The Evening Standard’s Derek Malcolm is equally damning, stating: "The absence of a decent screenplay doesn’t help the energetic actors, and Madonna has far to go before she can breathe the same air as Godard, Pasolini, Fellini and Visconti."

Madonna leads charity charge - Feb 7 2008
Madonna and Gucci have helped raise £1.8 million for poor children around the world at a charity dinner.

The star-studded benefit dinner and live auction was hosted by Chris Rock under a big tent on the north lawn of the United Nations.

Organisers said the proceeds would be collected by the Gucci Foundation and split among Raising Malawi, a group that operates under The Kabbalah Centre International, and the US Fund for Unicef, which supports the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Gucci, which paid the costs, linked the event to the opening of its Manhattan flagship store on 5th Avenue.

"I’ve earned a reputation for many things: pushing the envelope, for being a provocateur, for never taking no for an answer. For endlessly reinventing myself, for being a cult member, a kidnapper. For being ambitious, outrageous and irreverent. And for never settling for second best," Madonna told the dinner.

"But I don’t just want you to write me a cheque. I’m more interested in your heart," she said.

A red carpet reception drew stars such as Drew Barrymore, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Amy Adams, Brooke Shields, Salma Hayek, Djimon Hounsou, Dita Von Teese and UNICEF Ambassadors Tea Leoni and Lucy Liu, followed by a cocktail party with the likes of real estate magnate Donald Trump and media mogul Barry Diller.

Tom Cruise bid £50,000 for a sports package that included a private hour playing soccer with David Beckham, but lost out to a bidder who paid £175,000.

Madonna named as music’s top earner - Jan 30 2008
She’s often referred to as the Queen of Pop and it’s clearly a title that Madonna deserves - she’s been named the top earner in music.

The 49-year-old beat rivals like Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Shakira and Beyonce to be the highest earning music superstar in the past year, in a list published by Forbes.com.

According to Forbes, Madonna banked 72 million dollars between June 2006 and July 2007 - earnings combined from her Confessions world tour, record sales and her fashion collection with H&M.

"Madonna remains a visionary, even now, some 30 years after she broke into the music business," explains Lea Goldman, Forbes’ senior editor.

"Beyond all the superlatives she’s been assigned over her legendary career - master of reinvention, brilliant performer - one of her least talked about assets is her uncanny sense of where the music industry is going.

"Madonna makes more money than any other female musicians - more money than most musicians - because in an industry quite literally turned upside down in recent years, Madonna is a pioneer in new business models."

She adds: "She gets that it’s not enough to perform. She is every inch a businesswoman as much as an artist."

Madonna’s celebratory holiday - Jan 2 2008
Madonna has reportedly spent £100,000 on a holiday in a sumptuous palace after winning the right to keep her two-year-old adopted son David Banda.

The singer and her family - husband Guy and her other children Lourdes, 11 and seven-year-old Rocco - boarded a private jet to India on New Year’s Eve, reports The Sun.

The 49-year-old booked into a £2,000-a-night suite at Jaipur’s Ummed Bhavan Palace hotel - after declaring money was no object.

Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar wed at the venue last year.