After their very groovy and a little bit crazy set at Coachella this past weekend, Ivan Landau‘s video for Oakland band Beats Antique is well worth a check out. The vid uses some very cool motion graphics and is put together with a slickness lacking in a lot of this sort of work. Check it out above.

While I didn’t actually attend Coachella this year, I was blown away by the badass streaming site the concert put together. Dozens of acts had their entire shows live online for free. Now I’ve been to Coachella more times than I’ve missed it in the last decade, but as the hassles of a three day music fest begin to scare down the benefits, the rise of this sort of festival experience gets me super excited. It was so cool to watch the Dre and Snoop set and get to be part of the fun of the guest stars and banter — without the hassle. Never feeling like your missing out is just a click away.

Another incredible benefit of the streaming festival is the potential for new music discovery. There is always a give and take at Coachella (and the like) between seeing bands you dig, taking chances on new bands, and spending your time drinking by the pool to just arrive later. I had barely heard the name of We Were Promised Jetpacks when I tuned in on Friday afternoon. The chance I’d have been on site by then woulda been slim. But they absolutely killed it! (This year’s Tame Impala? I’ve included a couple videos after the jump.) I was so impressed I immediately bought tickets to their show at the Echo on Tuesday (a show which quickly sold out after that performance). Sure you could go out and watch videos for each of the 200+ acts, but jumping around a live festival is a way more interactive way of experiencing it.

The Coachella Site already has some highlights from Day 1 up. I imagine Day 2 and 3 acts will be showing up shortly. The At The Drive-In show is not to be missed. I can’t tell you how many times I watched that shitty cell phone vid from Cut Copy last summer. If only that show had been archived online. But the coolest part about Streaming Coachella 2012? It all happens again next weekend.

Thx Mike for the music video link above.

Check out some vids

Check out the very cool street art style of Portuguese artist Vhils (aka Alexandre Farto). This is the first I’ve seen of this style of plaster removal to create the image. The portrait on the left above was part of an LA collaboration with JR called Scratching the Surface.

You can check out more Vhils on his website here.

Via Creative Review

I’ve just finished my AFI Fest 2011 Preview Series over at Twitch consisting of three 10 to Watch features. Check them out with the links below and don’t forget to let me know if you’re heading to the fest!

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – Galas & Specials

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – World Cinema

Twitch’s AFI Fest 2011 Preview: 10 to Watch – New Auteurs, Young Americans & Midnighters

I’ve also got my interview with AFI Festival heads Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler up on Twitch. Check it out here:
AFI Fest 2011: Twitch Chats with Jacqueline Lyanga and Lane Kneedler

Full Preview After the Jump

AFIFest kicks off at the Mann Chinese and Egyptian Theaters on November 3rd. Like in years past, the festival is FREEEE (if you can get tickets). The tickets become available to non AFI members on Thursday Oct. 27th at 10am. There are a ton of great films playing and I’ll have a full preview at Twitch next week. But I wanted to give you a heads up on what to try to grab if you are logging on at 10am tomorrow. It turns out I’ve seen most of the most exciting films so I’ll just give you a quick Top 10 of the films (#1 being most recommended) I’ve seen followed by my tentative schedule. Sorry I can’t provide more detaisl on each film now (next week, I promise) but hit me up if you have any specific questions. Grab some free tix tomorrow and let’s catch a flick!

Top 10 films you should see at AFIFest that I’ve already seen
10. Kill List
9. Carre Blanc
8. I Melt With You
7. Beyond the Black Rainbow
6. The Lady
5. Shame
4. The Artist
3. Bullhead
2. Melancholia
1. Oslo, August 31st (My review)

My Tentative Schedule

Thursday 11/3
7:00p J. Edgar
Friday 11/4
5:00p Hanaan
Saturday 11/5
1:15p Kinyarwanda
4:00p The Invader
7:00p Carnage
Sunday 11/6
1:30p Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
6:00p My Week With Marilyn
9:30p Secret Screening
Monday 11/7
1:15p Into the Abyss
4:00p Pina
7:00p An Evening with Pedro Almodovar – Law of Desire
Tuesday 11/8
1:30p Coriolanus
4:30p Jiro Dreams of Sushi
7:00p Jeff Who Lives at Home
10:00p The Zone
Wednesday 11/9
8:15p We Need to Talk About Kevin

Not sure if this awesome tilt-shifted vid has been floating around a while, but G.voice is killing it by putting this front and center on the Coachella page. How can you watch this and not want to go to the festival right away? Layaway plans are available now.

