KNOW ABOUT LIFE... The knowing of which will dramatically change your life.

MONEYLOVEANDHAPPINESS.COM

NEW MILLENNIUM BEAUTY AND HAIR SALON FOR THE LADIES Relaxers, permâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, GREAT HAIRCUTS/HIGHLIGHTS colors, press, updo Ask for Chanelle, everyday except Sat and Monday 10% off with this ad: 5320 Wilshire Blvd. Miracle Mile

Los Angeles 90046 THE BEST STYLIST IN TOWN- CHANELLE 323 335-6594

ELEGANT CANVAS LA LOFTS NOW LEASING BRAND NEW Ultimate living downtown NOW LEASING starting @$1810 Screening room, indoor social lounge, Luxurious Residents club with billiards,fireplaces Studio, 1,2 and 3 bdr. flats.

CALL 1-888-552-6119. www.canvasla-apts.com

FURNITURE 4 LESS: BIG SALE BIG SALE, EVERYTHING MUST GO. OPEN 7 days a week.

11142 Whittier Blvd. Whittier, CA 90606. 562.695.4977