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Friday, April 28, 2017

Street Food Cinema is Back

Jeez, it's like they never even went away, but, Street Food Cinema is back. The first screening is La la Land this Saturday, April 29. Check their site for a full schedule of movies outside around SoCal with live music and food trucks.

Spill Zone Signing and Review

Scott Westerfeld discusses and signs Spill Zone!
Tuesday, May 2 at 7 PM - 8 PM
Vroman's Bookstore
695 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, California 91101
 
Author Scott Westerfeld discusses and signs Spill Zone, his first graphic novel from First Second Books.
 
 
Just in time for it's recent release we have the signing from it's author, Scott Westerfeld here in LA. The strange new series is about a young woman named Addison who secretly rides into what's left of her town that's been really messed up from a power plant meltdown with a nanobot experiment gone wrong. If that's what even really happened. It's called the Spill Zone. She's only grabbing pictures of the weird oddities that have affected her town to earn some coin as no one is really allowed in.

Spill Zone was a short look into a very strange world, I'm not sure if it needs to be a series or if it couldn't have been just released in a much larger tomb finishing the story.

There's some great art and weird phenomena to look at in the book and just ponder what could have caused it all. There's a whole subplot with North Korea wanting answer that make it seems like a bad writer from the CW somehow got into the plot.

Take a spin of you own into the Spill Zone and see if you like where it's going.

Publisher provided copy for review

Baywatch Slow Mo Marathon @ Downtown LA

I only wish it was actually open to residents. The first Baywatch Slow Mo Marathon took place right next to the Staples Center last Saturday, April 22. There's no doubt in our minds that the runners were all hired actors.

We would have loved to have seen it open to real LA residents. Meaning we would have liked to be part of too.

It was done for the upcoming film Baywatch, starring The Rock, coming out this May.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Three Art Shows This Weekend



Happy Houses
Opening Friday, April 28, 7-9 PM
G1988 
7308 Melrose

A show from Cuddly Rigor Mortis, consisting of paintings and sculptures!

Galactic A-Holes Fan Art Show
Opening Friday, April 28, 8 PM - 10 PM
The Perky Nerd
1606 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, California 91506
 
"Get ready for some amazing Galactic A-Holes from local artists. Line up to be announced next week. Looking forward to Groot in all sizes and ensemble interpretations. WE ARE GROOT! Even though the movie is Volume 2...this GOTG art show will be a Perky Nerd Volume 1."
 
April 29th 7pm-10pm
Q Pop
319 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, California 90012
 
Come and enter a Miniature world seen through the magnify loupe! Over 60 artists worldwide create tiny art pieces approx 2" x 2"

Movie Hype: Neon, Like Me, Dave Made a Maze and More

Let's go over some things first locally! I'm only using an exclamation point because how up in arms I am about the LA Drafthouse not coming in until 2018, that's what Curbed LA is reporting with how long it's taking to build The Bloc, which will be housing the theater downtown. So keep expecting to go to The Regent and other places around town until they have a real home.

Related to the Drafthouse has been the announcement and formation of NEON, a new film distribution company. It already released Colossal, which I really enjoyed and seems to be the new  A24 on the block. It sits with Drafthouse news because one of its creators is Tim League, the CEO of Drafthouse. News also just hit that Neon's releases will go to Hulu shortly after being in theaters, which is a big step to get what many would call indie films to a more main stream audience.

Their slate of films is already getting my attention including The Bad Batch, about cannibals and a one-armed, one-legged female protagonist. Another entry is, Ingrid Goes West starring Aubrey Plaza. The film seems to be a dark and humorous look into how much Ingrid lives through her social networks when she's really not friends with anyone.

Can't wait to see what else they'll pick up.
This portion of the post will be going over films I'm gushing to see get distributed or even get out.

Like Me, out of SXSW, seems to be in the same vein as Ingrid Goes West, just a bit more out there. We follow Kiya  played by Addison Timlin after a bank robbery that she committed online goes viral. We follow her trying to find something like a human connection when she doesn't seem very human at all. Along the way we meet other misfits all through the strange look of Rob Mockler's directorial debut.
Someone made Streets of Rage real and renamed it Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins. An original idea that looks like it mashed up the best beat-em up games of the 80's into a movie with enough violence to satiate any modern gamer. Looks like Turbo Kid, but made by Americans, so way up on the violence scale. Supposedly, headed to us this Summer, where and when, a mystery.
On the more up-beat side we have Dave Made a Maze, from Slamdance, it's about Dave played by Nick Thune who builds a cardboard labyrinth in his house and gets lost in it. It's up to his girlfriend and her friends to find Dave. This just looks crazy fun. A world of living cardboard? A whole cardboard dungeon to escape from? Can't wait to see what the director has come up with for the design of everything.
Kills On Wheels, this film needs to get pick up by Neon, from Hungary we have a wheelchair assassin whose trying to teach a new generation how to get things done. It reminds me of the Chinese exploitative offerings of disabled martial artists, but this is all about guns and looks competently made. For right now there is no US distribution.

