Gals Need Great Coming-of-Age Flick, Too

Mob rushes stage amid 'Bieber Fever'

(NEWSER) - Australian authorities have canceled a concert by 16-year-old Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber after screaming fans mobbed the performance site, causing injuries and several teens to faint and hyperventilate. Bieber was to sing 3 songs at a Sydney Harbor venue for a TV broadcast today. But the gig was nixed when police became concerned about safety after thousands of girls surged toward the stage and ignored authorities' demands to disperse, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. More»

If you're not sick of Michael Cera, you'll probably like it

(NEWSER) - Youth in Revolt was shot in early 2008, which, Ty Burr of the Boston Globe notes, was “before some of us started getting tired of watching Michael Cera play Michael Cera.” If you aren’t tired of Cera’s adorably dorky shtick, you’ll find Youth a sharp and funny, if familiar, effort. Here’s what critics are saying:

• Miraculously, Youth “has enough charm to make us feel something for its shy, gangly protagonist,” writes Stephanie Zacharek for Salon , “and enough bite to keep us from wanting to kill him.”

In utero exposure linked to different behaviors

(NEWSER) - Pregnant women's exposure to plastics is "feminizing" the baby boys they give birth to, researchers have found. Heightened in utero exposure to plastics is linked to reduced interest by boys in "rough and tumble" play and also to more typically masculine toys, like trucks, trains and guns, found the study by New York's University of Rochester. More»

Star breaks ground on $15M project in children's homeland

(NEWSER) - Construction on a Malawian school for girls founded by Madonna began today. The singer has put up $15 million for the creation of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, which is expected to be finished in 2 years, the BBC reports. "Growing up in a privileged life, I took education for granted, but coming to Malawi has taught me a lot of things, and to learn to appreciate what life gives," Madonna said at today's ribbon-cutting ceremony. More»

Female protagonist is a poor argument for stodgy Amelia

(NEWSER) - This weekend's battle at the multiplex, where sci-fi trounced Amelia Earhart, has carried over into the world of virtual opinion. Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday fired the first shot, and Sady Doyle fires back, explaining that she senses a “note of condescension.” See Amelia, Hornaday implores. “No Manolo Blahniks! No Abba! No vampires!” “Yes,” Doyle responds. But “no good reviews, either!” And why should women be forced to see “movies with ‘strong female protagonists,’ whether or not they want to?” More»