Natalie’s shoot with Mario Testino took place earlier this year in London and features a harder look for her. I understand this magazine feature will focus a bit on her new film Brothers which hits theaters this holiday season … but, as I mentioned above, her article is not yet available online for reading just yet. After the jump, check out a few photos from her magazine spread — she looks fantastic …

I just love Natalie Portman. Not only is she an amazing actress but she really seems like one of those down to Earth folks that you really could get along with. I am a big fan of her work and I hope to see Brothers when it hits theaters. Seeing these photos of Natalie in V magazine really reminds me that there is not nearly enough Natalie in the world ;)

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Oh wait, I’m sorry … Emmy showed up with Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz, not Sideshow Bob … sorry about that. But, c’mon, you can see how I got confused. It’s nice to see young celebs taking an interest in the arts … why, David and I attended a ballet performance of Romeo and Juliet here in LA just this last July for my birthday. I sincerely hope the celebs who attended last night’s gala affair did so out of an honest appreciation for dance rather than an available opportunity to dress up and pose in their finery for a photo op.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

To be, or not to be … a hit on Broadway? That is the question Wednesday morning as the reviews come in for Jude Law’s turn as Hamlet in the much-anticipated Broadway turn for the production, which originated in London to acclaim and opened at New York’s Broadhurst Theatre Tuesday night. Reaction is decidedly mixed. “If Hamlet talks about his mind, you can bet that Mr. Law will point to his forehead; when he mentions the heavens, his arm shoots straight up; and when the guy says his gorge rises, rest assured that he clutches at his stomach. If every actor were like Mr. Law, signed performances for the hard of hearing would be unnecessary,” snipes Ben Brantley of The New York Times. “If anything, Law starts out too overwrought, moaning and gnawing through the great soliloquies as if they were causing him intestinal distress,” Time Out New York’s David Cote notes. Others put in much kinder terms. “His Hamlet is no brooding philosopher/prince; he’s an angry young man, a bundle of nerves forever threatening to explode,” raves USA Today’s Elysa Gardner , who considers Law’s soliloquies “both muscular and exquisitely lyrical.” The traditionally acerbic John Simon of Bloomberg News, however, found nothing poetic about Law’s “flashy, frequently jocular and unsubtle” performance in a play “aimed at neophyte audiences lured to the play not only by the star but with the added promise of a thriller liberally sprinkled with yocks.” Time Out New York, which generally lauded Law, was one of many that had a bone to pick with the supporting cast, finding Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ophelia ho-hum, and Geraldine James and Ian Drysdale’s Gertrude and Claudius an example of actors taking the phrase “the banality of evil” too literally. Then thank God Jude’s pretty, all critics agreed. Noted The New York Times: “Mr. Law’s undeniable charisma and gender-crossing sex appeal may captivate Broadway theatergoers who wouldn’t normally attend productions of Shakespeare.”

LOL! As much as I loved the show myself, I have to agree with the NY Times critic … I had forgotten that, indeed, Jude mimics physically the words that come out of his mouth … I mean, I’m sure he’s going for emphasis but he does do it for most of the show. In all honesty, I do feel that many of the reviewers who have negative things to say might be speaking from a place where they would be hard pressed to bestow positivity no matter how good an actor like Jude Law is. While I agree that there is some merit to some of the negative reviews, I don’t feel that all of the criticism is very fair. After the jump, check out a few photos of Jude taking his curtain call bows last night at the completion of his official Broadway debut performance and see which celebs made their way to the Broadhurst Theater for opening night …

And here are some of the folks who came out to see the show:

I love that Ed Westwick and Natalie Portman came out for the opening … it does make it seem like the Times critic’s assertion — that Law’s presence in the play will bring out a younger audience — is actually true. I say, so what? If Jude Law’s Hamlet gets more young people into Shakespeare then I say, Yay!! I loved the performance … I urge all Shakespeare fans to see this production. It’s fantastic … you be the judge.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

To be honest, I was very surprised at who got eliminated last night … and I was very impressed with a particular designer who is starting to get on my nerves (big time) but managed to pull off a very nice design in the end. After the jump, find out who was in, who was out and what went down on the ep entitled The Grass Is Always Greener …

Right off the bat, let me say that I’m very bummed that Wesley got eliminated. While I thought his design was hideous, I am sad to be losing him so soon. I loved his style and I believe he has some great talent — unfortch, we won’t be seeing any more of it from here on out. Suede ended up winning the challenge with a very cute little cocktail dress but his third person speak is driving me insane:

I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t all that impressed with the “green”ness of this challenge. I have to be honest and say that I feel like the whole movement seems so clichéd at this point. If they really want to make a “green” statement, they should incorporate the practice in all aspects of the show rather than just one challenge where “green” materials are used. I really think that the recycling challenges make more of a strong point on the eco tip … but that’s just my $0.02. I did like that the models did the shopping for the designers … that was a nice twist. Hands down, I loved Kenley’s design. It was the most chic to me … she really does have talent. I’m surprised that I love her so much … when the cast was unveiled on the Bravo website and her bio photo was missing, I thought for sure she would be one of the early exiters — it seems clear to me now that she may end up as one of the leading contenders. If Suede keeps it up, he may be a contender as well … which may be unfortunate cuz his third person “bisexual” blue hair thing he’s got going on is a smidge annoying. It’s hard to tell which is more irritating — Suede’s third person speak or Blayne’s “licious” speak (tho, to his credit, he was less audacious with his “licious”ness in last night’s ep). Of the two, tho, I think Suede has more talent (to be fair, I didn’t hate Blayne’s 80’s off the shoulder dress — I may be alone here but I thought it was kitschy fun) … his dress was very cool and he deserved to win, tho I would’ve gone with Kenley for the win myself. As I said, I’m bummed that Wesley is dunzo … his departure has lowered the hotness level on the show (and let’s be honest, the hotness level wasn’t all that high to begin with). The designers’ personalities are starting to show … which is good … ‘cuz now we can determine who we love and who we hate ;)

PS: I love me some Natalie Portman but she was totally forgettable. Yawn city. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.

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