In a huge surprise, the brilliantly subversive Despicable Me dominated the weekend box office ($60.1M), almost doubling the total of last week's winner The So-Called Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($33.4M | $237M). The surprisingly well-reviewed Predators placed a strong third ($25.3M), just ahead of the sturdy summer champ Toy Story 3 ($22M | $340.2M). The dismal Avatar: The Last Airbender collapsed in its second weekend but still raked in an undeserved $17.1M ($100.2M). more ›

Very likely I'm in the minority opinion on this subject, but I think it's high time that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio stopped working together. From my perspective, it's been diminishing returns since The Aviator. Shutter Island left me cold. Seven seasons in and Curb Your Enthusiasm has last none of its cruel charm for me. This most recent season was the best since the year the entire show was a meta-gloss for The Producers. I'll say it: I enjoy John Travolta when he plays a bad-ass. I know it goes against his occasionally, er, fey personality but the guy is just dynamite when he's beating people up. Thank God, Caddyshack is finally on blu-ray. Here's why. They should have bitten the bullet and hired Dirk Benedict for the new A-Team movie. more ›

Shutter Island destroyed all comers this weekend, bringing in a huge $40.2M to easily win the box office crown. The debut was a personal best for both Martin Scorcese and Leo Di Caprio...which is kind of tragic actually. Last week's champ, Valentine's Day collapsed in its second frame (yay!), but still brought in a shameful $17.1M ($87.4M) while Avatar doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon ($16.1M | $687.8 Fucking Million Dollars!). Percy Jackson & The Olympians: World's Longest Title ($15.3M | $58.7M) did much better in its second weekend than the unterrible The Wolfman ($9.8M | $50.3M). more ›

I love Martin Scorcese, but frankly I'm just ready for him to collaborate with an actor other than Leo. Their latest joint effort is Shutter Island which, by all impressions, is a meticulously crafted mind-fuck. Will I see it? Yes. Will I love it? That would surprise me. What I could love, though, is Ghost Writer. Edited from his chalet prison in Switzerland, it's Polanski's latest film. Considering how much I've been watching Chinatown in the last year (at least ten times in its entirety), I'm very much in the mood for new Roman. Reviews have been pretty solid, so I'm excited. Trust me on this one -- most of you will resist seeing The 2010 Oscar Nominated Short Films. Trust me on this one, too -- everyone who does will love them. Can we put a stop to Brian Greenberg? I'm just not getting the appeal, folks. The Good Guy is his latest. Alexis Bledel and Trini Alvarado are great, though so maybe it's worth a look. Nah! more ›

Jeff Bridges will probably end up winning an Oscar for his role in Crazy Heart, but if he doesn't you can bank on Jeremy Renner taking home the statue for his performance in The Hurt Locker. In a just world, Peter Capaldi would be doing the same thing for his brilliant turn as Malcolm "Prince of Fucking Darkness" Tucker in In the Loop. The fact that he probably won't even be nominated is insane. Similarly, Sam Rockwell will likely be ignored for his (inter) stellar work in Moon. Hard to believe that The Simpsons has been on the air for twenty years. Even harder to believe when you consider that it hasn't been consistently funny in over a decade. The Brothers Bloom is exactly the kind of small, quirky film you should find on DVD. It came and went in the theaters, but features great work by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody (LAist interview here). more ›

Rian Johnson burst into prominence with his sterling debut, Brick. A teenage murder mystery, it was told more in the style of a Dashiell Hammett novel than a thematically similar (and more conventional) film like Bully. His latest film, The Brothers Bloom, is almost a complete 180 in terms of tone -- daffy and convulated where Brick was brooding and fatalistic. What's still present, though, is Johnson's daring as a filmmaker. You may not like his movies, but there is no doubt that he is offering a very specific vision to audiences. LAist had a chance to speak with Rian this week. The Brothers Bloom goes into wider release today across L.A. more ›

While it didn't approach the monstrous financial heights of the poorly-conceived The Da Vinci Code, Thomas de Hanks' Angels & Demons ($48M) tricked enough Americans into theaters to hold off the sturdy Star Trek ($43M/$143.6M) to capture the weekend box-office crown. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had a reasonably good third weekend to place, uh, third ($14.8M/$151M) while Ghosts of Matthew McConaughey's Bangbus Girlfriends ($6.8M/$40M) and Obsessed with White Chicks ($4.5M/$40M) rounded out the top five. more ›

The Brothers Bloom will most likely split audiences down the middle just as it has almost evenly divided critics. Simply put, you either delight in the often whimsical imagination of writer/director Rian Johnson or you dismiss it as precious eye candy. I fall firmly in the former camp. While it would be easy to peg Bloom as a Wes Anderson-ish fable about two con men who endure a Dickensian upbringing which leads them to a career in crime, I find it unlikely that Wes (whom I adore) could ever make a film so willing to be this optimistic. more ›

