One moment later, the young girl was completely devoured by the circus bear. | Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema Readers of The Golden Compass will find a book that severely questions religious authority, venerates childhood sexuality and virtually espouses atheism. Viewers of the film adaptation, however, will find none of these ideas in the movie. By stripping out the elements that made the book so compelling, director Chris Weitz and his partners at......

Photo courtesy of Universal Wow! Most weeks I'm happy if there are a couple of new DVDs worth picking up. Today, I count at least eight that would be solid editions to any library. American Gangster may not have been the great film that many were expecting, but it was still solid studio fare. I'll say the same for Michael Clayton even though it inexplicably got better critical attention. Has Ang Lee ever made......

Photo courtesy of travelin librarian via flickr One of my favorite films of 2007 arrives to DVD today, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. I know what some of you are thinking--why would I want to watch a documentary about grown men competing at Donkey Kong? To that question I can only say, "Trust me. You won't be sorry." Like all great films, King of Kong is about much more than its......

Yesterday, famed and veteran Los Angeles fashion designer, Mr. Blackwell, talked up his worst-dressed women list, just released this morning, with LAist. He began the annual list 48 years ago. "I was sick of the ugly clothes that were being presented in the fashion industry and as dress designer I wanted to express my opinion. I never expected it to be this big." This year's list (which is after the jump) left Britney Spears alone,......

When Sharon Stone wears a gown that looks like she's been shot or Lindsay Lohan goes out in public in an insanely sheer dress, Mr. Blackwell considers their candidacy for his annual top 10 worst dressed. Countless actresses and singers made questionable wardrobe choices in 2007. The overexposed, the under-dressed, and the over-the-top take center stage in this yearly ritual. Tomorrow Mr. Blackwell, the well-known fashion critic and designer, will unveil his 48th Annual Worst-Dressed......

Atonement hits theaters this weekend as one of the few, definite contenders for an Academy Award. It bears all the traditional hallmarks of an Oscar-caliber film: lavish period piece (check), excellent source novel (check), epic scope (check), high-powered English cast (check), nude scene from Keira Knightley (double check). Those critics who've already seen it have been generous with praise, so I'm expecting nothing less than a winner. It's virtually certain that The Golden Compass......

Let's get this out of the way immediately--if you are a fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, you will be disappointed by some of the elisions and excisions made in this movie. The degree to which it bothers you will largely determine how much you enjoy The Golden Compass. I won't get into the details too much since it would spoil the movie for those unfamiliar with the novels. Let's just say......

The buzz on Enchanted--and especially Amy Adams--has been high for the last few weeks. Weren't they saying the same thing about Adams, though, after Junebug? Either way, I'll see Enchanted this weekend. In a strange way, it reminds me of Galaxy Quest. Stay with me here. I thought Galaxy Quest looked horrible when I saw the previews, but I ended up loving it. Will the same hold true for Enchanted? I'm actually a fairly......

Nicole Kidman reveals details about her previous miscarriages and subsequent adoptions- Metro More Anna Nicole baby daddy drama - Explosive accusations in Rita Cosby's new tell all book of Larry Birkhead and Howard K Stern being lovers is setting off defamation lawsuits...I personally can't wait to read it - NY Post Jerry Lewis pulls an Isaiah Washington, using the "F" word during his live annual telethon for muscular dystrophy - TMZ Bill Murray explains his......

My roommate wanted something sweet to eat. I suggested Natas Pastries next to Casa Vega on Ventura Blvd. Later that day he told me that was the best éclair he had in his life. "Wow," he said, "where did this place come from?" Nearly four years ago, Fatima Marques, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, searched Los Angeles for pasteis de nata, the most famous of Portuguese pastries. She discovered a void in the city’s......

Friday Night "The Odessa File" (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) TCM presents an evening of spy movies starting with "The Odessa File", followed by "The Quiller Memorandum" "NHL Hockey" (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Blackhawks @ Ducks "NBA Basketball" (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Raptors @ Lakers "Ice-T's Rap School" (VH1, 9 p.m.) Season finale. "Real Time with Bill Maher" (HBO, 11 p.m.) Season finale. "Charlie Rose" (PBS, 11:30 p.m.): The Dixie Chicks and others, well, not other chicks,......

Madonna wants a new toilet seat at each arena for her current world tour. "The seat has to be inspected by her people, then installed - with an unbroken seal - by plumbers before every gig." - IDLYITW Lindsay Lohan rushed to the hospital. "She was overheated and dehydrated," Lohan's rep told the press today. "She was filming in 105-degree weather for 12 hours." - The Insider Surprise! Nicole Kidman looks pretty good in......

You've heard that the South Park Scientology episode was pulled. Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote, in a statement to Variety, "So, Scientology, you may have won this battle, but the million-year war for Earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will not stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"......

Let’s be honest. The New Year really couldn’t start until Mr. Blackwell crawled out of his hole and brought us his sartorial critique of Hollywood in the form of his 45th Annual Worst Dressed Women List. Or, as we here at LAist like to call it, the 45th Annual “Who the Hell is this Mr. Blackwell Guy Anyway?” List. This year, the great and noble Mr. Blackwell (as far as we know, he has......