Sarah Bolger

CHICAGO – Mary Harron’s “The Moth Diaries” is a perfect teaching tool for potential filmmakers. It is proof of two oft-forgotten rules of cinema: 1. Not every successful piece of work in one medium should be adapted to another (or not all good books make good films). 2. Even talented directors can be the wrong fit for the material.

CHICAGO – Not exactly for history buffs, Showtime’s “The Tudors” has always been more about bodice-ripping and political intrigue than about straightforward historical facts. Still, in its first three seasons, with a combination of multi-dimensional characters and inspired casting choices, the “Desperate Housewives” of sixteenth-century England was a guilty pleasure not to be missed.