Julie & Julia
Directed by Nora Ephron

Husbands, boyfriends, and anyone else not particularly interested in French cooking and feminine angst who is dragged to Julie & Julia should at least enjoy one moment: a clip of Dan Aykroyd channeling a bloodied Julia Child on Saturday Night Live.

Meryl Streep does an impressive impersonation, too, but big-girl body language and a parade of nearly high-British "Ooowwhhs!" is not enough to keep this two-plus hour film from turning into a snooze. Neither is its second story arc involving Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a real New Yorker and aspiring writer who, dissatisfied with her life, gave herself the assignment of making all of Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes in one year and blogging about it.

Read More "Reviewed: Julie & Julia" »

Sports Illustrated released Top 5 best/worst owners lists for all the major sports. Our town's fabulously represented, though only on the dark side.

First off: Ted Leonsis somehow wasn't included among hockey's best. If there's ever been a more beloved sports owner in this town than Leonsis circa 2009, I can't remember him.

Hard to believe it's only been five years since Leonsis was brawling with home fans at Caps game, eh?

But he was. Days after he unloaded Jaromir Jagr and his $11 million salary to the Rangers in January 2004 in the midst of a talent purge, a 20-year-old season ticket holder named Jason Hammer brought a sign to the then-MCI Center that said "Caps Hockey, AOL Stock -- See a Pattern?"

Hammer sat among a group of fans heckling the owner, and waved the placard at Leonsis throughout the game. Leonsis got so incited he went after the kid in the concourse after the final horn. The account of the incident in the Washington Post said Leonsis "grabbed [Hammer] by the neck and threw him to the ground."

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Best Owner List Shocker: Leonsis Left Off! Worst Owner List Non-Shocker: Snyder, Lerners Left On!" »

I missed the SAG Awards last night -- allegedly the most appreciated among dog-and-pony shows because the winners are chosen by other actors -- but a quick scan of the recipients reveals no surprises. Slumdog, of course. Meryl Streep, yawn.

This afternoon, though, I received a press release announcing the picks of a group Sean Penn may start caring about in another year: AARP, whose magazine's editorial staff votes on what they somewhat condescendingly call the Movies for Grownups Awards.
Read More "Forget the Screen Actors Guild. What Does AARP Think?" »

An odd thing occurred to me as I was watching the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards last night -- I wasn't all that excited. Maybe it was because I was tired from an evening spent running around. Maybe it was because Thursday's Critics Choice Awards had sapped some of my I LOVE MOVIES! gush.

(Seriously. I expected to FF through it underwhelmed, a la the common man's trophyfest, the People's Choice Awards. But I was enraptured, unable to skip a single "thank you" or moment of the brilliant Mingle Cam.)

But it's probably just because the Hollywood Foreign Press has terrible taste.

Read More "The Golden Globes" »

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association today announced its pick of Fox Searchlight's Slumdog Millionaire as Best Film of 2008, additionally awarding it Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Breakthrough Performance (Dev Patel), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy).

Other notable nods include a posthumous Best Supporting Actor win for Heath Ledger, whose creepy, mesmerizing Joker in The Dark Knight more than compensated for Two-Face's limp storyline and Batman's phlegmy growl, and Best Actor going to Mickey Rourke as The Wrestler's charming titular fuck-up.

The rest:

Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Best Supporting Actress: Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Original Screenplay: Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)
Best Animated: WALL-E
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign Film: Let the Right One In
Best Ensemble: Doubt
Best Art Direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button