Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Art Malik, Diane Wiest There's no rule against rock anthems from the 1970s in the soundtrack for a movie about a medieval jousting champion, but if you're going to attempt such jarring anachronisms, you'd better establish acceptable ground rules. Writer-director Brian Helgeland does precisely that in A Knight's Tale and pulls off this trick with such giddy aplomb that you can't help but play along. Upon witnessing a crowd of peasants at a jousting match, singing and clapping to the beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You", you're either going to love this movie or dismiss it altogether. Other vintage rock hits will follow, but Helgeland—the Oscar-winning co-writer of LA Confidential—handles this ploy with judicious goodwill, in what is an otherwise honest period piece about a peasant named William (Heath Ledger) who rises by grit and determination to the hallowed status of knighthood. As if the soundtrack weren't audacious enough, Helgeland (recovering from the sour experience of his directorial debut, Payback) casts none other than Geoffrey Chaucer (wonderfully played by Paul Bettany) as William's cohort and match announcer, along with William's pals Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), and feisty blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser). Of course there must be a fair maiden, and she is Jocelyn (newcomer Shannyn Sossamon), with whom William falls in love while battling the nefarious Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) on the European jousting circuit. Add to this an inspiring father-son reunion, Ledger's undeniable charisma, a perfect supporting cast, and enough joyful energy to rejuvenate the film's formulaic plot, and A Knight's Tale becomes that most pleasant of movie surprises—an unlikely winner that rises up, like its hero, to exceed all expectations. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: From "The Rock Music Scene in 1370" to "You Never Know What You'll Find in a Czech Prop House", this disc doesn't scrimp on the special features. Offering a wealth of information regarding the making of this $41million film, from the jousting (which many of the actors actually performed) to justification for the rock soundtrack and Audrey Hepburn-esque dresses in Medieval Europe. Along with these mini-documentaries, (most lasting for only five minutes) there's a mini interview with the new heartthrob of Hollywood, Heath Ledger and a great selection of deleted scenes. The commentary—by director Brian Helgeland and Paul Bettany (who plays Chaucer in the film)—is a lively and enjoyable romp that makes it clear that the cast and crew bonded on set. The disc comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack to improve the "raucous rock" and an anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio to bring the "modernised medieval mood" to life. —Nikki Disney

Wesley Snipes, Tamzin Outhwaite, Tamer Hassan, Billy Wirth, Rodney Rowland

Eminem, Kim Basinger, Curtis Hanson Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can't pull himself together to take the next step with his career—or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists—until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. —Bret Fetzer

Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley 9 Songs [UMD Mini for PSP] [UMD Mini for PSP] (2005)

Roland Emmerich To anyone who has ever yearned to see woolly mammoths in full stampede across the Alps, 10,000 BC can be heartily recommended. There's also a flock of "terror birds" (lethal ostriches on steroids) in a steaming jungle only a splice away from the heroes' snow-dusted alpine habitat. And lo, somewhere in the vastness of the North African desert lies a city whose slave inhabitants alternately teem like the crowds in Quo Vadis during the burning of Rome and trudge in hieratically menacing formations like the workers in Metropolis. That's pretty much it for the cool stuff. Setting movies in prehistoric times is dicey. Apart from the "Dawn of Man" sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey, only Quest for Fire makes the grade, and its creators had the good sense to limit the dialogue to grunts and moans. 10,000 BC boasts a quasi-biblical narrator (Omar Sharif) and characters who speak in formed, albeit uninteresting, sentences (including a New Age–y "I understand your pain"). But let no one say the storytelling isn't primitive. The narrator speaks of "the legend of the child with the blue eyes" and bingo, here's the kid now. When, grown up to be Camilla Belle, she's carried off by "four-legged demons" (guys on horseback to you). The neighbour boy (Steven Strait) who hankers to make myth with her leads a rescue mission into the great unknown world beyond their mountaintop. His name is D'Leh, which is Held, the German for "knight," spelled backward. So yes, there is some hidden meaning after all.

10,000 BC is the latest triumph of the ersatz from writer-director Roland Emmerich. Like Stargate (1994), Independence Day (1996), and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) before it, it's shamelessly cobbled together out of every movie Emmerich can remember to pilfer from (though to be fair, the section in pre-ancient Egypt harks back to his own Stargate). Emmerich's saving grace is that his films' cheesiness is so flagrant, his narratives so geared for instant gratification, he can seem like a kid simultaneously improvising and acting out a story in his backyard: "P'tend there's this alien ... p'tend maybe he came from Atlantis or something...." Just don't p'tend it has anything to do with real movie-making. —Richard T. Jameson

Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Gary Winick

An unconvincing exercise in moral complexity, 21 is based on Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) plays brilliant blue collar scholar Ben Campbell, whose doubts that he'll win a scholarship to Harvard Medical School compel him to join a secret, M.I.T. gang of math whiz kids. Under the silky but chilling command of a math professor (Kevin Spacey), Jim and the others master card counting —the statistical analysis of cards dealt in blackjack games. The team lives a humdrum existence during the week, but on weekends in Sin City the students are rolling in cash, frequenting exclusive clubs and feeling on top of the world. Ben even gets the girl: a comely fellow card counter played by Kate Bosworth. Despite all the success, Ben feels ethically compromised and indeed director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, Across the Universe), in the old tradition of American movies, plays it both ways where fun vices are concerned. On the one hand, it feels so good —on the other, ahem, we know it's wrong. That studied ambivalence proves wearing after a while, making the most interesting character in the film a casino watchdog played by Laurence Fishburne. A master at reading the emotions of gamblers beating the house with a scam, he's admirable for being good at his job, but repellent for wrecking the faces of counters in casino dungeons. He's all about moral complexity in the tradition of anti-heroes, and a truly provocative element in an otherwise superficial movie. —Tom Keogh

Kiefer Sutherland, Kim Raver, Jon Cassar Love him or hate him, it’s good to have Jack Bauer back on our screens. Played with sneer and menace by Kiefer Sutherland, the ruthless ex-Counter Terrorism Unit agent is the kind of guy you’re glad is on your side, and this time, 24: Redemption finds him facing up to demons of his own.

Set between the sixth and seventh seasons of 24, Redemption transports Jack Bauer to Africa, and it doesn’t take long for trouble to flare up. His mission this time, only inevitably it gets more complex than this, is to get a group of orphans to the Embassy safely, even if it means putting his own freedom on the line.

While 24: Redemption leaves some of the familiar cast of the show at home, it does have some impressive names joining Sutherland on this particular adventure. Robert Carlyle’s mysterious character for one is a fine addition, and getting Jon Voight into a villainous role is entirely to be encouraged.

Most impressive of all though, 24: Redemption shows real signs of the franchise getting back on its feet, after the juddering, muddled sixth season, that left many wondering if the show had enjoyed its best days. Now? There’s a real thirst for season seven, and a hope that the extended break the show has enjoyed has been put to good use. Because nobody, nobody does this kind of edge-of-the-seat TV thriller better than the 24 team. —Jon Foster

Kiefer Sutherland Carlos Bernard Mary Lynn Rajskub Dennis Haysbert Elisha Cuthbert, Joel Surnow

Manufacturer: Boulevard Entertaiment

Grounded by Robert Carlyle as one of the survivors of the virus, replete with his kids in tow, 28 Weeks Later skilfully navigates the labyrinth of sequel hell and really, really delivers. What’s more, it opens up the enticing possibility of a further sequel, and on the evidence of this film, that’s a very welcome thought.

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250 Classic Goals

John Cusack, Amanda Peet Now this is how you destroy the world. Roland Emmerich's 2012 pounces on a Nostradamus-style loophole in the Mayan calendar and rams the apocalypse through it, gleefully conjuring up an enormous amount of Saturday-matinee fun in the process. A scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) detects shifting continental plates and sun flares and realizes that this foretells the imminent destruction of the planet. Just as the molten lava is about to hit the fan, a novelist (John Cusack) takes his kids on a trip to Yellowstone; later he'll hook up with his ex (Amanda Peet) and her new boyfriend (Tom McCarthy) in a global journey toward safety. If there is any safety. The suitably hair-raising plot lines are punctuated—frequently, people, frequently—by visions of mayhem around the globe: the Vatican falls over, the White House is clobbered (Emmerich's Independence Day was not enough on that score), and the California coastline dives into the Pacific Ocean. Unlike other action directors we could name, Emmerich actually understands how to let you see and drink in these vast special-effects vistas—and they are incredible. He also honors the old Irwin Allen disaster-movie tradition by actually shelling out for good actors. Cusack and Ejiofor are convincing even in the cheesiest material; toss in Danny Glover (the U.S. president), Woody Harrelson (a nut-bar conspiracy-theorising radio host), Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt, and you've got a very watchable batch of people. Emmerich hasn't developed an ear for dialogue, even at this stage in his career, and the final act goes on a bit too long. This is a very silly movie, but if you've got a weakness for B-movie energy and hairbreadth escapes, 2012 delivers quite a bit of both. —Robert Horton

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The 1994 box-office hit that turned comedy maniac Jim Carrey into Hollywood's first $20-million man, this gag-filled no-brainer stars Carrey as the titular rubber-faced gumshoe who tracks down lost pets for his heartbroken clients. Ace's latest case involves the apparent kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' team mascot, Snowflake the dolphin. His investigation is a source of constant aggravation for Miami police lieutenant Lois Einhorn (Sean Young), who turns out to be packing more than a pistol under her skirt. Friends fans will appreciate the presence of Courtney Cox, who remains admirably straight-faced as the Dolphins' publicist and Ace's would-be girlfriend, but of course it's Carrey who steals the show with shameless abandon. One viewing may suffice for a lot of people, but Carrey's hyper antics made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective one of the bestselling videos of the 1990s. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Taylor Lautner, Taylor Dooley, Robert Rodriguez

Artist-writer Katsuhiro Ôtomo began telling the story of Akira as a comic book series in 1982 but took a break from 1986 to 1988 to write, direct, supervise, and design this animated film version. Set in 2019, the film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo, which is designed from huge buildings down to the smallest details of passing vehicles or police uniforms. Two disaffected orphan teenagers—slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kanada—run with a biker gang, but trouble grows when Tetsuo start to resent the way Kanada always has to rescue him. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world. Tetsuo is visited by the children, who trigger the growth of psychic and physical powers that might make him a superman or a supermonster. As befits a distillation of 1,318 pages of the story so far, Akira is overstuffed with character, incident, and detail. However, it piles up astonishing set pieces: the chases and shootouts (amazingly kinetic, amazingly bloody) benefit from minute cartoon detail that extends to the surprised or shocked faces of the tiniest extra; the Tetsuo monster alternately looks like a billion-gallon scrotal sac or a Tex Avery mutation of the monster from The Quatermass Experiment; and the finale—which combines flashbacks to more innocent days with a destruction of Neo City and the creation of a new universe—is one of the most mind-bending in all sci-fi cinema. —Kim Newman

Will Smith, Nona Gaye, Michael Mann

Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Derek Gaulint By transplanting the classic haunted house scenario into space, Ridley Scott, together with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, produced a work of genuinely original cinematic sci-fi with Alien that, despite the passage of years and countless inferior imitations, remains shockingly fresh even after repeated viewing. Scott's legendary obsession with detail ensures that the setting is thoroughly conceived, while the Gothic production design and Jerry Goldsmith's wonderfully unsettling score produce a sense of disquiet from the outset: everything about the spaceship Nostromo—from Tupperware to toolboxes-seems oddly familiar yet disconcertingly ... well, alien.

Nothing much to speak of happens for at least the first 30 minutes, and that in a way is the secret of the film's success: the audience has been nervously peering round every corner for so long that by the time the eponymous beast claims its first victim, the release of pent-up anxiety is all the more effective. Although Sigourney Weaver ultimately takes centre-stage, the ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. The remarkably low-tech effects still look good (better in many places than the CGI of the sequels), while the nightmarish quality of H.R. Giger's bio-mechanical creature and set design is enhanced by camerawork that tantalises by what it doesn't reveal.

Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Paul W.S. Anderson In delivering non-18-rated excitement, Alien vs. Predator is an acceptably average science-fiction action thriller with some noteworthy highlights, even if it squanders its opportunity to intelligently combine two popular franchises. Rabid fans can justifiably ask: "Is that all there is?" after a decade of development hell and eager anticipation, but we're compensated by reasonably logical connections to the Alien legacy and the still-kicking Predator franchise (which hinted at AVP rivalry at the end of Predator 2); some cleverly claustrophobic sets, tense atmosphere and impressive digital effects; and a climactic AVP smackdown that's not half bad. This disposable junk should've been better, but nobody who's seen Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil should be surprised by writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson's lack of imagination. As a brisk, 90-minute exercise in generic thrills, however, Anderson's work is occasionally impressive... right ! up to his shameless opening for yet another sequel.—Jeff Shannon

For those who found 2004's Aliens vs. Predator too lightweight in the gore-and-guns department, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem offers a marked improvement in both categories, as well as a respectable amount of rumbles between the title extraterrestrials. Set in the 21st century (which predates the story to all of the Alien features), Requiem sends a crippled Predator ship crashing to Earth in a small Colorado town; unbeknownst to the locals, the craft is loaded with H.R. Giger's insectoid monsters, which make quick work of most of the population. As the human cast is slowly whittled to a few hardy (if unmemorable) souls, a Predator warrior also arrives to complicate matters and do battle with the Aliens, as well as a ferocious Alien-Predator hybrid (dubbed a Predalien by the sci-fi and horror press).

Visual-effects designers and music-video helmers The Strause Brothers (who make their feature directorial debut here) keep the action on frantic throughout, which is wise, since the dialogue and characters are threadbare at best; that should matter little to teenage male viewers, who are inarguably the film's key audience. Fans of the Alien franchise, however, may find the offhanded nod to the series' mythology given during the finale its sole saving grace. —Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

Sigourney Weaver, Jenette Goldstein, James Cameron

Tim Hill A staggering surprise success at the box office just before Christmas 2007, the reason for the popularity of Alvin and the Chipmunks soon becomes clear. Not only is it a new adventure for a popular set of characters of old, it’s also a fun, breezy family movie, that the kids in particular will enjoy.

Starring Jason Lee (of My Name Is Earl fame), Alvin and the Chipmunks mixes in live action and CGI chipmunks (Alvin, Simon and Theodore) in a story that sees that moved from their natural habitat into the midst of the big city. The plot then becomes as predictable as you’d expect, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had anyway.

For Alvin and the Chipmunks has plenty in its corner. It’s funny, first and foremost, and moves along at a good pace, never forgetting that its prime job is to entertain its audience. And that’s something it easily manages to do, wrapping everything up by remembering not to outstay its welcome, either.

Considering that Alvin and the Chipmunks enjoy a legion of fans that stretch back decades, it’s perhaps not a surprise after all that the film enjoyed the success it did. But what’s pleasing is that the spirit of the source material, in spite of its contemporary setting, is adhered to, and there’s fun for all in the end product. —Jon Foster

Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Berverly D'Angelo, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in American History X nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive—at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation.

The film's basic message—that hate is learned and can be unlearned—is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and American History X partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities—and a compelling clash of visual styles—to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Anyone who's watched just about any teenage film knows that the greatest evil in this world isn't chemical warfare, ethnic cleansing, or even the nuclear bomb. The worst crime known to man? Why, virginity, of course. As we've learned from countless films—from Summer of '42 to Risky Business—virginity is a criminal burden that one must shed oneself of as quickly as possible. And while many of these films have given the topic a bad name, American Pie quietly sweeps in and gives sex some of its dignity back. Dignity, you may say? How can a film that highlights intercourse with fruit pies, premature ejaculation broadcast across the Internet and the gratuitous "gross-out" shots restore the dignity of a genre that's been encumbered with such heavyweights as Porky's and Losin' It? The plot of American Pie may be typical, with four high-school friends swearing to "score" by prom, yet the film rises above the muck with its superior cast, successful and sweet humour, and some actually rather retro values about the meaning and importance of sex. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas and Eddie Kaye Thomas make up the odd quartet of pals determined to woo, lie and beg their way to manhood. The young women they pursue are wary girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), choir girl Heather (Mena Suvari), band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and just about any other female who is willing and able. Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, playing a similar role as in Slums of Beverly Hills, is the general advisor to the crowd (when Vicky tells her "I want it to be the right time, the right place," Jessica responds, "It's not a space shuttle launch, it's sex"). The comedic timing hits the mark—especially in the deliberately awkward scenes between Jim (Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). And, of course, lessons are learned in this genuinely funny film, which will probably please the adult crowd even more than it will the teenage one. —Jenny Brown

Ryan Reynolds, Melissa George, Andrew Douglas

Johnny Messner, KaDee Strickland, Dwight H. Little So here's the deal: A bunch of sassy scientific types, who all look as though they've spent just as much time lifting barbells as they have beakers, head out into Borneo to find a rare flower that's the "pharmaceutical equivalent to the fountain of youth"—and end up dodging the digestive system of several mutant snakes during mating season. You gotta hate when that happens. If you don't, you soon will, because this in-name-only sequel to Anaconda, 1997's now seminal guilty pleasure, is proof that more does not necessarily mean merrier. The thing isn't even good-bad; it's cheap and completely unmemorable even as popcorn fodder. Director Dwight Little and his posse of screenwriters have neither the budget nor the imagination to come on like a rip-snorting Aliens clone—it’s pretty much one snake at a time, and frankly more concerned with the conniving British baddie (Matthew Marsden) who really, really wants that orchid. The cast of no-names is destined to remain that way, although the chiselled Johnny Messner, as a rugged jungle guide, provides a few hoots in his laughably stoic attempt at Vin Diesel-dom. It's hard to determine who you’d like eaten first. —Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com

Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, Ron Howard If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency—which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands.

The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. —A.T. Hurley, Amazon.com

Stills from Angels & Demons (click for larger image)

Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Peter Segal The irresistible pairing of Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler is the best reason to see Anger Management, a comedy that might have been subtitled "The Funny and the Furious". Nicholson and especially Sandler have screen personas that partially rely on pent-up anxieties, so there's definite potential in teaming them as a mild-mannered designer of pet clothing for chubby cats (Sandler) who's been ordered to undergo anger management therapy with a zany counsellor (Nicholson) prone to occasional tantrums and devious manipulation. Surely this meandering comedy looked better on the page; director Peter Segal scores a few lucky scenes (particularly Sandler's encounter with a Buddhist monk, played by John C Reilly), but a flood of cameos (Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson, Rudolph Giuliani, and others) can't match the number of laughs that fall flat. As Sandler's understanding girlfriend, Marisa Tomei plays a pivotal role in a happy ending that leaves everyone smiling, with the possible exception of the audience. —Jeff Shannon

Steven Gerrard Christiano Ronaldo Alan Shearer Drogba Keane Reyes

Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Jean-Francois Richet Action buffs will have a fine time with the spray of bullets, shattering glass, and pyrotechnic silliness that makes up the bulk of Assault on Precinct 13. Updated from the little-known cops-and-robbers classic John Carpenter made in 1976 (two years before he made his name with Halloween), this high-concept thriller is mostly a lowbrow kill-fest, and is very happy with itself for being so efficient in both categories. A decrepit police station on its last night before retirement—New Year's Eve, no less—plays unexpected home to a gang of criminals who become snowbound in the basement lockup. Another mysterious gang of people who stealthily gather in the blizzard outside want one of the particularly nasty criminals (Laurence Fishburne) dead, and they'll take the rest of the precinct down too, by golly. The odd lot of characters trapped inside include a burned-out sergeant (Ethan Hawke), a sexpot secretary (post-Sopranos Drea de Matteo), an even sexier police psychologist (Maria Bello), and various other good guys and bad guys who variously go down in blazes of guts, glory, bullets, and fire. Hawke and Fishburne are opposite sides of the coin: the law, and the bathroom scale. Their need to partner in order to survive the guns outside is the movie's moral conflict, and both actors chew on Precinct 13's peeling walls and scuffed floors to drive the point home every chance they get. Obvious filmmaking fakery abounds in everything from the irksome snowstorm, frequent gunshots to the head, and a shadowy forest that conveniently presents itself in an industrial section of Detroit for the climactic showdown. No matter, this Assault is for non-thinkers who want blood and gunpowder, with no messy slowdowns for logic, please.—Ted Fry

Mike Myers, Seth Green, Michael Caine, Michael York, Beyonce Knowles

Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Baz Luhmann Watching the early reels of Australia, there's certainly no doubt who's in charge: this could only be a film by Baz Luhrmann, that wacky purveyor of all things over-the-top. In this old-fashioned, 165-minute hymn to his native continent, Luhrmann travels back to the late 1930s/early '40s, for a scenario that would not have been out of place at MGM in that era. Straightlaced Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) journeys Down Under and is put under the protection of—crikey—a rugged cattle driver known only as the Drover (Hugh Jackman). When the two are forced to team up (along with a motley crew of misfits) to take a herd of cattle through the hostile landscape, their way is challenged by the dastardly plans of the local beef baron (Bryan Brown) and his elaborately evil lieutenant (David Wenham). At some point you realize that this film's main commodity is not cattle, but corn: Luhrmann piles on the melodrama and the old-school climaxes with his usual frantic glee. Employing "When You Wish Upon a Star" and the Japanese air force to make his case is not beyond Luhrmann, and he reaches big here. Those with a taste for un-ironic silliness might just go for this stuff, but even fans of the Baz will have their patience tested by the broad comedy and the absence of discernable chemistry between Kidman and Jackman. Australia does manage to skewer the culture's prejudices against the Aboriginal people, but in this context such a victory comes across as rather tinny. —Robert Horton

Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Michael Bay A cheerfully over-the-top action film, Bad Boys is notable chiefly for the rapport between its two stars, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, as two Miami cops on the trail of a drug kingpin as they try to protect a witness (Tea Leoni). Smith is the swinging bachelor and Lawrence the family man, and both must juggle their personal lives as they baby-sit the one chance they have to recover a stolen drug shipment, save their jobs, and take down the drug dealer. While the film is almost always implausible and its story is something seen many times before, director Michael Bay (The Rock) keeps things moving stylishly and at a feverish pace, as Smith and Lawrence prove themselves a terrific comic pairing. Their odd couple banter flies at a faster clip than the bullets and explosions, and becomes the best reason to see this hyperbolic but entertaining action flick. —Robert Lane

Billy Bob Thornton, John Ritter, Lauren Graham, Bernie Mac, Holly Grainger Instantly qualifying as a perennial cult favorite, Bad Santa is as nasty as it wants to be, and there's something to be said for comedy without compromise. The Coen brothers conceived the basic idea and served as executive producers, but it's director Terry Zwigoff who brings his unique affinity for losers and outcasts to the twisted tale of Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a hard-drinking, chain-smoking, foul-mouthed sexaholic safe-cracker who targets a different department store every holiday season, playing Santa while he cases the joint with his dwarf elf-partner Marcus (Tony Cox). With comedic support from Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, Cloris Leachman, and John Ritter in his final film, Thornton milks the lowbrow laughs with a slovenly lack of sentiment, warming Bad Santa's pickled heart just enough to please a chubby misfit (Brett Kelly, hilariously deadpan) who may or may not be mentally challenged. As dry as an arid martini and blacker than morning-after coffee, Bad Santa is an instant cure for yuletide schmaltz, and if you think this appropriately R-rated comedy is suitable for kids, your parenting skills are no better than Willie's. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Thanks to the ambitious vision of director Tim Burton, the blockbuster hit of 1989 delivers the goods despite an occasionally spotty script, giving the caped crusader a thorough overhaul in keeping with the crime fighter's evolution in DC Comics. Michael Keaton strikes just the right mood as the brooding "Dark Knight" of Gotham City; Kim Basingerplays Gotham's intrepid reporter Vicki Vale; and Jack Nicholson goes wild as the maniacal and scene-stealing Joker, who plots a take over of the city with his lethal Smilex gas. Triumphant Oscar-winning production design by the late Anton Furst turns Batman into a visual feast, and Burton brilliantly establishes a darkly mythic approach to Batman's legacy. Danny Elfman's now-classic score propels the action with bold, muscular verve. —Jeff Shannon

The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great—in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision—is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralysed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon—and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution—kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.

