Australia ** When you name your movie after a country, it's pretty obvious that you're not trying to make a grungy little indie about, say, convenience stores. Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" is a big, bold historical epic with sweeping cinematography, grand passions and lots of cattle. Nicole Kidman is the starchy English chick who inherits a big spread, as well as hunky cow man Hugh Jackman. ...more

March 5, 2009

The quality of "Saturday Night Live" season premieres is almost always on the shaky side, and the 34th season debut was no exception. It took off, however, like a skyrocket. ...more

September 15, 2008

Tommy Lee Jones is suing the makers of "No Country for Old Men" for more than $10 million that the Oscar-winning actor claims he is owed for starring in the 2007 hit crime thriller. ...more

September 7, 2008

Add "The Middleman" to my summer guilty pleasures. This cheerfully goofy and intentionally spoofy (if I can use that as a word) sci-fi action series debuted last week on ABC Family, a network I almost never watch. ...more

June 20, 2008

As usual in Hollywood, Oscar night looks like the same people will generally be collecting the same prizes. Yet some suspense remains for a few of the main awards. A look at the key categories: ...more

February 24, 2008

The crime tale "No Country for Old Men," the oil saga "There Will Be Blood" and the legal drama "Michael Clayton" were among critical favorites that landed on the American Film Institute's list of the year's 10 best movies. ...more

December 17, 2007

OPENING August Rush 1/2 A musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) uses his talent (and help from a stranger played by Robin Williams) to search for his parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), who he's never met. Review, Page 5. 112 minutes (PG; mild violence and profanity) ...more

November 23, 2007

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH **½ The title is a bit of a head-scratcher but the message is unmistakable. Writer-director Paul Haggis couldn't have made it more clear if he'd blared it from a bullhorn - and in the film's final image, he practically does. ...more

September 21, 2007