The Movie Star Deluxe - Elizabeth Taylor
Liz Smith

YOU SEE, she didn't care about being a star. She cared about living a certain way. It was what she was used to. And she lived that grand life with Burton and thought they'd have it forever. That's what was most important to her: to have a great companion in her great life ... it was all about being with him. That's all that really mattered.

Oscarcast Challenged By More Nominations
Brian Lowry

Widening the Academy Awards field to 10 contenders for 2009 was hailed and criticized on various fronts, with some seeing the expanded roster as a crass, grade-inflating attempt to provide more populist appeal -- thus boosting the audience's rooting interest and, presumably, the kudocast's ratings.

 

Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson in The Twilight Saga: New Moon

This much-anticipated sequel is actually pretty good -- a tick better than the first 'Twilight,' which wasn't bad, either. The second film in the series is bigger, better in the effects and more vibrant visually.

 

Nicolas Cage & Eva Mendes

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Nicolas Cage & Eva Mendes in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Director Werner Herzog's delirious new movie is a true feat of daring and one of the craziest films of the year. The drug-abusing cop has been relocated from New York to New Orleans, and in place of Keitel's fits of anguish, Herzog has found his ideal interpreter, a performer whose truth lies deep in the artifice of performance: Nicolas Cage, at his finest

 

Ben Foster & Woody Harrelson

The Messenger
Ben Foster & Woody Harrelson in The Messenger

A decorated Army soldier (Ben Foster) with post-traumatic stress disorder is assigned to the Casualty Notification program, meaning that he and a fellow officer (Woody Harrelson) must deliver news of a fallen soldier's death to family members. This pungent little chamber piece offers a full yet delicate range of emotions, and it humanizes its characters so that polemics are left in the background.

 

Sandra Bullock & Tim McGraw

The Blind Side
Sandra Bullock & Tim McGraw in The Blind Side

Based on a book by Michael Lewis, this film fumbles a true story of an African-American product of the Memphis projects who ended up at a Christian school and in the care of a wealthy white family, then went on to NFL glory. The star is Sandra Bullock, whose character is conceived as a steel magnolia with a will of iron.

 

Dwayne Johnson & Justin Long

Planet 51
Dwayne Johnson & Justin Long in Planet 51

The big joke here is that an alien has 'invaded' a suburban town. The alien is us, a NASA astronaut (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) who touches down and bounces out with his American flag, only to realize he's interrupting an alien barbecue. This is a good-looking movie; it's just low on laughs.

 

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Pirate Radio
Philip Seymour Hoffman & Bill Nighy in Pirate Radio

With nearly 60 classic cuts, this may be the coolest music video masquerading as a movie ever. It's hard not to feel the love as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans and others in the groovy ensemble spin this mostly tall tale of the English Parliament's fight to crush rock radio and the rogue broadcasters who went to sea to keep it afloat

 

John Cusack

2012
John Cusack & Chiwetel Ejiofor in 2012

'2012' samples everything from 'Earthquake' to 'The Perfect Storm' to 'The Towering Inferno' to the Bible. John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson are among the actors pushing along whatever 'story' you can find here.

 

Jocelin Donahue

The House of the Devil
Jocelin Donahue & Greta Gerwig in The House of the Devil

This is a fine little old-school thriller set in the 1980s. A cash-strapped college student (Jocelin Donahue) accepts a babysitting job at a scary old Victorian home, but once she arrives, she discovers there's no baby to sit; her charge is the unseen mother of a lanky pair of creeps (Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov).

 

Tony Jaa

Ong Bak 2
Tony Jaa & Primrata Dej-Udom in Ong Bak 2

Tony Jaa, Thailand's biggest action hero, returns to inflict more damage in 'Ong Bak 2: The Beginning. ' Given its title, you might expect that this film has some connection to the original 'Ong Bak' of a few years back, but you would be wrong.

 

Sean Patrick Flanery & Norman Reedus

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Sean Patrick Flanery & Norman Reedus

This movie gives so much a bad name: Irish pride, clumsy sequel titles containing colons, ethnic slurs, and Judd Nelson's inability to say 'when' as an over-actor. In the original, the MacManus brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus) were sort of human. This time, they're just glib killing machines, out to eliminate the gangsters (led by Nelson) responsible for killing a Boston priest.

