Grimes goes into Nicolai Ouroussoff's and Ben Brantley's territories with a quasi review of the Dodger Stages, a new off-Broadway venue with three stages, on West 50th. You know the Dodger Stages, it's at Worldwide Plaza between 8th and 9th Avenues, where there was a $2 movie theater that showed fairly recent releases; they later charged $2.50, then $3, to stay in business (Gothamist knew the movie theater had problems when we saw a man masturbating to a Mel Gibson movie). Anyway, Grimes seems to have a pretty good time at the "theaterplex" and gives the Dodger Stages bathrooms the thumbs-up. And he revealed himself in January after he stepped down. Gothamist on Grimes's announcement he was leaving the restaurant beat and his interview with Newsweek. more ›

So, then there's upcoming book, Midlife Crisis at 30 by Lia Macko and Kerry Rubin, which focuses on late 20- and 30-something women's realization that having it all may not be what it's cracked up to be, with pressures of appearances, work, love, and motherhood giving them agita - the Post outlines it all. One NYC psychologist does seem many young female patients and says that "The phenomenon is more grave in urban areas. The more stressful the lifestyle, the more this is salient." After reading the article, Gothamist wondered when we could check ourselves into Silver Hill, because clearly we have some upsetting times ahead. AND Sex and the City ended! Luckily, we have The Book of Ages: 30 to remind us that 30 is but a stop along the way to great things...sometimes. more ›

The perfect book (or gift, loyal readers) for me, the obsessive-compulsive movie fiend: The New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made with reviews from Times critics up till Janet Maslin. (For your fix of current Times critics, go to the New York Times.) And there are lists. I love lists of movies, even if Mike D'Angelo is "aw shucks" about them. And someday, Jake and I will sit down to figure out the best way to put my list up on Gothamist, but we're I'm too busy posting. more ›

Gothamist Hates Lauren Weisberger
It's official: Gothamist thinks Lauren Weisberger is dumb as a brick. more ›

I adore Nicole Holofcener, for making Walking and Talking, the best contemporary film about female best friends. Miguel Arteta definitely is extremely talented, considering his excellent direction of Jennifer Aniston in The Good Girl. But when I read that Holofcener and Arteta were going remake Lukas Moodysson's "Together", a lovely Swedish Dogme 95 film about hippies during the 1970s, my stomach dropped. Charming and witty and hysterically funny, "Together" is already perfect, why reinvent the wheel? And while I'm sure Holofcener and Arteta will do at good job, they must have a ton of original ideas on their own. Sigh. more ›

The other Times Talk panel I went to was "Films that Deserve a Second Look" - films that New York Times film critics Stephen Holden, Elvis Mitchell, and A.O. Scott felt audiences missed the first time around. Many of the films they mentioned were victim to just being dumped by their distributors because they were not easily marketable as a teen comedy or date movie. Another problem is that films live and die in one weekend, whether a would-be blockbuster or arthouse film...word of mouth buzz no longer works as well as it used to and the fascination with box office grosses is not helping any. While most films were recent, there were some older films, and by master directors, proving not everyone gets a fair shake based on name alone. There were a few funny questions - one person asked what actors did not deserve to be on screen. A.O. Scott said, "You want us killed, don't you?" before Stephen Holden remarked about the difference between being a good actor and a movie star (some people have that charisma and may not be a good actor, but are movie stars; some of the finest actors don't have that charisma and thus are not stars). Sartorial gossip: Stephen Holden looked like everyone's kind of cranky uncle, in a polo shirt, sport jacket, khakis, and New Balance sneakers; A.O. Scott looked the rumpled academic, white shirt, sport jacket, wrinkled khakis with the cuffs rolled up and brown shoes; Elvis Mitchell looked like a mod rocker in a Prada suit and black boots. Here are the movies they picked - all I wish is that more people, outside of major cities, would be able to hear about these films and watch them. more ›