The summer's most anticipated film, Inception, over-performed at the box office to the tune of $60.4M to easily win the weekend box-office crown. While Nolan's dreamy action flick gets very wobbly in its last act, it is still the best big-budget movie of the summer season (mainly because of the great Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Last week's winner, Despicable Me, had a strong second weekend, piling on an additional $32.7M ($118.3M). The same can't be said for The Sorcerer's Apprentice which debuted to an expectedly weak $17.3M. more ›

In honor of Rob Marshall's beautiful flop, I considered only listing nine DVDs today (of course, the idea did first come to me when I realized how crappy a release week it was but still...). However, some digging and reaching helped unearth the usual fifteen titles that I think are worth a look. The aforementioned Nine landed at the box office like a lead balloon, but its musical numbers are more richly dressed and orchestrated than the over-praised Chicago. Daniel Day-Lewis resides in the very top tier of working actors, and Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz are as exquisitely talented as they are beautiful. So why did it tank? Probably because most people would rather spend their hard-earned treasure on crap like Leap Year and The Tooth Fairy. Shame that. more ›

After months of speculation, audiences will finally be able to see Avatar today. Will it live up to all of the hype? How could it? I expect the usual Cameron film -- rigorously applied and dazzling visuals with a script aimed at those with an 8th grade reading level. I don't care if buzz hasn't been great -- I can't wait to see Nine. Folks, Daniel Day-Lewis is the best actor on the planet! You've got to see this one! Let's hope that a wrong is righted this year and Jeff Bridges is awarded an Oscar for his fantastic work in Crazy Heart. Long, long overdue. Emily Blunt is fast becoming the English Anne Hathaway: a young actress with serious chops who can anchor a film. Young Victoria looks sumptuous. The less said about Did You Hear About the Morgans? the better. Hugh Grant was once a wonderful comedic actor. Once. more ›

By Gareen Darakjian, Special to LAist more ›

105 people were invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to become voting members today. Among those were actors Sacha Baron Cohen, Marion Cotillard, Allison Janney, Cody Diablo and Jet Li. more ›

That's Marion Cotillard, this year's best actress winner at the Academy Awards. Pictured is a mural depicting a moment from her very sweet Oscar speech. Sadly my name isn't Olivier, I am at the moment providing 0.00% of rock to Marion's world. She's referring to Olivier Dahan, her director in the Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose." A punk if you ask me. 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 ›

• There's still time to win Tori Amos tickets -- the concert ends tonight at midnight! To enter the contest, leave a comment telling us what your favorite Tori song is. Get over there and put the damage on!
• An update on the Sherman Oaks apartment fire that left one person dead: authorities have ID'd the victim as a 63-year-old man who died at the hospital after receiving second- and third-degree burns.
• There was another house fire in Norco late Friday night, and another fatality: this time a 38-year-old man was pronounced dead of fire-related injuries at the Corona Regional Medical Center.
• Are you wondering what to buy for the mustachioed man in your life? Maybe you'd like to surprise dad or brother with a Keg-A-Que Grill? Chicagoist has some great ideas for fun and unique holiday gifts.
• The LA Times launches "Primary Tracker": it looks pretty cool, but since there's no data to play with yet, we're not really sure how it works.
• OMG YOU GUYS VAN HALEN IS DROWNING!!!! Actually, no, but the pool at Eddie Van Halen's Studio City estate has been filled with mud and debris from a broken water main. School at Harvard-Westlake operated as usual today, although some classes were rescheduled.
• A new Department of Justice gun-ownership database might help to prevent more shooting deaths by tracking criminal records against who owns firearms: "LAPD have identified 110 fugitives, ex-convicts and other offenders who legally purchased guns then later were convicted of violent crimes."
• The Los Angeles Film Critics pick their yearly winners: on the list are "There Will Be Blood" for Best Picture, Marion Cotillard for Best Actress in "La Vie En Rose," and Daniel Day-Lewis for "There Will Be Blood."
• "Single greatest night in sports history"??? Last night's Derby Dolls 2007 Championship Match gets lots of love and a thorough recap from LACityzine.
• If those aren't crazy eyes, I don't know from crazy: Britney Spears stole a lighter from a Sherman Oaks gas station, TMZ has video.

The buzz on ? more ›

Two of the four big summer three-quels hit DVD shelves today. Neither is worth your money. Better to spend it on La Vie en Rose, featuring one of the best performances in years by the amazing Marion Cotillard. Better yet, make it a French double-feature and pick up Paris Je T'Aime, too. If you haven't yet, invest a weekend watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. And, yes, it will take the whole weekend. Christmas and South Park... more ›

Photo by idealterna via Flickr more ›

A few weeks ago in this space, I predicted that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer would be the big-budget flop of the summer. Turns out I missed it by one week. Evan Almighty tallied a meager 32.1 million dollars at the box office over the weekend--well below already reduced expectations (the ugliest five words a studio chief can ever hear--worse even than "the call girl taped everything"). Considering its budget was somewhere between 175 and 210 million dollars (depending on who you believe), Evan Almighty should prove to be the summer's #1 bust. Its prospects are further dimmed by the fact that the next couple weeks bring Ratatoille, Live Free or Die Hard and Transformers--all of which are tracking very well. more ›