By Rex Reed 6/13/12 12:17pm

movies

Fonda in Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding.

Peace, Love, & Nana’s High in a Timeless Fonda’s Latest

Jane Fonda is always a welcome antidote to the hackneyed drivel of today’s movies, even when she’s relegated to sharing the screen with also-rans like Jennifer Lopez and Lindsay Lohan. In her career zenith, she could always be counted on to bring both complexity and nuance to the least deserving roles. At 74, she hasn’t forgotten a thing. With a wonderful, careful and admiring director, she gives even a routine picture unbridled energy, craft and an extra dash of class above and beyond the script. All reasons to embrace Bruce Beresford’s warm, polished, feel-good comedy Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding.  Read More

By Elise Knutsen 4/18/12 5:00pm

Shindigger

Elizabeth Olsen, home gourmand

A Prayer for Champagne in Spring: The Relais & Chateaux Dîner des Grands Chefs

While it’s not particularly our forte, The Observer fasted on Monday. Mostly fasted, rather. It was a religious holiday of sorts, indeed more of a pilgrimage, for which we practiced the ancient art of self-denial. Relais & Chateaux’s Dîner des Grands Chefs was our evening’s sacrosanct destination, and we intended to arrive with a pilgrim-pure palate.

As we approached Gotham Hall’s regal colonnade, we were beginning to feel slightly faint. Swaying ever so slightly in our heels, we dashed upstairs, past the congested red carpet, for some sustenance, which, before we could object, came in the form of a flute of 1999 Cuvée Louise Pommery Champagne. We weren’t alone in our pre-sunset indulgence: after a lap around the room, we noticed 25 empty bottles of bubbly neatly (and proudly) displayed at the bar. But a few minutes later, the tally was trente-cinq. At that point, we stopped counting. Read More

By Rex Reed 3/07/12 11:44am

movies

Silent House: Elizabeth Olsen’s Strong Performance Muted by Silent, Voiceless Narrative

Look hard and you might find a few thrills in a potboiler called Silent House, but I was fighting too hard to stay awake to pay much attention. This mess, a remake of a Uruguayan film directed by Gustavo Hernández, was concocted by Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, the duo who made the electrifying Open Water, one of the most original and genuinely pulse-pounding movies ever. With only two stranded divers and a shark-filled ocean of darkness, it was a tapestry of terror that has given me nightmares to this day. Silent House is to Open Water what a leaky faucet is to Lake Michigan. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 9:00am

carrie on

8 Photos

Taylor Swift--Writer Carrie

Carrie Bradshaw’s Headed Back to TV—But Who Should Play Her?

Word has it that Sex and the City is getting rebooted on TV–bringing back Carrie Bradshaw for a generation unfamiliar with her exploits! Carrie’s going to be a young writer struggling to make it in New York in a pilot ordered by the CW, as opposed to a youngish writer magically making it in New York. Which actress can portray the young Ms. Bradshaw with just the right mix of panache, narcissism, and ability to wear a Manolo? We have a few suggestions! Read More

By Drew Grant 11/02/11 11:31am

Celebrity

Christian Louboutin Cocktail Party

An Olsen Party! What Have America's Favorite Twins Been Up To?

It was only a couple years ago that the Olsen twins were as ubiquitous as Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian combined. But time has either been fair or unfair to Mary-Kate and Ashley (depending on your view of fame vs. the relative hassle of paparazzi stalking), and as of late its their younger sister Elizabeth who has been getting all the attention for her groundbreaking performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene. Read More

By Rex Reed 10/19/11 3:28pm

movies

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Martha Marcy May Marlene is a Cult Phenomenon

Creepy and serenely suspenseful, Martha Marcy May Marlene is a riveting study in what it’s like to escape from a physically, psychologically abusive cult, and how hard it is to return to normal life after being brainwashed. Despite a slow pace that intercuts the peaceful present with terrifying, often confusing flashbacks, and an ambiguous ending for the art-house crowd, this is a movie that haunts and resonates. Read More

By The Editors 10/11/11 7:12pm

Opening Shot

Housewife de Lesseps.

Seasons Change in New York

Don’t let the warm weather fool you, we are officially in Fall season mode. You can always tell the changing of the seasons by the changing of the leaves, or at least by the changing of the hair colors of The Real Housewives of New York—which we anticipate will take place any day now in some of the city’s higher end hair care establishments as LuAnn de Lesseps and Ramona Singer reap the rewards of their cast-off cast members by doubling their salary. The two will now be getting $500,000 each to throw champagne in each other’s faces. Who says that there are no high-paying jobs anymore? Rather unbelievably, fellow New Yorkers, these are the 1%. Read More