(Entertainment Weekly) -- In the enchantingly original and romantic (500) Days of Summer, Summer (Zooey Deschanel) is a girl -- capricious, alluring, and not entirely knowable -- and Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the greeting-card writer who convinces himself that she's "better than the girl of my dreams." Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel fall in love -- for a time -- in "(500) Days of Summer." Five hundred days is the duration of their relationship, but the movie presents those days out of order, as an impish romantic flipbook, so that we keep skipping forward and back -- from, say, day 8 to day 154. Most romantic comedies have half a dozen situations at best: Meet Cute, Infatuation, Pop Song Montage, Contrived Mix-Up, Angry Breakup, and Final Clinch. "(500) Days of Summer" is about the many unclassifiable moments in between. Director Marc Webb, working from Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber's witty script, stages each scene as a vivid snapshot memory, and his sense of play is boundless. The film leaps in a heartbeat from the furtive glances (and shared fixation on the Smiths) that ignite an office love affair to a rooftop-party reconciliation that plays out, via split screen, in two simultaneous versions (how the hero wants it to be and how it happens) to a morning-after-the-first-sex saunter that evolves, with joyful hilarity, into a musical number scored to "You Make My Dreams." This has to be the first movie ever to give equal props to Morrissey and Hall & Oates. "(500) Days" is like a mood ring cued to the ups, downs, and confusions of modern love. It's a Gen-Y "Annie Hall" made by a new-style Wes Anderson who uses his cleverness for humanity instead of postmodern superiority. None of it would work, though, without such lived-in performances. Deschanel makes the lovely, sensuous Summer just precocious enough to know what she wants without coming out and saying it, and Gordon-Levitt, with his junior Springsteenian chin jut, lets you read every glimmer of hope, pain, lust, and befuddlement beneath his nervy facade. It's a feat of star acting, and it helps make "(500) Days" not just bitter or sweet but everything in between. EW Grade: A CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

What is the plot?
What is the name of the movie?
What is the film about?
Who acted in the film?

Answer: the duration of their relationship,

Answer: "(500) Days of Summer."

Answer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel fall in love

Answer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

Summary:
"(500) Days of Summer" is absolutely wonderful, says EW .
Film is about an 18-month relationship, but avoids pitfalls of formula .
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are outstanding .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- In the first truly shocking box office result of the year, "Fast & Furious" sped away from expectations to gross a humongous $72.5 million, according to early estimates from Media by Numbers. Paul Walker stars in "Fast & Furious," which exceeded expectations after taking in $72.5 million. That result is effectively double what most industry observers had predicted for the debut of the fourth feature in Vin Diesel's car franchise, and it left in the dust a number of notable records: - Best April opening ever, beating "Anger Management's" $42.2 million. - Best Universal Pictures opening ever (three-day), beating "The Lost World: Jurassic Park's" $72.1 million. - Best F&F franchise opening ever, beating "2 Fast 2 Furious'" $50.5 million. - Best opening yet in 2009, easily beating the bows of the more-buzzed-about "Monsters vs. Aliens" ($59.3 million) and "Watchmen" ($55.2 million). - Best opening ever for stars Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster, as well as for director Justin Lin. Oh, and let's not forget that it was the best opening ever for a car-themed movie! (Beating "Cars'" $60.1 million.) This outcome is impressive, indeed, something that has caught Hollywood by surprise and has the potential to really change things up -- like when summer-esque blockbusters are released (rarely does one open so early in the year) and like, you know, what everyone thinks of Vin Diesel. The film did it all on the strength of a solid A- CinemaScore review from an audience that was 57 percent male and 59 percent over age 25. Like the jaw-dropping early-year debuts of "The Passion of the Christ" and "300" before it, this is a history-making premiere that you may well be hearing about for a long time to come. So, yeah, I almost forgot to mention: "Fast & Furious" was the No. 1 movie at the box office this weekend. Coming in strong at No. 2 was "Monsters vs. Aliens," which dropped a respectable 44 percent to earn $33.5 million. In 10 days, the 3-D extravaganza has banked $105.7 million. "The Haunting in Connecticut" (No. 3 with $9.6 million), "Knowing" (No. 4 with $8.1 million), and "I Love You, Man" (No. 5 with $7.9 million) rounded out the top five. And the weekend's other big new release, "Adventureland," struggled with $6 million at No. 6. Overall, the box office was up a monstrous 68 percent from the same frame a year ago, when holdover 21 outplayed a number of weak new movies, none of which had Vin Diesel ... whom you're going to start hearing a lot about, once again. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

What is the record that Fast &Furious break?

what is the best opening ever for universal

Answer: "Fast & Furious,"

Answer: humongous $72.5 million,

Answer: "Fast & Furious"

Answer: 68

Summary:
"Fast & Furious" is best April opening ever, and best opening ever for Universal .
Also the best Fast & Furious franchise opening ever, previously $50.5 million .
Box office was up a monstrous 68 percent from the same frame a year ago .
Check out the box office top 10 chart .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- In what feels like a box-office weekend from "The Twilight Zone," a low-budget and critically acclaimed movie with no stars and an unknown director managed to top the charts. "District 9," the alien action pic produced by Peter Jackson, crushed the competition grossing $37 million. "District 9," the alien action pic produced by Peter Jackson and directed by the 29-year-old Neill Blomkamp ? who shot the film in Johannesburg, South Africa, of all places -- crushed the competition by grossing $37 million, according to early estimates. Audiences clearly enjoyed what they saw too: "District 9" has already soared to No. 78 on IMDb's top 250 movies list, although it'll obviously drop some as the initial euphoria wears off. Second place went to "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which dropped 59 percent in its second weekend but still managed to recruit $22.5 million. The $175 million action movie should pass $100 million domestically by Monday. "The Time Traveler's Wife" materialized into third place with $19.2 million in its debut weekend, proving that there is a market for watching Eric Bana disappear. Rounding out the top 5 were "Julie & Julia" (No. 4 with $12.4 million) and "G-Force" (No. 5 with $6.9 million), respectively. Also opening wide was a trio of movies that failed to make a significant dent on the box office. "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," a cars-salesmen comedy starring Jeremy Piven, barely registered on the mercury thermometer by earning $5.4 million. "Ponyo," the 10th film by Japan's animation auteur Hayao Miyazaki, grossed $3.5 million on 927 screens. While that amount represents Miyazaki's best opening weekend in America, it's still fish feed compared to "Ponyo's" worldwide gross of $187 million. The music comedy "Bandslam" won't be getting any requests for encores after making only $2.3 million from more than 2,000 screens ? even the promise of seeing the "Taylor Lautner takes off his shirt" trailer of The "Twilight" Saga: New Moon couldn't save the Vanessa Hudgens movie. In limited release, the Jimmy Page/The Edge/Jack White music documentary "It Might Get Loud" opened promisingly, grossing $101,000 from just seven theaters. And "500 Days of Summer" continues to cement its title as "the indie breakout of the summer" by charming $3 million more from moviegoers, bringing its total to $18 million so far. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

What is percentage that "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" dropped?

Answer: alien action

Answer: "The Time Traveler's

Answer: 59 percent

Answer: $37 million.

Answer: "The Time Traveler's

Answer: "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,"

Answer: "District 9,"

Answer: "District 9,"

Summary:
"District 9," the alien action pic, crushed the competition grossing $37 million .
"G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" dropped 59 percent, bringing in $22.5 million .
"The Time Traveler's Wife" materialized into third place with $19.2 million .
Check out which other movies made this week's top ten list .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- In yet another blow to the already ailing soap opera world, Eric Braeden, the venerable star of CBS' "The Young and the Restless," has exited the top-rated daytime drama after a nasty negotiation with Sony. Eric Braeden's last episode as Victor Newman will air on November 2. The production company wanted the popular actor to take a pay cut for playing mega mogul Victor Newman, but Braeden -- who's been on the soap since 1980 -- opted to leave instead. Barring any last-minute change, Braeden's final episode will air on November 2. Reps for Sony and CBS had no comment, though one insider indicated that no further talks are planned. EW talked with Braeden, 68, about Sony's decision to exercise a draconian clause in his contract (his deal that was set to expire in November 2010 can still be renegotiated every 26 weeks) and what it means to the future of daytime dramas. EW: Where do things stand? Did your representative counter Sony's offer and you have yet to hear an answer? Eric Braeden: Precisely. EW: As of today, are you willing to take what Sony offered? Braeden: No. There is no appreciation of the fact that I've been an important part of the show for 27 years that has been No. 1 in the ratings. That's extraordinary. So to be dealt with in a perfunctory matter as if you had just known these people for a few months is what is most offensive. This is a certain corporate culture now that is very deleterious. EW: Is it true you offered to take a pay cut before? Braeden: I was the first one [to offer] because I knew that if we all did it, we would insure the continuation of the show. I did it two years ago when I signed my last contract, which I thought would last until next November. EW: Did you say your on-set goodbyes? Braeden: I said this could be a long goodbye, and I may not see you for a long time. Who knows? I'm not saying I've been let go -- we're still negotiating. But it feels like that. EW: What does this say about the state of the industry when a production company is asking the star of the No. 1 show in daytime to take a pay cut? Should everyone be worried? Braeden: Yes, though it depends on what the star does. All options are open right now. What can I tell you? I know there are certain economic realities that dictate the actions they are taking right now, but the manner in which its being done is most insulting. EW: You taped your last episode on September 23. Was that the way you wanted Victor to go? Braeden: No. It was rushed. It was obviously meant to intimidate. It was obviously done with enormous forethought to coincide with the end of the 26-week cycle. Essentially that is what the business is doing now and has been doing for a while. And quite frankly, it's outrageous. When I sign a three-year deal, I'm obligated to fulfill that deal. The producers, however, can come to me after a half-year and say, "We've changed our minds." Where in the world of business does this kind of contract exist? Do I blame the people for wanting to squeeze as much out of us as they can? I do not. The question is, when do you squeeze too much? EW: Would you do another daytime drama? Braeden: I doubt that. Never say never in this business or in life, but I doubt that. EW: Can you see the genre still existing in 10 years? Braeden: Yes I can. How many reality shows can you watch? They're so obviously phony. Our show deals with adult problems in a long continuous manner, and very much like the way things are dealt with in real life. In that sense

Eric Braeden chose to do what, rather than taking a pay cut?

