One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Weekend Movie Guide 09/30: Does Anna Faris Have Your 'Number'?
WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER? courtesy 20th Century Fox
Romantic comedies are obsessed with numbers. Witness (500) Days of Summer, 27 Dresses, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and now, What's Your Number? The film follows the High Fidelity model of retracing your love life, one ex at a time. Of course, doe-eyed Anna Faris is a much sweeter lead than John Cusack, and What's Your Number? is undoubtedly a more traditional rom-com (albeit one that's seen some serious tweaking in post).
Faris' foils in What's Your Number? include TV actors Joel McHale (Community), Andy Samberg (SNL), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) & Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation). Chris Evans plays the requisite quirky ally who almost certainly turns serious flame. Highly doubt he'll end up as another Evil Ex.
Though few street artists use their real names, even fewer works of street art are truly anonymous. Banksy's built his brand around keeping his birth certificate under lock & key, but his "name" is so well known that his works are identified, stolen & resold before the paint can even dry. The creator of the Toynbee Tiles, on the other hand, is a complete mystery, as is their message. The tiles, all bearing the cryptic phrase "Toynbee Idea In Movie 2001 Resurrect Dead On Planet Jupiter", are street art in a literal sense - carved in linoleum, sandwiched into sidewalks with tar paper & pressed into the pavement by normal traffic. Philadelphia is the movement's mothership, although tiles have made their way into many metropolises & even crossed continents into Central & South America.
RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES courtesy Land of Missing Parts
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, plays for one week only at the Downtown Independent. The documentary chronicles the history of the Toynbee Tiles, the quest to find their creator & their continuing legacy of copycats & enthusiasts obsessives. Documentarians Jon Foy & Colin Smith are firmly in the latter camp. They began plotting Resurrect Dead for over a decade, and started collecting clues on camera in 2005. Justin Duerr, the film's resident Toynbee scholar, has studied the works since the mid-90s. Will the Toynbee Tiles consume your life as well? "My God, it's full of tar..."
Sponsored message
Are you an adventurous film-goer? Check out our weekly guide to the best of LA's repertory theaters, festival series & midnight movies. This week we have special coverage of the New Beverly's 4th Annual All-Night Horror Show!
Wide Release
50/50 (Showtimes)
Courageous (Showtimes)
Dream House (Showtimes)
What's Your Number? (Showtimes)
Limited Release
Beware the Gonzo (Downtown Independent)
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress (Laemmle's Claremont 5) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7) (Laemmle's Sunset 5) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
Bunraku (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Finding Joe (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
Force (Laemmle's Fallbrook 7)
Granito: How to Nail a Dictator (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Margaret (The Landmark)
The Mill and the Cross (Nuart Theatre)
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles (Downtown Independent)
The Road to Freedom (Laemmle's Music Hall 3)
Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7)
Silent Souls (Laemmle's Music Hall 3) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
Take Shelter (The Landmark)
Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Weekend (The Landmark) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7) (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
The Whale (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
The Worst Movie Ever! (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
That's all for this week. See you at the movies!
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
