A&E

You wouldn't think a film with a title as blunt as "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" would be this season's mushiest movie, but there is an undeniable charm sprinkled throughout Kevin Smith's latest post-Jersey flick, somewhere between the anal sex and bubbles blown from below the belt.

After countless beta teases and an aggravating world-wide delay, Media Molecule's "LittleBigPlanet" is finally accessible for all gamers who own a Playstation 3, and it has been well worth the wait. This game is beyond phenomenal; it has so greatly exceeded expectations since its release last week that a sequel is already in the works.

Reviews: Snow Patrol's "A Hundred Million Suns"; Bloc Party's "Intimacy."

Jigsaw has returned with yet another disciple ready to take on his work in the much-anticipated fifth installment of the "Saw" series, "Saw V." Like clockwork, Lionsgate releases a new "Saw" movie every Halloween, and diehard fans have come to anticipate a new effort every October.

In 1980, the revolutionary album "Back in Black" was released, packed with sharp, staccato riffs and punkish screams. Now, 28 years later, that infectious sound has returned. AC/DC has rolled back the years, and once again brought out the schoolboy outfit to create "Black Ice," which can be considered as the sequel to Back in Black.

A crowd of eager punk rockers, hipsters and music fans gathered at UC Irvine last Tuesday to participate in a question and answer session with legendary musician Ian MacKaye, organized by the non-profit campus group Acrobatics Everyday. MacKaye is best known in the music world as the frontman of "straight edge" punk bands such as Minor Threat, The Teen Idles, Fugazi and The Evens. He is also the founder and owner of the independent rock label Dischord Records.

t seems as though with the release of "Synecdoche, New York," the inevitable and long-awaited directorial debut from one of cinema's most prominent writers has finally come to pass. Charlie Kaufman creates a world where he plays puppet master for not only the verbal level of character interaction, but for the film's overall display as well. Kaufman's work is enhanced by the truly all-star cast, which runs the gamut of Oscar worthies to independent film starlets. While the audience experiences the stellar script materializing before its eyes, the content does, however, veer off course as things wind down into overly symbolic and somewhat impractical referential gestures.

Nintendo has a tin ear for music games. The latest, "Wii Music," from its "Touch Generations" series, can't carry a tune beyond "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

ASUCI and Southern California-based production company MopTop Lobster presented Monday Night Comedy at the Anthill Pub's fourth show of the fall quarter this past Monday. Featuring five comedians, jokes ranged from political humor to stories about watching pornography.

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts presented its annual Gassmann Electronic Music Series at Winifred Smith Hall, featuring musician, composer and new UC Irvine professor Kojiro Umezaki, on Oct. 15. Umezki, who presented his riveting program "Alternate," showcasing the beauty of the Shakuhachi, a Japanese end-blown bamboo flute. Like a painter, Umezaki wields his Shakuhachi to create one unifying masterpiece that heightens the senses.

There's an unspoken desire in most of mankind to live a life of unconditional love and perpetual care. Parallel to that lies the fear of being utterly forgotten and ultimately ignored without reason. First-time film director Philippe Claudel delves into these underlying themes with "I've Loved You So Long."

Keane's "Perfect Symmetry"; Of Montreal's "Skeletal Lamping"