How many years ago had Braeden taking a pay cut previously?

Answer: leave

Answer: November 2.

Answer: two

Answer: November 2.

Answer: Eric Braeden,

Answer: to leave

Summary:
Eric Braeden opted to leave the daytime soap instead of taking a pay cut .
The actor said he'd taken a pay cut two years ago when renewing his contract .
Braeden: "There's no appreciation that I've been an important part of the show"
Braeden's last episode will air November 2 .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- It couldn't top its predecessors, but "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" still brought in quite a haul, grossing an estimated $87 million for the opening weekend of the summer movie season. Hugh Jackman stars as the title character in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." The Hugh Jackman pic brought in a strong $21,225 per-theater average in 4,099 movie houses, despite generating mixed reviews. The film fell $15 million short of 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand" but it is still an enormous success for Jackman and director Gavin Hood. Matthew McConaughey's "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" generated an estimated $15.3 million for a second place bow. It's not a shabby opening but it is far less than McConaughey's previous romantic outings including last year's "Fool's Gold" ($21.6 million) or 2006's "Failure to Launch" ($24.2 million). (Perhaps women were too busy checking out all those hunky mutants this weekend?) The two new openers did help the industry maintain its year-over-year increase of 16 percent. Also aiding that statistic was Beyonce Knowles' "Obsessed." Dropping a not-surprising 57 percent for its second weekend in theaters, the thriller earned another $12.2 million to put its ten-day gross at a shockingly strong $47 million. And Zac Efron's "17 Again" showed surprising stamina, too, grossing an additional $6.3 million its third weekend for a total take of $48.4 million. The other new wide release for the weekend was the anemic 3-D animated sci-fi film "Battle for Terra." Opening on 1162 theaters, the Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood-voiced feature proved to be little competition for the other 3-D movie in the marketplace. Dreamworks Animation's juggernaut "Monsters vs. Aliens" grossed another $5.8 million its sixth weekend for the fifth slot in the rankings, while newcomer "Terra" couldn't muster more than $1 million for a twelfth place in the box office derby. Summer has officially begun -- at least in Hollywood -- so expect a giant event film every weekend. Wolverine may have bowed mightily but with "Star Trek" hot on its heels next weekend, the Marvel superhero is going to need more than adamantium to maintain its box office lead. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

How much did "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" gross?

What movie takes the top slot at the box office?

Which movies came in second and third place?

How much did "Monsters vs. Aliens" earn?

How much did Monsters vs. Aliens take at the box office?

What took in and estimated $15.3 million?

How much did Ghosts of Girlfriends Past take at the box office?

How much did "Monsters vs. Aliens" gross?

Which film took in an estimated $15.3 million?

How much did Wolverine take at the box office?

Answer: an estimated $15.3 million

Answer: "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"

Answer: "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Answer: $87 million for the opening weekend

Answer: "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Answer: Gavin Hood.

Answer: $5.8 million

Answer: another $5.8 million

Answer: "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Answer: $15.3 million

Answer: $5.8 million

Answer: an estimated $87 million

Answer: "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"

Answer: $87 million

Summary:
"Wolverine" takes the top slot at the box office, earning an estimated $87 million .
"Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" took in an estimated $15.3 million for second place .
Dreamworks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" grossed another $5.8 million .
Check out the rest of the top 10 movies at the box office this weekend .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- It was a glass half-full, glass half-empty kind of weekend at the box office for "Funny People," writer-director Judd Apatow's comedic meditation on fame, humor, life, and death. Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen star in "Funny People," which took the No. 1 slot at the box office this weekend. According to figures from Hollywood.com Box Office, it opened at the top spot with an estimated $23.4 million, better than Apatow's The 40 Year-Old Virgin ($21.4 million) -- hence, the glass is half full. But that figure is far lower than the debut for Apatow's "Knocked Up" ($30.7 million), and it's the worst opening for a comedy for star Adam Sander since his 2000 turkey "Little Nicky" -- hence, the glass is half empty. Of course, "Funny People" was billed more as a thoughtful dramedy than a balls-out Sandler laugh-fest, and when matched against the opening frames for Sandler's serious efforts "Reign Over Me," "Spanglish," and "Punch-Drunk Love," Funny People is far and away the winner -- and the glass is half full again. But whether it's a comedy, drama, or dramedy, "Funny People's" $75 million budget is quite the handful of pretty pennies, and with a shaky "B-" Cinemascore, the film is going to have a hard time overcoming tepid word-of-mouth -- and we're back to the half-empty glass. So let's just move on, shall we? The cup of a certain adolescent wizard, meanwhile, definitely runneth over. Thanks to its debut on IMAX (and the premium ticket prices that come with it), "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" came in second with $17.7 million, a soft 40 percent drop from last weekend for $255.5 million total. At this rate, the film is well on its way to the upper ranks of the 'Potter' franchise. The guinea pigs of "G-Force" were right on its heels at third place, nibbling up $17.1 million, a decent 46 percent drop for a two-week cume of $66.5 million. And Katherine Heigl's romcom "The Ugly Truth" took in an additional $13 million, a 53 percent drop for fourth place and $54.5 million total. Of the two other wide releases this weekend, at least the sci-fi family comedy "Aliens in the Attic" -- which grossed a meager $7.8 million for fifth place -- broke into the top 10. The torture porn flick "The Collector" collected a grisly $3.6 million and plopped dead at 11th place. Box office on a whole was down a massive 22 percent from last year, when The "Dark Knight" and "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" both took in over $40 million, but the specialty market showed some vibrant signs of life. Bone fide indie hit "(500) Days of Summer" expanded to 266 theaters for $2.7 million, a $10,338 per theater average. And three widely disparate films opened in four theaters each to healthy per theater averages: The quirky romantic comedy "Adam" ($16,566 per theater), the stylish vampire film "Thirst" ($13,793 per theater), and the eco-thriller-cum-documentary "The Cove" ($13,600 per theater). Finally, a true milestone was reached this weekend by "The Hangover." With $5.1 million this weekend for a running total of $255.8 million, the summer's biggest die hard blockbuster has passed "Star Trek" and (for a brief moment) "Harry Potter 6" as the third highest grossing movie of the year. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

Which pigs of "G-Force" were right on Potter's heels at third place ?

Which movie was third place at the box office?

What movie came in second with $17.7 million ?

What was the movie title with 17.7 million?

"Funny People" is No. 1 at box office with an estimated how much ?

Answer: guinea

Answer: "Funny People,"

Answer: $17.7 million,

Answer: "G-Force"

Answer: "Funny People,"

Answer: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Answer: "G-Force"

Answer: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

Answer: $23.4 million,

Summary:
"Funny People" is No. 1 at box office with an estimated $23.4 million .
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" came in second with $17.7 million .
The guinea pigs of "G-Force" were right on Potter's heels at third place .
See what other flicks made this week's top 10 box office chart .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Jaden Smith is getting a small taste of what it's like to walk in dad Will's action-blockbuster shoes. Keanu Reeves stars in the remake of the 1951 sci-fi flick "The Day the Earth Stood Still." As expected, the remake of the 1951 sci-fi flick starring Keanu Reeves easily replaced "Four Christmases" atop the box office leader board with an opening weekend gross of $31 million, according to Sunday's estimates. Despite mediocre reviews, the film held fairly steady throughout the weekend, falling slightly shy of our $36 million estimate. The Vince Vaughn-Reese Witherspoon yuletide comedy came in second with $13.3 million, bringing its three-week total to just under $88 million, while "Twilight" faded to the third spot during its fourth week with just over $8 million. The teen vampire romance managed to reach one milestone, however, grossing a total of $150 million -- the amount director Catherine Hardwicke surmised the movie would have to suck in for sequel "New Moon" to get the go ahead. Obviously, Summit executives saw the writing on the wall weeks ago and have hired Chris Weitz ("About a Boy," "American Pie") to direct next fall's follow-up. Rounding out the top five are Disney's doggie flick "Bolt" with $7.5 million and Baz Luhrmann's underperforming "Australia" with $4.3 million. The weekend's other new major release -- "Nothing Like the Holidays," starring John Leguizamo and Debra Messing -- got coal in its stocking with a measly $3.5 million during its first weekend. Also of note is the Clint Eastwood-starring "Gran Torino" (rumored to be the actor-director's last turn in front of the camera). Although it opened in only six theaters (three in New York, three in L.A.), the film scored the best per screen average, $47,333, with a gross of only $284,000. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

Which movie  reached a gross total of $150 million ?

Which film debuted with a weekend gross of 31 million?

How much money did "The Day the Earth Stood Still" make in its first weekend?

What movie slipped to second with $13.3 million ?

What movie debuted with a weekend gross of $31 million ?

Answer: The teen vampire romance

Answer: "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Answer: teen vampire romance

Answer: "Four Christmases"

Answer: $31 million,

Answer: "Four Christmases"

Answer: "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Summary:
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" debuted with a weekend gross of $31 million .
The yuletide comedy "Four Christmases" slipped to second with $13.3 million .
Teen vampire romance "Twilight" reached a gross total of $150 million .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Neither the magic of Harry Potter nor the combined star power of Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler was enough to keep a crew of wise-cracking guinea pigs from scurrying to the top of the box office this weekend. Disney's family comedy "G-Force" made an estimated $32.2 million in its debut. Disney's family comedy "G-Force," produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage, Will Arnett, and Penelope Cruz as a team of world-saving rodents, made an estimated $32.2 million in its debut. Despite opening hot on the heels of the one-week old "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the animation/live action hybrid pic was a hit with young audiences, pulling 55 percent of its viewers from the under-18 crowd. But Potter's box office magic hasn't worn off just yet: The series' sixth installment landed in the number two spot its second weekend with $30 million, bringing its total to $221.8 million. After just 12 days in theaters, 'Half-Blood' is already the fifth biggest hit of the year domestically, not to mention overseas, where the powerhouse has raked in an additional $236 million. There was plenty for adults to enjoy at the box office, too. "The Ugly Truth," a raunchy R-rated rom-com that pits Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler in a battle of the sexes, scored an impressive $27 million bow, a career best for both Heigl and director Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde"). The weekend's other wide release, Warner Bros' creepy "Orphan" -- starring Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga -- pulled in $12.8 million from an audience that was 55 percent female. Lower down on the chart, Fox Searchlight's "(500) Days of Summer" (at number 11 with $3 million) is still building momentum. The quirky rom-com posted a hefty $19,176 per-site average and a 95 percent increase over its debut last weekend. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

What installment of Harry Potter was released?

