Were you bummed that the transcripts of the 2010 Prop 8 trial were sealed? Did you want to rehash the events of the past few years surrounding the ban on gay marriage, but with better-looking people playing the lead roles? And do you have an extra $500-$250,000? Well then, you are in luck, my friend! more ›

George Clooney has signed on to perform the Dustin Lance Black-penned script "8" when the play is premiered in Los Angeles this spring. The play about California politics actually premiered in New York this fall, but Angelenos will have a chance to see it at the Ebell Theater this spring. more ›

Ryan Gosling strives to be smart & sexy in The Ides of March. At the Nuart, Toast reheats British food writer Nigel Slater's tragicomic childhood. more ›

People mag hasn't called George Clooney the "Sexiest Man Alive" since 2006, but, five years later and turning 50 on May 6, the actor is still smokin' hot. To cool yourself down and celebrate his hitting the half-century mark, Santa Monica's Locanda del Lago has a cocktail named for Clooney, and are offering it at a special price Friday to Sunday in his honor. more ›

As the only major studio film released on Friday, it's no wonder that the middling Resident Evil: Afterlife topped the box office this weekend. The tired zombie flick brought in $27.7M to easily smash the rest of the competition. The resilient Takers was a distant second, but is proving to be a solid hit for Screen Gems ($6.1M | $48.1M). Last week's champ, The American, slipped to third ($5.8M | $26.7M) but was still able to top Machete ($4.2M | $20.8M). The sad Going the Distance rounded out the top 5 ($3.8M | $14M). more ›

Though Friday estimates indicated that Machete might win the weekend, it was George Clooney's subdued The American that ultimately topped the box office. Despite the purported presence of Lindsay Lohan's titties, Machete only managed to bring in $14M, far shy of The American's $16.3M ($19.5). The resilient Takers placed a strong third ($13.5M | $39.9M), well ahead of The Last Exorcism ($8.7M | $33.5M) and Drew Barrymore's latest catastrophe Going the Distance ($8.6M). more ›

Many weeks, there can be slim pickings on the DVD aisle. And then there are weeks like this where three, er, fantastic movies top the list. Fantastic Mr. Fox may not rise to the absurd and lunatic levels of Rushmore or The Royal Tennenbaums, but it's a wonderful re-telling of Roald Dahl's seminal children's book. It's that rare thing -- something both children and adults can enjoy (albeit for different reasons). Plenty of critics piled on The Men Who Stare at Goats, but I thought it's daffiness totally worked. The interpretative dance sequence on the Army base was one of the funniest scenes in any movie this year, and I'll say it -- Jeff Bridges did his best work in this movie, not Crazy Heart. While it was mostly overlooked during awards season, Brothers was a solid and depressing piece of drama. Tobey Maguire has never been better, and Natalie Portman solidified her reputation as the best young actress working in studio pictures. Especially in this. Supervan! more ›

Following its debut at the Telluride Film Festival, Up in the Air was being heralded as a strong contender for a Best Picture Oscar. The fact that it didn't win anything at last Sunday's ceremony should tell you it wasn't nearly as weighty and significant as early press indicated. Still, it was another solid film by Jason Reitman and another effortless turn by Clooney. more ›

The mighty Avatar trounced all comers for the third weekend in a row, taking in a huge $68.3M ($352.1M) to easily win the weekend. Sherlock Holmes had a good second week and brought in $38.3M ($140.6M) to squeak by Dumb Fucking Chipmunk Movie ($36.6M | $157.3M). It's Complicated had a strong hold and made another $18.7M ($59.1M) while The Blind Side keeps pancaking the competition ($12.6M | $209M). more ›

This is my third year-end best list for LAist (2007, 2008), and it ain't getting any easier. I could easily list forty films that are worth your time and money, but that would get all sorts of unwieldy and expensive so I'll limit it to the traditional ten. I won't even try to rank them. All I'll say is that each one captured my imagination in a unique way, and each still lingers clearly in my memory. There's a mixture of studio and independent films, documentary and narrative -- in short, something for everyone. If there are any films listed below that you haven't seen, I urge you to spin up your Netflix queue and go add them now. Also, if there's anything you believe I've criminally ommitted, please let me know and I'll be happy to joust with you in the comments. more ›

In a rare feat, The Blind Side managed to top the box office chart for the first time in its third week of release. The feel-good football story took in $20.4M ($129.2M) to easily top feel-bad vampire story New Moon ($15.7M | $255.6M). The horribly depressing Brothers was a distant third ($9.7M). The resilient Christmas Carol ($7.5M | $115M) and the god-awful Old Dogs ($6.9M | $33.9M) rounded out the top 5. more ›

The best film opening this weekend -- possibly even the best film of the year -- is Jason Reitman's Up in the Air (LAist review here). Clooney is likely a shoe-in for a Best Actor nod. I had similar hopes for Brothers, but early reviews have been mediocre. Can't imagine Jim Sheridan missing badly, but I guess we'll see. All signs point to Everybody's Fine being a, well, fine film. I'm bothered by that dull title, though. Armored? Pass. Across the Hall? Pass. Breaking Point? Pass. Serious Moonlight? Anyone still care about Meg Ryan? Next! more ›

