Indiana Jones Triple Feature Monday, December 27, 2010

Top 10 greatest scenes in the Indiana Jones saga? (10) The sandbag switch at the opening of Raiders. (9) The boulder run after the sandbag switch. (8) "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" (7) The escape from Club Obi-Wan at the opening of Temple of Doom. (6) The mine-cart chase turned roller coaster ride. (5) Human sacrifice, yanked-out-heart-style. (4) Snake Surprise and Chilled Monkey Brains. (3) "It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage." (2) Melting Nazi faces. (1) Turbaned swordsman cut down with pistol. See these all and more at the American Cinematheque's "Indiana Jones Triple Feature," and let's pretend Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never happened. Egyptian Theater, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd. Sun., Jan. 2, 3 p.m.; $11. (323) 466-FILM. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 31, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 3:00 PM, ,

Christmas Evil / New Year's Evil Tuesday, December 21, 2010

What better way to celebrate the holidays than with blood-soaked gore, and the Grindhouse Film Festival's double feature of campy horror movies provides more than enough mayhem to last until Valentine's Day. Christmas Evil (1980) takes the most wonderful time of the year and turns it into a psychotic nightmare when a creepy toy maker (Brandon Maggart) imagines himself a real-life Santa Claus who personally decides who's been naughty or nice — and you better have been nice. New Year's Evil (1980) follows a psycho killer who calls in to a New Year's Eve countdown show, promising a death every hour on the hour, one for each time zone, with West Coast TV host Roz Kelly (Happy Days' Pinky Tuscadero) as the final victim. Get ready to mock: It's one of the lamest holiday horror films out there, mostly due to its quote-unquote punk rock soundtrack. New Beverly Cinema, 7165 Beverly Blvd., L.A.; Tues., Dec. 21, 7:30 & 10 p.m.; $8. (323) 938-4038. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 17, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 9:51 PM, ,

SANTA Monica Pub Crawl Saturday, December 18, 2010

Get into the spirit of the season by getting sloshed at the second annual SANTA Monica Pub Crawl, a Yuletide drink-a-thon celebrating the fun of dressing up and falling down. You'll need to don your gay apparel to join in on the boozing, and by gay apparel I mean your most spectacular holiday wear, from sexy elf costume to Santa suit. Begin by signing up at santamonicapubcrawl.com and choosing one of three routes — commencing at Rusty's Surf Ranch (256 Santa Monica Pier), O'Brien's on Main (2941 Main St.) or SOUTH (3001 Wilshire Blvd.) — then show up at your designated start point with a few canned goods for the Westside Food Bank (or just fork over five bucks) and imbibe the night away. All crawls collide at the official after-party at Wokcano, where you and your new best friends can cap the night with drink specials, raffles, and costume contests. There's a scavenger hunt, too, with gift bags for the first 300 revelers to complete the challenge. Register at santamonicapubcrawl.com; start drinking Sat., Dec. 18, 5 p.m.; after-party at Wokcano, 1413 Fifth St., Santa Monica, 11 p.m. (wristband required); $5 or three non-perishable food donations. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 17, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 1:20 AM, ,

Best Music Writing 2010 Monday, December 13, 2010

It may be like dancing about architecture, but writing about music continues unabated, and the best of this year's best is collected in the aptly named Best Music Writing 2010. In an evening of "volunteer appreciation," nonprofit creative-writing outreach organization 826LA hosts the book's contributors reading their work live and in person, including L.A. Times pop critic (and the anthology's editor) Ann Powers, music critic Mark Swed, and music editor Randall Roberts; The Believer's Michelle Tea; the Annenberg School's Josh Kun; and blogger Nikki Darling. With essay titles like "Kanye West: Back to Reality," "The End of White America?" and "Lady Gaga in Hell," this collection rocks out with its bookmark out. 826LA West, 685 Venice Blvd., Venice; Wed., Dec. 15; 7 p.m. RSVP: volunteerappreciation1215.eventbrite.com. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 10, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 4:11 PM, ,

Bond Appetit Sunday, December 5, 2010

What would have Ian Fleming's super spy eaten following his iconic martini? Linda Civitello, author of Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People, mashes up the 007 films with classic cookbooks in "Bond Appétit: James Bond, Foodie," a "shaken not stirred" lecture presented by the Culinary Historians of Southern California. While the menu's top secret, here's hoping Civitello's recipes include Dr. No-Knead-Bread, Thunder(meat)balls, From Russian Dressing With Love, You Only Live Rice, Casino Royale With Cheese, Ding Dongs Are Forever, Moon(raker) Pies, GoldenPie, For Your Pies Only, and Live and Let Pie. Los Angeles Public Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, Downtown Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., dwntwn.; Sat., Dec. 11, 10:30 a.m.; free, resv. not required. (323) 663-5407, chscsite.org. (Originally published in L.A. Weekly, December 10, 2010.)

posted by Derek Thomas @ 11:53 PM, ,