How much money did the Disney film make?

Who stars with Katherine Heigl in "The Ugly Truth"?

What is the name of the sixth installment of the "Potter" series?

How many dollars did Disney's family comedy bring in?

Answer: The series' sixth

Answer: Katherine Heigl

Answer: $32.2 million

Answer: Gerard Butler

Answer: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,"

Answer: sixth

Answer: "G-Force"

Answer: Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

Answer: $32.2 million

Summary:
Disney's family comedy brought in an estimated $32.2 million over the weekend .
The sixth installment of the "Potter" series raked in another $30 million at No. 2 .
"The Ugly Truth," starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler, took in $27 million .
Check out the other top earners on this weekend's top 10 list .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Once upon a time -- oh, let's just call it North America in the mid-'90s, shall we? -- Weezer and Alanis Morissette were an inescapable part of the cultural landscape, churning out buoyant rock-radio hits (Weezer), wordy, eccentric anthems (Alanis), and MTV-friendly videos (both) with impressive consistency.

Alanis Morissette struggled to find a way to stay current after her last album failed to do well.

Each act's follow-ups, however, have failed to yield quite the success of their initial impact. So how, in the face of a never-ending rush of fresh industry blood, does an already established act stay relevant?

For Morissette, the answer on new CD "Flavors of Entanglement" seems to lie, for better or worse, in going through a really, really bad breakup.

The same kind of passion that fueled the 15-million-selling '95 smash "Jagged Little Pill" (was there ever a woman more excellently scorned than the Alanis who excoriated her lover on "You Oughta Know"?) is all over "Entanglement" -- thanks to a well-publicized split with actor fiance Ryan Reynolds.

Granted, at 34, she still writes too often in the histrionic, no-one-has-ever-felt-what-I-feel style of a feverishly journaling liberal-arts major.

Even so, the rawness of her hurt adds heft to eff-you screeds like the thunderous "Versions of Violence," and she's found an able partner in producer and co-writer Guy Sigsworth, a onetime Björk collaborator.

His dense, swirling compositions seem to push Morissette's boundaries, conjuring her inner Princess of Darkness on the glitchy, gothy "Straitjacket" and exploring Far Eastern exotica on the tabla-tinged opener "Citizen of the Planet."

But her most affecting moment may be the most stripped down. A barely-there piano is all the accompaniment needed on the broken, fragile ballad "Not as We," on which her voice cracks heartbreakingly over the lines "From scratch begin again, but this time, I as I/And not as we."

Somehow, a devastating personal experience has galvanized her songwriting in a way that domestic bliss, as showcased on 2004's disappointing "So-Called Chaos," could not.

EW Grade: B+

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What is Alanis Morissette's most affecting moment on the album?

What happened with actor fiance Ryan Reynolds?

Answer: actor

Answer: Weezer

Answer: which her voice cracks heartbreakingly over the lines "From scratch begin again, but this time, I as I/And not as we."

Answer: Weezer

Answer: split

Summary:
Breakup with actor fiance Ryan Reynolds part of "Flavors of Entanglement"
Alanis Morissette's most affecting moment on the album is sparest .
Morissette partners with producer, co-writer Guy Sigsworth .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Over the last decade, Steven Soderbergh has taken the "one for them, one for me" concept of film-director politics to an almost comically programmatic extreme.

Benicio Del Toro plays Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Steven Soderbergh's biopic.

Basically, he makes big-budget crowd-pleasers like the "Ocean's" films, stuffed with movie stars and candied gimcrack fun, and between them he makes whatever oddball labor-of-love doodle (the enticing "Bubble," the dreadful "Solaris") enters his head.

What's disorienting about "Che," his two-part, four-hour-and-17-minute, studiously eccentric drama about the revolutionary life and times of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, is that it's almost a knowing brainteaser on Soderbergh's part to force you to figure out which category the film belongs to.

Che cost a reported $65 million to make, it's full of exacting panoramas of strategy and combat set in the mountainous jungles of Cuba and Bolivia, and its hero is a figure who -- 41 years after his violent death -- remains so loved, hated, and mythologized that he fits into an epic drama timed for awards season as perfectly as Gandhi or Ray Charles ever did. Following a one-week Oscar-qualifying run, "Che" is now rolling out to major American cities, where it is likely to draw generations of filmgoers who've either worn Che on their T-shirts or have the honest curiosity to wonder: Who was this man before he became a Warhol-worthy icon of radical chic?

In "Che," Soderbergh stokes that curiosity, feeds it, and frustrates it, all at the same time. He's made a film that embraces the romance of revolution only to shake it off, leaving very little in its place.

The first half of "Che" is a genuine achievement. It picks up Guevara (Benicio Del Toro) in 1955, when he was a clean-cut Argentine physician who dreamed of uniting Latin America through armed struggle. At a dinner party in Mexico City, he meets Fidel Castro -- played, with perfect domineering gesticulations, by Demian Bichir -- and the movie follows these two into the Cuban countryside, where they assemble the nuts and bolts of a revolution.

Soderbergh exhibits a tinkerer's fascination with how it all worked, embedding each scene with a docu-nugget of information. We see Che taming his asthmatic coughing fits or reading books between battles, and learn how a battalion of rebels could defeat a platoon three times its size (with surprise, daring, and Molotov cocktails).

Che is by turns scholar, guidance counselor, drill sergeant, and comandante, and Del Toro makes him a warrior-saint who learns, against his will, to cultivate a gruff bruiser facade. He yearns to be a "true revolutionary, the highest level of humanity," and it's no insult to the film to say that Soderbergh and Del Toro succeed in portraying Che as a kind of T-shirt in three dimensions, a Guerrilla for All Seasons.

But that's when things get strange, if not monumentally perverse. At the end of Part I -- the victory of the Cuban rebels -- my appetite was whetted to learn even more about Che, in particular how his humane ideals were tested, and compromised, by the Castro regime as it edged toward dictatorship. Instead, Part II leaps forward to 1966-67, when Che led the revolutionary war in Bolivia, and here's the thing: It turns out to be the same damn movie. Only in this dispirited rerun, the revolution doesn't take.

The rebels, all squabbling ego, can barely summon the will to sacrifice and die, and the peasants have little belief that this ragtag crew is bringing a better world. Even with the U.S. poking its nose into the region, the Soviet Union won't back an insurrection.

Soderbergh has built "Che" conceptually, as two giant panels of war, and his message is about the doomed destiny of Marxism. Che, like Marx,

what is the name of the movie
What is the length of the movie?
who wrote the moive
Who had a brilliant first half?
What is the name of the director?
What is the name of lead actor?

Answer: "Che,"

Answer: four-hour-and-17-minute,

Answer: Steven Soderbergh

Answer: "Che"

Answer: Steven Soderbergh

Answer: Benicio Del Toro

Summary:
"Che" has a brilliant first half, but second half is repetitious, says EW .
Steven Soderbergh's four-hour film is trying to make a point, but loses steam .
However, Benicio Del Toro is terrific as famed Marxist revolutionary .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Punctuation promises comedy in "The Informant!" as if the title subject is a cartoon secret agent -- maybe Agent 86 in "Get Smart." Matt Damon, as a corporate turncoat, offers up secrets in "The Informant!" But he's not. The whistle-blower worthy of an exclamation point in this groovy-looking, chuckle-baiting, fact-based movie from protean director Steven Soderbergh is Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), a biochemist and well-placed executive at the agri-processing giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in Decatur, Illinois. It's the early 1990s. The company man is helping expose ADM's alleged global price-fixing activities to the FBI, cooperating with the feds long enough to gather invaluable evidence. But what Whitacre doesn't confide to his FBI handlers, and what his wheat-colored jackets, Dilbert ties, and weakling mustache hide, at least at first, is that this inside source is not completely trustworthy. Damon, fattened up to fit his boxy suits, wears Whitacre's slack demeanor beautifully. The star -- who has quietly and steadily turned into a great Everyman actor -- is in nimble control as he reveals his character's deep crazies.  Watch why Damon gained 30 pounds for the role » Soderbergh's amused study of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history is adapted from "The Informant: A True Story," an amazing, deeply reported book by New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald. That book told the story without editorial eye-rolling. But somewhere between Eichenwald's journalistic attention to detail and the bubbly, dialogue-besotted script by "The Bourne Ultimatum's" Scott Z. Burns, Soderbergh has chosen to apply an attitude of arch whoopee, a greasy veneer of mirth over what is, no joke, a serious mess of malfeasance and mental instability. It's tempting to laugh, but what's the joke: Whitacre? ADM? The FBI? The fashion trends of Decatur? Smarty condescension lurks behind the suburban bushes. Had a '90s date and place card not been supplied, I would have remained in an honest muddle about the era depicted on screen. And since Whitacre is subliminally likened to bumbling, fictional Maxwell Smart, that's probably as the filmmaker intended. The artistic choice is reinforced by a '70s-era "Laugh-In" aesthetic seen in everything from the smiley yellow novelty typography of the opening credits to the fancy rubber-chicken music served up in heaps of horns and whistles by essence-of-'70s composer Marvin Hamlisch. Sock it to me. Playing it straight and letting his Sam-Donaldson-meets-Spock hairdo suggest otherwise, Scott Bakula makes an appealing FBI agent with a deadpan grimace just this side -- or maybe it's the other side -- of "Dragnet's" Joe Friday. Comedian Joel McHale from E!'s "The Soup" plays the fellow agent who stares with big round eyes while his partner squints at Whitacre's successive leakages of truth/lie/ truth/lie. The always wonderful, huggable Melanie Lynskey, who stole the show in "Away We Go," does more great wifely work as Ginger Whitacre, her husband's biggest booster. A valued subset of Soderbergh's audience is sure to dig iconic hipster comic brothers Tom and Dick Smothers in small roles. In fact, the wily pair would fit right in with an "Ocean's Whatever" cast of coolios, enjoying some retro-style ensemble fun, regardless of whether the audience does. Soderbergh is as smart, stylish, and attentive a filmmaker as they come. And there are moments in "The Informant!" when I can almost be convinced that the tonal feints he establishes at the intersection of joke and no-joke are seriously, thoughtfully meant to replicate the misaligned synapses in Whitacre's own head. iReport.com: Damon's latest worth checking out But if that's the intention, Soderbergh ultimately made the choice to abandon interesting, dispassionate empathy for the more quick-fix payoff of amusement. As Whitacre goes through his days, Damon recites interior monologues of distracted

What role does Matt Damon's character play?

