A deconstruction of Kubrick's 1980 horror film The Shining, Room 237 makes maps of the mysterious maze of messages found within the walls of the iconic Overlook Hotel. While the documentary seems too complicated to casually describe, it is really quite simple. Director Rodney...

Every year Hollywood Boulevard is dressed in its best for cinema's biggest night of self-congratulations, but just down the street iO West presented their fantastic Oscars Improvaganza. A night of such exuberant extravagance is ripe for parody, and three improv teams delivered. Each team was given a limited...

What separates the greats from the rest? What makes somebody a genius? What is it that makes an artist's voice echo throughout the tunnels of time? Arthur Miller said it is "... a fierce moral sensibility, which is unquenchable... anger for how the world is." If that is what it...

The Set List: Comedy Without a Net with Jon Dore, Bobcat Goldthwait, Pete Holmes, Eddie Pepitone, Greg Proops and host Rick Overton at Cobb's Comedy Club

Set List is one of the most refreshing shows being performed today. It is completely urgent and pertinent that any comedy geek...

During my week in San Francisco, there were so many tantalizing events it was hard to decide what to see. The 12th Annual Sf Sketchfest was an ambitious undertaking, featuring 166 shows, lasting three and a half weeks and showcasing some of the best talent performing today. Here is my...

On January 3, 2013 The Chicago Tribune published a piece that portrayed the despicable act of heckling in a positive light. In a world where nothing is sacred, the one thing comedians treat with high reverence is the implied social contract between audience and performer. In an attempt...

Why can't a film simply exist without trying to change the world? There are plenty of different kinds of movies, and in the chaos of awards season some wonderful, little flicks are completely forgotten. With last year's underwhelming Oscar season still on my mind, I challenge you to seek out...

The only formulaic slop more tired than sports movies are romantic comedies, but by some miracle David O. Russell seamlessly pulls off both at the same time without it feeling tired or formulaic. This is the movie the world has been waiting for. Simply said, Silver Linings Playbook...

A complex score of one of America's most beloved, yet controversial presidents, Spielberg's latest effort triumphs beyond its stumbles. Like any good character study, the film builds slowly and ultimately burgeons cautiously to satisfying climax.

At its heart, Lincoln is an underdog story of a man trying...

Somebody Up There Likes Me is a caustic exploration of youth, relationships and death. Bob Byington writes and directs an anti-coming-of-age story that plays out like a deadpan Woody Allen movie with Asperger's.

The movie left me wondering about the mysteries of our tiny existence so much so that...

On the Road starts off speeding, snapping the audience's heads back against their padded seats, and kidnapping them. Taking 'em to the 1940s, America. At some point each voyeur has to decide whether they are in or out.

The challenges the movie presents to an audience combined...

If you liked Paul F. Tompkins' recent Comedy Central special and DVD, you need to get a copy of the comprehensive Laboring Under Delusions: Live in Brooklyn. This CD version is an unedited ninety-three minutes of stories that achieves an airy feeling of live performance.

The Little Modern is a special place for comedians, improvisers and audiences. It is a magical, DIY paradise where anything is possible.

Located on Theatre Row in Hollywood, the Complex is a building containing several theatres. Anybody who has done theatre in Los Angeles is aware of...

Brent Weinbach is one of the most original, creative and interesting stand ups to ever have his voice amplified in front of a dark room full of strangers. Maria Bamford called Weinbach "a revelation." And Patton Oswalt proclaimed, "The breadth, delight and sheer magnitude of Weinbach's creativity makes me feel...

The incomparable Brent Weinbach is releasing an album with ASpecialThing Records Tuesday, September 4, 2012. And to celebrate he answered some questions that I asked him.

Tony Bartolone: How did you get started in comedy?

Brent Weinbach: I started doing comedy when I was three years old by doing...

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function." Wayne White said, "Fuck you, F. Scott Fitzgerald." (He says "Fuck you!" a lot.) However,...

ASpecialThing brings us quite a remarkable thing with Jim Hamilton. Hamilton's debut release, Poems About the Ocean, stretches the limits of absurdity in its unique rhythm and captivating style.

The thing that puts this album a place apart from other comedy recordings is the nuance in every pun, the...

There is nothing like seeing a well-improvised show. It is like being God, watching the world move, knowing that at any moment the whole thing could implode on itself and be destroyed. However, instead of certain tragedy, by some miracle it grows legs of its own and takes off running...

Predating cave paintings, perhaps the most ancient art form is the art of storytelling. Every culture that has as ever existed has some version of it. It can be said, that this is what separates us from the animals. Religion, education, politics, entertainment, even interpersonal relationships all have a strong...

Tony Bartolone: What is the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival?

James Grace: The Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival is an international festival that celebrates improvisation as well as sketch comedy with groups from around the world and around the country and also a large contingency from Southern California.