This weekend America faces The Dilemma, a new purported comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. The boys play best friends, James the happily married to Winona Ryder man and Vaughn the bachelor who is practically married to Jennifer Connelly, but scared to take the next step guy. The smug, married couple spend the first half of the movie encouraging Vaughn to pop the question and the second half berating him for not knowing how hard it is to be married. They could both stand to look at their own marriage and leave Vaughn alone. more ›

We can all agree that the Coen Brothers are the finest filmmakers working in America right now, can't we? A Serious Man is further proof of their complete mastery of the medium. Aside from numerous other wonderful scenes, the bar mitzvah and the closing shot at the school are beyond brilliant. I watched The Time Traveler's Wife expecting a good, solid cry. Sadly, it did not deliver (though, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams were their usual solid selves). How did a movie with as much talent as Couples Retreat turn out to be such a dud? Bronson was uneven as a film, but Tom Hardy delivered an Oscar-worthy performance. It's so searing and violent that, frankly, I'd be worried to be in the same room as Tom Hardy. That couldn't all have been acting. 19 films by David Lean and Charlie Chaplin for under $75. That's called a 'buy', folks! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! more ›

Still not quite sure why so many branded Funny People an unmitigated disaster. Sure, it wasn't as big of a box-office performer as your standard Apatow or Sandler joint, but it was hardly a huge bomb ($51M). Plus, the reviews were fairly solid across the board (68% positive on RT). Something tells me that this is a film that people will find on DVD and VOD, and it will eventually become a basic-cable classic. It's not saying much, but Angels & Demons was a hell of a lot better than The Da Vinci Code. If you want to see a great movie that takes place in the same basic neighborhood, try out the fascinating Gomorrah. more ›

Spike Jonze's long-awaited Where the Wild Things Are soared to the top of the box office this weekend as it brought in an impressive $32.4M to top the charts. Law Abiding Citizen came in a surprising second despite overwhelmingly mediocre reviews ($21.2M). After that it was gimmicky horror pic Blair Witch 2: Paranormal Activity ($20.1M | $33.7M), the unfunny comedy Couples Retreat ($17.9M | $63.3M) and the unnecessary remake The Stepfather which debuted to $12.3M. more ›

Despite middling reviews, America warmed up to Couples Retreat this weekend as it easily topped the box office chart with a haul of $35.3M. Last week's champ, Zombieland finished a distant second with $15M ($47.8M) but managed to top the sturdy Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs ($12M | $96.2M). The Toy Story 1 & 2 double-feature continued to do good business ($7.6M | $22.6M) while sleeper Paranormal Activity did huge business in its first weekend of wide release ($7M | $8.2M). more ›

I was excited when Couples Retreat first popped on my radar a few months ago. I mean, coupling the Vaughn | Favreau | Billingsley team with Demiurge Jason Bateman seemed like a match made in mainstream comedy heaven, right? Nope. Michael Sheen has quietly become a top-notch, see-everything-he-does actor. I know more about the Bible than I do about soccer, but I'll queue up for The Damned United just to see Sheen. It's already being written: An Education will produce one of the next great stars and that star is Carey Mulligan. more ›

LAist recently sat down with Malin Akerman, one of the stars of the upcoming comedy Couples Retreat. She opened up to us about the other half of her real life couple and shared one of the ways she keeps her marriage strong even when she can’t find the time to retreat to a tropical paradise. more ›

Despite sucking and being overwhelmingly patronizing, is looking more and more like a big flop ($4.2M/$37.8M). more ›

Since the weekend following Thanksgiving is an historically slow one for business, the major studios were hesitant to release anything on Friday. As a result, the witless ($5.1M/$165.6M) which are both certified hits. more ›

Despite not being terribly funny, opened to a relatively disappointing $12.3M ($18.5M). more ›

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Will? Please make Anchorman 2 while you still can! | Photo courtesy of New Line Cinemas more ›

In what can only be seen as a ratification of Mike Huckabee's belief that Satan actually exists, . more ›

For over seven years, the Rebels of Comedy have created a warm and welcoming environment in one of America's most notoriously vicious industries. The comedy troop regularly brings Los Angele venues the biggest names and best up-and-coming talent in stand-up. more ›

