Went to see the new Kevin Costner-Robert Duvall movie, "Open Range." Tom and I both liked it a lot. I'm mixed on Kevin Costner because, as Tom pointed out, he has such a droning voice. But I like his appreciation for expansive natural vistas, mountains, prairies, and so on, which are used beautifully in "Open Range," as they were in "Dances With Wolves."

These movies are like a vacation for me. I really liked Robert Duvall in this one. He makes an excellent old-timer in this and in "The Apostle," which I'd like to see again. As the New Yorker review of "Open Range" pointed out, Costner defers to Duvall throughout the movie. I found that this created a warm (but not gushy) relationship between the two characters and also took the emphasis off of Costner's droning delivery. Annette Bening was fabulous too. "Open Range" was sort of like "Little House on the Prairie" with gunfights and other conflict. (I mean that in a good way. "Little House on the Prairie" was one of my favorite shows when I was about ten.)