Super Mario Hallmark Ornaments with Two Uncles Ornament

Wow, Hallmark is getting more modern with new Super Mario ornaments for Christmas this year. The Super Mario ornaments lack really anything creative about them, they look like clip art taken from one of the games, but you got Mario, Yoshi and a limited Luigi, because you know they gotta treat Luigi bad.

Right next to that is the Two Uncles ornament, which shows Hallmark's Art Director Alfred, next to his nameless husband, and his nameless nephew. Telling us all that Alfred can commit to marriage, but not raising a child of his own with his nameless husband. Even the dog in the picture is named, but not the nephew or husband? Weird choices there.

I'm gonna say it right now, "Use more gay people to sell your products Hallmark, totally homo catalog next year, but make G-d damn sure that it's one that really is a family. Nephews and nieces don't count as kids in Christmas pictures. Two Dads, not two uncles. Two Moms.

And nameless husband, you better ask yourself why can't Hallmark's Art Director Alfred let you have a child to raise of your own.

Still, great ornament of Two Uncles, $15.95

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Story Trailer

Ughhh, the big baddie is Ultron Sigma, not feeling it. I understand why Ultron might have been a choice with the recent Marvel movie, but Sigma? I already miss the X-Men, as Disney is basically steering clear of any Marvel movie properties not owned by them.

We're just gonna predict they somehow shove a Star Wars character in for fun, I mean why not?

Nightmare Crash on 5 Freeway Tuesday

If you weren't paying attention to the local news yesterday, you might have not saw the images on TV or the net of the horrific crash that happened on the 5 freeway. Officials are still piecing it together, saying a truck some how jumped the central divider on the Northbound 5 into the Southbound 5 causing a massive accident that killed one and left at least 10 people injured, one in critical condition. The accident involved so many cars and caused so much devastation, including a fire, that the freeway was shut down for hours as fires were quelled and debris was cleaned up.  Both lanes have re-opened since then.

Still details linger as to how it all started with a single truck just losing control?

A few more notes
*One of the local networks screwed up and showed the burnt corpse of the one killed in the accident
*One dog died in the crash
*One of the vehicles involved was a truck carrying milk
 for more info read our source
 via KTLA 5



Weekly What To Do: Film Festivals & Food


COLCOA 2017 French Film Festival
Now thru May 2
Multiple Theaters

The way artsy films were meant to be seen as dulled out by the French.

Alien Day Alien Screening
April 26
Regal LA Live Stadium 14
$

Alien Day celebrates the xenomorph in all of us...until it bursts out killing us.

The Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival
April 26 to May 3
Multiple Theaters

A collection of Jewish films. Will there be some about the Holocaust? Sigh, yeah. Also, Ed Asner is still alive, does anyone whose not younger then 30 know who that is. He's the model angry old man.


The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2017
April 27-May 4
Multiple Theaters
$$

Asians films of all types to see.


Wolf Guy
Fri, Apr 28, 7:30pm
Egyptian Theatre 6712 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028
$

This Toei Studios-produced adaptation of the Kazumasa Hirai manga features action star Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba in the title role, an enraged, last-of-his-kind lycanthrope who uses his powers to solve crimes. Justly legendary, WOLF GUY mashes up horror, martial arts and cop movies to daze viewers into submission with a barrage of spectral tiger attacks, surgical experiments, government conspiracies and ’70s funk sounds.

Kidrobot x Adult Swim x 3DRetro Toy Release Party & Signing
Friday, April 28, 6 PM - 11 PM
3DRetro
1851 Victory Blvd, Glendale, California 91201
Free
 
[adult swim], Kidrobot and 3DRetro have teamed up to celebrate the release of the new collector figures based around several of the shows on [adult swim]. The release will include the new medium sized Rick and Morty figure as well as the new Mini Blind Box Figures for [adult swim] which features characters from Rick & Morty, Venture Brothers, Samurai Jack, Fish Center, Robot Chicken, Squidbillies, the smash viral hit Too Many Cooks and everyone's cult favorite app Robot Unicorn Attack.