In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director/co-writer Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism—there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans—and not just superhero fans—The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. —David Horiuchi

John Travolta, Uma Thurman, F. Gary Gray

Be Kind Rewind

Leonardo DiCaprio sought to distance himself from the cloying wholesomeness of his character in Titanic, and his role in The Beach is in many ways a polar opposite. As Richard, a young American seeking to "suck in the experience" of freestyle travel in Thailand, he is a chronic liar, a pot-smoking hedonist, an amoral lover and ultimately an unstable snake in a doomed Garden of Eden. This crazy descent might be expected from the filmmakers of Trainspotting, but The Beach is a movie without a rudder, venturing into fascinating territory, promising a stimulating adventure and then careening out of control. After receiving a not-so-secret map to a secluded island from a stoned-out loony (Robert Carlyle, full of dark portent and spittle), Richard sets out to find the hidden paradise with a young French couple (Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet). What they find is a tropical commune existing in delicate balance with Thai pot farmers, and before long—as always—there is trouble in paradise. There is trouble in the movie, too, as DiCaprio is reduced to histrionics when the plot turns into a muddled mix of Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now, with shark attacks tossed in for shallow tension. Director Danny Boyle attempts perfunctory romance and a few audacious moves (notably DiCaprio's vision of life as a violent video game), but what's the point? Tilda Swinton registers strongly as the commune's charismatic leader, but her character—and the entire film—remains largely undeveloped; and pretty scenery is no guarantee of a laudable film. —Jeff Shannon

Bringing to life Cartoon Network's animated series, this live-action feature explores the origins of Ben 10's superhero-like powers. As fans of the show already know, Ben Tennyson (Graham Phillips) was just your average 10 year old until he found the Omnitrix. The mysterious watch-like device let him transform himself into 10 different aliens—and use their powers to do some good along the way. But what if the watch stopped working? In RACE AGAINST TIME, that's just what happens after a fierce alien sets foot in town. The extraterrestrial overlord's plans for the Earth, and his strange connection to Ben, prove to be more disturbing than he could have ever imagined. This action-packed film will thrill fans of the show, and its sci-fi storyline will clue viewers into more than a few of its secrets. TV star Lee Majors (THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) resurfaces in the role of Grandpa.

Jon Heder, Rob Schneider, Dennis Dugan Credit The Benchwarmers for achieving the impossible: It makes the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears look like a masterpiece. They're essentially the same film, with the same lowbrow PG-13 humor (mostly involving bodily functions, broad slapstick, little people, nerds, geeks, and nose-picking), but this baseball comedy earns a few brownie points for its heart-warming message about including non-athletic kids (i.e. "benchwarmers") in Little League baseball, if only to boost their confidence and give them a moment of ball-field glory. It's a pleasant sentiment intended to encourage under-achievers to feel good about themselves, and that makes this loose-and-goofy vehicle for Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder an easygoing time-killer. Parents with good taste should be warned that his movie has no taste at all (it's hopelessly mired in the swamp of fart jokes and juvenile sight-gags), and is there really a need for mild profanity in a movie like this? That said, there are a few laughs in the efforts of Schneider and his ultra-nerdy pals as they form a team of rejects and go to bat against an enemy squad of current and former school-bullies, led by former late-night talk-show host Craig Kilborn. In addition to Schneider and Spade, Saturday Night Live alumni Jon Lovitz and Tim Meadows show up for an easy paycheck, and director Dennis Dugan handles the dumb-and-dumber shtick as if he were on vacation, sipping margaritas and shamelessly going for the easy laughs. If that's what you're looking for, you've come to the right place. —Jeff Shannon

The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel who is terrorizing towns, and later, Grendel's mother, who begins killing out of revenge.

Manufacturer: Boulevard Entertainment

Various

As one of many in the ongoing trend of resurrecting old TV shows and turning them into contemporary Hollywood product, Bewitched tries awfully hard to distinguish itself. It succeeds in lots of surprising ways, not least of which is the star power brought by Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. Even if they don't create the kind of romantic chemistry that would have elevated the already high concept, they act as delightful foils to each other, but more often to themselves. The conceit of this Bewitched is that it's a self-reflexive look at the entertainment business, with Ferrell playing Jack Wyatt, an actor starring in an updated version of the classic TV show. Out of favour with the Hollywood elite and desperately in need of a hit, he insists on an unknown to play Samantha, as he wants the show to be about him, since if something doesn't come his way soon, he's going to be hearing a lot of no's, despite the yes-men surrounding him. While his agent gets him the "unknown Samantha" deal, it's Jack himself who discovers his own leading lady in the delightful figure of Isabel Bigalow, who possesses just the right nose wiggle, not to mention other wiggles.

But wouldn't you know it, Isabel really is a witch, and exactly the kind of "good" witch trying to rely less on her magical powers that Samantha Stevens was back in her "real" world. Instead of a cranky mother like Endora, Isabel has a distinguished father, Nigel who lurks around her as a constant reminder that she can't be who she's not, and she certainly can't be the star of some zany TV show. As the plot thickens and the movie's reflexivity grows more convoluted, Nigel falls for the non-witch actress who plays Endora, and Jack and Isabel fall for each other. Here's where the Ferrell/Kidman gel doesn’t quite become aspic, but her perkiness and his goofiness are more than enough to make the entirety of the proceedings a delectable trifle. Director Nora Ephron has fun skewering her own business in the script she co-wrote with her sister Delia, and her eye for quality craft makes everything sparkle as it should. Even if we have yet to see the definitive remake of an old TV show on the big screen, at least Bewitched is well more than run-of-the-mill as so many adaptations have been, and so many will be.— Ted Fry

Trying to explain the cult appeal of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China to the uninitiated is no easy task. The plot in a nutshell follows lorry driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) into San Francisco's Chinatown, where he's embroiled in street gang warfare over the mythical/magical intentions of would-be god David Lo Pan. There are wire-fu fight scenes, a floating eyeball and monsters from other dimensions. Quite simply it belongs to a genre of its own. Carpenter was drawing on years of chop-socky Eastern cinema tradition, which, at the time of the film's first release in 1986, was regrettably lost on a general audience. Predictably, it bombed.

But now that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have made it big in the West, and Hong Kong cinema has spread its influence across Hollywood, it's much, much easier to enjoy this film's happy-go-lucky cocktail of influences. Russell's cocky anti-hero is easy to cheer on as he "experiences some very unreasonable things" blundering from one fight to another, and lusts after the gorgeously green-eyed Kim Cattrall. The script is peppered with countless memorable lines, too ("It's all in the reflexes"). Originally outlined as a sequel to the equally obscure Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Big Trouble is a bona fide cult cinema delight. Jack sums up the day's reactions perfectly, "China is here? I don't even know what the Hell that means!".

On the DVD: Big Trouble in Little China is released as a special edition two-disc set in its full unedited form. Some real effort has been put into both discs' animated menus, and the film itself is terrific in 2.35:1 and 5.1 (or DTS). The commentary by Carpenter and Russell may not be as fresh as their chat on The Thing, but clearly they both retain an enormous affection for the film. There are eight deleted scenes (some of which are expansions of existing scenes), plus a separate extended ending which was edited out for the right reasons. You'll also find a seven-minute featurette from the time of release, a 13-minute interview with FX guru Richard Edlund, a gallery of 200 photos, 25 pages of production notes and magazine articles from American Cinematographer and Cinefex. Best of all for real entertainment value is a music video with Carpenter and crew (the Coupe de Villes) coping with video FX and 80s hair-dos.—Paul Tonks

Ewan McGregor, Kim Coates, Ridley Scott

The recipe for Blade is quite simple; you take one part Batman, one part horror flick, and two parts kung fu and frost it all over with some truly campy acting. What do you get? An action flick that will reaffirm your belief that the superhero action genre did not die in the fluorescent hands of Joel Schumacher. Blade is the story of a ruthless and supreme vampire slayer (Wesley Snipes) who makes other contemporary slayers (Buffy et al.) look like amateurs. Armed with a samurai sword made of silver and guns that shoot silver bullets, he lives to hunt and kill "Sucker Heads". Pitted against our hero is a cast of villains led by Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a crafty and charismatic vampire who believes that his people should be ruling the world, and that the human race is merely the food source they prey on. Born half-human and half-vampire after his mother had been attacked by a blood-sucker, Blade is brought to life by a very buff-looking Snipes in his best action performance to date. Apparent throughout the film is the fluid grace and admirable skill that Snipes brings to the many breathtaking action sequences that lift this movie into a league of its own. The influence of Hong Kong action cinema is clear, and you may even notice vague impressions of Japanese anime sprinkled innovatively throughout. Dorff holds his own against Snipes as the menacing nemesis Frost, and the grizzly Kris Kristofferson brings a tough, cynical edge to his role as Whistler, Blade's mentor and friend. Ample credit should also go to director Stephen Norrington and screenwriter David S. Goyer, who prove it is possible to adapt comic book characters to the big screen without making them look absurd. Indeed, quite the reverse happens here: Blade comes vividly to life from the moment you first see him, in an outstanding opening sequence that sets the tone for the action-packed film that follows. From that moment onward you are pulled into the world of Blade and his perpetual battle against the vampire race. —Jeremy Storey

Wesley Snipes, Matt Schulze, Guillermo Del Toro Aptly described by critic Roger Ebert as "a vomitorium of viscera", Blade II takes the express route to sequel success. So if you enjoyed Blade, you'll probably drool over this monster mash, which is anything but boring. Set (and filmed) in Prague, the plot finds a new crop of "Reaper" vampires threatening to implement a viral breeding program, and they're nearly impervious to attacks by Blade (Wesley Snipes), his now-revived mentor Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), and a small army of "normal" vampires who routinely combust in a constant conflagration of spectacular special effects. It's up to Blade to conquer the über-vamps, and both Snipes and director Guillermo del Toro (Mimic) serve up a nonstop smorgasbord of intensely choreographed action, creepy makeup, and graphic ultra-violence, with the ever-imposing Ron Perlman as a vampire villain. It's sadistic, juvenile, numbing, and—for those who dig this kind of thing—undeniably impressive. —Jeff Shannon

Zakk Wylde

Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Larry Charles

Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Ed Bye

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper Freely adapted from Robert Ludlum's 1980 bestseller, The Bourne Identity starts fast and never slows down. The twisting plot revs up in Zurich, where amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), with no memory of his name, profession, or recent activities, recruits a penniless German traveler (Run Lola Run's Franka Potente) to assist in solving the puzzle of his missing identity. While his CIA superior (Chris Cooper) dispatches assassins to kill Bourne and thus cover up his failed mission, Bourne exercises his lethal training to leave a trail of bodies from Switzerland to Paris. Director Doug Liman (Go) infuses Ludlum's intricate plotting with a maverick's eye for character detail, matching breathtaking action with the humorous, thrill-seeking chemistry of Damon and Potente. Previously made as a 1988 TV movie starring Richard Chamberlain, The Bourne Identity benefits from the sharp talent of rising stars, offering intelligent, crowd-pleasing excitement from start to finish. —Jeff Shannon

Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Paul Greengrass Good enough to suggest long-term franchise potential, The Bourne Supremacy is a thriller fans will appreciate for its well-crafted suspense, and for its triumph of competence over logic (or lack thereof). Picking up where The Bourne Identity left off, the action begins when CIA assassin and partial amnesiac Jason Bourne (a role reprised with efficient intensity by Matt Damon) is framed for a murder in Berlin, setting off a chain reaction of pursuits involving CIA handlers (led by Joan Allen and the duplicitous Brian Cox, with Julia Stiles returning from the previous film) and a shadowy Russian oil magnate. The fast-paced action hurtles from India to Berlin, Moscow, and Italy, and as he did with the critically acclaimed Bloody Sunday, director Paul Greengrass puts you right in the thick of it with split-second editing (too much of it, actually) and a knack for well-sustained tension. It doesn't all make sense, and bears little resemblance to Robert Ludlum's novel, but with Damon proving to be an appealingly unconventional action hero, there's plenty to look forward to. —Jeff Shannon

Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Carey, Ang Lee A sad, melancholy ache pervades Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee's haunting, moving film that, like his other movies, explores societal constraints and the passions that lurk underneath. This time, however, instead of taking on ancient China, 19th-century England, or '70s suburbia, Lee uses the tableau of the American West in the early '60s to show how two lovers are bound by their expected roles, how they rebel against them, and the repercussions for each of doing so—but the romance here is between two men. Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) are two itinerant ranchers looking for work in Wyoming when they meet and embark on a summer sheepherding job in the shadow of titular Brokeback Mountain. The taciturn Ennis, uncommunicative in the extreme, finds himself opening up around the gregarious Jack, and the two form a bond that surprisingly catches fire one cold night out in the wilderness. Separating at the end of the summer, each goes on to marry and have children, but a reunion years later proves that, if anything, their passion for each other has grown significantly. And while Jack harbours dreams of a life together, the tight-lipped Ennis is unable to bring himself to even consider something so revolutionary.

Its open, unforced depiction of love between two men made Brokeback an instant cultural touchstone, for both good and bad, as it was tagged derisively as the "gay cowboy movie," but also heralded as a breakthrough for mainstream cinema. Amidst all the hoopla of various agendas, though, was a quiet, heartbreaking love story that was both of its time and universal—it was the quintessential tale of star-crossed lovers, but grounded in an ever-changing America that promised both hope and despair. Adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from Annie Proulx's short story, the movie echoes the sparse bleakness of McMurtry's The Last Picture Show with its fading of the once-glorious West; but with Lee at the helm, it also resembles The Ice Storm, as it showed the ripple effects of a singular event over a number of people. As always, Lee's work with actors is unparalleled, as he elicits graceful, nuanced performances from Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway as the wives affected overtly and subliminally by their husbands' affair, and Gyllenhaal brings surprising dimensions to a character that could have easily just been a puppy dog of a boy. It's Ledger, however, who's the breakthrough in the film, and his portrait of an emotionally repressed man both undone and liberated by his feelings is mesmerizing and devastating. Spare in style but rich with emotion, Brokeback Mountain earns its place as a classic modern love story. —Mark Englehart

Sacha Baron Cohen, Larry Charles

Rob Reiner "You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you," says the quietly wise Carter Chambers, played with gravitas and grace by a Morgan Freeman. In Rob Reiner's moving, often hilarious film The Bucket List, all sorts of people measure themselves against the two heroes, Chambers and his hospital suitemate, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson). But as Cole finds, having spent his entire life building a Fortune 500 company, none of that much matters when cancer, the great equalizer, pays a visit.

The film traces the adventures of the two unlikely friends, who meet in a hospital cancer ward, each given six months to live. The "bucket list" of the title refers to a lifelong list of goals that a teacher of Chambers once advised him to compile—and achieve—"before you kick the bucket." Soon the two are off on what may be the last grand adventure of their life, vowing to tick off as many goals (skydiving, race-car driving, seeing the wonders of the world) as they can in the time they have left. What starts as a medical melodrama becomes a road trip, yet the men's mortality realities are never far from thought. The two leads give impressive performances, and remind the viewer of just how few American films focus on the lives and loves of senior citizens. Nicholson even manages to lose his persona in his character, much as he did in About Schmidt. There's a lovely John Mayer tune, "Say (What You Need to Say)", that's perfectly matched to the film's clear-eyed view of life: What does one person leave behind as his true legacy? —A.T. Hurley

Scott Baio, Jodie Foster, Alan Parker Writer-director Alan Parker's feature debut Bugsy Malone is a pastiche of American movies, a musical gangster comedy set in 1929, featuring prohibition, showgirls, and gang warfare, with references to everything from Some Like It Hot to The Godfather. Uniquely, though, all the parts are played by children, including an excellent if underused Jodie Foster as platinum-blonde singer Tallulah, Scott Baio in the title role and a nine-year-old Dexter Fletcher wielding a baseball bat. Cream-firing "spluge guns" sidestep any real violence and the movie climaxes cheerfully with the biggest custard pie fight this side of Casino Royale (1967). Unfortunately for a musical, Paul Williams's score—part honky-tonk jazz homage, part 1970s Elton John-style pop—lets the side down with a lack of memorable tunes. Nevertheless, Parker's direction is spot on and the look of the film is superb, a fantasy movie-movie existing in the same parallel reality as The Cotton Club and Chicago. A rare British love letter to classic American cinema, Bugsy Malone remains a true original; in Parker's words "the work of a madman" and one of the strangest yet most stylish children's films ever made. —Gary S. Dalkin

Danny Dyer Tamer Hassan, Geoff Bell, Nick Love

Catherine Tate, Jonathan McGuinness, Gordon Anderson The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. A self-titled sketch show from the Perrier-nominated comedian Catherine Tate. This hilarious series is a menagerie of instantly recognisable characters, from the Hollywood actress with an over-enthusiastic penchant for botox to the screaming housewife who hollers every time her toast jumps from the toaster. Characters from everyday life are parodied to the extreme as the talented actress morphs through ages, accents and wigs. The critics are hailing Tate as the most exciting female comic performer around.

Cole Hauser, Eddie Cibrian, Piper Perabo, Lena Heady, Fiona Shaw

Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Andrew Davis Anyone want to venture a guess that Keanu Reeves was sorry he passed up Speed 2 to make this turkey? Both a ridiculous suspense piece about a renegade intelligence community and an ill-considered hunk of do-gooder agitprop about alternative energy technology, Chain Reaction makes Reeves and almost everyone else involved look about as dumb as dumb can be. Hollywood's own Little Buddha plays a streetwise lab technician who survives an organised assault on his hydrogen-power project. The FBI assumes he's really a spy working for some foreign power, but the truth is that a CIA offshoot is behind the project's funding. Morgan Freeman plays the ramrod-straight company man who sabotages Keanu's excellent experiment, and Rachel Weisz portrays a physicist who goes on the run with the alleged saboteur. Directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), who seems more interested in seeing how many absurd places he can mount a chase scene than offering a solid clue as to who these characters are and why we should care about them. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Freddie Highmore, Helena Bonham-Carter, Johnny Depp, AnnaSophia Robb Director Tim Burton’s take on Roald Dahl’s classic story is undeniably more faithful to the source material than the 1975 musical retelling of the same story. His Charlie & The Chocolate Factory is also a slightly darker, visually inventive film, and is ultimately a tasty treat that the whole family can enjoy.

Filling the coat of Willy Wonka is frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp—the pair have previously worked together on the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow—and what fun he clearly had. His Wonka is a kooky, isolated figure, extremely distrusting and clearly uncomfortable around the children who win a golden ticket to look round his factory. Burton invests time in his main character, giving him a rounded back story that pays dividends, and while some will inevitably prefer Gene Wilder’s edgier take on the same role all those years ago, Depp nonetheless is on strong form. The cast around him also perform well, particularly Freddie Highmore in the title role.

The story is as you’ll likely remember it, with five children given the chance to visit Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. And what a visual treat that factory is, bursting with colour and vibrancy. Along the way, they encounter chocolate lakes, industrious squirrels and the infamous oompa loompas, and truthfully, it’s fun to be along for the ride.

Is it better than that aforementioned 1975 version? Actually, it’s just different. Each film will no doubt have its legion of fans, but the bottom line here is that Roald Dahl’s classic has provided the source for an enjoyable, well pitched movie with plenty of rewatch value. Now if only they’d go and film Charlie & The Great Glass Elevator…—Simon Brew

Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Joseph McGinty

Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Shawn Levy Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt corral a wild herd of rampaging children in Cheaper by the Dozen, an enjoyable family flick. When Kate Baker (Hunt) gets a book deal for her chronicle of their abundant family life, she also gets drawn into a book tour—leaving Tom (Martin) to run the house and cope with his new, high-pressure job as a football coach. Naturally, chaos erupts, bringing the family to the brink of meltdown. Cheaper by the Dozen is not a great movie or an important movie or even a surprising movie, but it is a warm-hearted crowd-pleaser. The Bakers' family life is a bit idealised and antiseptic, but anyone looking for an escape from their own less-ideal family lives won't mind. Also featuring Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Piper Perabo and an uncredited Ashton Kutcher. —Bret Fetzer

Peter Lord, Nick Park As warming as a nice cup of tea on a cloudy day, Chicken Run is that charming singularity, a commercially successful British family movie that has near-universal appeal without compromising its inherent British pluckiness (that will be the first and last poultry-pun in this review). It invites us into the Plasticine-world of Tweedy's farm, a far-from-free-range egg factory ruled with an axe of iron by greedy Mrs Tweedy. One intrepid chicken, Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) sets her sights on breaking out the whole flock, a cast of beautifully individuated chicken characters including ditsy Babs (voiced by Jane Horrocks), matronly Bunty (Imelda Staunton) and practical-minded Mac (Lynn Ferguson). Each effort is thwarted, and Ginger repeatedly reaps a spell in the coal bunker for her troubles, prompting the first of many allusions to The Great Escape, one of several World War II films name-checked throughout.(Grown-ups will have a ball playing Spot-the-Allusion Game here.) When an American rooster named Rocky (Mel Gibson) literally drops in from the air, the hens are set all a-flutter with excitement thinking he'll help teach them to fly away at last. But Rocky is not all he seems.

Although the action sags just a fraction around the 40-minute mark, it's the set pieces that really lift this into the realm of cartoon genius: the montage of inept flying attempts, Rocky and Ginger's narrow escape from Mrs Tweedy's new pie machine (an horrific contraption of chomping steel and industrial menace) and the magnificent, soaring climax. Despite the fact British animators (such as the directors, Nick Park and Peter Lord, themselves) regularly scoop Oscars for their short films, our record in full-feature length cartoons has been scrappy at best. There have been a few highlights—Animal Farm (1955), The Yellow Submarine (1968), Watership Down (1978)—and, er, that's about it really, unless you count The Magic Roundabout: Dougal and the Blue Cat. ChickenRun, made by the Aardman production house who produced the delightful Wallace and Gromit shorts among many other treats, has proved that Britain can compete with the most calculated, merchandised and screen-tested Disney production and win. —Leslie Felperin

Peter Horton, Anne-Marie McEvoy, Fritz Kiersch The murder rate is as high as an elephant's eye in Children of the Corn, a flaccid adaptation of Stephen King's short story. While driving through Nebraska en route to a new job, medico Burt (Peter Horton) and his wife Vicky (a pre-Terminator Linda Hamilton) nearly run over a mutilated boy who staggers from the cornfields. Seeking help, they enter the town of Gatlin, whose under-20 residents have butchered their parents per the decree of junior-grade holy-roller Isaac (John Franklin), who preaches the word of a being called "He Who Walks Behind the Rows". King's original story (from his 1978 collection Night Shift) was a lean and brutal mélange of Southern-Gothic atmosphere and EC Comics-style gore, which scripter Greg Goldsmith effectively neutralises by adding a youthful narrator (a grating Robbie Kiger) and putting an upbeat spin on the story's morbid conclusion. Fritz Kiersch's direction is TV-movie flat, with the sole inspired moment (hideous religious iconography glimpsed during a bloody "service") delivered as a throwaway. Aside from Horton and Courtney Gains (as Isaac's hatchet man Malachai), the performances are dreadful. The depiction of the monster-God as a sort of giant gopher inspires more laughter than terror. Amazingly, the film spawned six sequels; Franklin (Cousin It in the Addams Family films) later appeared in and wrote 1999's Children of the Corn 666.—Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Kate Beahan Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.

Manufacturer: Metrodome

Slapstick humor gets a full-body workout in Christmas with the Kranks. Critics were unanimous in their derision, and John Grisham must have gnashed his teeth over what studio-boss-turned-director Joe Roth did to his bestselling novel Skipping Christmas, to which this broad-stroked comedy bears little or no resemblance. The title characters are played by Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, who decide to skip Christmas because their daughter's in Peru with the Peace Corps. Thus begins a rabid program of enforced conformity when their neighbors (led by Dan Aykroyd) coerce the Kranks into changing their holiday attitude—a change that comes easily when the daughter announces she'll be home for Christmas after all. Imagine if a suburban lynch mob said "Have a Merry Christmas or we'll kill you," and you'll get some idea of what spending Christmas with the Kranks is really like. And if you laughed at the frozen cat, you're probably on Santa's "naughty" list. —Jeff Shannon

The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis's classic novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes an ambitious and long-awaited leap to the screen in this modern adaptation. It's a CGI-created world laden with all the special effects and visual wizardry modern filmmaking technology can conjure, which is fine so long as the film stays true to the story that Lewis wrote. And while this film is not a literal translation—it really wants to be so much more than just a kids' movie—for the most part it is faithful enough to the story, and whatever faults it has are happily faults of overreaching, and not of holding back. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children, Lucy, Peter, Edmund, and Susan, and their adventures in the mystical world of Narnia. Sent to the British countryside for their own safety during the blitz of World War II, they discover an entryway into a mystical world through an old wardrobe. Narnia is inhabited by mythical, anthropomorphic creatures suffering under the hundred-year rule of the cruel White Witch (Tilda Swinton, in a standout role). The arrival of the children gives the creatures of Narnia hope for liberation, and all are dragged into the inevitable conflict between evil (the Witch) and good (Aslan the Lion, the Messiah figure, regally voiced by Liam Neeson).

