City parks not nice enough for you? Dislike the neighborhood strip joint's employees dancing in their skivvies? Want your street to be renamed? Have beef with big time Hollywood actors? You could go ahead and file a steaming pile of lawsuits and demand cash, which is what one Huntington Beach lady has been busy doing. more ›

He's "Billy Madison," with some "Anger Management," issues: Actor Adam Sandler, who rose to fame as a "Saturday Night Live" cast member and in top-grossing comedy hit films was honored today with the 2,431st star embedded in Hollywood's iconic Walk of Fame. more ›

Pixar's Toy Story 3 enjoyed a very strong second weekend and easily claimed the weekend box office crown with a hefty haul of $59M ($226.5M). The terrible Grown Ups was a distant second with $41M, but that was still twice as much cash as the disappointing Knight and Day ($20.5). The Kung Fu Kid continues to do well ($15.4M | $135.6M) while The A-Team will struggle to hit the magical $100M barrier ($6M | $62.8M). more ›

So let me get this straight: take Adam Sandler (not funny), Kevin James (not funny), David Spade (once funny), Chris Rock (once funny) and Rob Schneider (once sort of funny) and you get a summer comedy blockbuster? I would almost see Sex and the City 2: Venality Reigns before seeing Grown Ups. What I will see, though, is Knight and Day. Cruise and Diaz were solid together in Vanilla Sky, and they look finely matched in this over-the-top actioner. Still think that we need troops in Iraq and Afghanistan? Watch Restrepo and ponder the reality that Americans are dying for virtually nothing every day overseas. more ›

Still not quite sure why so many branded Funny People an unmitigated disaster. Sure, it wasn't as big of a box-office performer as your standard Apatow or Sandler joint, but it was hardly a huge bomb ($51M). Plus, the reviews were fairly solid across the board (68% positive on RT). Something tells me that this is a film that people will find on DVD and VOD, and it will eventually become a basic-cable classic. It's not saying much, but Angels & Demons was a hell of a lot better than The Da Vinci Code. If you want to see a great movie that takes place in the same basic neighborhood, try out the fascinating Gomorrah. more ›

If you're planning to see one movie this weekend, you should re-jigger your schedule and see four! Funny People would be an excellent place to start. It's Rogen, Apatow and Sandler's best film to date (LAist review here). Sure, it's not a straight comedy, but it is damn funny. You'll leave the film in a good mood, but that will quickly turn into righteous anger once you've seen The Cove. The best movie at the Sundance Film Festival this year (LAist reviews here and here), it's a thrilling and sad documentary about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. I mean seriously, how many eco-documentaries have scenes inside ILM? The Cove is that cool. More to the point, it almost feels like a narrative film with all the intrigue and plot that go into capturing the wrenching footage of dolphins being mercilessly pitchforked in the water by giggling fisherman. See it! more ›

The lazy response to Judd Apatow's Funny People will be that it isn't as, well, funny as his two previous films, The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up. The subtext of that observation, of course, is that it isn't as good as those other films, and that is a howlingly wrong presumption. True, Funny People is not Apatow's funniest film, but -- true also -- it is his best. While not a straight comedy, it has plenty of laughs and inspired lunatic performances (Eric Bana, in particular, is a revelation). What it also has, though, is an interest in exploring the intersection of mortality and human failing, and it does so with great clarity and a requisite lack of pity. more ›

If you've got under a hundred dollars in your bank account, a date at the movies is usually out of the question. You stare longingly at LAist's film calendar every week: the Arclight's obviously a fortune, but even AMCs & revival houses run $15-$20 for two tickets. Add popcorn & soda? Ugh. This is news to no one, but if you're in the South Bay? WOW! The Warner Grand Theatre is looking out for you! Even if you're not - it's probably still cheaper to drive to San Pedro, plunk down a Hamilton and enjoy 2 tickets, 2 sodas & 2 popcorns (single tickets are a whopping $3 - cheaper than a DVD rental). more ›

If you are looking for an evening of light entertainment with the whole family, what better choice is there than Doubt? I love priest-rape dramas. Are you like me -- do you marvel at the rare ability of Adam Sandler to not ever make you laugh at anything? Ever. As far as I'm concerned, Keanu Reeves probably would have done a better job of playing the giant robot in The Day the Earth Stood Still than his human counterpart. Yes Man = another slip down the rope for Jim Carrey. The bottom is sneaking up on you, Jim! I wish my life was like Donkey Punch (eg. hot, naked babes on big yachts). Just without all the rape and murder. more ›

Christmas darling ($7M/$43.7M). more ›

In a bit of a surprise, ($13.4M/$39M). more ›

M. Night Shyamalan continues his increasingly rapid descent towards irrelevance with the silly, overblown , today is an ideal buying opportunity. more ›

Large crowds of children propelled finished a distant fifth ($9.2M/$37.6M). more ›

