No way he's using steroids! | Photo courtesy of Lionsgate I liked Rocky Balboa and Rambo all right, but what I'm really looking forward to is Sylvester Stallone reuniting with Dolly Parton in Rhinestone 2: Rap Wars. This is hard to say as a Woody Allen fan, but Woody should consider giving up on the comedies and focusing strictly on his dramatic films. Cassandra's Dream continues what has been a good streak. The Walker......

It looks like a lot is on tonight but as a commentor said yesterday, "TV really blows these days" - I agree. Lifetime has launched an online series hosted by Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead called "Gift Intervention", it's kind of like an Antiques Roadshow for really bad gifts combined with an outing of the bad-giftor. 7:00pm What's New Pussycat TCM - (1965) Shaga-slapa-delic classic with Peter Sellers, Peter O'Toole, Woody Allen, Ursula Andress, Capucine.......

OK so the Oscars are this weekend. Even though the writers' strike is over, the prediction is that this will be a ho-hum (excuse me?) Oscars. First of all, the majority of the films presented for consideration are real downers, secondly, because of the strike, many potential presenters thought that the awards ceremony would be canceled or drastically cut back so they made other plans and are now not available to present at the show.......

OK so the Oscars a week from Sunday are what we're building up to but as an enthusiastic follower of Dexter on Showtime, I'm intrigued to see how it will translate to its network debut on CBS at 10:00pm this Sunday. At first I was concerned that the end result would be a heavily edited, several minutes shorter, vapid and empty shell of its former glory. Not so according to my Showtime contact. Evidently when......

photo courtesy of paramount pictures I'm shocked at the middling critical response that Cloverfield has generated. Sure, it's only a popcorn movie, but it's a perfect popcorn movie! Plenty of movies are described as a roller-coaster ride, but when Cloverfield finally ends you physically feel like you just got off a roller-coaster. I can't imagine a scenario where Cloverfield is not a huge box-office hit. I also can't imagine there not being a huge......

In other news, a desperate NBC has ordered a pilot of the BBC's cars & celebs series, Top Gear. The show has been running on BBC America for a couple years now, I've seen a few episodes, notably one with Ewan McGregor. The show may be amusing depending upon which celebrities they line up, but it's no American Idol. Again, instead of coming up with something original, we're forced to watch rebranded concepts from overseas.......

Vampire Weekend, decked out in polo shirts and loafers, played their blend of indie rock meets afro-pop to a packed house at The Echo last night. The show was sold out and the band did not disappoint despite singer Ezra Koenig’s ailing vocal chords. Armed with enhanced energy and a couple of new songs since the last time they were in LA, Vampire Weekend proved that they are very deserving of the buzz currently surrounding......

Britney Spears's new friend and advisor Sam Lufti may be charged in a Los Angeles court this week for ramming his car into a process server's Range Rover who was hired by Kevin Federline to subpeona Lufti back in August - US Weekly Jessica Simpson's reps are denying she had any work done on her lips, have they not seen the pics? - People In more celeb plastic surgery news, looks like Jennifer Aniston......

Now that the writer's strike is on, what will happen to your favorite shows? The LA Times has worked up a grid explaining the future status of shows like "Lost," "Scrubs," and "Battlestar Galactica". The real tragedy here, of course, is that "The Colbert Report" is immediately going into reruns. Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare share the dubious honor of TripAdvisor's Least Favorite Airport: and yes, LAX represents itself nicely at #4. LA Weekly takes......

The legendary film director Ingmar Bergman died early this morning at his home in Sweden. He was 89 years old. Born into a middle-class family in Uppsala, Bergman struggled with issues of faith, mortality, and identity throughout his life; these themes would echo through his films, including classics such as Persona, Wild Strawberries, Fanny and Alexander, and The Seventh Seal. Bergman is remembered most for his visionary style and his complicated portrayals of love......

-- For £10 million and a private jet you’d do it too. They’re getting the band back together. [AOL Canada] -- $80 for the new Smashing Pumpkins record? Fantastic. [Shoutmouth] -- Rape me and a bag of chips. [Pitchfork] -- Leaking the leakers. Applications for 'snitch’ now being accepted. [Idolator] -- Choose your own Bob Dylan adventure. [Billboard] -- Woody “I don't want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is......

- Pinkberry is yogurt-ish enough. Rejoice! - eating LA - The boats at Echo Park Lake might be dunzo. Sigh. - blogging.la - The weather is perfect to start watching movies outside under the stars - Franklin Ave. - LA City Nerd stumped by a simple question? Impeach! - LA City Nerd - Saturday is Bootie LA's 2nd anniversary. Word! - Bootie LA - Paris Hilton has the penmanship of a 7th grader -......

"I know the meeting will be there, but will God show up?" This is only second to the conversation about drugs and alcohol. Billy Graham's only vice is coffee, but he heard somewhere that coffee might be bad for you as well and that he might have to give that up to.......

There are many great lines from this late 60's interview. My favorite is Billy telling Woody that "thou shall not commit immorality." Or Woody saying that not having premarital sex is like "getting your license without taking driving lessons." That and the reference to venereal disease. God Bless YouTube for digging this up.......

