The best TV show you've never heard of. | Photo courtesy of Channel 4 Television Corporation Spaced: The Complete Series Robot Chicken: Star Wars 21 Kiss of the Spider Woman (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Vampyr - Criterion Collection High and Low - Criterion Collection Picture This! Two Tickets to Paradise The Last Winter Brutal Massacre: A Comedy... [continue]

Once again, Batman flouts the law in his pursuit of vigilante justice. | Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Is there anyone in America who didn't see The Dark Knight this weekend? The second chapter in director Chris Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise grossed a stunning $155.4M this weekend, eclipsing the old record of $151.1M set by Spider-Man 3 in 2007. In a cagey piece of counter-programming by Universal, Mamma Mia! brought in a higher... [continue]

Will Ledger win the Oscar? | Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers It's already a foregone conclusion that The Dark Knight will set some sort of record this weekend at the box-office. The only question is how much it will eventually make. 130 million bucks? 140 million? More? The buzz surrounding the film has been almost universally positive so expect a great time as you settle into your seat and enter the dark world of Batman... [continue]

Tired of bloated blockbusters? See this movie today. | Photo courtesy of Lionsgate They really don't make movies like The Bank Job anymore. In fact, it almost feels like a relic from another age with its focus on plot and character development instead of...well, lingering takes on movie stars (see Hancock). After a surprisingly strong theatrical run, The Bank Job is hands-down the movie you should be renting/buying today. If it has nothing else (and... [continue]

In a huge jump from the original Hellboy film, Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy 2: The Golden Army pulled in a big $35.8M to win the weekend box office race. Fellow superhero flick Hancock finished a close second with $33M ($165M) despite the fact that it's mostly derivative, crappy and overlong at only 92 minutes. Newcomer Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D finished a decent third with $20.5M followed by the super Wall-E... [continue]

Good to have Hellboy back, but can we get better make-up for Abe? | Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures Hellboy was one of the real surprises of 2004--a rollicking interpretation of the Dark Horse comic featuring a knockout performance by Ron Perlman in the title role and great turns by Selma Blair and Doug Jones/David Hyde Pierce as his fellow do-gooders. The whole crew returns in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Freed from the strictures... [continue]

We just had to camp at an ancient burial ground,didn't we?! | Photo courtesy of Dreamworks The Ruins deserves credit for not going the easy route and cutting out all the sex and violence to get a PG-13 rating. More horror movies should follow this traditional template and bring some measure of order back to the universe. Stop-Loss was one of many Iraq-themed movies that got steamrolled at the box office, but it's worth a... [continue]

In a pathetic display of media-generated conformity, audiences rewarded the witless Hancock with a crushing victory at the box-office over the long 4th of July weekend. The inspiration-free actioner tallied $66M ($107.3M) to overwhelm the infinitely superior Wall-E ($33.4M/$128.1M) and further enshrine milquetoast weirdo Will Smith as the putative king of the box-office. Angeline Jolie's vile Wanted finished a distant third, as Jolie's hot, naked ass only managed to garner $20.6M ($90.7M) in its... [continue]

Please see this movie instead of that awful Will Smith garbage! | Photo courtesy of Sony Classics If you don't want to deal with the crowds that will invariably shuffle mindlessly into Hancock, take the time see a movie that is actually funny and entertaining. Take the time to see The Wackness. Ben Kingsley's long streak of great roles continues. Here he plays a stoned psychiatrist to Josh Peck. Peck was forgettable in Drillbit Taylor,... [continue]

There is no life more punishing than that of the young, successful actor. | Photo courtesy of Studio Canal While many fans of Wong Kar-wai were disappointed by My Blueberry Nights, there's no resisting its lush art direction and cinematography. Norah Jones, however, may have been too inspired a choice. To any who think the Apatow stamp is a guarantee of funny, please watch Drillbit Taylor (if you can make it through the whole, dreary... [continue]

