Ed Yerke-Robins

The release of Final Destination 5 this weekend shows that the preceding film in the horror series wasn't, as its title proclaimed, The Final Destination. Thank goodness! While the franchise won't (& shouldn't) win any Oscars, it delivers exactly what it promises: ridiculously contrived, increasingly gory death sequences.

Jim Morrison may not be interred at Hollywood Forever, but plenty of his peers make spirited appearances there this weekend for Cinespia's Movies From Dusk Til Dawn. The event runs from 7PM Saturday through 6AM Sunday. Don't worry, the coffee is free.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes may be the missing link between the classic series & modern moviegoers. Bellflower's a Sundance darling sporting serious firepower under its twee hood.

Seth Green returns to the New Beverly for a weekend-long guestival! The Robot Chicken guru pairs pulp & circumstance Thursday with a screening of the car-chase classic Smokey and the Bandit & Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven. Plus the weekend and more!

We like cowboys, we like aliens, but we're having trouble rounding up excitement for Cowboys & Aliens. The credits pack a lot of heat, but where's the cattle?

Nothing screams summer like Sleepaway Camp! It's a delightfully sick slasher that wrings every penny out of its low budget. It's part of an informal series of summer frights screening this weekend!

Is it a smart move to release Captain America: The First Avenger on Comic-Con weekend, as every media outlet (including us) talks comic movies? Or is it short-sighted, since all the fan-boys are in San Diego? Regardless, Marvel goes red, white & blue in a bid for many shades of green.

The short film was once a cornerstone of the theatrical experience (think "The Twenty", only worth watching). A cinematic laboratory, short films test talents & technologies, often in less time than it takes to read this column. In an age of digital streaming, the LA Shorts Fest offers a rare opportunity to see these small films back on the big screen. The 15th annual fest begins tomorrow at the Sunset 5, and runs through the 29th.

David Bowie built a musical career on outsider personas like Ziggy Stardust & Aladdin Sane. In The Man Who Fell to Earth, his first starring role, he's literally from another planet. Rialto Pictures celebrates the film's 35th anniversary with a director's cut opening exclusively at the Nuart.

As temperatures climb outside the cinema, it's high time to relax with one of the coolest actors out of the past. For those unfamiliar, Robert Mitchum excelled at icy antiheroes & haunting psychodrama over a 50 year career that included Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear & Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man

July is National Parks & Recreation Month, and all month long LAist will be featuring a hand-selected park a day to showcase just a few of the wonderful recreation spaces--big or small--in the Los Angeles area.

We weren't very kind to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) two years ago and, to be honest, Transformers: Dark of the Moon doesn't look much different. The latest in the franchise is its most epic yet, clocking in at over 2 & a half hours in 3D.