While film allows a viewer to peek into an imagined world, gaming immerses a player in that world, allowing him or her to experience it firsthand. Read more...

“The Wind That Shakes the Barley” Director Ken Loach IFC First Take 4 Paws Out Of 5 “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” directed by English filmmaker Ken Loach, is a deeply tragic and heartbreaking story chronicling the idyllic beauty of Ireland and its people, and the politics that threaten to rip everything apart. Read more...

“Zodiac” Director David Fincher Paramount Pictures 3 Paws Out Of 5 When a notorious killer announces his strangers-for-slaughter agenda, the least appropriate reaction is a giggle. Read more...

For a long time, I was cynical about the music that was coming out of Southern California. Having grown up in San Diego, where all music seems to sound the same and is followed blindly by a sea of high school scenesters, I like to think my attitude was justified. Read more...

A band’s first headlining tour is a turning point in its career. To begin as an opening act is good experience, but to be playing for a crowd that came specifically for you is something entirely different. Read more...

Most students consider their classes obligations, and only afterwards do they get to do the things they like to do ““ but not Max Hembd. “This is something I get to do rather than have to do,” said Hembd, a fourth-year music student in trumpet performance, referring to Kenny Burrell’s Contemporary Jazz Large Ensemble. Read more...

In Hollywood, film festivals are often paparazzi-swarmed, red-carpeted and star-studded. In Venice, it’s another story. With lots of locals, mingling, cocktails, art shows and live bands, the word “festival” in the Other Venice Film Festival, which opens Thursday and runs through Sunday, will ring true. Read more...