 

Michael Angarano & Jemaine Clement

Gentlemen Broncos
Michael Angarano & Jemaine Clement in Gentlemen Broncos

The latest collaboration from Jared and Jerusha Hess is about a home-schooled square of a kid who writes cheesy sci-fi fantasy books that belie his introverted demeanor. After his best manuscript is plagiarized by a pompous author whose career is on the skids (Jemaine Clement), our young hero finds himself facing a weird series of personal and creative challenges.

 

Gabourey Sidibe

Precious
Gabourey Sidibe in Precious

Precious is an exceptional film about nearly unendurable circumstances, endured. The story is about a teen living in 1980s Harlem, raped by her barely glimpsed father, abused by her unfathomably cruel mother. Precious is illiterate but bright, and she switches to an alternative school where she comes under the life-saving tutelage of Ms. Rain. There'll be an Oscar nomination or two in this film's near future

 

Jim Carrey & Gary Oldman

Disney's A Christmas Carol
Jim Carrey & Gary Oldman in Disney's A Christmas Carol

Disney's A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens -- demoted!), is an extravaganza of colliding intentions. But just when you're ready to give up on it, Zemeckis reminds you that he's capable of true visual dynamism, enhanced but not wholly dictated by the digital landscape he so clearly adores. Plus, Jim Carrey is good as Scrooge

 

George Clooney & Ewan McGregor

The Men Who Stare at Goats
George Clooney & Ewan McGregor in The Men Who Stare at Goats

Here's a quirky comedic drama about one of the stranger aspects of the modern U.S. Army: a time when certain high-ranking officers felt that the New Age techniques and beliefs of the counterculture could transform military practice as we know it. Director Grant Heslov is unable to make "Goats" a completely successful film, but it's still worth watching because it provides a showcase for a group of actors

 

Milla Jovovich & Elias Koteas

The Fourth Kind
Milla Jovovich & Elias Koteas in The Fourth Kind

Milla Jovovich plays a Nome, Alaska, psychotherapist whose sleep-deprived patients tell her chilling, cryptic stories of owls and abduction when she puts them under hypnosis. The conceit that director Olatunde Osunsanmi milks is an interview between the director and the 'real' Dr. Abigail Tyler

 

Adam Goldberg & Marley Shelton

(Untitled)
Adam Goldberg & Marley Shelton

The new comedy "(Untitled)" wanders the exhibition spaces, lofts and performance venues of Manhattan, eavesdropping on the narcissistic mutterings of a group of artists, bohemians and poseurs. This is a tale of two brothers. Adrian (Adam Goldberg) devotes his sour life to forbiddingly atonal music. Brother Josh (Eion Bailey) is the opposite: no standards but lots of money in the bank.

 

Cameron Diaz & James Marsden

The Box
Cameron Diaz & James Marsden in The Box

A man arrives at a suburban couple's home, having previously placed a mysterious item at the couple's doorstep. The man (Frank Langella) tells the woman (Cameron Diaz): Push the button on this thing, and you'll get rich, but someone in the world will die as a result. Langella is just right -- a little menacing, a little comforting. Everything else is not quite right, or not in the least right.

 

Mariah Carey - Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

Mariah Carey - This 'Imperfect Angel' Knows What Love Is
Liz Smith

"ALL MY life, my saving grace, the thing that kept me steady, was listening to music; on the radio, on records or my mother's singing." That's the famously voluptuous singing superstar Mariah Carey, with whom I had a brief conversation the other day. I was the last of Mariah's duties that long afternoon; she'd given about 19 interviews to promote her new album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel."

Barbra Streisand, Still Pitch-Perfect After All These Years
Liz Smith

Barbra Streisand's voice has not suffered much over the years, despite the fact that she doesn't exercise those golden vocal chords. She has admitted to some last-minute warm-ups right before recording or beginning a tour, but otherwise, she just opens her mouth and out come those famous tones, ravishing, if inevitably matured and deeper.

