Best Actress In the past few weeks, this race--long led by Viola Davis--got a lot more interesting with Golden Globe wins for Meryl Streep and Michelle Williams. Ms. Williams's film may feel too slight, but she's gone on the PR offensive with an in-character GQ cover; Ms. Streep's film has its detractors, and Read More
This morning, thousands upon tens of New Yorkers are realizing they have to go see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, as that film was announced as one of nine Oscar Best Picture nominees. Big surprises of the morning included that film's nomination for Best Picture, the inclusion of Best Actor nominees Demian Bichir and Gary Read More
Tomorrow morning will bring that early-morning announcement of this year's Oscar nominees--with the attention-desperate wrinkle that no one knows how many nominees there will be. Herewith, our predictions, for last-minute entries into your office pool (if yours is the sort of office at which Oscar nominations are the subject of a pool. Ours is not, Read More
The most likely, of last night's awards, to an awards-show junkie in 2002 imagining the hazy future: 1. Meryl Streep. Sure! Bet the speech was great. 2. Christopher Plummer. Glad he's still around! 3. Martin Scorsese. He deserves some recognition! 4. George Clooney. Did he win for playing Cary Grant? Middling likelihood--not impossible to imagine, Read More
In the weekly grind of seeing, suffering through, and writing about what passes for movies today, perfection is a word I rarely have the occasion to use. A warm, wonderful and enchanting work of artistry such as My Week With Marilyn is the exception to that problem. What an extraordinary thrill to leave a movie exhilarated instead of drained, sated instead of empty, rejuvenated instead of depressed. It’s a magical experience. Read More
“Wow, this is it, this view, New York City!” Michael Fassbender said after opening the door to the roof of the Standard, where the glass buildings lining the West Side bound forth from the meatpacking district toward midtown. It was Friday night, and The Observer had just watched the New York Film Festival’s screening of Read More
Last night the premiere of My Week With Marilyn was held at Lincoln Center. Just as Marilyn Monroe's influence and allure extended far beyond the Hollywood set, so too did the screening attract a wide array of guests. Attendees included Coco Rocha, Zac Posen (who wore--gasp!-- jeans), Harvey Weinstein, Celine Rattray and the films' stars Read More
The iPhone has been gobbling up the smart-phone market once dominated by the BlackBerry—and if it’s made available on the Verizon Wireless network, as rumored, it’ll get another big bite. But which gadget is really better?
USER-FRIENDLINESS Any idiot can use an iPhone—and we know, because we’ve seen it happen. BlackBerry gets a few points for Read More
Shutter IslandRunning time 138 minutesWritten by Laeta KalogridisDirected by Martin Scorsese Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson
2.5 Stars out of 4
Making important, sometimes even unforgettable movies is something for which Martin Scorsese seems hard-wired. Shutter Island is not one of them. Dense, ridiculously overplotted Read More
While the success of films like Little Miss Sunshine, Once and Precious prove that the Sundance Film Festival still holds some pretty serious weight in Hollywood, something about the grandaddy of them all has—shall we say—dulled. Perhaps Sundance lost some edge around the same time it featured heavily in a plotline on Entourage. Sensing this, Read More
Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy, from a screenplay by Ms. Reichardt and Jon Raymond, who worked together on Ms. Reichardt’s previous film, Old Joy (2006), is another exercise in minimalist cinema about ultra-ordinary Read More
Project Runway contestant Christian Siriano has signed a deal with Payless to design a line of affordable shoes and handbags. [NY Post]
Designer Roberto Cavalli has been cleared of all tax evasion charges brought against him in Italy in 2002 when he attempted to write off taxes on renovations to his Tuscany home. Read More
With the exception of the most important election of our lifetime, this has been the slowest news week ever. When the casting of Jack Black in an adaptation of Gulliver's Travels makes headlines, you know we're close to the bottom of the barrel. So! Why don't we use this as an opportunity to check Read More
In an 11-year-old tape anonymously leaked to Page Six, Harvey Weinstein can be heard warning director Quentin Tarantino of potential "weird late night phone calls" from Robert De Niro, who was apparently angry about the salary he received for Tarantino's 1997 film Jackie Brown. [P6]
Actor Shia LaBeouf will not be charged for a Read More
Madonna's head flack Liz Rosenberg is insisting that the singer has no plans to adopt a three-year-old girl from Malawi in the near future, as had been reported. [
West Villagers--including Amy Sedaris--are opposing the renewal of Beatrice Inn's liquor license, citing issues with noise, smoking, drugs, and taxis the club brings to the neighborhood. [Read More
