While the original story may occasionally fight its way - kicking, clawing, punching, screaming, scratching, bleeding and bawling - to the silver screen, Hollywood loves it some sequels and prequels. Case in point: Ridley Scott plans to direct a new version of the 1982 L.A.-based futuristic sci-fi flick, Blade Runner, reports Deadline NY. more ›

Cue the classic Indiana Jones theme song; Harrison Ford turns 69 today. In honor of our beloved hero, today's nostalgic video lunch showcases trailers of the original Indiana Jones trilogy. Happy Birthday, Junior! more ›

I enjoyed everything about Invictus -- the cast, the story, the filmmaker -- except the actual movie. Frankly, it was just dull. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I am very angry at Americans right now for throwing good money at the vile Valentine's Day. You know what happens now, right? They're going to make another "themed" movie like this -- New Year's Eve. And then another one. And another. When will you people ever learn? You suck. Extraordinary Measures felt more like a movie of the week than something that needed to be seen in theaters, but it did give us, "I already work around the clock!!!" Will that awful line reading supplant this beauty? The Messenger is quality filmmaking, but get ready to be depressed upon watching it. more ›

Avatar continued its inevitable crawl towards history, taking in a robust $36M ($552M) to pass The Dark Knight in domestic receipts and Titanic on the international front. By next Monday, it should be the all-time box-office champ (not accounting for inflation, of course, in which case Gone With The Wind would be the easy winner and Avatar would be a mere 26th). The awful Legion had a respectable opening to place 2nd ($18.2M), just ahead of last week's runner-up The Book of Eli ($17M | $62M). Thankfully, The Tooth Fairy underwhelmed in its debut ($14.5M) while The Lovely Bones rounded out the top 5 ($8.8M | $31.6M). more ›

Having seen -- oh, I don't know -- 20,000 commercials for Extraordinary Measures over the last few weeks, I still think I'm looking at a promo for a TV movie. The real question is will "I already work around the clock!" replace "Where's my family" in the Harrison Ford repertoire? Geez, Legion looks awful. Does everyone else just cackle when that old bird crawls up the wall? Can anything be done to stop Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? His latest atrocity is The Tooth Fairy. By all rights, Creation should have been a good movie. Great story, solid cast, super production design. Reviews, though, have been dreadful. Shame. To Save a Life looks way too fucking wholesome. People who loved Dumb Fucking Chipmunk Movie will probably love it. Pass. 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 ›

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I'm a big fan of Wayne Kramer (and my childhood devotion to Harrison Ford lingers) so Crossing Over is clearly at the top of my list. Anyone else getting a strong Traffic feel from this picture, though? Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience was the natural follow-up to last year's Miley Cyrus 3D concert film. I'll say now what I said then: Pedophile alert! Pedophile alert! Watch your kids, parents! Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li has only one thing going for it: the almost alien beauty of Kristin Kreuk. Not quite enough to get me into the theater, however. Whither the charming Eddie Burns of the mid-90s? Echelon Conspiracy is the latest in a long line of paycheck films. The best thing about Bob Funk is probably the title. more ›

Plenty of people were disappointed by the latest Indiana Jones adventure, but I thought there were enough vestiges of the original character to make it worthwhile. Note to George, though: you should have stuck with the Darabont draft. Small, foreign films need critical attention to draw in audiences and the AMPAS really blew it by not recognizing . more ›

While with a haul of $25.6M ($257.8M). more ›

By now you've probably read everything you want to read about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. All I'll add is a few interesting stats: the total domestic box office of all the films that Harrison Ford has appeared in is a staggering $3,094,851,491. That's just ahead of the films that George Lucas has produced ($2,977,630,768) and behind the movies that Steven Spielberg has directed ($3,447,944,266). did $25M on Thursday alone so those totals will rise to even more insane levels over the next few months. more ›

Last week we noted that the Dish Network has slowed with regards to new subscribers and now Dish has inked a deal with NBC Universal to present interactive ads to viewers. This could potentially bring them a bit more revenue to make up for the slackening subscribership by increasing the value of ads sold. You may have seen these ads if you have a Tivo - these enhanced ads prompt the viewer to click a button on their remote in order to get more info about a product or promotion. No word yet on the market value of this intrusion into the viewerspace. more ›

Let's get this out of the way right at the top--yes, it's very good and, yes, it is every bit an Indiana Jones movie. Is it another . If it's the last Indiana Jones movie, then Ford, Spielberg and Lucas have all gone out on a very high note. Of course, there are broad hints--both within the movie and from outside interviews with the creative elements--that new adventures might yet be forthcoming. For now, though, let's forget about all that and go back to the New Mexico desert of 1957. more ›

Just 3 finales tonight but it will be all about "Dancing With the Stars" (pictured right). There's a lot going on around 9pm but I recommend checking out the movie on TCM. For late night TV, Harrison Ford will be on Letterman which is always a good time and tonight's "DWTS" winner will be on Kimmel. more ›

If you're as excited as I am about was only a half-success. more ›

Enough with the Oscar talk -- Kimmel's long-awaited response to "I'm Fuckin' Matt Damon" is here and it's chock-full of hilarity: more ›

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Considering its initial mixed critical reception and middling box-office performance, it's sort of amazing how is a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen and not on DVD. Tickets are on sale now. more ›

Written and photographed for LAist by Cecil Castellucci, author of The Plain Janes and Beige. More pics available here. more ›

Harrison Ford, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw - Ellen, 4pm (NBC) Red Sox at Anaheim Angels, 7pm (UPN) Dodgers at San Diego Padres, 7pm (FSPT) William Cohen - Daily Show, 8pm (Comedy Central) Paul Krugman - Colbert Report, 8:30pm (Comedy Central) Big Brother - 9pm (CBS) When the Levees Broke: Acts 3 & 4 - 9pm (HBO) Rock Star: Supernova - 10pm (CBS) Chris Elliott, Rep. Nancy Pelosi - David Letterman, 11:30p (CBS) Matt Costa... more ›

When we heard that Tom Hanks was cast as the lead Prof. Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code, LAist was worried. Then when we heard that Dan Brown's page turner would be directed by Ron Howard, we were totally bummed. Not to take anything away from Hanks or Howard, but really, why do the studios need to always take the safe (read: boring) route with the blockbusters? more ›

Here in Los Angeles, they say you should write about what you know. more ›