Thank You for Smoking – I've never understood why Aaron Eckhart wasn't a big leading-man kind of star.  He's got the looks.  He's got the chops.  He's got the chin.  So what gives?

Smoking should help Eckhart take a big step toward that level of stardom (if not, at least in part, due to the bizarre bidding skirmish the debut from Jason "Son of Ivan" Reitman caused, resulting in two studios insisting they had nabbed the distribution rights). Eckhart plays Nick Naylor, the silver-tongued chief spokesman for Big Tobacco and a weekend father to Joey (Birth's Cameron Bright).  The film, adapted by Reitman from Christopher Buckley's novel, follows Nick as he spins the truth while defending a product he knows is dangerous.  

Predictably, a moment arrives in which Nick is forced to finally question his own ethical standards.  Unpredictable, however, is the amount of style Reitman injects into Smoking.  You don't expect this kind of thing from a comedy, unless it was made by the Coen brothers.  The supporting cast is a blast, featuring a pre-brain washing Katie Holmes, a hysterical but woefully underused Adam Brody, Rob Lowe playing Treat Williams playing Michael Ovitz, Sam Elliott as the Marlboro Man, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, and J.K. Simmons, who has practically cornered the market on roles involving insane, over-the-top bosses.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada – Mexican immigrant Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo) is accidentally shot and killed by an over-ambitious border patrol officer (Barry Pepper).  Mel's best friend, Pete (director Tommy Lee Jones), looks to right this wrong by doing two things: Taking Mel's corpse to his hometown in Mexico for burial; and exacting the appropriate amount of revenge on the man responsible for the murder.

I'm not giving away any of Burials' story, since neither the actual burials nor the investigation into the killing are the real meat of the film.  Of the picture's four chapters, the most impressive, most important, and longest is the one titled, "The Journey," in which the real story lies.  With its deliciously fractured script (from Cannes winner Guillermo Arriaga, 21 Grams), Tex-Mex border setting, and casting of an actor better known for singing in the role of a law enforcement officer (Dwight Yoakam), one can't help but compare Burials to John Sayles' wonderful Lone Star, only with a little of Bob Dylan's "Isis" thrown into the mix.  Honestly – and I love Lone Star's script like none other – I think this might be better.  It's certainly the basis for any success Jones finds behind the camera (I think even Michael Bay couldn't ruin an Arriaga script).

Jones (Best Actor at Cannes) conjures up his best performance ever, and is nearly matched by a strong supporting cast, especially 21 Grams vet Melissa Leo.  This is the real deal, kids.

A Little Trip to Heaven – Any time a movie features a story involving the investigation of a murder in Minnesota, you're going to think of Fargo, which immediately puts any imitator in a very bad position in terms of comparison.  That's one of the problems with Heaven, directed by Icelandic writer/director Baltasar Kormákur.  Another is the extremely bizarre accent worn by Forest Whitaker, who plays insurance loss-adjustor Holt, sent to investigate a car crash that has left the victim's sister, a local woman named Isold (Julia Stiles). a millionaire.  Holt thinks there's something suspicious happening with Isold's husband (Jeremy Renner) involvement, and has little time to prove his hunch is right.

This is a very dark, very pretty picture (photographed by Óttar Guðnason) that has little else to offer, and its ending, at least for my taste, was a little corny.  Clearly, Kormákur wrote the script with the intention of filming in Iceland, and never changed the names of the main characters upon conversion to Minnesota (Isold's son is named Thor).  The acting ranges from hammy to dull, but at least it's nice to look at.

Big Papi only managed to crank one dinger tonight, as the Blue Jays take down the Red Sox.  I'm thinking Boston isn't used to playing in front of so few fans, so they might have thought this one was just a practice.