 

In Theaters: Movie Reviews

 

Michael Jackson's This Is It
Michael Jackson in Michael Jackson's This Is It

Produced with the cooperation of the Jackson estate, "This Is It" has no interest in telling the full story of anything, or the crumbling state of anyone. Director Kenny Ortega -- Jackson's partner in staging the London concert that never came to fruition -- is simply trying to suggest in some detail what sort of overstuffed career retrospective Jackson was attempting

 

Carey Mulligan & Peter Sarsgaard

An Education
Carey Mulligan & Peter Sarsgaard in An Education

Novelist Nick Hornby's screenplay for British journalist Lynn Barber's memoir sands a few edges off the corners of its heroine's story, yet the film is awfully charming. It bops along with so much esprit and lively acting.

 

Hilary Swank & Richard Gere

Amelia
Hilary Swank & Richard Gere in Amelia

This Amelia Earhart biopic isn't a bad movie, but it's distressingly ordinary for such an extraordinary subject. Played by an aptly cast and game Hilary Swank, Earhart becomes a checklist of Historical Legend accomplishments

 

Astro Boy Anime Movie Feature

Astro Boy
Freddie Highmore & Kristen Bell in Astro Boy

Astro Boy first appeared in a Japanese comic in 1951. His adventures led to a '60s Japanese TV series, then to the first of the American spin-offs, and now "Astro Boy" hits the big screen. I wish the film version of "Astro Boy" provided a stronger antidote to mediocrity. With the voices of Freddie Highmore, Kristen Bell and Nicolas Cage

 

John C. Reilly & Patrick Fugit

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
John C. Reilly & Patrick Fugit in Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

In this campy vampire flick, the truce between vampires who sip, leaving humans a little weaker but none the wiser, and those who gorge, leaving death and destruction behind, comes to an end. This is an adaptation of the frothy kids book series by Darren Shan.

 

For more Movie Reviews & Trailers visit our Movies Section (Click Here)

 

Is It Legal to Copy a DVD?
David LaGesse

Consumers are accustomed to copying music disks to their computers, making it easy to transfer them to portable MP3 players like the iPod. Many wonder why they can't do the same with movies on DVD. Two recent court rulings nixed novel approaches that sought to make it easy and legal for consumers to copy DVDs to computers and elsewhere. Here's a quick guide to what the courts have said, what it means to consumers

 

Who was Michael Jackson
Victor Davis Hanson

When Michael Jackson tragically died two weeks ago, millions were shocked. The wonder, though, is not that the troubled pop-music megastar died at the relatively young age of 50 under regrettable circumstances, but that he was able to live as long as he did

Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon
(M. Ryder)

Remembering My Michael Jackson
Liz Smith

Here's how I want to remember Michael -- not as the mega-star, not as Wacko Jacko, but as a lovely boy whom I got to know a bit during the filming of "The Wiz" when he was 16. He was shy -- surprisingly so, for somebody who was already a show biz veteran, and a star.

His solo "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" albums were just around the corner. He was still the brilliant lead singer of the Jackson Five -- a group that never would have gotten off the ground had it not been for Michael's unique talents.

 

Academy Awards Expand Oscar Best Picture Nominations to 10
Timothy M. Gray

And the winner is... well, actually there are lots of winners with the decision to broaden the best-picture Oscar race to 10 films. The board's decision to double the category to 10 nominees "may make it more interesting and less cloistered," said Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences president Sid Ganis at a press conference Wednesday morning.

 

TELEVISION

Discovery Channel explains Nitty-Gritty of Dirty Jobs
Liz Wolgemuth

Throughout the course of the Discovery Channel show "Dirty Jobs", Mike Rowe, 47, has parachuted into incredibly dirty jobs, including coal miner, shrimper, and even skull cleaner, paying tribute to the value and integrity of manual laborers as he sloshes around in knee-high nastiness right beside them. A recent interview with Mike Rowe about Dirty Jobs ...

NBC Puts a Royal Spin on Latenight
Brian Lowry

Most of Craig Ferguson's audience was doubtless mystified when he used his opening segment to ridicule NBC's press release proclaiming Conan O'Brien "the new king of late night."

Fresh Reality TV Shows Try to Find Spot on Crowded Sked

Finding a spot is the big challenge right now for first-season reality TV programs. After all, there are only so many hours in the day to watch television, and viewers tend to be loyal to their favorite show, even if it's a little long in the tooth.