Cast from Rick and Morty as well as Robot Chicken will be on hand during the event to sign figures for fans!
 
Rhythms + Visions / Expanded + Live 3Friday, April 28, 8 pm
School of Cinematic Arts - SCA (SCA), Meldman Park
900 West 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089
Free, Must RSVP
Recommended parking is at USC Parking Structure B (Jefferson Blvd. Structure), located at USC’s Gate 8. Enter Gate 8 on Jefferson Blvd. (eastbound), between Vermont Ave. and McClintock Ave. Parking will be $12 per vehicle.

Rhythms + Visions / Expanded + Live 3 will light up the outdoor spaces of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex in an evening of music, interactive animation, projection mapping, animated inflatables, and virtual reality. Innovative artists Refik AnadolMiwa Matreyek, and Patterson + Reckinger will perform an eclectic program of contemporary visual music and audio-visual art.

Line Weight V curated by Natalie Hall
April 29, 2017 - May 14, 2017
Apr 29, 6:00PM - 9:00PM
Gallery Nucleus 210 East Main St, Alhambra CA 91801

Featuring original handrawn works from among our favorite artists in animation, comics, illustration and video-games, our back-to-basics drawing exhibition continues with its fifth iteration with Line Weight V curated in part by the incredible Natalie Hall!





 Downtown Burbank Arts Festival 
Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Four blocks of San Fernando Boulevard between Angeleno Avenue and Magnolia Boulevard
Free

Art of all sort celebrated in the capitol of animation and media.








Jackalope Pasadena Indie Art Fair
April 29th & 30th, 10am - 5pm
Central Park Old Pasadena
Free

A weekend shopping destination at Central Park in the heart of Old Pasadena, featuring over 200 local, hand-selected artisans, crafters, and DIY enthusiasts. Shoppers can expect to find trendsetting indie goods including original fashion and jewelry design, ceramics and paper goods, innovative home decor and housewares, art and photography, plus much more. 


Geek and Sundry Tabletop Day!
Saturday, April 29, 2017 11 AM - 7 PM
The Perky Nerd
1606 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, California 91506
 
April 29th has been deemed International Tabletop Day. This year we are officially on the Geek and Sundry site for places to tabletop your hearts out. We have lots of house games to play or bring your own.
 
Saturday Apr 29, 4:00 PM (ends at 7:00 PM)
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
3911 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA
$tarts at $55
21+

Sliders from 20+ of LA's best burger joints and pours from over 40 of the greatest craft breweries!

Dessert Fest presented by Time Out L.A.
Sun, April 30, 2017
12:00 PM – 5:30 PM PDT
Studio 11
4621 West Washington Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90016


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Creep LA Comes Back This May In Another Way?

From the same people who brought you Creep LA, which we really liked, check our review, comes an all new horror experience, well before Halloween. Starting Thursday, May 18th- Saturday, May 20th, you can experience The Willows. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

 Here's the info from the press release:
"At The Willows, dinner conversation takes a myriad of courses.
A two-hour production that takes guests on a modern-day psychological mystery, The Willows takes place inside a lavish 10,000 square foot mansion, home to the eccentric Willows family. The 7-member cast will bring audiences into the family’s intimate story and sordid history.  Drawing guests into memorable scenes, bizarre encounters, and highly-detailed settings all across the expansive property, audiences are in for an evening of excitement and suspense."
 There will be two performances of the show per night, beginning at 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm. Each show will consist of an audience of 18 people, that's not that many. With this being a limited run we suggest getting tickets early, this is LA, the Ice Cream Museum is probably sold out already. These shows will fill up.

Oh, and it gets more mysterious. You see, you don't get an address until you book it and it's just to park. Then you'll be blindfolded and taken to the Willo's family home.

 
Following the opening weekend, guests can visit http://www.creepla.com/show-information to sign up for future showings of The Willows.  Taking place throughout the year, the show will release tickets to registered guests as dates become available.  Guests can then reserve tickets for up to 8 people.  


To get tickets now, go here.

La La Land Day Dancing Off The Side Of City Hall


Something we should probably do on New Year's Eve as well, dancing off the side of city hall up in the air occurred earlier today in celebration of La La Land Day. It just happens to coincide with the release of the film on Blu-ray. La La Land is a musical with number of songs taking place all over iconic LA locations. People sometimes dance into the sky in the movie.

