Hi

There’s quite a bit to get to today so let’s get to it.

Melody has begun work on the Closer premiere gallery. There’s still plenty more pics to be added but it’s her birthday today so it’ll only be completed tomorrow. Check out what we have so far over here. Thanks to Kris for the grunt work.

At the time of writing this, we still don’t have the Actors Studio appearance. I hope to have it later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Sorry about the delay, I want to see it as much as you guys and gals.

To make up for that, Braden sent in the Damien Rice Blowers Daughter music video…otherwise known as “Nat shaking her ass”. Now we could only get it in a flash format. This means that you obviously need flash installed and it means that MAC users are screwed and since it’s an .exe …well you should know by now that downloading and running .exe files is never a great idea. We’ve tested it for viruses (and obviously found nothing) but I feel that we should just make you aware that we can’t vouch for it 100%. So, really, it’s up to you…is having Nat’s butt a click away worth the risk?

Right click and save as

There’s obviously lots of Closer article’s and reviews so let’s break it down…

– Time has a great little article about Natalie called A Fantasy You Can Bring Home to Mother.

– Dave Poland has chimed in and he wasn’t exactly blown away. He did have some nice things to say about Natalie though…or at least her character…

I could watch the Natalie Portman character in movie after movie, a post-Gen X Bridget Jones, gorgeous enough to be a very high-end stripper and smart enough not to be. A person who seems to be offering everything, but who consciously hides a little, is very interesting. Does she know what she wants? Is she really searching? Is she too smart for her own good?

What she has, unlike all the other characters, is self-awareness.

You can read the whole review in his new column.

– Dave also had this little blurb in his blog.

Even worse, in order to make my schedule, I had to give up face time with the about-to-be-Oscar-nominated Natalie Portman. Ouch.

Ouch indeed.

– The Hollywood Reporter’s Martin Grove included a semi-review of the film in his new column, while looking at all the Oscar contenders.

It’s definitely going to be on my Top Ten List and it’s a safe bet to land nominations in various categories, including best picture.

– Found this great review from a non critic on the Oscarwatch boards. Here’s the gist…

Natalie is perfection. Her character, while coming across as the victim throughout most of the film, turns out to be a true enigma. She had just the right blend of truthfulness and straight-up, in your face sex appeal to make Alice the one likable character right up until the final moments of the film. If Garden State proved that Portman was back on top of her game, this was the home run.

Closer isn?t a warm and fuzzy film, and I suspect it might alienate some people who have never experienced, or acknowledged, the darker side of love. There some lines in the film that made me cringe because they seemed all too familiar. But isn?t that the mark of a great film? That it makes us question our own actions?

New poll time! Make sure you’ve read Natalie’s this site has done a Natalie paper doll. Apparently you need to pay in order to be able to dress (and undress!) Nat. But click here and here for examples.

And finally…fanart.

Imacullata sent in these great wallpapers. Click here and here.

Damien sent in a great drawing and wallpaper.

That’s it for now. Might be back later if something good turns up.