The Do Something Reel Festival closes out at the Laemmles this weekend (see our previous coverage) with a film sure to create buzz: Vanishing of the Bees. Ellen Page narrates the documentary, which details the disturbing decimation of bee colonies. If you think this won't affect you because you eat plain Cheerios instead of honey nut, think again. more ›

Sunday's CicLAvia event was not just about taking back the streets for people (not cars), but it also for the environment and health. And that provided the perfect backdrop for a rally that urged Los Angeles to rid its dependence on coal and oil for electricity. more ›

It's the spook-spookiest season of all! This Saturday, the New Beverly shocks from dusk to dawn with the Third Annual All Night Horror Show. $20 nets 12 hours of terror: Dario Argento's Tenebrae ("a beautiful ballet of deplorable violence and stunning photography"), Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell ("[a] mastery of atmosphere [... and] straight-up, old school gore"), The Evil ("one of the best haunted house pictures ever"), a sinful secret film, big-bad-buzzard-bomb The Giant Claw, The Breeders ("packed with tasteless scenes [and] an overabundance of female nudity") and killer genie flick The Outing. As if that weren't enough, there's tons of trailers and other goodies between the scares. Last year was standing room only - so get there early, and stay there late! If you're cursed with a curfew (or a case of the sleepies), the Cinefamily features two more Argento films on Thursday evening, and a pajama party Saturday night which pairs Neve Campbell vehicle The Craft with campy musical Teen Witch. Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell will be in attendance if her schedule allows. more ›

The summer's most anticipated film, Inception, over-performed at the box office to the tune of $60.4M to easily win the weekend box-office crown. While Nolan's dreamy action flick gets very wobbly in its last act, it is still the best big-budget movie of the summer season (mainly because of the great Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Last week's winner, Despicable Me, had a strong second weekend, piling on an additional $32.7M ($118.3M). The same can't be said for The Sorcerer's Apprentice which debuted to an expectedly weak $17.3M. more ›

When was the last time a studio film opened that carried with it such anticipation and hope for brilliance? Inception almost has to be great in order to avoid being considered a disappointment. If early reviews are any sign, brilliance may have been achieved. Expectations are considerably more slight for The Sorcerer's Apprentice. As a devoted Nic Cage fan I will obviously see it, but I'm expecting pure popcorn and cheese. Kisses is several years old, but notices have been ecstatic. What took it so long to make it to theaters? more ›

As the preeminent Keats scholar in my small cadre of illiterate friends, let me say that I was mostly outraged at the shabby treatment accorded the poet by director Jane Campion (LAist review here). I had such high hopes for this film when I entered the screening, but everything was dashed in short order. Gone was any indication of Keats' magnificent intellectual gift. Rather, he was rendered as little more than a simpering poet chasing after Fanny Brawne. Campion would have been better served focusing on Keats' last days in Rome with Joseph Severn. That would have made for some marvelous cinema. I probably liked I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell more than most, but then again I do fucking rule! Tucker Max is obviously a cretin, but the film is mostly a genial, albeit raw rendering of a bachelor party gone terribly south (LAist review here; LAist interview with director Bob Gosse here). It's definitely worth a peek on DVD (assuming there is tons more nudity). more ›

Will you like Drew Barrymore's Whip It? We know at least one person over at the LA Times that did. As mentioned earlier today, Ellen Page (Juno) who stars in the movie will be producing a single-camera comedy for HBO called "Stitch N' Bitch" that she will co-write with actors write with two other young actors, Alia Shawkat and Sean Tillmann (aka Har Mar Superstar). The story follows two hipsters as they relocate from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake in a bid to become artists. No release dates set yet. more ›

Oh, this hipsterville to hipsterville concept has potential be wicked awesome, or an ultimate fail. Ellen Page and two others are writing and executive producing a comedy that "follows two painfully cool hipster girls as they relocate from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood to Los Angeles' Silver Lake enclave in hopes of becoming artists -- of any kind," reports the Hollywood Reporter. more ›

