The eighth annual Artivist Film Festival, produced by the nonprofit Artivist Collective, Inc., premieres this Thursday, August 18, at The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Dedicated to raising awareness for international human rights, children's advocacy, environmental preservation and the human treatment of animals, the festival screens films that expose such topics, drawing crowds of environmentalists, philanthropists, humanitarians and artists. more ›

There are few actors that I will watch just to watch. Even if the movie is bad, I'll still dutifully buy my ticket, buy my popcorn and relax into the row on the rail at the Landmark. Denzel Washington is one of those actors. The Book of Eli is not a great film, but it is a solid piece of entertainment that is worth your rental or purchase dollars. Who knew that Unthinkable would cause such controversy? Michael Cera really -- REALLY -- needs to find different roles. He was perfect in Superbad and Arrested Development, but the nebbish thing is getting very old. Who would buy a Kendra Wilkinson DVD? I mean, other than this one? more ›

Look, Avatar is a fine movie. If I were ranking the best hundred movies of the year, it would certainly find a solid place in the top twenty-five purely based on its technical virtuousity. That said -- why are so many people flocking to the theater to see it? For the seventh God damned weekend in a row, it topped the box office taking in $30M ($594M) to easily bash Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness which only managed $17.1M in its opening frame. The dreadful, apocalyptic When in Rome managed a mere $12M to top the almost as dreadful The Tooth Fairy ($10M | $26.1M). more ›

Mel Gibson continues his long climb back to being a normal movie star this weekend with Edge of Darkness. Having Martin Campbell as a director and William Monaghan as one of two credited screenwriters gets my hopes up a little bit, and reviews have been fairly strong. I'm just not sure if I'll be able to look at Gibson ever again without hearing the phrase "sugar tits." Still, anything with Ray Winstone is at least worth a look, right? more ›

For a movie about robots, Astro Boy is surprisingly wooden. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have heart. Based on the work of Japanese comic book artist and animator Osamu Tezuka, this CGI version of what’s widely regarded as the first anime is largely faithful to the beloved character. First published in 1952 and animated in 1963, the future-set Astro Boy is the story of Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage), top scientist at the Ministry of Science whose son Toby (Freddie Highmore) dies in a tragic accident... more ›

Despite middling reviews, America warmed up to Couples Retreat this weekend as it easily topped the box office chart with a haul of $35.3M. Last week's champ, Zombieland finished a distant second with $15M ($47.8M) but managed to top the sturdy Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs ($12M | $96.2M). The Toy Story 1 & 2 double-feature continued to do good business ($7.6M | $22.6M) while sleeper Paranormal Activity did huge business in its first weekend of wide release ($7M | $8.2M). more ›

I was excited when Couples Retreat first popped on my radar a few months ago. I mean, coupling the Vaughn | Favreau | Billingsley team with Demiurge Jason Bateman seemed like a match made in mainstream comedy heaven, right? Nope. Michael Sheen has quietly become a top-notch, see-everything-he-does actor. I know more about the Bible than I do about soccer, but I'll queue up for The Damned United just to see Sheen. It's already being written: An Education will produce one of the next great stars and that star is Carey Mulligan. more ›

For the 86 people who didn't see , I once lived underground for 3 years harrassing innocent women from below. more ›

As expected (due to its wussy PG-13 rating and higher theater count) ($3.5M/$144.4M). more ›

Ordinarily, I'm completely disinterested in the box office performance of a movie. Sure, my innate sense of justice leads me to wish that good films will do well and bad films poorly, but I never check Boxofficemojo over the weekend to see how a movie is doing. I may keep on eye on Forgetting Sarah Marshall, though, to see if the weakening Apatow brand can regain some strength after the relative failures of will restore some order to Judd's universe. more ›

Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks. more ›

A lotta hungover people in Boston today, no doubt - and with that drama, who the eff was watching the GOP debate? I don't really care about that much this week other than the Damages finale tomorrow night, but first things first. Late night's a bust with almost 100% repeats tonight. Did you catch last night's Curb Your Enthusiasm? Hilarious that Larry David's fictional wife is also leaving him - brilliant too. 8:00pm Chuck NBC... more ›

Yes folks it that time of year again when people make lists of the top whatevers that did something, didn't do something, inspired them, made them laugh, cry, sick or any number of other things. For better or worse, I'm no different and am caught up in the whole list thing. So, I will be providing a list of my own for your enjoyment, distraction, derision or otherwise perusal. My list is the top-ten... more ›

Like the "Terminator" before her, "Veronica Mars" is back. One of the few shows to survive the transition from The UPN to The CW, "Veronica Mars" proved once again how good television can and should be and why it rightfully has a place on The CW Fall schedule. Filling the void left by the departure of Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”, “Veronica Mars” is a smart, funny show with great dialog,... more ›

The Conan Countdown goes on and the world's longest lame duck continues to be lame. more ›

May isn't just a television sweeps month, it’s also a do-or-die time for shows “on the bubble.” Those shows have a 50-50 chance (or less) of getting renewed by their networks. It’s an especially precarious time for the shows on the WB and UPN because those two networks are merging to become the CW in September, so all the old shows can’t possibly fit on the prime time schedule. more ›