A reinvention of the original Oscar®-winning hit film, Fame follows a talented group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, a diverse, creative powerhouse where students from all walks of life are given a chance to live out their dreams and achieve real and lasting fame…the kind that comes only from talent, dedication, and hard work.

The cast includes Asher Book as Marco, Kristy Flores as Rosie, Paul Iacono as Neil, Paul McGill as Kevin, Naturi Naughton as Denise, Kay Panabaker as Jenny, Kherington Payne as Alice, Collins Pennie as Malik, Walter Perez as Victor, and Anna Maria Perez de Tagle as Joy. Their instructors include Debbie Allen as Principal Angela Simms, Charles S. Dutton as Alvin Dowd, Kelsey Grammer as Joel Cranston, Megan Mullally as Fran Rowan, and Bebe Neuwirth as Lynn Kraft.

I had the pleasure of attending a screening of Fame last night, the new film by director, dancer and choreographer Kevin Tanchareon.  This is a reinvention of the original 1980 musical of the same name, and it was brilliant. This PG movie is a perfect family movie that any young boy or girl can enjoy – and one that adults can enjoy as well!

One of the things I appreciated most about Fame was that it wasn’t an overly stylized movie.  Wasn’t glossy, pretty, and bright (like the High School Musicals). It was gritty and felt real, and each scene captivates you. I like that for the most part, the cast was full of young actors you wouldn’t recognize.  It gives the film a very real – documentary feeling.  The acting was great, the dancing, singing and music was even better. As I was leaving the theater I heard a lot of “the music was awesome!” and it was! The music kept the movie flowing at a wonderful pace. You wanted to tap your toe in one scene, and cry in the next.  The emotions seemed so real, and so raw, you felt part of the story.

I would have really liked to see  more back story on the characters, if anything – that’s where the movie fell short. There was a lot of singing, dancing and music – and not enough character development. But I liked the movie a lot – this would have just made the movie better. Many of the characters were so interesting, I just wanted more!

I usually shy away from remakes, but this remake was worth the 107 minutes.  I really enjoyed it – and I would highly recommend it for families with children interested in the arts. I would definitely watch this again with my kids – to be honest, I’d probably watch it again on my own.

I give it two thumbs up!

I saw Tori Amos in concert this summer, and she was fantastic! But I was absolutely blown away by the band that opened for her, One eskimO. I liked them so much, I could have listened to them for hours. I’m happy to show you this EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK to you – and to show you their new Visual Album!  One eskimO is awesome, please check them out! Below, you’ll find their first single off their new album, “Kandi”

One eskimO is a new UK band that is making their foray in the United States, and gaining significant popularity especially with their new twist on combining music with animation. Warner Bros. has partnered with the band to create a “visual album”, which will be available on iTunes and other digital outlets NOW.

The visual album is an innovative new musical experience for consumers that brings a musical album together with groundbreaking animation and story to offer music fans a fully immersive musical and visual storytelling experience.

Its produced by Passion Pictures, which is well known for their award-winning Gorillaz animation, “The Adventures of One eskimO”, is a 10 part short form animated series that takes viewers on a journey through an epic love story starring our hero One eskimO and his band of animal friends that include Monkey, Giraffe and Penguin.

One eskimO, the band, is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Kristian Leontiou, One eskimO arrives with an impressive breadth of imagination that instantly marks them as something extraordinary. Produced by Rollo Armstrong (Faithless, Dido), the music is an ambitious and affecting collection of widescreen modern pop, alive with iridescent textures and intricately crafted songs. Songs like “Hometime” and “Kandi” (featuring an indelible chorus sampled from Candi Staton’s classic “He Called Me Baby”) are moving and expressive, touching upon such universal themes as love and heartbreak, success and failure. One EskimO is Kristian Leontiou – vocals; Adam Falkner – drums; Jamie Sefton – bass & horns; Peter Rinaldi – guitar. The band’s debut album will premiere September 22 on Shangri-La Recordings and a U.S. tour will kick off September 15 at Joe’s Pub in New York.