"Mortal Kombat" Reunion Screening and Q&A with the Director and Cast Today April 25

MORTAL KOMBAT! Get over there, to the TLC for a special reunion screening of one of the earliest video game movies.

"Mortal Kombat" Reunion Screening and Q&A with the Director and Cast
Tuesday, April 25, 7:30
TCL Chinese Theatres 6 on the 3rd Floor at Hollywood & Highland. 

 $14.00

Join Kory Davis (aka Twitter's @moviedude18), "Mortal Kombat" Director Paul W.S. Anderson, and the film's stars Robin Shou, "Liu Kang," Linden Ashby "Johnny Cage," and Chris Casamassa, "Scorpion" as you watch Mortal Kombat.

Monday, April 24, 2017

The Moth GrandSLAM Tonight Apr 24

The Moth GrandSLAM
Monday Apr 24, 2017
Doors: 7:00 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
The Regent Theater
448 S. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 
$25
 
The greatest storytelling we can muster today.
 
 "The Moth presents the GrandSLAM, a battle of wits and words - fierce, hilarious, heartbreaking and all points between. Listen as ten StorySLAM champs tell tales of fielding the unexpected, answering the call of the unanticipated or any adventure in the realm of the unforeseen.
The Moth is dedicated to finding intriguing people to tell inspired stories. At The Moth StorySLAM, those people find us. On this night, using words as weapons, they compete to determine The Moth's Los Angeles GrandSLAM Story Champion."

The Jackbox Party Pack 4 Due This Fall

We have another Jackbox Party Pack on the way this Fall. Jackbox games just announced a the fourth game in the series set for sometime this coming Fall. The first game announced for the pack is Fibbage 3, a game where you trick friends with lies.

We'll report more news on the pack as it comes out, here's hoping for a fun new drawing game, but Tee K.O. has a place in our heart already.

Street Closures Today

The March for the American Genocide is today starting a noon. The following streets will be experience street closures

LADOT has announced the following street closures for the event:
  • The Grove Dr. between Beverly and 3rd Street
  • 3rd Street between The Grove Dr. and Fairfax
  • Fairfax Ave. between 3rd Street and Wilshire
  • Wilshire Blvd. between Fairfax and La Jolla Ave.
via LAist

#OnePunchHunt In L.A.

One-Punch Man is hitting Blu-ray soon and Viz is celebrating with a contest here in LA! If you can find all 15 characters from One-Punch Man on billboards around the city, you'll win prizes, at least the first 30 people to do so will.

We saw a green-haired, midget with awesome psychic powers somewhere on Beverly not to far from the Grove headed towards Highland.


How to enter:
If you see a billboard, stop everything, pull over (safely!) and take a selfie in front of it, then post to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #OnePunchHunt! Each post on Twitter or Instagram of a different billboard has a chance to win – limit 15 entries per person, one for each billboard of course! VIZ will be sharing our favorite selfies on our social channels, so extra credit for creative interpretations (shout-out to cosplayers)!
Prizes:
The first person to find all 15 billboards will be rewarded handsomely!

Want to find the billboards? Follow the @VIZMedia Snapchat or Instagram for hints on where to find them!
The #OnePunchHunt is on!

Friday, April 21, 2017

Your Bike Is Gonna Get Stolen Stupid

The LA Times has a great opinion piece on bike theft in the city and what you might want to do to stop it. We would love it if cyclists started having their own version of the DMV, it would be great to start taxing them.

Why are cities allowing bicycle theft to go virtually unpunished?

"Unfortunately, left with almost sole responsibility for theft prevention, bike owners often don’t do themselves many favors. Bicycle advocates may seethe over what they see as indifference and victim-blaming when police advise owners to do a better job of locking up. But the police are often correct. Too many consumers are reluctant to invest in quality locks or take the time to properly secure their bicycles in public locations. Many don’t even bother to write down their bike’s serial number, making it virtually impossible for police to return a stolen bike should they recover it. Too many consumers also turn a blind eye to obviously stolen bikes being sold for peanuts on websites like Craigslist."

Mario Kart Races Into Target and Unicorn Frappuccino Scarcity




Targets around the country are having a makeover for the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the Switch version. Shopping carts are decked out like Mario, Luigi and Peach karts. While, at the front entrance, the iconic race sound plays when the doors open. However, check with your local target before heading over, it's not happening at every store and there hasn't been details on how long it will last.

