Once (directed by John Carney) Have you ever had a certain beloved record so often on repeat that you start to think of it as the soundtrack to your life? That magical connection between music, emotion and experience is at the heart of the new musical Once and it makes for a truly unique movie. A vacuum cleaner repairman by day and a Dublin street busker by night, "The Guy" (Glen Hansard) is obviously nursing......

Finally! At 5:42 this morning snow began falling in Central Park. At 7 a.m. observers in the park recorded the first measurable snowfall of the season. Thus the latest date for the first measurable snowfall in a winter season still belongs to January 29th, 1970. By 7:47 this morning thousands of people were observed taking photographs of the astonishing half-inch of snow. Snow also fell in Southern California yesterday. Across Europe a massive storm,......

And like that, the United States run in the 2006 World Cup is over. Four years of hard work is down the drain as the US Men's National Team scored only one goal in their three-game German experience. Ghana eliminated the United States in group play today by defeating them 2-1 and Italy defeated the Czech Republic 2-0. The lone American goal of the tournament was scored by Clint Dempsey in the 43rd minute of......

Everyone that is following the 2006 World Cup knows that the United States is in trouble. After losing 3-0 to the Czech Republic in the opening game, the Americans are essentially in a must-win situation. While Ghana's huge 2-0 upset of the Czech Republic in earlier Group E action means that the United States can't be eliminated today, a win would certainly improve their chances of advancing. Bruce Arena has already made two lineup changes......

It was never going to be easy for the United States to advance to the next round of the World Cup, but after Monday’s 3-0 shellacking, it looks like it may be impossible. The Czech Republic scored five minutes into the game on a beautiful header by Jan Koller and the U.S. never recovered. Claudio Reyna came close to scoring a goal for the U.S. side, but his shot deflected off the post. Reyna was......

April 22: Taste of Chinatown Rain or shine, For merely a few dollars per plate you can explore many of the dishes offered by Chinatown's best restaurants. Taste local favorites like the pork fried dumplings from Fried Dumpling, summer rolls from Pho Viet Huong, Malaysian Curry Noodles from Jaya, and bubble tea from Ten Ren. And don't forget the fortune cookie writing contest. On Baxter, Bayard, Doyers, Mosco, Mott, Mulberry and Pell Sts. 1–6pm. Call......

It was an ugly end for the U.S. hockey team. They came out of the gate flat, fell behind 2-0, took some stupid penalties and then complained about a lack of free airline tickets after their 4-3 loss to Finland. While the result is disappointing, it is not surprising since the U.S. team clearly didn’t have the talent they did in 2002. Finland advances to the semifinals along with Sweden, the Czech Republic and Russia......

As the disappointment on the mountain continues, history was made in Torino yesterday in the premier event in speedskating. Shani Davis became the first African-American to win a gold medal in Winter Olympic history, and only the third black athlete to win a winter medal ever, as he skated to victory in the men's 1,000 meter race. The victory must have been especially sweet for Davis as he trained by himself in Canada, apart from......

It is the most watched sporting event in the world and while the US has participated the last four times, they are still viewed as novices in the sport the everyone else refers to as football. Friday was the drawing for the 2006 World Cup, which will be played in Germany, and if the US team does well this time around, they will eliminate any doubts about their soccer prowess. The US team will be......

There's a full week of screenings ahead at the 43rd New York Film Festival, including three of the most anticipated American films in the entire program. But as we also mentioned in the most recent Weekly Movie Guide, tonight at 7:30 PM is a very special sidebar event at the Walter Reade Theater: "Greeneland: Graham Greene and the Cinema", a presentation/lecture/screening organized by Adrian Wootton, the former Director of the London Film Festival and current......

Wine Spectator reports that Austrian haute stemware maker Riedel has merged with rival F.X. Nachtmann, the German manufacturer of the nearly 500-year-old Spiegelau brand of glassware. These first- and second-tier (respectively) goblet makers -- who revolutionized the stemware industry by convincing wealthy boozers that they need a different size and shape of glass for every varietal, appelation, and style of wine or spirit available -- are now poised to dominate the market for lead-crystal......

The 2004 US Open kicked off with a bang last night, as evidenced by Serena William’s latest attire. Williams, never one to shy away from spectacle, dispatched Sandra Kleinova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in a just 53 minutes. What did her opponent think of Williams threads?"I tried not to look at it," Kleinova explained later. When asked if she wear an outfit like that Kleinova said "No, I'm not that kind of......

Rachel Johnson, Filmmaker...

USA Hockey announced the roster for the 2004 World Cup of Hockey yesterday. By the time the tournament starts, it will have been eight years since the U.S. last won the tournament. The tournament starts August 30th and ends on September 14th in Toronto. Competing countries include the United States, Canada, Russia, Sweeden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Germany. Locally, Rick DiPietro and Jason Blake of the Islanders and Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rafalski......

Wendy Mitchell, indieWIRE...