In a bit of a surprise, Zombieland roared to the top of the weekend box office. Despite a relative lack of stars, the black comedy pulled in $25M to easily top powerhouse Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($16.7M | $82.3M). The re-release of Toy Story | Toy Story 2 in 3D proved potent as the Pixar dinosaurs raked in $12.5M in their re-debut. Ricky Gervais continues to struggle as a big-screen star as his Invention of Lying brought in only $7.3M in its opening frame. High-concept bomb Surrogates rounded out the top 5 ($7.3M | $26.3M). more ›

Can we officially say that the Coen Brothers are the best filmmakers in America? Can we also say that A Serious Man is the best film released so far this year? Yes and yes. My gut told me that the zombie genre had run its course after the great 28 Weeks Later, but Zombieland finds new ground to cover. Well, not really but it is a hell of a lot of fun and not just because of the huge, unexpected and delightful surprise in the middle of the film that I won't ruin for you (though even mentioning its existence does sort of spoil it, huh? Oh, well!) more ›

As excitement builds for Whip It, Drew Barrymore's directorial debut in October, the Los Angeles Derby Dolls this weekend took on a new team from San Diego. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Sirens lost to the undefeated Swarm... and by a lot: 104 to 51. Ouch. more ›

The Copenhagen Ring: The Complete DVD Set more ›

(and many other similar, terrible movies) should be drawn and quartered. more ›

In ten years, we'll remember this movie for introducing Olivia Thirlby | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight more ›

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Convincing people to go to a movie theater and see a documentary is a labor of love for me. Folks always protest that they'd rather see something else--something bigger and shinier!--but if they suck it up and buy the ticket for the doc they are invariably happy that they did. This weekend, a truly great documentary unspools in Los Angeles. It's called Young @ Heart and it's about a group of elderly New Englanders who love to sing, well, Coldplay, Sonic Youth, The Ramones, etc. That's right--it's about senior citizens who live to rock. See it. more ›

Ethan and Joel Coen, aka the Coen Brothers took home the biggest prizes at tonight's Academy Awards for the film "No Country For Old Men." It wasn't even the best film they've done but then again, Herbie Hancock. Jon Stewart ran the show as he did last year but could do no wrong with Regis Philbin there in the wings. more ›

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"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized with a Best Supporting nom for his work in "No Country," neither Tommy Lee Jones nor Josh Brolin were nominated for the film (although Jones is in the running for a Best Actor award for his work in "In the Valley of Elah" -- did anybody actually see that?). more ›

was a hair behind at $16M ($176.7M). more ›

So what do you think of the beards on Letterman and Conan? I thought everyone did pretty well, particularly Conan. Leno's show was practically unchanged (same old crap) while Letterman gave lots of props to the WGA. more ›

So I think I can safely say, having viewed it twice now, that Jason Reitman's Juno is the newest addition to my list of favorite movies. Okay, yes, it may be a pretty "rosy view of teen pregnancy", as my friend declared, but the humor, the characters, and the crazy dialogue ("You should've gone to China, you know, 'cause I hear they give away babies like free iPods. You know, they pretty much just put them in those t-shirt guns and shoot them out at sporting events"), as well as what I consider a pretty awesome performance by Ellen Page especially, all add up to a really enjoyable movie. Page plays Juno, a quirky, smart-ass 16-year-old who seemingly spontaneously decides to sleep with her adorable and mild-mannered best friend Bleeker (Superbad's Michael Cera), and ends up pregnant. After being freaked out at an abortion clinic by the idea that the baby has fingernails already, Juno picks a couple from an ad who are looking to adopt a child and offers to hand it over once it's born. more ›

Atonement hits theaters this weekend as one of the few, definite contenders for an Academy Award. It bears all the traditional hallmarks of an Oscar-caliber film: lavish period piece (check), excellent source novel (check), epic scope (check), high-powered English cast (check), nude scene from Keira Knightley (double check). Those critics who've already seen it have been generous with praise, so I'm expecting nothing less than a winner. It's virtually certain that The Golden Compass... more ›