From: People.com BABY ON BOARD A pregnant Katie Holmes follows her stomach – to a West Hollywood coffee shop Monday. From: Mercury News.com S.J. film festival delivers 185 movies, free downloads By Mark Whittington The 16th annual Cinequest Film Festival brings 185 movies to downtown San Jose March 1-12, starting with ``Thank You for Smoking.'' But festival organizers are almost as excited about what will be happening off-screen, including podcasts and free video downloads of DVD-quality films to watch on home TVs, computers, cell phones and other handheld devices. San Jose won't be the center of the film world during the festival -- there's this little thing called the Academy Awards on March 5 -- but that doesn't bother festival organizers, who always have emphasized Cinequest as an alternative to Hollywood. ``The dream always has been getting films to film fans in a way that bypasses the Hollywood system,'' says Jens Hussey, the festival's publicity director. On Tuesday, organizers announced the schedule for the festival. There are 80 features and 105 short films, as well as a full slate of seminars and parties. (Yes, they're holding Oscar-viewing parties if you can't resist.) The festival will be concentrated at three downtown venues -- Camera 12 Cinemas, San Jose Repertory Theatre and California Theatre. Tickets go on sale today at prices ranging from $9 for adults for individual screenings to $500 for an all-access pass. Traditional film junkies can find plenty of highlights: • Opening night: ``Thank You for Smoking,'' a satire about the tobacco industry, stars Aaron Eckhart, Rob Lowe, Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes and William H. Macy, who was honored by Cinequest with a Maverick award in 2003. More info: Cinequest.org TYFS Review! From: Daily Utah "Thank You For Smoking" - Three out of four stars! Ah, those darling tobacco companies. They're so diabolically evil, they make oil companies look like charitable non-profit organizations by comparison. But that's just my own personal bias. "Thank You For Smoking" takes the opportunity to lampoon not only the cigarette industry, but more specifically, the lobbyists who are so brilliant and successful at spinning every piece of information that comes their way. We meet just such a spin doctor in Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart), who is so good at his job he goes on a daily talk show one day and wins over a teenage smoker dying of cancer. In simple terms, Nick is great at his job but begins to question his own ethics as his young son, Joey (Cameron Bright), begins to grow up and start asking questions of his own. What makes the film work so well is the way it keeps its biting satirical edge throughout, while still maintaining a firm grasp on reality, creating realistic characters with moral and ethical dilemmas we can actually care about. Writer/director Jason Reitman doesn't make it all one-sided, either, as he also shows the way anti-tobacco politicians (in this case, a Vermont senator played by William H. Macy) use propaganda and manipulate the facts to push their cause, in much the same way cigarette companies do. Still, Reitman's target is clearly on Big Tobacco, and while he may not be quite as good making them look bad as they do at making themselves look good, "Thank You For Smoking" is a fine effort all the same-and a thoroughly entertaining one, too.

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