When Chuck Norris goes to bed at night, he checks his closet for Clint Eastwood. Today's video lunch pays tribute to birthday boy Eastwood, the 81-year-old, ass kickingest, Academy Award winning director and producer and nominated actor who started his career on the TV series Rawhide, took a bite of spaghetti westerns and then got down with Dirty Harry. Industry moguls, tourists, and Grace all think he's a righteous dude. Also sharing the Clint's thunder today is Big Ben. The clock of clocks went into operation on this day in 1859. Look kids!! Big Ben, Parliament. more ›

Four years ago, Quentin Tarantino began a proud tradition of guest programming the New Beverly. Fellow film geeks have followed in his wake, including Edgar Wright (twice!), Eli Roth, Diablo Cody, Joe Dante (another two-timer) & even Peter Bogdanovich, and now the king's returned to his cinematic castle. QT's opening his private vaults for some of the grimiest, craziest, rarest exploitation to hit the silver screen - and luckily for us, they're staying open for a full month of March Madness! more ›

Last year, Paranormal Activity scared up the greatest ROI in Hollywood history. This weekend, Paranormal Activity 2 tries to recapture lightning in a bottle, and if this reaction to an Arclight preview screening is any indication, they've got it. more ›

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 ›

It should be noted that Comedy Central is now re-running "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" on Monday nights starting tonight | If you're going to tune into tonight's Clint Eastwood-fest on TCM, keep an eye out for character actor Eddie Garrett who plays a cop in Dirty Harry. Garrett was a regular on the TV series "Quincy" and "The Odd Couple" and was an accomplished photographer as a kid who published a book of his photos... more ›

No matter how hard I stare at my keyboard, I cannot escape the pull of the Oscars. The New Bev welcomes twice-nominated director Jason Reitman for its latest guestival. Since there's no official title for the program... more ›

There's nothing particularly great about Black Dynamite (it's no I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!), but it is a hell of a lot of fun. The normally dour Michael Jai White has a great time as the titular hero, and any movie featuring the fantastic Charlotte Stokely is worth a look. Remember when Gerard Butler was an intriguing actor on the rise -- around the time as Dear Frankie? Now it looks as if he's just cashing checks to pay for big houses. Sad. There's a great story about how the Weinstein Brothers leveraged The Secret Policeman's Ball to first build Miramax. Given the precarious state of the Weinstein Company, is Private Party yet another spin-off? Few directors have had a better run at a studio than Clint Eastwood has had at Warner Brothers. Wish I had that life. Big day at Criterion today. Open your wallets! more ›

This Valentine's Day, a dozen red roses may be out of the question, but a dozen dead schoolgirls is totally doable courtesy of The Red Riding Trilogy, unspooling in various installments at an exclusive Nuart engagement... more ›

After a week in limited release, Disney's The Princess and the Frog went wide this weekend and easily topped the box-office chart ($25M | $27.8M). See Hollywood -- traditionally animated films featuring African-American characters can succeed! The still-strong The Blind Side held onto second place ($15.4M | $150.2M), well ahead of the disappointing Invictus which debuted to $9M and only a so-so per-screen average of $4,275. New Moon continues to pull in squealing teenagers and lonely old women ($8M | $267.3M) while A Christmas Carol is proving to be a sturdier performer than originally thought ($6.8M | $124.4M). more ›

If ever a movie screamed Oscar-bait it is Invictus. Big-name cast? Check! Big-name director? Check! Poignant, life-affirming, yet complex story about human triumph? Check. The Princess and the Frog is significant because it is the first Disney film to feature an African-American lead. Thank God those racists at Disney were finally drummed out! The Lovely Bones was a, uh, lovely book that is apparently being blown up into this bloated thing by Peter Jackson. Peter -- less effects, more story. more ›

I was a big fan of Gran Torino when it originally dropped in theaters last year. The one complaint I constantly heard from those who didn't like it was that the young Asian actors weren't very good. My reply to them was that within the universe of the film, these kids had a less than perfect grasp of English so naturally they would struggle to speak. At any rate, Gran Torino was a great flick that you should definitely catch now if you missed it last year. The International and Crossing Over belong on the endangered species list of "Expensive adult dramas that don't make much money." The future of these movies is on DVD, I think. Too bad. more ›

By Gareen Darakjian, Special to LAist more ›

How is it that I 100% get the appeal of the Twilight books, but am completely mystified by the massive success of High School Musical 3? As far as I can see, HSM3 has only one thing going for it. Strange that an essentially clunky film like Gran Torino worked so well, while a seemingly fascinating film like Changeling fell flat. Speaking of movies not working, Body of Lies was about as disappointing as they get, huh? How on earth do you so badly waste the brilliant Russell Crowe? Choke was good, dirty fun. It's worth a rental. more ›

