Though Friday estimates indicated that Machete might win the weekend, it was George Clooney's subdued The American that ultimately topped the box office. Despite the purported presence of Lindsay Lohan's titties, Machete only managed to bring in $14M, far shy of The American's $16.3M ($19.5). The resilient Takers placed a strong third ($13.5M | $39.9M), well ahead of The Last Exorcism ($8.7M | $33.5M) and Drew Barrymore's latest catastrophe Going the Distance ($8.6M). more ›

For one night only, two juggernauts join together for the ultimate music & movie mixtape. To celebrate the release of DJ/MC/producer/psychedelic-master Edan's latest mixtape Echo Party, Stones Throw Records & Cinefamily unite for Echo Party, the... party! With Edan on the decks, Tom Maharajah (the evil genius behind the Cinefamily's "Mondo..." series) on the eyes, and a special appearance by hip-hop historian Ricky Powell, your mind will be so mashed you'll need a headspin just to start putting it back together again. Bollywood meets breakdancing meets bitchin' beats in this tantalizing sample. more ›

Now that the summer blockbuster season's in gear, it's time to counter-program with an influx of festivals! The Israel Film Festival runs through the 18th at Laemmle's Fallbrook in West Hills & the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills. Highlights include Lost Islands, which cleaned kibbutz at the Israeli box office last year and won four Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars); The Seven Days, another Ophir powerhouse; and audience favorite & Oscar nominee Waltz With Bashir. Rather than feature one-off screenings of a multitude of films, the festival has a smaller slate (30 films) but more dedicated screening times; a nice touch for patrons with less flexible schedules. more ›

Here's the damn shame of it all: Bryan Singer is a super filmmaker and the "Valkyrie" story is a fascinating piece of German history. That said, Tom Cruise should never have been the cornerstone of this film. A potentially great movie was rendered into something that was merely okay. Then again, "merely okay" would have been a triumph for the awful Paul Blart: Fat Guy Acting Stupid. I originally saw Made in America at Sundance in 2008. It is a must-see documentary that details the rise of gangs in South Central Los Angeles. Stacy Peralta may not have the chops of an Errol Morris, but he is a consistently engaging documentarian. more ›

World’s largest metaphor hits iceberg; drugs win drug war; hijackers surprised to find selves in hell. These are just a few examples of the headlines that begin The Onion Movie, the film based on and created by The Onion, the satirical fake news newspaper/website. Having finished filming back in 2003, the movie is just now being released straight to DVD this month. more ›

Photo by Lush.i.ous via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr more ›

- El irony: Mayor Tony cancels media appearance b/c media will ask him about the fact that he's been playing hide-the-taquito with... the media - Daily News - LA Times' advertising and cash flow sunk by 27% last quarter - Bloomberg - It really is a gorgeous building, Remembering Bullocks Wilshire - Franklin Ave. - Tijunga alleged burglar ends up in a standoff with cops in Glendale - Daily News - Pro-lifers are calling... more ›

- Stubborn week old fire in Northern Santa Barbara County still not contained. - Fire in Banning took 19 acres before it was under control after 45-minutes. - Orange County bus strike could be now over. - "The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of L.A. will reportedly fork over the largest payout to date in the church's sexual abuse scandal." - "At least 33 infants were infected in the 1980s by HIV-tainted transfusions at Cedars-Sinai." -... more ›

LAist has been a subscriber to Netflix and until today, Blockbuster Online Total Access. Today we were canceling our subscription to Blockbuster Online and it prompted the question, “Why are you canceling today?” Since we were only able to give them a 255 character answer, we decided to write a post here to fully explain why they fall short of being a good service. more ›

For those wondering what ever happened to former California Governor Gray Davis after he was recalled (and after he appeared in that Yahoo! commercial), he has joined the LA law firm of Loeb & Loeb. more ›