In a surprisingly robust debut, 2012 took in a huge $65M to easily capture the weekend box-office crown. Despite completely sucking, the latest Roland Emmerich disaster pic easily out-distanced last week's champ, Disney's A Christmas Carol which managed to bring in a decent $22.3M in its second frame ($63.2M). Grant Heslov's hilarious The Men Who Stare at Goats grabbed third place ($6.2M | $23.3M), just ahead of indie powerhouse Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire ($6M | $8.9M). The creepy and morbid Michael Jackson's That Was It rounded out the top 5 ($5.1M | $68.2M). more ›

Up in the Air is a comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking and Juno.) It is an adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. According to Reitman, “The movie is about the examination of a philosophy -- what if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?” Well, what if the “you” was George Clooney? In that case, you would be dressed as dapper as could be, wantonly leaving women in your wake as you fly on to your next destination. more ›

Some critics have derided Wes Anderson as a victim of his own precious taste. His movies take place in "Andersonville" it's said -- a singular, specific world from which he needs to free himself. To that I say, "Pah!". Anderson's latest film, Fantastic Mr. Fox, takes place in the stop-motion animated version of Andersonville and it's, well, fantastic. I can't recommend it highly enough. I can't say the same for 2012. I mean, honestly, how is it really different from The Day After Tomorrow? Sure Richard Curtis is a bit schmaltzy, but I always give extra-credit to the open-hearted. Plus, Pirate Radio has Philip Seymour Hoffman in it so it's worth seeing. more ›

While Disney's A Christmas Carol won the weekend with an underwhelming $31M, the real story at the box-office was Precious. The darling of this year's Sundance Film Festival earned an astonishing $100,000 per theater, breaking the record for the largest opening EVER for a specialty film (A Christmas Carol, by contrast, earned a little over $8400 per venue). Michael Jackson's This Is It had a solid second weekend ($14M | $57.8M), just topping the fantastic The Men Who Stare at Goats ($13.3M) and the weird and phony The Fourth Kind ($12.5M). Not surprisingly, Paranormal Activity continued to print money ($8.6M | $97.4M). more ›

If you like movies filled with whimsical, daffy humor (think Wes or Spike or Charlie) then you will probably dig The Men Who Stare at Goats as much as I did. It concerns our military's experimentation with paranormal phenomena as epitomized by the Jedi Warriors of the First Earth Battalion stationed at Fort Bragg, NC (yep!). Best of all, most of it is true. I like that Bob Zemekis is always pushing the boundaries of the technical aspect of filmmaking, but I'm motioned-captured out at this point! I'll see Christmas Carol but with gritted teeth. more ›

Barack Obama was sitting next to George Clooney at a 2006 National Press Club event in Washington D.C. when freelance photographer Mannie Garcia snapped some shots of the now-president for the Associated Press. One o those images is now one of the most famous in the world. "It looks like the image that poster artist Shepard Fairey said looked presidential, telling the Washington Post: 'He is gazing off into the future, saying, 'I can guide you,' ' actually showed our new president listening to George Clooney. Or, probably more likely, fellow Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.)," said photographer and sleuth blogger Tom Gralish of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gralish was obsessed with finding the photo behind the Obama poster and he finally did. more ›

You know how some movies are better because of the audience in the theater with you? I think that's why I enjoyed ?) more ›

While the new DVD set of may have been the worst movie of the year. Poor, brilliant Michelle. more ›

Though the stumble by opened to a less-than-expected $7.8M. more ›

I'll be in the minority when I attend Leatherheads this weekend because I'm not going to see George Clooney. As an increasingly obsessive fan of he is way overdue to be in a film that properly utilizes his narrow but sharp comic instincts. more ›

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Wow! Most weeks I'm happy if there are a couple of new DVDs worth picking up. Today, I count at least eight that would be solid editions to any library. even though it inexplicably got better critical attention. Has Ang Lee ever made the same movie twice? Is he the most under-appreciated major director working today? Can you say the same thing about Paul Haggis--only in reverse? Having seen the Don Rickles special several times on HBO, let me tell you something--go buy it, you schmuck.
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After successfully resuscitating his movie titled, er, Rambo. Something tells me it may be tougher sledding this time around since John Rambo is hardly a beloved character in the same vein as Rocky Balboa. Personally, I think the franchises should be fused: Rambo versus a Drago/Clubber Lang hydra in a fight to the death. more ›

There's only one 1/2 hour of TV I'm looking forward to tonight and it's on NBC. Out of some desperate need I've turned to Kenny vs. Spenny (which debuted on Comedy Central a couple weeks ago) but I scored the Season 3 DVDs which includes the hilarious "Who Can Make the Best Porno" competition which resulted in the first sketch comedy porno ever (although, it could be argued, that the majority of porn is sketch... more ›

The past year has given us two searing portraits of the human crisis in Darfur: , director Paul Freedman and narrator George Clooney follow John Prendergast, Samantha Power and Nicholas Kristof as they explore the tragedy of the genocide in Sudan. They journey through refugee camps on the Chad-Sudan border, visit mass graves inside Darfur itself and even travel to the U.S. Senate to speak on behalf of the innocent dead. Senators Barack Obama and Sam Brownback are interviewed as is Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and many others. more ›

Two of the four big summer three-quels hit DVD shelves today. Neither is worth your money. Better to spend it on La Vie en Rose, featuring one of the best performances in years by the amazing Marion Cotillard. Better yet, make it a French double-feature and pick up Paris Je T'Aime, too. If you haven't yet, invest a weekend watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. And, yes, it will take the whole weekend. Christmas and South Park... more ›

Nick Hogan has been criminally charged with reckless driving because he was drinking before his August car crash. Another faux- celeb headed to the clink? - TMZ more ›