The Last Station, directed by Michael Hoffman (A Midsummer Nights Dream, One Fine Day) is the story of how one person's beliefs can influence the people around them. We witness this in the most grand scale, through the connection between Russian author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer) teachings and his disciples. We also witness this on a more intimate scale in Tolstoy's relationship with his wife, Countess Sofya Andreyevna (Helen Mirren). Hoffman's script allows us insight into the last days of Tolstoy and the controversy that followed him as he struggled to manage the duality of his private and public life.

The Last Station, also with Anne-Marie Duff and Paul Giamatti, opens today. Read the review by Peter Richter.

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker won Best Feature last night at the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards held at New York City's Cipriani Wall Street. Bigelow's suspenseful Iraqi drama also took the prize for Best Ensemble Performance. The talented cast included Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty and Evangeline Lilly.

Best Documentary went to Robert Kenner's Food, Inc. The Breakthrough Director Award went to Robert Siegel for Big Fan. Catalina Saaverda received the Breakthrough Actor Award for her performance in The Maid. Ry Russo-Young's You Won't Miss Me took the prize for Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You.

For more news of the night: http://gotham.ifp.org

A new Pedro Almodovar film starring the talented and gorgeous Penelope Cruz is bound to be a treat, and Broken Embraces is just that. Cruz stars as Lina, as the woman caught between the desires of a filmmaker and a powerful financier.

A closing night selection at the New York Film Festival, Broken Embraces is currently playing in theaters. Read Marcy's review.

Nicolas Cage plays a bug-eyed cop with a drug problem and a broken moral compass in Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, a fascinatingly complex film ripe with intoxicating cross-currents of cynicism, tragedy, and absurdity. With Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, and Fairuza Balk.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles, with more cities to follow. Read Jürgen's review.