Ben Kingsley

ELEGY
Running time 108 minutes
Written by Nicholas Meyer
Directed by Isabel Coixet
Starring Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard

Isabel Coixet’s Elegy, from the screenplay by Nicholas Meyer, based on the short novel The Dying Animal by Philip Roth, enters a metaphysical region between life and death that few films have ever dared to explore. Ms. Coixet and Mr. Meyer have managed to capture much of the bittersweet humor of Mr. Roth’s brilliant confrontation of old age, his own included. The director and the scenarist are aided in no small measure by a very accomplished cast headed by Ben Kingsley as David Kepesh, Mr.  read more »

TheWackness
Running time 110 minutes
Written and directed by Jonathan Levine
Starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen

Not the least of the problems facing people who write about movies on a weekly basis is the deadlines. You can’t say, “I think I’d rather go to the beach today.” The empty space looms at you like a computerized monster, always demanding to be filled with your words, whether you have anything to say or not. Also, they say as you get older your attention span shortens. I don’t know about that, but I can promise you as sure as Monday follows the weekend that as the world changes and filmmakers get younger, the quality of motion pictures has diminished, and I find very few movies of worthwhile value to hold my interest.  read more »

The Wackness
Running time 110 minutes
Written and directed by Jonathan Levine
Starring Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen

Jonathan Levine’s The Wackness, from his own screenplay, takes place in New York during the summer of 1994, when the newly inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, was beginning his now notorious crackdown on all sorts of petty crimes and even mere nuisances. His name is taken in vain several times during the course of the narrative, as if he and he alone were responsible for taking all the fun out of the Lindsay/Dinkins Fun City. Still, “fun” is spelled for the most part as D-O-P-E to the musical accompaniment of the hip-hop rants of the period.  read more »

Although his rep denies it, Entourage actor Adrian Grenier is reportedly shopping around his own birthday, asking Hamptons clubs for up to $50,000 for the honor throwing him a party. [P6]

Ben Kingsley's co-stars in The Wackness say he had to be taught how to properly smoke from a bong. [NY Daily News]

Patrick McMullan and son Liam, were scheduled to host a party at Dune on Friday night, but the event was cancelled after the younger Mr. McMullan and his music producer, Chris Young, handed out invitations depicting them smoking pot. [P6]

Lindsay Lohan may have an 11-year-old half sister that Michael Lohan fathered during an affair while still married to Dina Lohan.  read more »

John Dahl outdoes The Last Seduction and Téa Leoni outsexes (yes!) Linda Fiorentino with the deadpan You Kill Me.  read more »

My little brother says the Sopranos will end with Christopher, the lieutenant played by Michael Imperioli, knocking off Tony. One thing's clear, Christopher is upstaging Tony. Last night Imperioli was the best thing on the Sopranos. His turn in Hollywood opposite Ben Kingsley had Sir Ben cracking up at the edges, and the Seinfeldian subplot, of Christopher scoring film industry goody bags, was supremely funny. This guy plays ugly weasel as good as DeNiro. The more airtime he gets the better.

The holiday countdown has begun.  read more »

From Gandhi toGangster

For a diverting, pulse-quickening antidote to the  read more »