Answer: Matt Damon,

Answer: Steven Soderbergh

Answer: corporate turncoat,

Summary:
"The Informant!" stars Matt Damon as corporate worker giving info to FBI .
Damon's character is an untrustworthy provider, and actor's performance great .
But movie plays situations too much for laughs, says EW .
"The Informant!" is directed by Steven Soderbergh .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Sandra Bullock will surely be popping open the champagne as her new romantic comedy, "The Proposal," accepted the top spot at the box office this weekend by grossing $34.1 million, according to early estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office. Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock have reason to celebrate after "The Proposal" takes top box office spot. Not only did "The Proposal" win the weekend, but it was by far the best opening of Bullock's career, nearly doubling the opening of her previous best, "Premonition," which debuted to $17.6 million in 2007. While "The Proposal's" success was fueled mostly by women (73 percent of the audience was female), both women and men gave it a healthy "A-" CinemaScore rating, so expect the movie to hold up fairly well during the next few weeks. The weekend's other big release, the prehistoric buddy comedy "Year One," landed in fourth place with $20.2 million -- an okay debut for the $60 million movie. However, all indicators point to a quick descent for the Jack Black/Michael Cera flick. "Year One" dropped 24 percent from Friday to Saturday (never a reassuring sign), and the movie received an unimpressive "B-" rating from CinemaScore. "Year One" is all but certain to join "Land of the Lost" as another box-office disappointment for high-concept comedies. On the other hand, "The Hangover" (No. 2 with $26.9 million) and "Up" (No. 3 with $21.3 million) continued to show off their box-office stamina, dropping only 18 percent and 31 percent, respectively, from the prior weekend. "Up" now stands at $224 million, and may levitate past "Star Trek" (currently at $239 million) to become the year's highest-grossing film. Finishing off the top five was "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," which fell an alarming 52 percent for an $11.3 million weekend stash. Also opening this weekend was Woody Allen's "Whatever Works," starring Larry David. The New York-based comedy laughed up $281,000 from just nine theaters for a weekend-leading $31,000 gross per theater. The film will expand to more than 300 theaters on July 3. Overall, the box office was up 3 percent compared to last year's Father's Day weekend, when "Get Smart" debuted to a surprisingly sharp $38.7 million. Hope you all are having a splendid Father's Day! I know I will -- I'm taking my pop to see "Up." CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

What accepted the top spot at the box office?

What is the best opening of Bullock's career?

What was the second best grossing movie?

Answer: "The Proposal,"

Answer: "The Proposal,"

Answer: comedy,

Answer: $34.1 million,

Answer: "The Hangover"

Summary:
"The Proposal," accepted the top spot at box office by grossing $34.1 million .
This is the best opening of Bullock's career, nearly doubling her previous best .
Jack Black's comedy "Year One" landed in fourth place with $20.2 million .
Check out the rest of the top 10 movies at this weekend's box office .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Score a personal best at the box office for Quentin Tarantino this weekend. "Inglourious Basterds," his revisionist take on WWII starring Brad Pitt, grossed an estimated $37.6 million, besting the reigning box office champ "District 9," and giving beleaguered studio The Weinstein Co. a little financial relief.

"Inglourious Basterds," a revisionist take on WWII starring Brad Pitt, grossed an estimated $37.6 million.

"Basterds'" opening far surpasses Tarantino's previous best opener, "Kill Bill Vol. 2," which brought in $25 million in April 2004. The critical question now is how "Basterds" will hold up during the next few weeks. Since Weinstein only has domestic rights to the movie -- Universal Pictures holds international -- a large overall gross stateside is mandatory for the company.

Warner Bros. had a much harder time with its release "Shorts" from auteur Robert Rodriguez. Opening to only $6.6 million, the PG-rated kid flick landed in a weak 6th place finish for its opening frame.

The only other new release to reach the top ten was Fox Searchlight's post-college flick "Post Grad" starring Alexis Bledel. Despite opening in 1,959 locations, the film grossed only an estimated $2.8 million for the three days.

Among holdovers, "District 9" did incredibly well considering Basterds was angling directly for its male audience. The $30 million sci-fi movie from newcomer Neil Blomkamp dropped a scant 49% to $18.9 million putting its total ten day gross at an impressive $73 million.

"G.I. Joe" also hung in for its third week in theaters. The high-octane actioner fell only 44 percent to $12.5 million. It's three-week cume now stands at $120 million. Female moviegoers helped keep "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "Julie & Julia" in the top five.

"Time Traveler" dropped only 46 percent to $10 million its second week putting its ten-day gross at $37.4 million while "Julie & Julia" fell only 25 percent, which is remarkable considering the movie is in its third week of release. Grossing $9 million for the three days, the Meryl Streep, Amy Adams two-hander has now earned $59 million total.

Thanks to the strong opening of "Basterds" and the solid hold of the incumbent films, the box office was up 26 percent compared to the same time last year. It's the third week in a row the box office was up after four weekends of unimpressive results. Next weekend's horror mash-up of "Halloween II" and "The Final Destination 3-D" should yield some positive results too.

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What movie earned $12.5 million in the third week?

what company had a harder time with a movie release

Who had a hard time with its release "Shorts"?

what movie hung in there for it's third week

Answer: "G.I. Joe"

Answer: Warner Bros.

Answer: Warner Bros.

Answer: Warner Bros.

Answer: Quentin Tarantino

Answer: Quentin Tarantino

Answer: "G.I. Joe"

Summary:
"Inglorious Basterds" bests the reigning box office champ "District 9"
Warner Bros. had a much harder time with its release "Shorts"
"G.I. Joe" also hung in for its third week, earning an additional $12.5 million .
See which other films made the top ten list at the box office .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Spike Lee's last film, the gratifyingly tense and tricky "Inside Man," was celebrated -- rightly -- for the way that Lee finally jumped, feet first, into the studio-genre-movie game. Director Spike Lee poses for a shot during the filming of "Miracle at St. Anna" in Rome, Italy. He cooked up a gourmet-popcorn heist thriller and stamped every moment with his personality. Lee, until now, has never made a movie -- good or bad -- that wasn't unmistakably his. His latest, "Miracle at St. Anna," is the first Hollywood feature to tell the story of the African-American soldiers who fought in the U.S. armed forces during World War II , and as such it's a movie with a monumental mission. Unfortunately, that's more or less the only monumental thing about it. "Miracle" isn't powerful, it's muddled and diffuse, and the disappointment of the film begins with what a hard time I had finding Spike Lee in it. Based on a 2002 novel by James McBride, who also wrote the screenplay, the movie has a drifting, scattershot structure and no real organizing tone or style (if you wondered what Lee's frozen-figure-on-receding-background shots might look like in a wartime setting, then keep wondering). The bizarrely contrived framing device is set in the 1980s, when a postal worker named Hector Negron (Laz Alonso) mutters in anger at an old John Wayne war flick on TV, then shoots and kills a man who shows up to buy stamps. (He surely has his reasons, but does he really get away with stashing a loaded Luger under his post-office window each day?)  Watch Spike Lee talk about the film » After his arrest, Hector won't talk, but a reporter finds a clue in the form of a priceless artifact hidden in his apartment: the head of a statue that once adorned a bridge in Florence that was wrecked by bombs during World War II. From this labored and gimmicky setup, the film flashes back to the itch and fear of battle, as Hector, along with other members of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division and its ''Buffalo Soldiers,'' stalks the Tuscan countryside. It's September 1944, and as they try to cross the Serchio River, the men are ambushed. The sequence has thunderous explosions, jittery editing, blown-up bodies -- everything but the virtuosity of staging that might have made the chaos and carnage revelatory instead of just a Saving Private Ryan rehash. Four members of the division end up stranded behind enemy lines, all but abandoned by a racist commander. In addition to Negron, there's Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps (Derek Luke), a college-educated stoic devoted to his service; Sgt. Bishop Cummings (Michael Ealy), furious at the world and a loose cannon, with no loyalty to the country he's fighting for; and Pvt. Sam Train (Omar Benson Miller), a starry-eyed oversize simpleton who rescues, and befriends, an Italian urchin (Matteo Sciabordi). The dramatic focal point, if you can call it that, is the war of wills between Stamps and Cummings. These two play out a version of the assimilate-versus-agitate debate that has echoed through many decades of African- American life, though this one would be more convincing if Ealy, a dynamic actor, had been asked to project his anger more in period, with a little less proto-gangsta recklessness. The men arrive at a picturesque village, where they mingle with the locals and Stamps and Cummings stoke their rivalry over Renata (Valentina Cervi), a married woman who is lovely in a saintly way. The film then veers into an endless, murky subplot about the Italian resistance from which it never recovers. "Miracle at St. Anna" wants to do too many things at once to do any of them with much verve. It aspires to be a war epic, but it's dominated less by combat

what Movie based on a 2002 novel by James McBride?

what "Miracle" isn't powerful but muddled and diffuse?

what Spike Lee's film tells story of African-American?

Answer: "Miracle at St. Anna,"

Answer: James McBride,

Answer: studio-genre-movie game.

