December 25, 2006

“Children of Men,” the superbly directed political thriller by Alfonso Cuarón, may be something of a bummer, but it’s the kind of glorious bummer that lifts you to the rafters.

Could it be that the lad magazine genre, which includes publications like Maxim, is keeling over on its way to middle age?

Manohla Dargis reviews film Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron; Clive Owen and Julianne Moore star; photos (M)

New York University's development office sets 98 full-time staff members on hunt for average of $1 million every day in donations as part of $2.5 billion fund-raising effort; major tool is software that makes it feasible to search databases containing ever-growing details of individuals' wealth; Debra LaMorte, head of development office, says 'there's a real science' to modern fund-raising, from electronic screening of public records to parsing through out-of-state ZIP code directories in wealthy areas, seeking alumni; LaMorte was recruited to help with fund-raising in 2002, when university had no way to reach more than half its 350,000 alumni; today, office has reliable addresses for about 325,000 graduates and has development officers dedicated to fund-raising out of state; photo (M)

Investment houses like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley are awarding bonuses as high as $60 million to their top bankers and traders after year of record profits; select group of hedge fund managers and private equity executives may be taking home even more; 2006 bonus gold rush has re-energized some luxury markets, like Manhattan real estate market; photos (M)