“Conclave” (2024): Wow, do my eyes deceive me? A big budget blockbuster movie for adults? Well, that’s exactly what “Conclave” is. Based on Robert Harris’ sensational novel, the film ...

If, as one character remarks, the closest corollary to a papal conclave is an American political convention, it is surely the smoke-filled room, with its backbiting and deal-making, that rings a bell.

Much secrecy surrounds this conclave and its historic vote ... but we'll know whether there's a new pope simply by watching the smoke that comes from the Vatican's rooftop. Ballots are burned ...