'Breaking Bad' -- Am I the Only Person Watching This Great TV Show
Liz Smith

After having its maiden run shortened by the writer's strike, 'Breaking Bad' recently capped a breathtaking second season that delved deeper into the show's world of moral ambiguity and unintended consequences," writes Variety's pundit Brian Lowry.

 

comic strips

ANIMAL CRACKERS	ANNIE	BLISS	BOTTOM LINERS
BOUND & GAGGED	BRENDA STARR	BREWSTER ROCKIT	BROOM HILDA
DICK TRACY	GASOLINE ALLEY	GIL THORP	HOUSEBROKEN
LOOSE PARTS	LOVE IS ...	THE MIDDLETONS	PINK PANTHER
PLUGGERS	RAISING HECTOR	SYLVIA	9 TO 5

81st Academy Awards - 2009 Oscar Winner & Nominees

"Slumdog Millionaire"
Leads the Way
8 Oscars for Slumdog Millionaire

In much the same manner that the film captured the hearts of movie-goers, "Slumdog Millionaire" captured the hearts and votes of the Academy garnering 8 Oscars in total, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Adapted Screenplay.

"And the Oscar Goes to ..."
81st Academy Award Oscar Nominations 2009 Review

This year's top Academy Awards nominated film is "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" starring Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson with 13 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. The 13 Oscar nominations falls one short of the current record of 14 nominations held by two films, "All about Eve" (1950) and "Titanic" (1997).

Other highly Oscar nominated films include Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (10 Oscar Nominations), Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (8 Oscar Nominations) and Gus Van Sant's Milk (8 Oscar Nominations).

Daily Comics & Your Favorite Comic Strips Online
Popular & Classic Comic Strips Online

Your favorite comics strips Animal Crackers, Annie, Bound & Gagged, Brenda Starr, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy, Broom-Hilda, Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Gil Thorp, Housebroken, Loose Parts, The Middletons, Pink Panther, Raising Hector, Sylvia, 9 to 5, Bliss, Bottom Liners, Love Is..., Pluggers all online at ComicStripNation.com

Stars join Children in Need fun
Top names from the worlds of TV, music and theatre are taking part in this year's Children In Need show.

Lady Gaga joins royal gala show
Eccentric chart-topper Lady Gaga is to sing for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance at Blackpool's Opera House.

Oprah announces end of talk show
A tearful Oprah Winfrey announces her talk show will end in September 2011 after 25 years on the air.

EastEnders festive scripts stolen
Scripts for the Christmas episodes of EastEnders are stolen in a burglary at a writer's home, the BBC confirms.

One dead in Cyrus tour bus crash
An accident involving Miley Cyrus' tour bus kills one passenger and injures several other people, US police say.

Healthy Forsyth back on Strictly
Bruce Forsyth is well enough to host this Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing after missing last week's show because of flu.

Monkey joins Hawley on stage
Richard Hawley teams up with Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner at a London gig that saw him hint at a future collaboration.

Peter Kay confirms tour dates
Peter Kay announces his first solo dates for nearly seven years, with four nights in Manchester next April.

Blur scoop top UK festival prize
Rock group Blur's Glastonbury set is named the best headline performance at this year's UK Festival awards.

YouTube gets automatic subtitles
Automatic captions for YouTube videos are to roll out across its channels, says parent company Google.

Herzog to chair Berlin film jury
German director Werner Herzog will head the jury at next year's Berlin Film Festival, organisers announce.

Artist Jeanne-Claude dies aged 74
US artist Jeanne-Claude, whose dramatic installations included The Gates in New York's Central Park, has died aged 74.

Painting in final Archers outing
Actor Norman Painting, the voice of Phil Archer, will make his final appearance on the long-running radio drama on Sunday.

Artist to induce seizure on stage
A charity raises concerns over plans by a dance artist with epilepsy to induce a seizure on stage as part of a performance.

Nick Cave and the Bad Sex in Fiction award?
Singer Nick Cave joins acclaimed authors Philip Roth and Paul Theroux on the shortlist for this year's Bad Sex in Fiction award.