Director (and co-screenwriter) Andrew Adamson, a veteran of the Shrek franchise, knows his way around a fantasy-based adventure story, and he wisely keeps the story moving when it could easily become bogged down and tiresome. Narnia is, of course, a Christian allegory and the symbology is definitely there (as it should be, otherwise it wouldn't be the story Lewis wrote), but audiences aren’t knocked over the head with it, and in the hands of another director it could easily have become pedantic. The focus is squarely on the children and their adventures. The four young actors are respectable in their roles, especially considering the size of the project put on their shoulders, but it's the young Georgie Henley as the curious Lucy who stands out. This isn't a film that wildly succeeds, and in the long run it won't have the same impact as the Harry Potter franchise, but it is well done, and kids will get swept up in the adventure. Note: Narnia does contain battle scenes that some parents may consider too violent for younger children. —Dan Vancini

Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, David T. Twohy Bigger isn't always better, but for anyone who enjoyed Pitch Black, a nominal sequel like The Chronicles of Riddick should prove adequately entertaining. Writer-director David Twohy returns with expansive sets, detailed costumes, an army of CGI effects artists, and the star he helped launch—Vin Diesel—bearing his franchise burden quite nicely as he reprises his title role. The Furian renegade Riddick has another bounty on his head, but when he escapes from his mercenary captors, he's plunged into an epic-scale war waged by the Necromongers. A fascist master race led by Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), they're determined to conquer all enemies in their quest for the Underverse, the appeal of which is largely unexplained (since Twohy is presumably reserving details for subsequent "chronicles"). With tissue-thin plotting, scant character development, and skimpy roles that waste the talents of Thandie Newton (as a Necromonger conspirator) and Judi Dench (as a wispy "Elemental" priestess), Twohy's back in the B-movie territory he started in (with The Arrival), brought to vivid life on a vast digital landscape with the conceptual allure of a lavish graphic novel. But does Riddick have leadership skills on his resumé? To get an answer to that question, sci-fi fans will welcome another sequel. —Jeff Shannon

Adam Sandler, David Hasselhoff, Frank Coraci

The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.

It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people.

On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. —Kim Newman

Coldplay Coldplay are on peak form in Live 2003, riding high on the phenomenal success of A Rush of Blood to the Head. This CD/DVD two-pack was filmed (on Super-16mm film) and recorded in Sydney's Horden Pavilion on July 21 and 22, 2003, during a year-long world tour and the medium-sized arena provides a fitting stage for the London-based rock quartet; not so grand as to overwhelm the music, but large enough to indicate their large and loyal following, which includes enthusiastic fans of both genders.

Especially when played in DTS 5.1 surround, this 90-minute concert is richer, thicker and (of course) louder than Coldplay's studio recordings, lending a wall-of-sound expansiveness to the band's signature sound, which draws from such diverse influences as Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Verve, U2 and their own unique sonic landscape.

"Politik" gets the gig off to a rousing start, and other impressive highlights include "Daylight", "Yellow", the as-yet-unreleased new song "Moses", and the popular hits "In My Place", "Clocks", and "The Scientist". And while the concert visuals are slick and professional (perhaps placing a bit too much emphasis on singer/frontman Chris Martin), this DVD and CD—the latter containing a truncated 70-minute version of the same performance—are best appreciated for their pristine audio quality. Culled from 400 hours of home video, the 40-minute "concert diary" represents a wasted opportunity, enjoyable for hardcore fans but offering no insight into the band or its individual members. Much better, then, to play the concert at healthy high volume, and appreciate Coldplay in the prime of their young career. —Jeff Shannon

Angela Lansbury, Sarah Patterson, Stephen Rea, Alyssa Milano

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up and cheer when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Tim Burton, Mark Johnson Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac's delight that's fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation—after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp, is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria.

But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride, voiced by Helena Bonham Carter, a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball.

This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman's songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton's graveyard whimsy never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting is superbly matched the film's gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. —Jeff Shannon

As the eagerly awaited Cowboy Bebop feature film reunites the original director, screenwriter, composer, and vocal cast, it's not surprising that the film plays like an expanded TV episode. What should be the routine capture of a two-bit hacker by Faye escalates into a deadly game of cat and mouse, as Spike and the gang struggle to prevent the evil Vincent Volaju from murdering every human on Mars. Director Shinichiro Watanabe handles the action sequences with his usual panache. Inside the sinister Cherious Medical research facility, Spike fights a beautiful agent, using a push broom in a series of maneuvers Jackie Chan might envy. The climactic duel between Spike and Vincent plays against innocent yet eerie images of a Halloween carnival, recalling the amusement park setting of episode 20, "Pierrot Le Fou." Knockin' on Heaven's Door will delight fans of the series and provide an excellent introduction for the uninitiated who want to know why Cowboy Bebop is so popular on both sides of the Pacific. (Rated R: violence, brief nudity, minor profanity, tobacco use) —Charles Solomon, Amazon.com

Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Alex Proyas The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies (like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance and piece together enough footage to make the film releasable. Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and occult menace from every dank, concrete crack, but it really adds up to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him and his fiancée the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. —Jim Emerson

This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, Cruel Intentions plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal.

Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who has written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn—in the sack.

When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story—revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. —Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Christina Ricci, Michael Rosenbaum, Shannon Elizabeth, Portia De Rossi, Joshua Jackson A werewolf loose in Los Angeles changes the lives of three young adults, who, after being mauled by the beast, learn they must kill their attacker if they hope to change their fate to avoid becoming werewolves too.

Artist: Christina Ricci
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau Whether or not one likes Daredevil the movie probably has a lot to do with whether or not one likes Daredevil the comic book. To its credit (or, depending upon your perspective, its detriment), Daredevil is one of the most faithful comic-book adaptations to make it to the big screen. Yet in a world where the red-suited crimefighter is hardly a cultural icon in the same league as Batman and Spider-Man, that will mean very little to most filmgoers.

Daredevil tells the story of Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck), a young lawyer who spent his youth getting kicked around by life in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. He's blinded at an early age in an industrial accident, but when he recovers, he discovers that his remaining senses are superhumanly acute. When his father, a boxer, is killed by gangsters for refusing to throw a fight, Matt Murdock vows to dedicate his life to fighting for what's right. To that end, he becomes a lawyer by day and a masked vigilante by night—Daredevil, the Man Without Fear.

Using as its source material a classic (well, to comics fans, at least) Frank Miller story line, the film manages to find room for Daredevil's origin, his love affair with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and his first meetings with his two arch-nemeses, Bullseye (Colin Farrell) and Kingpin (Michael Clark Duncan). Colin Farrell has fun with the psychotic Irish assassin Bullseye, who can use nearly any object as a deadly projectile (and who, as he proudly states, never misses). Michael Clark Duncan adds stone-cold menace to the Kingpin of Crime, the criminal mastermind at the nexus of New York's underworld. Yet Daredevil tries to cram too much into its relatively short running time, and ultimately it's the relationship between Matt Murdock and Elektra that suffers—Garner does all she can with the character, but she could have benefited from a bit more screen time. And the action sequences—particularly the faster-paced, Matrix-style wire fights—only succeed in making Affleck and Farrell look a bit awkward (unlike Garner, neither are natural martial artists). Still, Daredevil is a film by comic-book fans, for comic-book fans, packed with cameos and in-jokes sure to appeal to the die-hards. If that's you, then there's much to love here. —Robert Burrow

Dan O'Bannon, Dre Pahich, John Carpenter Dark Star is absurd, surreal and very funny. John Carpenter once described it as "Waiting for Godot in space." (It's also, surely, one of the primary inspirations for Red Dwarf.) Made at a cost of practically nothing, the film's effects are nevertheless impressive and, along with the number of ideas crammed into its 83 minutes, ought to shame makers of science fiction films costing hundreds of times more.

The story concerns the Dark Star's crew who are on a 20-year mission to destroy unstable planets and make way for future colonisation. The smart bombs they use to effect this zoom off cheerfully to do their duty. But unlike Star Trek, in which order prevails, the nerves of this crew are becoming increasingly frayed to the point of psychosis. Their captain has been killed by a radiation leak that also destroyed their toilet paper. "Don't give me any of that 'Intelligent Life' stuff," says Commander Doolittle when presented with the possibility of alien life. "Find me something I can blow up." When an asteroid storm causes a malfunction, Bomb Number 20 (the most cheerful character in the film) has to be repeatedly talked out of exploding prematurely, each time becoming more and more peevish, until they have to teach him phenomenology to make him doubt his existence. And the film's apocalyptic ending, lifted almost wholly from Ray Bradbury's story "Kaleidoscope", has the remaining crew drifting away from each other in space, each to a suitably absurd end. —Jim Gay

Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Debra Monk A mother and daughter, still wounded from a bitter custody dispute, hole up in a run-down apartment building. Adding further drama to their plight, they are targeted by the ghost of former resident.

Artist: Jennifer Connelly
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, Jake Webber, Jayne Eastwood Are you ready to get down with the sickness? Movie logic dictates that you shouldn't remake a classic, but Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead defies that logic and comes up a winner. You could argue that George A. Romero's 1978 original was sacred ground for horror buffs, but it was a low-budget classic, and Snyder's action-packed upgrade benefits from the same manic pacing that energized Romero's continuing zombie saga. Romero's indictment of mega-mall commercialism is lost (it's arguably outmoded anyway), so Snyder and screenwriter James Gunn compensate with the same setting—in this case, a Milwaukee shopping mall under siege by cannibalistic zombies in the wake of a devastating viral outbreak—a well-chosen cast (led by Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer), some outrageously morbid humor, and a no-frills plot that keeps tension high and blood splattering by the bucketful. Horror buffs will catch plenty of tributes to Romero's film (including cameos by three of its cast members, including gore-makeup wizard Tom Savini), and shocking images are abundant enough to qualify this Dawn as an excellent zombie-flick double-feature with 28 Days Later, its de facto British counterpart. —Jeff Shannon

Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Roland Emmerich Supreme silliness doesn't stop The Day After Tomorrow from being lots of fun for connoisseurs of epic-scale disaster flicks. After the blockbuster profits of Independence Day and Godzilla, you can't blame director Roland Emmerich for using global warming as a politically correct excuse for destroying most of the northern hemisphere. Like most of Emmerich's films, this one emphasises special effects over such lesser priorities as well-drawn characters and plausible plotting, and his dialogue (cowritten by Jeffrey Nachmanoff) is so laughably trite that it could be entirely eliminated without harming the movie. It's the spectacle that's important here, not the lame, recycled plot about father and son (Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal) who endure an end-of-the-world scenario caused by the effects of global warming. So sit back, relax and enjoy the awesome visions of tornado-ravaged Los Angeles, blizzards in New Delhi, Japan pummelled by grapefruit-sized hailstones, and Manhattan flooded by swelling oceans and then frozen by the onset of a modern ice age. It's all wildly impressive, and Emmerich obviously doesn't care if the science is flimsy, so why should you? —Jeff Shannon

Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Scott Derrickson

Mayhem rules in Death Race, a head-over-heels remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race 2000, in which cars become lethal weapons. The strength of this new version is its total single-mindedness about vehicular homicide; it has the virtue of no cluttering subplots or simpering sentimentality. And banish all memory of the original's wild satirical comedy: Death Race is as grim as a dinner tray to the face (a reference that will be explained in a key sequence). In a slightly futuristic maximum-security prison, cons take part in brutal races around the island prison, their violent deaths watched live by millions of viewers. Jason Statham, possibly cast because of his driving dexterity in the Transporter movies, plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. Joan Allen provides her brittle cool as the warden, who recruits Statham to assume the masked persona of a legendary driver called Frankenstein. Tyrese Gibson is Frankie's main rival, Natalie Martinez provides the fetching eye candy, but the acting honours go to Ian McShane, as the philosophical prison mechanic. One misses the cross-country race from the original film, as the setting here is claustrophobic and the cars are largely colorless and indistinguishable from each other. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) continues to display the sensibility of a video-game addict, which will either be a recommendation or a turn-off, depending on your own tastes. At least it doesn't have the hypocritical moral blathering of something like the somewhat similar Condemned—who knew you could be so grateful for simple, straight-forward head-bashing? —Robert Horton

Myanna Burning, Natalie Mendoza, Molly Kayll, Shauna Macdonald, Saskia Mulder

Antonio Banderas, Joaquim De Almeida, Robert Rodriguez It's Sergio Leone meets Sam Peckinpah meets Quentin Tarantino in this ultra-violent, mythological shoot-'em-up by auteur Robert Rodriguez. In Desperado, Rodriguez creates larger-than-life, genre-tweaking stock characters and puts them through their paces. As they stride bravely through an Old West lightly dusted with camp humour, they're periodically called upon to nimbly dodge bullets and fireballs through outrageously choreographed displays of Hollywood pyrotechnics. In this bigger-budget semi-remake/semi-sequel to Rodriguez's indie sensation, El Mariachi (made, famously, for $7,000), Antonio Banderas is the darkly charismatic El Mariachi, the Mysterious Stranger in town; Steve Buscemi is perfectly cast as his weasely, motor-mouth Comic Sidekick, laying the groundwork for El Mariachi's entrance by spinning saloon stories to build up his legend; Cheech Marin is a standout as the Bartender, who really knows how to handle a toothpick; and gorgeous Salma Hayek is, well, the Girl—treated to the kind of full-blown, slow-movement introduction the movies traditionally lavish on beautiful new stars. It doesn't add up to much but it's a kick. —Jim Emerson

Destination Germany Destination Germany

If the repeated use of the phrase "man-whore" is your recipe for hilarity, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is your movie. Rob Schneider—The Hot Chick, The Animal—returns as the hapless male prostitute, in this case lured back into the man-whore lifestyle in order to investigate the killings of European man-whores.

His former pimp T.J. (Eddie Griffin, Undercover Brother) has set up shop in Amsterdam, where he finds himself accused of both the man-whore murders and of being a homosexual. From this slender, ridiculous premise springs dozens of gags about flatulence, breasts, and male sexual organs—in fact, the number of phallus stand-ins (noses, swords, man-whore of the year awards) would seem excessive to Aristophanes. And yet, despite all things crass and tawdry, Schneider remains bizarrely innocent, and this movie, like the first one, feels inexplicably sweet. The fundamental ethos of Deuce Bigalow is that everyone, no matter how they look, deserves to be loved. Such a downright Christian sentiment is rarely packaged in a movie featuring a cat biting a man's testicles or a woman gushing wine out of her tracheotomy hole, yet that's all part of the ineffable mystery of Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo.—Bret Fetzer

John McTiernan Actor(s): Bruce Willis Alan Rickman Bonnie Bedelia Reginald VelJohnson Paul Gleason, John McTiernan

Art Evans, Bonnie Bedelia, Renny Harlin Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. — Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Twelve years after Die Hard with a Vengeance, the third and previous film in the Die Hard franchise, Die Hard 4.0 finds John McClane (Bruce Willis) a few years older, not any happier, and just as kick-ass as ever. Right after he has a fight with his college-age daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a call comes in to pick up a hacker (Justin Long, Dodgeball) who might help the FBI learn something about a brief security blip in their systems. Now any Die Hard fan knows that this is when the assassins with foreign accents and high-powered weaponry show up, telling McClane that once again he's stumbled into an assignment that's anything but routine. Once that wreckage has cleared, it is revealed that the hacker is only one of many hackers who are being targeted for extermination after they helped set up a "fire sale," a three-pronged cyberattack designed to bring down the entire country by crippling its transportation, finances, and utilities. That plan is now being put into action by a mysterious team (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood, and Maggie Q, Mission: Impossible 3) that seems to be operating under the government's noses. Die Hard 4.0 uses some of the cat-and-mouse elements of Die Hard with a Vengeance along with some of the pick-'em-off-one-by-one elements of the now-classic original movie. And it's the most consistently enjoyable installment of the franchise since the original, with eye-popping stunts (directed by Len Wiseman of the Underworld franchise), good humour, and Willis's ability to toss off a quip while barely alive. Yippee-ki-ay! —David Horiuchi

Dirty

A provocative science fiction drama, District 9 boasts an original story that gets a little lost in blow-'em-up mayhem. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, District 9 begins as a mock documentary about the imminent eviction of extraterrestrials from a pathetic shantytown (called District 9). The creatures, it turns out, have been on Earth for years, having arrived sickly and starving. Initially received by humans with compassion and care, the aliens are now mired in blighted conditions typical of long-term refugee camps unwanted by a hostile, host society. With the creatures' care contracted out to a for-profit corporation, the shantytown has become a violent slum. The aliens sift through massive piles of junk while their minders secretly research weapons technology that arrived on the visitors' spacecraft. Against this backdrop is a more personal story about a bureaucrat named Wikus (Sharlto Copley) who is accidentally exposed to a DNA-altering substance. As he begins metamorphosing into one of the creatures, Wikus goes on the run from scientists who want to harvest his evolving, new parts and aliens who see him as a threat. When he pairs up with an extraterrestrial secretly planning an escape from Earth, however, what should be a fascinating relationship story becomes a series of firefights and explosions. Nuance is lost to numbing violence, and the more interesting potential of the film is obscured. Yet, for a while District 9 is a powerful movie with a unique tale to tell. Seamless special effects alone are worth seeing: the (often brutal) exchanges between alien and human are breathtaking. —Tom Keogh

Camille Coduri, Christopher Eccleston, Keith Boak, Euros Lyn

Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Rawson Marshall Thurber How's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend competition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber aced Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in US box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction—along with a sublime cast of screen comedians—proved to be just what moviegoers were ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp in which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughan) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days. The solution: a dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughan and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughan, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. —Jeff Shannon

Loosely based on the real life story of the late bounty hunter Domino Harvey, Keira Knightley quickly sheds her softer image here with an unflinching performance in the title role. As Domino, she brandishes guns, reacts against anyone who crosses her, and isn’t above a lapdance to get her out of a tight spot. Yet it’s the partnership she forms with Mickey Rourke’s Ed Mosbey, her leader and effectively surrogate father, that sits at the core of this good-but-uneven movie, and allows both actors to excel in their roles.

The story is told in flashback, as Domino is interrogated by Lucy Liu’s police detective. From there, it follows the story of Domino’s life, from her tragic early days, through to meeting Mosbey and her subsequent life as a bounty hunter. And, laced with strong performances and some nicely-constructed sequences, for long periods the film works well. Working against it at times though is director Tony Scott’s (Man On Fire, Crimson Tide, True Romance) over-fussy directorial style, which is very much take it or leave it, but does at times get in the way of the storytelling. At the point where you want him to focus on what’s happening, there’s just one too many flashy shots or quick edits.

Still, Domino works, and is suitably removed from the glossy, vacuous action movie you may be expecting. It’s very stylised, but the script from Donnie Darko’s Richard Kelly covers its bases well. And while the film itself isn’t without a couple of problems, the end result is still well worth watching.—Simon Brew

Al Pacino, Mike Newell Based on a memoir by former undercover cop Joe Pistone (whose daring and unprecedented infiltration of the New York Mob scene earned him a place in the federal witness protection program), Donnie Brasco is like a de-romanticised, de-mythologised version of The Godfather. It offers an uncommonly detailed, privileged glimpse inside the world of organised crime from the perspective of the little guys at the bottom of Mafia hierarchy rather than from the kingpins at the top. Donnie Brasco is not only one of the great modern-day gangster movies to put in the company of The Godfather films and GoodFellas, but it is also one of the great undercover police movies—arguably surpassing Serpico and Prince of the City in richness of character, detail and moral complexity. Donnie (Johnny Depp, a splendid actor) is practically adopted by Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a gregarious, low-level "made" man who grows to love his young protégé like a son. (Pacino really sinks into this guy's skin and polyester slacks and creates his freshest, most fully realised character since his 1970s heyday.) As Donnie acclimates himself to Lefty's world, he distances himself from his wife (a terrific Anne Heche) and family for their own protection. Almost imperceptibly his sense of identity slips away from him. Questioning his own confused loyalties, unable to trust anybody else because he himself is an imposter, Donnie loses his way in a murky and treacherous no-man's land. The film is directed by Mike Newell, who also headed up Four Weddings and a Funeral and the gritty, true crime melodrama Dance with a Stranger. —Jim Emerson

Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Richard Kelly Donnie Darko is a thought-provoking, touching and distinctive offering from relative newcomer, Richard Kelly (II). It's 1988 in small-town America and Donnie, a disturbed teenager on medication and undergoing psychoanalysis for his blackouts and personality disorders, is being visited by a being in a rabbit suit whom he calls Frank. It's this anti-Harvey that saves Donnie from being crushed to death when an airplane engine falls from the sky onto his house. This is the beginning of their escalating relationship, which, as Donnie follows Frank's instructions, becomes increasingly violent and destructive. Added to this is Frank's warning of the impending apocalypse and Donnie's realisation that he can manipulate time, leading to a startling denouement where nearly everything becomes clear.

"Nearly everything", because Donnie Darko is a darkly comic, surreal journey in which themes of space, time and morality are interwoven with a classic coming-of-age story of a teenage boy's struggle to understand the world around him. The film leaves the viewer with more questions than it answers, but then that's part of its charm. Performances are superb: Jake Gyllenhaal underplays the mixed-up kid role superbly and Donnie's episodes of angst positively erupt out of the screen. There are also some starry cameos from Mary McDonnell as Donnie's long-suffering mother, Patrick Swayze as Jim Cunningham, the personal-development guru with a terrible secret, and Noah Wyle and Drew Barrymore as Donnie's progressive teachers. Undoubtedly too abstruse for some tastes, Donnie Darko's balance of outstanding performances with intelligent dialogue and a highly inventive story will reward those looking for something more highbrow than the average teenage romp. —Kristen Bowditch

Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Brian Steele Grab your BFG and get ready to kick some Martian-demon butt in Doom, another entry in the increasingly crowded videogame-to-movie genre. The Rock plays Sarge, the commander of a squad of Marines sent to investigate a disturbance at a scientific research facility on Mars. Among the squad is John Grimm (Karl Urban, who played Eomer in The Lord of the Rings), who turns out to have had a previous relationship with Samantha (Rosamund Pike, Die Another Day), the scientist who's accompanying the Marines in order to retrieve some vital data from the facility.

Based on id Software's legendary first-person shooter, Doom tries its best to look like a game, with dark, angled corridors, ferocious creatures appearing out of nowhere, and a variety of lethal weapons that will, like the aforementioned BFG, warm the cockles of a gamer's heart. There's also one memorable sequence that actually turns the movie into a first-person shooter; the good news is that in the context of the whole film, it's not quite as goofy as it might have been.

And that's not a bad frame of reference for the film in general. Considering the game-to-movie field includes such duds as Wing Commander, if you go into Doom with low expectations, you'll probably find it a surprisingly respectable horror/sci-fi thriller in the Resident Evil vein (including its somewhat obligatory subplot of corporate wrongdoing). Also in its favor is that it's unabashedly R-rated, for the extreme gore that is a trademark of the game. After all, the purpose of the movie is to pack scares and thrills into a setting that gamers will quickly recognize. In that sense, it qualifies as a success. —David Horiuchi

Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, Keith Boak, Joe Ahearne

Johnny Knoxville, David Koechner, Jay Chandrasekhar The teaming of Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott as well as the presence of the '70s-flavored car chases that were a specialty of the TV series guarantees that The Dukes of Hazzard will be even more lowbrow than the show that inspired it.

However, this brain-damaging comedy is more "rehash" than "remake," as good ol' Georgiaboys Luke Duke and his cousin Bo are frequently upstaged by the General Lee, the Confederate-flagged '69 Charger that they drive, jump, race, and fly in as they smuggle moonshine for their Uncle Jesse, played by Willie Nelson.