Answer: "Miracle"

Answer: "Miracle at St. Anna"

Answer: Director

Answer: African-American soldiers who fought in the U.S. armed forces during World War II

Answer: "Miracle at St. Anna,"

Summary:
Spike Lee's film tells story of African-American soldiers during World War II .
"Miracle" isn't powerful but muddled and diffuse, reviewer writes .
Movie based on a 2002 novel by James McBride who also wrote screenplay .
Reviewer: "Real trouble with 'Miracle' is that Lee's filmmaking is joyless"


(Entertainment Weekly) -- The Disney family film update, "Race to Witch Mountain," won the weekend box office in fine fashion, grossing $25 million according to Sunday's estimates from Media by Numbers. "Race to Witch Mountain" won the weekend box office in fine fashion, grossing $25 million. That's the second best opening ever for a movie fronted by Dwayne Johnson alone, trailing only the first feature that starred the artist formerly known as The Rock, "The Scorpion King," which banked $36.1 million in its 2002 debut. "Race to Witch Mountain's" take was in line with expectations and garnered an okay CinemaScore grade of B+ from an audience that was 60 percent female. It should stay strong at the box office at least until "Monsters vs. Aliens" opens in two weeks. Also in "Race to Witch Mountain's" favor: weak competition from reigning champ "Watchmen" (No. 2), which dropped a hefty 67 percent from its big opening last weekend to gross $18.1 million. Zack Snyder's adaptation of Alan Moore's landmark superhero saga is clearly slowing down, although it has grossed $86 million in 10 days. Freshman fright flick "The Last House on the Left" was next at No. 3, with an anticipated $14.7 million. That's a decent sum for a horror movie that had the added benefit of opening on "Friday the 13th;" indeed, it's in line with what most scary remakes tend to bring in on their first weekends. Thus, you can expect this film (which got a so-so B CinemaScore review) to fall off the map after this frame, since that's also what most horror movies do. "Taken" (No. 4 with $6.7 million) remained in the top five well into its second month at the multiplex. Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail" came in at No. 5 with $5.1 million. And the weekend's other new wide release, the Playboy-centric comedy "Miss March," grossed an unsexy $2.3 million way down at No. 10. Meanwhile, the limited indie release "Sunshine Cleaning," starring Emily Blunt and Amy Adams, scored the highest opening-weekend per-theater average thus far in 2009, dusting up a stellar average of $53,500 in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. Overall, the box office was a little on the sluggish side, dropping nearly 17 percent from the same frame a year ago, when "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!" was the big winner. Still, this is just the first "down" weekend in more than a month, which is comforting. CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

How much did Watchmen drop
Who fronted the movie
What movie was number 3
What came in No. 3?

Answer: 67 percent

Answer: Dwayne Johnson

Answer: "The Last House on the Left"

Answer: "The Last House on the Left"

Summary:
This is the second best opening ever for a movie fronted by Dwayne Johnson .
"Watchmen" dropped a hefty 67 percent from its big opening last weekend .
"The Last House on the Left" came in at No. 3 with an anticipated $14.7 million .
See what other movies made the box office top 10 .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- They have come to glimpse the miracle. They have come to witness the revolution. They have come for "Watchmen" -- the allegedly unfilmable superhero movie, the long-awaited adaptation of the comic book that changed the face of comic books forever.

Billy Crudup plays Dr. Manhattan, a powerful superhero in "Watchmen."

On this warm July morning, over 5,000 fans attending the annual geek pop summit known as Comic-Con have assembled inside the San Diego Convention Center for a first look. Many spent the night on the sidewalk. Some have come in costumes. Behind the stage, indie-movie icon Kevin Smith parks himself in front of a closed-circuit TV, a happy grin on his bearded mug.

"You have to understand, I've been waiting for this moment for years," says Smith. "This is it, man. This is the pinnacle."

All this, for a violent, ironic superhero epic that doesn't like superheroes in the first place. Directed by "300's" Zack Snyder, "Watchmen" presents a set of familiar superhero archetypes -- and then subverts them completely. Rorschach (Jackie Earl Haley) is like the Spirit ... except he's a joyless, hard-line misanthrope. The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is like Captain America ... but loyal only to sadistic thrills and a corrupt worldview. Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson) is part Batman, part Iron Man ... except he's also a schlubby, impotent coward. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) is the resident genius ... who's built an empire on superhero toys. (You see what we mean by irony.)

Says Billy Crudup, whose blue, naked Dr. Manhattan is an almighty Superman dangerously detached from his own humanity: " 'Watchmen' is a kind of thrilling thought experiment. What would people who dress up in costumes to fight crime actually be like? Well, they'd probably be fetishists who lived on the fringes of society. They'd all be a bunch of freaking lunatics."

Yet for all its self-awareness and cynicism, "Watchmen" isn't some cheap-and-silly "Scary Movie" parody. Adapted faithfully, if not completely, from the celebrated 1986 comic-book series, Snyder's film is visually and intellectually ambitious, filled with heady ruminations about savior figures, pop culture, and the politics of fear. At a time when superhero stories are commonplace and our shaken country is pinning its recovery on an idealistic new president, "Watchmen's" director believes his movie can serve as a bracing blast of healthy skepticism.

"Someone asked me if I thought that because Barack Obama had been elected president, the movie was no longer relevant. I said, 'Wow, that's a very optimistic view of the future!' " says Snyder. "The movie, like the comic, says, 'These superhero stories you've been feasting on? What if we took them seriously?' ... That's the fun."

But fun for whom? When "Watchmen" hits theaters on March 6, the comic-book cognoscenti will be there in droves -- although some are already sweating the heresy of dramatic changes. EW: What didn't make it?

And, for mainstream moviegoers, such talk of "subverting superhero archetypes" is liable to elicit a great big "Huh?" EW: A "Watchmen" primer

"Watchmen's" financial backers are clearly hoping the success of "The Dark Knight" has primed the market for sophisticated superhero films -- especially one that's two hours and 41 minutes long. But where "The Dark Knight" transcended genre conventions, "Watchmen" wallows in them. Violently.

Created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, "Watchmen" is most often praised as the comic book that brought respect and maturity to a medium long dismissed as juvenile. It was the fanboys' "Catcher in the Rye" -- and maybe their first Playboy, too.

"I was 13 when I read 'Watchmen,' and it came to represent my coming

When is the Watchmen movie coming out?
What is it based on?
What is the film based on?

Answer: March 6,

Answer: comic book

Answer: the comic book that changed the face of comic books forever.

Summary:
"Watchmen" movie, after years in the works, finally coming out March 6 .
Film based on classic graphic novel that influenced many .
Film does not shy away from controversial themes, violence in novel .


(Entertainment Weekly) -- Usually, when characters in a movie are one-dimensional, that's not a good thing. But in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," the waxworks figures who come to life after sundown aren't crassly sketchy or dramatically lacking. They're one-dimensional, all right, but knowingly, delightfully so. Ben Stiller and Amy Adams size up a bobble-head Albert Einstein in the "Night at the Museum" sequel. Even at their most pop-up brash, they're true to the way that kids see history. They're like characters out of a cool yet innocent mischief-at-midnight children's book -- a "Where the Wild Things Are" of global story-time kitsch. And they give you a lift. The movie, make no mistake, is clownishly silly, a lark as light as balsa wood. If anything, though, it's a faster, wittier spin on the formula of its predecessor. Released in 2006, "Night at the Museum" was a family popcorn extravaganza that touched a chord even its producers may not have anticipated. In the sequel, Ben Stiller, as the former night guard Larry Daley (he's now a successful entrepreneur ... of flashlights!), spends one long night infiltrating the galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, where he attempts to rescue the exhibits he first got to know at the American Museum of Natural History. (He's trying to get his hands on the magical Egyptian tablet that brings them to life.) The T.rex, the capuchin monkeys, Attila the Hun -- all have been shipped to the archives of the Smithsonian. And all are as feisty as ever. But "Battle of the Smithsonian" tilts away from the zoological. The film is a history-of-the-world burlesque in which such drolly self-centered icons as General Custer (Bill Hader), Ivan the Terrible (Christopher Guest), and Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) -- a made-up pharoah who lisps with the enthusiasm of Boris Karloff on his own reality show -- collide happily with a living army of Albert Einstein bobblehead dolls, plus stone-carved angels who sing "More Than a Woman" and "The Thinker" come to life as a Brooklyn deadbeat. This is what you call a wholesome kiddie movie on drugs. It all works because Stiller, with his eager-to-please anxiety and his incredulous double takes, is the perfect addled straight man for a hellzapoppin history show. And it works because Amy Adams, as Amelia Earhart, has the breathless, daffy-sexy vivacity of a '30s screwball heroine, her eyes lit with fire, her delivery as sharp as cut glass as she rat-a-tats out lines like "You haven't been able to take your cheaters off my chassis since we met!" "Battle of the Smithsonian" has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing. EW Grade: B+ CLICK HERE to Try 2 RISK FREE issues of Entertainment Weekly

At which museum does the movie take place?

What is the name of the movie being reviewed?

Answer: Grade: B+

Answer: Amelia Earhart,

Answer: Amy Adams

Answer: Amelia Earhart,

Answer: Smithsonian,"

Answer: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,"

Answer: Ben Stiller

Answer: Ben Stiller and Amy Adams

Answer: "Night at the Museum"

Summary:
EW: "Night at the Museum" sequel lighthearted, enjoyable .
Movie moves action to Smithsonian, where Ben Stiller character follows exhibits .
Standout of film is Amy Adams as screwball Amelia Earhart .


(Fast Company)  -- The tech world's getting used to the idea Steve Jobs is absent from Apple again, for medical reasons. We think he'll be back soon. But one day he won't come back, and who might fill the big chair then?

For the time being Tim Cook is in control at Apple, as he has been every time Steve Jobs has had to take time to tackle his health issues.

Cook's time in the role has, self-evidently, been highly successful, and many commenters are tipping him to be Steve's eventual successor -- with these stand-in periods acting as a carefully managed succession plan.

But is Tim really the guy for the job, given that Steve is still active as CEO in the background, and all big decisions are still cycling through him? Could someone else from inside Apple be a better fit, or is there someone working elsewhere we can imagine as the next Apple CEO?

Tim Cook

Currently Apple COO, repeat stand-in for Steve Jobs. Demanding, keen-minded, unemotional. A science and business scholar, previously at Compaq and 12 years at IBM where he managed product and manufacturing inventories and chains.

He's credited with making Apple's products stream reliably from their eastern manufacturing homes to their end users, and hot-tipped to replace Jobs by many. Recently introduced the high-profile Verizon iPhone. Once said: "Replace Steve? No, he's irreplaceable. That's something people have to get over."

Odds for replacing Steve: Long, long, long. A good temporary replacement, but lacks dynamism and creative vision.

