the BEAT of the week: PLAY MOCA.

Art and music come together once again in L.A. with PLAY MOCA, a three-part multimedia series event happening at the Geffen Contemporary in downtown. IAMSOUND Records is curating the shows, bringing up and coming musical acts like Salem, Zola Jesus and Lord Huron. Meanwhile, there'll be art exhibitions from Drew Barrymore (yes, that one!); a performance from the L.A. Dance Project / Benjamin Millepied and Rodarte; and DJing by Ariel Pink and Health.

All hip, all free. Get on reserving your tickets, though -- they'll go quickly! Get more info on the upcoming shows here.

PLAY MOCA takes place July 27, August 17, and August 24 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, located at 152 N. Central Ave. in downtown.

-- Chau Tu

Do It. Bid in the Crafts For a Cause auction.

In just pure devotion and stamina alone, the relief efforts for Haiti have been truly awe-inspiring. The country still needs help in rebuilding, though, so here's another creative fundraiser coming your way, which--even if you've already donated--should easily convince you to continue.

For Crafts For a Cause, Binki Shapiro--member of Little Joy, an indie-rock band headed by her boyfriend and Strokes drummer Fab Moretti--rounded up a few of her famous and artsy friends to create one-of-a-kind creations for an unbeatable kind of auction, with all proceeds going to filmmaker Paul Haggis' charity Artists for Peace and Justice.

The line-up of contributors range from the famous to the more-famous, and the items being auctioned are quite, well, priceless. Natalie Portman is offering a signed pair of ballet slippers she wore in the to-be-released film Black Swan, Spike Jonze has an original drawing to sell, Daft Punk (!) is giving away limited-edition and autographed “Daft Punk 1000% Kubricks” toy robots, Mark Ronson is offering his personal production services on an original song (!!). And that's just naming a few items, with more coming in, it seems.

Surely once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are at hand, and it all goes to a good cause! So get out your wallets and get bidding: the auction officially begins today and ends on Mar. 27 at 3pm PST. And if you win that Mark Ronson-produced song, we'd love to hear it! (and join you in the studio?? Ronson's a stud!)

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Drew Barrymore decorating a camera for auction, courtesy of Crafts for a Cause

Check It. A book and two films.

Leslie Caron (An American in Paris, Gigi) is discussing and signing her new memoir, Thank Heaven, at where else but a place of worship? The Vroman's Bookstore Friday night event will be held at the All Saints Church in Pasadena. In the book, the Golden Age actress shares stories about everyone from Gene Kelly to Warren Beatty.

All Saints Church is located at 132 N Euclid Ave. in Pasadena. Free. Doors open at 6 p.m., event begins at 7 p.m. Book price, $25.95.

At the movie theater this weekend, we have (aside from Up in the Air) the choice of: Everybody's Fine or Brothers. Barrymore, Beckinsale and De Niro, or Gyllenhaal, Portman and Maguire? For a couple of films that I have very little interest in seeing, these are impressive lineups.

With the former, you have the likely feel good family/holiday theme going on--in the vain of the flawless Planes, Trains and Automobiles and maybe some Home for the Holidays disfunction thrown in for good measure. The man who played Jack Byrnes (among many, many other great characters) needs no explanation, and Drew Barrymore is just plain adorable.

The latter appears to have the over-the-top domestic drama of, say, Enough, with a hint of Coming Home? Director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In America) and screenwriter David Benioff's (25th Hour, The Kite Runner) involvement definitely help the case, along with the fact that Natalie Portman can do no wrong.

Choose wisely, my friends.

Or just stay in and rent a Disney classic in honor of Walt, whose birthday was December 5.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: www.artfiles.art.com