I know, I know: Does the world really need one more documentary about the Kennedy assassination? I don't know that producer/writer/director Robert Stone asked himself that question specifically, but he certainly found his answer with Oswald's Ghost: in this case, a very qualified yes.

Originally broadcast as part of PBS's long-running (and generally excellent) American Experience series, Oswald's Ghost focuses not so much on the assassination itself, the single greatest source of conspiracy theories ever. Rather, Stone takes a mostly historiographic approach to the subject, examining how journalists, historians, writers, and researchers, as well as the general public, responded to the event, the Warren Commission report, and the countervailing conspiracy theories that emerged in the wake of those watershed 20th century events.

Stone traces the impact of these events through their twisted aftermath, including New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison's notorious grandstanding in prosecuting businessman Clay Shaw, the public debate that occasionally cropped up on TV news programs, the reenactments and congressional committees, and so on. Stone's broad perspective could've been broader, though; aside from Norman Mailer, defenders of the lone gunman position are not heard from.  

Resolved: There are enough reviews of The Great Debaters that begin with the word "resolved." And for those who haven't seen the movie, the word appears only a handful of times in a limited number of scenes, as the introduction to each formal debate. So instead, like the movie, I will argue the affirmative by focusing less on the debates, and more on the painfully obvious dichotomy that drives the film, one that nearly destroyed twentieth-century America: white/black.

In 1935, there was a bloody line between white and black, one that linked the two races as much as it affirmed their mutual exclusion. The Great Debaters explores the lives of those who tried to cross the line, erase the line, or simply pretend it did not exist. Scripted by Robert Eisele, directed by Denzel Washington, and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Debaters tells the true story of a small-town, African-American debate team that rose to challenge one of America's greatest (and whitest) universities. Though we need only reference history to see how the story ends, the film delivers a realistic and riveting experience that few books could convey.

It is amazing that a story as dark as Sweeney Todd's (in its various incarnations) has survived for more than 200 years. Its origins are uncertain, but its enduring popularity isn't. In repeated tellings, publications, stagings, old Sweeney has variously been a greedy, bloodthirsty butcher in the guise of a barber, or, in Christopher Bond's 1973 drama, a falsely imprisoned man seeking revenge on the powerful judge who wronged him.

That's the version that Stephen Sondheim crafted into a celebrated (if remarkably dark, even given the source material) musical in 1979, which originally starred Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury. "Murder, She Baked," I guess you could call it.

You could call Sweeney Todd -- Tim Burton's stylish bloodbath version -- "Murder, They Sang, and Kept on Singing." Burton's film is a visual achievement, from the lushly oppressive sets to the nearly sepia-toned cinematography, and the rich, brilliantly textured music (to say nothing of the wickedly funny, and at times winsome, lyrics) of Sondheim.

 

It's in the execution of all these elements that things don't quite gel the way I had hoped they would, even though there are breathtaking moments.

Half of this year's 10 highest-grossing movies were sequels, and four of those five were "threequels," as Hollywood studios posted a new record box office total in 2007, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Indeed, six studios exceed $1 billion in grosses, the first time that's ever happened.

Spider-Man 3 topped 'em all, registering $336.5 million in grosses, followed by Shrek the Third at $321 million. Leading the nonsequels was Transformers, which brought in $319.1 million and came in third overall.

Total box office hit $9.62 billion in 2007, which was 5 percent over 2006 and 4 percent over the previous record, set in 2002. The better news for the studios is the increase in ticket sales, which nudged 1 percent higher over last year at 1.41 billion sold. That was the highest total since 2004. (Economists tend to view ticket sales as more relevant figure, as inflation tends to pad revenue figures.)

One of the more lucrative trends for theaters and chains has been the introduction of digital projectors, which are responsible for the growth of on-screen advertising.

As for ticket prices, we paid an average of $6.82 to get in, according to estimates from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

A complete list of the top 25 releases is here.

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Sacha Baron Cohen, best known as Borat and Ali G from his hit HBO series, may be up for the lead role as '60s radical activist Abbie Hoffman in what may well be Stephen Spielberg's next film, The Trial of the Chicago Seven.

 

The film will tell the story of the seven activists, including Hoffman and his Yippie counterparts, who were charged with inciting a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Their trial was itself a bizarre media event, filled with pranks and outbursts.

Cohen has officially retired the Borat character following the success (and controversy) of the 2006 film, Borat: Cultural Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. He can currently be seen in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Spielberg's representatives have not confirmed the report, which originally appeared in London's Sunday Times.

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