FilmWeek

Guest host David Lazarus and KPCC film critics Wade Major of boxoffice.com and Claudia Puig of USA Today discuss the week’s new film releases including Date Night, After.Life, La Mission, Mid-August Lunch, Phyllis and Harold, The Square, When You’re Strange, Godspeed, and Women Without Men, among others. Later, with releases in the past few months including Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon, and Clash of the Titans, Hollywood has increased its output of 3-D movies- as well as the ticket prices to go with them. What does this trend mean for moviegoers and the film industry? Is it a profit-driven gimmick that puts style over substance? Or does the 3-D treatment enhance the viewing experience?

What started with a political turf battle between the Department of Water & Power, Mayor Villaraigosa and the L.A. City Council over a proposed carbon surcharge has now escalated into a possible paralysis of city services and a full-blown budget crisis. It’s difficult to trace the steps between the City Council’s refusal to implement higher rates on DWP electrical bills and the Mayor’s call to shut down city offices for two days a week. The Mayor called for non-essential services, such as libraries, parks and seniors centers, to be closed twice a week, arguing that the DWP’s denial of a $73.5 million injection into the city’s general fund has forced his hand. The City Council and city unions are calling the Mayor’s threat a bluff, questioning how the DWP controversy is connected with this sudden budget crisis. Who will blink first in L.A.’s high-stakes game of brinkmanship?

Larry and the critics review the week's new movies, including Clash of the Titans, The Last Song, The Greatest, and The Secret of Kells. Later, Mystery Science Theater 3000's Mike Nelson is back to poke fun at Hollywood blockbusters, and Peter Rainer reviews the Bermuda Film Fest.

Guest host David Lazarus and KPCC film critics Andy Klein of Brand X, Wade Major of boxoffice.com, and Charles Solomon, animation critic and historian for amazon.com discuss the week’s new film releases, including How to Train Your Dragon, How Tub Time Machine, Chloe, and Waking Sleeping Beauty, Vincere, Eclipse, and The Harimaya Bridge. Then, Larry's back with the Dragon filmmakers.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Lael Loewenstein of Variety and Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com discuss the week’s new film releases including The Bounty Hunter, Repo Men, Diary of A Wimpy Kid, The Runaways, Greenberg, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Tales From The Script, among others. Then, a look at the new documentary, Waking Sleeping Beauty.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Jean Oppenheimer and Claudia Puig of USA Today review the week’s new film releases, including Green Zone, Remember Me, She's Out of My League, Our Family Wedding, Toe to Toe, American Radical, The Art of the Steal, Children of Invention, Mother, and Brooklyn's Finest. Later, George Lucas' latest project isn't a movie- it's a 976 page book. In "Blockbusting," Lucas surveys over 100 years of moviemaking to pick 300 films that stand the test of time. Of interest to film buffs are the shooting schedules, financial figures and trivia behind the making of each movie. The production costs and box office numbers are also listed in present-day dollars to allow for insightful comparison between decades of film. What's the highest-grossing film ever made? Adjusted for inflation, it's still Gone with the Wind. Larry Mantle discusses fun facts from the book with editor Alex Ben Block.

Charles and Andy drag Larry down the rabbit hole to discuss Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Then, Larry Mantle and all the FilmWeek critics traveled to the Egyptian Theatre for our 8th annual Academy Awards preview show. Who will take home Oscar gold? Who will be disappointed? KPCC’s critics make their predictions.

Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Henry Sheehan of henrysheehan.com and Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor discuss the week’s new film releases including Cop Out, The Crazies, A Prophet, Defendor, Easier With Practice, Formosa Betrayed, and The Yellow Handkerchief. Then, Larry talks with Gabourey Sidibe, the Oscar-nominated star of Precious.

Larry Mantle and critics Wade Major of boxoffice.com and Claudia Puig of USA Today discuss the week’s new film releases including Shutter Island, Ghost Writer, The Girl On The Train, Ajami, The Good Guy, Happy Tears, Blood Done Sign My Name, and October Country. KPCC critic Charles Solomon of Amazon.com will also join Wade and Claudia to talk about the Oscar nominated animated and live actions shorts.