Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer - the two American hikers who were detained in Iran for over two years - returned to American soil on Sunday. Both men were recently sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, but after much pressure from supporters, politicians and activists, their sentences were lifted. Their list of thank yous surely stretches across multiple pages and includes one unexpected but familiar name - Sean Penn. more ›

The controversial case of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American hikers who were sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, is finally seeing its resolve. After more than two years of detainment, both men are slated to arrive stateside on Sunday, September 25. more ›

If Jason Bourne's too long in the tooth, try robbing Abduction's cradle. Better, get thee to a Laemmle for Circumstance & House of Boys, two thrilling, sensual coming-of-age stories from overseas. more ›

While hiking near the ambiguous border between Iran and Iraq on July 31, 2009, three Americans were arrested in Iran. The two males have been charged with espionage and illegal entry into the country and sentenced to eight years in Iranian prison, reports FishbowlLA. more ›

Iran is protesting the abstract date logo for London's 2012 Olympic Games claiming the numbers spell out the word "Zion." By contrast, we said it looked like Lisa Simpson on her knees in 2007 when it first debuted. more ›

Packers. Steelers. Who will prevail? Biff knows. Watch him abuse the privilege - and McFly - Thursday in Back to the Future II, playing alongside the timeless original at the New Beverly. It's part of a touchdown weekend that packs in two thrillers from the French Hitchcock, Henri-George Cluzot (the masterful Diabolique & the unfinished, psychedelia-tinged Inferno) and the return of the steeliest balls of all, Phantasm II. more ›

In an attempt to wipe the slate clean-slash-lower my various chemical tolerances, I am currently abstaining from coffee, booze, sugar and just about anything else worth digesting. With this "cleanse" comes a certain level of manufactured self-pity that I feel entitled to drag around with me like a tacky diaper bag. As I plopped down into the cushy theater seat and unloaded my ammo -- two oranges, one banana and one orange and banana fruit juice -- I opened up my press kit and the internal dialogue began... more ›

CSUN Mass Communications grad student Esha Momeni, who was arrested in Iran last October while working on a documentary on the Middle Eastern country's women's rights movement, finally returned home Tuesday after a 10-month travel ban. “I didn’t believe I was leaving until I got into the plane, they closed the plane’s door and started going,” the 29-year-old told CSUN's Daily Sundial. more ›

Protesters upset over recent elections in Iran waved flags, marched, shouted, and made a scene without fear of government reprisal. more ›

Just like over the weekend, local Iranians and supporters of a fair voting process will gather outside the Federal Building tonight at 5 p.m. Another one will be held in Irvine. The world's attention has been focused on Iran for the past few days after an election scandal. On Friday, voters hit the booths to vote for a new President or keep the current one. The results were quickly announced--reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi lost to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Protesters are calling it voter fraud. more ›

Esha Momeni, an Iranian-American student from Cal State Northridge who was imprisoned while working on her thesis project, was released earlier this month after 25 days in jail. But Iranian authorities have not returned her passport and are not allowing her to exit the nation freely, despite reports coming out of Iran, according to Anasa Sinegal who runs a MySpace page dedicated to freeing the student. more ›

"Esha Momeni, the 28-year-old grad student that was arrested last month in Iran, has been released by the Iranian government after 25 days in jail," reports CSUN's campus newspaper, the Daily Sundial. Momeni, who was in Iran working on a part of her Master's thesis on women’s issues there, is "is being charged with 'propagandizing against the regime,'" according to professor and chair of Gender & Women's Studies Dr. Nayereh Tohidi. Momeni is expected to return to the US next week. The Daily News reports that "Hassan Hussein, a close friends of Momeni's, said she was freed on bail after her family surrendered the deed to their home to Iranian authorities." more ›

Not a lot of people showed up to "No War on Iran" protest earlier this month on Saturday, August 3rd. Apparently, word didn't get around activist groups e-mail lists and only a small gathering of people showed up to Pershing Square that afternoon. One LAist commenter, jrb, was there and helps put a story to LAist Photographer Tom Andrews' photos. more ›

Last Sunday, Little Radio's Summer Camp series Downtown continued with performances by local bands Matt Ellis (MySpace), Hypernova (MySpace), Tenlons Fort (MySpace), and Castledoor (MySpace), with The Karabal Nightlife (MySpace) as well as Ladies and Gents (MySpace) among those performing earlier in the day during Open Mic. more ›

