There are two movies that are being scandalously left off the year-end best lists. The first, Rescue Dawn, is already out on DVD. The second, Once, is available today. Simply put, this is one of the best musicals and love stories in years. Buy it and watch it immediately. The Simpsons Movie was much better than I expected. If only the same care was put into the TV series. Why did Stardust bomb? It......

So, yeah, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and Superbad are the big releases this weekend. Honestly, I liked both movies well enough, but neither deserves the #1 slot in the weekly rundown like Battlestar Galactica: Razor does. Since new episodes of the best show on television won't air until March 2008, we'll have to make do with this 2-hour movie that follows the adventures of the Pegasus after the treacherous Cylon attack against the......

Pixar's long streak of superb movies is starting to feel vaguely satanic, but I'm willing to keep embracing evil as long as it's this rich and funny. Ratatoille is the latest and resides in the very top tier. Michael Moore's Sicko didn't rouse as much rabble as Fahrenheit 9/11, but it's a better movie. Interesting that Seinfeld: Season 9 is dropping on the same day as Flight of the Conchords: Season 1 since Murray......

There were probably worse movies released this year than Mr. Brooks (see Norbit, The Game Plan). However, Mr. Brooks was undeniably the most absurd. Everyone plays against type--to hilarious results. This is definitely a must-rental, but only if you plan to get really stoned. The final episodes of The Sopranos are finally available. What really happened to Tony during the much-hyped finale? I think it was all a dream inside an autistic boy's head.......

Transformers would have been perfect as a 20-minute demo reel for ILM. Instead, it's a long, dull live-action cartoon. And I still don't understand all the fuss about Shia LaBeouf. He's good. Not amazing. Good. No one saw A Mighty Heart at the theater, but it's worth a rental. Angelina Jolie the Actress has been replaced by Angelina the Star, but she doesn't get in the way of a gripping, horrifying story. No one......

If you've missed Ken Burns' latest sprawling effort on PBS, you can catch it today when it drops on DVD. Silver Surfer was better than the original Fantastic Four, but that's not really saying much. Got to love Doug Jones, though. 1408 was a surprise summer hit. I think it'll work even better when you're watching it alone at home with the lights turned off. Entourage was never the same after the Aquaman arc,......

So is anyone NOT buying Knocked Up this week? There's something like 5 different versions in Amazon's top 25 bestsellers right now. Wow. The TV Set is a great movie that about 400 people saw when it was in theaters. I had a near-private screening one afternoon at the Santa Monica Laemmle. Next is really only interesting if you're a Nicholas Cage hairpiece connoisseur (like myself). Evening has an incredibly raunchy nude scene with......

It's too bad that Ali Larter's power in Heroes isn't the ability to seduce Hayden Panettiere. Is Blades of Glory the last funny Will Ferrell movie? His act is getting ripe. Make Anchorman 2 quickly, damn it! Year of the Dog was one of the most depressing movies in years. Everyone says I should watch Friday Night Lights. Is it better than Greek? How could it be? Jamie Kennedy may have finally reached the......

OUT TODAY: These and other new releases are conveniently located at your neighborhood record store (sigh) or online retailer… The Chemical Brothers - We Are the Night (Astralwerks) Suzanne Vega - Beauty and Crime (Blue Note) The Dark Crystal: 25th Anniversary Soundtrack - Trevor Jones (La-La Land) KT Tunstall - Hold On [SINGLE] (Relentless Records) Editors - An End Has a Start (Epic) Meat Puppets - Rise to Your Knees (Anodyne) The Cribs -......

When I saw Norbit in the theater, there were about 60 people in the audience.  Virtually all of them maintained the appropriate funereal silence as the film was slowly excreted through the projector.  One guy, though, was apparently watching the funniest movie he had ever seen.  I imagine he’s one of the few that will be lining up to buy Norbit today.  For the rest of us, it’s probably a couple of good docs,......

On June 5, Virgin/EMI will release The Best Of David Bowie 1980-1987: Sight & Sound. It's one of those CDs with a DVD snuck in there. 19 audio tracks of Bowie’s best '80s jamz like "Blue Jean" , “Let’s Dance,” “Modern Love,” and “China Girl”. Plus 15 videos from that era plus DVD release debut vids for “The Drowned Girl” and “When The Wind Blows.” Virgin/EMI will also re-release the Bowie classic Young Americans,......

New Releases May 15, 2007 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch) Rufus Wainwright - Release the Stars (Geffen) Pink Martini - Hey Eugene! (Heinz) Great Northern - Trading Twilight for Daylight (Eenie Meenie) The Horrors - Strange House [Bonus Tracks] (Stolen Transmission) The Fall - World Bewitched: Best of 1990 - 2000 (Artful) Blacktop Mourning - No Regret (Mega Force) Dungen - Tio Bitar (Kemado) Barry & the Remains - Remains [Epic/Legacy 2007] (Epic)......

LAist is proud to offerer a weekly, chart roundup of Billboard Magazine’s most coveted rankings. Join us as we revel in the conventional standard of musical success. Let us cross our fingers, hoist our lighters, and dream together of the supreme resurrection of artist-driven recordings that will forever eclipse the dark cloud of big label greed, A&R sleaze and disposable audio. Amen. Here are this week’s chart toppers. Behold the #1s. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Billboard Charts......

Beyonce continues to bully the charts. And far too many people think that buying Kenny G CDs is an appropriate use of money. I know we can do better than this. Here to make miserable your otherwise sunny day is a list of this week’s Billboard No.1s. Below is the short list. More good news after the jump... Billboard Charts Issue Date: January 27, 2007 The Billboard 200 - Dreamgirls:Soundtrack The Billboard Hot 100......

Weekend Edition Tonight - Saturday "Sunset Boulevard" (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) The movie about the fickleness of stardom in Hollywood. It's somehow beyond a classic. "American Movie" (IFC, 6:15 p.m.) The movie about self-financed redneck-geek movie maker Mark Borchardt's project "Coven", pronounced "koh-vehn" Ducks @ Sharks (KDOC, 7:30 p.m.) Didn't these guys just play each other a couple days ago? Are there only 3 or 4 teams in the NHL? Stars @ Kings (Fox Sports,......

We sure hope the folks at World of Wonder transcribe and post the presentation of Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey (WOW's principals) when they discuss Paul Verhoeven's STARSHIP TROOPERS on Thursday, April 21 at the Skirball Cultural Center. Wouldn't it be great if they then added a video copy of the presentation to the inevitable "Starship Troopers Special Edition"? That would another DVD release of the same film special indeed. The fun starts at......