Moviegoing audiences might be reluctant to venture into the January cold to go see a subtitled domestic drama set in Tehran with no music score, but, rest assured, "A Separation" is no grueling work of exotic miserablism. Director Asghar Farhadi has described the film as "a detective story without any detectives," and that's as apt a description of the flick as you're likely to find. "A Separation" is a fascinatingly complex film told with the urgency of a Hollywood thriller. There have been few movies I've seen this past year that were more riveting, literally edge-of-your-seat riveting, than this one.

The film opens with a bourgeois couple, Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Moaadi), discussing the dissolution of their marriage with an off-screen undefined authority figure. Simin wants a divorce so that she can make a life abroad with her 11-year-old daughter, Termeh, while her husband wants to stay put, in part because his aging father is suffering from Alzheimer's. It's the

Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Hollywood's top stars, including George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Steven Spielberg, attend the Golden Globe Awards next week they will sip vintage champagne and nibble edible gold.

Golden flakes will top their dessert following a meal that chef Suki Sugiura will prepare using foods flown in from around the world for the event, which is one of Hollywood's most-watched film and television awards shows.

But unlike the film world's Oscars or TV's Emmys, where stars sit side-by-side in a theater, guests at the Golden Globes are treated to a gourmet meal by the event's organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Moet & Chandon, which has been the official champagne for the Golden Globes for 21 years, will serve its traditional Imperial mini bottles on the red carpet to arriving guests.

Inside the venue guests will sip its Grand Vintage 2002 for the first time.

Five hundred magnums of the 2002, which was bottled and has been sitting for seven years --

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImageBrad Pitt can't always lean on Angelina Jolie when he's in pain -- which might explain why he's using a cane!

PHOTOS: Brad Pitt's sexiest hairstyles

The 48-year-old actor stepped out in Beverly Hills Thursday with the aid of a walking stick. "He tore his MCL," a source tells Just Jared, explaining that Pitt injured one of four ligaments that stabilizes the knee joint.

VIDEO: Brad Pitt nuzzles Angelina Jolie on the red carpet

The cause of the World War Z actor's injury is not yet known -- nor is the reason he chose to wear an all black jumpsuit.

PHOTOS: Brangelina's PDA moments

As of now, Pitt is still expected to walk the red carpet at the 69th Annual Golden Globes on January 15. The Tree of Lifeactor is nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama alongside George Clooney (The Descendants), Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Michael Fassbender (Shame) and Ryan Gosling(The Ides of March).

Jake Gyllenhaal, Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman are among the first presenters announced Monday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for the upcoming Golden Globe Awards.

The organization additionally revealed that Antonio Banderas,Clive Owen, Melissa McCarthy, Salma Hayek and Frieda Pinto will join the trio as presenters on Sunday.

Ricky Gervais on hosting the Globes: "I do it my way"

"This is a prestigious group of charismatic stars that fits perfectly with our reputation as Hollywood's party of the year," Barry Adelman, executive producer of the Globes, said in a statement.

Hosted by Ricky Gervais, the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards will be broadcast live Sunday at 8/7c on NBC.

The New York Film Critics Circle laid down the red carpet last night at Manhattan's Crimson, and Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, Robert De Niro, Albert Brooks, and Jessica Chastain all stepped up. If you couldn't make the dinner, which remains stubbornly untelevised, here are three things you missed:

1) A big question was whether Angelina Jolie would join Brad Pitt, who was honored as best actor for "Moneyball" and "The Tree of Life," even though "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was not named Best First Feature. The answer: She was definitely there supporting Pitt. The pair mingled with critics and guests, relaxed and chatty despite being ringed by security guards capable of protecting Barack Obama.

Jolie said she and Pitt had taken the red eye to New York so that they wouldn't miss any part of  their daughter Zahara's seventh birthday. 

Onstage, Pitt accepted his award and waxed nostalgic about his first

Despite reports that Sofia Vergara saved a woman's life in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve, the "Modern Family" star explained to Access Hollywood Live's Billy Bush and Kit Hoover that it was simply a case of too much celebrating.

"I didn't save her life!" the actress said on Monday's Access Hollywood Live . "I was at Hyde, a club in Vegas, and when we were leaving some woman just passed out. It was horrible because she just collapsed."

PLAY IT NOW: Gerard Butler Talks 2012 Golden Globes Announcement

Despite being decked out to celebrate the coming of 2012, Sofia sprang into action.

"I went running with the high heels and champagne," she continued. "My cousin is a doctor, so I was screaming for her in case it was something really bad."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Golden Globes 2012: And The Movie Nominees Are…

But, the actress and her cousin quickly figured the woman had only been celebrating a bit too much.

"My cousin and I just realized she was just drunk," Sofia told Billy and Kit. "We just stayed

While the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which votes for the Golden Globes, tends to be more adventurous in its choices than the traditionally stodgier academies handing out Emmys, it never goes far enough for our taste in terms of rewarding the truly deserving programs and performers. Here's who we think will take home gold on January 15 -- and who actually deserves to.

Best Television Series - Drama

"American Horror Story"

"Boardwalk Empire"

"Boss"

"Game of Thrones"

"Homeland"

Deserves to win: Hands down the most compelling season of television belonged to "Homeland," but the show isn't as flashy or buzzy as some of its competitors. And it's a show with a terrorist as its lead, so it might be a bit of a hard sell to the HPFA's international audience (even though it's based on an Israeli program).

Will win: The shocking ending of "Boardwalk Empire" pretty much solidified a win for this HBO drama. It's not fantasy like "Game of Thrones" or horror like "American Horror Story" or

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagicI'm not crying for Angelina Jolie. Still, one downside to celebrity is that the individual gets pigeon-holed. Every time Angelina strays from what the public and the media expect, she takes a risk. Steal Jen's man? OK. Get a new tattoo? All right. Adopt a kid? So Mia Farrow!

But write, direct, and produce a serious movie? Wait a minute. Has she gone too far?

Case in point: Angelina's directorial debut, the R-rated "In the Land of Blood and Honey." Here's a serious-as-death drama. It's in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, with English subtitles. It stars unknowns with unpronounceable names. Read: box-office poison.

On its opening weekend, "Blood and Honey" earned $18,854 playing in three theaters. Its first week found a gross of $55,000. That's not even Angelina's nanny budget. In contrast, even the roundly slammed "The Tourist" opened at $16 million and eventually turned a profit, with an international gross of $278 million.

And, despite a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign-language