The Simpsons Movie (directed by David Silverman) This weekend marks the move of America's favorite dysfunctional family the Simpsons from the suburbs of television to the urban center of the big screen. After all of the viral marketing of Simpson-ified magazine editors, real life Kwik-E-Marts and ticket giveaways, is it too much to hope that there's still fresh material to be mined from the long-running animated sitcom? According to the critics, the movie is just......

Languishing in cardboard boxes near the mushroom sections in local Fairway stores these next few weeks are Sea Beans, mysterious short stalks of a dark green vegetable, looking like something you might find washed up on the beach, but maybe a bit more edible. According to Elizabeth Schneider’s Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini, Sea Beans (aka Salicornia) grow wild in warmer months all over- in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. “Salicornia is not seaweed,......

Foodies attack the silver screen! In today's Times Arts & Leisure section, the long history and current feast of food in film is given another look. Would there have even been a Big Night if not for the food? In the coming months, Russell Crowe, the first person we think of when the phrase "good taste" coming up, will star as a man who inherits a vineyard and Nora Ephron is working on an adaptation......

The blog Muckracked noticed that the old space where the restaurant Hue used to be was taken over as a restaurant movie set for the Scott Hicks-directed adaptation of the German film, Mostly Martha. Gothamist loved Mostly Martha (uptight German chef becomes guardian of surly niece while dealing with maverick Italian chef at her work), so we've been following news of the adaptation for a while (at one point, Big Chill director Lawrence Kasdan had......

While the fine only totals $135,000, the fact that T-Mobile did pony up the money to the Department of Consumer Affairs is a nice admission that cellphone advertising is terrible. The DCA claimed that T-Mobile, along with Nextel and Sprint, was misleading consumers by the way their print advertising communicated offers. For instance, the really awesome parts of the offer would be in large print, but then the fine, legal print would give the caveats,......

With just two new episodes so far this season, the NY Post wonders if Saturday Night Live is really dead. It's a good, if evergreen question. Horatio Sanz is certainly no Tina Fey during Weekend Update, though Gothamist has been impressed he's been able to hold it together this long. With Maya Rudoph's pregnancy, it seems like most sketches with a female character involve Amy Poehler (who rules, but maybe she needs a break). There......

If you come across any babies on the street, just hanging out, they may be there because the wheels of their stroller have broken off, stranding them. The Post reports trouble with the MacLaren Techno XT, which retails for $290. While Gothamist does not have kids and is only familiar with babies because we make silly faces at them on the street, eliciting disturbed looks from their parents, we do know that the MacLaren is......

With about 40% of MTV's airtime devoted to commercials, Gothamist has no choice but to flip around when we're not watching, oh, Newlyweds or Rich Girls. So we only found out that Catherine Zeta Jones was doing a public service announcement for bulimia when we read the Times: "Sound familiar?" asks a voice with muted Welsh vowels. "If so, you may have bulimia. You cannot flush away your problems. It won't go away until you......

rachelle tries out the Kottke family recipe for Tater Tot hotdish, but prefers her family's recipe, which is basically the same, but with Tater Tots on the top, not the bottom as the Kottke recipe specifies. Gothamist, raised in the mean streets of Brooklyn and suburban New Jersey, has never had any sort of meal that includes Tater tots, canned soup, and ground beef in the same dish, but we're willing to give it a......

According to Michael Fleming in Variety, former Warner Bros. head Lorenzo DiBonaventura is going to be pitching a live-action movie based on G.I. Joe. Yes, the Real American Hero! Gothamist wonders who will play Cobra Commander, because based on some analysis maybe it'd be great to see Alan Cumming in the role. Other thoughts: Vin Diesel as Destro, Julianne Moore or Alicia Witt as Scarlett, maybe Paul Walker as Duke, Catherine Zeta-Jones as the Baroness.......

The T-Mobile Sidekick is attacking its younger target audience with anime in its marketing. Ad Week takes a look at the efforts by Publicis to differentiate the popular Sidekick PDA from its staid cellular offerings. The centerpiece of the campaign is a character named Johnny Chase, who, as is wont these days, has his own website, JohnnyChase.com. According to AdWeek: Chase is an ex-hacker who has been paid by the government never to touch......

The new Coen Brothers movie, Intolerable Cruelty, stars George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Intolerable Cruelty is supposed to be a throwback to screwball comedies of the 30s: A slick Beverly Hills divorce lawyer (Clooney) frames the wife (Zeta-Jones) of a client to get him released from the marriage without a settlement. She vows to get revenge by marrying the attorney, aiming to take him to the cleaners in their own savage divorce, but what she......

It's looks like Catherine Zeta-Jones had her second baby: A baby girl, Carys Zeta Douglas. Gothamist wouldn't really care, except for the fact that Catherine had the baby in Ridgewood, New Jersey...where Jen was born! Gothamist wonders if Baby Girl Douglas was born at Valley Hospital, where Jen, Jen's brother and two cousins were all born. Net net, Valley Hospital is a good place.......

Today, I go to Chicago. I will not have time to go to the Sears Tower but I will try to find Richard Roeper and kick his ass. Yeah, I think he sucks.......

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar....

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis: Best Picture: Chicago - Marty Richards Not a huge surprise given the momentum Chicago's had since the Golden Globes, but there was an outside chance of a Pianist upset with The Pianist's acting, directing, and screenplay awards. But in the end, Harvey got his best picture. Best Actor in......

News comes that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah will perform at the Oscars, but not Renee Zellweger. Apparently she declined, and, Ms. Zellweger, we thank you for that. She even admitted not wanting to sing - in a Guardian article, she said, "I was not going to sing for anybody besides my dogs when I'm in the shower, and then Rob Marshall comes along and that was it." Damn you, Rob Marshall! I like Renee......

Finally, someone sums up the biggest problem with Chicago: Margo Jefferson complains how the editing in Chicago takes away from the essence of Chicago, which is the dancing. Yeah, there's all the blah blah about the movie musical being revised, but there's been no great dancing or great singing yet. When I think movie musical, I admit I think Singin' in the Rain, Wizard of Oz, Funny Face, On the Town. Gene Kelly, Fred......

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, the Orange BAFTA Awards, were handed out yesterday and the big winner was The Pianist, Best Picture and Best Director Roman Polanski. Other winners included Daniel Day-Lewis for Gangs of New York, Nicole Kidman for The Hours, Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago, Christopher Walken for Catch Me If You Can (I wonder what he'd rather have done - been in London to pick up his award or......