We can't wait to see the race videos flow online, because we don't think Target and Nintendo realized what would happen if you're going to put race karts in a store.
On other scarcity news, good luck finding the Unicorn Frappuccino anywhere in LA. Starbucks are reporting the limited edition drink that's only out between April 19-23 are almost all gone. The supplies to make them aren't lasting with demand, so call ahead to see if your Starbucks still has it. If your Starbucks is in a popular area, it maybe already gone, just like real unicorns.

Beetle House LA May 20 A Tim Burton Inspired Bar

An unofficial Tim Burton-themed bar will be opening for a limited time May 20th at the Prospect Theater. Beetle House, taken from Burton's Beetlejuice, will be your destination for gothic silly fun. You can reserve a seat here.

The people making it have done pop-up bars before and have a current themed Burton bar in New York. This time, LA gets some of the action. The bar is supposedly going to have a reproduction of the miniature town from the Beetlejuice movie to gawk at along a ton of other Burton-esque goodies.

via LA Mag

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Game Hype: Slime-san and Paradigm

Get gamin' this weekend or when you have some free time, just chill, we all have problems, mine is whiskey and those two awful children. ...I mean, two great games have come out recently, Slime-san and Paradigm. One's a three-color platform wonder, the other is a point-n-click adventure as weird as it can get. Both are out now and you'll want to play them to drown out all your problems.


Slime-san is cute enough to be a character from your child-hood, but he just came out now and with his little bird friend, sort of like a wittle bit of Banjo-Kazooie you'll platform lile crazy through a three-color wonderland.

It's hard to not like the style of the game, it brings you back to gameboy days with it's easy looking graphics. What isn't easy is the platforming, this will have your skills tested as you try and escape the giant worm that swallowed you. Did we mention all the platforming takes place in a giant worm? We haven't seen inside guts be so fun in a video game since South Park or one of the Mario and Luigi RPG's.

Inside isn't just platforming, but colorful townsfolk also swallowed up where you can buy upgrades or even play some seriously well made mini-games that look nothing like the game you're playing.

For the platformer who wants to a challenge, Slime-san is here to for you.
Why is everything so horrible and why am I laughing at it? That's Paradigm, the star of the game and it's title. Genetic research can go bad, as we've seen in many sci-fi films. This tale is along those lined, but with crippling sadness, loneliness and addiction. And it's funny as sh*t.

Every minute in Paradigm is a joke as the characters are also jokes as "people." In a weird Neo-Soviet country these disasters called "people" are your only means from the world not ending based on technology we don't even use anymore. That's as far as I've gotten in my play, but there's to be a Glam Rock cult and a final meeting with an evil genetics lab.

Other than the strange look of the game, the writing and jokes from its creator Jacob Janerka make us wonder how other games on Steam are even allowed as they're are just garbage in comparison. A dog shouldn't be trying to tell me ow to play the game and it can't and that one of many strange jokes that I loved so far.

Paradigm you've stolen my clicking finger.

Republique Dry-Aged Beef Burger

TTDILA headed over to lunch at

Republique
624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
CAFÉ / BAKERY hours
Breakfast & Lunch
Open Daily - 8am to 3pm
Coffee and Pastries served until 4pm
Walk-ins only. Reservations not accepted.

Dinner hours Sunday through Thursday 5:30pm - 10pm Friday & Saturday 5:30pm - 11pm  Bar Opens at 5:30pm Reservations encouraged. Walk-ins welcome.


We tried, one of the top burgers in LA, the
Dry-Aged Beef Burger that comes with cheese, caramelized onions and french fries. The fries can be thrown on the floor on how worthless they are. The burger, that dry-aged beef. It filled us up for an entire day zooming around LA

If you can, do yourself a favor and try their burger. As my colleague said while eating, "You usually don't get that great taste when you first take a bite, every bite." This time, you do. Served medium, with it's juices flowing and a knife sticking in it and almost falling apart, this burger is all about the tender meat it has inside. The cheese, lettuce, tomato and thousand island sauce seem to simple for it. Still it's taste will fill you up for hours.

Republique itself is a wonderful place to rest and recuperate in a courtyard inside of a building? You'd think a Disney chorus would start singing, but it's all class while eating along those busy in LA.

You're always inside of a kitchen if in the center table as both are on each side of you. It makes the place lively and in motion as you see staff preparing your food. The meat freezer being see-through also makes it another picture to grab.

