Written by Anthony Sargon

Alexandre Payne (The Descendants, About Schmidt) is arguably one of the most talented American filmmakers around, so I was particularly excited to watch his latest effort. Charming and endearing, “Nebraska” is a wonderful little gem that reminds audiences that American cinema is still alive and kicking.



The 64th Berlin film festival in February will award veteran British director Ken Loach an honorary Golden Bear prize for lifetime achievement and present a retrospective of his work, organizers said Friday.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick said the event would pay tribute to Loach's brand of humanist cinema portraying the lives of working-class Britons and his outspoken political engagement.

Charles Saatchi says he has no knowledge of his ex-wife Nigella Lawson ever taking drugs — days after the release of an email in which he referred to the celebrity chef as drug-addled.

Saatchi testified Friday at the fraud trial of two former personal assistants, who are accused of spending the former couple's money on luxury goods. They deny wrongdoing.

Old-time Elvis Presley fans and lots of newer, younger ones flocked to a new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Friday to see his stylish ID bracelet, custom-made motorcycle, eye-catching rings and military mementos.

The exhibit opened in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises and includes more than 40 artifacts loaned by his Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

Ex-Spice Girl turned fashion designer Victoria Beckham has guest edited the Christmas edition of Paris Vogue magazine, the publication said on Friday.

Beckham appears in seductive pose on the front cover of the magazine's December/January issue with her retired footballer husband David who is seen sporting a beard and dinner jacket.

An Australian hotel is declaring itself a graffiti Belieber, despite being at odds with the city government.

QT Hotel in the Gold Coast said it gave Justin Bieber permission to spray graffiti on its wall. The Canadian singer and others posted images online showing cartoon faces in fluorescent paint on an outdoor wall at the hotel in Queensland state.

Kanye West continued to vent at former partner Nike, taking to the mic during a concert again this week to complain about his treatment by the sports apparel company.

West spent more than six minutes talking and singing about the company during his "The Yeezus Tour" stop Wednesday night at the Bridgestone arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Taking on the role of a preacher in the cult of personality, West talked to the crowd about following a dream, creativity and culture, alluding to the media and corporations who he feels have tried to keep him from expressing himself fully.

South Africans flocked to cinemas on Thursday to watch the first screenings of the hotly-anticipated Nelson Mandela biopic in a country still battling to exorcise its dark past.

Viewers of the two-and-a-half hour "Long Walk to Freedom" tracing Mandela's life from childhood to his landmark 1994 election said the film gave them a better insight into South Africa's past, but it was also an emotional rollercoaster.

Two personal assistants of British television chef Nigella Lawson and her art dealer husband Charles Saatchi said they were treated "worse than Filipino slaves" despite defrauding the couple of more than $1.1 million, a court heard Thursday.

Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo face fraud charges in a trial that has already featured allegations that so-called "domestic goddess" Lawson hid a long-term cocaine and cannabis habit.

Disney has given a chilly makeover to a traditional fairy tale in its latest animated release "Frozen," which could be in the running for an Oscar.

The movie is based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" -- 25 years after Disney's last Andersen adaptation, "The Little Mermaid" -- even if it takes substantial liberties with plot and characters.