Julianne vs. Cate. Plus: What's Wrong With Hugo's Face?

Have you ever seen the movie Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)? It's really quite good. The movie plays something like a fly on the wall rehearsal documentary of a stage production of Anton Chekov's immortal "Uncle Vanya." It marked the first important clue that Julianne Moore was going to be a major screen goddess (unless you count Short Cuts as just that, which some do) and it also gave Brooke Smith

Love 'em and Leave 'em? A Brief Memory of Russell Crowe.

Have you ever loved a performance so much that your subsequent disinterest in the same actor is actually hard to wrap your head around? That's me when it comes to Russell Crowe.I love everything about him in L.A. Confidential... but in particular the way he looks at Kim Basinger. God, the way he looks at her. It's just riveting. He easily made my Best Actor shortlist in 1997. For the record it

What if "Australia" Had Ended Here?

On this very day in 1939, Australia's Northern Standard incorrectly assumed that The Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) and her Drover (Hugh Jackman) had both perished in the Kuraman Desert!Newspapers. They've always had it rough; The second you publish something it's ancient history.Just as soon as this news was making the rounds the lady and her cattle driving man, rode into town in a cloud of

Animal Kingdom To Rack Up Awards (...In Australia)

Remember that one year (2001) when the list-happy AFI (American Film Institute) decided to compete with the Globes and the Oscars in year end prizes? No, that didn't last long. But there's another AFI, The Australian Film Institute, that has been around for a long time and is in no such danger of being a one-off. This year, they're all about the amazing family crime drama Animal Kingdom which