AFI Fest 2010 is once again an absolutely free film festival and this year’s lineup presents some very exciting offerings. All of the free advance tickets are gone but more tickets are released online the day before a screening at 10am and at the box office the day of the screening at 10am. Here is a quick look at some of the highlights:

This year’s fest include’s the LA premieres of a whole ton of movies that have played on the fest circuit. I’ve mentioned all of these before so I won’t spend too much time. On the Hollywood front there is Aronofsky’s Black Swan, John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, and the premiere of Ed Zwick’s Gyllenhall/Hathaway starrer Love and Other Drugs.

From the Asian film world, the fest will host LA prems of Miike’s 13 Assassins, Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Korean thriller The Housemaid, and the Cannes Palme d’Or winning Uncle Boonme Who Can Recall His Past Lives from Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

From the European continent comes Godard’s Film Socialisme, Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech, Nigel Cole’s Made in Dagenham, and the 3D documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Werner Herzog.

Blank City
Celine Danhier’s debut feature docu chronicles the indie film scene in late 1970s New York City. If you have seen Edo Bertoglio’s Basquiat starring Downtown 81, then you have an idea of the bombed out Lower East Side that directors like Jim Jarmusch and Lizzie Borden used as their backdrops. This looks fascinating. Congrats Aviva!

Barbershop Punk
Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, and many other notable musicians feature in this docu about fair use, big business, and the first amendment from first timers Georgia Sugimura Archer and Kristin Armfield.

Karamay
Xu Xin’s documentary questions the Chinese society in the wake of a horrible catastrophe that left 100s of school children dead because they had to wait for government officials to leave a burning building before they could escape. Not only does the subject matter sound pretty heavy, but the film clocks in at a hair short of 6 hours!

Casino Jack
Kevin Spacey plays Jack Abramoff in the dramatization of the documentary by the same name, This film is directed by the very recently departed George Hickenlooper.

Boy
Los Angeles finally gets a chance to see Taika Waititi’s (Eagle Vs. Shark, Flight of the Conchords) wonderfully funny coming of age story about a Maori boy in rural New Zealand. Do yourself a favor and get to see this one as it isn’t likely to get much of a release elsewhere.

Amigo
Chris Cooper stars as an American Colonel in John Sayles’ latest film which is set in the Philippine-American war.

Submarino
Thomas Vinterberg returns to Danish filmmaking with this drama about estranged brothers.

The Myth of the American Sleepover
Playing the Young Americans section, David Robert Mitchell’s indie debut is a story of teen love set in modern metro Detroit.

Just threw some pics up on flickr from some of my summer activities. A lot seem to be sports related – like this shot from the Sounders vs. Chivas USA game above.

Lemme know what you think.

Link

This year’s LAFF has been moved from its recent Westwood home to the considerably more interesting Downtown Los Angeles. Theaters include The Downtown Independent, The Orpheum, and the Regal 14 at LA Live. This should be a good opportunity to check out some interesting venues. Here’s a look at a few highlights, beginning with the flicks I’m going to try to hit. Lemme know if you are interested in joining.

MANDRILL – This raucous Chilean spy actioner was one of my favorite films at the awesome Fantastic Fest last Fall. I would definitely be into seeing it again if we had a good crew.
Screens Tues 6/22, 7:45pm, Regal & Sat 6/26, 10pm, Independent

TINY FURNITURE – This NYC Indie by Lena Dunham was the darling of this year’s SXSW.
Screens Sat 6/19, 7:30pm, Regal & Mon 6/21, 10pm, Regal

THE TILLMAN STORY – I missed this Afghan War docu at Sundance but it has been lauded as one of the year’s best. It is directed by Amir Bar-Lev who directed My Kid Could Paint That and co-produced the Sundance hit Katrina docu Trouble the Water.
Screens Sat 6/19, 9:35pm, Regal & Sun 6/20, 1:30pm, Independent

AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT LEVON HELM – Jacob Hatley’s docu about The Band drummer/vocalist got some great write-ups at SXSW.
Screens Sun 6/20, 7pm, Regal & Fri 6/25, 9:45pm, Regal

MONSTERS – This sounds like a pretty interesting indie sci-fi about a pair battling across an alien infested swath of land between Mexico and America.
Screens Weds 6/23, 10:15pm, Regal & Sat 6/26, 7pm, Independent

PARADE – LAFF has a few good Japanese offerings this year including this Tokyo drama from Isao Yukisada.