Author and USC professor Gina Nahai and actress Bahar Soomekh (Crash) read from Nahai’s latest book Caspian Rain – about a family falling apart just before the Islamic revolution in Iran. Immediately following, there’s a discussion of the changing lives of women of the Middle East, and relationships between Iran’s Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as how these communities interact in Los Angeles, “home to the largest population of Iranians outside Tehran.” more ›

The always dapper Greg Proops is at the Hollywood Improv 8:00pm on Friday; Saturday at 8:00 & 10:00pm. more ›

The list is a little long this week since I'm including the Christmas Day openers. Having already raved about yesterday, I'll lead off with what some are calling the best horror film of the year, The Orphanage. For any horror fan who's tired of torture porn and bad Japanese re-makes, this is the movie for you. Grim and spare, it's a horror film for adults and Spain's foreign-language entrant for next year's Oscars. more ›

Caspian Rain is a novel about longing and belonging. Set just before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, 12-year-old Yaas narrates the story of her family – a family that’s just as divided as the country. Her father, Omid, is from a wealthy Jewish Tehranian family. He feels restricted by the rules dictated by the upper-class society, the rules imposed on him as a son and rules he must keep in order to not disgrace... more ›

My folks are Republicans. I am not. On a recent visit from the East Coast, they wanted to go to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. I kinda didn't. But since they were only in town for a few days -- to see me and I wanted to spend time with them -- I put our political differences aside and drove them out to Simi Valley (via the 118 -- the Ronald Regan... more ›

The much anticipated Damages finale is tonight - since the series was so very good I'm already thinking beyond the finale and more about which players will remain for a second season. Ted Danson's Frobisher is so delightfully evil the airwaves will be much the poorer in his absence, if in this season marks his departure. 8:00pm Five Days HBO - Part 4 of 5. The only new drama programming on at 8pm tonight other... more ›

On a sticky dance floor at the Galaxy Concert Theatre in Orange County this past Saturday, pretty girls screamed and jumped up and down in their too-high heels, hipster boys bobbed their heads as they sipped their Stellas, and baldish, grayish dad-types belted out memorized lyrics, flashing devil's horns of approval with both hands. They were all Iranians there to see Kiosk, a blues/rock outfit that started in the early '90s in Iran's underground... more ›

Kenneth Turan presents Never Coming to a Theater Near You 7pm @ Studio City Branch Library more ›

Photo by Alex Kehr via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

I have never in my life thought that the following words would ever escape my lips: "Wow! That Flock of Seagulls song is AWESOME!!!" But that day has come: and so too has Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the Eighties, the latest installment in the worldwide gaming phenomenon/franchise. You now have thirty more classic songs to RAWK OUT on, including such favorites as Skid Row's "Eighteen and Life," White Lion's "Radar Love," and of course,... more ›

Being a spy is a tough job. Not only do you constantly run the risk of being exposed by your enemies or compromised by an error in judgment or other grievous mistake (heck, your identity might even be leaked by your own government), you must also be able to adjust to rapidly changing conditions and always be quick on your feet. This then begs the question: why have you or a colleague do it... more ›

In a move only baffling if you thought that President Bush and his administration had hit rock bottom, today the President gave Scooter Libby a get out of jail free card on his convictions of obstruction of justice and perjury. But it's deeper than all of that. Scooter Libby was convicted on a National Security charge prosecuted by a Republican prosecutor and sentenced by a Republican judge. Libby was helping to cover up the... more ›

There are some films, particularly foreign films--no, particularly foreign foreign films--where you have to throw your critic's hat out the window and just try to keep up. That's how I felt watching Half Moon. I'm fairly certain that there were many Iranian jokes and Persian allusions that I just didn't get. (How do I know that? Well, there was an Iranian guy sitting next to me in the theater who obviously did.) Still, I enjoyed the movie. I liken the experience to someone walking through a museum for the first time. You may not be able to explain or even completely understand everything you're seeing, but it is beautiful. more ›

After a good two weeks of bragging about being the first reviewers to test the God|Jesus|fuckme|iPhone, at least WSJ's Walt Mossberg and the NYT's David Pogue had the courtesy to post decent video reviews. Both reviewers did their best to avoid extreme gushing, while failing to really criticize the device. In fact, both are quick to blame AT&T's EDGE network for sucking without explaining why the iPhone does not connect to AT&T's faster networks... more ›

We're big fans of Bill Maher and his weekly Real Time on HBO. The hour-long show features a panel of distinguished guests discussing politics and pop matters of the day with Bill, but the highlight of each show is the "New Rules" segment, in which Maher introduces a set of hilarious new rules. (Also, highly recommended is the book, or audiobook of the same name.) The "New Rules" above are from Friday's episode --... more ›