It's been an eventful season for Showtime's critically acclaimed "The Big C", the "comedy" series about how a woman, Cathy Jamison, deals with her diagnosis of stage 4 melanoma. Jamison, a teacher played by executive producer Laura Linney, goes through a major attitude adjustment without letting on about her condition to friends and family until very late in the season: she goes out to dinner and orders cocktails and desserts, she dumps her husband (played by the incredible Oliver Platt), and gets in the face of one of her students, Andrea Jackson, played by Gabourey Sidibe, determined to affect changes on her lifestyle (or not?). more ›

If you're a Showtime subscriber you have to watch "The Big C" with Laura Linney tonight. Sure, go ahead and watch "Weeds" beforehand, there really isn't anything else to watch at 8pm, but we're not sure what that show is about anymore - it ceased to be funny a couple seasons ago and seems to be more about absurdism than character or plot development. David Bianculli of TVWorthWatching.com and NPR has given "The Big C" a largely negative review while continuing to fawn over "Weeds" - I couldn't disagree with him more. more ›

The TV Junkie Plan: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, "Boston Med", "The Daily Show" (Arcade Fire), "The Colbert Report" (Chuck Close), Fallon (Mickey Rourke; Kids in the Hall) more ›

The TV Junkie was at the SAG Awards on Sunday. Here are all the still pics we took of the event at the Shrine Auditorium, broadcast on TBS. Many thanks to the SAG Awards and to TBS for inviting us. more ›

Considering that Doug Liman has directed some seriously good movies (Go, Swingers, The Bourne Identity), to see how badly it can go. more ›

"No Country For Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," and "Atonement" all received nominations for Best Picture this morning, as the Academy Award nominations were announced in Beverly Hills. "No Country" and "There Will Be Blood" are the front runners with eight noms apiece, including a Best Actor nod for perennial Oscar fav Daniel Day-Lewis, and directing nominations for the Coen Bros. and Paul Thomas Anderson. While Javier Bardem was recognized with a Best Supporting nom for his work in "No Country," neither Tommy Lee Jones nor Josh Brolin were nominated for the film (although Jones is in the running for a Best Actor award for his work in "In the Valley of Elah" -- did anybody actually see that?). more ›

Enchanted joined the small circle of films that have topped the box office over consecutive weekends this year. It brought in 17 million dollars, raising its cume to a healthy $70.6M. This Christmas was second to Enchanted once again. It made an extra $8.4M and--considering its meager $13M budget--is now a bona fide hit with a gross of $36.9M. Beowulf was third in its third week, adding $7.9M to its $68.6M worth of treasure.... more ›

With the big Christmas season movies still a week away (The Golden Compass, Atonement), it's a rather soft schedule of new releases. That's not to say there aren't any quality films coming out, though. At the top of the list is The Savages. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney and Philip Bosco star in Tamara Jenkin's acerbic drama about two siblings forced to care for their not altogether pleasant father as he slips further into... more ›

Remember being young and in total desperate I’m going to die without you love? That exact and exquisite pain is what The Hottest State, Ethan Hawke’s film based on his first novel (out in the 1990’s) is all about. Hawke produced and directed the film that meanders its way through present day, 1970’s flashbacks, music sequences, and hot sex scenes through the eyes of William Harding, a sensitive and emotional twenty-one year old actor trying to make his mark in New York City. The film follows the weeks, that’s right only weeks, that William meets and fall in love with beautiful if not slightly frigid singer/songwriter Sarah and hence has his heart broken. I’m not spoiling anything here- Hawke gives it away in the first minutes of the film - “within a year I would be left heartbroken” a narration tells us. Despite knowing this, we still go on William’s journey through mad, crazy, all-consuming lust and love to all-consuming sadness, anger, and heartbreak. Easily recognizable. more ›

From gender-bending Mormon punk-rockers to stories about lost dreams in Los
Angeles, there are plenty of off-beat, limited release movies to sink your
teeth into this weekend.


• Christmas
  in the Clouds - Romantic comedy starring Tim Cahle
  and Mari Ana Tosca, directed by Kate Montgomery. Ray "Clouds on Fire"
  (Vahle) is the head of his tribes' struggling ski resort. When the chief's
  old pen pal "Tina" (Tosca) arrives from New York, she's mistaken
  for an anonymous critic by Ray. To add to the comedy of errors, she thinks
  Ray is her pen pal. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• I
  Love Your Work -
  Drama starring Giovanni Ribisi, directed by Adam Goldberg.
  This movie chronicles the life of Gray Evans (Ribisi), a movie star coming
  to terms with his own celebrity as he simultaneously loses his grip on
  reality. This is not a love letter to Hollywood by any means. [trailer | local
  showtimes]


• New
  York Doll - Documentary/Musical starring Arthur Kane,
  directed by Greg Whiteley. In
  1970s New York, the Dolls were the gender-bending kings of NY City punk.
  After the band split, bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane
  succumbed to alcoholism before finding God and becoming a Mormon. Despite
  the spotty past, he longed to reunite with the band. The movie chronicles
  that 1989 Morrissey-sanctioned reunion in London. [trailer | local
  showtimes]

Within the next few days we will announce the rules and format of the first-ever LAist Oscar Contest, where all of our readers will have a chance to participate and win a prize. more ›

Tonight at Largo, see the first of two nights with singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb. Doors open at 8:00 PM. more ›