N-Dubz pair give rape statements
Two rappers from pop trio N-Dubz make statements to police as witnesses in a case of an alleged rape.

Peas manager says sorry to Hilton
The manager of US group the Black Eyed Peas apologises to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton over a nightclub assault.

Forgery threat to music festivals
The UK's summer music festivals face a threat from counterfeit wristbands, an industry adviser warns.

Liam Gallagher 'demoing' songs
Singer Liam Gallagher says he will begin recording a solo album with the remaining members of Oasis early next year.

Twilight sequel tipped for record
Teenage vampire movie The Twilight Saga: New Moon is expected to score one of the biggest opening weekends ever for a non-summer film, experts predict.

Hudson to play Winnie Mandela
Hollywood actress Jennifer Hudson will play the controversial ex-wife of Nelson Mandela, Winnie, in a forthcoming film.

Ferrell 'most overpaid film star'
Hollywood comedy actor Will Ferrell tops a list of film stars whose returns offer the least value for money.

Valentino on Oscar doc longlist
A film about fashion designer Valentino is one of 15 titles eligible for the best documentary Oscar next year.

M&S Christmas TV ad 'offensive'
Some viewers accuse the High Street retailer of sexism in its latest ad featuring Ashes to Ashes actor Philip Glenister.

Nicole Richie treated in hospital
Actress Nicole Richie is responding well to treatment for pneumonia in a US hospital, her publicist says.

'Exhausted' Dallerup quits jungle
Dancer Camilla Dallerup quits ITV1's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! after telling viewers: "My body can't take it."

Lloyd Webber is back in hospital
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is re-admitted to hospital after developing an infection following surgery for prostate cancer.

Television queen
Is Oprah's announcement that her talk show will stop in 2011 the end of an era or the start of a new one?

Queen mother
Freddie Mercury's mother shares her memories of him

Enigma aberration
Elgar's terrible trombone playing

Soul Power
James Brown's sax man Maceo Parker recalls his career

Magic moments
Some of Oprah's most memorable shows

In pictures
Helena Christensen documents climate change

Anti climax
Nominees for the Bad Sex in Fiction award

BBC News | Entertainment | UK Edition
Get the latest BBC Entertainment news: breaking news, views and analysis on celebrities, music, film, theatre, TV and radio plus audio-video content.

 

Movie Review | 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon': Abstinence Makes the Heart ... Oh, You Know
The big tease turns into the long goodbye in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

To Blacks, Precious Is ‘Demeaned’ or ‘Angelic’
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” has sparked heated debate about its meaning since its limited release.

Winfrey Bets on Her Future With Cable
Oprah Winfrey will end her daytime talk show in 2011 as she prepares to start a cable channel of her own.

Art Review | 'The Origins of El Greco': Saints at a Cultural Crossroads
A lustrous exhibition at the Onassis Cultural Center of Venetian Crete, where East met West, and artists painted the divine.

Music Review | Philip Glass: Glass Looks to the Heavens, Again
Philip Glass’s weighty and tangled opera, “Kepler,” which arrived at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Wednesday, examines the relationship between science and religion.

Theater Review | 'The Orphans' Home Cycle': Heart of a Small Town, Vast in Its Loneliness
The first part of Horton Foote’s “Orphans’ Home Cycle” is a thrilling demonstration of an artist soaring into the realm of the epic.

Exhibition Review | 'Leonardo da Vinci's Workshop': Flights of Mind, Brought to Life
The Discovery Times Square Exposition’s show actually brings you closer to understanding the real workshop of Leonardo: his mind.

Nickelodeon’s Stepchild, Eager for More Love
As the musical children’s show “Yo Gabba Gabba!” continues to take significant steps into mainstream popular culture, its producers crave more support from its network.

Film: Opening Wide His (Repaired) Heart
After heart surgery, the comedian Robin Williams has become more introspective and more grateful for what he has.

Art Review | 'Tim Burton': A World of Macabre Misfits
Given the appeal of Tim Burton’s movies, you would hope that the Museum of Modern Art’s expansive retrospective of his noncinematic art would be equally exciting. Alas, it is a letdown.

