Elina Shatkin

Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell & Jon Heder (AKA Napoleon Dynamite) star as a pair of rival ice skaters who are banned from men's single competition but discover a loophole that allows them to compete as a pairs team. Look for Amy Poehler and her real-life husband Will Arnett (Gob on Arrested Development) as pairs skating champs. After the Wedding - Danish director Susanne Bier has created a comedy/drama Mads Mikkelsen (the bleeding...

Academy Award winning filmmaker Jessica Yu best known for her documentaries Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien, In the Realms of the Unreal and Protagonist, is directing her first narrative feature, Ping Pong Playa described simply as "an Asian-American comedy," and she needs extras for a few crucial scenes. Wanna see yourself on the big screen? Wanna learn what being on a movie set is all about? Wanna watch a talented director...

The gender-bending, genre-melding performance art of the Butchlalis de Panochtitlan is hard to define, but it's fun and very funny to watch. This foursome of queer butch Latinas uses video and sketch-driven performances to explore sex, sexuality, race, romance, community, identity and growing up brown and butch in greater L.A. If that description makes you cringe because (like me) you've sat through a few too many evenings of performance art that's so pretentious and...

WHEN: Monday, March 26, 2007 WHERE: Orpheum Theater, downtown LA *NOTE: The whole intro is divided into 14 short clips, so you'll have to click through all of them to get the full goodness....

He likes to tear the heads off small animals and he's a practicing philatelist (it sounds dirtier than it is), but there's plenty we don't know about Karl Rove. Or should I say MC Rove? Bush's phone tapping, attorney firing, pro-torturing Chief of Staff had a chance to rock it on the mic at the 2007 Radio-Television Correspondents Dinner,* and rock it he did! Bear with the clip. The rapping doesn't stat until 5:42, but...

Greater Los Angeles can proudly lay claim to another homegrown ethnic food mini-chain. With only two shops -- one in Rosemead and one in Monterey Park -- Mr. Baguette is hardly poised to crush Subway and Quiznos, but this humble yet expanding local sandwich chain offers a wealth of delicious and shockingly inexpensive bánh mì, AKA the Vietnamese hoagie. Combining traditional French baguettes and charcuterie with Vietnamese toppings like pickled carrots, daikon radish, onions,...

Pinkberry, the chain that is to frozen desserts what Starbucks is to coffee, is bringing its brand of overpriced, pseudo-healthy, weirdly sour frozen yogurt to Silver Lake with a new outlet that's set to open at the corner of Hyperion and Rowena. I know a lot of people love this place, but I just don't care for Pinkberry. And as long as Pazzo Gelato is a mere 1.4 miles away, I doubt I could...

Grindhouse The week begins with sassy sexploitation flicks Pretty Maids All in a Row and Revenge of the Cheerleaders, then segues into Asian action with aFearless Fighters and Supermanchu and closes with a triple bill of bloody horror: The Blood Spattered Bride, Asylum of Blood and Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary. WHEN: Mon., March 26 - Sun., April 1; various times WHERE: The New Beverly: 7165 Beverly Blvd. (1 block West of La Brea Ave.) King...

I was lucky enough to score a couple of last minute tickets to last night's world premiere of the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature, Grindhouse, at the Orpheum in downtown LA. I am happy to report that after months of festering anticipation, Grindhouse lives up to the hype. Grindhouse, which is actually two feature-length movies in one (total running time: 185 minutes), begins with vintage title cards promoting "prevues of coming attractions." Then comes...

It's a legend. Unutterably brilliant. William Shatner doing his interpretation of the song "Rocketman." Then there's Chris Elliott spoofing William Shatner on Letterman (circa early 1990s). Then there's Stewie Griffin spoofing Chris Elliott spoofing William Shatner....