"We want candidate Obama back," said human rights activist and Grammy-award winning musician Serj Tankian before leading a gathering mostly Armenian-Americans outside Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City Thursday afternoon. more ›

There is one group of Los Angeles Lakers fans who are booing team player Kobe Bryant, but not for anything he's doing on the court. The Armenian community is angry about Bryant's just-announced endorsement deal with Turkish Airlines, according to CBS2, stirring up deep-rooted discord between the nations. more ›

For better or worse, Saw is the defining horror franchise of the oughts. Along with Eli Roth's Hostel films, it forged the horror sub-genre "torture porn", and put the gross in "box office grosses". Saw 3D, the seventh film in seven years, aims to revive the Jigsaw juggernaut one more time, closing the series in bloody extravagance. Unsurprisingly, Saw 3D is critic-proof. The real question: is it a ghost-buster? Last year's surprise hit Paranormal Activity annihilated Saw VI, and last week's release of Paranormal Activity 2 is still strong. more ›

Never has an event been more tailored for the LAist Film Staff than the Boobs and Blood International Film Festival at the New Beverly. These connoisseurs of carnage and cleavage curate several incredible (and incredibly rare) programs. The fest opens Friday night with Suicide Girls Must Die!, the "reality horror" film that begs the question: aren't they technically Homicide Girls if they're disappearing during a calendar shoot in the woods? Saturday boasts the afternoon's biggest pair of '70s throwbacks, with nature-run-amok cash-in Mega Piranha, starring '80s starlet Tiffany and Greg Brady, and Russ Meyer tribute Pervert!, with former gubernatorial nominee Mary Carey. more ›

The city council has once before stepped into world affairs by denouncing the War on Iraq. Tomorrow, Councilman Bill Rosendahl will ask his fellow politicians to support a resolution to "condemn the Iraqi government for failing to stop, and call on the United States government and the mainstream, media to draw attention to, the systematic and brutal torture and murder of gay men in Iraq," according to a news brief sent out today. “This an outrage,” said Rosendahl, who is the only gay councilmember. “The annihilation of our people, ordered by religious decree in a nation where our troops have sacrificed their lives to restore religious freedom, is appalling. The Iraqi government must stop it, and the United States government must exert its leadership and pressure the Iraqi government to do so in a loud and unequivocal voice... The media has a moral obligation to draw attention to this torture and genocide. It is unconscionable to sit by silently.” The resolution is embedded below: more ›

John Marshall Evans became the US ambassador to Armenia in August 2004. Six months later he visited California and was convinced by Armenian-Americans here to cut the political B.S. and simply say that the 1.5 million Armenians who were the victims of genocide at the hands of the Turks from 1915 and 1923... were indeed victims of genocide. Today President Bush will tapdance around the word in fear of insulting our ally Turkey, a... more ›

Xasthur Subliminal Genocide Hydra Head (2006) As with any hyper-stylized music genre, black metal walks a fine line between inspired emulation and unintentional parody. With Xasthur's latest album, Subliminal Genocide, multi-instrumentalist and sole band member, Malefic, manages to defy both. Although adhering to certain conventions of the genre -- tinny, claustrophobic production, raspy, unintelligible vocals and bleak thematic elements -- his use of silence, extended instrumental passages, repeating melodic motifs and changes in tempo reveal... more ›