if Will Smith fell down in the forest, would anyone care? | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Hancock wasn't a terrible movie, but--like everything in which Will Smith meddles--it was mediocre and toothless. It would have been a better movie if superhero Jason Bateman had played the, uh, superhero. I don't get 24. Never have. Never will. I mean, don't people realize that it's Kiefer Sutherland up there on the screen. Anyone really scared of......

Here's another reminder of that movie no one has ever heard of -- Meet Dave (with an abominable $5.3M debut back in July). LAist first spotted Eddie Murphy's giant-ass head on the Paramount Lot in June. This morning it was traveling the 405 Freeway when a driver took a photo and tweeted "WTF?" "Guess no one told him Meet Dave's friend request was denied," joked The Jay, who tipped us off to this photo. "You......

In a huge jump from the original Hellboy film, Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy 2: The Golden Army pulled in a big $35.8M to win the weekend box office race. Fellow superhero flick Hancock finished a close second with $33M ($165M) despite the fact that it's mostly derivative, crappy and overlong at only 92 minutes. Newcomer Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D finished a decent third with $20.5M followed by the super Wall-E......

Good to have Hellboy back, but can we get better make-up for Abe? | Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures Hellboy was one of the real surprises of 2004--a rollicking interpretation of the Dark Horse comic featuring a knockout performance by Ron Perlman in the title role and great turns by Selma Blair and Doug Jones/David Hyde Pierce as his fellow do-gooders. The whole crew returns in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Freed from the strictures......

A giant Eddie Murphy head on the Paramount lot. Taken about 1:30 pm.......

Red Shoes makes for a nice contrast with the distinctive blue tile floor of Silver Lake's Intelligentsia CoffeeVan Nuys is real nice, isn't it, Senator Obama? Today the Democratic presidential nominee hopeful held a roundtable discussion in the residence of supporter Mimi Vitello in beautiful Van Nuys. Today's visit is part of Obama's local campaign efforts and his desire to meet with those who have fallen victim to the country's tough economy. And speaking of......

The most distressing thing about the ten worst movies of the year wasn't even the movies themselves. True, they were all extremely depressing--especially the "comedies"--but nothing was more deflating than the immense amount of money that so many of them made. Their runaway success ensures that 2008 will have no shortage of Grade-A shit. Having said that, here are my ten worst. I can't believe I couldn't find room for Next. 1. Balls of......

I hope you've got a bunch of stuff Tivo'd because there's nothing on until Sunday. You tell me that there is stuff on tonight? What, you mean Friday Night Lights, NUMB3RS, or Las Vegas? Please. Tomorrow, there's no reason to turn on prime time TV unless it's for Citizen Kane on TCM at 8:30. The Big Story is Sunday, check it: Sunday 8:00pm Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project HBO - Special. Don Rickles is......

Two of the four big summer three-quels hit DVD shelves today. Neither is worth your money. Better to spend it on La Vie en Rose, featuring one of the best performances in years by the amazing Marion Cotillard. Better yet, make it a French double-feature and pick up Paris Je T'Aime, too. If you haven't yet, invest a weekend watching Berlin Alexanderplatz. And, yes, it will take the whole weekend. Christmas and South Park......

Saturday Night Live premiered this week in 1975. In honor of their anniversary, LAist is going to show a clip from the show each night this week at midnight and also list what happens each day during the week that leads to the show being on the air Saturday night. Have favorite clips of your own? Submit them here. Today's clip features Eddie Murphy as Mr. Robinson. Tuesday: * Starting in the afternoon, anywhere......

Though its title suggests exceedingly humble aspirations, I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With really is an unexpected little gem. Curb Your Enthusiasm's Jeff Garlin writes, directs, produces and stars (whew!) as the Marty-esque James, an overweight, under-employed, 39 year-old actor who still lives with his mother. His biggest concerns in life appear to be extolling the virtues of rice pudding to a convenience store clerk, keeping a great parking space near Wrigley Field......

Considering I had bought 80 percent of my outfit from Ross Dress for Less, it's a wonder they let me in. Growing up as a happily naive kid in the Midwest, I always wondered if Beverly Hills was anything close to the myths I had grown up with on television as dispensed through Buddy Ebsen, Eddie Murphy and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Was it full of movie stars and the moneyed elite and their hangers......

