Sweet and Lowdown News

Samantha Morton in T's Anglomaniacs issue . In " The Messenger ," out today, Samantha Morton plays an American woman whose husband is killed while fighting in Iraq.

Hailed in the fall of 1998 as Hollywood's next "It" girl, complete with a saucy Vanity Fair cover, Gretchen Mol's status was promptly changed to "Not It" Girl after her much hyped breakout film "Rounders" underperformed at the box office.

Sounds like the punchline to a joke about a carnival fortune teller. Woody Allen has been quietly making his next film, and as per usual we've known almost nothing about it up until now.

O.K., any nation that indulges in the pastime of tea trolley dancing qualifies as eccentric.

Guitarist Gonzalo Bergara and his band come to Southern Oregon Tuesday, Sept. 22, when the nonprofit Siskiyou Institute presents them at Paschal Winery in Talent as part of its New Artist Series.

Three hard-edged movies about young women screening this week at the Toronto film festival depart from Hollywood formulas by avoiding sentimental or romantic cliches that often define movies about teenagers.

Emily Blunt ends TIFF with a flourish as Young Victoria. Many of the A-list talents have abandoned the city, leaving behind messy hotel rooms and dozens of juicy sound bites, not to mention some gorgeous photos.

For 40 years, life has granted Woody Allen wealth, fame and vast talent, and he returns the favor by calling it a hostile, meaningless universe.

Years ago, when Bob Kaiser was gigging with famous trombone player Jimmy Knepper, he got a piece of advice that has stayed with him ever since.

After earning recognition as one of Hollywood's A-list actresses as the eccentric Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction , Uma Thurman entered the realm of Gotham City as the venemous Poison Ivy in Batman and Robin .

When Vince Giordano speaks about the future of classic jazz music, he sounds as if he's about to burst into tears.

Allen's charming, maddening new movie, Whatever Works, provides another in-depth glimpse into the strengths and weaknesses of his neurotic, acerbic, New York-centric worldview.

By Joel Welin Who never mistook Woody Allen for Ingmar Bergman YES. OK, I admit I enjoyed "Match Point" and found parts of "Vicky Christina" to be entertaining.

Good thing Vincent Gale is better at conflict resolution than the character he's portraying in the Sam Shepard classic True West.

After making four films in Europe, Woody Allen returned to his usual Manhattan haunts with " Whatever Works ." Critics were dismissive of this pairing of curmudgeon Larry David and free spirit Evan Rachel Wood .

It's too much to expect that people stay funny throughout their entire careers, but given the dearth of real humor in any of Woody Allen's recent offerings, it's almost depressing to watch a little gem like 1966's What's Up, Tiger Lily? and remember just how effortlessly goofy the guy could be.