Trailer: www.FindLittleFeather.com

For more details on One eskimO and to see their tour schedule visit here

iTunes Link to order episodes: http://bit.ly/7SJOc

“Away We Go” is a contemporary comedy directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes from an original screenplay by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. The movie follows the journey of an expectant couple (John Krasinski of “The Office” and Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live), as they travel the U.S. in search of a place to put down roots and raise a family. Rounding out the cast are Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Catherine O’Hara, and Paul Schneider. “Away We Go” is produced and co-financed with Focus by Big Beach.

The cast is amazing. John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, and Allison Janney.

Away We Go was SO GREAT. I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph were both so brilliant, I can’t imagine anyone else pulling it off as great as they did. The story teeters between comedy and drama, and I think it pulls it off expertly.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this movie, so there were many great surprises (including a rather shocking scene with Maggie Gyllenhaal) and many huge laughs. I loved the movie so much I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to continue watching the couple wander throughout the country and the people they met along the way.

What I didn’t realize until the end, was that this movie was directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road). It’s no wonder I loved it so much, he’s a genius!

I liked this movie so much, I’ve seen it 4 times already. I LOVE IT! I would watch it over and over. It’s a great movie to own, because you WILL want to watch it more than once. LOVE IT!

Don’t forget to go out and get your copy of Away We Go – which is available on DVD and Blu-Ray Hi-Def on September 29th!!

Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for twenty years, is the most powerful and polarizing figure in fashion. Hidden behind her trademark bob and sunglasses, she has never allowed anyone to scrutinize the inner workings of her magazine. Until now. With unprecedented access, filmmaker R.J. Cutler’s new film THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE does for fashion what he did for politics in The War Room, taking the viewer inside a world they only think they know. Every August a record-breaking number of people can’t wait to get their hands on the September issue of Vogue. The 2007 issue was and remains the biggest ever, weighing over four pounds, selling thirteen million copies, and impacting the $300-billion global fashion industry more than any other single publication. An intimate, funny and surprising look at Anna Wintour and her team of larger-than-life editors as they create this must-have Bible of fashion, Cutler explores the untouchable glamour of Wintour’s Vogue to reveal the extraordinarily passionate people at its heart. He takes us behind the scenes at Fashion Week, to Europe, on shoots and reshoots, and into closed-door staff meetings, bearing witness to an arduous, entertaining, and sometimes emotionally demanding process. At the eye of this annual fashion hurricane is the two-decade relationship between Wintour and Grace Coddington, incomparable Creative Director and fashion genius. They are perfectly matched for the age-old conflict between creator and curator. Through them, we see close-up the delicate creative chemistry it takes to remain at the top of the ever-changing fashion field.

I had the immense pleasure of attending a screening of The September Issue last night. I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed this documentary. I was completely sucked in, the moment Anna Wintour took the screen.  She is such a fascinating character, you instantly want to know more about her – know what makes her tick. R.J. Cutler’s new documentary is pure GENIUS, an hour and twenty-eight minutes of excitement!

If you saw The Devil Wears Prada – and liked it, you’re going to see The September Issue and LOVE it. We all heard that Meryl Streep’s character was based off of Anna Wintour – and it’s very interesting to watch the real Anna Wintour in all her glory. She is both scary and wonderful, and you can tell almost instantly why she is the success she is.

I absolutely loved the behind-the-scenes look into the world of Vogue. I have to be honest, I’ve never bought the September issue of Vogue, but after seeing the movie – I’m half tempted to go pick it up.  After seeing how much work goes into it, and the time an effort that goes into every single picture, I think I need to respect that and go get a copy myself!

You need to grab a bunch of your girlfriends, and go see this movie when it opens on Friday. Have I ever steered you wrong? The September Issue is an absolute joy! It was such a great movie, I enjoyed every single minute. I could have watched it for five hours. It was absolutely thrilling. Listen to me – GO SEE IT!!!

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE is now playing in New York and will expand nationally on Friday, September 11, 2009.
Fresh off the runway, THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE opens nationwide this Friday, September 11th!!

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE will be opening in:

• Los Angeles, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Washington, D.C.
• Boston, MA
• New Haven, CT
• Philadelphia, PA
• Chicago, IL
• Kansas City, MO
• Minneapolis, MN
• St. Louis, MO
• Atlanta, GA
• Charlotte, NC
• Dallas, TX
• Austin, TX
• Jacksonville, FL
• Denver, CO
• Portland, OR

Follow THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE on Twitter

Become a Fan on Facebook

“Inglourious Basterds” begins in German-occupied France, where Shosanna Dreyfus(Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as “The Basterds,” Raine’s squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich.

