After a summer of mostly lackluster debuts, Toy Story 3 demolished the competition this weekend, setting a Pixar opening record of $109M. Surprise powerhouse The Kung Fu Kid finished a distant second ($29M | $106.2M), well ahead of the mediocre and disappointing The A-Team ($13.7M | $49.7M). The unexpectedly funny Get Him to the Greek showed good legs in its third weekend ($6.1M | $47.8M) while Shrek Forever After continues to print money against all sound judgement ($5.5M | $222.9M). more ›

It isn't like we needed a Toy Story 3, but there's no doubt it will be awesome. Pixar's perfect string of massive commercial and critical hits continues with seemingly no end in sight. Barring the last minute addition of a full-frontal nude scene from Megan Fox, expect Jonah Hex to sink quickly to the bottom of the box-office charts. Who exactly is interested in seeing this movie? It still astonishes me how deeply the influence of religious weirdos runs in our society. In 8: The Mormon Proposition we see how a small group of devout lunatics prevents gay Californians from equally participating in society. People who supported Prop 8 hate America. more ›

Though it was almost criminally ignored by the Academy, The Wrestler was among the very finest movies released in theaters last year. Since it made only a little more than $26M at the box office, there are still plenty of people who haven't seen it. To those people I say: buy, buy, buy this DVD! It features a staggering performance by Mickey Rourke and a very underrated turn by the increasingly compelling Marisa Tomei. Ron Moore is my kind of storyteller so naturally I'm onboard with Caprica. I mean, who doesn't love Eric Stoltz? Ron Howard never seems to take any great chances, but he does consistently deliver solid pieces of entertainment. He gets pilloried for it by many, but being this good and this popular is no easy feat. more ›

With the Golden Globes just days away, now's your last chance to catch up. Best Picture contenders duke it out with directors in tow and--in the red corner--Best Supporting Actress nominee Marisa Tomeiiiii! The Best Foreign Language noms continue their rounds of the American Cinematheque; the films at the Aero and the filmmakers at the Egyptian. Swedish director Jan Troell is particularly vigilant, blazing a one-man invasion through these events and LACMA. After the awards, feed your jingoism with all-American auteurs Dennis Hopper, Stan Brakhage and Clint Eastwood. more ›

While 2008 was no 1999 in terms of truly amazing films, it was better than most may think. Last year, I went with a top 10 that was headed by the wondrous and magical . Accordingly, I've put them at the very top of my list. The rest are in alphabetical order. See each one of them and I promise you will have lived a better life once you're done. more ›

In a down weekend due to bad weather across the country, middling Jim Carrey "comedy" continued to hang around like a drunken slut ($7.7M/$100.1M). more ›

The Wrestler marks the return of Mickey Rourke to prominence and, to a lesser extent, Darren Aronofsky. I think both are welcome occurrences. Be warned, though--the squeamish should avert their eyes during the meat slicer scene. The Tale of Despereaux is just the sort of broad, silly tale of redemption that a sucker like me always enjoys a little too much. Seven Pounds would probably be high on my must-see list if it starred anyone other than Will Smith. Seriously people--let's put a stop to this man and stop going to his movies! more ›

In ten years, we'll remember this movie for introducing Olivia Thirlby | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight more ›

I'm ashamed to admit how long it took me to finally catch Sidney Lumet's latest film, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. After all, Lumet is one of the true grandmasters of the craft (he directed his first significant film, 12 Angry Men, over fifty years ago!). What's more, the cast he brought together for Devil is absolutely top-notch: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Worst of all,... more ›

This weekend is one of those weekends where--if you love movies--you'll be hard-pressed to choose which one (or two) to see. Most will probably settle on American Gangster, and I don't see anything wrong with that. Couple two powerhouse actors (Denzel & Crowe) with a reliable director (Ridley), add a compelling story that has slipped through the cracks for years and you have what looks to be a great, studio picture. If, like the... more ›

In another example of a Chicagoan coming to LA to change something sacred comes the story of Carl Amari who is putting together a box set of cds that will contain the dramatic reading of The Bible by Hollywood actors. For some reason they can't figure out who to play Satan. The first part of the project, a 20-CD set of the New Testament for $49.95, will arrive in stores in October. Considering the... more ›

starring Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, and Marisa Tomei more ›

LAist likes Matt Dillon. "My Bodyguard", "Drugstore Cowboy", even "Crash" were decent films where Dillon played that tough guy with a heart. But Matt Dillon isn't Charles Bukowski. Bukowski was ugly and bloated and got laid in spite of his looks, not because of them. That's why a fucked up Mickey Rourke played a passable Chinaski in the stinker called "Barfly". Ironic because would be the perfect time for Rourke to play the great poet and novelist. more ›