I walked into Alice in Wonderland prepared to be completely underwhelmed. Something about Burton + Lewis Carroll + Depp seemed too on the nose for my taste. And yet -- mostly due to the fantastic performance of Mia Wasikowska -- I enjoyed the film far more than I ever expected. more ›

A trio of newcomers stormed the box-office this weekend, thoroughly knocking down the mighty Avatar from its lofty aerie. The rancid and cynical Valentine's Day led the pack with a well undeserved $52.4M. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Very Long Title pulled in a solid $31.1M to edge out the better-than-expected The Wolfman ($30.6M). After that it was the aforementioned Avatar ($22M | $659.6M) and the moronic Dear John ($15.3M | $53.1M). more ›

Sure the reviews haven't exactly been stellar, but I'm really looking forward to The Wolfman. Benicio + Tony + Emily + (most importantly) Rick Baker = my ass in the seat opening weekend! Thank God it is rated R for "bloody horror violence and gore." I'm sick and tired of these PG-13 horror flicks. Some might say that Valentine's Day is a cynical attempt to cash in on an all-star cast even though the underlying film is, in fact, awful. Oh wait, I would be saying that. Please avoid this film, America! more ›

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For what seems like the 300th time this year, Hollywood is giving us a movie based on a graphic novel. That movie is 30 Days of Night and stars the lethally inexpressive Josh Hartnett as a small-town sheriff charged with the task of protecting Barrow, Alaska from a rampaging horde of hungry (or is thirsty?) vampires. All I can say is, "at least it's rated R". I'll probably sit this one out and wait... more ›

This obituary was written by Josh Strike, a new contributor to LAist.com. more ›