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Australia runs just under three hours but feels longer.

Australia is a big giant movie that looks like a good one on the surface but doesn't always work.

Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman plays a World War Two English aristocrat who inherits a ranch in the outback where she encounters corruption and a tough cattle man, played by Hugh Jackman.

Yes, they drive cattle, they fight the good fight, and they fall in love all in front of a background that often looks like a fake painting.

AUSTRALIA

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One minute Australia is a beautiful film about racism and the fight for human rights, the next minute it's a big bad cliched mess.

Australia is written and directed with an uneven touch by Baz Luhrmann. He directed Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge, both much better films. His latest has trouble finding its center, you'll like it one minute and then shake your head the next.

Australia is rated PG-13, runs just under three hours, but feels longer. It also features an annoying racist bad guy and a beautiful young boy with a magical smile. There is a good film here trying to get out, but the sum of the parts just don't add up.

E-mail gcogill@wfaa.com.