"Ladder 49," a Hollywood action-melodrama in Hollywood's biggest, brawniest tradition, is structured like an old-fashioned western, with lots of showdowns and chases and men being men. Only instead of ...

THERE ARE real firefighters in the world who regularly perform heroic deeds. That is an inarguable fact, and it should not be confused with discussion of "Ladder 49," a movie that attempts to convey ...