Meanwhile, cousin Daisy Duke—Jessica Simpson—is reliably available to model her short-shorts and awesome figure, while corrupt honcho Boss Hogg—Burt Reynolds, who should know better—recruits a local NASCAR star to advance his wily scheme of converting Hazzard County into a strip mine.

Director Jay Chandrasekhar, previously behind Super Troopers manages to mine some good-natured humour from the movie's oval-track detour and a few colorful supporting players. Otherwise, consider yourself warned: The Dukes of Hazzard is shameless Hollywood product at its most forgettable, trafficking in shameless white, rural Southern stereotypes. —Jeff Shannon

Dumb and Dumber Delivering exactly what its title promises, this celebration of stupidity was Jim Carrey's 1994 follow-up to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. The film pairs the rubber-faced wacky man with Jeff Daniels as the not-so-dynamic duo of Lloyd and Harry, dunderheads who come into the possession of a briefcase containing ransom money that is intended for Mob-connected kidnappers. Lauren Holly co-stars as the woman who lost the briefcase, and with whom Carrey falls in love (both in real life and as his moronic on-screen character). As Lloyd and Harry make a mad dash to return the briefcase (never aware of its contents), the bumbling buddies attract Mobsters, cops, and trouble galore. This lowbrow laugh-a-thon scores some solid hits for hilarity, but with gags involving ill-fated parakeets, buxom bimbos, and an overdose of laxatives, be prepared to put your brain—and good taste—on hold.—Jeff Shannon

Kyle MacLachlan, Kenneth McMillan, David Lynch

David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmas time in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie—an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence—nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humour, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. —Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right).

Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right)
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right).
Naomi Watts.
Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watts (right).
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right).
Vincent Cassel.
Viggo Mortensen.

Eddie Izzard, Ed Bye

Jennifer Garner, Terence Stamp, Rob Bowman

Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Kurt Wimmer From the outset, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was about conflict. Producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller challenged the utopian ideals of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek universe to create something totally different from its predecessors. That meant no familial camaraderie, squeaky-clean Federation diplomacy, or beige décor. Instead they wanted interpersonal friction, ruthless enemies (Gamma Quadrant Imperialists—The Dominion) and rebellion at every turn. The DS9 concept was originally facilitated by introducing the Cardassian/Bajoran war during The Next Generation's final days. After a muted first reception fans gradually came to accept the new look, but no one liked Star Trek without a starship and eventually the producers capitulated to viewers' wishes by introducing the USS Defiant (an apt name) in Season 3.

Relying far less on technobabble than TNG, DS9 was unafraid to focus on matters of the spirit instead, demonstrating a ballsy independence from its parent shows. Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by Babylon 5, improved CGI space battles also became a fan favourite. Throughout the increasingly serialised story arc there were rebellious factions within the different establishments: Kira had belonged to the Shakaar resistance cell; the Maquis was Starfleet vs Cardassians; section 31 was a secret Starfleet group; the True Way was a Bajoran group opposed to peace; the Cardassians had their Obsidian Order and the Romulans their Gestapo-like Tal Shiar. Yet for all its constant bickering and espionage (even Bashir got to be James Bond), there was always some contemporary social commentary lurking: the Ferengi were used as a comedic foil to frown on materialistic greed; drugs were looked at via the Jem'Hadar foot soldiers' addiction to Ketracel White.

Perhaps Sisko summed up the real heart of things: "Bajor doesn't need a man, it needs a legend". A future vision that retains a place for religion and spirituality turned out to be Deep Space Nine's first best destiny. —Paul Tonks

Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker, Hal Delrich, Sarah York In the Autumn of 1979, Sam Raimi and his merry band headed into the woods of rural Tennessee to make a little film called The Evil Dead. They emerged with a roller coaster of a film packed with shocks, gore and wild humour, a film that remains a benchmark for the genre. Ash (cult favourite Bruce Campbell) and four friends arrive at a backwoods cabin for a vacation, where they find a tape recorder containing incantations from an ancient book of the dead. When they play the tape, evil forces are unleashed and one by one the friends are possessed. Wouldn't you know it, the only way to kill a "deadite" is by total bodily dismemberment and soon the blood starts to fly. Raimi injects tremendous energy into this simple plot, using the claustrophobic set, disorientating camera angles, and even the graininess of the film stock itself to create an atmosphere of dread, punctuated by a relentless series of jump-out-of-your-seat shocks. Much of the film's energy is supplied by the "Raimi-cam," a gliding, swooping, rushing camera that suggests a dislocated, otherworldly point of view while injecting a lively if spooky fleetness to the pace. Though it's no comedy, Raimi's dry wit and cinematic cleverness pervades the entire film. The Evil Dead lacks the more highly developed sense of the absurd that distinguish later entries in the series—Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness—but it is still much more than a gore movie: it marks the appearance of one of the most original and visually exciting directors of his generation, and it stands as a monument to the triumph of imagination over budget. —Simon Leake, Amazon.com

On the DVD: For a film made on the tiniest of budgets and shot in 16 mm, The Evil Dead looks impressive in this widescreen 1.85:1 anamorphic print, even if the picture quality is never going to rival that of 35 mm. The revelation here is the soundtrack, with optional DTS 6.1 audio mix, which showcases Sam Raimi's bizarre assembly of sound effects and Joseph LoDuca's minimalist Bernard Herrmann-inspired score. Director Raimi and Producer Robert Tapert chat amiably about making the film on the first commentary track, but the real treat is Bruce Campbell's "alternate" commentary, which is not only extremely informative but laugh-out-loud funny, too. Among other nuggets we learn that: the distinctive moving camera effects were created by strapping the camera to a plank held between two people who had to run very fast through the woods; most of the actors were so worried about appearing in a horror movie that they made up stage names for the credits; and Raimi's 73 Oldsmobile has since reappeared in almost every one of his films. A trailer and stills gallery complete the extras package. —Mark Walker

David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Ivan Reitman Based on the evidence in Evolution, one thing is perfectly clear: special effects have evolved, but director Ivan Reitman has reverted to primitive pandering. Equally obvious is the fact that Evolution is a defacto rip-off of Reitman's 1984 classic Ghostbusters, but this time there's no Bill Murray to deliver the best punch lines (we have to settle for fellow ghostbuster Dan Aykroyd in a broad supporting role) and the comedy has devolved into a gross-fest including deep-rectal extraction of alien insects, fire-hose enemas into a giant alien sphincter, and a full-moon display of David Duchovny's naked posterior. Whereas Ghostbusters was a shrewd, irreverent mainstream comedy that combined gooey spectral ectoplasm with something resembling genuine wit, Evolution is a crude, juvenile romp in which all things slimy are elevated to comedic supremacy. Granted, that's not always a bad thing. As latter-day Ghostbusters equivalents, Duchovny, Orlando Jones and Seann William Scott make a fine comedic trio, and Julianne Moore is equally amusing as a clumsy scientist and Duchovny's obligatory love interest. Despite the meddling of clueless military buffoons, they join forces to eradicate a wild variety of rapidly evolving alien creatures that arrived on Earth via meteor impact, and the extraterrestrial beasties (courtesy of effects wizard Phil Tippet and crew) are outrageously designed and marvellously convincing. For anyone who prefers lowbrow humour, Evolution will prove as entertaining as Ghostbusters (or at least Galaxy Quest), while others may lament Reitman's shameless embrace of crudeness. One thing's for certain: after seeing this film, you'll gain a whole new appreciation for Head & Shoulders shampoo. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Evolution's special effects and CGI are seamless and crystal clear in anamorphic widescreen with some of the "creatures" looking more realistic than the actors. This is a movie with quite a few set pieces, but none show off the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack better than the dragon attack in the mall, connect up a couple of speakers and you can hear the flap of leathery wings behind your couch. In terms of extras there's a making-of documentary from HBO called The Evolution of Evolution, hosted by Orlando Jones, in which he interviews his co-stars (most of whom seem to ignore him) and the director Ivan Reitman. You also get the behind-scenes track on the special effects and art direction. Other than that you get the theatrical trailer, the teaser trailer and the original trailer for Ghostbusters, which adds a touch classic 80s' memorabilia. —Kristen Bowditch

Manufacturer: Boulevard

Manufacturer: Boulevard

Seth Macfarlane The laughs come full "Force" when the Griffin clan puts a freakin' sweet spin on the greatest sci-fi saga ever told! With Peter playing the swashbuckling Han Solo, Lois as the sexy Princess Leia, Chris as an adolescent Luke Skywalker, Brian as a well-spoken Chewbacca and Stewie finally embracing his dark side as Darth Vader, who knows what will happen? Filled with outrageous gags, spaced-out droids and more intergalactic satire than you can shake a lightsaber at, this epic spoof of Star wars: A New Hope is a must-own for every fan of Family Guy!

Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Peter Shin, Pete Michels

Family Guy shouldn't work at all. Even by the witless standards of modern television, it is breathtakingly derivative: does an animated series about the travails of a boorish, suburban yob with a saintly wife, a hopeless son, a clever daughter and a baby sound familiar at all? Even the house in Family Guy looks like it was built by the same architects who sketched the residence of The Simpsons.

However, Family Guy does work, transcending its (occasionally annoyingly) obvious influences with reliably crisp writing and the glorious sight gags contained in the surreal flashbacks which punctuate the episodes. Most importantly, the show's brilliance comes from two absolutely superb characters: Stewie, the baby whose extravagant dreams of tyrannising the world are perpetually thwarted by the prosaic limitations of infanthood, and the urbane family dog Brian—Snoopy after attendance at an obedience class run by Frank Sinatra. Family Guy does not possess the cultural or satirical depth of The Simpsons—very little art in any field does. But it is a genuinely funny and clever programme. —Andrew Mueller

Ioan Gruffudd, G. Michael Gray, Tim Story Fantastic Four is a light-hearted and funny take on Marvel Comics' first family of superherodom. It begins when down-on-his-luck genius Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) has to enlist the financial and intellectual help of former schoolmate and rival Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) in order to pursue outer-space research involving human DNA. Also on the trip are Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis); his former lover, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), who's now Doom's employee and love interest; and her hotshot-pilot brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). Things don't go as planned, of course, and the quartet becomes blessed—or is it cursed?—with superhuman powers: flexibility, brute strength, invisibility and projecting force fields, and bursting into flame. Meanwhile, Doom himself is undergoing a transformation.

Among the many entries in the comic-book-movie frenzy, Fantastic Four is refreshing because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Characterization isn't too deep, and the action is a bit sparse until the final reel (like most "first" superhero movies, it has to go through the "how did we get these powers and what we will do with them?" churn). But it's a good-looking cast, and original comic-book co-creator Stan Lee makes his most significant Marvel-movie cameo yet, in a speaking role as the FF's steadfast postal carrier, Willie Lumpkin. Newcomers to superhero movies might find the idea of a family with flexibility, strength, invisibility, and force fields a retread of The Incredibles, but Pixar's animated film was very much a tribute to the FF and other heroes of the last 40 years. The irony is that while Fantastic Four is an enjoyable B-grade movie, it's the tribute, The Incredibles, that turned out to be a film for the ages. —David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Tim Story Offering a real improvement on its predecessor and successfully introducing one of the world of comics’ most popular characters in the process, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer easily warrants some attention on DVD to go with its impressive box office take.

Picking up where the surprisingly tepid original left off, Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer finds the Marvel Comics Universe’s first family dealing with the celebrity that their powers have brought them, to the point where even a simple wedding can’t take place without interruption.

The film then takes a little while to re-establish its characters and re-introduce some of the issues that underpin them. But it’s not too long before the Silver Surfer arrives, and things really get into gear. For make no mistake: it’s the Surfer who ignites the film and provides some of the very best moments of Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer. Backed up by some superb special effects work, he’s a far more interesting draw that the returning Julian McMahon as Dr Doom.

While there are, inevitably, various problems that each of the characters in Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer must face, the film never opts to go knee-deep into them. Instead, it chooses a light, breezy tone, that’s suited well to family viewing yet not without some genuine blockbuster moments.

It’s no classic, but Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer is most certainly fun. And it’s equally certain that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of this quintet of heroes... —Jon Foster

Paul Walker, Tyrese, John Singleton Like the high-revving imports and American muscle cars that roar down the streets of its south Florida setting, 2 Fast 2 Furious is tricked out to the max. While Vin Diesel opted for his XXX franchise, this obligatory sequel to The Fast and the Furious benefits from Diesel's absence, allowing returning star Paul Walker to shine while forging a lively partnership with rising star Tyrese, who fulfills his sidekick duties with more vitality than Diesel could ever muster. The Miami/Dade locations are another bonus, lending colourful backdrop to the most dazzling street-racing sequences (both real and digitally composited) ever committed to film. The plot is disposable—former cop Walker and jailbird Tyrese are recruited by the FBI to dethrone a thuggish kingpin (Cole Hauser)—but director John Singleton keeps the adrenalin pumping, enlisting a rainbow coalition of costars (including rapper Ludacris and Chanel supermodel Devon Aoki) to combine a hip-hop vibe with full-blown action while showcasing hot babes, edgy humour, and some of the coolest cars that ever burned rubber. Heed the movie's warning, kids: Let the stuntmen do the driving. —Jeff Shannon

Justin Lin Fast & Furious feels like something of a reunion for the popular franchise. After neither filled out the starring roles in the third film, Tokyo Drift, both Vin Diesel and Paul Walker returned to the franchise for this fourth, and between them managed to power it to become the most successful in the series to date.

With Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster also returning, Fast & Furious goes back to the streets where the series started, as once-rivals Diesel and Walker face, for the first time, a shared enemy. This, of course, is just the necessary groundwork before all concerned can jump into a series of impressive vehicles and drive them really, really quickly. Which, of course, they do.

It’s brilliantly shot, too, with razor-sharp editing, fast pacing and some outstanding camerawork that leaves you feeling at the very heart of the action. There’s not a great script underpinning it all, and a few more action sequences wouldn’t hurt, but the slower moments are ably carried by the returning cast. It’s hard to work out whether Fast & Furious needed Diesel and Walker the most, or whether the actors themselves needed the film, but marrying them all together really does pay dividends.

Naturally enough, there’s scope left behind for a fifth film, which given the major success that Fast & Furious deservedly enjoyed is no threat whatsoever. It might not be anywhere near the most intelligent film you’ll see in your life, but it’s a movie that knows what it wants to do, and has a great deal of fun doing it. More, please… —Jon Foster

Dermot Morgan, Ardal O'Hanlon, Declan Lowney From its very beginning in 1995, Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews' affable sitcom Father Ted occupied a previously undiscovered niche in TV comedy: by turns endearing and surreal, it was always effortlessly hilarious. Ted's the almost normal one, fighting the good fight to keep his sanity amid the chaos of his own household, where he lives with "poor idiot boy" Father Dougal, psychotically devoted housekeeper Mrs Doyle and foul-mouthed Father Jack, who doesn't need an excuse to hit the bottle (or smash one over someone's head) in any episode and whose vocabulary consists of just three immortal words: "Drink, Feck, Girls!"

The first series opens with "Good Luck, Father Ted" as we learn just how dreary life on Craggy Island really is when Funland arrives (which boasts such attractions as Freak Pointing and the Spinning Cat!). Everyone's patience is tested further when "Entertaining Father Stone"—quite possibly the most boring man on Earth—in the second episode. Proving bad publicity can be good publicity, Ted and Dougal then accidentally manage to attract audiences to the blasphemous film "The Passion of St Tibulus". Their ingenuity is tested to the limit in "Competition Time" as they become "The Three Ages of Elvis". Dermot Morgan's Ted is at his most sympathetic in "And God Created Women" when he gets the wrong end of the stick about the intentions of romantic novelist Polly Clarke. Then, lastly, in " Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", everyone rallies round at Father Jack's "funeral" to reminisce about what a fine priest and good-natured fellow he was!

These six episodes made for a wonderful series debut; catchphrases were born ("Drink!"), as were regular characters (Jim Norton's sinister Bishop Brennan); and like Mrs Doyle's ever-wandering facial mole, audiences wanted it to "go on go on go on".

On the DVD: the only extra is an exceedingly self-deprecatory commentary from co-writer Graham Linehan, who explains the origins of the characters and how he wrote in collaboration with Arthur Matthews. He frequently and hilariously compares himself with others (chiefly Mel Brooks on Young Frankensteinand The Producers). Fans will be delighted to hear many jokes that nearly made it into the show, but will undoubtedly end up somewhere else! —Paul Tonks

Fifa World Cup 2006

Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Kevin Pollak Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero—what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film The Fifth Element incorporates presidents, rock stars, and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. —Geoff Riley

Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham-Carter, David Fincher All films take a certain suspension of disbelief. Fight Club takes perhaps more than others, but if you're willing to let yourself get caught up in the anarchy, this film, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, is a modern-day morality play warning of the decay of society. Edward Norton is the unnamed protagonist, a man going through life on cruise control, feeling nothing. To fill his hours, he begins attending support groups and 12-step meetings. True, he isn't actually afflicted with the problems, but he finds solace in the groups. This is destroyed, however, when he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), also faking her way through groups. Spiralling back into insomnia, Norton finds his life is changed once again, by a chance encounter with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), whose forthright style and no-nonsense way of taking what he wants appeal to our narrator. Tyler and the protagonist find a new way to feel release: they fight. They fight each other, and then as others are attracted to their ways, they fight the men who come to join their newly formed Fight Club. Marla begins a destructive affair with Tyler, and things fly out of control, as Fight Club grows into a nationwide fascist group that escapes the protagonist's control. Fight Club, directed by David Fincher (Seven), is not for the faint of heart; the violence is no holds barred. But the film is captivating and beautifully shot, with some thought-provoking ideas. Pitt and Norton are an unbeatable duo, and the film has some surprisingly humorous moments. The film leaves you with a sense of profound discomfort and a desire to see it again, if for no other reason than to just to take it all in. —Jenny Brown

While hardly a spiritual upgrade of the slasher film, this high-concept teen body-count thriller drops hints of The Sixth Sense into the smart-aleck sensibility of Scream. Helmed by X-Files veteran James Wong, who co-wrote the screenplay with long-time creative partner Glen Morgan, Final Destination is an often entertaining thriller marked by an unsettling sense of unease and scenes of eerie imagery. It suffers, however, from a schizophrenic tone and a frankly ludicrous premise. A high-school Cassandra, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa of Idle Hands), wakes from a pre-flight nightmare and panics when he's convinced the plane is doomed. His ruckus bumps seven passengers from the Paris-bound plane, which immediately explodes into a fireball on takeoff, but fate hasn't finished with these lucky few and, one by one, death claims them. Wong brings such a funereal tone to these early scenes of survivor's guilt and inevitable doom that the already far-fetched film threatens to veer into unplanned absurdity. Thankfully, the tale loosens up with a playful morgue humour: one of the victims winds up the splattered punch-line to a grim joke and elaborate Rube Goldbergesque chains of cause and effect become inspired spectacles of destruction. Final Destination is a pretty silly thriller when it takes itself seriously, and the filmmakers play fast and loose with their own rules of fate, but once they stick their tongues firmly in cheek, the film takes off with a screwy interpretation of the domino effect of doom. —Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Giddily gruesome and perversely entertaining, Final Destination 3 proves, yet again, that horror franchises will thrive as long as teenagers keep finding spectacular ways to die. A stand-alone sequel to the first two Final Destination thrillers, this one begins when a group of seven high-school graduates luckily escape from a deadly roller-coaster disaster, only to discover that their own deaths have been only temporarily avoided. Cute brunette Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) spots clues of impending doom in digital photos of her soon-to-be-expiring classmates, and an ill wind follows her everywhere, suggesting the presence of a supernatural force that makes her a catalyst for gory events, as each of her friends is dispatched in the order they were meant to die. Returning to give their brainchild a suspenseful, low-budget makeover, franchise creators and former X-Files writers James Wong and Glen Morgan cleverly play on our collective fears (the roller coaster sequence is genuinely terrifying) with a knowing nod to violent urban legends, which explains their inclusion of the '70s hit "Love Roller Coaster" on the soundtrack when two stuck-up girlfriends pay an ill-fated visit to a tanning parlor. And that's just for starters: With Wong as director, FD3 serves up its grisly deaths with tight pacing and humor, and the cathartic carnage is discreetly edited yet gory enough to satisfy hardcore horror buffs. When morbid mayhem is this much fun, it's a safe bet that another sequel is just around the corner. —Jeff Shannon

Tetsuya Nomura The question facing any viewer of the Japanese CG feature Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is: do you have to know the games on which it’s based in order to understand the film? And the answer is: it certainly helps. But even complete novices (i.e. most parents) in the Final Fantasy world will find some entertainment in its wealth of fantasy-based action, and the animation never fails to astonish. Picking up two years after an epic battle between the forces of good (represented by brooding soldier Cloud) and evil (Cloud’s former general, Sephiroth), FFVII opens in the devastated city of Midgard, whose youthful occupants suffer from a ghastly disease known as Geostigma. A trio of brothers arrives with what appears to be a cure for the plague, but their gesture conceals a more sinister purpose: to revive Sephiroth and bring about the end of the world.

Cloud and his companions must once again rise to the occasion to stop the siblings and the revived Sephiroth from unleashing total destruction. Complex and self-referential to the point of occasional incomprehension, Final Fantasy VII will definitely be most appreciated by fans of the game series, but if others can look past the numbing dialogue and frenetic action (which is a bit too intense for very young children), the film offers a care-free and action-packed viewing experience. The two-disc set contains the original Japanese language version of the film as well as an English-dubbed edition (Rachel Leigh Cook and Christy Carlson Romano, among others, provide the vocal talent) and a version edited for the Venice Film Festival. A 30-minute featurette that recaps the Final Fantasy story up to VII, as well as a making-of documentary, deleted scenes, and promotions for future Final Fantasy VII games and products round out the extras. —Paul Gaita

Hironobu Sakaguchi Inspired by the popular video game franchise, Hironobu Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a completely computer-generated film which, unlike Toy Story and Shrek, is also a serious science fiction drama with astonishingly human digital actors. Aki, the female lead, appeared in a full-page spread in Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list—and was indistinguishable from the real-life models. The setting and conflict make for incredible action, but it's the larger issues, character interaction and human elements that really make the movie shine. The Spirits Within is not simply a science fiction movie, in the same way that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is not simply a kung-fu flick. The result is a fantastic summer movie with better action and more emotion than Pearl Harbor and actors more lifelike than those in that other video game movie, Tomb Raider.—Mike Fehlauer, Amazon.com

On the DVD: disc one includes an interesting, if a little flat, director’s commentary. Better is the isolated score with a superb and fascinating commentary from composer Elliot Goldenthal. Other options allow you to access more information about the film. The menus are clear and feature full CGI effects and specially created sequences. Disc two is where you will find the real meat, with literally hours of documentaries and technical promos to plough through covering every aspect of the filmmaking process, along with music videos and an alternative opening sequence. You can re-edit a short sequence from the film and there’s also a wealth of DVD-ROM material offering the complete screenplay and an interesting tour of Square Pictures, makers of the film. Features like the FHM-style photo shoot of CGI heroine Aki give an indication of the target audience for this movie. Add all this extra material to the superb picture quality—which almost leaves you convinced that you are watching a live action movie—and crystal sharp sound and you have one of the most technically impressive discs to hit the market so far. Any DVD buff will need this just to prove that the format is a worthwhile investment.—Jon Weir

Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Rupert Wainwright

David Dobkin This is a story you've never heard before, a hilarious and heartwarming comedy about Fred Claus, Santa's brother.

