In ten years, we'll remember this movie for introducing Olivia Thirlby | Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Now that all the hubbub has subsided, can we all agree that Juno was really just an okay movie and that there's no way Ellen Page should ever have been nominated for an Oscar? All I know is that whenever Rainn Wilson or Olivia Thirlby were on-screen I paid zero attention to the dour and monotone Page.......

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,......

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......

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......

Factotum starring Matt Dillon, Lili Taylor, and Marisa Tomei It shouldn't be that hard to develop a great film from a great Charles Bukowski novel or screenplay, but after Barfly (from a Bukowski screenplay) and now Factotum (from one of his most overlooked novels), it seems like the big screen might not be the place to capture the humor, tone, and feeling of LA's finest poet. Matt Dillon does an excellent Buk impersonation, but......

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 now would be the perfect time for Rourke to play the......