Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones star in “In the Valley of Elah”

Speaking of pop culture and politics, Michael Cieply in the New York Times analyzes “a new and perhaps risky willingness in the entertainment business to push even the touchiest debates about post-9/11 security, Iraq and the troops? status from the confines of documentaries into the realm of mainstream political drama.”

The list of films that touch upon such topical stuff — as well as the names behind them — is impressive: “In the Valley of Elah,” “Grace is Gone,” “Stop-Loss,” “Rendition,” “Imperial Life in the Emerald City” and “Redacted” — to name a few.