Elina Shatkin

Despite decidedly mixed reviews the warriors of 300 mopped up the competition by grossing just over $70 million in the film's opening weekend. That's the third biggest R-rated opener EVER after The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ. But the real competition is seeing which of the four worst reviewed blockbusters in the top ten -- Wild Hogs, Ghost Rider, The Number 23 or Norbit, none of which managed a Meta Critic...

In honor of SXSW, let today's 4:20 video serve as a warning about the dark side of rock and/or roll. There's shocking and dangerous new musical trend that's sweeping today's youth. The kids are calling it "emo"... but is emo too emotional for your teen????!!!!!! What you might think of as another harmless indie rock subculture with a penchant for maudlin lyrics and plaintive singing, is in actuality a dangerous new lifestyle complete with its...

Ian Svenonius AKA David Candy AKA the lead singer of D.C. punk bands Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up and most recently Weird War, has published The Psychic Soviet, a book of essays and articles that dwell on "the use of rock 'n' roll and art by the ruling class" and "the sinister machinations behind popular fiction, film, and television serials" (that's according to the good folks at Second Layer Records). Published by Drag City, The...

The Host - Korean director Joon-ho Bong has created one of the scarier horror films of the year not to mention Korea's most successful domestic release ever. A mutant beast created by U.S. military negligence emerges from Seoul's Han River and snatches the daughter of a vendor who runs a small snack bar on the river's banks. The film is riddled with a sense of urgent dread but Bong also manages to poke fun...

Venerable French magazine Cahiers du cinema (yup, it's still in existence) today launched its first English language edition, which will be available both in print and online for an annual fee. For $45, English-language readers will now be able to subscribe to a year's worth of the magazine (11 regular issues + 1 special issue). Cahiers will also offer free online supplements. Currently featured on the publication's Web site is a diary about the making...

A few miles northeast of City Hall, tucked in an triangle bordered by the 110, the 5 and the 101 freeways is one of Los Angeles' secret gems, the San Antonio Winery. Instead of Italian immigrants, warehouses and trucking lots now dominate this unprepossessing little slice of industrial Los Angeles. And in the midst of it the San Antonio Winery stands as the last remnant of a little known and largely forgotten aspect of Los...

Curated by... Guy Maddin Bizarro Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin (Tales From The Gimli Hospital, Careful, The Saddest Music In The World) has been invited to curate a program of films culled from the extensive collection of the UCLA Film Archive. His choices include On Dangerous Ground, Make Way for Tomorrow, Ministry of Fear and a slew of his own short films, all of which will screen over the next couple of weeks. But tonight Maddin...

Thanks to a boot-licking lead-in from The Family Guy and non-stop promos on Fox, I got suckered into watching last night's debut of The Winner on Fox. I can't believe Rob Corddry is starring in a show this unfunny. I can't believe Seth MacFarlane executive produced a show this unfunny. I can't believe network execs greenlit a show this unfunny. I don't get it. Corddry has a proven track record of hilarity on The...

A shadow falls on the moon during a lunar eclipse seen from Vodno Mountain, south of Macedonia's capital Skopje. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski) I know, I know... This is LAist's second photo essay on this weekend's lunar eclipse. But I love astronomical phenomenon so much, I just couldn't resist. Besides, it was the first total lunar eclipse in three years. According to the AP, "Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth passes between the sun and...

A tip of the hat to New Jersey's WFMU, perhaps the East Coast's leading non-commercial radio station, for this joyous exploitation of technology: using Google Earth to capture satellite images of famous locations from equally famous movies. Thanks to Google Earth we can see the bank that Al Pacino tried to rob and the street where he screamed "Attica!" in Dog Day Afternoon, the original "Camp Crystal Lake" from Friday the 13th, the park from...