The 13^th annual City of Lights, City of Angels (COL•COA) film festival, a weeklong showcase for new French films, is underway in Los Angeles this week.

On day three of Coachella My Bloody Valentine threatened to burst a thousand eardrums. As we entered the festival site around 12:30 PM they were handing out complimentary earplugs in anticipation for the aural attack. Other highlights included a blood-splattered Fucked Up, an energetic Friendly Fires, and the incredibly strange Throbbing Gristle.

Super Furry Animals have been at the forefront of forward-thinking pop music for 15 years, and the band’s ninth album shows that they continue to be as committed to their craft as ever.

I’ve always been a firm believer that if he doesn’t have an amazing feature script, Michel Gondry should stick to making his brilliant short films and music videos. In my estimation, Gondry has made one great movie (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and several mixed to shitty ones (Human Nature, Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind). The brilliant Director’s Label series (which is reportedly kaput) put out a double-sided disc of Gondry excellence in 2003, but many of his videos were left out. Enter 2009 and witness the self-released second volume.

Criterion once again shines with this 3-disc release of French filmmaker Jean Painlevé’s scientific films, which largely feature underwater creatures such as the sea horse and the sea urchin. Not only is the set comprehensive, it’s also surprising, in that it also doubles as an essential release for Yo La Tengo fans.

Director Peter Bogdanovich is someone who showed a lot of promise in the ’70s only to have his talent/relevancy disappear in the ’80s (with the notable exception of Mask). He must have a lot of time on his hands now that he’s no longer guest-starring on The Sopranos, as he’s released director’s cuts of two of his films. One is a stone cold classic (The Last Picture Show) and the other (Nickelodeon) is maybe best left forgotten.

It may be a little too soon to be making a biopic on the life and death of The Notorious B.I.G.—aka Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher Wallace—but Notorious provides an oddly sympathetic take on an individual who, as displayed, seems to have been a bit of a selfish (and not-too-bright) prick. Biggie was talented, though, with a gift for words and rhymes. Soul Food director George Tillman, Jr. has a passion for the subject and fills the story with capable actors who disappear into their roles.

Day two of Coachella 2009 failed to top day one, in part because of a weak headliner. But the second day did feature strong sets from M.I.A., Jenny Lewis, and Fleet Foxes.

Coachella 2009 kicked off with strong sets from living legends Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney, as the crowd adjusted to a desert heat that was forecasted to get even hotter as the weekend went on.