So when LAist agreed to review the Swamp Thing DVD that was released on Tuesday, we thought we were going to review an old-school, cheesy, black-and-white B movie. But we were wrong. What we got was 25, half-hour episodes of a not-that-old school, cheesy, colorized B TV series. And we immediately thought two things: >> They had three seasons of this show? >> We can't believe that this comic book spinoff about a “humanoid mass......

Hancock is a nearly great movie. I suppose that means it was only good, but that obscures the fact that, unlike other good movies, it could have been great. Will Smith's latest flick tells the story of an alcoholic superhero addled not so much by his addiction to hard liquor, as much as his plunging loneliness. As such, he is a depressed and lonely fuck who believes he is the only one in the world......

By Roger Park On Saturday night The Actors’ Gang performed a production of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 at the Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT). Adapted for the stage by Michael Gene Sullivan and directed by actor-writer-director Tim Robbins, 1984 depicts a terrifying world where people fear their opinions cannot be expressed freely, where citizens are constantly monitored and lied to by their government and a perpetual war is waged against an unseen......

Alain Giraud is a charismatic guy. He is the picture of a merry chef, walking through his restaurant in his whites, with a warm smile, raking his fingers through a pristine silver hairdo that only a Frenchman can pull off. And even when he whispered (politely) to me, “Madame, please don’t take pictures of the restaurant”, I could not help but smile and say, alright then. He is just that, how do you say… geniale.......

Simon's Cafe is a wonderful little gem of a place, located in an awkward intersection just under the 405 freeway at Ventura Boulevard, but this Mediterranean/Moroccan treat is well worth the trip. Stop in tonight to say hi to Simon himself, who is often in the kitchen and serving the guests with speed and politesse. If you enjoy your meal, he's also giving a cooking lesson next Sunday morning on house specialties like feuillettes aux......

Photo by Robert L. Wells There's really no point to discussing the plot of this movie as it's nearly identical to the other movies in the franchise: Indy gets dragged into trouble with bad guys (Russians this time), travels to a place with a lot of cobwebs and gets wet and/or mucky in the process and then runs from fire/mud/water/big rock/CGI something-or-other while dodging bad guys and dragging along a sidekick and then, of course,......

Walter Meego is not a dude, it's actually Justin Sconza (vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Colin Yarck (keyboards, computer), a Chicago-bred but LA-living electronic-alt-pop duo. Throw Andrew Bernhardt in the mix (or on the mix, hmmm?) and you've got one hell of a kick-ass live band. They hit the El Rey earlier this week as the openers on The Presets' tour, playing to a sold out crowd.......

It just wasn't my night for taking pictures, so, here's photo of AM at ASCAP's Music Cafe- Sundance '08 via MySpace The heat was somehow trapped inside the darkened depths of the Hotel Cafe this Thursday night. Those fortunate enough to nab some of the few seats fell into two camps: The cautiously unmoving and the intent on revelry. Those left to stand shifted back and forth with an undeniable restlessness. The heat is......

Artist: Elbow Album: The Seldom Seen Kid Label: Fiction Release Date: April 22, 2008 (US) Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5) We Americans don't always make the right decisions. VHS or Betamax? George W. Bush or Gore/Kerry? Coldplay or Elbow? Undoubtedly, some of you are reading this and thinking to yourselves, "What is Elbow? Are they a band?" ...and that is, well, depressing. You should know who Elbow is. Both Coldplay and Elbow were......

The Mexican/Spanish restaurant-lounge Senor Fred has cemented its reputation as a Ventura Blvd. hot spot for drinks, but it's also a nice lunch destination for those of you trawling the Sherman Oaks area. The place fulfills at least two requirements of a good Mexican restaurant: spicy salsa that tastes homemade (their version has a nice smoky flavor to it), and strong, simple margaritas. The food is far superior to Mexicali's questionable menu, but about......

Photo of Next Door Tapas interior by Zach Behrens for LAist Next Door Tapas is a swanky and intimate little lounge in Studio City, perfect for a weekend or late evening bite -- just don't plan on being there before 6pm. Despite the 5pm opening that's advertised on most review websites, we showed up at 5:30 only to find half-dressed tables and an unready staff. The wine menu was quick to arrive once we......

With Father's Office branching out to Culver City with a second location this week, an inspection of the Santa Monica original seemed in order. I'll confess, it was my first trip to the Office, but I'd be happy to spend more than a few 9-5s there. To call the gastropub a burger bar seems inadequate – the Father's Office burger shares about as much in common with its local competitors as a BMW does......

If you've lived in the greater Los Angeles area for any length of time, you know Adam Carolla. You may know him as the longtime partner of Dr. Drew Pinsky (read the LAist interview with him) on the popular late night call-in radio show Loveline; or perhaps you've heard The Adam Carolla Show on KLSX 97.1 in the morning on your way to work. Comedy Central viewers will know him from The Man Show, Crank......

In all the many, many years I have been trolling Santa Monica's Promenade, in search of shopping and people-watching and places to eat, it had never occured to me to stop in at Locanda del Lago, an Italian restaurant right in the thick of Santa Monica's shopping mecca. I was invited out to try some of their house specialties; it's Italian cuisine in the Lombardy style, which emphasizes ingredients like fish from Lake Como,......