I understand the appeal of Steven Seagal far more than I ever will that of Adam Sandler. I've hated him in his comedies just as much as I have in his dramas. In fact, I've yet to make it through the entirety of even though Paul Thomas Anderson is high on my list of favorite directors. Considering all that, there's obviously no chance that I'll be seeing You Don't Mess with the Zohan. more ›

One of the great things about living in Los Angeles is that there are countless opportunities to see movies in advance for free. Spend any afternoon at the Burbank Town Center or the Third Street Promenade and you'll see people hanging around movie theaters with clipboards and flyers for upcoming screenings. Next week, as part of MTV's Sneak Peak Week, five of the summer's biggest comedies will be screening around town. All you have to do is show up early (real early!) with a ticket and get in line. Bring a book and an iPod. Details below: more ›

This weekend's new movie offererings are so spectacularly awful that I felt compelled to lead with the dreamy 1961 French classic, Last Year At Mariendbad, which opens this weekend at the Nuart. You'll probably walk out of the theater wondering what in the hell you just saw (it's trippy and plotless), but at least you'll be challenged a little bit. That certainly won't be the case with Jessica Alba's latest snoozer, The Eye. This "horror" movie is, of course, a re-make of a better Japanese film. Please Jesus, make this trend and this actress go away. more ›

A long time ago, but right around this time of year, I was sitting in a living room with a record collector pal, poring through the bins of seasonal vinyl from the likes of Jethro Tull, Merle Haggard and Fear. My friend looked up from his fourth or so glass of nog and remarked, "What am I listening to all this Jesus stuff for? I should put on the Blue Oyster Cult Hanukkah album."... more ›

Pixar's long streak of superb movies is starting to feel vaguely satanic, but I'm willing to keep embracing evil as long as it's this rich and funny. is finally on DVD so prepare for 720p vidcaps of Biel ass. more ›

Surf's Up was actually better than Happy Feet but, as my grandpa used to always tell me, the second Penguin-themed animated movie never does as well as the first. 28 Weeks Later may lack the novelty of 28 Days Later, but it's just as tense and terrifying. The fate of Robert Carlyle is truly awful. Amazingly, even Steve Carrell can be unfunny sometimes. YHWH is truly powerful. John Dahl never gets the rich praise... more ›

Come on Jimmy Fallon, just because you're some washed up SNL'er with a frightfully unlucky film carreer, and no chance of making anyone laugh, that does NOT give you a license to keep on pretending you're the Adam Sandler mini-me. Fallon is going to marry Drew Barrymore's business partner of ten years, after meeting on the set of that movie where Jimmy was doing a Sandler role. I'm sure she's a nice lady, whoever she... more ›

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry eked out a win this weekend, just besting Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The moronic Sandler vehicle earned 34.7 million versus 32.1 million for the latest, infinitely superior Harry Potter installment (now at 207.5M). My guess is that the release of Deathly Hallows cost Order of the Phoenix a second consecutive weekend crown (I still can't believe that Voldermort turned out to be Harry's father!). The other new wide release, Hairspray, pulled in a decent 27.8 million. Travolta is back! Again. more ›

Adam Sandler and Kevin James, although not gay, have great on-screen chemistry in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Throw in one of the best comedic performances of Sandler's career and you've got a movie that everyone is going to be talking about this weekend. Perhaps it's his recent foray into serious roles that has made Sandler a more seasoned actor, bringing fresh ideas and nuances into his comedic performances -- whatever it is, his character in this movie is sure to please everyone. more ›

Man, didn't you just love "Freaks and Geeks"? Weren't you pissed when it got cancelled, almost as pissed as you were when they cancelled "Arrested Development"? Or, if you discovered it post-axe, weren't you pissed there was only one season to savor on DVD? But then The Forty-Year-Old Virgin came out and was really funny and did really well at the box office, and you were still pissed about "Freaks and Geeks", but at... more ›

5:46 - Total number of celebs who have visited the Blogghetto: 0. 5:44 - It's time for the next movie spoof, something about the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 5:41 - Sacha Baron Cohen (looking handsome as ever) berates Will Ferrelll for not calling him after their tender on-set moment in Talladega Nights. He pulls Will Ferrell in for a long, shameless lip-lock that leaves them both rolling on the floor like fictional teenagers in a... more ›

To say kids today have everything is an understatement. And the spoils betrothed to the youngsters of Orange County make "My Super Sweet 16" look like the first days of "Survivor". For some reason, though, the rest of the country has been leading the way when it comes to young female high school teachers banging their students... until now. According to CBS2, a 31 year old English teacher from Mission Viejo was arrested for... more ›

This summer has seen its share of somewhat-successful movies. Now comes the Wayans Brothers' "Little Man", which was #2 at the box office last weekend, second only to the record-breaking monster "Pirates II". more ›

+ Apple to staff Best Buy? The electronics giant has a lot of things going for it -- decent prices, good selection, excellent extended warranties -- so imagine if the computer sales staff was trained and managed by Apple? more ›