Jonathan Ive

Currently Senior VP of Industrial Design at Apple. Highly regarded, award-winning brains behind nearly all of Apple's iconic computing and mobile products since 1996 -- starting with the industry-startling original candy-color iMac, and recently refining the aluminum unibody designs that are now a design reference point.

A highly accomplished presenter and speaker, he's known as a perfectionist and thinks focus groups are a symptom of corporate "creative bankruptcy."

Odds for replacing Steve: Medium-long, as though he's a super-hot property in the design field, and some of his philosophy aligns with Jobs', he lacks the industrial and technical training to replace his boss. He could be a powerful co-chair, though.

Phil Schiller

Currently Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing at Apple. A 20-year Apple veteran, in different marketing management roles, he's credited with some of the smart moves that placed iMac, iPods, and iPhones as the chic devices to own in the public's eye.

He often speaks at Jobs-led keynote speeches, and has led a keynote or two of his own to introduce new products. Not regarded as a business tiger, he does Twitter, and has spoken clearly about what makes Apple products unique: "We want things to be beautiful, surprising to see, but they also have to be functional. One without the other doesn't make any sense."

Odds for replacing Steve: Medium. He has definite genius in marketing, and shares much of Jobs' product vision. But he doesn't have a dynamic public presence, and some see him as a bad CEO -- probably better suited at staying where he is, to support any future new CEO and ensure consistency.

Scott Forstall

Currently Senior VP iPhone Software at Apple. Forstall is responsible for some of the key decisions behind Apple's OS X and its Aqua interface, and led the release of OS X Snow Leopard.

A computer scientist by training, and formerly an employee of Jobs' NeXT computer firm, Forstall reports directly to Jobs and is credited with the successful industry-defining iOS interface of the iPhone and iPad.

He's a smooth public speaker and has notable attention to detail: "I actually have a photographer's loupe that I use to make sure every pixel is right"

Odds for replacing Steve: Good. Forbes called him a name you "need to know in 2011,

Who will likely be next leader of Apple?

Answer: Tim Cook

Answer: Tim Cook

Answer: Tim Cook

Summary:
Tony Fadell is retired, but retained as a "special advisor" to Jobs .
Scott Forstall has a good chance of being the next leader of Apple .
Peter Skillman certainly has the right criteria for the Apple CEO role .


(Financial Times) -- When Macau unveiled record gambling revenues on Tuesday, the government was silent about the source of much of the cash fuelling the territory's boom: illegal money transfers from mainland China.

From pawn shops offering money withdrawal services, to underground banks using human mules to transport cash across the border, Macau tolerates the illicit methods that mainland punters use to bring money into the former Portuguese colony, which reverted to Chinese control in 1999.

Mainland tourists, who have made Macau the world's largest gambling centre, can legally bring only Rmb20,000 ($3,175) when crossing into the Chinese territory. But many gamblers bring more cash to the casino tables by using their Unionpay debit card to withdraw money -- for a fee.

"There is no risk. We pretend to sell the customer an expensive watch or a piece of jewellery, charge the amount in renminbi to the debit card, and then give him the equivalent amount in Macau patacas or Hong Kong dollars as if the customer had decided to return the object for an immediate cash refund," says the manager of a pawnshop up the street from the Grand Lisboa casino, Macau's oldest casino owned by Stanley Ho, the gambling tycoon.

The manager says the cardholder's records will register the transaction as a purchase. Unionpay, which was formed by China's big banks, says it bans such transactions, but the company declined to comment on the fact that the practice remained widespread. The company said it no longer released data on how much cardholders spent in Macau.

People familiar with the industry say the Macau government cannot afford to shut down the illegal services, which hundreds of pawn shops advertise publicly on neon signs.

"The Macau government's hands are tied," says one veteran Macau policeman. "It is not going to initiate a crackdown, because over 75 per cent of its revenue comes from gaming taxes."

About 16m mainland Chinese visited Macau in 2011, an increase of more than 20 per cent on the previous year, and 60 per cent more than the 10m who visited in 2006. Analysts estimate that up to 30 per cent of Macau's gaming revenue could be channelled through illegal channels.

"Banking restrictions make it very difficult to transfer funds to Macau legitimately, but it is easy for people to find ways [around the rules]," says a senior Chinese bank manager who gambles in Macau.

While the debit card cashback service is the most visible source of money for the less well-heeled punters, those with deeper pockets have found different ways to avoid the restrictions.

VIP punters -- whom analysts estimate generate 70 per cent of Macau's gaming revenues -- gamble on credit provided by so-called junket operators who seek out wealthy mainland gamblers.

The junket operators receive commissions from the casinos or get a share of the profits. They, or their agents, sometimes use underground banks to return the money they have collected as debt on the mainland to Macau. The lenders use criminal gangs from Fujian and Guangdong provinces who in turn pay human mules as little as $5 -- compared with Guangdong's average daily wage of $7 -- to smuggle cash across the border.

While the underground banks are part of what is known as the shadow banking system in China, providing credit to cash-strapped companies, their Macau-related business is limited to transferring money from other sources.

One former junket operator and a Hong Kong owner of a mainland factory in Guangdong province, just across the border from Macau, described how operators also use Hong Kong business people who own companies on the mainland to transfer money illegally.

He said operators handed over renminbi debts collected on the mainland to the factory owner, who used the money to pay his staff wages. Then, the owner sent the equivalent in Hong Kong dollars from his Hong Kong bank account to the operator's account in Macau. Both sides profited by agreeing a mutually beneficial exchange rate.

There is no public data available to indicate exactly how much of Macau's gaming revenue comes from illegal channels, and casino operators and government officials refuse to speak

Who are used to bring cash across the border?

Which country tolerates illicit methods?

How many mainland visitors did Macau have last year?

What are used to transport cash across the border

Which nationality formerly colonized Macau?

Answer: human mules

Answer: Macau

Answer: unveiled

Answer: illicit methods

Answer: 16m

Answer: human mules

Answer: Portuguese

Summary:
Macau tolerates illicit methods to bring money into the former Portuguese colony .
Underground banks using human mules to transport cash across the border .
Macau had record gambling revenues from 16M mainland visitors last year .


(GameTap.com) -- Everyone wants to be more physically fit, but the toughest thing is finding motivation -- the motivation to get started, the motivation to keep going, the motivation to push yourself to the next level. A man tries out the Wii Fit at a Nintendo launch party in Central Park, New York City. Wii Fit doesn't try to motivate you with before and after photos. It doesn't try to motivate you with testimonials from fitness gurus. It doesn't even offer you three easy payments. But it does entice you to get into shape by making working out look like fun. And that it does very well. In fact, Wii Fit might be some of the most fun you can have by just more or less standing still, which must make it about as mass market friendly as any video game product ever was. Wii Fit requires a Wii, of course, and it comes bundled with a balance board. But the entire setup doesn't take up much space, and the board is no eyesore, either. Unlike a bathroom scale that's usually squirreled away in a closet or shoved into the corner of a bathroom, looking at it doesn't make you feel guilty. Designed to fit in with Japanese living rooms, where space is usually at a premium, the balance board is sleek and elegantly designed. iReport.com: Send us your Wii Fit review It conveys cool Asian style with a streamlined appearance. It's something you wouldn't mind having in your living room at all. One thing about Nintendo: They know how to make hardware that's rugged but easy on the eyes. Getting started with Wii Fit is a snap, but you might have to get some bad news out of the way first. The balance board connects to the Wii through a Wi-Fi connection. You stand on it and use the Wii remote to record your height and age. The balance board then registers your weight. From those figures, Wii Fit calculates your body mass index (BMI), a standard metric many doctors use to determine a person's overall fitness, which you can track over time. Oddly, however, there's no easy way to just use the scale to see your weight without recalculating your BMI each time. The Wii Fit-ness program is organized into 48 activities divided among four general areas: yoga, aerobics, strength training, and balance games. You can choose to work through all four in one session or just concentrate on one. If you've never tried yoga before, working through the 15 positions here are as good an introduction as any. All of them are done with at least one foot on the balance board, so Wii Fit can measure how centered you keep your body. Yoga is a great way to stretch muscles and joints out and to work on overall flexibility. As meditative as this physical activity would seem, you'll feel the burn even before you reach any of the advanced forms. Once you're loosened up a little with yoga, you might move on to aerobics. The majority of these nine activities are basically variations of hula hooping, jogging in place, and simple step aerobics. The one exception is rhythm boxing, which you unlock later on. By turning these aerobic challenges all into minigames, Wii Fit entices you to keep working on them to earn better scores and ratings. With the hula hoop, for example, you have to stand on the board and grind your hips to keep a virtual hoop twirling. Later, you have to "catch" tossed hoops, and then keep them all twirling, too. Wii Fit sets a mellow, steady pace for all its aerobic challenges, but it still manages to make your heart pump. If just the words "push" and "ups" makes you break out in a sweat, then you've probably already surmised that strength training contains some of the most physically demanding Wii Fit workouts. The torso twist and rowing squat are easy, but push-ups, planks, and even the lunges will show you what you're made of

Into how many activities in the program organized?

Answer: video game

Answer: entice you to get into shape

Answer: body mass index

Answer: 48

Answer: the entire setup

Summary:
Entire 'Wii Fit' setup doesn't take up much space, and the board is no eyesore .
Wii Fit calculates your body mass index (BMI), a metric many doctors use .
Program organized into 48 activities divided among four general areas .
People over 6 feet tall or with broad shoulders may find some activities difficult .


