It's the most epic Egyptian weekend since they unveiled the pyramids! Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films with 10+ hours of magic & mayhem, as the entire trilogy screens back-to-back-to-back in the extended director's cuts. The all-day affair begins in the Egyptian's courtyard, with the Renaissance Pleasure Faire bringing medieval mirth, merchants, music & munchies. Hope they have 'taters! more ›

Frank Henenlotter is the J. D. Salinger of exploitation cinema - a few game-changers and he's gone. Sure, Brain Damage (about a hallucinogenic space worm), Frankenhooker (a romantic retelling of Frankenstein with dismembered hookers) and the Basket Case series (horror-comedies starring homicidal siamese twins) may not be required reading at your local high school, but his latest, Bad Biology, is required viewing at your local Cinefamily. It's a black-humored, black-hearted love story, with an oversized genitalia, an overabundance of clitorides, and more mutant babies than a playdate with Trig Palin. And if that's not enough to get your butt in the seat, Frank himself will make a rare in-person appearance. He'll also be at Burbank's Dark Delicacies earlier in the day, in case you want two signatures before he disappears again. more ›

The Santa Monica Pier Twilight Dance Series kicks off tonight at 7 pm at the pier. Tonight’s free concert features the Playing for Change Band -- an Internet project that enlisted musicians from all over the world in a viral video and led to the creation of a CD that benefits street musicians and homeless populations. Also on the bill: Bushman (Jamaican Roots Reggae). So bring a picnic and your dancing shoes. more ›

If Wagner was still alive today, he would have just celebrated his 195th (!) birthday yesterday. His influence was felt by many including Baudelaire, Freud, Joyce, Nietzsche, and any/every important contemporary of his. Some recent adaptations in mainstream media that come to mind include a terrible Tristan + Isolde movie and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy (based off of Wagner's Ring cycle). more ›