Can you re-imagine the LA Riverfront? Then checkout tonight's lecture at SCI-Arc. / Photo by Lush.i.ous via LAist's flickr pool. FILM* A classic Japanese double feature plays at the New Beverly tonight and tomorrow. While these films were made more than 50 years ago, the themes are timeless: Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952) focuses on a housewife who’s sick and tired of her boring life with her business-minded husband as her niece......

In a crowded weekend of new movies, it was National Treasure: Book of Secrets that topped the box office with a haul of 45.5 million dollars. I Am Legend showed good strength in it second weekend ($34.2M/$137.4M) as did Alvin and the Chipmunks ($29M/$84.8M). Charlie Wilson's War managed fourth place in its debut ($9.6M), just ahead of fellow opener Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ($9.3M). P.S. I Love You had a......

One day the golden touch of Judd Apatow will fade and one of his films will bomb (Drillbit Taylor is the likeliest culprit). For now, though, he can seem to do no wrong and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story looks to be his latest triumph. It's a bit of a departure for Apatow--there's a strong Zucker vibe coursing through Walk Hard--but I'll be piling into the theater along with everyone else this weekend......

Like American Gangster earlier in the fall, Charlie Wilson's War tells a fascinating and (mostly) true story that's so improbable you wonder what's taken it so long to reach the big screen. If you don't already know, Charlie Wilson was a fairly nondescript Congressman from Texas (known more as a hedonist than a legislator) who almost single-handedly provided the money and weapons that the Afghan Mujahideen used to defeat the seemingly invincible Soviet Union.......

Relatively speechless tonight because there's so little on TV and yesterday was pretty lame as well. The final schmaltzy segment of Tin Man aired to much disappointment, and Nip/Tuck started out great but fizzled about halfway through the episode. Tonight though, Tyler Perry actually returns to the show he created and that's a big deal so check TBS at 9:00pm. [Please note how I'm specifically not mentioning the Julia Roberts special on AMC as she......

BOO-ya! There's still time to check out some Halloween events, including the Hollywood Hell House and Bordello's Voodoo Vixens Burlesque show tonight at 10p. This accident on the 5 may tie up traffic until tomorrow: authorities are still counting only 3 casualties, but who knows how drivers will react to the construction and clean-up now taking place. First the water, then the power, now the phones? Mayor Villaraigosa is proposing a 9-percent phone tax.......

After a week without a sequel, we're back at it with the lovable scoundrels of "Ocean's 13". Sure, watching the same group of guys we've seen plunder Vegas and steal a Faberge egg plan another elaborate heist is rehashing already trodden ground, but I'll be damned if it isn't a good time. Add to that a torture-porn and another insufferable CG toon about penguins and we're in for an interesting weekend. Ocean's 13 -......

Valentines Day is in just mere hours and for those of us who want to celebrate the holiday in true love fashion here is a short list of love or anti-love movies, perfect or the occasion. No Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts here. True Romance- This cross-country love story between southerners Clarence and Alabama, ending in Los Angeles, is brilliantly violent but loving at the same time. True Romance has a perfect cast with Brad......

- Crew member hurt on the set of the new Julia Roberts / Tom Hanks film in Downey - ET - Subway mercury spill exploits painfully slow LA response - LAT - The Valley has very few drive-thrus, Santa Clarita has a lot - Daily News - MySpace lawyers continue to have more reason to bill hours - NY Daily News - Robert Redford says George Bush owes the US an Apology for everything......

the debut of an ongoing series of posts by people recollecting their initial take on our little town hi my name is raymi and the first time i went to your city i went cuhrazy and i was thrown in a mental hospital at the UCLA Medical Center or some shit and they had to put me in four-point restraints and inject my left hip with something that knocked me out cos i was......

Are there classes--like "Opening mouth, inserting foot 101" or "How to revive a flailing career or image"-- that celebs must take? Last year it was Tom Cruise on Oprah, then Tom Cruise chastizing Brooke Shields and psychology; this year we have former Basic Instinct stars trying to rage against the dying of the light (also known as obscurity in Hollywood). If you haven't heard, Sharon Stone will be posing nude in the Basic Insinct......

When did Matthew McConaughey become the new Meg Ryan? He’s been in a few rom-coms—How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner and now, he's co-starring in a movie that quite possibly could have the worst title in the history of film. Ever. Failure to Launch. Isn't it bad luck in Hollywood to have "failure" in a title? Well, it should be. Couple that word with "to launch," and there are......

The SAG awards start with a bunch of actors telling their stories to the camera. 8:04 Sandra Bullock, the first presenter, is wearing a cute dress. Too bad she spits out her lines like they're cedar chips. She introduces Crash, for best ensemble film. 8:05 Eva Longoria looks amazing, of course, except for her 50s-era hair tragedy. Patricia Arquette, on the other hand, has '30s era hair that works for her. Will she beat out......

With all the death and destruction currently overrunning society and overwhelming those striving for peace and goodwill, it's nice to know that the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is doing their part to bring Los Angeles a rainbow on such a rainy day. That rainbow, just happens to be yet another PR-inspired star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Today (in fact, right around this minute) America's Sweetheart Sandra Bullock (yes, she's the current holder......