Jeanne-Claude, Christo’s Collaborator on Environmental Canvas, Is Dead at 74
Jeanne-Claude worked with her husband, Christo, on dozens of environmental arts projects, including “The Gates” in Central Park in 2005.

Oscar Short List of Documentaries Draws Controversy
A screening committee from the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked at least a half-dozen prominent films.

Books of The Times: ‘You Know That Chicken Is Chicken, Right?’
Jonathan Safran Foer uses his literary gifts to give the reader some very visceral, very gruesome descriptions of factory farming and the slaughterhouse.

Movie Review | 'Broken Embraces': Almodóvar’s Happy Agony, Swirling Amid Jealousy and Revenge
Can there be such a thing as exuberant melancholy? I can’t think of another way to describe the spirit of “Broken Embraces.”

Theater Review | 'In the Next Room, or the vibrator play': Beyond Electricity, Toward Female Emancipation
Alert the authorities. Shocking sexual acts are taking place in this inspired new comedy by Sarah Ruhl.

Theater Review | 'Twelfth Night (or What You Will)': Gender Switch in Illyria, With Players 8 Inches Tall
What the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater does is improbably fabulous, and they’re doing it again in their sublime new production.

Movie Review | 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans': A New Orleans Mystery: A Cop So Bad, He’s Good
Pain, addiction and craziness fuel “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.”

Art Review | 'Alias Man Ray': Mercurial Jester, Revealing and Concealing
A traditional retrospective on Man Ray, with an irresistible biographical hook, at the Jewish Museum.

Movie Review | 'The Blind Side': Steamrolling Over Life’s Obstacles With Family as Cheerleaders
“The Blind Side” is a movie made up almost entirely of turning points and yet curiously devoid of drama or suspense.

Music Review | American Classical Orchestra: An Intimate Concert, With Original Instruments
The ensemble’s program of works by Haydn and Mozart on Wednesday at the New York Society for Ethical Culture was informed, earnest and lively.

Movie Review | 'Planet 51': A Misunderstood Alien, but Not as Smart as E.T.
The agreeable but flagrantly unoriginal “Planet 51” belongs to the mix-and-match school of animated moviemaking.

Movie Review | 'Mammoth': Bourgeois Bohemians, There’s a Price to Pay
In “Mammoth,” when a rich child eats her lunch in New York, a poor boy in the Philippines cries.

Music Review | Aprile Millo: Strauss, Neapolitan Tunes and a Festive Singalong
The soprano Aprile Millo made her New York recital debut with an eclectic program of works by Donaudy, Wolf-Ferrari and Rachmaninoff at the Rose Theater on Tuesday.

Dance Review | Wally Cardona: A People-Oriented Piece, Featuring Kierkegaard
In “Really Real” Mr. Cardona features six core dancers to convey the idea of an individual trapped in a collective.

Inside Art: Bronzino Is Given His Museum Moment
In January, a 16th-century draftsman finally gets his due at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Antiques: Comeback for Furniture at Carnegie Museum
The furniture galleries at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh reopen on Saturday and now explore design trends that spread globally during the last five centuries.

Art in Review
Carl Fredrik Hill at Scandinavia House, Dexter Sinister with Performa, Frederick Hayes at Number 35 and more.

Review: The Beginnings of Divination
An exhibit at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington on the Fal-Nameh, or Book of Omens, may lead to discoveries that will throw some light on its emergence in 16th-century Iran and Turkey.

Review: What Is Real, What Isn't?
"Art and Illusions" at the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence shows off 150 works of trompe l'oeil from antiquity today.

On the London Stage: A Poet, a Composer and a Love of Theater
“The Habit of Art,” the Alan Bennett play, has at its complexly poignant core W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten.

On the London Stage: On the London Stage, a 'Little Voice' Grown Powerful
Jim Cartwright's "The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'' tells of a teen familial face-off; and "Pains of Youth" presents a creepy image of pre-wartime doctors.

Review: Moscow's Second Stage Revels in the Homegrown
The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theater in Moscow is showing a dynamic new "Hamlet" and an insightful staging of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor."

Design: Mistakes in Typography Grate the Purists
Typographic gaffes often crop up in various public places as well as in television programs and movies, offending designers who work with typefaces on a daily basis, and study them lovingly.

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