This Amelia Never Takes Off

Rediscovered 1937 photo may show her plane near Pacific atoll

(NEWSER) - Some 75 years after Amelia Earhart and her navigator disappeared over the South Pacific in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe, the State Department is backing another search for her and her plane. The new search, to be launched this summer, will focus on deep waters around the remote atoll of Nikumaroro. A newly discovered photo taken just months after her disappearance in 1937 shows what some believe is part of her plane's landing gear, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hillary Clinton will discuss the search today, and praise Earhart, the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo, as a pioneer for women and a model of American courage, according to State Department officials. More»

Dakota Fanning-Kristen Stewart vehicle divides critics

(NEWSER) - Critics praise the performances in The Runaways, about Joan Jett's seminal '70s band, but whether the flick succeeds is up for debate. Some takes:

• "Say what you will about the Runaways," Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone , but "they never played it safe. The movie does." He wants more out of the verboten relationship between Dakota Fanning's Cherie Currie and Kristen Stewart's Jett. Still, "Fanning scores a knockout."

Tale of black girl born to white parents taps apartheid's madness

(NEWSER) - A true-life tale of the struggles of a dark-skinned girl born to white Afrikaners in '50s South Africa, Skin scored with critics, though some found it a bit too black-and-white.

• Skin "serves as a stirring allegory for birthright and the assertion of one's identity in the face of oppression," writes Michael Rechtshaffen at the Hollywood Reporter . "But the fact that it's actually based on a true story adds an extra layer of poignancy."

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»

(NEWSER) - Dual biopic Julie & Julia would have been a lot better if it had focused solely on Julia Child, say critics, but Meryl Streep's performance as the famous chef more than compensates for the second, weaker storyline about a blogger who tackles Child's recipes.

• Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: Nora Ephron's "ode to food, obsession and finding one's bliss" is "one-half delightful and one-half disappointing; luckily, the delightful part stays with you while the rest fades away."