Wall-E prior to the apocalypse that destroyed humanity. | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Wall-E continued Pixar's long streak of box-office success this weekend as it hauled in $62.5M to top the vile action flick Wanted ($51.1M). The race wasn't expected to be nearly so close, but Wanted somehow managed to blast past early estimates and do huge business in a rare hit for Angelina Jolie. Hold-overs staked out the rest of the top 10:... [continue]

But where the hell is Fisher Stevens? | Photo courtesy of Disney Sooner or later Pixar has to release a dud, right? They can't just keep releasing great film after great film can they? Won't the odds eventually catch up to them? Maybe not. The early critical reception for Wall-E has been nothing short of ecstatic. If you thought the first ten, dialogue-free minutes of There Will Be Blood were pure cinematic brilliance, wait till... [continue]

Photo courtesy of Loot It has been said about some documentaries that they would seem unbelievable were they not actually true. Loot is just such a film. Its premise is so spectacular, its story so absurd and compelling that your mouth ultimately just falls open as you watch it all unfold. The film begins with presumptive treasure hunter Lance Larson in the Philippines. He's at a dig site looking for gold that the Japanese may... [continue]

Lauren McKnight stars in 'HottieBoombaLottie' | Photo courtesy of Aquarius PR Two of the great things about film festivals is that not only do you get to see smaller films that don't typically make it into theaters, but you also get to meet the talent involved in the picture. In HottieBoombaLottie, Lauren McKnight stars as Cleo, the tomboyish cousin of Ethan (Seth Packard) who decides to become more feminine in order to capture his attention.... [continue]

Carolla scores! | Photo courtesy of the Weinstein Company Most people have probably pegged Adam Carolla as little more than a snarky morning DJ, but The Hammer reveals him to be a talented and occasionally inspired filmmaker. His inclusion of his longtime, almost unintelligible friend Oswaldo into the film was a stroke of pure genius. In Bruges didn't break any new storytelling ground but it was a completely satisfying piece of indie pie. Brendan Gleeson... [continue]

Selma Blair stars in Lori Petty's 'The Poker House' | 'Photo courtesy of The Poker House In The Poker House actor Lori Petty slides into the director's chair and delivers a searing autobiographical portrait of three young sisters living on the margins. With a mother strung out on drugs, a father figure who is a pimp and a house filled with gamblers, crooks and johns, Agnes lives a tragic and turbulent life. The film explores... [continue]

Funnier than the actual movie. | Photo courtesy of Ask You Movie Review Given the choice of two-profile comedies, audiences chose Get Smart by a wide margin this weekend. The Steve Carell comedy opened strongly, pulling in $39.1M in its opening frame. Kung Fu Panda showed great legs in its third week, climbing back into second place with a take of $21.7M ($155.5M) while last week's champ, The Incredible Hulk fell back to third... [continue]

Anne and Steve run to a screening of Iron Man | Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Steve Carrell is one of the funniest guys on television but it looks like he's dropped another turd on the big screen. It's never a good sign when the preview to a comedy is unable to generate more than a few, soft giggles from audiences, but that appears to be the case for Get Smart. Anne Hathaway is a... [continue]

Photo courtesy of Sarah Carter Many of you probably first remember seeing Sarah Carter as the recipient of Drama and Turtle's affection in the memorable Sundance episode of Entourage. She's since gone on to work regularly, most recently as a member of the cast of the CBS drama Shark. On June 19th, she and a group of intrepid mountaineers climbed Mount Shasta in an effort to raise money for the Breast Cancer Fund. LAist spoke... [continue]

Driving Miss Daisy 2: The Revenge | Photo courtesy of Universal The Los Angeles Film Festival officially kicks off tonight with the premiere of the awful-looking Angelina Jolie action flick, Wanted. It's something about assassins, tattoos, curving bullets and explosions--you know, standard indie fare. Starting tomorrow, the festival begins in earnest with films and events rolling at 18 locations all around Los Angeles. Most, however, are relegated to Westwood and the surrounding neighborhoods. While... [continue]