Many factors landed “The Road” at the top of my “must-see films of 2009” list: It’s a post-apocalyptic tale. It stars Viggo Mortensen in the lead and has supporting performances by Guy Pearce and Garret Dillahunt. It’s adapted from a novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also penned “No Country for Old Men,” one of my [...]

Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and Grace (Natalie Portman) were teen-age sweethearts. She was a cheerleader; he was the quarterback. After high school, they got married and had two daughters: Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare). Sam, the eldest Cahill son, followed in the footsteps of his father (Sam Shepard) Hank, by joining the Marines. [...]