GOLDEN SLUMBER – Another of LAFF’s Japanese offerings is this absurd sounding adventure by Yoshihiro Nakamura.

UDON – Filed under ones that got away, this 2006 comedy by Katsuyuki Motohiro revolves around Japan’s famous noodle. It is presented by LA Times’ Jonathan Gold.

DOG SWEAT – This film, shot clandestinely in Iran, is a verite examination of current Iranian society.

THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS – Expect this 6/23 FORD THEATER screening of the Star Wars creator docu to be a raucous time.

ANIMAL KINGDOM – David Michod’s Australian crime drama was a big hit at Sundance. It is well worth checking out in its LA premier.

THE RED CHAPEL – Another Sundance flick, this docu takes you into North Korea with a group of Danish absurdist political street performers.

DOWN TERRACE – I’ve mentioned this British indie a few times since its Fantastic Fest unspooling. It bodes well that it made the LAFF program as well.

FOUR LIONS – This British Office style terrorist comedy was one of the first flicks I reviewed at Sundance. It certainly has its funny moments.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN – Davis Guggenheim’s public school Sundance docu is currently known as WAITING FOR because of Time Warner’s reluctance to allow them to use “Superman” in the title. Pfff

PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE – It’s not every day you get a chance to see this Tim Burton/Paul Reubens classic on the big screen. Reubens is scheduled to to be there in person.
Screens Sat 6/26, 1pm, The Orpheum

VCFest – now known as the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival – begins today at a variety of sites across LA. Here is a quick look at a few of the notable films on the fest’s slate:

The People I’ve Slept With – USA
Quentin Lee and Koji Sakai team up for this rollicking sex and identity comedy starring Karin Anna Cheung. This film serves as the fest’s U.S. Centerpiece.
Screens Sat 5/1 7:00pm at DGA

Bodyguards and Assassins – Hong Kong
VC’s closing night film is a big budget HK historic actioner directed by Teddy Chan. The film takes place in the wild west that was Hong Kong in 1906 and stars such notable HK actors as Donnie Yen, Tony Leung Ka Fai, and Simon Yam.
Screens Thurs 5/6 7:00pm at The Aratani (in Little Tokyo)

She, A Chinese – China
This film from female filmmaker Guo Xiaolu looks to be an interesting character piece about identitiy and gender roles in modern China. It is preceeded by the short film Let Fly by UCSB Film grad Laurie Tsou. Congrats Laurie!
Screens Sun 5/2 4:00pm at Sunset 5.

VC’s Digital Posse – USA
Speaking of UCSB Film grads, VC’s popular Armed with a Camera shorts program is back and includes the short film Slip and Slide by Ms. Emily Lu. A collection of 10 other short narratives and docus screen along side. Pretty cool.
Screens Weds 5/5 8:00pm at The Aratani (in Little Tokyo)

Clash – Vietnam
If you enjoyed 2007’s The Rebel (which I loved), then you might want to catch this actioner directed by The Rebel‘s 1st AD Le Thanh Son and starring The Rebel stars Johnny Nguyen and Veronica Ngo.
Screens Sun 5/2 7:00pm at DGA

Beijing Taxi – China
Female director Miao Wang has put together a modern day portrait of China’s capital from the perspective of three taxi drivers in the days preceding the 2008 Olympics.
Screens Sun 5/2 6:30pm at DGA

The Taqwacores – USA
Straight from critical acclaim at Sundance, Eyad Zahra’s story of a Pakistani-American punk rock and identity makes its LA debut at VC.
Screens Fri 4/30 10:00pm at DGA

Last Train Home – China
I was a big fan of this Chinese migration documentary at Sundance.
Screens Sat 5/1 3:30pm at Sunset 5

The Chinese Connection – Hong Kong
Don’t miss this free outdoor screening of the 1972 Bruce Lee classic. It screens in the Madang Courtyard (Western & 6th) on Friday 4/30 at 8:00pm.

