From All Movie Guide: It may interest readers to know that, for certain prominent movie databases, it is the official editorial position that the genre of "epic" be applied sparingly -- and almost never for new movies. This makes enough sense if you think about it: the great equalizer of CGI has changed the playing field, and there's no longer a feeling of grandness in the casts of thousands and exotic locales that once made movies like The Ten Commandments and Lawrence of Arabia live up to their classification. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's still a shame -- at least in the case of Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film Australia, which is, in the classic sense of the word, epic.

An ode to Luhrmann's home country, Australia takes place during the early days of World War II -- a historical setting that, as in all good WWII movies, brews in the background until the third act, when stuff starts to blow up. The film opens with the prim and proper (but very ballsy) Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) defying...

more