This is not my type of movie. Since I had my kids, I haven’t been able to watch any scary or gory movies. I knew going into this movie that I was going to have to close my eyes half the time. Buuut with that said, I knew that I HAD to see this, and see for myself what all the hype was about.

The first scene of the movie, in which a Nazi Colonel interrogates a war-crime suspect had me hooked. I LOVED this movie. Yes there was gore – but not as much as I thought there would be. I did close my eyes during the scalping scenes, but there were only a handful of those anyway.

I thought Inglourious Basterds was genius. I think Quentin Tarantino is genius. This movie was amazing. It’s  so wonderfully made, and wonderfully written. It’s pure Quentin Tarantino – in the sense that it moves from dramatic to violent to comical – all in a few minutes. That drove my husband completely mad – but we’ve since determined he may not be a Tarantino fan, like I am.

And let me just say – will someone give Brad Pitt an Oscar already? He (like Johnny Depp) has such a wide range of what he’s capable of, he can play an 80 year old man (Benjamin Button) in on film, and a raving – scalping lunatic in Basterds.

My one complaint is that there wasn’t enough Brad Pitt. He really was only in the movie for probably 30-40 minutes total (out of a whopping 2 1/2 hour long film).  But I’ll take what I can get, because he was awesome.

Bottom line: I loved it!! It was gory – but I was able to close my eyes for most of it. It’s not a true story – of what really happened – it’s a complete farce, really. But I like that. I like that in the end the bad guy gets it…even if that’s not how history wrote it.

Two thumbs up for Quentin Tarantino and his brilliant Inglourious Basterds!

Nora Ephron adapts Julie Powell’s autobiographical book Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen with this Columbia Pictures production starring Amy Adams as an amateur chef who decides to cook every recipe in a cookbook from acclaimed celebrity chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) in order to chronicle it in a blog over the course of a year. Streep’s Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci re-teams with the actress as Child’s husband.

I love, love, love, love, love this movie. In fact I love it so much, that yesterday I saw it in the theater for the second time. (Which rarely happens anymore).

Meryl Streep is a GENIUS! She perfectly portrays the role of Julia Child.  And I’m finding myself loving any film that Amy Adams is in. She’s great too!

There’s nothing negative I can say about this movie, and usually I can find at least one thing. I love how the movie gracefully weaves between both true stories. At the end of the movie, I found myself wanting to learn more about Julia Child.  My next book (after I finish The Thirteenth Tale) is going to be a book on Julia Child. Isn’t she just so fascinating!?

I just think this is the perfect chick-flick. It’s brilliant! Go see it!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel star in director Mark Weber’s wry, non-linear romantic comedy about a man who falls head over heels for a woman who doesn’t believe in love. Mark (Gordon Levitt) is an aspiring architect who currently earns his living as a greeting card writer. Upon encountering his boss’ beautiful new secretary Summer (Deschanel), Mark discovers that the pair have plenty in common despite the fact that she’s seemingly out of his league; for starters, they both love The Smiths, and they’re both fans of surrealist artist Magritte. Before long Mark is smitten. All he can think about is Summer. Mark believes deeply in the concept of soul mates, and he’s finally found his. Unfortunately for Mark, Summer sees true love as the stuff of fairy tales, and isn’t looking for romance. Undaunted and undeterred by his breezy lover’s casual stance on relationships, Mark summons all of his might and courage to pursue Summer and convince her that their love is real.

I went and saw (500) Days of Summer over the weekend, and I absolutely LOVED it!  My friend and I had it narrowed down to this movie, or Katherine Heigl’s The Ugly Truth. I’m so glad we didn’t go see that one! (It’s been bashed by critics!)

It’s such a great, funny movie! I love Zooey Deschanel, and she was amazing in this movie! It’s nice to see more of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and in such a cute – hilarious movie. He’s definitely come a long way from 3rd Rock From the Sun! And when did he get so hot? (The whole movie, I couldn’t help but think he could be Heath Ledger’s twin!)

You MUST go see it! It was so great!!