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.......

If you keep walking west down Hollywood Blvd past the nonsense of Hollywood & Highland, past the tourist and super heroes at the Chinese Theater and down the next block, you will find the Knitting Factory, tucked away beneath what was once a movie theater. Boasting three stages and tons of bands every night, the Knitting Factory comes to us via New York and has hosted some shows this year that LAist had a great......

Deadliest attack of the Iraq war claims at least 250 lives and as many as 500. Want to learn more about the local opportunities and challenges presented by global warming? Check out the Global Warming Forum at Cal State LA tomorrow from 9 AM to 3 PM. Progress made in improving California's public school system stalled this year after two years of promising gains. The L.A. City Council says no dice to Home Depot's......

43 people suspected of being members of the Eastside Pain Bloods gang were arrested by more than 400 police officers in predawn raids yesterday. More staff cuts coming at the Daily News: zone coverage of Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley to be eliminated. Yikes! How much did Tony spend to help get his three candidates onto the school board? The L.A. City Council has just approved a ban on smoking in city parks.......

- LAX: After 15 years of little more than occasional face lifts, efforts to find common ground on an airport modernization plan are on hold again. - Three Years Later: Paul was one of the students standing at the bus stop in front of Taft High in Woodland Hills after school on Sept. 9, 2003 - six days in to the new school year - when three gangbangers drove by and fired a semiautomatic weapon.......

The inaugural EconSM conference, produced by Rafat Ali's ContentNext Media Network (parent of the excellent PaidContent site) is rockin' the Beverly Hilton with entertainment and new media heavies. EconSM addresses the present and potential economy of the social media marketplace in regards to online news, Hollywood, music, mobile media, and more. The amusing "Social Media Meets Hollywood" panel, in which Carson Daly sat alongside The L Word executive producer Ilene Chaiken, preceded lunch. Daly......

A Word or ~43: Welcome to the weekend my little ones. Other than the local teams the NBA is lighting up the dial all over the place tonight. During your busy weekend don't forget that "The L Word" and "The Apprentice: LA" are coming back on Sunday. Tonight - Friday - January 5th, 2007 Clippers @ Wizards (the CW, 5:30 p.m.) Blue Jackets @ Ducks (PRIME, 7:00 p.m.) Nuggets @ Lakers (Fox Sports, 7:30p.m.)......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

What could have happened? The movie had probably the best buzz and internet hype of any movie so far this year. The anticipation level seemed so high that people should have rushed out and go see the movie the moment it opened. Unfortunately for "Snakes on a Plane" the magic sort of fizzled. And that, as they say, is that. The opening weekend gone with not that much to show for it. So, what......

This round up is in honor of the Raiders, who are playing a pre-season game against the Minnesota Vikings tonight at 5pm on Monday Night Football on ESPN; the game marks Randy Moss's first return to the Twin Cities. LA Observed lets us know that the times they are a-changing. The L.A. Times will no longer provide the TV Times to Sunday subscribers unless they call and ask for it. The rise of TiVo......

+ Caroline on Crack gives a positive review to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles today. She gleefully had a delicious "linner". Caroline wonders why she ordered a side of gravy after finding herself satisfied with the chicken and syrup, but LAist remembers Roscoe's being famous for chicken even more dry than Zankou, so the gravy is recommended for Roscoe's and garlic for Z. Biggest difference: one can arrive at Zankou at 11:01pm and have their......

SFist was there for the 4.4 Earthquake in the Bay Area, which is a good reason to visit The L.A. Times' EQ coverage archive. LA City Beat combs through the West Valley and finds that it's not so bad. They even talk up Follow Your Heart, which we mentioned last week. That plus Figueroa Street, 818 movies and ‘What is your favorite, secret treasure of Los Angeles?’ LA Weekly reports on the convictions of......

Last night was "about community. It's about you playing the role of the community-based policing component essential to keeping crime down," explains Mayor Villaraigosa. Best lede: "They're calling it 'Slaughterfest' and promising concertgoers will "bleed metal" at the Whittier Community Theatre later this month." NPR visits some local DMVs: Drivers license photographs are notoriously ugly, even for the beautiful people of Los Angeles. Producer Ayala Ben-Yehuda visited two Department of Motor Vehicles offices in......

323.603.6312. Now you can stalk our editor Tony Pierce. Just kidding. That's not his phone number, but between 11 and 12 this morning, you can reach him there at Ring My Bell. Boo hoo! Nissan is forcing the city of Pasadena to give back their electric cars! "They were like chickens running around with their heads cut off..." The L.A. Times looks into the behind-the-scenes politics of what the heck is going on with......

Yesterday, sidewalk laws at the Daily News. Today, sidewalk repairs at The L.A. Times. With just less than 50% (5,000 miles) of LA sidewalks to repair, the city moves on with its 50/50 program. Burbank and Glendale fight abandoned grocery cart blight. LAist hears that the city of Los Angeles is working on a new ordinance. The L.A. Times' Calendar Section takes on museums and blogging. If you're into it, check out MuseumBlogs.org. Daily......

We know. It's hot. And The L.A. Times makes sure you know it with about 10 billion heat/fire related articles in today's paper: Hot? Yes. Global Warming? Maybe. Heat Hits Deadly Levels In Woodland Hills, It's Just Too Darn Hot Fire Threatens Hillside Estates in L.A. Canyon Firefighters Are Priced Out of the City They Protect Cut Energy Use, Mayor Pleads How to Avoid Heat Dangers Despite all those articles, Daily News has an......