Look at the whole menu as this place is more than its beloved brunch. They serve breakfast and dinner with a wide selection of other fine looking eats.












Wednesday, April 19, 2017

The Matrix Free Screening April 25

Because the game Prey is coming out, we have a free screening of The Matrix. This is also a team-up with Drafthouse and Iam8bit, so free food and beverages and a shiny new poster from Mondo. Chances to win consoles, too.

The Matrix Free Screening
Tuesday 4/25, 7:00pm @ Regent
Free, RSVP, First-Come, First-Served


 

 
  THE MATRIX
(presented by Bethesda & Gamestop)
 
 
 
DOORS 6:30pm, MOVIE 7:00pm, GAME DEMO PLAY 9:15pm. Both the film and game play is FREE-ADMISSION and first-come, first-served!

IMAX VR Centre Time To Kill Robots

What have you done to my eyes! Oh, you've opened them up to a new world...of killing robots.

If you've been wondering what that trendy blue building near the Farmer's Market in Fairfax with IMAX on it is. It's not IMAX headquarters, no, if they were trying to act cool they'd move to the Arts District, just like Warner Bros Music. It'll cost millions of dollars to move, but man, is it going to be hip to be near all those homeless until full gentrification begins.

Screw you, Warner Bros Music.

It's the IMAX VR Center, the next step in entertainment or at least what IMAX thinks it might be. That's what's next to The Grove. And within it are new worlds you can spend a few minutes in.

You'll either park across at the Grove or Farmer's or spend $8 on IMAX's underground lot. Then, if you haven't already picked your VR  experience you'll choose it inside. The lobby is a little strange, it's not designed for a long time wait.

You can stand around an awkwardly placed desk with the scheduled times near it. Behind it is empty country, for fancy standing and for signing forms for using the VR. We're not sure what could go wrong, but if sci-fi movies have taught us anything with VR, stuff can go wrong. And IMAX subscribes to this too. Can't remember signing a contract for seeing a movie though. You'll also see moving posters for the experiences that don't seemed to be time correctly.

At the the scheduling desk you can pick your experience from about 7 different ones or the sampler. Sampling as much as you can in what we think is about 25 minutes. The staff will kindly tell you about each experience so you may deliberate among yourselves until someone else take your time.

Then you'll go to the not very hidden wait area to sit on square cushions behind the tablets for the forms. We suggest being just a few minutes before your experience.

Staff will then usher you into the floor...

Oh, man it's like a video gamer's dream in here. Broken into what they call "pods" are spaces you can experience VR in. We're not letting go of the name of pods, because those are definitely not in anyway pods. Pods means were lounging in some sort of future VR pea pod. It's just a nice sectioned off opened room are with sensors and enough space that you can move and not hit a wall.

The lights are low, the center of the room has more seats for waiting for pods to open up. There you can see trailers for films with frame interpolation on, it makes these previews look so bad. You'd think at an IMAX run place they'd show off trailers without that weird affect on TV's that makes the movies look wrong.

Now get in the VR suit! Not really a suit though. They'll politely ask you to put on VR goggles, hand you some type of controller and put headphones on you. No, there isn't a hybrid goggle headphones helmet yet. That technology is still years away. We don't have helmet VR, yet. Staff will also have you put on a motion capture vest.

Everything is cleaned after use, you can see the kits and staff cleaning devices before use.

For belongings they have nice little net areas to keep you water-bottles or what have-you.

We tried three experiences: John Wick Chronicles, Star Wars: Trails on Tatooine and Raw Data. Experiences are about 10 minutes for $10, per person. The run the gambit of silly to adults on the Xbox Live.

Even though other people seemed to like it and it comes with it's on gun to hold while shooting, Chronicles can't. It can't get us excited. We got bored shooting bad guys off the top of a building? We're questioning that, like somethings wrong with us. We thought of a sketch of a guy getting a bored with an Uzi and yawning while playing.

Star Wars is like they took a piece of the arcade unit you would find at theaters, Star Wars Anthology Arcade. There's no pod race, but you wield a lightsaber and deflect stormtrooper blasts. It make you crave more, even after helping fix the Millennium Falcon.



Die robots! Die!!!!!! Raw Data, where have you been? We needed you back in the 90's in arcades. The dreams of virtual reality arcade games finally came true as we gunned downed wave after wave of unruly robots.

As robots came up in our faces, and it's co-op...as a friend and myself became the living embodiment of every action movie we've seen we wanted to cry tears of joy. We killed waved after wave of robots, two-gunned and with endless ammo. That's with the ability to jump from position to position and special attacks and we could converse being miked.