Usher runs back to his estranged Mama's arms after a last minute cancelation of his wedding to Tameka Foster - PerezHilton Paris Hilton's inheritance is no more. Her billionare grandfather is mortified by her jail time and bad behavior and won't give her a dime - Metro In other Paris news, her reality show "The Simple Life" in which she stars with fellow jailbird Nicole Richie has been axed - The Insider Jimmy Fallon has......

- Michael Moore says Harvey Weinstein begged him not to expose Hillary - WaPo - LA City Council gets behind high speed rail - Bottleneck Blog - The LA Weekly has a writer in Europe following Pearl Jam - LA Weekly - Two masked men stab and rob a former cop in North Hollywood - Daily News - NBC sells reruns of The Office and My Name is Earl to TBS. Syndication already? -......

What if... Jennifer Hudson doesn't win? Sometimes the one sure thing turns out not to be the one sure thing. Then who wins? The ten year-old. None of the others are in the running, and I say that thinking that Rinko Kikuchi should win, even though I had tons of problems with Babel. Everyone likes the ten year-old. Don't count out the ten year-old. What if... Eddie Murphy doesn't win? Then the theory that......

The New York Times seems to think so. We can confirm that among the 800 or so who paid $2,300 a head to rub elbows with Barack Obama for a minute or two at the Beverly Hilton were: Jennifer Aniston, Burt Bacharach, Mario van Peebles, Stephen Spielberg, Arianna Huffington, Ben Stiller, Morgan Freeman, Zach Braff, Eddie Murphy, Ron Howard, Taye Diggs, Norman Lear, JJ Abrams, Paul Reiser, Christine Lahti, Jackson Browne, and Natalie Maines.......

Mafioso - In 1962, a decade before The Godfather, Alberto Lattuada came out with this crime drama starring Alberto Sordi as a factory foreman who returns to his hometown of Sicily and is unwittingly pressed into service as a hitman for the local Don. Considered by many to be the first Italian movie to portray the modern Mafia, the film is noted for its faithful and darkly funny depiction of mob life. Breaking and......

We may not have a football team, but we have American Idol. Last night, Los Angeles welcomed home its own. AI in LA ! Starring: Paula’s cleavage! Olivia Newton Sandy Xanadu John! Mr. Jackson’s snazzy pink and white striped shirt! And charmer extraordinaire, Simon “I’m not being rude, but…” Cowell! This epidode opened on an epileptic panther-man with megalomaniacal ambitions and wild assertions, who got all Cold Hearted Snake on the stairs while making......

Jets Overhead tours their ass off, having shared the stage with The Stills, The Dandy Warhols, Stars, Our Lady Peace, Tegan and Sara, Powderfinger and 54*40, to name a few. Since forming Jets Overhead in 2003, this five piece from Victoria, BC has mezmorized crowds at home and abroad with their hypnotic take on psychedelic rock. Recently singer Adam Kittredge sat down for an interview with LAist. What's life like when you guys are touring?......

Today - Thursday College Football: California vs. Texas A&M (ESPN, 5:00 p.m.) the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl from San Diego "City of God" (IFC, 6:00 p.m.) Hardcore gang action in Rio - heavy duty violence College Basketball: Washington @ USC (Fox Sports, 7:30 p.m.) College Basketball: Washington State @ UCLA (PRIME, 7:30 p.m.) Road Trip with Huell Howser. (KCET, 9:00 p.m.) Huell Goes to Chico! Inside the Actor's Studio (Bravo, 9:00 p.m.) Eddie Murphy......

As we continue to remember James Brown who passed away yesterday morning, it's hard not to think of the Saturday Night Live skit where Eddie Murphy plays Brown in the famous hot tub scene. After the jump enjoy the Godfather of Soul performing "Popcorn" which has a vaguely familiar beat with the SNL tune.......

- LAFD Chief will probably fire himself today - LA Times - New MagLight flashlight capable of lighting things on fire - Extreme Geek - Local blogger Perez Hilton sued for $7.5 million by a group of paparazzi companies for illegally using their photos on his often unfunny and callous gossip blog - TMZ - Will Eddie Murphy return for Beverly Hills Cop IV? - Ain't It Cool - George Clooney will star in......

We assume that you have places to go and things to do. You are undaunted by rain. You will not, we're sure, be staying home for a double feature of '80s DVD. Like, say, To Live and Die in LA (complete with theme song by the incomparable Wang Chung) and Beverly Hills Cop (with theme song by the Pointer Sisters). But just in case, we have to tell you that these two movies, awful in......