Villon’s Wife – Japan
Tadanobu Asano and Takaku Matsu star in Kichitaro Negishi’s highly decorated drama set in 1947 Tokyo.
Screens Fri 4/30 7:30pm at Sunset 5 and Weds 5/5 4:30pm at Downtown Independent

The Mountain Thief – Philippines
This interesting sounding narrative explores the poorest of the poor who live in Manilla’s largest dump. Writer/Director Gerry Balasta went so far as to cast the actual inhabitants, teaching them how to act in the process.
Screens Sat 5/1 12:30pm at DGA and Sun 5/2 5:00pm at DGA

Adrift – Vietnam
“Bui Thac Chuyen’s seductive and atmospheric rumination on sexual awakening as modern day Vietnam enters a social and moral crossroad.”
Screens Weds 5/5 7:00pm at Downtown Independent

Red and White – Indonesia
This historical drama set against Indonesia’s 1947 struggle for independence boasts the highest budget of any Indonesian film and is said to have some pretty impressive battle scenes.
Screens (for FREE) Fri 4/30 5:00pm at DGA

Hope you can make some screenings.

Artist MADSTEEZ has completed one of the sickest mural’s I’ve ever seen and what’s best, it is all soccer! Even better – it’s in LA! I gotta go see this thing with my own eyes.

Thx Addy

No Huffington Post contributor Steven Nereo didn’t write it for this blog, but he pretty much nailed the assignment anyway.

My Los Angeles has nothing to do with the botox playground of shallow bluetooth-headset-clad knobs. Of course it is sometimes fun to joke about this element, but a weird aside is all that is in my Los Angeles. What people often fail to realize is that Los Angeles isn’t in your face like tighter cities so everything is an effort. If you don’t like the Beverly Center, skip it… forever. Don’t make the effort. You won’t miss it and it definitely won’t miss you.

The right choices include great friends and great people. Oceans to surf in and mountains to bike. It’s drunken taco trucks adventures at 2 a.m. and hungover ones at 2 p.m. The city that everyone loves to hate also happens to also be a city that loves to be loved, and loves you back like a three movie cuddle-fest with a rad person.

Amen brother!

Link

Thx Greg.

The AFI Film Festival rolls out next weekend and they are trying something quite new this year. Namely, they aren’t charging for tickets (they have also moved the location from Arclight to the Mann Chinese) . You can still buy a festival pass which guarantees entry to screenings – but they aren’t selling any regular screening tickets. Instead they are asking festival goers to either sign up for the free showings the want to attend or just show up and stand in line. The order form for free tix is here – but whoops… looks like I posted this a bit late and the free tix are pretty much all gone. Well if anyone is interested in trying to wait in line for the following screenings, let me know.

Highlights

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fri. Oct 30, 7:00 pm
The fest opens with the premiere of Wes Anderson’s puppet-astic tale that hits theaters Nov 12.

City of Life and Death
Sun. Nov 1, 1:00 pm
This arty Rape of Nanking drama premiered at TIFF to great reviews.

Precious
Sun. Nov 1, 7:00 pm
Everyone wants to see the festival darling of 2009 before it comes out Nov 6th – and you can see it for free at AFI.

Youth In Revolt
Tue. Nov 3, 10:15 pm
This Michael Cera starrer is sure to have a fun little run in the theaters – but apparently not until January.

The Road
Wed. Nov 4, 7:00 pm
Scary scary Viggo comes to theaters at the end of November – but he’ll be in person a few weeks early for this Gala tribute to him.

Transcendant Man
Thu. Nov 5, 4:00 pm
This documentary about inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil sounds quite interesting – and I don’t imagine it will have too long of a line.

Looking For Eric
Thu. Nov 5, 7:00 pm
How about a light hearted euro flick from the normally serious Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley)?

A Single Man
Thu. Nov 5, 7:00 pm
The closing night film is Tom Ford’s surprise hit from TIFF, set to hit theaters on Dec 11.

Check out this great site of local DJ podcasts – including #79 by our own Seth (aka DJ ESSO).

Nice job dude.

Link

Mr. Brainwash is a street artist in the vein of Banksy and Shepard Fairey. Last summer he had a great exhibition (more) at the old CBS studios in H.wood. It took some pics while there and after more than a year of the photos sitting in a folder on my hdd, I have finally gotten around to doin em up and posting them to my flickr.

Check em out.

Link

Thanks for your concerns but no, I am not on fire. The Mountains above LA most certainly are though and air quality is at an all time low.

A couple cool shots by okarol and many more here.

Wow amazing video from Cha Ching! How the hell did they get the likes of Julianne Moore, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Crudup, Vinnie Jones and Henry Rollins?