Ice Cube, Bernie Mac, Regina King, Chris Tucker, Nia Long Friday is the rarest specimen of African American cinema: a hood movie refreshingly free of the semi-seriousness and moralism of shoot-'em-up soaps such as Boyz N the Hood, yet still true to the inner-city experience. Scripted by rapper Ice Cube, Friday is a no-frills tale of a typical day in the life of a pair of African American youth in South Central. Cube plays Craig, a frustrated teen who endures the ultimate humiliation: getting fired on his day off. Then unknown Chris Tucker plays Smokey, a marijuana-worshipping homeboy whose love for the green stuff lands him in predicament after predicament. Sitting on the stoop of Craig's rundown home, the two hilariously confront a kaleidoscopic array of gangbangers, weed dealers, crack heads, prostitutes, scheming girlfriends and neighbourhood bullies—all of whom, it should be noted, come off as sympathetic even as they are being caricatured, a true achievement in the crass, "booty call" environment of 1990s African American comedy. —Ethan Brown, Amazon.com

Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Dean Parisot Remakes are always a gamble, so it's a pleasant surprise that Fun with Dick and Jane pays off with unexpected dividends. It's as entertaining as the 1977 original starring George Segal and Jane Fonda, and the teaming of Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni makes this a safe bet for comedy fans, in spite of a slapstick screenplay that fails to achieve its fullest potential. Rather than attempt a darkly comedic send-up of the Enron scandal that left thousands of stockholders in financial ruin, director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) opts for a lighter, more accessible (read: commercial) satire of corporate greed and cynicism, beginning in the year 2000 when Dick (Carrey) gets a plum promotion as a mega-corporate communications director just as his boss (Alec Baldwin) is preparing to bail out before stock prices plummet. Dick's wife Jane (Leoni) has quit her job as a travel agent, so the corporate bombshell leaves them penniless and desperate, resorting to petty thievery and, eventually, plotting high-stakes revenge against the greedy executives who ruined their lives. As a send-up of financial distress in a ravaged post-Enron economy, Fun with Dick and Jane delivers laughs with just enough pointed humor to give it a strong satirical edge, and Carrey's reliable brand of zaniness is controlled enough to balance nicely with Leoni's more subtle (and woefully underrated) skills as a screen comedienne. And while the "special thanks" end-credits hint at the sharper, more biting satire this might have been, there’s enough fun with Dick and Jane to make this recycled comedy worth a look. —Jeff Shannon

Dwayne Carey-Hill Proving that you just can't keep a good animated series down, Bender's Big Score revives the Futurama crew in a full-length feature (reportedly, the first of four which will later be broken down into individual episodes for television broadcast) chock full of the satiric touches that made the Matt Groening series a cult favorite among sci-fi and animation fans. In true Futurama form, the plot of Big Score is proudly ridiculous: At its core, it's about alien telemarketers with a plan to steal Earth's most valuable historical objects, who use e-mail viruses to cripple Planet Express and take control of belligerent robot Bender; the latter carries out their scheme via a time-travel code tattooed on Fry's backside. This allows for all manner of subplots involving Fry's return to the 20 th century, romantic confusion between Fry and Leela (Katey Sagal), and a host of cameos ranging from Kwaanza-bot (Coolio) and Zapp Brannigan to Al Gore (voiced by the real former vice-president, who once again displays an offbeat sense of humor). Bender's Big Score also features a staggering amount of extras that reflect the show's sense of playful anarchy. Most valuable to longtime fans is the feature-length commentary by Groening, writers Ken Keeler and David X. Cohen, director Dwayne Carey-Hill, and cast members Billy West (Fry), DiMaggio, and Phil LaMarr, which provides a wealth of information on the film's production as well as plenty of laughs from the voice actors. Futurama Returns! is a live comic book reading by the cast in front of an enthusiastic convention audience, while A Terrifying Message from Al Gore; is a short animated promo featuring the ex-veep in an animated promo for his Inconvenient Truth documentary (Gore's commentary for this short is worth the DVD's sale price alone), and Bite My Shiny Metal X is an amusing, tongue-in-cheek lesson on the mathematics used to deliver the show's futuristic touches. Perhaps the oddest extra is a full-length episode of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, a sitcom based around the bizarre title creature that will provoke equal amounts of laughter and exasperation.

Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Peter Hewitt Every now and then, the CGI effects in Garfield: The Movie are less than perfect—which makes you realize of how astonishingly seamless the rest of the effects are. When Garfield's owner Jon (Breckin Meyer) agrees to take in a homeless dog so as to flirt with a sexy veterinarian (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Garfield does his best to oust the dog from the house. But when a greedy television performer (Stephen Tobolowsky) kidnaps the mutt for his own nefarious purposes, Garfield sets out on a rescue mission. Garfield is a terrible movie, yet there's something weirdly compelling in its awfulness. Bill Murray, who voices the fat cat, has mastered a comic style that wallows fondly in ridiculousness. Perhaps, seduced by the siren call of Murray's voice, the audience can only marvel at the sublime junk of our culture. —Bret Fetzer

The Cold War may be over, but that doesn't mean it can't still be milked for laughs. Get Smart, the sassy film version of the Mel Brooks/Buck Henry-created '60s TV satire, brings plenty of elements of the original series and spins it freshly into the new world of bad guys in the 21st century, pretty much without losing a beat. Steve Carell is perfectly cast as the bumbling Maxwell Smart—but in a slick improvement on the TV show, Smart isn't really hapless—though he has a bit of a self-esteem problem (all around his apartment are sticky notes with exhortations like "You can do it!"). Carell's Maxwell Smart is a sharp techie researcher at the uber-secret crime-battling agency, CONTROL, who's just a little out of his element out in the field. As his data-crunching sidekick Bruce (Masi Oka of Heroes) says, "We're the ones guarding democracy!", aghast that Max would want to be an agent. But Max longs for the action enjoyed by the likes of Agent 23 (a godlike Dwayne Johnson), with glamorous deployments around the world. When he finally gets his dream assignment—as the newly minted Agent 86—he's paired up with the slick and experienced Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), who provides great lines, not to mention some interesting chemistry, while she continually saves Max from harm's way. The cast is terrific, with memorable appearances by Alan Arkin as the Chief, Terrence Stamp as the head of the uber-evil KAOS, and Bill Murray as a (literally) put-out-to-pasture agent whose spy post is inside a tree ("really great, old-school stuff" he calls his assignment). And there's plenty of action, explosions, and creative shootouts with the bad guys (highlight: a freefall from a plane, with two people and just two parachutes). But it's Carell and his combination of insecure yearning and deadpan delivery that make Get Smart as, well, smart as it is. —A.T. Hurley

The skilful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is the Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between the Terminator and a Playboy centrefold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."

Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. —Charles Solomon

Nicolas Cage, Peter Fonda, Mark Steven Johnson Once intended as a feature for Johnny Depp, the long-germinating feature film adaptation of Marvel Comics' cult title Ghost Rider stars Nicolas Cage as motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, who transforms into a skull-faced angel of vengeance to battle the forces of evil. Though perhaps a bit too mature for the role, Cage brings a degree of humour to the outrageous proceedings; he's well matched by the Easy Rider himself Peter Fonda, amusingly cast as Mephistopheles, the demon with whom Blaze strikes a bargain to save his father and, in turn, causes his transformation into Ghost Rider. Wes Bentley is also fine as Blackheart, the rebellious offspring of Mephistopheles, and Blaze's chief opponent in the film. They're joined by a solid supporting cast which includes Donal Logue, Eva Mendes and Sam Elliott, but their participation and a relentless barrage of CGI effects can't hide the fact that the story itself, though largely faithful to its comic origins, is rife with clichéd characterisations and glum B-movie dialogue. Fans of the venerable title may cry foul over this adaptation (as they did over helmer Mark Steven Johnson's previous comic-to-movie feature, Daredevil), but less stringent viewers may enjoy the fiery visuals and Cage's typically quirky performance. —Paul Gaita

Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, James Foley Like moths to a flame, great actors gravitate to the singular genius of playwright-screenwriter David Mamet, who updated his Pulitzer Prize-winning play for this all-star screen adaptation. The material is not inherently cinematic, so the Glengarry Glen Ross's greatest asset is Mamet's peerless dialogue and the assembly of the once-in-a-lifetime cast led by Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin (the last in a role Mamet created especially for the film). Often regarded as a critique of the Reagan administration's impact on the American economy, the play and film focus on a competitive group of real estate salesmen who've gone from feast to famine in a market gone cold. When an executive "motivator" (Alec Baldwin) demands a sales contest among the agents in the cramped office, the stakes are critically high: any agent who fails to meet his quota of sales "leads" (ie, potential buyers) will lose their job. This intense ultimatum is a boon for the office superstar (Pacino), but a once-successful salesman (Lemmon) now finds himself clinging nervously to faded glory. Political and personal rivalries erupt under pressure when the other agents (Alan Arkin, Ed Harris) suspect the office manager (Kevin Spacey) of foul play. This cauldron of anxiety, tension and sheer desperation provides fertile soil for Mamet's scathingly rich dialogue, which is like rocket fuel for some of the greatest actors of our time. Pacino won an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance, but it's Lemmon who's the standout, doing some of the best work of his distinguished career. Director James Foley shapes Mamet's play into a stylish, intensely focused film that will stand for decades as a testament to its brilliant writer and cast. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

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Roland Emmerich Following the French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creature is spotted passingwestward through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopolous is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla(r) then makes its way north, landing at Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city. Even with the combined forces of the U.S. military to fight the monster, will it be enough to save the people of New York?

Nicolas Cage, James Duval, Dominic Sena Gone in 60 Seconds opens on Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi), a cocky young car thief working with a crew to steal 50 cars for a very bad man whose nickname is "The Carpenter". Being young and cocky, Kip messes up, so it's up to his big brother, Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage), to come out of car-thief retirement and save him. With a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Cage and Ribisi, it would be easy to say this story wastes all their talents—which it does—but that's not the point. This is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. A good story and complex characters would only get in the way of the action scenes and slow the movie down. No, Gone in 60 Seconds (based on the cult 1974 film of the same name) is not about the stars as much as it's about cars. Fast cars. Rare cars. Wrecked cars. All cars. Too bad director Dominic Sena (Kalifornia) doesn't come across as more of a gearhead; he seems less interested in fast cars than fast cuts. But is this movie fun? Absolutely, and it's fun because it's so stupid. With pointless car chases and hackneyed dialogue in one of the most predictable plots of the year, Gone in 60 Seconds is a comic film that's not quite a parody of itself, but darn close. —Andy Spletzer, Amazon.com

Martin Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece GoodFellas immortalises the hilarious, horrifying life of actual gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), from his teen years on the streets of New York to his anonymous exile under the Witness Protection Program. The director's kinetic style is perfect for recounting Hill's ruthless rise to power in the 1950s as well as his drugged-out fall in the late 1970s; in fact, no one has ever rendered the mental dislocation of cocaine better than Scorsese. Scorsese uses period music perfectly, not just to summon a particular time but to set a precise mood. GoodFellas is at least as good as The Godfather without being in the least derivative of it. Joe Pesci's psycho improvisation of Mobster Tommy DeVito ignited Pesci as a star, Lorraine Bracco scores the performance of her life as the love of Hill's life, and every supporting role, from Paul Sorvino to Robert De Niro, is a miracle.

Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Martha Plimpton, Corey Feldman You may be surprised to discover that the director of the Lethal Weapon movies and scary horror flick The Omen, Richard Donner, also produced and directed this classic children's adventure (which, by the way, was written by Donner's screen-wizard friend Steven Spielberg). Then again you may not. The Goonies, like Donner's other movies, is the same story of good versus evil. It has its share of bad guys (the Fratelli brothers and their villainous mother), reluctant-hero good guys (the Walsh bothers and their gang of friends), and lots of corny one-liners. Like in an old-fashioned Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew plot, the Goonies need to solve a problem: a corrupt corporate developer has bought out their neighbourhood and plans to flatten all their homes. Luckily, the beloved gang stumbles on a treasure map. In the hopes of finding the treasure to buy back their houses, the Goonies embark on their quest through underground passages, aboard pirate ships, and behind waterfalls. This swashbuckling and rollicking ride was also a great breeding ground for a couple of child actors who went on to enjoy numerous successes in adulthood: Sean Astin (Rudy, Encino Man) and Martha Plimpton (Pecker, 200 Cigarettes). —Samantha Allen Storey, Amazon.com

Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Mathieu Kassovitz The title of Gothika prepares you for a spooky, atmospheric thriller with an emphasis on supernatural mystery. The best way to appreciate the movie itself is to understand that it's a waking nightmare that needn't make sense in the realm of sanity. Making a flashy Hollywood debut after his superior 2000 thriller The Crimson Rivers, French actor-director Mathieu Kassovitz pours on the dark and stormy atmosphere, trapping a competent psychologist (Halle Berry) in the prison ward where she treated inmates (including Penelope Cruz) until she was committed for killing her husband (Charles S. Dutton), who was also her boss. Did a car crash cause her to suffer ghostly delusions, or is a young girl—dead for four years—sending clues from beyond the grave? Berry has to prove her innocence while Kassovitz keeps everything—including the viewer and costar Robert Downey Jr. (as Berry's colleague)—in the dark about just where the nonsensical plot is leading. There's a better movie in here somewhere, among the catwalks and crannies of the impressive prison-castle setting, and Berry gives 100% in a performance that's consistent with the movie's overwrought tone. Attentive viewers will identify the killer early on, and the ending is anticlimactic, but Gothika serves up a few good shocks for ghost-story connoisseurs. —Jeff Shannon

Ron Howard Ron Howard directs and stars in this Roger Corman-produced feature-length car chase, and Grand Theft Auto was made to appeal to the 12-year-old in all of us who likes to see stuff blow up. Poor boy Sam Freeman (Howard) and rich girl Paula Powers (N

The Great Escape image of Steve McQueen (as "The Cooler King") astride his motorcycle has entered silver-screen iconography, alongside Brando on his bike from The Wild One. Based on a true story about a group of POWs who mount a daring breakout from a supposedly inescapable Nazi prison camp, this rousing and suspenseful World War II epic features an all-star cast, including James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn and David McCallum. —Jim Emerson

Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day, Samuel Bayer

After the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Elijah Wood could've opted for further big budget epics, but took a sharp left turn with this better-than-average B-movie. Released just after Everything is Illuminated, another offbeat entry, Wood plays journalism student Matt Buckner. In the prologue, he's expelled from Harvard when his over-privileged roommate sets him up to take the fall for his own misdeeds. With nowhere to go, Matt decides to visit his sister, Shannon (Claire Forlani), in London. He's already got a chip on his shoulder when he falls under the sway of Shannon's brother-in-law, Pete (Charlie Hunnam), head of West Ham's football "firm," the Green Street Elite. Matt soon gets caught up in their thuggish antics—to tragic effect. In her feature debut, German-born Lexi Alexander makes a mostly convincing case for the attractions of violence to the emotionally vulnerable, as opposed to the emotionally numb pugilists of the more satirical Fight Club. Unlike David Fincher (by way of Chuck Palahniuk), she plays it straight, except for the stylised fight sequences. Consequently, humour is in short supply, but the young Brit cast, especially Leo Gregory as the surly Bovver, is charismatic and Wood makes his character as believable as possible, i.e. he may seem miscast, but that's the point. Although there's no (direct) correlation between the two, Green Street makes a fine taster for Bill Buford's Among the Thugs, the ultimate dissection of the hooligan mentality. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, Iain Softley

Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Carpenter Halloween is as pure and undiluted as its title. In the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, a teenage baby sitter tries to survive a Halloween night of relentless terror, during which a knife-wielding maniac goes after the town's hormonally charged youths. Director John Carpenter takes this simple situation and orchestrates a superbly mounted symphony of horrors. It's a movie much scarier for its dark spaces and ominous camera movements than for its explicit bloodletting (which is actually minimal). Composed by Carpenter himself, the movie's freaky music sets the tone; and his script (cowritten with Debra Hill) is laced with references to other horror pictures, especially Psycho. The baby sitter is played by Jamie Lee Curtis, the real-life daughter of Psycho victim Janet Leigh; and the obsessed policeman played by Donald Pleasence is named Sam Loomis, after John Gavin's character in Psycho. In the end, though, Halloween stands on its own as an uncannily frightening experience—it's one of those movies that had audiences literally jumping out of their seats and shouting at the screen. ("No! Don't drop that knife!") Produced on a low budget, the picture turned a monster profit, and spawned many sequels, none of which approached the 1978 original. Curtis returned for two more instalments: 1981's dismal Halloween II, which picked up the story the day after the unfortunate events, and 1998's occasionally gripping Halloween H20, which proved the former baby sitter was still haunted after 20 years. —Robert Horton

Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Peter Berg Will Smith blends his talents for action and comedy with this superhero film from director Peter Berg (The Kingdom). Boasting a lack of motivation, a week's worth of stubble, and the ability to fly, Hancock (Smith) struggles with his superhero status even though his talents are needed.

For anyone who thought the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins was the most marvelous cinematic moment for these nomads of the south, you haven't seen nothing yet. Here's an animated wonder about a penguin named Mumble who can't sing, but can dance up a storm. George Miller, the driving force behind the Babe (and Mad Max) movies, takes another creative step in family entertainment with this big, beautiful, music-fueled film that will have kids and their parents dancing in the streets. From his first moment alive, Mumble (voiced by Elijah Woods) feels the beat and can't stop dancing. Unfortunatly, emperor penguins are all about finding their own heart song, and dancing youngster—as cute as he is—is a misfit. Luckily, he bumps into little blue penguins, a Spanish-infused group (led by Robin Williams) and begins a series of adventures. Miller has an exceptional variety of entertainment, Busby Berkley musical numbers, amusement park thrills, exciting chase sequences (seals and orca lovers might like think otherwise), and even an environmental message that doesn't weigh you down. Best of all, you don't know where the movie is going in the last act, a rare occurrence these days in family entertainment. A fusion of rock songs, mashed up and otherwise are featured; this movie is as much a musical as a comedy. Mumble's solo dance to a new version of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" by Fantasia, Patti and Yolanda may be the most joyful moment on camera in 2006. —Doug Thomas

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, David Yates

Lou Zukor, Marsh Lamore, Gwen Wetzler, Lou Kachivas, Steve Clark

John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Gerald Potterton, Jimmy T. Murakami

Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Julia Lee, Peggy Cummins In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin—in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs—opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely fire-starter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys.

The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? —Jeff Shannon

Ron Perlman, John Hurt, Selma Blair, Julia Lee, Peggy Cummins In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboy ranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade II with a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin—in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs—opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely fire-starter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys.

The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Men blockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? —Jeff Shannon

Andrew Robinson, Ashley Laurence, Clive Barker Having made his reputation as one of the most prolific and gifted horror writers of his generation (prompting Stephen King to call him "the future of horror"), Clive Barker made a natural transition to movies with this audacious directorial debut from 1987. Not only did Barker serve up a chilling tale of devilish originality, he also introduced new icons of horror that since have become as popular among genre connoisseurs as Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman. Foremost among these frightful visions is the sadomasochistic demon affectionately named Pinhead (so named because his pale, bald head is a geometric pincushion and a symbol of eternal pain). Pinhead is the leader of the Cenobites, agents of evil who appear only when someone successfully "solves" the exotic puzzle box called the Lamont Configuration—a mysterious device that opens the door to Hell. The puzzle's latest victim is Frank (Sean Chapman), who now lives in a gelatinous skeletal state in an upstairs room of the British home just purchased by his newlywed half-brother (Andrew Robinson, best known as the villain from Dirty Harry), who has married one of Frank's former lovers (Claire Higgins). The latter is recruited to supply the cannibalistic Frank with fresh victims, enabling him to reconstitute his own flesh—but will Frank succeed in restoring himself completely? Will Pinhead continue to demonstrate the flesh-ripping pleasures of absolute agony? Your reaction to this description should tell you if you've got the stomach for Barker's film, which has since spawned a number of interesting but inferior sequels. It's definitely not for everyone, but there's no denying that it's become a semiclassic of modern horror. —Jeff Shannon

New still in wrapping

Boasting an upgrade in production values, The Hills Have Eyes should please new-generation horror fans without offending devotees of Wes Craven's original version from 1977. There's still something to be said for the gritty shock value of Craven's low-budget original, made at a time when horror had been relegated to the pop-cultural ghetto, mostly below the radar of major Hollywood studios. With the box-office resurgence of horror in the new millennium—and the genre's lucrative popularity among the all-important teen demographic—it's only fitting that French director Alexandre Aja should follow up his international hit High Tension with a similarly brutal American debut to boost his Hollywood street-cred. Working with cowriter Gregory Levasseur, Aja remains surprisingly faithful to Craven's original, beginning with a bickering family that crashes their truck and trailer in the remote desert of New Mexico (actually filmed in Morocco), where they are subsequently terrorized, brutalized, and murdered by a freakish family of psychopaths, mutated by the lingering radiation from 331 nuclear bomb tests that were carried out during the 1950s and '60s. After several killings are carried out in memorably grisly fashion, it's left to the survivors to outsmart their disfigured tormentors, who are blessed with horrendous make-up (especially Robert Joy as freak leader "Lizard") but never quite as unsettling as the original film's horror icon, Michael Berryman. In Aja's hands, this newfangled Hills is all about savagery and de-evolution, reducing its characters to a state of pure, retaliatory terror. It's hardly satisfying in terms of storytelling (since there's hardly any story to tell), but as an exercise in sheer malevolence, it's undeniably effective.— Jeff Shannon

Michael Bailey Smith Michael McMillian Lee Thompson-Young Jessica Stroup Reshad Strik, Martin Weisz

Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, David Cronenberg On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William ! Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. —Jeff Shannon

Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Andrew Tennant

Anna Chancellor, Warwick Davis, Garth Jennings Artist: Martin Freeman
Manufacturer: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Xavier Gens It’s hard not to feel like one has entered a certain dimension of video-game logic while watching Hitman, a lightly enjoyable action-suspense movie indeed based on a popular and bloody game about a mysterious hired gun with a bar-code tattoo on his bald head and a number (47) in lieu of a name. Living like a chaste monk while slipping past borders to kill his targets, 47 (Timothy Olyphant of Deadwood) moves like a determined shark and speaks softly to his contact at the enigmatic "the Organization," which raises cast-off children to become well-paid assassins. Fruitlessly pursued by an Interpol cop (Dougray Scott) who can never get sovereign governments to cooperate, 47 has no trouble slipping in and out of countries to ply his trade. Until, that is, he’s set up to take a fall in Russia by shooting a national leader who is promptly replaced by a lookalike double. Suddenly on the run, 47 has to retrace his steps and formulate a lethal plan for extricating himself from a trap. Caught in the chaos is the lovely Nika (Olga Kurylenko), forced into sex slavery by 47’s new enemies and the one person who seems uniquely qualified to break through 47’s many personal barriers.

Directed by France’s Xavier Gens, Hitman features loads of bloody mayhem and unabashed moments of pulp absurdity, such as a scene in which 47 and three other Organization killers agree to fight one another respectfully, then proceed to pulverize each other with swords and fists. As fodder for gamers, however, Hitman is packed with visuals and dramatic moments that seem so odd on the big screen until one realizes they are basically placemarkers for the video-game edition. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Kevin Bacon, Elisabeth Shue, Paul Verhoeven In Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man, Kevin Bacon plays a bad boy egotistical scientist who heads up a double-secret government team experimenting with turning life forms invisible. How do we know he's a bad boy? Because he (a) wears a leather overcoat, (b) compares himself to God, (c) drives a sports car, and (d) spies on his comely next door neighbour while eating Twinkies. Sadly, this is the most character development anyone gets in this slightly undernourished action/sci-fi thriller, which does boast some amazing special effects along with some amazingly ridiculous plot twists. After experimenting rather ruthlessly on a menagerie of lab animals, Bacon finally cracks the code that will turn the invisible gorillas, dogs and so on, back into their visible forms. Does it work on humans? Faster than you can say "six degrees," Mr Bacon appoints himself human guinea pig, strapping down for an injection of fluorescent-colored serum.Thanks to some phenomenal, seamless and Oscar-worthy computer effects, Bacon is indeed rendered invisible, organ by organ, vein by vein. And what's the first thing you'd do if you were invisible? Why, spy on your female co-workers in the bathroom and molest your comely next-door neighbour, of course! Soon, Bacon is thoroughly psychotic, and it's up to Elisabeth Shue (Bacon's co-worker and ex-girlfriend) and hunky Josh Brolin (her current snuggle bunny) to defeat the invisible man, who's picking off the science team one by one. You'd think this would be a prime opportunity for copious amounts of cheesy sex and aggressive violence—which Verhoeven served up so well and so exuberantly in Starship Troopers and Basic Instinct—but if anything, the director seems to tone down the proceedings, and really, who wants a muted Paul Verhoeven movie? Shue (who got top billing and a bad haircut to boot) and Brolin (who, yes, does take off his shirt at least once) generate little heat, and while Bacon does give an effective, primarily voice-oriented performance, his character is so underdeveloped that, well, you can see right through him. —Mark Englehart

Chris Columbus Now and forever a favourite among kids, this 1990 comedy written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club) and directed by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire) ushered Macaulay Culkin onto the screen as a troubled 8-year-old who doesn't comfortably mesh with his large family. He's forced to grow a little after being accidentally left behind when his folks and siblings fly off to Paris. A good-looking boy, Culkin lights up the screen during several funny sequences, the most famous of which finds him screaming for joy when he realizes he's unsupervised in his own house. A bit wooden with dialogue, the then-little star's voice could grate on the nerves (especially in long, wise-child passages of pure bromide), but he unquestionably carries the film. Billie Bird and John Candy show up as two of the interesting strangers Culkin's character meets. Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are entertainingly cartoonish as thieves, but the ensuing violence once the little hero decides to keep them out of his house is over-the-top. —Tom Keogh

John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Columbus This somewhat unpleasant 1992 sequel to the blockbuster Home Alone revisits the first film's gimmick by stranding Macaulay Culkin's character in New York City while his family ends up somewhere else. Again, the little guy meets up with colourful people on the margins of society (including a pigeon woman played by Brenda Fricker) and again he gets into a prop-heavy battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The latter sequence is even worse than the first film in terms of violence inflicted on the two villains (director Chris Columbus, who also made the first film, can't seem to emphasise the slapstick over the graphic effects of the fight). The best running joke finds a concierge (Tim Curry) at the swank hotel where Culkin is staying trying and failing to prove that the boy is on his own. —Tom Keogh

Horton Hears A Who!

Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Florent Emilio Siri You get two hostage crises for the price of one in Hostage, an overwrought but otherwise involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way to Die Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Angeles hostage negotiator, now working as a nearly-divorced police chief in sleepy Ventura County, California. Willis suddenly finds himself amidst two potentially deadly stand-offs when a trio of hapless teenagers seize hostages in the fortress-like home of an accountant (Kevin Pollack) whose connections to organized crime result in Willis struggling to rescue his estranged wife and daughter, who are being held hostage by faceless thugs at an undisclosed location. Having directed two of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games, director Florent Siri brings plenty of slick, competent filmmaking to Willis's desperate dilemma, and the film boasts a gritty, graphic style that draws attention away from implausible plot twists. The bothersome, over-the-top performances by the teenaged villains also slightly compromise this gloomy but emotionally gripping adaptation of Robert Crais's novel, named as one of Amazon.com's best books of 2001. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Jay Hernandez, Luc Merenda, Eli Roth The inevitable sequel to one of the decade’s most intriguing and well-made horror films, Hostel Part II, as the title implies, picks up pretty much where the last film left off. And it doesn’t take too long for the sequel to find the same groove that earned its predecessor so much attention.

The setting is once again an underground club, where people bid for the right to torture residents at the hostel of the title. Hostel Part II, however, lets us see events from the other perspective too, as we meet the wealthy businessmen who are availing themselves of the club’s services. It’s a logical dynamic for the movie, and it does bring a fresh perspective to a film that does eventually settle down to a cavalcade of gore and shock.

As a director, Eli Roth has clearly improved since last time around, even if this time he too often succumbs to the temptation to show rather than imply, and Hostel Part II as a result feels a little less fresh and more uncomfortable than its predecessor. Yet it’s most certainly an unsettling piece of cinema, and one likely to find favour with Roth’s increasing fanbase.

A word of warning, though. Hostel Part II isn’t shy about pulling its punches, and it very much justifies its 18 certificate. It’s also a cut above many of its modern day contemporaries in the genre, even though it fails to measure up to part one. —Jon Foster

Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eli Roth Well-made for the genre — the excessive-skin-displayed-before-gruesome-bloody-torture-begins genre — Hostel follows two randy Americans (Jay Hernandez, Friday Night Lights, and Derek Richardson, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd) and an even randier Icelander (Eythor Gudjonsson) as they trek to Slovakia, where they're told beautiful girls will have sex with anyone with an American accent. Unfortunately, the girls will also sell young Americans to a company that offers victims to anyone who will pay to torture and murder. To his credit, writer/director Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) takes his time setting things up, laying a realistic foundation that makes the inevitable spilling of much blood all the more gruesome. The sardonic joke, of course, is that Americans are worth the most in this brothel of blood because everyone else in the world wants to take revenge upon them. This dark humor and political subtext help set Hostel above its more brainless sadistic compatriots, like House of Wax or The Devil's Rejects. In general, though, there's something lacking; horror used to suggest some threat to the spirit—today's horror can conceive of nothing more troubling than torturing the flesh. For afficionados, Hostel features a nice cameo by Takashi Miike, director of bloody Japanese flicks like Audition and Ichi the Killer. —Bret Fetzer

Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Pierson Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George (Some Mother's Son) brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Ziyi Zhang, Andy Lau, Yimou Zhang No one uses colour like Chinese director Zhang Yimou—movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen.

Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honour. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendour and dazzling swordplay. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbours who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time, and after enduring a personal tragedy, Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd, his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.

The film’s first half almost suggests that I Am Legend could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. I Am Legend is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into pathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. —Tom Keogh

Brooke Nevin, David Paetkau, Sylvain White

Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alex Proyas As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in I, Robot. Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind—he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories; I, Robot, the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks. Also featuring Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, and James Cromwell. —Bret Fetzer

Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge They came... they thawed... they conquered the hearts of audiences everywhere in the coolest animated adventure of all time! Heading south to avoid the bad case of global frostbite, a group of migrating misfit creatures embark on a hilarious quest to reunite a human baby with his tribe. Featuring an all-star voice cast, including Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary, ICE AGE is "a pure delight" (New York Daily News) for all ages!

The love life of a woolly mammoth - handled with U-rated delicacy - drives this sequel to the first computer-animated romp in the age of prehistoric mammals. While the first Ice Age took a delightful premise and suffocated it with a formulaic plot - in which a mammoth named Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano, Everyone Loves Raymond), a sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo, Moulin Rouge!), and a sabre-tooth tiger named Diego (Denis Leary, Rescue Me) helped an abandoned human infant return to its tribe (basically, Three Mammals and a Baby) - the sequel takes the now-familiar setting, gives it a shapeless, episodic storyline, and yet somehow becomes pretty darn entertaining. Faced with the threat of a flood from melting ice, our heroic trio are on the run to escape from their blossoming valley. On the way, they meet a female mammoth (Queen Latifah, Bringing Down the House) who thinks she's an opossum and get menaced by some freshly defrosted carnivorous fish. Add into the mix a herd of lava-worshipping mini-sloths, some Busby Berkeley-style vultures, and more ingenious slapstick featuring the acorn-crazed Scrat, and Ice Age: The Meltdown will amuse even jaded adults. —Bret Fetzer

Will Smith, Harry Connick Jr., Roland Emmerich

Steven Soderbergh A rising star at agri-industry giant, Archer Daniels Midland, Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his companys multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion.

Stunning tropical scenery and gorgeous athletic movie stars may not make a movie great, but they sure don't hurt. Jared (Paul Walker, The Fast and the Furious) dreams of finding sunken treasure and making millions, but his girlfriend Sam (Jessica Alba, Fantastic Four, Sin City) is content with their poor but idyllic life in the Bahamas. Still, when they find artefacts from a 19th century pirate ship, she gets caught up in the excitement—until they also find a crashed plane full of smuggled cocaine. Naturally, someone's going to want that cocaine back... From there, Into the Blue is a surprisingly well-plotted action film, unpredictable in its specifics if familiar in its broader outlines. Even more pleasant, the action itself stays plausible and genuinely engaging throughout. Jared seems able to hold his breath for a preternaturally long time, but aside from that the film is meticulous about the dangers and threats the characters face and is all the stronger for it. Add to this its unabashed ogling of Alba and Walker (both of whom are astonishing physical specimens) and you have a solid romp. Also featuring Scott Caan (Ocean's Eleven), Tyson Beckford (Biker Boyz), and Josh Brolin (Flirting With Disaster) as a slimy rival treasure hunter. —Bret Fetzer

Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Sidney J. Furie In the spy-crazed film world of the 1960s, Len Deighton's antihero Harry Palmer burst onto the scene as an antidote to the James Bond films. Here was a British spy who had a working-class accent and horn-rimmed glasses and above all really didn't want to be a spy in the first place. As portrayed by Michael Caine, Palmer was the perfect antithesis to Sean Connery's 007. Unlike that of his globetrotting spy cousin, Palmer's beat is cold, rainy, dreary London, where he spends his days and nights in unheated flats spying on subversives. He does charm one lady, but she's no Pussy Galore, just a civil servant he works with, sent to keep an eye on him. Eventually he's assigned to get to the bottom of the kidnapping and subsequent "brain draining" of a nuclear physicist, all the while being reminded by his superiors that it's this or prison. Things begin to get pretty hairy for Harry. Produced by Harry Saltzman in his spare time between Bond movies, the film also features a haunting score by another Bond veteran, composer John Barry. —Kristian St. Clair, Amazon.com

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

An intriguing action adventure set in the near future, The Island finds those who survived a mass global contamination living in a contained and highly controlled world. Their actions are controlled, their lives are routine, and the only hope is to win lottery and be sent to a mysterious island, the so-called last surviving, uncontaminated paradise on the planet.

Naturally enough, things are quite what they initially seem, at least in the eyes of Ewan McGregror’s Johnny Two Alpha. Along with Scarlet Johansen’s Jordan Two Delta, they soon find out what happens when you don’t fully comply with the rules of this deeply controlled world, and the stage is thus set for some action-packed cinema.

Given the film’s disappointing box office returns though, you could be forgiven for thinking that all is not well with The Island, and truthfully, it’s a movie with problems. Its pacing feels a little off, and there are moments when the script does the film no favours at all.

Yet take The Island as a popcorn flick, and you’ll more than likely find yourself enjoying a good couple of hours of solid entertainment. Sure, ultimately they could have made more of the premise, and produced a tighter movie. But what’s on screen usually works well enough, and the two stars don’t do badly with the material at their disposal.—Simon Brew

Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Lewis Gilbert The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. Featuring lavish sets designed by the great Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove), The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. —Jeff Shannon

John Glen Agent 007 is as daring as ever in OCTOPUSSY: the 13th installment in the James Bond series. When fellow secret serviceman Agent 009 is murdered over a treasured Faberge egg the British intelligence sends James Bond (Roger Moore) to investigate. Bond follows the egg to India after it is put up for auction and bought by the wealthy prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan). There he meets the enigmatic and beautiful circus leader Octopussy (Maud Adams) and discovers that Khan and the maniacal Russian General Orlov (Steven Berkoff) plan to cripple Western Europe with a nuclear explosion and incite a world war.As indicated by its risqu title OCTOPUSSY is one of the most licentious of the Bond films. Complete with the standard Bond components (sleazy one liners and deafening explosions) it overflows with sexual innuendoes. Maud Adams is the most alluring Bond of starlets to date. Her titillating performance as OCTOPUSSY inspired sexual fantasies in an entire generation of moviegoers. Having worked on a number of Bond films as an editor and director John Glen delivers insures a Bond film which is pleasing to both the cinematic aesthete and the Bond fanatic. Bordering on the realm of high art OCTOPUSSY is a cinematic masterpiece.

In his 19th screen outing The World is Not Enough, Ian Fleming's super-spy is once again caught in the crosshairs of a self-created dilemma: as the longest-running feature-film franchise, James Bond is an annuity his producers want to protect, yet the series' consciously formulaic approach frustrates any real element of surprise beyond the rote application of plot twists or jump cuts to shake up the audience. This time out, credit 007's caretakers for making some visible attempts to invest their principal characters with darker motives—and blame them for squandering The World is Not Enough's initial promise by the final reel. By now, Bond pictures are as elegantly formal as a Bach chorale, and this one opens on an unusually powerful note. A stunning pre-title sequence reaches beyond mere pyrotechnics to introduce key plot elements as the action leaps from Bilbao to London. Pierce Brosnan undercuts his usually suave persona with a darker, more brutal edge largely absent since Sean Connery departed. Equally tantalising are our initial glimpses of Bond's nemesis du jour, Renard (Robert Carlyle), and imminent love interest, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), both atypically complex characters cast with seemingly shrewd choices and directed by the capable Michael Apted. The story's focus on post-Soviet geopolitics likewise starts off on a savvy note, before being overtaken by increasingly Byzantine plot twists, hidden motives and reversals of loyalty superheated by relentless (if intermittently perfunctory) action sequences.

Bond's grimmer demeanour, while preferable to the smirk that eventually swallowed Roger Moore whole, proves wearying, unrelieved by any true wit. The underlying psychoses that propel Renard and Elektra eventually unravel into unconvincing melodrama, while Bond is supplied with a secondary love object, Denise Richards, who is even more improbable as a nuclear physicist. Ultimately, this world is not enough despite its better intentions. —Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com

On the DVD: There are three different documentaries on this disc, as well as a "Secrets of 007" featurette that cuts between specific stunt sequences, behind-the-scenes footage and storyboards to reveal how it was all done, and a short video tribute to Desmond Llewelyn ("Q"), who died not long after this movie was released. The first "making of" piece is presented by an annoyingly chirpy American woman and is aimed squarely at the MTV market (most fascinating is watching her interview with Denise Richards in which the two orthodontically enhanced ladies attempt to out-smile each other). "Bond Cocktail" gamely distils all the essential ingredients that make up the classic Bond movie formula—gadgets, girls, exotic locations and lots of action. Most interesting of all is "Bond Down River", a lengthy dissection of the opening boat chase sequence. Director Michael Apted provides the first commentary, and talks about the challenges of delivering all the requisite ingredients. The second commentary is less satisfactory, since second unit director Vic Armstrong, production designer Peter Lamont and composer David Arnold have little in common. There's also the Garbage song video, and the booklet has yet more behind-the-scenes info. The anamorphic CinemaScope picture and Dolby digital sound are as spectacular as ever. —Mark Walker

Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Lee Tamahori The 20th "official" 007 outing released in the 40th anniversary year of the series, Die Another Day is big, loud, spectacular, slick, predictable and as partially satisfying as most Bond movies have been for the last 30 years. Pierce Brosnan gives his best Bond performance to date, forced to suffer torture by scorpion venom administered by a North Korean dominatrix during the Madonna-warbled credits song. He traipses from Cuba to London to Iceland while feuding with a smug insomniac millionaire (Toby Stephens), who admits that he's an evil parody of Bond's own personality. There are many nods to the past: Halle Berry recreates Ursula Andress's entrance from Dr No, the gadget-packed car (which can become invisible) is a Goldfinger-style Aston Martin (albeit a brand-new model), the baddie's line in smuggled "conflict gems" and super-weapons derives from Diamonds Are Forever and the jet-pack from Thunderball can be seen in Q's lab.

It's the longest of the franchise to date (two-and-a-quarter hours) and the first to augment stunts and physical effects with major CGI, though the best fight is traditional: a polite club fencing match between Brosnan and Stephens that gets out of hand and turns into a destructive hack-and-slash fest with multiple edged weapons. Berry may be the first Bond girl with an Oscar on her shelf, but she's still stuck with a bad hairdo as well as having to endure 007's worst chat-up lines. Amazingly, most of the old things here do still work, though it's a shame that director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) wasn't given a better script to play with.

On the DVD: Die Another Day arrives on disc in a transfer that makes some of the CGI look less dodgy than it did in cinemas. The first disc includes two separate commentaries: an interesting, enthusiastic technical one with Tamahori and producer Michael Wilson, and a blander drone from Brosnan with input from "bad girl" actress Rosamund Pike. On Disc Two the main extra is "Inside Die Another Day", a 75-minute making-of with the usual 007 DVD extra mix of boosterism and solid background how-the-hell-they-did-it info. The "Region 2 exclusive" turns out to be another making-of, a video diary effort that takes a more interesting, wry approach to the mix of enterprise and chaos that is the Bond production machine. —Kim Newman

Casino Royale The most successful invigoration of a cinematic franchise since Batman Begins, Casino Royale offers a new Bond identity. Based on the Ian Fleming novel that introduced Agent 007 into a Cold War world, Casino Royale is the most brutal and viscerally exciting James Bond film since Sean Connery left Her Majesty's Secret Service. Meet the new Bond; not the same as the old Bond. Daniel Craig gives a galvanising performance as the freshly minted double-0 agent. Suave, yes, but also a "blunt instrument," reckless and possessed with an ego that compromises his judgment during his first mission to root out the mastermind behind an operation that funds international terrorists. In classic Bond film tradition, his global itinerary takes him to far-flung locales, including Uganda, Madagascar, the Bahamas (that's more like it) and Montenegro, where he is pitted against his nemesis in a poker game, with hundreds of millions in the pot. The stakes get even higher when Bond lets down his armour by falling in love with Vesper (Eva Green), the ravishing banker's representative fronting him the money.

For longtime fans of the franchise, Casino Royale offers some retro kicks. Bond wins his iconic Aston Martin at the gaming table, and when a bartender asks if he wants his martini "shaken or stirred," he disdainfully replies, "Do I look like I give a damn?". There's no Moneypenny or "Q," but Dame Judi Dench is back as the exasperated M who, one senses, admires Bond's "bloody cheek." A Bond film is only as good as its villain, and Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre, who weeps blood, is a sinister dandy. From its punishing violence and virtuoso action sequences to its romance, Casino Royale is a Bond film that, in the words of one character, 'makes you feel it', particularly during an excruciating torture sequence. Double-0s, Bond observes early on, "have a short life expectancy". But with Craig, there is new life in the old franchise yet, as well as genuine anticipation for the next one when, at last, the signature James Bond theme kicks in following the best last line ever in any Bond film. To quote Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin, "now I know what I've been faking all these years". —Donald Liebenson

Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Marc Forster Daniel Craig hasn't lost a step since Casino Royale—this James Bond remains dangerous, a man who could earn that license to kill in brutal hand-to-hand combat… but still look sharp in a tailored suit. And Quantum of Solance itself carries on from the previous film like no other 007 movie, with Bond nursing his anger from the Casino Royale storyline and vowing blood revenge on those responsible. For the new plot, we have villain Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), intent on controlling the water rights in impoverished Third World nations and happy to overthrow a dictator or two to get his way. Olga Kurylenko is very much in the "Bond girl" tradition, but in the Ursula Andress way, not the Denise Richards way. And Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, and Giancarlo Giannini are welcome holdovers. If director Marc Forster and the longtime Bond production team seem a little too eager to embrace the continuity-shredding style of the Bourne pictures (especially in a nearly incomprehensible opening car chase), they nevertheless quiet down and get into a dark, concentrated groove soon enough. And the theme song, "Another Way to Die," penned by Jack White and performed by him and Alicia Keys, is actually good (at times Keys seems to be channeling Shirley Bassey—nice). Of course it all comes down to Craig. And he kills. —Robert Horton, Amazon.com

Jamie Foxx Artist: Jamie Foxx
Manufacturer: Bmg

Jake Gyllenhaal, Wade Williams

Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., Cameron Crowe

Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Niall Johnson

Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Sonny Chiba, Chiaki Kuriyama

Clive Owen, Ray Winstone, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley, Valerie Hobson It's got a round table, some knights, and a noble warrior who rises to become King Arthur, but everything else about this revisionist legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a bad thing if you enjoyed Rob Roy, Braveheart, Gladiator and Troy, and there's some intriguing potential in presenting the "real" Arthur (played by Clive Owen) as a 5th-century soldier of Rome, assigned to defend Roman-imperial England against a hoard of invading Saxons (led by Stellan Skarsgard in hairy villain mode). As revamped history and "archaeological findings" would have us believe, Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is a warrior babe in face-paint and Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) is a nonentity who fades into the woodwork. Never mind. Best to enjoy the harsh, gloomy atmosphere of Irish locations, the ruggedness of Owen and his hearty supporting cast, and the entertaining nonsense of a Jerry Bruckheimer production that strips battle-ready Guinevere down to leather-strap S&M gear while all the men sport full-body armor. Hail to the queen, indeed! —Jeff Shannon

It's hard to believe Ridley Scott's handsome epic won't become the cinematic touchstone of the Crusades for years to come. Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the sum of its parts, delivering a vital, mostly engrossing tale following Balian (Orlando Bloom), a lonely French blacksmith who discovers he's a noble heir and takes his father's (Liam Neeson) place in the center of the universe circa 1184: Jerusalem. Here, grand battles and backdoor politics are key as Scott and first-time screenwriter William Monahan fashion an excellent storyline to tackle the centuries-long conflict. Two forward-thinking kings, Baldwin (Edward Norton in an uncredited yet substantial role) and Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), hold an uneasy truce between Christians (who hold the city) and Muslims while factions champ at the bit for blood. There are good and evildoers on both sides, with the Knights Templar taking the brunt of the blame; Balian plans to find his soul while protecting Baldwin and the people. The look of the film, as nearly everything is from Scott, is impressive: his CGI-infused battle scenes rival the LOTR series and, with cinematographer John Mathieson, create postcard beauty with snowy French forests and the vast desert (filmed in Morocco and Spain). An excellent supporting cast, including Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, and David Thewlis, also help make the head and heart of the film work. Many critics pointed out that Bloom doesn't have the gravitas of Russell Crowe in the lead (then again, who does?), but it's the underdeveloped character and not the actor that hurts the film and impacts its power. Balian isn't given much more to do than be sullen and give an occasional big speech, alongside his perplexing abilities for warfare tactics and his wandering moral compass (whose sole purpose seems to be to put a love scene in the movie). Note: all the major characters except Neeson's are based on fact, but many are heavily fictionalized. —Doug Thomas

Bridget Fonda, Jet Li, Chris Nahon

Stephen Chow Movie-kinetics genius. Kung Fu Hustle takes the gleeful mayhem of Hong Kong action movies, the deadpan physical humor of silent comedies, and the sheer elasticity of Wile E. Coyote cartoons and fuses them into a spectacle that is simple in its joys and mind-boggling in its orchestration. A run-down slum has been poor but peaceful until a bunch of black-suited gangsters called the Axe Gang show up to cause trouble —and discover that, hidden among the humble poor, are three kung fu masters trying to live an ordinary life. But after these martial artists repulse the gang with their flying fists and feet, the gang leader hires a pair of assassins, whose arrival leads to the unveiling of more secrets, until both the screen and the audience are dizzy with hyperbolic fight artistry (choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, who also choreographed MThe Matrix). Weaving through this escalating fury is a loudmouthed loser (writer/director/actor Stephen Chow) who suddenly finds himself having to live up to his bragging. Kung Fu Hustle more than lives up to the promise of Chow's previous film, Shaolin Soccer — it's a movie made by an imagination unfettered by the laws of physics. Hugely entertaining. —Bret Fetzer

Kylie Minogue

La Blue Girl Returns

Peter Dinklage, Ken Drury, Charles Sturridge

Daniel Craig, Michael Gambon, Sienna Miller, Natalie Lunghi As its title suggests, Layer Cake is a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (whom you probably don't need reminding is the latest James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers, murderous Serbian gangsters, and a variety of lowlifes with their own deadly agendas. As adapted by J.J. Connolly (from his own novel) and directed by Matthew Vaughan (who earned his genre chops as producer of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch), Layer Cake improves upon those earlier British gangland hits with assured pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirable emphasis on plot-moving dialogue over routine action. Sure, it's violent (that's to be expected) and not always involving, but it's smarter than most thrillers, and Vaughan's directorial debut has a confident style that's flashy without being flamboyant. This could be the start of an impressive career. —Jeff Shannon

Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Stuart Townsend, Anna Crilly, Antonia Campbell-Hughes The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, the Invisible Man, Mina Harker (from Dracula), and the hunter Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), all assembled to combat an evil megalomaniac out to conquer the world.