San Francisco is proud host of a new reality show called "How to Get the Guy" that's unfortunately not a descendant of Will and Grace, Queer Eye, The L Word, American Idol etc. Also a biodefence lab is coming to the East Bay and SFist teaches wine pairing. Getting on the wrong train sucks. Getting on the wrong train and becoming the victim of what will later be described as a "stabbing spree" really sucks.......

Everyone rags on the 405. At least it is predictable. On the other hand, the 101 is becoming the new 405. The weather is calming down and with less rain comes a very low-filled L.A. River. We have no picture to prove this yet, but we've seen it with our very own eyes: soccer mom SUVs with no official government markings or an exempt license plate driving down the river, parallel to the 101,......

That forecast of "wacky weather" we mentioned in Thursday's Lunch News post was right on. Our blood has thinned and we are frigid sitting here in our sandals. Too bad for vacationers in Palm Springs. Last month, a New Yorker wrote in snow "It doesn't do this in LA," but Martini Republic compared 5 days of L.A. weather to NYC. Guess who won the cold war? One New York City transplant told LAist his......

Taking a stance against Valentine's Day can only be best suited by seeing the EAR Unit tonight at REDCAT. The L.A. based new music group will perform tonight with some holiday treats and surprises by the artist collective - Empire of Teeth. Tonight's feature is the world premiere of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's LUVN BLM. Zwilich was the first woman composer to win the Pulitzer Prize. The EAR Unit has always been at the top......

Over the past few years, string quartet tributes to pop culture have flourished and it can seem like it's more of a prolific commodity than an artistic endeavor. Vitamin Records are the ones responsible for those String Quartet Tributes you see out there and we are curious who in their right mind made the decision to make a Clay Aiken Tribute? The L.A. based, The Section Quartet (pictured above) participated on a good number......

We found ourselves at the premiere of the lesbiriffic romantic comedy April's Shower last night at the Regent Cinema in Hollywood. Attending a gaysploitation premiere is a little bit like attending a major movie premiere, only smaller and obviously gayer. There were all the usual requisites: a red carpet (small, no bouncer), television reporters (from something called 'Q Television') and plenty of sub D-list celebrities hoping to score an extra drink ticket, but the......

America’s favorite TV lesbians returned Sunday during the third season premiere of Showtime's The L Word. The show’s party line has always been universality: Despite the characters’ sexual orientation, these lovely LA ladies are just like us. Kinda. Don’t we all date people thinking about gender reassignment surgery? Or what about lesbian vampires? How about stalking our exes and setting up makeshift shrines? LAist will maybe cop to the last one – maybe. But......

Multi-hyphenated Guinevere Turner, 37, is queen of the shorts at this year’s Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Outfest 05). The actress-writer-director stars as a clairvoyant in Beyond Lovely, which screened last night as part of Outfest's “Funny Ladies” program. Tonight, she appears in Roberta Marie Monroe’s Dani & Alice, and in her own short Hung, which looks at what happens when five lesbians cast a spell that gives them each a penis......

Apparently that's what the rest of the blog world thinks. Gridskipper is polling for the world's sexiest cities and Los Angeles has been nominated in the categories of "World's Most Lesbian-Friendly City" and "World's Sluttiest City". Should we feel honored? I guess it depends on if the people that nominated us for "lesbian-friendly" aren't the same people who nominated us for "sluttiest". We'd like to think that its the high-minded images of the LA......

The 23rd annual Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Outfest 05) kicks off tonight with a screening of the French comedy Côte D’Azur at the Orpheum Theater downtown. While the opening gala’s ticket will set you back $50-$150 at the door, the festival’s other general screenings are prices even we at LAist can afford. The 12-day festival boasts 232 films and videos from 28 different countries, including the romantic comedy Adam and Steve,......

The L Word for this week's episode should have been "Learning Curve" because everyone learned something new: Bette learned that Tina has learned a few new tricks; Helena learned that Tina has learned a few new tricks; Shane learned that she's got something special, afterall; Mark learned that Carmen's had an ulterior motive; Jenny learned that Mark holds the key to many secrets; Dana learned that strap-ons come in all shapes and sizes; Kit learned......

We must give props for this week's episode written by 90s literary sensation AM Homes. We've always admired "The L Word's" higher aspirations. The show regularly recruits smart, well-respected writers and directors and integrates abstract and intellectual issues more than most TV shows. Homes and the producers even snuck in a Mary Gaitskill reference while larding the script with groaner dialogue. This week we had lots of sizzling dynamics to enjoy: Alice and Dana's enjoyable......

Each week we're compelled to watch the "L Word," motivated by the same impulses that force motorists in traffic to gape at a car wreck on the freeway. We just can't help ourselves. We keep searching in vain for the real Los Angeles to make her appearance in this Showtime series about the lives and loves of a crew L.A.-based lesbians and their pals. After all, LA is an L Word, too. So far......

It's that time of year again. The Museum of TV and Radio has announced their lineup for the 2005 William S. Paley Television Festival, with event panels being organized for NYPD Blue, In Living Color, Adult Swim, Law & Order, Desperate Housewives, Jack & Bobby, The L Word, Lost, Veronica Mars, Boston Legal, Deadwood, and An Evening with Michael Palin. LAist highly recommends buying tickets to an evening for one of your favorite shows,......