There were a few hilarious fixes that can be put in. That includes looking at your partner not contort into strange shapes that should not be humanly possible, also you shouldn't look exactly like your partner. There's other simple ideas the could be done that could expand the experience, but for what it is, which is an arcade shooter, it's a-Hell-of-a lot-of robot killing fun.

Hey, the makers even made it that one friend can wield a sword while the others uses two guns. This is taken straight from child-hood arcades games.

We could have been in there for at least twenty minutes for a full play, just yelling out one-liners and blasting bots as they attacked us in a 360 degree arena. Raw Data rocks!

You have to give IMAX VR Centre some leeway as this is it's a flagship store and IMAX is the only real company trying to make it somewhere you can visit like a theater. We would call it a "learning experience" for them.

A problem did occur during one of our sessions and it took longer for us to start playing, IMAX comped us each a ticket for an extra session. So they're trying and learning how to run a new kind of arcade/theater. Remember, your game is just running on a computer you can't see up in the ceiling.  A smart move for equipment as it can't clutter the VR main floor.

The only problem we did have was with the wires coming out of the back of the VR equipment, it can get tangled. Remember, you can't see what's going on outside of your goggles and IMAX might have figure out a better way of holding up wires. This became a nuisance a few times during gameplay.

So it doesn't happen to you, because it happened to us and to others we saw waiting in line, we'll tell you, not every VR experience is multiplayer or co-op. A number of them are, but not all of them. And that means times can be different for you and "wink" a friend or I'm not winking on purpose this is a disorder that I don't want to talk about. So be mindful, you might be off from the same times you and a friend choose, even if you're choosing the same experience at the same time or five minutes apart.

If not into killing robots, pffff, they have a number of more easy-going games like a flight simulator as a bird. So IMAX is open for different games to come in like new movies coming to a theater.

If you want to kill robots, I know a place.

IMAX VR Centre
157 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
M-F 12PM-10PM 
S-S 10AM-12AM
Average Experience 10 minutes
Average Price $10
*Some age restrictions per game, check online

The Little Hours Out June 30th

This raunchy as Hell trailer is NSFW and looks like a soon to be summer-favorite. It's coming to select cities June 30th, that usually means us.

Weekly What To Do: Easter Is Over, Now LA LA Land Day Begins

YOJIMBO (1962)
Wednesday, April 19, at 7 PM at three locations: Royal, Town Center in Encino, Playhouse in Pasadena. 

$

Laemmle Theatres and Anniversary Classics Abroad present a 55th anniversary screening of Akira Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO, a vivid tongue-in-cheek samurai Western. Kurosawa’s favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune, plays an amoral samurai in 19th century Japan. In a setup reminiscent of many classic Westerns (Shane in particular), Mifune’s Sanjuro strides into town and tries to reconcile a battle between two warring factions. But in this case both of the gangs are equally corrupt, and our hero is no more upright. He eventually wreaks havoc on all the combatants. The sword fights have visceral force, and the violence is always leavened with humor.

16th Annual Dance Media FilmFestival
April 20-23 and 29-30, 2017
- Fowler Museum, 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, Westwood 90095
- Glorya Kaufman Hall UCLA, 120 Westwood Plaza, Westwood 90095
- Royce Hall, 340 Royce Drive, Westwood 90095
- Santa Monica Pier, 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica 90401

 Free - $15

A public event incorporating dance explored through film and live performance. 
 
FirstGlance Film Fest Los Angeles 17
April 20-23
Laemmle's NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Boulevard


Uncanny Valley
International City Theatre
Long Beach Performing Arts Center
330 East Seaside Way
Long Beach, CA 90802

Opening Night (April 21): $55 (includes post-show reception at Utopia Restaurant)
Saturdays and Sundays: $49 

Thursdays and Friday (except April 21): $47
Previews: $35


"Drawing on current research in artificial intelligence and robotics, UNCANNY VALLEY charts the relationship between Claire, a neuroscientist, and Julian, a nonbiological human. As Julian is “born” a few body parts at a time over the course of the play, Claire teaches him how to be as human as possible. UNCANNY VALLEY explores the painful divide between creator and creation, and how we are redefining what it means to be human in the twenty-first century."

