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I don't typically review films via print, but Lars von Trier's latest body of artwork, Antichrist, wasn't really a typical film. It was more beautifully shot than some of the most gorgeous movies I've ever seen; it was scarier than any run of the mill horror film, and more disturbing than anything that's ever disturbed me in my life, in a very outside-of-the-spectrum of what-you-would-drop-your-jaw-at-because-of-its-astonishing-shock-value kind of way. I don't know what the normal protocol...

For a movie about robots, Astro Boy is surprisingly wooden. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have heart. Based on the work of Japanese comic book artist and animator Osamu Tezuka, this CGI version of what’s widely regarded as the first anime is largely faithful to the beloved character. First published in 1952 and animated in 1963, the future-set Astro Boy is the story of Dr. Tenma (voiced by Nicolas Cage), top scientist at the Ministry of Science whose son Toby (Freddie Highmore) dies in a tragic accident...

LA Beer Week started October 15th and promises a veritable cornucopia of local beer bars, brewpubs, breweries, beer, cuisine, tasting, events and demos in both LA and Orange County. Celebrate local beer culture at one of many events being held at the great beer establishments of the Southland. LA Beer Week is encouraging individual pubs and breweries to promote their own events through October 24th.

Chef Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD believes the art of cooking needs daily cultivation. Even if he has 10 restaurants, he will always be exactly where he wants to be - in the kitchen. As an LA native he has “a personal vendetta” to elevate LA into the echelon of the best restaurant cities in the world. With the development of a new Grace like fine dining restaurant downtown that will grow at least a third of the produce on site, and a new BLD slated to open in Pasadena early next year, Chef Fraser shows no signs of leaving the kitchen. LAist caught up with the busy chef at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market (as he bought green beans for his daughter) to provide details about moving Grace to downtown, the struggle of when to pull a dish from the menu and how he is inspired by Wonderbread.

Santa Monica’s Pourtal Wine Bar and Playboy.com’s Imbiber Dan Dunn have teamed up to present The Imbiber’s Ultimate Playboy Fantasy Wine Tour. A flight of eight wines has been inspired by eight of Playboys classic Playmates. At the October 6th launch party, winosseurs sipped, swirled, and mingled with Dan and his Playboy ‘mates’. Pourtal showed the lineup on their high tech Enomatic Machines. The wines remain available by the taste, glass or bottle at Pourtal through the end of October.

If you haven’t heard of Film Independent's Filmmaker Forum, it's best described as a three-day cinematic tornado of an event, that’s definitely worth getting caught up in, provided you can handle the price of admission, and you’re serious about gaining some kind of a foothold in the world of independent film. The event is thrown each year by the good folks at Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization also in charge of the Independent Spirit Awards, and Los Angeles Film Festival.

Photo courtesy of Alter Ego Cinema It's easy to write off Warning!!! Pedophile Released sight unseen as cheap exploitation. Besides all those exclamation marks in the title, there's the convenient release on the heels of Roman Polansky's high-profile arrest for child-rape, an appearance by porn star Joanna Angel & a lead actor coming off of Silent Night, Zombie Night and (ahem) Vaginal Holocaust. Never mind the accompanying Dakota Fanning vehicle Father Xmas (at one...

If you’re an aspiring filmmaker, and you’ve got the money, get yourself down to the DGA on Sunset, for Film Independent’s FILMMAKER FORUM. Admission for Sunday is costly ($180 for members, $200 for non-members), but rewarding and interesting to say the least.

Sports Ed. note: With USC taking a week off, our guest writer Zack Jerome takes a look at this supposed rivalry. I went to Agoura High School. If you asked any of us back then who our rival was, we’d have told you Westlake High School, home of the Warriors (and a really disturbing wrestling hazing incident). We never beat Westlake. I mean never. I was watching SportsCenter years later while attending USC and...

After the stunning conclusion of Game 2 of the NLDS yesterday at Chavez Ravine, Cardinals’ shortstop Brendan Ryan told the St. Louis Dispatch "It makes me sick, absolutely sick to my stomach." Moments before Mark Loretta sent a looping liner into center field for a walk off winner, I knew how Ryan felt. Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright had been tying Dodger hitters in knots for eight innings. It was a slow death he was dealing us.