Although any film starring box-office magnets Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt would appear to be a can't-miss proposition, Joel Siegel on Good Morning America commented, "You want to know how they can miss? You gotta see The Mexican." (Siegel went on to predict that newspaper ads for the movie would simply quote him as saying "You gotta see The Mexican.") No fewer than six major reviewers -- Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, Rita Kempley in the Washington Post, Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times, Jay Carr in the Boston Globe, and Stephen Holden in the New York Times, use the term "psychobabble" to describe some of the dialogue in the movie. Nevertheless, a few of these critics write mostly favorable things about it. Ebert, for example, comments: "This movie is about something. Not something terrifically profound, to be sure, but at least it prefers style and wit to tired old ideas." But, overwhelmingly, the critical notices are negative. "The Mexican is a long slow-motion train wreck of a movie that strands and then pretty thoroughly deconstructs those pillars of gorgeousness, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts," the Globe's Carr writes. And Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times concludes: "The Mexican is all about misdirection. ... It wants ever so desperately to be successfully hip and offbeat, but it can't manage to make it happen."

The reviews of the kid-pic See Spot Run make you wonder whether some may have been written by dog lovers and others by dog catchers. Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal, for example, writes that the film "is what parents hope for and seldom find in comedies made for little kids -- a film broad enough for its target audience (no shortage of dog-poop jokes here) yet bright enough to entertain grown-ups. Beyond being entertained, I was delighted by the movie's outpouring of slapstick invention (one crazed sequence in a pet store has all the pawmarks of a classic), and the genial energy of its star, David Arquette." Similarly, Nancy Churnin comments in the Dallas Morning News: "See Spot Run is, as the reference to a child's book suggests, simple and silly. But it's also funny and sweet, and those qualities, given the current near-void of family films, can really hit the spot." And Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, writing in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, concludes her review by commenting: "I can't imagine a better endorsement than the one I heard leaving the theater. A wee one asked his dad, 'When can we see it again?'" On the other hand, Lou Lumenick in the New York Post remarks: "Do your kids a favor and take them to see something more worthwhile than the relentlessly vulgar and stupid See Spot Run." And Gene Seymour, writing in Newsday and the Los Angeles Times reacts similarly: "See Spot Run is one of those movies that makes you put your head in your hands and mourn the death of popular culture," he writes. "Who in sanity's name decided that what the world needed more than anything else was a gross-out comedy that the whole family could enjoy?"

After nearly six weeks, contract talks between the Writers Guild of America and film and TV producers were suspended Thursday, once again raising the possibility that a strike could incapacitate the industry on May 1. WGA representatives had previously announced that if the current negotiations failed to produce an agreement, they would not return to the table until early April; however, WGA West president John Wells told an afternoon news conference that he thought the two sides "will probably sit down again pretty soon." Producers' representatives said that they were ready to resume the talks at any time. Both sides indicated that they foundered over the amount of residual payments writers would receive under a new contract.

Chicagoan Pete Jones has won the Matt Damon/Ben Affleck-sponsored Project Greenlight screenwriting contest. Jones' script, described as a poignant story about an Irish-Catholic boy who experiences a crisis in faith when his Jewish friend is stricken with cancer, was chosen after five rounds of judging from more than 7,000 entries submitted via the Internet. It will be made into a film by Miramax with a $1 million budget.

Tom Cruise has reached the top spot on Forbes magazine's list of the 100 most powerful celebrities, moving up from No. 20 last year. Second on the list was Tiger Woods, followed by The Beatles.

CBS said Thursday that it will hold a news conference today (Friday) to discuss last night's episode of Survivor in which contestant Michael Skupin suffered severe burns and was medevacked from the show's Australian Outback locale. Skupin, the Michigan software exec who provoked controversy among animal rights activists when he stabbed a wild pig to death, then smeared some of its blood on his face before roasting it, was roasted a bit himself when he apparently inhaled too much smoke while preparing a campfire, passed out and burned his hands. (During an interview on today's The CBS Early Show, Skupin said that the fact that he was wearing a hat and sunglasses prevented him from being seriously burned on his face. He said that when he learned that he would not be able to return to the contest, "it was a mourning period -- I still wanted to play.") Before showing scenes of Skupin yelling in pain as he doused his hands in water in a nearby river, then lifted them out revealing skin hanging from his fingertips, CBS posted a warning about the graphic content.

Thursday night's Survivor episode produced a new high for the reality series as its only real competition turned out to be repeats of NBC's Friends. Survivor's 18.3/27 rating overwhelmed the 11.8/18 and 12.2/18 for two back-to-back replays of Friends. Nevertheless, the top-rated show of the night once again was E.R., which pulled a 19.2/30 in the 10:00 p.m. hour. CBS's new challenge to E.R., the drama Big Apple, proved to be no match at all, pulling only an 8.5/14, somewhat better than the network's previous occupant of the 10:00 p.m. slot, 48 Hours, which last week drew only a 7.3/11.

Fox said Thursday that it plans to bring back Temptation Island, but it did not disclose where or when the new series would be produced. The network's announcement came after Wednesday night's finale drew good, if unspectacular, ratings. The 12.7 rating and 18 share was about equal with the second episode's, but was substantially higher than the previous week's 9.5/13. It came in second in its time slot behind The West Wing, which earned a 13.6/20. Earlier in the evening, another reality series, The Mole, scored a 10.1/16 in its series finale, winning the 8:00 p.m. hour.

NBC and Paramount struck a "post midnight" deal Thursday that will bring Frasier back to the network next season, the Washington Post reported today (Friday). The newspaper said that the network had agreed on a three-year pickup at "just under" $5 million per episode. It currently pays about $3 million per episode.

Jerry Seinfeld is producing a documentary about stand-up comedy that will include portions of a performance that he himself will tape at Oakland's Paramount theater on March 29, the New York Post reported today (Friday). The Post said that the documentary will probably air on HBO, which carried a concert performance by Seinfeld in New York City last year.

The editor in chief of New York magazine has denied that the current issue attempted to "out" Rosie O'Donnell when it noted that the mainstream media has avoided discussing her female companions. In an interview with today's (Friday) New York Daily News, New York's Caroline Miller commented: "The fact that Rosie is gay has been written about extensively in the tabloid press and, to our knowledge, she has never complained about that. ... The piece is not so much about Rosie as it is about journalists. It's a reflection on how reporters censor what they know ... when it comes to covering gay celebrities." A spokesperson for O'Donnell told the Daily News: "Rosie has no problem with the article."

Judy Garland's daughter, Liza Minnelli, and her third husband, Sid Luft, have given the ABC miniseries Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows reviews that are poles apart. In interviews with the New York Post, Minnelli called the miniseries "beautifully done." She praised Judy Davis, who portrayed Garland as an adult, as "a great actress" and said that she gave the role "her all." On the other hand, Luft called the biopic "a mess" and added: "To have a 45-year-old called Judy Davis wearing a fright wig and trying to emulate Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis is just laughable. Judy was only 21 or 22 at the time. Overall, I thought it was a disgrace." The miniseries was based on Lorna Luft's book about her mother and was exec-produced by her.

General Motors' bankers, doubtful that News Corp will agree to a deal to buy its Hughes Electronics Corp, the parent of DirecTV, have begun sounding out other companies that had previously expressed interest in buying Hughes, CNBC reported Thursday. The CNBC report sent News Corp's shares falling on the Sydney stock exchange. A News Corp spokesman in New York played down the CNBC report. "Things are moving along but moving along slower than what Mr. Murdoch would like," Andrew Butcher told Bloomberg News. "Everything that happens with a large company like GM happens slower than with a company like ours. It's a completely different structure."