Woody Allen has had a long and eclectic career in Hollywood. Few directors are as reliable or consistent, and “Blue Jasmine” is another great addition to the legendary director’s repertoire. Not only does it touch on a lot of timely themes, but it boasts a riveting central performance by Cate Blanchett, one that is almost guaranteed to earn her an Academy Award.

When Jasmine’s (Cate Blanchett) marriage to wealthy businessman Hal (Alec Baldwin) ends in turmoil, the shallow housewife is forced to move in with her sister (Sally Hawkins) in her San Francisco apartment to start her life anew. It’s a lot easier said than done, though, given that Jasmine has grown accustomed to living the high-life and fraternizing with New York’s social elite. The thought of living like everyone else is a very difficult pill to swallow for Jasmine, and boy does she struggle. As the story unfolds, we learn more and more about what really happened between Jasmine and her husband, and why they ended up broke and divorced in the first place.

Harry Potter is coming to the stage.

J.K. Rowling says she is working on a play about the boy wizard's life before he attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Finding a knockoff version of the fur you want under the Christmas tree would ordinarily be a disappointment.

Not this year.

Singing star Adele has been honored at Buckingham Palace, being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles.

The 25-year-old with the soulful voice has become a worldwide star since her debut album topped the charts in 2008.

Disney delves into its own history in "Saving Mr. Banks," a movie about the difficult birth of the classic film "Mary Poppins," wrenched from a tale by a reluctant British author.

Tom Hanks plays Walt Disney, who used all his sunny Californian charms to persuade writer P.L. Travers, played by Emma Thompson, to allow him to use the story.

Just a week before Christmas, a former Lebanese pop star and heartthrob turned Islamist fugitive has released a song about Jesus.

Once adored by women across the Arab world for his warm voice and good looks, Fadel Shaker gave up pop music in 2011, when he became a follower of a radical Sunni Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir.

The News of the World hacked voice-mail messages from Prince William to Kate Middleton in which the heir to the throne called his future wife "babykins", a British court heard Thursday.

The messages were obtained by police and read out during the trial over phone-hacking at the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, which was shut down in disgrace in July 2011.

Beyonce's new album was so secret, one of its producers only knew of its release 90 minutes before it dropped.

Beyonce released her self-titled album in surprise form last week. Ryan Tedder produced the single "XO," and he learned about the release not long before it went public.

It was a year for pixie haircuts, chunky flat shoes, bangs on our first lady and bare skin ... lots of it, on movie actresses and pop stars. Fashion always has its royalty, and this year, Kerry Washington was a queen. For real royalty, we hadKate Middleton, making the rest of us mortals feel a little better by flashing her mommy tummy. If Kate made us feel good, Lululemon didn't, when its chairman appeared to blame women's own bodies for problems with those popular yoga pants. A look back at these and other key fashion moments of 2013:

MICHELLE'S BANGS:

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actress Zhang Ziyi has reached an undisclosed settlement with a U.S.-based dissident news website that she sued for libel after it published reports that she was paid to have sex with Chinese government officials.

Boxun News retracted its "negative and untrue" reports that began in May 2012 in an apology displayed on its English-language site on Wednesday.