It's hardly an original plot, but perhaps that's fitting for a movie sewn together like Frankenstein's monster. It rushes from one frenetic battle to another, replacing sense with spectacle—Nemo's submarine rising from the water, a warehouse full of zeppelins bursting into flame, Venice collapsing into its own canals. It's flashy, dumb, and completely incoherent. Fans of the original comic book will be disappointed. —Bret Fetzer

Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton Critically acclaimed and rapidly breeding a cult following, the bizarre BBC television series The League of Gentlemen is to sitcoms like The Good Life or even Friends what David Lynch's films are to Frank Capra movies. Instead of the usual one-family-in-suburbia or group-of-pals set-up, Gentlemen centres on the whole town of Royston Vasey. A Northern village of, to say the least, eccentric characters, the weird people of Royston Vasey (actually, the real name of lewd northern comic Roy Chubby Brown) look like they've been intermarrying for too long and are suffering from a particularly demented variety of xenophobia that drives them to extremes of tetchiness and psychosis. There are the local shopkeepers Edward and Tubbs, who go to murderous lengths to ensure their shop remains for local people only; the Denton family, toad-breeders obsessed with maintaining their household rituals at all costs; inept veterinary surgeon Dr Chinnery, who's never yet saved a patient; Barbara, the local transsexual taxi driver (one of the show's more well adjusted characters); Pauline the demonic Restart Officer at the local Job Centre; and Lance, the sadistic owner of Lance's Joke Shop which sells poisonous sweets and the ever-popular finger in a matchbox (with a real finger), among many others. Most of the characters are performed by the three core members of the group, sporting a disturbing variety of prosthetic demi-masks and latex make-up, who started the concept off with a stage show and then transferred it to radio before taking it on TV, which may explain why The League of Gentlemen seems blithely oblivious of normal sitcom conventions and has a stately air of surrealism that feels like The Archers as written by playwright Eugene Ionesco. Brilliant stuff. —Leslie Felperin

On the DVD: Join the cast and co-writer Jeremy Dyson as they indulge in some "Local gossip" on the audio commentary, happily reminiscing about making this first series and discussing the origins of the innumerable characters and sketches, as well as pointing out hidden jokes and movie references galore. Also on this excellently produced disc are entertaining character biographies (Pop's favourite lunch from Greggs is "Chicken & Mushroom Pie", the sinister Denton twins are happiest when "Courting the Lords of Misrule"), an archive of the show's theatrical origins, and a treasure-trove of deleted scenes. But remember, if you're not local you can't get it in. —Mark Walker

Alberto Reyes, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Martin Campbell The Zorro brand of hot-blooded derring-do returns with The Legend of Zorro, starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the roles that brought them stardom with The Mask of Zorro.

Now married for ten years and parents to young rascal Joaquim (charming Adrian Alonso, perhaps being set up for a future Son of Zorro), dashing swordsman Alejandro (Banderas, a Spaniard playing a Mexican) and sultry spitfire Elena De La Vega (Zeta-Jones, a Welshwoman playing a Spaniard) abruptly divorce, sending Alejandro on a drunken binge—which only gets worse when he learns Elena is being wooed by the mysterious Armand (Rufus Sewell, a Brit playing a Frenchman). Little does Alejandro know that Elena has ulterior motives, and that a worldwide conspiracy and a secret weapon will soon threaten the integrity of the U.S.

The Legend of Zorro has way too much plot, leaving room for only two genuinely preposterous donnybrooks and a handful of lacklustre brawls. Banderas and Zeta-Jones flash a bit of their considerable charisma, but by and large they (and the movie as a whole) are on autopilot. Not awful, but lacking any real spark.—Bret Fetzer

Matt Lucas, David Walliams "Britain, Britain, Britain, land of technological achievement. We've had running water for over ten years, an underground tunnel that links us to Peru, and we invented the cat," narrates Tom Baker gleefully at the beginning of Little Britain, introducing the first hit show for fledgling digital channel BBC3 and the best new comedy since The League of Gentlemen. In fact, creators and stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams acknowledge a large debt to the League, not only in the gallery of grotesques all performed by the duo, but also in the way in which the familiar sketch-show format is expanded by clever use of locale: not Royston Vasey here, but "Britain" itself in all its perverse splendour: from Darkly Noon, where chavette Vicky Pollard seems all too frighteningly real ("Yeah, but no, but yeah. Shut up!"), to the Welsh village with only one gay, to the council estate where buck-toothed Lou looks after apparently wheelchair-bound Andy ("Yeah, I know"), to Kelsey Grammar School where pupils are baffled and confused by their fusty teacher, and many more besides. It's unashamedly puerile stuff and, as with The Fast Show before it, many sketches rely on a single incident or catchphrase repeated over and over in only slightly different contexts. But it works brilliantly, thanks to the characterisations of Lucas and Walliams, their sharp eye for the eccentricities of modern life, and of course that surreal voiceover from Tom Baker.

On the DVD: This is a handsome two-disc set chock full of tasty extras. Lucas and Walliams provide a surprisingly serious commentary, joined in turn by producer Myfanwy Moore and director Steve Bendelack (a League of Gentlemen alumnus). There's the original pilot episode, plus plenty of deleted scenes, live sketches, several behind-the-scenes segments, an interview with Jonathan Ross, and a half-hour Best of Rock Profiles, the hilarious spoof series in which Walliams and Lucas impersonated various rock stars. If that's not enough, you can also select from a gallery to watch all the sketches featuring your favourite characters. Another triumph for Auntie Beeb. —Mark Walker

Matt Lucas, David Walliams The Universal Media Disc (UMD) is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on the PlayStation Portable. You could learn a lot about our glorious land from this award-winning sketch show. Find out how Britain lives and breathes through the enduring characters of Dafydd, the only gay in his village; Emily Howard, the unconvincing transvestite who protests "I'm a lady!"; Lou, the caring protector of manipulative wheelchair-bound Andy; and Vicky Pollard, the scheming, thieving, lying teenager who would give most hard-nosed criminals a run for their money.

Lizzie Mcguire

Bob Hoskins Helen Mirren Pierce Brosnan, John MacKenzie

Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Peter Segal The latest remake of Burt Reynold’s 1974 flick, Adam Sandler’s take on The Longest Yard, is unlikely to win him many new fans. But it has merits as a good, solid, enjoyable comedy, and it finds Sandler himself in very strong form.

The plot sets him as an ex-American footballer, who is sent to prison following a car accident. There, he finds himself putting together a team of convicts to face off against the prison guards, an opportunity that many of the prisoners simply don’t want to pass up. And that pretty much sets the stage for a fast-paced, frequently-funny comedy that doesn’t eclipse the original by any means, but is a worthy testament to it.

Its main strength is its cast. Alongside Sandler himself are a collection of names from the American Football scene, but British audiences are more likely to warm to Chris Rock. He pretty much steals good chunks of the movie from under Sandler’s nose, and some of the film’s finest moments are down to him.

Granted, The Longest Yard hardly sets new ground for comedies, and neither is it the finest laugh-fest of the last few years. But it is fun, it is funny, and for Adam Sandler and Chris Rock fans in particular, it’s a fine way to spend a couple of hours. Worth a spin.—Simon Brew

The lethal business of arms dealers provides an electrifying context for the black-as-coal humor of Andrew Niccol's Lord of War. Having proven his ingenuity as the writer of The Truman Show, and writer-director of Gattaca and the under-appreciated Simone, Niccol is clearly striving for Strangelovian relevance here as he chronicles the rise and inevitable fall of Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), a Ukrainian immigrant to America who makes his fortune selling every kind of ordnance he can get his amoral hands on.

With a trophy wife (Bridget Moynahan) who's initially clueless about his hidden career, and a younger brother (Jared Leto) whose drug-addled sense of decency makes him an ill-chosen accomplice, Yuri traffics in death the way other salesman might push vacuum cleaners (he likes to say that alcohol and tobacco are deadlier products than his), but even he can't deny the sheer ruthlessness of the Liberian dictator (a scene-stealing Eamonn Walker) who purchases Orlov's "products" to expand his oppressive regime. Niccol's themes are even bigger than Yuri's arms deals, and he drives them home with a blunt-force lack of subtlety, but Cage gives the film the kind of insanely dark humour it needs to have. To understand this monster named Yuri, we have to see at least a glimpse of his humanity, which Cage provides as only he can. Otherwise, this epic tale of gunrunnng would be as morally unbearable as the black market trade it illuminates.— Jeff Shannon

Lords of Dogtown captures the sheer kinetic joy of skateboarding like no other movie (except, perhaps, Dogtown and Z-Boys , a documentary about the very skateboarders this movie depicts). Set in the mid-1970s in Venice, CA—a.k.a. Dogtown—the movie starts with three young aspiring surfers turned skateboarders: Stacy (John Robinson, Elephant), Jay (Emile Hirsch, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys), and Tony (Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas). When alpha-stoner Skip (Heath Ledger, A Knight's Tale) recognizes the potential of skateboarding as a new sport, his surf shop becomes the centre of the boys' universe. They swiftly rise as skateboarding stars and find their brotherhood threatened by sex, money, fame, and ego—it's a common enough story, but director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) has a gift for capturing the raw messiness of life. Lords of Dogtown seems to unfold haphazardly, yet every scene moves the increasingly dizzy rise (or fall) of each skater forward with headlong momentum. The excellent cast includes Rebecca De Mornay (Risky Business), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass: The Movie), and Nikki Reed (Thirteen). Lords of Dogtown, written by skater Stacy Peralta (and based on his own life), both celebrates the excitement of testosterone-fuelled recklessness and quietly reflects on the cost of getting what you want. —Bret Fetzer

This 1987 thriller was a predictable hit with the teen audience it worked overtime to attract. Like most of director Joel Schumacher's films, it's conspicuously designed to push the right marketing and demographic buttons and, granted, there's some pretty cool stuff going on here and there. Take Kiefer Sutherland, for instance. In Stand by Me he played a memorable bully, but here he goes one step further as a memorable bully vampire who leads a tribe of teenage vampires on their nocturnal spree of bloodsucking havoc. Jason Patric plays the new guy in town, who quickly attracts a lovely girlfriend (Jami Gertz), only to find that she might be recruiting him into the vampire fold. The movie gets sillier as it goes along, and resorts to a routine action-movie showdown, but it's a visual knockout (featuring great cinematography by Michael Chapman) and boasts a cast that's eminently able (pardon the pun) to sink their teeth into the best parts of an uneven screenplay. —Jeff Shannon

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Phyllida Lloyd The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing "Dancing Queen" is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding—because after reading her mother's diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she'd laid aside are coming back to life. But let's face it, the plot is not the point—it's a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep; every production number hammers its exuberance into your eyeballs. Which is too bad, because Mamma Mia! is a rarity: A middle-aged love story. The kids start things off, but the story is really about Streep and the three guys (former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard), as well as Donna's best friends (Christine Baranski, best known from the TV show Cybill, and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls). It's a romantic comedy aimed at the people who were around when all these songs were new, and that's an age group Hollywood largely ignores. For that alone, Mamma Mia! deserves to find an audience. —Bret Fetzer

Style trumps substance in Man on Fire, a slick, brooding reunion of Crimson Tide star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott. The ominous, crime-ridden setting is Mexico City, where a dour, alcoholic warrior with a mysterious Black Ops past (Washington) seeks redemption as the devoted bodyguard of a lovable 9-year-old girl (the precociously gifted Dakota Fanning), then responds with predictable fury when she is kidnapped and presumably killed. Prolific screenwriter Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential) sets a solid emotional foundation for Washington's tormented character, and Scott's stylistic excess compensates for a distended plot that's both repellently violent and viscerally absorbing. Among Scott's more distracting techniques is the use of free-roaming, comic-bookish subtitles... even when they're unnecessary! Adapted from a novel by A.J. Quinnell and previously filmed as a 1987 vehicle for Scott Glenn, Man on Fire is roughly on par with Scott's similar 1990 film Revenge, efficiently satisfying Washington's incendiary bloodlust under a heavy blanket of humid, doom-laden atmosphere. —Jeff Shannon

John Cena Kelly Carlson Robert Patrick Abigail Blanca, John Bonito

Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Sam Raimi For devoted fans and non-fans alike, Spider-Man offers nothing less—and nothing more—than what you'd expect from a superhero blockbuster. Having proven his comic-book savvy with the original Darkman, director Sam Raimi brings ample energy and enthusiasm to Spidey's origin story, nicely establishing high-school nebbish Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) as a brainy outcast who reacts with appropriate euphoria—and well-tempered maturity—when a "super-spider" bite transforms him into the amazingly agile, web-shooting Spider-Man. That's all well and good, and so is Kirsten Dunst as Parker's girl-next-door sweetheart. Where Spider-Man falls short is in its hyperactive CGI action sequences, which play like a video game instead of the gravity-defying exploits of a flesh-and-blood superhero. Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as Spidey's schizoid nemesis, the Green Goblin, and the movie's a lot of fun overall. It's no match for Superman and Batman in bringing a beloved character to the screen, but it places a respectable third. —Jeff Shannon

Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Raimi More than a few critics hailed Spider-Man 2 as "the best superhero movie ever," and there's no compelling reason to argue—thanks to a bigger budget, better special effects, and a dynamic, character-driven plot, it's a notch above Spider-Man in terms of emotional depth and rich comic-book sensibility. Ordinary People Oscar®-winner Alvin Sargent received screenplay credit, and celebrated author and comic-book expert Michael Chabon worked on the story, but it's director Sam Raimi's affinity for the material that brings Spidey 2 to vivid life. When a fusion experiment goes terribly wrong, a brilliant physicist (Alfred Molina) is turned into Spidey's newest nemesis, the deranged, mechanically tentacled "Doctor Octopus," obsessed with completing his experiment and killing Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) in the process. Even more compelling is Peter Parker's urgent dilemma: continue his burdensome, lonely life of crime-fighting as Spider-Man, or pursue love and happiness with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst)? Molina's outstanding as a tragic villain controlled by his own invention, and the action sequences are nothing less than breathtaking, but the real success of Spider-Man 2 is its sense of priorities. With all of Hollywood's biggest and best toys at his disposal, Raimi and his writers stay true to the Marvel mythology, honoring Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and setting the bar impressively high for the challenge of Spider-Man 3. —Jeff Shannon

Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Sam Raimi How does Spider-Man 3 follow on the heels of its predecessor, which was widely considered the best superhero movie ever? For starters, you pick up the loose threads from that movie, then add some key elements of the Spidey comic book mythos (including fan-favourite villain Venom), the black costume, and the characters of Gwen Stacy and her police captain father.

In the beginning, things have never looked better for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire): He's doing well in school; his alter ego, Spider-Man, is loved and respected around New York City. And his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), has just taken a starring role in a Broadway musical. But nothing good can last for Spidey. Mary Jane's career quickly goes downhill; she's bothered by Peter's attractive new classmate, Gwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard); and the new Daily Bugle photographer, Eddie Brock (Topher Grace), is trying to steal his thunder. Enter a new villain, the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who can transform his body into various forms and shapes of sand and who may be connected to Peter's past in an unexpected way. There's also the son of an old villain, Harry Osborne (James Franco), who unmasked Spidey in the previous movie and still has revenge on his mind. And a new black costume seems to boost Spidey's powers, but transforms mild-mannered Peter into a mean and obnoxious boor (Maguire has some fun here).

If that sounds like a lot to pack into one 140-minute film, it is. While director Sam Raimi keeps things flowing, assisted on the screenplay by his brother Ivan and Alvin Sargent, there's a little too much going on, and it's inevitable that one of the villains (there are three or four, depending on how you count) gets significantly short-changed. Still, the cast is excellent, the effects are fantastic, and the action is fast and furious. Even if Spider-Man 3 isn't the match of Spider-Man 2, it's a worthy addition to the megamillion-dollar franchise. —David Horiuchi

Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Brett Ratner X-Men: The Last Stand is the third installment in the popular superhero franchise, and it's an exciting one with a splash of fresh new characters. When a scientist named Warren Worthington II announces a "cure" for mutant powers, it raises an interesting philosophical question: is mutant power a disease that needs a cure, or is it a benefit that homo superior enjoys over "normal" human beings? No surprise that Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants resist the idea that they need to be cured, and declare war on the human race. But it's a little tougher for the X-Men, led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Storm (Halle Berry). If you're Rogue (Anna Paquin), for example, your power means you can't even touch your boyfriend, Iceman (Shawn Ashmore). To compound matters, someone previously thought dead has returned, and might be either friend or foe. With director Bryan Singer having moved on to Superman Returns, the franchise passes to the hands of Brett Ratner (Rush Hour), whose best work is done in the big action sequences such as a showdown between mutant armies. But it's difficult to manage the sheer volume of characters when adding longtime comic-book stalwarts such as Beast (Kelsey Grammer) and Angel (Ben Foster), and one character in particular deserved better than an off-screen dismissal. And fans of the original Dark Phoenix comic book story might be underwhelmed by the movie's resolution. X-Men: The Last Stand is presumably the last film in the series, but the ambiguous ending leaves possibilities open. Look for the two writers most responsible for making the X-Men who they were, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont, in early cameos. —David Horiuchi

Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Campbell A lusty and rousing adventure, this calls to mind those glorious costume dramas produced so capably by the old Hollywood studio system—hardly surprising, in that its title character, a de facto Robin Hood in Old California, provided starring vehicles for Douglas Fairbanks and Tyrone Power, the 50s TV hit, and dozens of serials and features. Zorro, a pop-fiction creation invented by Johnston McCulley in 1918, is given new blood in this fast-moving and engaging version, which actually works as a sequel to the story line in the Fairbanks-Power saga, The Mark of Zorro. A self-assured Anthony Hopkins is Don Diego de la Vega, a Mexican freedom fighter captured and imprisoned just as Spain concedes California to Santa Ana. Twenty years later, he escapes from prison to face down his mortal enemy, a land grabbing governor played with slimy spitefulness by Stuart Wilson. Too old to save the local peasants on his own, he trains bandito Antonio Banderas to take his place. Much swashbuckling ensues as Banderas woos Catherine Zeta-Jones, becomes a better human being and saves the disenfranchised rabble. Director Martin Campbell wisely instils a measure of frivolity into the deftly choreographed action sequences, while letting a serious tone creep in when appropriate. This covers much ground under the banner of romantic-action-adventure and it does so most excellently. —Rochelle O'Gorman

Antonio Banderas, Alberto Reyes, Martin Campbell

Aside from some gripping battles and a storm sequence to rival anything seen on screen, Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is as much about daily shipboard life during the Napoleonic era—especially the relationship between Captain Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Doctor Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany)—as it is about spectacle. Aubrey is a powerful figure whose experience and strength of character commands unwavering trust and respect from his crew; Crowe seems in his element naturally enough. Bettany, though, is his match on screen as Aubrey's intellectual foil. Director Weir successfully translates their relationship from novel to screen by subtly weaving in their past history and leaving viewers—whether they've read Patrick O'Brian's books or not—to do the thinking.

Although the film's special effects ate up a huge budget they never overtake the drama, with careful characterisation and painstaking attention to historical accuracy taking centre stage. Matching action to detail, drama to humour and special effects to well-sketched characters, Master and Commander is a deeply satisfying big-screen experience, breathing a bracing gust of sea air into Hollywood megabuck filmmaking.—Laura Bushell

On the DVD: Master & Commander's single-disc edition displays the full glories of the big screen experience, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS sound options that make the most of the resounding battle scenes as well as the small but vital details of creaking planks and lapping waves, while the sweeping CinemaScope (2.35:1) photography anamorphically formatted for 16:9 widescreen splendidly reproduces Peter Weir's painterly compositions. It's a tad disappointing, then, to note the lack of a director's commentary (surely such an insightful director as Weir would have plenty to say) and the excessive promotional material—cinema trailers and plugs for Fox DVDs— that plays even before the main menu screen appears: anyone who has bought this title for repeat viewing deserves not to be subjected to such a broadside of soon-to-be-out-of-date advertising. —Mark Walker

Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, The Wachowski Brothers

The opening reels of Matrix Revolutions do nothing to dispel the feeling of exhausted disappointment that set in during the second half of The Matrix Reloaded. There's plenty more talky guff combined with the picking-up of hard-to-remember plot threads as Neo (Keanu Reeves) lies in a coma in the "real" world and is stranded on a tube station in a limbo "beyond the Matrix" while his allies do a reprise of the shooting-their-way-past-the-bodyguards bit from the last film (this time, the baddies can walk on the ceiling). A new Oracle (Mary Alice) makes some pronouncements about the end being near and more things happen—including the evil Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) manifesting in reality by possessing a minor character and perfidiously blinding our hero, who wears a becoming ribbon over his wounded eyes and perceives the world in an impressive "flaming truth vision".

What about the action? The equivalent of the last film's freeway chase scene is a huge face-off as the Sentinels (robot squids) finally breach the caverns of Zion, "the last human city", and swarm against a battalion of pilot-manipulated giant robots: here, the effects are seamless and the images astonishing, though the fact that none of the major characters are involved and the whole thing goes on so long as if designed to top any previous robot-on-robot screen carnage means that it becomes monotonously amazing, like watching someone else play a great computer game. After a too-easily-managed major realignment of the enmities, the film—and the series—finally delivers a sign-off sequence that's everything you could want as Neo and Smith get into a kung fu one-on-one in a rain-drenched virtual city, flying as high as Superman and Brainiac in smart suits. It comes too late to save the day and the wrap-up is both banal and incoherent, but at least this single combat is a reward for hardy veterans who've sat through seven hours of build-up. —Kim Newman

On the DVD: when the first Matrix DVD was released, with never-before-seen features such as the "Follow the White Rabbit" option, it set a benchmark against which subsequent discs were judged. But neither sequel has lived up to the original's high standards. The Matrix Revolutions two-disc set is an unexceptional package, with a routine "making of" featurette being the main bonus item. Amid all the usual backslapping guff about how great everyone is and what a great time they've all had, it's possible to glean some nuggets of useful information about the baffling plot—though cast and crew can't repress a note of weariness creeping in when discussing the horribly protracted shooting schedule. The feature on the CG Revolution is the most informative for people who like to know how everything was done, and, in the same vein, there's also a multi-angle breakdown of the Super Burly Brawl. A 3-D timeline gives a handy summary of the story so far, and there's a plug for The Matrix Online game. The anamorphic 2.40:1 picture is, of course, a real treat to look at, even if the movie is mostly shades of dark grey and dark green; soundwise the dynamic range of the Dolby Digital surround is extreme: all conversations are conducted in throaty whispers, while the action sequences will push your speakers to the limit. No DTS option, though. And as with Reloaded, there's no audio commentary either: the Wachowski's policy of not talking about their creation begins to seem like a ploy to avoid answering awkward questions. —Mark Walker

Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Anthony Zerbe, Andy Wachowski Has been used but in good condition

Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, John Moore

Jim Carrey, Renée Zellweger, Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly In Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey plays Charlie Baileygates, a cop for the finest police force in the world (Rhode Island's). In denial about his wife's affair, he's a nice guy who goes around trying to do the right thing but is taken advantage of every step of the way. Instead of confronting people, he takes the abuse, balls it up and hides it in the pit of his stomach. His psyche can only take so much, though and soon his alter-ego Hank pops out to do every libidinous thing Charlie would never do. It's a great premise for a Jim Carrey film. Unfortunately, it's not a great Jim Carrey film. Famous for the lowbrow, shock comedies like Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and There's Something About Mary, here the Farrelly brothers get lost in a series of lazy gags and an even lazier plot about some evil golf development and the woman, Irene (Renée Zellweger), who needs to be protected because she knows something about it. Some of the jokes hit (there's a bathroom scene that's 10 times funnier than the hair-gel gag in There's Something About Mary), but many more miss. There are some great concepts (his three sons are hip-hop geniuses) that don't go anywhere (they swear a lot). It's like the movie itself has a split personality—funny ideas trapped in a less-than-funny film. —Andy Spletzer, Amazon.com

Martin Clunes, Leslie Ash, Martin Dennis The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture—albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart—there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs.

Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot—allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations—that the show began to gain a significant audience.

By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment."

Last Orders includes: "Performance" in which Gary and Dorothy decide to have a baby. Tony announces he's moving in with Deborah so he can watch her "wandering around in her pants"; "Gary in Love" in which Gary's devotion to Dorothy is tested while attending a middle-management conference; and "Delivery" wherein Gary and Dorothy prepare for imminent parenthood. —Clark Collis

The DVD version also features a movie version which combines all three episodes, plus a quiz.