(Health.com)  -- An analysis of the sickest swine flu patients in Australia, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand suggests that relatively healthy adolescents and young adults are among the most likely to get very sick after an H1N1 infection, a pattern similar to that seen in the 1918 influenza pandemic. The most important message is that children should get the H1N1 vaccination, Dr. Neil Schachter said. Almost all critically ill patients in the studies were sick for only a few days before rapidly progressing to more severe symptoms and respiratory failure, which required treatment with a breathing machine, according to three studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The mortality rate ranged from 14.3 percent to 41.4 percent, depending on the country. The findings may help shine some light on what the 2009 H1N1 flu season may bring, and who may be hit the hardest by the swine flu during the next few months. "These studies are telling us that young people are at risk for bad complications of H1N1 and under usual circumstances, [seasonal] flu does not cause acute respiratory failure in younger people," says Dr. Neil Schachter, the medical director of the respiratory care department at Mount Sinai Medical Center, in New York City, and the author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu. The analysis of cases in Australia and New Zealand looked at people who developed severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid) and were put on a life-support system known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). This artificial heart and lung machine system, which puts oxygen into the blood and then carries this blood to the body tissues, is considered risky and expensive; as a result, it is not readily available in every hospital. The mortality rate was 21 percent for these patients, although it may have been higher without this treatment, the authors say. Health.com: 8 ways swine flu is changing society "These studies provide important signals about what clinicians and hospitals may confront in the coming months," Dr. Douglas B. White, and Dr. Derek C. Angus, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, write in an editorial accompanying the new studies. In young, healthy patients, H1N1 can quickly cause respiratory failure that can't necessarily be reversed with mechanical ventilation, although such patients are not currently a priority group for H1N1 vaccination, they note. In the Canadian study, about 30 percent to 40 percent of the patients had lung disease, were obese, or had high blood pressure, a history of smoking, or diabetes. Overall, 14.3 percent of 168 critically ill people with confirmed or suspected H1N1 died within 28 days. The mortality rate in the Mexican study was strikingly higher. In Mexico City, where the H1N1 pandemic was first reported, 41.4 percent of 58 critically ill people died within 60 days of developing the flu. Health.com: 10 best big cities for people with asthma Those people who died from H1N1 got sicker earlier in the course of their illness, had extremely low levels of oxygen in their blood, and had multiple organ failure. Their average age was 44 years old, and 54 of 58 patients needed mechanical ventilation. Other signs of more severe H1N1 included fever and severe trouble breathing. Health.com: 10 ways you put yourself at risk for swine flu (without realizing it!) In the Canadian study (in which the average age was 21.4), the critically ill tended to be hospitalized within four days of developing flu symptoms, and there was about a one-day lapse between hospital admission to intensive care unit (ICU) admission. As in the Mexico City study, younger patients with low blood oxygen and multisystem organ failure were hardest hit. What's more, the critically ill tended to require mechanical ventilation and rescue therapies to aid in breathing. Health.com: 8 causes of chronic cough In both countries, the H1N1 outbreak lasted about three months. "It is not clear of hospitals' need to invest in this ECMO technology because this has not proven very successful in other respiratory illnesses," says  Schachter. "We do know that

What is the mortality rate?
how much does the mortality rate range?

Answer: 14.3 percent to 41.4 percent,

Answer: 14.3 percent to 41.4 percent,

Summary:
In sickest H1N1 patients, mortality rate ranged from 14.3 percent to 41.4 percent .
Overall death rate is closer to seasonal flu than SARS, doctor says .
Older people could have immunity to H1N1 because of virus 50 to 60 years ago .
Doctor: "Definitely get the vaccine"


(Health.com)  -- Doctors often recommend exercise for patients with fibromyalgia, but the chronic pain and fatigue associated with the condition can make activities like running and swimming difficult.

Tai chi -- a slow, meditative martial art -- may be an effective alternative, a new study suggests.

Fibromyalgia patients who took tai chi classes twice a week for three months experienced less pain, stiffness, and fatigue than a control group that attended lifestyle education and stretching sessions, according to the study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Tai chi involves a series of slow, fluid movements that focus on balance and deep breathing.

Although it's not clear from the study how exactly tai chi might improve fibromyalgia symptoms, both the physical activity and the meditative aspects are likely beneficial, says Chenchen Wang, M.D., the lead researcher and an associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, in Boston, Massachusetts.

"Some people need the physical improvement; some people need more mental improvement," she says. "Tai chi can help with both."

Health.com: How fibromyalgia is diagnosed

Previous research has shown that tai chi can help relieve the symptoms of arthritis and other pain conditions, but this study is the first controlled trial to examine its effectiveness as a treatment for fibromyalgia, which affects an estimated 10 million Americans.

The study included 66 fibromyalgia patients who were randomly assigned to take one-hour tai chi classes with an experienced teacher or one-hour classes that taught coping skills, pain-management techniques, and stretching.

Participants were also asked to practice tai chi or stretch on their own for 20 minutes each day, depending on which group they were in.

Health.com: 13 mistakes fibro patients make

After three months,  Wang and her colleagues asked the patients to rate their pain symptoms, physical functioning, fatigue, and mood, all of which were combined on a single scale ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. (The patients completed the same survey before the study began.)

The average score among the tai chi patients dropped from 63 to 35, while the average for the control group dropped by just nine points, from 68 to 59. Three months after the sessions stopped, the scores had remained roughly the same, which suggests that the benefits of the tai chi were lasting, Wang says.

The results were encouraging, as existing fibromyalgia treatments -- including medication, sleep therapy, and aerobic exercise -- fail to help many patients. "We need another approach," says Wang.

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Robert Shmerling, M.D., an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the clinical chief of rheumatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, in Boston, says that he often recommends alternative treatments, such as acupuncture and massage, to his fibromyalgia patients, although some of them are skeptical.

"I would certainly put tai chi on the list," says Shmerling, who co-wrote an editorial that accompanies the study. "It's difficult to take something that's as safe as tai chi and show that it has this dramatic benefit and not be enthusiastic about it."

The calming style of tai chi used in the study, known as Yang, may be especially effective for fibromyalgia patients, says Kim D. Jones, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, in Portland.

"It works more on the parasympathetic nervous system, ...the part of the nervous system that helps us feel calm and relaxed," says Jones, who studies Yang-style tai chi and yoga in fibromyalgia but wasn't involved in the study.

Health.com: 13 conditions that mimic fibromyalgia

Jones recommends that fibromyalgia patients find a well-trained instructor rather than trying tai chi on their own.

She points out that learning tai chi in a group may have its own therapeutic benefits, by boosting confidence, for instance.

Many community centers offer affordable tai chi classes, but experienced teachers can be expensive and hard to come by. However, if future

whats Tai chi practicers experienced less pain, stiffness and fatigue?

whats Study suggests Tai chi as a good exercise for fibromyalgia patients?

Answer: Fibromyalgia patients

Answer: published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Summary:
Study suggests Tai chi as a good exercise for fibromyalgia patients .
Tai chi practicers experienced less pain, stiffness and fatigue .
Doctor says the benefits of tai chi were also lasting .


(Health.com) -- Amanda Santos wanted to send her 5-year-old daughter, Skylar, to a small private school. But after they interviewed, met the teachers, and submitted Skylar's medical records, they never heard back from the school, despite repeated inquiries.

Santos, who lives in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, can't say for sure why communication was cut off so abruptly, but she's convinced that Skylar's severe nut allergy was an issue.

"They knew going in that she had an allergy; they said it was no problem," says Santos. "But until we sat down and had a meeting about the precautions they'd have to take -- kids washing their hands, asking parents not to send nuts to school, that kind of thing -- they didn't realize how severe it was. I just think they didn't want her there, didn't want to deal with all of that."

Health.com: The latest on food allergies

Santos is not alone. According to a new study conducted in the U.K., families with children who are living with this potentially life-threatening condition often feel isolated, stigmatized, or unfairly excluded from activities, due to the allergies.

In many ways, nut allergies feel more like a disability than a chronic illness because of the stigma, the researchers say.

"Families reported some really very difficult and unpleasant experiences when they were trying to keep their child safe from risk," says coauthor Mary Dixon-Woods, professor of medical sociology at the University of Leicester.

She was surprised by the study's results.

"I was expecting to hear about problems with labeling and so on, but the extent of the stigma families reported was very troubling," she says.

Peanuts are the most common food trigger of life-threatening anaphylactic shock, accounting for more than half of all fatal food-induced allergic reactions. Peanut allergies are on the rise, doubling in children between 1997 and 2002. About 1% of children in the U.S. have peanut allergies.

Health.com: 8 Reasons to delay vaccines for kids

Along with the rise in nut allergies have come more restrictions on schools and other public places, including nut-free classrooms and airplanes, as well as better labeling for products.

In recent years, there has been a bit of backlash against the greater focus on nut allergies. In 2008, Harvard Medical School professor Nicholas A. Christakis published in the journal BMJ an editorial called "This allergies hysteria is just nuts." While noting that allergies are a real problem, he wrote about the "overabundance of caution" at his children's school and an incident in which a school bus was evacuated because a peanut was found on the floor.

To determine some of the challenges faced by parents of children with nut allergies, Dixon-Woods and her colleagues interviewed 26 families about their coping strategies and techniques for avoiding dangerous situations.

They found, however, that these parents were routinely made to feel that such allergies were nothing but a "frivolous and self-indulgent fad invented and maintained by attention-seeking people."

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Parents interviewed for the study frequently encountered skepticism or hostility when they tried to explain their children's allergies to others, says Dixon-Woods. Birthday parties became "nightmares," and even just sending kids to school or leaving them with friends or family was terrifying.

Interview transcripts from the study reveal several scenarios in which parents felt ridiculed, ignored, or challenged on the subject of food allergies.

· In the lunchroom at school, children might feel bullied. "She was teased and things like that, people saying...'I've got nuts and I'm gonna come and touch you,'" said one participant.

· Said one participant about a family camping trip: "He'd caught her sort of pulling faces and complaining to other people that they'd had to put the peanuts away...they all laughed and it was awful..."

· At a social gathering, the hosts thought the family was overdramatizing the problem. "We got

Families with food allergies often feel what?

What is the most common food trigger of life threatening anaphylactic shock?

Answer: Peanuts

Answer: nut allergies

Answer: families with children

Answer: isolated, stigmatized, or unfairly excluded from activities,

Answer: Peanuts

Summary:
Families with food allergies often feel isolated, stigmatized, or unfairly excluded .
Peanuts are the most common food trigger of life-threatening anaphylactic shock .
Public awareness of food allergy in the U.S. has increased .