By now, everyone's sick of hearing about how the economy's in the toilet. But hey, sometimes it nets you cheap dinner and a free movie. If you're unemployed, that is. Then you'll want to be heading over to the old Aero, for the uncanny Boris Karloff's spookiest performances, the highly flappable combination of Laurel & Hardy & Fields, and more Ginger than a Shirley Temple - all on their dime (simply present your ID & EDD). For more current freebies, you could always set aside some time to learn something - how about the plight of women in Iran at The Hammer? Or the plight of our descendants stalked by cannibalistic humanoids at The Skirball? Suddenly the recession's a tad easier to bear. more ›

REDCAT screens Brigitte Cornand’s 1995 documentary on artist Chère Louise tonight at 8:30 pm. “Documentarian Brigitte Cornand first met Louise Bourgeois in 1994 and over the next dozen years made a trilogy of intimate videos about the iconic artist, now 97, through an idiosyncratic form of collaboration between filmmaker and subject. The first installment of the trilogy, Chère Louise (Dear Louise), traces the inspirations, autobiographical sources and everyday routines that shape Bourgeois’ powerful art.” Cornand will appear in person at the screening. more ›

After a month in limited release, Gran Torino finally rolled out nationwide and easily won the weekend box office crown ($29M/$40M). The sexist Bride Wars finished a distant second ($21.5M) followed by yet another dull PG-13 horror flick, The Unborn ($21M). Marley & Me slipped from the top spot but still had a decent weekend ($11.3M/$123.7M) as did Oscar favorite The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ($9.4M/$94.3M). more ›

With the Golden Globes just days away, now's your last chance to catch up. Best Picture contenders duke it out with directors in tow and--in the red corner--Best Supporting Actress nominee Marisa Tomeiiiii! The Best Foreign Language noms continue their rounds of the American Cinematheque; the films at the Aero and the filmmakers at the Egyptian. Swedish director Jan Troell is particularly vigilant, blazing a one-man invasion through these events and LACMA. After the awards, feed your jingoism with all-American auteurs Dennis Hopper, Stan Brakhage and Clint Eastwood. more ›

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

While 2008 was no 1999 in terms of truly amazing films, it was better than most may think. Last year, I went with a top 10 that was headed by the wondrous and magical . Accordingly, I've put them at the very top of my list. The rest are in alphabetical order. See each one of them and I promise you will have lived a better life once you're done. more ›

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood has finally fused his many previous cinema personas into something both grand and elegant. It belongs in the Oscar conversation (plus Clint sings!). Doubt was timelier when it opened onstage years back, but how do you miss anything featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep ( excepted)? The Day the Earth Stood Still might be worth watching if virtually anyone other than Keanu Reeves inhabited the central role. He's a likable schlumpf in a role that demands an actor with a quiet and menacing charisma. Michael Shannon anyone? more ›

The moronic ($6M). more ›

Disney's decision to move the ($6.9M/$78.1M) which continues to perform well despite my most fervent prayers. more ›

Will? Please make Anchorman 2 while you still can! | Photo courtesy of New Line Cinemas more ›

The Flat Stanley project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a Canadian schoolteacher. The project is based on the title character in Flat Stanley, a 1964 children's book. In the book, Stanley Lambchop is squished flat, which gives him unique abilities, like being able to slide under doors and travel in envelopes. The project is intended to increase literacy and educate children about geography. more ›

Welcome to a two-part review of the year’s best cookbooks. In part one, I’ll list five new books that inspired me in the kitchen in 2007…part 2 will include five rediscoveries that you might want to add to your shelf. more ›

He plays the part on TV but Drew Carey is not all games all the time. The host of both The Price is Right and Power of 10, Carey moonlights as one of Hollywood's most visible Libertarians (see also: Clint Eastwood, Trey Parker, Jason Reitman). Starting today, he's taking it broadband via the Reason Foundation's new online video channel "for free minds and free markets," Reason.tv. "We need Reason to help fight the stupid drug... more ›

A couple more days of this visual and mental assault. I've discovered that drinking really helps though. 7:30pm Where Eagles Dare TCM - Here's your chance to bypass most of the new and quite possibly very mediocre offerings this evening by watching this classic. Richard Burton is wooden and robotic in this good guys vs. the Nazis flick, Clint Eastwood is fantastic and there's lots of cool explosions and Nazis getting shot and stuff. 8:00pm... more ›

The TelePromTer-readers and out-of-touch-hate-mongers of the mainstream media thought that they were being super-cool by discussing/bitching about the presidential candidate debates that were posted on YouTube. So since that new, interesting, and youth-vote promoting aspect of the next election has been talked to death by the talking-heads, I have found these candidate related webpages to occupy me during my early in the ante meridian down-time: At SuperBook.com, you can go to their "Exotic Lines"... more ›

Though my allegiance has switched over to the Landmark, many film lovers in Los Angeles regard the Arclight as the best multiplex in town. It programs studio pictures right alongside esoteric indies, it offers great concessions, its screenings are commercial-free and it schedules cool events with celebrated films and filmmakers. This Wednesday, tickets go on sale for one of those very events. In fact, this one may be the coolest in awhile. To celebrate... more ›