If you've got a daughter, take her to Girls Rock! this Sunday at the Echo Park Film Center. It's a pretty inspiring rawk dawc. If you don't have a daughter, take yourself. The funny looks will be worth it, because there's plenty fun for adults too. Then sit tight - because right about the time it sinks in that Rock 'n' Roll Camp is electrifying Portland and we're in L.A., Girls Rock Los Angeles & its faithful organizers burst onto center stage! Give 'em a few minutes of your time & a few dollars for the ticket. Unless you want the future of grrl rock repped by Kristen Stewart... more ›

Jeff Bridges will probably end up winning an Oscar for his role in Crazy Heart, but if he doesn't you can bank on Jeremy Renner taking home the statue for his performance in The Hurt Locker. In a just world, Peter Capaldi would be doing the same thing for his brilliant turn as Malcolm "Prince of Fucking Darkness" Tucker in In the Loop. The fact that he probably won't even be nominated is insane. Similarly, Sam Rockwell will likely be ignored for his (inter) stellar work in Moon. Hard to believe that The Simpsons has been on the air for twenty years. Even harder to believe when you consider that it hasn't been consistently funny in over a decade. The Brothers Bloom is exactly the kind of small, quirky film you should find on DVD. It came and went in the theaters, but features great work by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody (LAist interview here). more ›

Now that the summer blockbuster season's in gear, it's time to counter-program with an influx of festivals! The Israel Film Festival runs through the 18th at Laemmle's Fallbrook in West Hills & the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Highlights include Lost Islands, which cleaned kibbutz at the Israeli box office last year and won four Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars); The Seven Days, another Ophir powerhouse; and audience favorite & Oscar nominee Waltz With Bashir. Rather than feature one-off screenings of a multitude of films, the festival has a smaller slate (30 films) but more dedicated screening times; a nice touch for patrons with less flexible schedules. more ›