Josh Tate

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures As expected, Cloverfield demolished the box office this weekend, setting a record for a January opener with $41M in receipts. The final total was $15M+ more than was expected as early as a week ago, establishing Cloverfield as a potential monster of a hit once word-of-mouth starts to flow. Not to be outdone, 27 Dresses surprised to the high side in its debut, raking in a solid $22.4M and...

Photo courtesy of Alik Keplicz/AP Saturday is invariably both the best and worst day of the entire festival. It's the best in the sense that there is no shortage of high-profile movies, events and parties to attend. It's the worst in the sense that everyone--and I include the entire under-25 population of Salt Lake City--knows this. Saturday simply has the most intense crowds of the entire festival. It's the perfect day to avoid Main...

There are usually only two things to talk about at the Sundance Film Festival: the movies and the parties. Last night was unique, though, because everybody was talking about...the blackout! That's right. Around 9:30 last night the whole town just went completely dark for at least half on hour. Periodic blackouts continued for the next hour or so before everything finally returned to normal. It was a surreal scene. Thousands of people were just...

Photo courtesy of In Between Sessions via Flickr Starting tomorrow and continuing through next week, LAist will be reporting live from the Sundance Film Festival. We'll be covering the films, the parties, the people and the various surreal and pointless events that comprise the most important film festival in the country. With the WGA strike still in full bloom, most are expecting a buying frenzy up in Park City as distributors stock up on...

photo courtesy of paramount pictures I'm shocked at the middling critical response that Cloverfield has generated. Sure, it's only a popcorn movie, but it's a perfect popcorn movie! Plenty of movies are described as a roller-coaster ride, but when Cloverfield finally ends you physically feel like you just got off a roller-coaster. I can't imagine a scenario where Cloverfield is not a huge box-office hit. I also can't imagine there not being a huge...

Since its teaser trailer screened in front of Transformers this past summer, there's been a good deal of buzz surrounding Cloverfield. Unlike most movies that arrive loaded with hype, though (Snakes on a Plane anyone?), Cloverfield completely delivers. It is the most visceral, thrilling movie I've seen in years. Not since Trinity's opening bullet-time fight in the The Matrix have I heard an audience spontaneously burst into applause in the middle of a movie....

As a devoted fan of Wet Hot American Summer, I feel it's my duty to give top-billing to the equally hilarious The Ten. I'm not sure there was a more surreal comic moment last year than Liev Schreiber's competition with his neighbor over--what else--CAT-scan machines. I almost resent Ricky Gervais for not sticking with Extras a few more years. There are now only three funny shows left on TV. Between grief and Good Luck...

When Teeth screened at Sundance last year, there was a collective shudder and crossing of legs by the male members of the audience. You see, the subject of Teeth is the cultural myth of vagina dentata. Jess Weixler plays Dawn, a young Christian girl who is struggling with her budding sexuality and the aggressive attentions of the men around her. She soon discovers that she possesses the ultimate weapon against over-familiarity. That's right, she...

Despite being thoroughly outed by Vikram Jayanti in his superb documentary, The Golden Globes: Hollywood's Dirty Little Secret, the Globes do retain some credibility in certain quarters. I don't buy that they are any sort of barometer for Academy Award nominations, but they do give nominees the extra media attention that may tip an Oscar nod their way. That said, here's what I thought about tonight's results and what they may portend. BEST MOTION...

In its first weekend of wide release, The Bucket List charged to the top of the box office. Its tally of $19.54 million ($20.9M) just edged Ice Cube's First Sunday which debuted with an even $19M. There was some talk that upstart Juno might win the weekend crown, but it had to settle for a still healthy $14M ($71.2M). It now seems certain to reach $100M while holiday stalwarts National Treasure: Book of Secrets...