After the awful , Vince Vaughn owes us some laughs and Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland might be just the ticket. It follows Vaughn and four hand-picked comedians as they cross the country to play an exhausting 30 shows in 30 nights. There are a bevy of on-stage celebrity cameos and Vaughn never lets his out-sized persona overwhelm everyone else...mostly. more ›

I was kind of unhappy at how PBS dropped off Super Tuesday coverage fairly early in the evening. Political sickos pretty much had to rely on CNN which was all tech-ed out: did you see that crazy stage Wolf Blitzer was on? How about the map with _way_ too much information? They didn't even know where to look on that thing and neither did I. Was I looking at specific precincts reporting, or was it statewide? Etc. The pack of political neanderthals they gathered for us was also uninspiring - can they not find some people _without_ political agendas to put on their programs? Who would ever want to hear anything from (the now morbidly obese) Bill Bennett? He's George Wendt without the humor. One thing's for sure, Super Tuesday is now too close too the Super Bowl and makes for an overwhelming 72 hour period, which is fine if you're a TV junkie. more ›

The most distressing thing about the ten worst movies of the year wasn't even the movies themselves. True, they were all extremely depressing--especially the "comedies"--but nothing was more deflating than the immense amount of money that so many of them made. Their runaway success ensures that 2008 will have no shortage of Grade-A shit. Having said that, here are my ten worst. I can't believe I couldn't find room for . more ›

For those of you who enjoyed The Golden Compass this weekend, it looks unlikely that you'll have the chance to see the second installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Compass only managed to take in 26.1 million dollars at the box-office, below what were already reduced expectations. Considering its budget was rumored to be above $200M, it's looking like Compass may rival Evan Almighty as the flop of the year. Shame. Since Compass... more ›

With one very notable exception, it's a fairly dull weekend in the movie world. That exception, of course, is the sterling No Country for Old Men. After several misfires (Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers, The Man Who Wasn't There), the Coen Brothers are back with their best film since The Big Lebowski. Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones all give superb performances in this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name.... more ›

Today went fast. I reported to Warner Brothers Gate 2 for the “late shift”. Even though I had heard that all of the strikers were going to mobilize at Gate 2, there are writers and supporters stationed at all the gates around the studio. Unlike Gate 7, Gate 2 is bustling with activity. The sign in table here is covered with an amazing variety of snacks. Cartons of donuts from Krispy Kreme and Winchells... more ›

It’s rare that a movie can change a hardened opinion and yet that’s exactly what Sean Penn has done with his sublime adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s . When I originally read the book in 1997, my view of Christopher McCandless was essentially in-line with those—largely Alaskans--who considered him an ill-prepared, arrogant fool who died needlessly. The romance of his life and death was entirely lost on me. more ›

After an extensive 7-year study by LAist about how celebrities choose to fly, we have come to conclusion that the superstars choose Southwest Airlines and the the stars of a past day or just the weird ones take United Airlines. Over the past 7-years, we have flown with: - Vince Vaughn on Southwest Airlines from LAX to Chicago Midway (boarded with the disabled and children/familes) - Philip Seymour Hoffman on Southwest Airlines from Burbank to... more ›

10) While LA's Silversun Pickups can't seem to shed the Smashing Pumpkins comparisons despite releasing a record -- "Carnavas" -– that tops anything Billy Corgan's done since Siamese Dream, the only think rockin' in Chicago these days is the back seat of R. Kelly's stretch Benz. more ›

+ Apple to staff Best Buy? The electronics giant has a lot of things going for it -- decent prices, good selection, excellent extended warranties -- so imagine if the computer sales staff was trained and managed by Apple? more ›

You may have heard that the owners of the Los Feliz haunt The Derby are hoping to sell the place. Instead of an icon of the swing dance world, instead of a cheapish but not unpleasant Louise's Trattoria, instead of a nice one-story restaurant with parking, the lot at the corner of Hillhurst and Los Feliz would house 88 condos piled into a claustrophobic 5-story monstrosity. Built in 1928, The Derby didn't become an offshoot of the original Wilshire Blvd Derby until 1940, when its domed roof was perfected. In 1996, it starred in the movie Swingers with Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. Now local activists, who have the support of the LA Conservancy's Modern Committee, have launched SavetheDerby.com to focus efforts to halt the demolition and development plans. Save the Derby is also on MySpace — like so many other 77-year-olds with style. more ›