More than perhaps any weekend in recent memory, Americans are going to spend their money on the wrong movies starting today. The Hurt Locker is a vibrant, thrilling film about a bomb squad unit in Iraq. It ratchets tension so tightly you'll feel like you can barely breathe and features a star-making performance by Jeremy Renner. And yet it will likely be ignored by audiences. Similarly -- especially now given recent events in Iran -- The Stoning of Soraya M. is a film that everyone should see. Based on the actual murder of an Iranian woman falsely accused of adultery, it's a potent reminder of how little freedom still exists in the Islamic Republic. more ›

On a mid-summer night every year for two decades, some of the biggest names in basketball and Hollywood were summoned to the hardwood by Magic Johnson and a good cause. Last year, Magic stepped down and handed over the torch to Baron Davis and Paul Pierce, two NBA All-Stars and native Angelenos. Sunday night at USC's Galen Center, the Davis/Pierce administration carried on the tradition of sloppy yet utterly entertaining basketball for charity for the... more ›

If you're gonna see a movie in this town, there really is no better place to do that than at Mann's Chinese Theater. They've had a digital projection system for awhile now, the sound is great, and the experience is just incomparable. Now we know people will wave their Arclights and their The Bridges in our face, but to them we say, "Bite us." more ›