When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities for us. So here's this week's top posts, as endorsed by you via the recommend feature, or as indicated by the level......

"hey, i wanna check out this new place daily candy wrote about today. the waffle. i checked out their menu and it sounds cool and they're open til 4am on fri/sat nites." My friend Shelley IM'd me this last week. I gave their menu a look-see, Googled them and found that not only Daily Candy wrote about them but LAist, LA Times' The Guide and Eater LA. "I can't believe I found out about......

These murals outside Pincher's Liquor on Pico were some of your favorites this week on LAist | Photo by Osmany Rodriguez/LAist When you read something you like on LAist, we love it when you hit the "recommend" button, and we love it even more if you put your two cents' worth in the comments. Getting a dialog going with our readers and making sure we're giving you content you can use are top priorities......

Editors played a sold out show at The Wiltern along with Hot Hot Heat and Louis XIV on February 9, 2008....

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Go on, grab a cup of coffee, meet those neighbors you never knew, and vote. Nearly 9 million voters are predicted to hit the polls today in California. A record. Don't miss out on the party. Later on, make the most of this Super FAT Tuesday at our party. In a hurry? Review a sample ballot. You can also text your picks to your e-mail......

We've been hitting DineLA's Restaurant Week pretty hard over here at LAist, but I just wanted to make a few quick observations about my great experience at Simon LA last night. We arrived about half an hour early for our reservation, but the hostess seated us promptly, in a friendly and welcoming way. Our waitress got our drink orders in quickly, and our appetizers came out within minutes of placing our order. This place......

It was an inauspicious start for L.A.'s first Restaurant Week: when first we arrived at Ford's Filling Station for lunch (the first stop on our two-week tour of the event's featured restaurants), the rain was falling, the wind was blowing, and tables were not being filled. But thanks to a brief respite from the storm, and to a hearty, delicious prix-fixe menu, the day redeemed itself. Ford's Filling Station is offering a $22 lunch......

For over six months, since the last trailer before downtown Los Angeles was obliterated in Transformers, there was a preview for an untitled movie. It was intense, we knew was we wanted to see it and it came out on 1-18-08. That day is here. Our film editor loved it. Matt Reeves gave us an awesome interview. And despite Paramount's lack of organization after coming to us to cover their red carpet, we still......

Okay, so yesterday the Bank Heist set aflame, but thanks to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the fire did not put the restaurant/club in the NoHo Arts District our of business, only affecting the second floor club area (a smaller bar and full service restaurant are on the first floor). They opened last fall, but never had a grand opening, which was and still is officially scheduled for February. Owner Kat Johnson tells the LA......

Legend holds that after seeing Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tom Cruise jumped to his feet and loudly declaimed, "That rocks!". Some movies take a little longer to process. After watching No Country for Old Men I remember considering the movie for a few days before finally deciding that it was, indeed, a great film with a perfect ending. Likewise, it's only now--a week after seeing it--that I'm ready to write about There......

At the end of each month LAist attempts to review some of the music and musicians that were covered over that four week period. Below is a mix of just some of the month's musical moments: Listen to the December 2007 LAist Music Medley here: Billy May - "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo" (Malibu Remix) - cuz it's the season Jim Noir - "My Patch" CD Review by tomdog Pinker Tones - "Sonido Total"......

Molly's Charbroiled Burger, a rickety burger shack on Vine between Selma and Hollywood, is one of those funny little places that is both totally ordinary and totally L.A. -- run by Koreans, with a Mexican line cook, who serve up good old American burgers, fries, hot dogs, burritos, and, um, bulgogi plates. Students at the neighboring film and recording schools swear by the breakfast burritos -- cozy bundles of egg, french-fry hash browns, bacon,......

Since 2001, about 230 people have died in the U.S. after being shocked with a Taser. One of the most recent incidents was in an unincorporated part of South LA last Friday night when a 32-year-old man died after being shocked twice by LA County Sheriffs. Apparently, Cesar Silver was under drugs or alcohol and fought and struggled with five sheriffs before the Taser gun was brought out. "Eyewitnesses indicated there was a real struggle.......

Here's the mix: Download or listen to the mix above which contains the songs and their related articles below: - Spoon "Infinite Pet" for show review by Staci Goodner - No Age "Everybody's Down" for a story/show review by Joshua Pressman - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings "Tell Me" for a CD review by tomdog - MIA "Galang" for a show review by Joey Maloney - Cake "War Pigs" cuz they play on 11/30 at......

California's prisons are pretty bad. There's overcrowding, prison gang violence, and a few too many guys like White Power Bill. Fortunately, most people will never have to experience these horrid places... But as anyone starlet can tell you, not even fame can keep you away from the slammer. So if you have to go, and you're not a violent felon, you may be able to go to the cushy pay to stay jails, where......

For many of you, this week is all about Turkey Day. For others, it's still all about The Strike. For me? This week will go down in history not because of the strike or Thanksgiving, but because the most awesome video game of all time, Rock Band, was released yesterday. I got my kit set up and ready to go within minutes, and began rocking out almost immediately. First impressions? The drumming element is......