When their daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) at the age of 2, Sara and Brian Fitzgerald (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) are willing to do whatever it takes to save her life. And once her doctor explains that her best chance at beating the disease lies in finding a stem cell donor who's an exact genetic match, they decide to have another child, knowing that they can achieve their goal via in vitro fertilization. . . .

Ambitious, NYC publishing executive Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) has been too busy clawing her way to the top of the corporate ladder to pay attention to anything but her career. In fact, the pampered narcissist tends to delegate what she considers trivial matters such as making "midnight Tampax runs" to her long-suffering secretary, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). This is why the Canadian national has also been ignoring repeated requests from the U.S. government to renew her work visa. . . .

America has long romanticized war in movies as a patriotic exhibition of bravery and as an unquestioned rite of passage for boys of many a generation. Have you ever stopped to wonder why we glamorize war? "Saving Private Ryan" received won five Oscars and grossed over $200,000,000 at the box office. . . .

When the recession threatens to sink Fairfax Furniture, owner Helen Fairfax (Leanor Reizen) realizes she has to cut costs in order to save the family business. After all, it's located in Detroit, one of the places hardest hit by the sagging economy because of its failing auto industry. . . .

In 2000, the Wayans Brothers made a big splash with "Scary Movie," a hilarious spoof of horror flicks ... Now the Wayans have returned to the genre with "Dance Flick," a spoof of dance films featuring plenty of their relatives both in front of and behind the camera. .... Recently, Shawn and Damien shared their thoughts with me not only about making the movie but about being members of a family which has become as associated with acting as families with pedigreed thespian lineages like the Barrymores, the Phoenixes, the Fondas, the Bridges, the Baldwins, the Arquettes and the Redgraves. . . .

"X-Men Origins" is an over-plotted prequel devoted to developing the back story of Wolverine, aka James Logan, the short-fused superhero capable of morphing in an instant into a steel-clawed assassin. Hugh Jackman reprises the role he's played in the popular franchise's prior installments, and the versatile thespian rises to the demanding challenge of carrying a star vehicle. . . .

... this 6-DVD set revisits the Yankees at their very best, as it focuses on a half-dozen no-hitters from the storied franchise's salad days. The first disc contains Don Larsen's perfect game thrown during the 1956 World Series against the. . . .

On Nov. 2, 2000, drug enforcement agents executed a sweep of the black community in the tiny town of Hearne, Texas, arresting 27 African-American residents, including a grieving father who was taken into custody during the funeral of his young daughter. The bench warrants had been issued by the county on the word of an informant who claimed to have purchased crack from each of the accused, despite the fact that the ex-con was the sole eyewitness, had a history of mental illness, and was himself facing criminal charges at the time. . . .

Since Barack Obama has decided to take the high road by not holding any members of the outgoing Bush administration accountable for war profiteering via no-bid contracts, for torturing terror suspects in violation of the Geneva Conventions, for outing a CIA agent or for other high crimes and misdemeanors, shouldn't Hollywood be prepared to forgive all those transgressions, too?
This is the question likely to cross your mind while watching "State of Play," a flick with a fairly transparent, political agenda posing as an edge-of-your-seat thriller. . . .

What's the truth about Abraham Lincoln? Was he really the man mythologized as "The Great Emancipator" and a champion of equality for African-Americans? Or was he, as some detractors say, a racist only freed the slaves as a last resort to save the Union because the North was losing the Civil War. Or still again, was he, as unrepentant rebels still describe, a traitor of Southern whites who single-handedly ruined the nation forever with the Emancipation Proclamation.
These are the divergent points-of-view of the 16th President of the United States presented in Looking for Lincoln, a DVD of the PBS Series . . .