After trekking through several blocks of the gritty Tenderloin District in San Francisco, stepping into the historic Phoenix Hotel for the third annual rendition of ArtPadSF — an art fair featuring emerging and contemporary art — was a somewhat surreal experience. On its website, ArtPadSF promises to offer its visitors Read More…
Two best friends sit in bed together. One gingerly asks the other to “tell the story of us.” In scenes before and after, we’ve seen them laugh, drink, cry and play-fight. They are inseparable, vibrant and dynamic. “Only the young have such moments,” wrote Joseph Conrad in his 1917 novella Read More…
Near the middle of director Olivier Assayas’ new film, “Something in the Air,” we are treated to a film screening in Italy. The year is 1971, three years after the turbulent unrest of the French May 1968 protests. The movement, which was begun by university students, has broadened. In this Read More…
About halfway into the surprisingly enjoyable “Star Trek Into Darkness”, there is an engine problem aboard the Starship Enterprise. Dr. Bones (Karl Urban) tries with all his might to make Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) understand how serious it is, bombarding Kirk with metaphors that prove cringe-worthy. Yet Pine saves the Read More…
In 2006, Impact Theatre debuted the very first edition of “Jukebox Stories” — a two-man show featuring stories and songs performed and written by playwright Prince Gomolvilas and singer-songwriter Brandon Patton, respectively. What began as an experiment in the basement theatre underneath La Val’s Pizza, which Impact calls home, is Read More…
Last week, Disney’s “Mary Poppins” musical premiered at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre. The Daily Californian spoke with Madeline Trumble — a native of Berkeley and the star of the touring production — about growing up in the Bay Area, the struggles of working on a touring show and the magic Read More…
With their third studio album, Columbia grads Vampire Weekend have solidified a style that they have been perfecting over the course of the last five years. Modern Vampires of the City isn’t so much a departure from Contra and their self-titled album; rather, it builds off of the two albums Read More…
Some kind of congratulations should be in order for Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.” Somehow, Luhrmann has managed to turn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic 1920s novel of wealth, excess and the death of the American Dream into something I never thought possible — dull. Yes, despite the extravagant Read More…
Most students spend finals week stressing about exams and grades. Mark Gavigan, a fourth-year English major at UC Berkeley, spent finals week of fall 2012 rapping in his dorm room. For Gavigan, who rhymes under the moniker “Second Nature,” it was the culmination of two years of producing beats and Read More…
After the BP oil spill and the recent Occupy movement, people have become increasingly enraged at the ruthless prioritization of profit over probity. In the upcoming espionage thriller, “The East,” a group of eco-terrorists takes it upon itself to make sure no corporate crime goes unpunished. Gritty and thought-provoking, “The Read More…
