VENICE SPRING FLING

Beach season officially begins in Los Angeles with the second annual Venice Spring Fling. An offshoot of the Venice Beach Music Festival, the event brings in some of the area’s hottest artists, musicians, and vendors that embody the spirit of the neighborhood.

VIRGINIA: SMALL FILM, BIG PERSONALITY

Virginia is a delightfully funny drama loosely based on the childhood of writer/director Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar) growing up in the south. Starring Jennifer Connelly, beautiful as ever at forty, as Virginia, a single mother with schizophrenia trying to raise her teenage son Emmett (a great performance by charming young actor Harrison Gilbertson) and find a way out of the small town they live in, no matter what the cost...

ALL HAIL THE DICTATOR

Before I start, there’s one thing you have to know: I love Sacha Baron Cohen. Yes he’s crude, yes he’s ridiculously offensive, but – as you will discover in the shockingly-short 83 minutes it takes The Dictator to run its course – he’s also a pretty sharp cookie. And I like sharp cookies.

DIRECTOR INTERVIEW: THE CUP

No horse race has had a more extraordinary effect on an entire nation as the running of Australia's 2002 Melbourne Cup. The Cup follows the true story of jockey Damien Oliver who must overcome tragedy to triumph. We had the chance to speak with director Simon Wincer (Free Willy) about what drove him to bring this inspirational tale to the big screen. 

ANNA MADORSKY: CHANGING THE FACE OF MUSIC

As a music critic a lot of albums come across my desk. Over time, much of it starts to turn into a blur. It’s not really the bands' fault but so much of modern music has started to sound the same. Then I heard Anna Madorsky and suddenly everything changed. With a genre-bending sound and a truly unique take on the world of music, Madorsky is going to change the game for musicians everywhere, they just don’t know it yet.