Photo courtesy of travelin librarian via flickr One of my favorite films of 2007 arrives to DVD today, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I know what some of you are thinking--why would I want to watch a documentary about grown men competing at Donkey Kong? To that question I can only say, "Trust me. You won't be sorry." Like all great films, King of Kong is about much more than its......

Detail of creepy-cool clown mural painted by "Wizard" in 1975, which marks the entrance to fun! A few weeks back I promised to continue the photo essay of my next-door neighbor, the Redondo Beach Pier, where there is always something weird and wonderful to see and do. The Fun Factory is the next best thing to a cheesy, down-the-shore/midway arcade. Sure, Santa Monica Pier has its Ferris wheel, calliope and similar games of chance,......

After weeks of trying to see it at screenings around town, I finally got the chance to see The King of Kong. My expectations were high as I walked into the theater, and I'm thrilled to say they were not only met, but exceeded. Seth Gordon has made one of the most ridiculously entertaining documentaries in years. Sure, it's about Donkey Kong and the genuinely weird subculture of Golden Age Arcade Game competition, but......

The way I see it, documentaries succeed in one of two ways. The first: deal with a terrifying, real subject matter ("One Day in September", "Jesus Camp"). Express it in a matter-of-fact way that both frightens and informs the viewer. The second: Find a genre/subject that is so outlandish ("American Movie", "Spellbound") that all you need to do is turn on the camera and capture the unintentional hilarity. The hitch is, you need to......

Update: tonight's screening at the Arclight is a special presentation with a Q&A with the director Seth Gordon afterwards. The film will then show tomorrow at the Nuart thru the 23rd. If you walk through the arcades these days you will see three different games. Driving games where you speed through various versions of Hell. Shooting games where you shoot and kill as many people places and things that you can. And walking down......

Streets of Fire (1984) releases today on HD-DVD, something we at LAist believe is a big fucking deal. It's one of the greatest films of the 80's, right up there with The Wizard, WarGames, and Adventures in Babysitting. I fail to mention any John Hughes films, since the holy grails of teenage-oriented motion picture go without saying. Although Streets of Fire failed to recover even half of its original cost at the box office......

Silverlake Film Festival The 2007 Silverlake Film Festival heads into its second and final week. Highlights include… El Benny - A biopic based on the life of Benny Moré, considered by many to be the greatest Cuban singer of all time. The film concentrates on a period in the early 1950s when Moré left the orchestra of Duany and founded his own "Banda Gigante." The King of Kong - Washington resident Steve Wiebe decides that......

Little more than 24 hours remain to enter the LAist giveaway to win one of two pairs of tickets to see Video Games Live on July 6th at the Hollywood Bowl. The LA Philharmonic will perform pieces from the games Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Metal Gear Solid®, Warcraft®, Myst®, Final Fantasy®, Castlevania®, Medal of Honor™, Sonic™, Tron, Tomb Raider®, Advent Rising, Headhunter, Beyond Good & Evil™, Splinter Cell®, Ghost Recon™, Rainbow Six®, EverQuest® II and......

LAist is giving away two pairs of tickets to Video Games Live, a unique live music event from composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, on July 6th at the Hollywood Bowl. Tallarico (best known for the scores to Advent Rising, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and Earthworm Jim) and Wall (best known for the scores Jade Empire, Myst III: Exile, and Splinter Cell) will be joining forces with the LA Philharmonic to perform pieces from......