Mothers and sons

In the Australian chiller, a bogeyman announces himself in a rhyming, pop-up book on a 7-year-old's shelf. But the real horror is that the boy's mom, a grieving widow, is battling psychic demons.

Many people will find God's Pocket depressing, but once you get past the despair and carnage it's full of life. In one of his last film roles, Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as hapless Mickey Scarpato.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo began looking out for his mother early in life. In his new memoir, Elsewhere, Russo writes not only of his mother, but of the vanished world that shaped her. Critic Maureen Corrigan calls the book "gorgeously nuanced."

The new documentary Tarnation chronicles writer and director Jonathan Caouette's turbulent childhood with a mentally ill mother. He made the film on his home computer for just a few hundred dollars. Critic David Edelstein has a review.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Igby Goes Down.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews "The Long Falling," a first novel by Irish writer Keith Ridgway.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead substitutes for Stephen Schiff and reviews the new movie "The Client," based on John Grisham's bestselling legal thriller.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the "This Boy's Life," based on the book of the same name. The movie stars Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin, and features a great performance by star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Bright Lights, Big City," the long-awaited adaptation of the best-selling novel by Jay McInerney about life in the fast lane in New York City. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Dianne Wiest.