Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox While not the record-breaker that Cloverfield and Hannah Montana proved to be, Jumper debuted to a winning $31.7M over the long President's Day weekend. The Spiderwick Chronicles finished second with $24.4M followed by fellow newcomer Step Up 2 the Streets with $21.5M. The rancid Fool's Gold surprised by holding onto fourth with $15M ($43.9M). Clearly, Valentine's couples preferred it to the weekend's other new romantic comedy, Definitely, Maybe......

You still have time to take part in the Lunar New Year festivities in Chinatown today! CELEBRATE THE YEAR OF THE RAT The annual Lunar New Year Festival continues today in Chinatown. Catch pan- Asian entertainers including Chinese acrobats, as well as Thai dancers and Taiko drummers. Food, games, children’s activities, and more will also be on tap during the free festival. Until 5 p.m. // Chinatown // Free FUNDRAISER BASH! OPEN BAR! The......

Of all Christmas specials, this one is my absolute favorite. The Heatmiser is perhaps the greatest character ever to come out of the stop-motion animated specials of my childhood. Enjoy this musical interlude from The Year Without a Santa Claus.......

With all the seasonal emphasis on warmth, love and need-gratification, it's no surprise your nether regions are jingling right along. It is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year after all. Go ahead and unwrap something nice a day early, you could use the stress relief. We submit six not-safe-for-work entries to inspire reindeer games beneath the tree. CLARENCE CARTER - Back Door Santa &righticonhover=0x333232&text=0x333232&slider=0xF2F2F2&track=0xFFFFFF&border=0xFFFFFF&loader=0x838383&soundFile=http://aprodxn.com/laist/Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa.mp3"> HOME GROWN - Christmas Crush......

These dudes didn't make the list. The year is already over for L.A. Times pop critic Ann Powers; in a piece dated tomorrow, she lays out an unremarkable top 10 albums of 2007. Maybe Powers gave up on 07 when she couldn't get on OiNK anymore. Or perhaps, like Christmas decorations and presidential primaries, top 10 lists are just going up earlier than ever this year. Either way, I guess she's not waiting on......

Monday Edmund White presents Hotel de Dream: A New York Novel 7pm @ Central Library Patricia Hampl presents The Florist's Daughter 7pm @ Dutton's Red Hen Press poets read their work 8pm @ Boston Court Main Stage, Pasadena Tuesday Oliver Sacks presents Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain 7pm @ Central Library Roger Director presents I Dream in Blue 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble, The Grove Francisco Goldman presents The Art of Politcal......

A man sitting to my left exited the theater at about the one hour mark, never to return. Were I not obligated to give the film a fair and complete review, I might have joined him. Rare is the movie that prompts that reaction in me (think Johnny Be Good) but The Year After was so interminably dull that I actually considered it. The film follows 17 year-old Manu (Anaïs Demoustier) in the year......

It's the first real day of the LA Film Festival so naturally a lot of films have sold out. But take heart--there are plenty of things to see. As of this morning, stand-by tickets are still available for Interview. Directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Buscemi and Sienna Miller, Interview tells the story of a journalist interviewing a celebrity that he doesn't particularly like (imagine that?). An adaptation of Theo Van Gogh's 2003 film......

Monday Chuck Palahniuk presents Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey 6:30pm @ Vroman's Tony Cohan signs Mexican Days 7pm @ Dutton's Donna Hogan (Anna Nicole's Sister) presents The Life and Death of Anna Nicole Smith 7pm @ Book Soup Rick Riordan signs The Titan's Curse 7pm @ Borders, Torrance Joan Didion discusses The Year of Magical Thinking 8pm @ Music Center Tuesday Tish Cohen & Rex Pickett present Town House 7pm @ Book......

Almost one year to the day, Kobe Bryant's 81 point performance was awarded the 2006 Moment Of The Year by the Los Angeles Sports Council. This is the second year the organization has hosted an awards ceremony, which also named Elton Brand (Clippers) and Lisa Leslie (Sparks) as Sportsman and Sportswoman Of The Year. The Dodger's Ned Colletti and the Duck's Brian Burke were named Co-Executives Of The Year after both GMs led their teams......

Like rewatching “The Year Without a Santa Claus” or drinking eggnog, ABC has decided that the Lakers playing the Miami Heat is a holiday tradition. That’s seriously how they’ve been promoting today’s Christmas Day match up (11:30 on ABC 7) for the past couple of weeks — “a game that has become a holiday tradition.” What this match up really seems is sad — more than three years after Shaquille O’Neal left the Los Angeles......

Spurs 103, Clippers 81 - San Antonio has a love/hate relationship with Los Angeles. Four days ago, they routed the Clippers at home (love). On Sunday they lost to the Lakers at the Staples Center (hate), then stayed in LA on Monday and smacked the tar out of the Clippers (more love). They sprinted out to a 16 point lead in the first 7:41 and never looked back. Tony Parker scored 21 points to......

FRIDAY • John Vanderslice, Charles Bissel (of The Wrens) and Thee More Shallows take the stage at the Knitting Factory at 8 PM. Tickets are $10 advance, $12 day of. • KCRW presents Nikka Costa and Driveblind at The Roxy tonight at 9 PM. Tickets are $23. • In conjunction with Vroman's Bookstore, Joan Didion will appear at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid in Pasadena, at 7 PM to discussion her new memoir,......

It's a banner day for LA bookworms. There are lots of readings scheduled all over town: • 12:30 pm : Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman Thursday, April 14 at 12:30 Dutton's Beverly Hills holds a lunchtime event for Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman who will sign their latest book about Manhattan socialite-Cinderellas "Wolves in Chic Clothing." • 7:00 pm : Tony Kienitz Thursday, April 14, 2005 7:00 PM at Vroman's Pasadena Tony Kienitz discusses......

Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rooster begins today and we encourage you to follow the traditions that will ensure your prosperity for the next 12 years. Being poor and destitute in Los Angeles because you didn't honor the proud male chicken just doesn't seem like a good plan. Thankfully, because we just started the South Beach Diet, the most important practice of the day is easy. LAist will not be eating......