Charles Phoenix: Southern Californialand
Friday, April 21, 8:30 PM - 10 PM
Union Station Los Angeles
800 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, California 90012
Free
 
Metro Art Los Angeles presents... Ambassador of Americana, Charles Phoenix, and his fun-fueled whirlwind slide show adventure exploring SoCal’s undiscovered, underrated and misunderstood mid-century architectural gems past and present.
 
Friday, April 21st after 7:30 PM show
Saturday, April 22nd after 7:30 PM show
ArcLight Hollywood 
$

ArcLight is excited to announce two Q&As for the Toronto International Film Festival-premiered Free Fire. Hollywood will host two Q&As with actors Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copley on Friday, 4/21 and Saturday, 4/22 after the 7:30 PM show. Set in Boston in 1978, a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two gangs turns into a shootout and a game of survival. Reserve now! 

Friday, April 21, 7:30pm
Ahrya Fine Arts  
8556 Wilshire Blvd.
$

Voice actors Bryce Papenbrook, Cherami Leigh, and more will participate in a Q&A following the 4/21 screening
 
Friday, Apr 21, 6:00 pm 
Griffith Park Old Zoo
4730 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
$17.00 - $25.00

Los Angeles State Historic Park Grand Opening
Saturday, April 22 Starts at 10am 
1245 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Free

The Los Angeles State Historic Park is having it's grand opening on April 22nd. And we're all welcome back after all the construction. A day-long celebration of music, performances, family-friendly activities and food trucks is planned on opening day. The park is easily accessible by the Chinatown Gold Line Station we're guessing limited parking there.

The Perky Nerd One Year Anniversary Extravaganza!
Saturday, April 22, 11 AM - 7 PM
The Perky Nerd
1606 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, California 91506
Free
 
"We are so excited to celebrate our one year anniversary! To celebrate we are planning a fun day of all the best things. Sales on comics, raffles, and grab bags. Cosplayers for super pictures! The Burnt to a Crisp and Marcel Waffle food trucks will with us from 11am to 2pm. The Coffee Commissary food truck will be with us from 2-7! The Hellflowers will be in the house for some awesome music at 4pm. PLUS, the first 36 customers to make a purchase will get a FREE VOODOO DONUT out of the coffin! First come, first purchase!"
  
 
 
Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, 2017
Barnes Park 350 S McPherrin Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Free
 
"Take the time to see, hear, and taste a bit of the Japanese and Japanese American culture through a first-hand experience of watching traditional Japanese dancing, hearing the resounding beats of the taiko drums, observing the mastery and various skills of martial arts, participating in the ancient art of the tea ceremony, or buying hand-made crafts or food with an Asian flair. Other highlights of the festival include games and crafts for children, and numerous cultural displays."
 
 
 
Saturday, April 22
Multiple Record Stores
 
Special events and sales on Record Store Day! 
 
 
Saturday, April 22, Starts 9am
Pershing Square Park
 
"The March for Science Los Angeles will take place on April 22, 2017 (Earth Day), beginning at 9:00am at Pershing Square Park in downtown Los Angeles. Marchers will then make their way to City Hall. So far, over 13,000 people have pledged to march, while nearly 50,000 others have expressed their interest in participating. These numbers include scientists, educators, students, advocates, and community leaders. They will unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call on policymakers to champion and fund science that upholds the common good and to advocate for evidence-based policies in the public interest at the local, state, and national levels."
 
SC3 Southern California Classic Collectors
Saturday, April 22nd
 4 p.m. to midnight
2084 Arcade
520 South Claudina Street, Unit C - Anaheim



La La Land Day
Tue, April 25, 8:30 a.m.
L.A. City Hall
Free

from LA Times
Open to the public, the dedication ceremony will take place on the steps of L.A. City Hall and will begin at 8:30 a.m. A jazz band will open the ceremony followed by the mayor's dedication. BANDALOOP aerial dancers will perform a dance medley inspired by the film, and then the jazz band will return to close the show.
Director Damien Chazelle, composer Justin Hurwitz, production designers David and Sandy Wasco, choreographer Mandy Moore and jewelry designer Kyle Chan are all expected to attend the ceremony.

Dana Gould presents A Live, Stage Reading of Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space
Tue, April 25, 2017 Doors: 7:00 pm / Show: 8:30 pm
Largo at the Coronet
366 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA

$30.00
Bobcat Goldthwait, Dana Gould, David Koechner, Ron Lynch, Jonah Ray, Paul F. Tompkins, Janet Varney, Debra Baker, Jr., Nate Mooney, Music by Eban Schletter, Puppetry & Effects by Pam Severns