Dan Brown's quickly-paced novels seem tailor-made for the big screen, but The Da Vinci Code was a lumbering dud. Here's hoping that Angels & Demons is edited at a much brisker pace (with less exposition). At least they fixed Tom Hanks' weird hairdo from Da Vinci. If you want to see something that will just fill you with joy, try The Brothers Bloom. Rian Johnson's superb debut Brick was clearly not a fluke. In fact, he may have the best cinematic style since Wes Anderson. Management continues Jennifer Aniston's slow descent into irrelevance. How did such a once-cheery actress become so damn sour? At least the great Steve Zahn is in it. more ›

Between special screenings, TV tapings & incestual industry conduct, filmmakers are a common appearance in this town. When the New Beverly hosts a filmmaker, it's truly special. Eclectic personalities take complete control of the theater's programming, spotlighting elements of their own work, their influences, or simply their favorite, lesser-known films. Previous hosts include Edgar Wright, Patton Oswalt, Joe Dante & Peter Bogdanovich, and now writer-director Rian Johnson has the slate. A new kid on the block compared to those names, Johnson's hard-boiled sleeper Brick is one of the most unique & enjoyable films of the last few years. His "Festival Of Fakery" (running through the end of February) features advance screenings of his new film, The Brothers Bloom, and a cadre of con men, criminals, thieves & scoundrels. more ›

From murder to self-inflicted wound back to murder. The coroner has ruled the death of actor Mark Ruffalo's brother to be murder, which conflicts earlier reports that he was playing russian roulette. But one of the original suspect's lawyers dispute that. "The only two eye witnesses to the shooting saw the same thing, a gunshot wound to the left side of the head, while one of them saw him pull the trigger," Attorney Ronald Richards wrote in an e-mail. "They saw the gun in his left hand after the shot was fired." Shaha Mishaal Adham, who was arrested for the shooting was released after Ruffalo died. more ›

In Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood has finally fused his many previous cinema personas into something both grand and elegant. It belongs in the Oscar conversation (plus Clint sings!). Doubt was timelier when it opened onstage years back, but how do you miss anything featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep ( excepted)? The Day the Earth Stood Still might be worth watching if virtually anyone other than Keanu Reeves inhabited the central role. He's a likable schlumpf in a role that demands an actor with a quiet and menacing charisma. Michael Shannon anyone? more ›

Police in Beverly Hills released 26-year-old Shaha Mishaal Adham last night following a five-hour meeting held between her attorney and detectives regarding the shooting death of actor Mark Ruffalo's brother Scott. Evidence presented indicated that the shooting was the result of gunplay. According to abc7.com, Adham's lawyer, Ronald Richards "said Ruffalo's gunshot wound to the head was self-inflicted - that Adham was essentially a witness to a game of Russian Roulette." Scott Ruffalo, a local hairdresser, died late Monday night, a week after he was brought to the hospital following what was initially described as "an execution-style" shooting. more ›

Hairdresser and brother to actor Mark Ruffalo, Scott Ruffalo died late Monday night after being shot in the head last week in what was reportedly described as an "execution-style" shooting. more ›

Actor Mark Ruffalo's 39-year-old hairdresser brother, Scott, is reportedly said to be "clinging to life" after being shot "execution-style" on Monday, according to the New York Post. The incident happened at 1:30 a.m. on North Palm Drive, but police are not giving out any more details as the investigation continues. In fact, Beverly Hills Police will not release the identity of the victim or admit that anyone is shot. more ›

If you're only going to see one movie this weekend, make the time to check out Choke. It's dirty. It's funny. It's got the great Sam Rockwell in it. If you are the type that is entertained by mindless tripe, however, you could probably do worse than Eagle Eye. Is it awful? Well, yes. But it is glossy. And there lots of cool (albeit spectacularly unrealistic) stunts. Are you stuck in a loveless relationship and long for the feeling of a wildly romantic chance encounter? Or did you just like ? Nights in Rodanthe might be for you. more ›

If you somehow missed both had top-drawer casts and the imprimatur of quality. Both were also awfully dull. Tom Cruise takes another step down from his previous perch of box office invincibility. more ›

Despite the presence of a fine cast, compelling material and a promising director, isn't terrible, it is relentlessly mediocre which--considering the high level of talent involved--can only qualify it as a deep disappointment. The script hits a profoundly false note so early in the film that you spend the rest of the time disconnected from its reality--a killer in a movie that requires your emotional investment in order to succeed. more ›

From time to time, LAist will take a look at the many book-to-film projects underway in Hollywood. We'll explore the books we love and why we're over-the-moon excited or just plain worried about the film projects that bear their name. more ›

Goodbye O.C., a shame that the show is better now than it has been for the last couple seasons. Hey, who is the amazing Thai girl that was in Lost last night? Lots of new shows tonight, am going to have to order that second Tivo. more ›