Columbia Pictures

A few years ago I wrote a piece about "drop-in movies," the perennials in frequent rotation on cable TV that catch your attention for 10 or 15 minutes as you're flipping through channels before heading off to bed.  

BoxOffice Last week's gross revenues at North American theaters for the top 20 films, followed by the total amount grossed in millions and number of weeks in release in parentheses.  

Gautam Singh, The Associated Press

Monday dawned with celebration in India as word spread that "Slumdog Millionaire" had snagged eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.  

"How about this guy Whitacre?" a Justice Department lawyer marvels. "He's making three hundred and fifty grand a year and he turns informer. When does that happen?"  

20th Century Fox

Hugh Jackman seems more than willing to make this prequel growl playing the most interesting of X-Men, cigar-chomping Logan-Wolverine. Liev Schreiber is at the ready, too, as brother and nemesis Victor. So what dulls Wolverine's new "adamantium" claws? An unresolved tension.  

Miramax Films

From the director of "Superbad" comes a pretty good comedy. Greg Mottola's semi-autobiographical film proves he has a feel for the gentle as much as the base.  

Universal Pictures

Forgive it the dull title. This conspiracy thriller comes at us like a bat out of hell and keeps up a brisk rhythm built for intelligence. Russell Crowe as Washington Globe reporter Cal McAffrey, Helen Mirren is his editor, and Rachel McAdams is a talented (and cost-effective) blogger.  

Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

Adam and Beth meet awkwardly in the basement of their New York apartment house. She's a vivacious schoolteacher new to the building. He's an electrical engineer who appears, at times, new to any manner of social interaction.  

Universal Pictures

In the three movies Judd Apatow has directed, his wife, Leslie Mann, has taken on progressively larger roles.  

Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post

The title conjures up a Stephen King flick: "The Cove." And indeed, with its eerie, night-vision camera footage and the frantic communications of characters involved in a very special op, the award-winning documentary plays like a thriller.