Arts & Entertainment

By Anne Gehris

Aaron Conley is an old hand at show biz. In February, he will celebrate his 300th performance in a Broadway musical. Hanging out backstage with the Hollywood director Spike Lee and entertaining guests at a book party for Andre Leon Talley, Vogue’s editor at large, are all in a week’s work for Conley.

Hard Candy
Lions Gate 

Exploring the dangerous internet connections underage girls make with older men, Hard Candy should be shocking. But despite its strong cast, the film flounders from beginning to end. When fourteen year-old Hayley (Ellen Page of Xmen: The Last Stand) meets hunky 32-year-old Jeff (Patrick Wilson of Angels in America) their attraction is only obvious because they're telling us about it. And the script, written by Brian Nelson (JAG, So Weird) falls short of mediocre with its cliché' writing. Director David Slade's experience came primarily from music videos and it shows in the extreme close-ups and choppy filming. Worse than his camera technique is his inability to direct such an impressive cast of actors, including a cameo by Sandra Oh (Sideways, Grey's Anatomy.) With a real director and a quick rewrite, this film may have stood a chance. Instead it melts in neither your hands nor your mouth.—Angela Lovell

By Ian Spelling

Chazz Palminteri doesn’t feel underappreciated by Hollywood. Typecast as a tough guy, as a villain? That’s a whole other matter.

Robert Downey Jr. Stars In "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints"

By Francesca Wodtke

Downey’s cocaine-fueled, .357 Magnum-toting past is no secret. But that past is also what makes him such a convincing bad boy in “A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints,” a movie about working-class Queens in the 1980s, based on the eponymous memoir by author—and now writer/director—Dito Montiel.

Lily Allen
Alright, Still...
Regal

Gaining momentum with her glowing MySpace profile and hit song "LDN", Lily Allen (daughter of British comedian, Keith Allen) debuted at the top of the UK singles chart two weeks ago with the cheery, yet cruel, "Smile". Allen’s Alright, Still... cuts a decent bubble-gummy sort of summer album, making a strong impression in the U.S. with its contradicting perky tunes and devilish lyrics. Allen follows the basic pop structure keeping it sprightly, confident, and easy to remember. She is playful with lines like, "Oh my God, you must be joking me / If you think that you'll be poking me!" With touches of calypso, ska, and reggae, Allen's songs will stick to your brain, pleading for another listen.

By Andrew LaVallee

Marjorie Tesser had always wanted to be a writer. But raising a family and 10 years of practicing law got in the way.

By William Launder

All eyes inside Manhattan’s Slipper Room are glued on Jen McClelland, aka “Clams Casino,” who is spilling out of a lipstick-print bra and garter belt and jiggling to the dance hall baritone voice pulsing through the speakers.

Some of New York's Trendiest Clubs Pay To Get You To Party

By Benjamin Parsons

You stood half the night in the rain begging to be noticed, and felt fleeced by the double-digit cover charge when you finally did get in. But that's the price of clubbing with the red velvet rope crowd, right?

Lou Reed
Coney Island Baby (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
RCA/Legacy 

A revamped and reissued release of Reed’s 1976 album, this edition features six new cuts and liner notes penned by Reed himself. Among the previously unreleased B-side tracks that will drive Reed devotees wild are “Crazy Feeling,” “She’s My Best Friend” and “Coney Island Baby” recorded over 30 years ago with Reed’s former Velvet Underground collaborator Doug Yule. As emotionally compelling as the original release, this sonically upgraded version allows us a fascinating insight into a work, though widely respected, never given full appreciation for its groundbreaking value. Reflecting real emotions about real people, this is an earnest work that not only defies the passage of time, but transcends it.—Aly Wilansky

By Angus Loten

For her 27th birthday, Ofelia Virtucio and a dozen friends reserved a private corner of red velvet couches at the Karma Club, a popular hookah bar in the East Village. It was the first time any of them had smoked a hookah, a centuries-old Middle Eastern water pipe filled with fruit-flavored tobacco.