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Slate contributor Seth Stevenson examines a new series of ads from the gin maker Tanqueray that are generating a lot of buzz. The campaign hopes to appeal to a younger demographic by introducing a foppish, engagingly odd fellow in tailored suits named Tony Sinclair, with the catch phrase "Ready to Tanqueray?"

Nelson George, a prolific writer and critic of black America, has made a documentary based on his best-selling book Post-Soul Nation. The new film, Smart Black People, profiles African-American personalities who left their stamp on America in the 1980s.

Steven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise in an adaptation of the 1898 H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds. The movie has all the qualities of a summer thrill-ride, with a rush of surprises and special effects.

In the new film Cronicas, a Miami reporter travels to a small Ecuadorian village to cover a series of brutal murders and get the biggest story of his career. He's tracking a possible serial killer dubbed the Monster of Babahoyo.

The Dukes of Hazzard is a film so meaningless that it is almost impossible to review, according to critic Kenneth Turan. He says the movie is, "not empty calories, which implies pleasure, but simply empty. It's a cosmic void where a movie ought to be."

Film critic Kenneth Turan, takes a look at the restoration of the iconic French film, Elevator to the Gallows. Made in 1957, it is a melding of French cinematography and American music that Turan is thrilled to see in theaters.

His film, Kinsey, is currently out on DVD. It's about the scientist Alfred Kinsey, whose pioneering research in the 1940s and 1950s examined human sexuality. Condon interviewed many of Dr. Kinsey's colleagues before writing the script.

Lee Boyd Malvo's attorneys argue that his six life sentences should be reconsidered because of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred mandatory life sentences for juveniles.

Our Day to Day television critic reviews Kathy Hilton's new reality show, I Want to Be a Hilton, which premieres tomorrow on NBC. On the show, the hotel heiress teaches a motley group how to act like blue-blood members of the jet set.

Actor Kevin Bacon was first recognized in the 1982 film Diner. Since then, he's starred in more than 50 films. His most recent is The Woodsman, which is now out on DVD. He's also inspired the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in which players try to link another actor with Bacon in as few steps as possible. We rebroadcast an interview from Jan. 18, 2005.

Comedian and actor Bob Saget talks about the new documentary The Aristocrats. The film features Saget and 100 other comics discussing and retelling one famous dirty joke that has been handed down in comedy circles since the vaudeville days.

A French remake of an American movie is rare. Usually, it's the other way around. The new French film The Beat That My Heart Skipped is even more remarkable because it's not a remake of a hit.

Alberto Vilar, once hailed as one of the most generous donors in the art world, is free on bail after being charged with fraud. Vilar, a Cuban immigrant, has pledged some $250 million to support opera, ballet and orchestra projects. He is now charged with defrauding a friend out of $5 million. His bail terms require that Vilar sell his art collection.

John Leguizamo, who got his start as a stand-up comedian, stars in the new Spanish-language film Cronicas. He plays a tabloid reporter from Miami who travels to Ecuador to track down a serial killer.

Emmy Award nominations were announced Thursday morning, and perennial favorite HBO again garnered the most nominations with 93. Madeleine Brand talks with Day to Day television critic Andrew Wallenstein about the nominees and the front-runners to win the broadcast industry's most esteemed accolade.

Day to Day television critic Andrew Wallenstein reviews the Bravo network's new reality show, Being Bobby Brown. The program follows 80s R&B star Bobby Brown and his wife, Whitney Houston.

Robert Siegel talks with Bruce Nussbaum, editorial page editor of Business Week, about the magazine's annual Best Product Design issue. The 2005 winners include a sleek update on training wheels, the iPod shuffle and a toilet design that "recasts the whole concept of the toilet."

The Egyptian government is charging millions of dollars for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to house the King Tut exhibit. The result is a $30 per-person admission ticket. Despite the hefty price, exhibit organizers say the tickets are selling well.

Rome's Colosseum hosts an exhibit of sculpture from the mystery cults of Greek and Roman antiquity. The display documents secret religious rituals, some of which are still practiced today.

Pakistani singer Faiz Ali Faiz pays homage to the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with his new CD, Your Love Makes Me Dance. The five pieces on the album were either composed or performed by Nusrat. The genre is called qawwali, a kind of Islamic religious music. Banning Eyre has a review.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new DVD box set of The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons. It's a compilation of interviews and performances on the late-night talk show by some of the leading musicians of the 1960s and '70s, including Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin and Stevie Wonder.

Film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Batman Begins. The film is about the origins of Bruce Wayne and his superhero counterpart the Caped Crusader.

A kidnapping in Caracas provides the plotline for the Venezuelan thriller Secuestro Express. The film makes reference to the kidnap-for-ransom trade thriving in many parts of Latin America.

Film critic Bob Mondello offers his opinion on the new movie Elizabethtown. Director Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy, set in Elizabethtown, Ky., stars Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom and a large supporting cast.

Christine Turner, the filmmaker behind the short documentary, Lynching Postcards: 'Token of A Great Day,' talks about her film and its present-day resonance.