(Health.com) -- More than one in 10 women develops depression during pregnancy. Now, a new study suggests that women who are treated with antidepressants are more likely to give birth early or to have newborns that need to spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit. Babies of women taking SSRIs were born earlier and were more likely to have been admitted to intensive care. Depression itself can have ill effects for both mom and baby. Therefore, the benefits of the antidepressants -- known as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors -- may still outweigh the risks for some women, researchers say. "There is no easy way out of this," says Dr. Tim Oberlander, a developmental pediatrician at BC Children's Hospital, in Vancouver, Canada, who has studied the effects of SSRIs on children exposed in the womb, but was not involved in the current study. "Depression needs to be managed, and for some women, the use of these medications is appropriate and necessary." Health.com: 3 Signs you should stop, adjust, or switch antidepressants The new study, led by Dr. Najaaraq Lund, of Aarhus University, in Denmark, found that babies whose mothers had taken SSRIs were born earlier and were more likely to require treatment in an NICU. Women have been using SSRIs during pregnancy since the early 1990s, Lund and her colleagues point out in the report, which is published in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. These drugs, which include Zoloft, Prozac, and others, are widely considered to be the safest type of antidepressant medication to take during pregnancy. It's been difficult to confirm their safety, however, especially since investigators have to find a way to distinguish between the effects of depression itself -- and habits that depressed women may be more likely to engage in, like drinking and smoking -- and the drug on the newborn. Health.com: Do pregnancy and bipolar disorder mix? Lund and her colleagues tackled this issue by including a group of women who reported a history of some type of psychiatric illness but weren't taking SSRIs. Some, but not all, of these women had suffered from depression. "Using this group as a comparison group takes into account possible genetic or lifestyle factors associated with present or previous psychiatric disorders," the researcher notes. The analysis included 329 women who took SSRIs in pregnancy, 4,902 with a history of psychiatric illness who weren't taking the drugs, and 51,770 women who reported no history of psychiatric illness and weren't taking SSRIs. All had received prenatal care at Aarhus University Hospital between 1989 and 2006. Babies of women taking SSRIs were born an average of five days earlier than those born to women who had no mental illness, and were twice as likely to be born preterm. The babies whose mothers took SSRIs were 2.4 times as likely to have been admitted to the NICU than infants who hadn't been exposed to the drugs in utero. They were also more than four times as likely to have Apgar scores below eight, just five minutes after birth. (Apgar scores measure an infant's health at birth by looking at his or her breathing, heartbeat, reflexes, muscle tone, and skin color; scores of seven and above are considered normal, and a newborn's Apgar score has no influence on how he or she will fare later in life.) There was no difference between SSRI-exposed babies and unexposed babies in head circumference or birth weight. Antidepressant medication is just one part of the equation in addressing women's mental health during pregnancy, notes Oberlander, who says depression in pregnancy is a "huge public health issue" with lasting implications for women and their children. Helping ensure that women are getting enough social support and adequate nutrition is essential, he adds, while alternative treatments for depression -- such as exercise, light therapy, and omega-3 fatty acids -- ought to be explored further. "In general, optimizing non-pharmacological treatment would be a really important step," he says. He explains that it is essential to follow SSRI-exposed babies as they grow up, to identify any problems and intervene as necessary

What did the mothers take which increased risk?

Answer: SSRIs

Answer: women who are treated with antidepressants are more likely to give birth early or to have newborns that need to spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Answer: that women who are treated with antidepressants are more likely to give birth early or to have newborns that need to spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Answer: antidepressants

Answer: Aarhus University, in Denmark,

Summary:
Danish study finds babies whose mothers took antidepressants were born earlier .
Babies of mothers who took SSRIs were 2.4 times likely to be in intensive care .
It's unclear whether differences seen at birth will have lasting effects on child .


(Health.com) -- Over the past several years, researchers have noticed an odd pattern in the relationship between body weight and Alzheimer's disease: Middle-aged people have a higher long-term risk of developing the disease if they're overweight or obese, while older people have a lower risk of the disease if they're carrying excess weight.

A new study, published this week in the journal Neurology, may offer a clue to this so-called obesity paradox. Non-overweight individuals in their late 60s, 70s, and early 80s who have no outward symptoms of Alzheimer's are more likely than their heavier peers to have biological markers (or biomarkers) of the disease, the study found. This finding raises the possibility that weight loss or a low body mass index (BMI) later in life may be an early warning sign of mental decline, the researchers say.

"Weight changes or body composition changes may actually be a manifestation of disease, which would explain the obesity being an apparent protective factor," says Jeffrey M. Burns, M.D., the lead author of the study and the associate director of the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center, in Kansas City.

Health.com: 25 signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Well before memory loss and other symptoms appear, Alzheimer's may trigger metabolism changes that promote weight loss, Burns says. "In general, we think of Alzheimer's as a brain disease, but this is evidence that there are systemic problems throughout the body in the early stages of Alzheimer's."

Burns and his colleagues analyzed data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a huge study spanning 58 hospitals and universities that's funded by the National Institutes of Health and an array of nonprofit organizations and drug companies. The goal of the initiative is to find ways to measure the progression of Alzheimer's and the precursor condition known as mild cognitive impairment.

The researchers looked at 101 people who underwent brain scans designed to identify the plaques and abnormal tangle of proteins that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's, and another 405 people whose cerebrospinal fluid was analyzed for fragments of these proteins (beta-amyloid peptide and tau). Each group included some people with Alzheimer's disease, some with mild cognitive impairment, and some with no signs of mental deterioration.

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There was no connection between BMI and Alzheimer's biomarkers in the patients who actually had Alzheimer's. But in the other two groups, lower BMI was associated with higher levels of biomarkers and a higher likelihood of having brain plaques and tangles. Among people with mild cognitive impairment, for instance, 85 percent of non-overweight individuals had signs of these brain abnormalities, compared to just 48 percent of those who were overweight or obese. (A BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight.)

Richard Lipton, M.D., an attending neurologist at Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City, who was not involved in the new research, agrees with the authors that the findings suggest that Alzheimer's can affect the entire body early on.

"The most obvious manifestations of Alzheimer's disease are in the brain, but Alzheimer's disease has a large number of effects on the body as well," says Lipton, the principal investigator of a long-running study on aging and Alzheimer's. "The brain regulates blood pressure and respiratory rate and pulse and hunger and satiety and blood flow to various organs in the body, so it wouldn't be surprising if a widespread disease of the brain had effects on many, many different aspects of bodily function."

Health.com: Aging workforce means dementia on the job could rise

The study shows only an association, not cause and effect, so Burns and his colleagues can't be sure that Alzheimer's directly causes weight loss (or prevents weight gain). In fact, the researchers found no association between BMI changes and Alzheimer's biomarkers in a subset of study participants whose weight was tracked for two years.

May Ahmad Baydoun, Ph.D., a staff scientist at the National Institute on Aging who studies risk factors for dementia, described the study

What may share a relationship with body weight?

What may trigger changes that promote weight loss?

Answer: Alzheimer's disease:

Answer: Alzheimer's

Answer: to find ways to measure the progression of Alzheimer's and the precursor condition known as mild cognitive impairment.

Answer: a clue to this so-called obesity paradox.

Answer: Alzheimer's

Summary:
A new study may offer a clue to the relationship body weight and Alzheimer's disease .
Jeffrey M. Burns, M.D., says Alzheimer's may trigger changes that promote weight loss .
The goal of the study is to find ways to measure the progression of Alzheimer's .


(Health.com) -- People who take vitamin E supplements regularly for years -- whether they are smokers or nonsmokers -- may lower their risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the lung condition that is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is often, but not always, caused by smoking.

While the risk reduction is relatively small, 10 percent, COPD is a common and life-threatening condition in which a decline in lung function can be slowed down but not reversed. COPD symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, and fatigue.

"The effect appears to be modest. But for something for which there isn't really any effective therapy and tends to be a degenerative condition, anything that would reduce the risk even somewhat is not an insubstantial benefit," says Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston who was not involved in the study.

The research, from the government-funded Women's Health Study, included 39,876 women 45 years and older who were free of COPD before they were randomly assigned to take a placebo, vitamin E supplements (600 IU every other day) or aspirin (100 mg per day), either alone or in combination. At the end of 10 years, 760 of the 19,937 women who took vitamin E alone or with aspirin developed COPD compared with 846 of the 19,939 who took a placebo or aspirin alone -- a 10 percent risk reduction. Vitamin E did not lower the risk of asthma, a condition associated with a higher risk of COPD.

Health.com: 10 ways to have cleaner air at home

The researchers took into account factors such as cigarette smoking and age, which can affect COPD risk. The study, conducted by Cornell University and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers, is to be presented this week at the annual American Thoracic Society meeting in New Orleans.

The idea that vitamin E can reduce the risk of developing COPD is "biologically plausible," says Yvonne Kelly, Ph.D., an associate professor in the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London. Experts believe vitamins A, C, and E -- the so-called ACE antioxidants -- combat oxidative stress in the lungs that can lead to COPD.

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Several studies have shown that these vitamins, as well as vitamin D, may help improve lung health. In a 2003 study, Kelly and her collaborators found that men and women with diets high in vitamins C and E had greater lung capacity and produced less phlegm, respectively. Phlegm production and wheezing are also COPD symptoms.

One limitation of the study is that the researchers relied on the women to report whether or not they had a diagnosis of COPD, says Michael Sims, M.D., an assistant professor in the pulmonary critical care division at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. He points out that people with asthma may think they have COPD, or vice versa, since the symptoms are similar. In addition, early diagnoses can be inconclusive or due to lung problems that don't turn out to be COPD.

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In future studies, Sims says that the researchers should diagnose COPD using a breathing test called spirometry. "If you showed in a similar study with a gold standard outcome [like spirometry], among smokers and nonsmokers, that you could affect the incidence of COPD, I would imagine the committees that meet on this would take a serious look at increasing daily recommended intake [of vitamin E] for the general population," he says.

Currently, no vitamin supplements are recommended to prevent or treat COPD. The best way to prevent the disease is to quit smoking, says Dr. Sims. About 24 million people in the U.S. have COPD -- 12 million who've been diagnosed with the disease and another 12 million who have COPD but don't know they have it. In the study, women who smoked were four times more likely than nonsmokers to develop COPD.

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The daily recommended intake of vitamin E is about 22

Which vitamins help improve lung health?

What can cut chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

What includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis?

Answer: E

Answer: take vitamin E supplements regularly for years

Answer: COPD

Summary:
Vittamin E can cut chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk in smokers and  nonsmokers .
COPD includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis; often, but not always, caused by smoking .
Several studies have shown that vitamins A, C, E and D may help improve lung health .