Last night at the El Rey, The Hold Steady did just that -- Not playing the coy, indie-nerd wallflowers and never crossing into absolute rock and roll mayhem, Craig Finn and the boys held the line, well, steady. Looking like a more-hip Paul Giamatti and gesturing feverishly like a less-nebbishy Woody Allen, Finn led the charge with flails and jolts, hand claps for miles, and his frighteningly accurate, wholly incongruous, Springsteen voice. Mesmerizing. The......

Dear LAist, Did you see Entourage last night? When Drama drove to Variety to beat the ass of the TV critic Paul Schneider, was that really Michael Schneider who also is a critic at Variety, appears on E!, and runs the Franklin Avenue blog? Also, where can I get that AD/HD shirt? Nancy, North Hollywood Dear Nancy, We thought the same damn thing! However, if we had tuned into the Franklin Ave. blog on......

Tonight - Friday - March 16th, 2007 College Basketball: Arizona vs. Purdue (CBS, 4:00 p.m.) College Basketball: Arkansas vs. USC (CBS, 6:30 p.m.) Trail Blazers @ Lakers (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Take the Money and Run (TCM, 6:45 p.m.) Bumbling bank thief, Woody Allen, is released from prison and continues his crime spree (1969) 20/20 (ABC, 9:55 p.m.) Bawbwa talks to Venezuelan Prez Hugo Chavez Larry King Live (CNN, 9:00 p.m.) thighmistress Suzanne Somers,......

A Word or 12: Dirt - I forgot to mention Dirt yesterday, someone just kill me please. Tonight - Wednesday - January 31st, 2007 The Spiral Staircase (TCM, 5:00 p.m.) This nifty thriller from the '40s features a strangler that follows a mute maid through a dark New England mansion during a storm. Lakers @ Celtics (KCAL, 5:30 p.m.) Monster (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Charlize Theron transorms herself in an Oscar winning performance. Worth watching just......

Here's a trailer for the original Casino Royale cut as if it were a present-day Bond film. The 1967 Casino Royale AKA Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale (not to be confused with last year's Casino Royale) was a spy spoof that starred Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, and David Niven, and featured a host of Hollywood personalities such as Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Deborah Kerr, William Holden, John Huston, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Jacqueline Bisset in a......

Wednesday - Tonight "NHL Hockey" (KDOC, 6:00 p.m.) Ducks @ Avalanche "NHL Hockey" (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) Kings @ Sharks "NBA Basketball" (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Sonics @ Clippers "Everyone Says I Love You" (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) An evening of Woody Allen movies on IFC "Jericho/Criminal Minds/CSI: NY" (CBS, 8:00 - 11:00 p.m.) New episodes. "Madonna: The Confessions Tour - Live From London" (NBC, 8 p.m.) Except, it's not really live I don't think, and......

Last night's episode was a repeat of last week's "Black and White" episode in which Vincent Libretti (Woody Allen) and Angela Keslar (Holly Hobbie) return to the competition in a desperate producer gimmicky attempt at boosting the ratings. The finale and runway show of Olympus Fashion Week airs 10/18. The final episode will air in two parts beginning 10/11. I will be on vacation that week, but I'm sure our guest reviewer has great stuff......

So my first movie review for LAist turns out to be for a totally New York movie. That’s ironic, or something. Not that you know it’s set in New York, per se, because it’s mostly interior shots and they never really say where it is. But you’d kinda be able to guess after a while, because pretty much every character is like Woody Allen without the jokes: whiny, navel-gazing in a neurotic way (as opposed......

Challenge: Create a couture gown (hand made) in two days to be unveiled at a gala. Guest Judges: Catherine Maladrino (1st Judgment), Richard Tyler (2nd Judgment). In this second dual judging episode, the remaining six contestants are immediately thrown into design frenzy. Catherine Maladrino tells them: make a couture (completely hand-made) gown to be unveiled at a party. This is an assignment that will make or break the designers. Fresh ingredient for inspiration, the......

by Mae Ko Challenge: Create a look out of materials found at a New Jersey recycling plant (i.e., plastic wrap, papers, bags, Mylar, bottle caps). Guest Judge: Celebrity Stylist Rachel Zoe In this dramatic episode, the remaining contestants were taken to a New Jersey recycling plant (since NY dumps all of its garbage in Jersey, it made total sense) and were told they were to make an outfit out of the reusables in ONE......

The Writer's Guild West is following in AFI's listomania footsteps and come up with the 101 Greatest Screenplays. We won't keep you in suspense — #1 is everyone's favorite B-movie-made-good, Casablanca: I'm not good at being noble, Ilsa -- But it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Not now. Here's looking at you......

WEDNESDAY • Lucero is on stage tonight at the Troubadour with The Honorary Title and The Glass. Doors open at 8 PM; tickets are $8 advance. • The Silverlake Lounge features Amps for Christ, Nudity (ex-COCO, Dub Narcotic) and Worms, beginning at 9 PM. Tickets are $7. • "Play It Again - The Movie Music of Woody Allen" comes to the Hollywood Bowl tonight at 8 PM. Featuring Sandra Bernhard, Ann Hampton Callaway, Nellie......

Woody Allen is decidedly New York (not a bad thing, we love New York, obviously) His movies are a love affair with the city and vibrate with its rythms. During his long career, he has given us some great films. Sadly, his recent efforts have left us wondering if, perhaps, one of the masters has lost his way. That can be put to rest now that we have seen his latest film, Melinda and......