Sophie Okonedo’s acting talent speaks for itself: She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and on stage in her native London, before receiving an Oscar nomination for her breakthrough role as Don Cheadle’s wife in the 2004 film “Hotel Rwanda.”... Full Article at AccessAtlanta

Almost every year, it seems there are complaints about it being a bad year for women's roles. For some reason, that buzz is especially loud for 2009, as critics are making their year-end lists and finding the women's categories falling short. Full Article at Backstage

The NBR is an unreliable indicator of Oscars except for this: usually only one of the top five prize winners will go on to get an Academy Award. The question is usually: which one? I cannot understand the adulation for Precious. Full Article at Entertainment Weekly

There is a pivotal scene in "Skin," a truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story plucked out of South Africa's apartheid, when young Sandra Laing's father shouts the good news to the family -- "She's white again." Full Article at Chicago Tribune

November 11, 2009 From being a cheerful child, Sandra now grows into a troubled adolescent (Sophie Okonedo) who tries to bleach her skin. Her parents set up two disastrous dates with white boys. Full Article at Chicago Sun-Times

<strong><span class="subhead">Skin</span></strong></p><p>****</p><p><strong>PG-13 (thematic material, some violence and sexuality); 107 min.</strong></p><p>To say that truth can be stranger than fiction may be a clich&eacute;, but there are times when... Full Article at DFW.com