Thx Sasha for the link and congrats to your bros.

I can’t say I am the biggest P-Rod fan in the world – but I do love this commercial. This is the extended version which is even better than the 1 minute they were playing during the XGames. Bring on more LA love.

Wow I had no idea that Mitch Hedberg had written and directed a film. Check out the Wikipedia on Los Enchiladas! (imdb) for proof. The film will be screening at LA’s Silent Movie Theater as part of a Mitch Hedberg tribute this Sunday. While I won’t be going – I sure imagine it will be a fun event.

I’m happy to present a continuation of the MyLA series with this guest post by SoCal native George Velasco. George has since moved on to the cloudier confines of the east coast (currently DC) but has been kind enough to give us his take on the city of angels.

My LA is omelets after midnight at Mel’s diner after a show at The Palace. My LA is fried chicken and waffles at 3am at Roscoe’s. My LA is meeting friends for a Lakers game at Staples Center, sitting in the last row loving every minute of it. My LA is wearing Jordan Farmar’s Laker jersey and not getting made fun of. My LA is ice cream and cookies at Diddy Reese. My LA is drinking Tecate on a friend’s balcony in Los Feliz. My LA is a late night kiss on the Santa Monica Pier . My LA is Saturdays at the Rose Bowl. My LA is UCLA basketball. My LA is short skirts. My LA is smoking cigars while watching the sunset on Venice Beach. My LA is seeing punk rock shows at the Roxy. My LA is the Town House bar in the 90291. My LA is tattoos on Ocean Front Walk. My LA is the guy holding the 99 cent pizza sign on the Venice boardwalk. My LA is the paintings of Brian Mylius. My LA is a can of Colt 45 at Stinkers and a tumbler of Basil Hayden’s at 4100. My LA is a mexican restaurant in Silver Lake. My LA is a rendezvous at the poolside bar at the Roosevelt Hotel. My LA is free parking in Beverly Hills. My LA is shy models at The Coffee Bean. My LA is Dodgerdogs at Dodger Stadium. My LA is t-bone steaks at Norm’s at any hour of the day. My LA is Cabernet Sauvignon with an intriguing stranger. My LA is wearing sunglasses inside a restaurant. My LA is wearing your sweatshirt hood up. My LA is driving a 1980’s convertible down Sunset Blvd while listening to The Doors. My LA is the view from the Getty Center. My LA is USC sorority girls with a sense of humor. My LA is presetting your car stereo to KROQ, KXLU, KLAC, and KCRW. My LA is Henry Waxman. My LA is Larry Flynt. My LA is art. My LA is love. My LA is family. My LA is home. My LA is better looking than Boston.

Westwood’s LA Film Fest is upon us again – running this year from June 18 to 28. As normal, it is a rather svelte fest (at least compared to the bloated bastard still going on in Seattle). Most of the highlights seem to be Sundance hold overs but there are also quite a few interesting sounding int’l flicks that I’m hearing about for the first time. It would have been cool to see a few Cannes premiers make the quick turnaround debut but hey. Here are my highlights starting with a few I hope to catch. Lemme know if anything interests you.

We Live in Public
I mentioned this Ondi Timoner (Dig!) doc in my SIFF’09 write-up and now plan to check it out. This Sundance premiering story of a group of people living underground and in front of the cameras plays in the evenings on Sun. 6/21 and Weds. 6/24. Lemme know if you can make either one.

Ponyo
Mentioned way back in September, Hayao Miyazaki’s newest animated masterpiece is the closing night gala for this year’s LAFF. That means it costs $100 to go to. F-that! I’m just gonna have to do my best to finaggle my way in.

High-Rise
I’ve been fascinated by Brazil’s high rise upper class since watching Manda Bala a few years back. This film claims to focus on exactly that. It plays in the evening Sat. 6/20 and as a matinee Sun. 6/21.

It Might Get Loud
Davis Guggenheim’s latest doc gives the viewer an backstage pass for a jam session between Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White. Sounds Awesome. It plays Fri. 6/19 evening and Mon. 6/22 afternoon.

Sex, Booze, and Copywriting: Behind the Scenes of Mad Men
This conversation with Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and some of the cast is sure to sell out. It happens at 7pm on Weds. 6/24. Lemme know ASAP if any of you MMMs (Mad Men Maniacs) wanna go.

More from LAFF’09 after the jump