Rintaro

Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank, Terry O'Quinn, Lucy Whybrow Clint Eastwood's 25th film as a director, Million Dollar Baby stands proudly with Unforgiven and Mystic River as the masterwork of a great American filmmaker. In an age of bloated spectacle and computer-generated effects extravaganzas, Eastwood turns an elegant screenplay by Paul Haggis (adapted from the book Rope Burns: Stories From the Corner by F.X. Toole, a pseudonym for veteran boxing manager Jerry Boyd) into a simple, humanitarian example of classical filmmaking. Eastwood mines gold for each and every character: charting the powerful bonds that develop between "white-trash" Missouri waitress and aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), her reluctant trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood), and training-gym partner Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman). —Jeff Shannon

Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Alexandre Aja

Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Gil Kenan If box office performance was ever directly aligned to the quality of a film, then Monster House surely would have romped home with far more money than it eventually seized in cinemas. For this is a gem of an animated film, bursting with animation and with some degree of edge to it, given that it’s not past throwing a few scares into its story. Not nasty ones, just enough to move it away from the cuddly, trying-hard-not-to-offend family features that seem to swamp cinemas with regularity.

On its previous DVD and Blu-ray releases, more and more have discovered just what lies behind Monster House’s cover, and to say too much would be to spoilt it. Instead, let’s just say that this is a real gem, and the kind of film that’s likely to be watched again once it’s been experienced for the first time.

It’s also one of the first films to benefit from a home entertainment 3D retrofit. This adding on of 3D after the event hasn’t been hugely successful with live action films, but in animation, it’s a different story. For Monster House is a digital film, and the re-rendering is far more authentic as a result. The 3D, therefore, is genuinely impressive if you have the equipment to support it, and don’t be surprised to see the disc on demo displays in retailers in the months to come.

The main reason to enjoy the film, though, remains the cracking main feature itself, which deserves to continually expand its audience. It’s the kind of film that Hollywood rarely makes for a younger audience, and it both warrants and deserves support. —Jon Foster

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Doug Liman Released amidst rumours of romance between co-stars Angelina Jolie and soon-to-be-divorced Brad Pitt, Mr. and Mrs. Smith offers automatic weapons and high explosives as the cure for marital boredom. The premise of this exhausting action-comedy (no relation to the Alfred Hitchcock comedy starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery) is that the unhappily married Smiths (Pitt and Jolie) will improve their relationship once they discover their mutually-hidden identities as world-class assassins, but things get complicated when their secret-agency bosses order them to rub each other out. There's plenty of amusing banter in the otherwise disposable screenplay by Simon Kinberg (xXx: State of the Union, Fantastic Four), and director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) gives Pitt and Jolie a slick, glossy superstar showcase that's innocuous but certainly never boring. It could've been better, but as an action-packed summer confection, Mr. and Mrs. Smith kills two hours in high style. —Jeff Shannon

Sally Field, Robin Williams, Chris Columbus This huge 1993 hit for Robin Williams and director Chris Columbus (Home Alone), based on a novel called Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine, stars Williams as a loving but flaky father estranged from his frustrated wife (Sally Field). Devastated by a court order limiting his time with the children, Williams's character disguises himself as a warm, old British nanny who becomes the kids' best friend. As with Dustin Hoffman's performance in Tootsie, Williams's drag act—buried under layers of latex and padding—is the show, and everything and everyone else on screen serves his sometimes frantic role. Since that's the case, it's fortunate that Williams is Williams, and his performance is terribly funny at times and exceptionally believable in those scenes where his character misses his children. Playing Williams's brother, a professional makeup artist, Harvey Fierstein has a good support role in a bright sequence where he tries a number of feminine looks on Williams before settling on Mrs Doubtfire's visage. —Tom Keogh

Vacation paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the 1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct, and/or produce The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stuart Saves His Family), the first Vacation movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family: father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), son Rusty (future Hughes staple Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way to view the world's biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several sequels—National Lampoon's European Vacation, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation—but this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of the bunch. —Jim Emerson

Chevy Chase, Beverly d'Angelo, Jeremiah S. Chechik National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is the third instalment of the Griswold family saga and a significant improvement over their previous European Vacation. Disaster-prone dad (Chevy Chase) discovers just how dangerous the Christmas season really is as the Griswolds' old-fashioned holiday celebration turns out to be more "Bah! Humbug!" than Christmas cheer. Chase is right at home with the outrageous slapstick and often cheerfully tasteless humour, and John Hughes's script is stuffed full of classic Christmas movie references, but Randy Quaid practically steals the film as the unemployed relative with his malicious grin and mooching lifestyle. Not exactly a holiday classic and a bit spotty, this gag-filled comedy is just obnoxious enough for the Scrooge lurking inside everyone. And fear not, a happy ending awaits all. Watch for future star Juliette Lewis as Chase's teenage daughter. —Sean Axmaker

Nicolas Cage, Harvey Keitel, Jon Turteltaub Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer production's multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you've got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It's a load of hokum, but it's fun hokum, and that makes all the difference. —Jeff Shannon

Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Lynn Redgrave, Peter Falk, Christopher Plummer Written by and starring Ice Cube, this sequel to his 1995 smash Friday is an engaging farce that plays on the ludicrous charm of the original. It's Next Friday and Craig Jones (Ice Cube) has to pay the consequences for despatching Debo, the neighbourhood bully, to jail at the close of the first film. Hearing a rumour that Debo is to break out of the pen, Craig's father decides it would be safer if he holed up at his cousin Day-Day's house in the 'burbs. But as Craig finds out, this is one suburb that is filled with as much drama as the ghetto. Craig's Uncle Elroy is a layabout lottery winner with a sexually voracious young wife who has designs on her nephew. Day-day (Mike Epps) is being stalked for child support by a pregnant former girlfriend and lives in fear of his boss Pinky, a former pimp who runs a record store. His neighbours, a trio of pumped-up Chicano gangsters, are out for his blood after Craig is caught flirting with their sister Karla, and to top everything, Elroy's house is due to be repossessed in 24 hours due to tax violation. The ensuing hilarity centres around Craig's attempts to raise the necessary funds by fair means or foul. Much to Ice Cube's credit, this silly and scabrous comedy is laugh-out-loud funny without lapsing into American Pie-style frat-boy humour.

On the DVD: The main feature is presented in 16:9 anamorphic format in an immaculate print with the choice of either Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 sound and optional English subtitles. Among the special features is an alternate ending which features several small dialogue changes and a re-appearance by Cube's love interest Karla that provides a more satisfying conclusion than the actual ending to the film, which has been left intentionally open for a possible sequel, Friday After Next. Music videos by Ice Cube ("You Can Do It") and Lil' Zane ("Money Stretch") seem to have been included as an incentive to buy the all-star rap soundtrack. Additional features include a theatrical trailer and cast and crew filmographies. The "making-of" featurette advertised on the sleeve does not app ear anywhere on the disc. —Chris Campion

An irresistible concept meets computer-generated wonders in Night at the Museum, inspired by a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc. Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachieving inventor waiting for his ship to come in while getting evicted from one apartment after another for lack of funds. Larry's son needs some stability, so the well-meaning ne'er-do-well takes a job as night watchman at New York City's Museum of Natural History. What the soon-to-retire guards (Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs) don't tell him is that an ancient pharaoh's tablet in the museum causes everything on display to come to life at night. Thus, Larry meets representations of Teddy Roosevelt, Attila the Hun, fire-worshipping cavemen, and Roman Empire soldiers, and learns to cope with an excitable T-Rex and man-eating, ancient animals. The film might have left things at that, but an added story element gives Night at the Museum some extra urgency and excitement, especially for kids: Larry becomes responsible for keeping this nightly miracle going and preventing anything in the museum from dying due to exposure to sunrise. Computer effects, as well as wildly imaginative costumes and makeup, help make the film appeal to the 8-year-old in everyone. Director Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther) works with a hugely talented cast, including Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Carla Gugino, and Steve Coogan. —Tom Keogh

Konstantin Khabenskiy, Vladimir Menshov, Timur Bekmambetov Night Watch is that rare film that—like The Matrix—is not only visually dazzling but creates an intriguing, seductive, and thrilling alternative world. A young man named Anton, after dabbling in black magic to bring back the wife who left him, discovers that the world is populated by fantastical Others (vampires, shape-shifters, witches, and more) who have chosen sides—Light or Dark—in an epic battle. A truce has been declared; both sides watch the other to ensure the truce is maintained. But a prophecy has predicted that a powerful Other will tilt the balance, and Anton—who is himself an Other—finds himself crucial to the prophecy's fulfillment. There's no question that Night Watch has weaknesses. Numerous plot holes get glossed over by pell-mell pacing, the visual conception of the apocalyptic battle between Light and Dark is curiously pedestrian (a bunch of knights fighting a bunch of guys in fur with swords—what happened to their various powers?), and more—but, much like similar problems with The Matrix, it doesn't matter.

The alternative world Night Watch presents is so rich with possibilities that it takes on a life of its own, both as an imaginative universe and as a vivid metaphor for the moral complexities of our own lives—for example, though the forces of Light claim to be good, their often brutal actions call their virtue into question, and the forces of Dark make some compelling moral arguments on the topic. The movie is so overstuffed with ideas that many don't get fleshed out, but that only contributes to the sense of vitality and unexplored dimensions. Even the subtitles are used creatively. The impending sequels (this is the first film of a trilogy) may—like The Matrix—take all the stimulating possibilities Night Watch raises and drag them into the toilet, but for the moment, this is the sort of electric excitement that blockbuster movies promise but so rarely deliver. —Bret Fetzer

Cherami Leigh, Chris Evans, Randy Quaid

Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Steven Soderbergh It comes as something of a relief to find that Ocean’s Thirteen eases itself back to the charm and suave, sophisticated swagger that underpinned the first in what’s become a trilogy of capers. And for those who endured the self-indulgent mess that was Ocean’s Twelve, this latest and final entry in the franchise is a very welcome treat, proving very much that lessons were learnt. Dropping Catherine Zeta Jones and Julia Roberts from the cast list, but signing up the smaller matter of Al Pacino instead, the rest of the players remain broadly intact. So it’s George Clooney’s Danny Ocean who leads the team of cons, supported by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner. And it’s the easy chemistry between these and the rest of the team that underpin what makes Ocean’s 13 such an enjoyable ride.
The plot pits Ocean and his gang against Al Pacino’s ruthless casino boss, and while the script perhaps lacks the cleverness and dense plotting that worked so well in the first adventure, it still leaves plenty of room for outright entertainment.
The end result is an easy-to-enjoy caper, that’s not the equal of Ocean’s Eleven, yet far superior to Ocean’s Twelve. And considering it was released in the midst of a summer where threequels generally weren’t too well received, Ocean’s Thirteen arrives in fine shape, and rounds off the trilogy with panache. —Jon Foster

Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end", and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors and thieves. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. —Jeff Shannon

On the DVD: Ocean's Eleven on disc is hardly swarming with special features, but just like all good heists it's quality not quantity that counts. Although the DVD-ROM feature is simply a game of computer blackjack, the cast list simply that and the HBO special just a standard Hollywood promo, the two refreshing and honest commentaries more than compensate. The cast commentary is lively and it's nice to hear intelligent comments coming from Hollywood's big league for a change. However, it's the director and writer's commentary that is the real gem; it's funny, enlightening and most of all it allows Ted Griffin to put the case forward for all screenwriters across the world as to the importance of their craft. The main feature has an impressive transfer of sound and visuals, making the suits sharper and David Holmes' soundtrack even funkier. —Nikki Disney

Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Stephen Merchant

Min-Sik Choi, Ji-Tae Yu, Myeong-Shin Park

Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Eva Mendes Guns, guns, guns! And a few explosions as bodies fly through the air and crash into tables and fruit stands. Once Upon a Time in Mexico, like all Robert Rodriguez movies, is all about the kinetic kick of high-velocity action. Johnny Depp, blase and whimsical, plays a CIA agent who's drawn guitar-playing gun-slinger Antonio Banderas (long black hair flopping over his face like the ears of a Labrador puppy) into a ridiculously convoluted plot to overthrow the Mexican government. Along for the ride are a craggy-faced rogue's gallery including Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo, Ruben Blades, and (to balance things out) the smooth, tantalizing complexions of Eva Mendes and Salma Hayek. For sheer trashy fun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a step down from its predecessor, Desperado—but Desperado set the bar pretty high. For coherent storytelling, look elsewhere, but for action razzle-dazzle, this is your movie. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

No computer graphic can ever surpass what a real human body can do—and what the body can do is on spectacular display in Ong-Bak, a Thai action movie starring the lithe and flexible Tony Jaa. When the head is stolen from a holy statue in Jaa's rural village, he goes to Bangkok to get it back. Of course, it just so happens that the thief is connected to a bar where criminal big shots gamble over bare-knuckle brawls, and Jaa is—despite his virtuous efforts—drawn into the game. But that's only the beginning; a chase through the city streets rivals the ingenious acrobatics of Jackie Chan, with Jaa leaping between panes of glass, over a bicycle in motion, and through a wreath of barbed wire. Jaa's fighting prowess has been compared to Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and just about every other martial arts master, but he has an equal degree of charisma as well. He won't win acting awards, but his engaging presence carries the movie. One word of warning: The numerous fights will make you wince as much as gape in astonishment. Ong-Bak follows the action-flick tradition that the hero needs to be as battered as possible before he ultimately triumphs, and the battering is intense. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Sean Bean, Danny Dyer, Nick Love

The disc is playable on the PSP system. Language: english Audio: Stereo Running Time: 66 minutes approx. Aspect Ratio: 4:3

Peter Kay, Matthew Dunster, Pearce Quiggley, Sally Jean, Darrell Sandeen

Peter Kay Peter Kay has rightly earned himself a reputation as one of the country’s finest comedians, mixing in wry observations, northern humour and good, old-fashioned joke-telling at its finest. And yet even the most ardent Kay-fan, including this reviewer, would have to concede that this DVD release of Peter Kay—Live At Manchester Arena is a misstep.

It’s not that the material here isn’t funny, as frequently it is. Kay’s observations on the likes of Crimewatch, Bullseye, the daft things that people say and weddings hit home with resounding accuracy. Yet all this has been delivered before on a far better DVD. His Live At The Bolton Albert Halls disc, released two years’ prior to this one, is a taping made on exactly the same tour, and as a result, the material across the two discs is virtually identical. Furthermore, the show on this latest release is cut down to a dramatically shorter length. Save for a strong DVD extra that takes you behind the scenes of his tour, there’s simply no reason that anyone who bought the previous release should fork out for this one.

Kay’s talents are undisputed, and the aforementioned Live At The Bolton Albert Halls DVD is a must-have for fans of strong stand-up comedy. But you really should give Live At The Manchester Arena a miss, and treat is as the unwelcome cash cow it clearly is.—Simon Brew

Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Joel Schumacher For a film confined almost entirely to one tiny location, Phone Booth has been the centre of a lot of off-screen action: changing lead man from Will Smith to Jim Carrey to Colin Farrell, with various directors attached, and finally postponed as a result of the Washington Sniper attacks—and all this before its release. Still, Larry Cohen's taut 80-minute script finally hits the screens and, as public utility-based thrillers go, it's pretty gripping stuff.

Colin Farrell plays slick and obnoxious PR man Stu Shepard who picks up a ringing payphone only to be informed by a mysterious sniper (Keifer Sutherland) that there's a gun pointed directly at him. What Stu initially believes to be a joke turns about to be a vendetta from the sniper who objects to married Stu's philandering ways, and it soon escalates into a prime-time TV siege.

Joel Schumacher's energetic direction—employing some snappy editing and nifty split-screen techniques—helps distract from an uneven and often predictable plot. It's easy for the audience to think of a dozen ways this siege could be averted, but by upping the tension stakes Schumacher still makes it fun to watch.

Colin Farrell gives a compelling central performance, which runs the emotional gamut from anger to fear to anguish and even carries off a cheesy absolution scene. Keifer Sutherland's husky baddie voiceover is not exactly the stuff of nightmares but, like the rest of the film, you could do a lot worse. As a pure popcorn thriller, Phone Booth hits all the right buttons. —Laura Bushell

The latest bro-mance from team Apatow (the guys who brought us Superbad, Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin), Pineapple Express is the story of Dale Denton (Seth Rogan, Zack and Miri Make a Porno) and Saul Silver (James Franco, Spider-Man 3), a pothead and his dealer who accidently get caught up in a drug war between two gangs with some corrupt cops, high-school girls and small-time henchmen thrown in for good measure. At its core, Pineapple Express is a stoner comedy—a tale of two semi-slow giggling and loveable idiots in way over their heads—this formula has made for some entertaining comedy over the years, Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke and Dave Chappell's Half Baked being two of the best examples. What sets Pineapple Express apart from these silly classics however, is the consistency of the humor, the perfect chemistry between Rogan and Franco and the giddily ridiculous action sequences (and the fact that even mild intoxication is not required to enjoy the humour). The movie retains the sweetness that is present in most of Apatow's films, making the characters’ poor choices and ultra-violent actions somehow justifiable, or at least relatable. The site gags, pop-culture references and perfectly timed non-sequiturs only enhance the hilarity. Director David Gordon Green, known mostly for the understated and reflective films George Washington and All the Real Girls, seemed like an odd choice for such a raucous and over-the-top comedy, but it turns out Green's stamp is all over this film (as is his long-time cinematographer, Tim Orr) who together manage to turn Pineapple Express into much more than the sum of its parts. —Kira Canny

Stills from Pineapple Express (click for larger image)

Pink Floyd

If anyone could step into the huge shoes of comedic genius left by Peter Sellers as bumbling French policeman Jacques Clouseau, it's Steve Martin. Sellers made Clouseau a true icon of character and comedy in five Pink Panther movies in the '60s and '70s; Martin has arguably already attained Sellers' rank as an entertainment talent, so it only makes sense that he became Clouseau's heir apparent for the inevitable screen resurrection. This updated story of the priceless eponymous diamond purloined under mysterious circumstance and pursued with Keystone Cop-like antics by Clouseau is a frivolous yet winning pastiche of physical gags and riffs on Clouseau's hilariously impenetrable accent. A famous French football coach (Jason Statham in cameo mode) is wearing the stone, set as an engagement ring for his pop star fiance (Beyonce Knowles). But before a packed stadium crowd of thousands, the ring disappears from his finger as he falls dead from a poisoned dart. The wisp of a plot is secondary to the pratfalls of Martin's prim, prissy, and utterly inept Clouseau. He's brought onto the case by France's top cop (a drolly sophisticated Kevin Kline) who wants Clouseau to fail in a scheme to make himself a national hero. Even in a world where jokes about Viagra, flatulence and other familiar sophomoric subjects are required, Martin makes his Clouseau singularly memorable. You'll be fully expecting Clouseau to shatter priceless antiques, mangle his pronunciations (hamburger, anyone?), and prevail in the end, but Martin carries it off, giving homage to Sellers at the same time that he remakes the character in his own image as a comic master. —Ted Fry

The Pink Panther If anyone could step into the huge shoes of comedic genius left by Peter Sellers as bumbling French policeman Jacques Clouseau, it's Steve Martin. Sellers made Clouseau a true icon of character and comedy in five Pink Panther movies in the '60s and '70s; Martin has arguably already attained Sellers' rank as an entertainment talent, so it only makes sense that he became Clouseau's heir apparent for the inevitable screen resurrection. This updated story of the priceless eponymous diamond purloined under mysterious circumstance and pursued with Keystone Cop-like antics by Clouseau is a frivolous yet winning pastiche of physical gags and riffs on Clouseau's hilariously impenetrable accent. A famous French football coach (Jason Statham in cameo mode) is wearing the stone, set as an engagement ring for his pop star fiance (Beyonce Knowles). But before a packed stadium crowd of thousands, the ring disappears from his finger as he falls dead from a poisoned dart. The wisp of a plot is secondary to the pratfalls of Martin's prim, prissy, and utterly inept Clouseau. He's brought onto the case by France's top cop (a drolly sophisticated Kevin Kline) who wants Clouseau to fail in a scheme to make himself a national hero. Even in a world where jokes about Viagra, flatulence and other familiar sophomoric subjects are required, Martin makes his Clouseau singularly memorable. You'll be fully expecting Clouseau to shatter priceless antiques, mangle his pronunciations (hamburger, anyone?), and prevail in the end, but Martin carries it off, giving homage to Sellers at the same time that he remakes the character in his own image as a comic master. —Ted Fry

Gore Verbinski PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE B

Arguably Oliver Stone’s best film, Platoon was the first of three movies the director has made to date centred firmly on the Vietnam war. Born On The Fourth Of July and Heaven And Earth followed, but this one’s the best, picking up four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Based very much on Stone’s personal experiences, Platoon follows Charlie Sheen’s Chris Taylor as he joins the Vietnam conflict, only to discover that the battle he ends up fighting isn’t the one he necessarily thought he was signing up for. As such, in the face of his commanding officers, played superbly by Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe, he struggles with what he’s expected to do, and how it ultimately makes him act.

It’s a harrowing piece of cinema, certainly, but in this instance, that’s very much to Platoon’s credit. For its story isn’t an easy one, and Stone pulls no punches in telling it.

The high definition upgrade does it real justice, too, bringing the haunting visuals vividly to life. It’s an astonishing piece of cinema, and one very worthy of a Blu-ray upgrade. —Jon Foster

Robert Zemeckis Destined to become a holiday perennial, The Polar Express also heralded a brave new world of all-digital filmmaking. Critics and audiences were divided between those who hailed it as an instant classic that captures the visual splendor and evocative innocence of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book, and those who felt that the innovative use of "performance capture"—to accurately translate live performances into all-digital characters—was an eerie and not-quite-lifelike distraction from the story's epic-scale North Pole adventure. In any case it's a benign, kind-hearted celebration of the yuletide spirit, especially for kids who have almost grown out of their need to believe in Santa Claus. Tom Hanks is the nominal "star" who performs five different computer-generated characters, but it's the visuals that steal this show, as director Robert Zemeckis indulges his tireless pursuit of technological innovation. No matter how you respond to the many wonders on display, it's clear that The Polar Express represents a significant milestone in the digital revolution of cinema. If it also fills you with the joy of Christmas (in spite of its Nuremberg-like rally of frantic elves), so much the better. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

The 1972 disaster hit The Poseidon Adventure was ripe for a big-budget CGI remake, and who better to helm it than thriller expert Wolfgang Petersen, director of Das Boot and The Perfect Storm? It hardly matters that a TV movie remake (also based on Paul Gallico's original 1969 source novel) was made less than a year before, because Petersen's version is far more spectacular, with shocking digital effects, massive sets, amazing stunt-work and enough fire and water to fill five movies with challenging worst-case scenarios. Once again, the plot concerns the capsizing (by a massive "rogue wave") of a state-of-the-art luxury liner, and the struggle of a small group of survivors (including Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, and Richard Dreyfuss) to climb upwards, to the ship's hull, in their treacherous quest for a safe exit. Unfortunately, most of these characters are two-dimensional and under-developed (especially when compared to the 1972 film's all-star cast), and the unimaginative screenplay by Mark Protosevich (reportedly worked on by several uncredited writers) subjects them to a rote series of obstacles that grow increasingly routine and repetitious, not to mention contrived and illogical. Again, it hardly matters, because Petersen's handling of non-stop action is so slick and professional that Poseidon gets by on sheer adrenaline. The capsizing scenes are nothing less than awesome, with some effects so real (and so horrifying) that younger and more sensitive viewers may need to look away. And while it lacks the engaging humanity of the 1972 version, Poseidon is certainly never boring. Faint praise, perhaps, but you'll get your popcorn's worth of mindless entertainment.—Jeff Shannon

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Duke, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Jesse Ventura Although it was only made in 1987, Predator is already the kind of film that has action fans sighing, "They don't make 'em like that any more". Few later films can equal its testosterone-fuelled scenario, its graphic violence or its genuinely unnerving sense of danger. An alien big-game hunter comes to Earth to hunt the meanest, most dangerous creatures on the planet. Naturally, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his astonishingly muscle-bound team of marines are prime targets. The premise has a compelling Zen-like simplicity and the correspondingly minimalist script consists, for the most part, of the statuesque soldiers snarling one-liners at each other ("I ain't got time to bleed", "If it bleeds we can kill it") in between firing unfeasibly large weapons.

Director John McTiernan emphasises the claustrophobic confines of the jungle setting, allowing tension to build for the film's first two thirds by keeping the titular hunter concealed from both its prey and the audience. Composer Alan Silvestri's nerve-jangling percussive score racks up the tension yet further. When the creature does show its handiwork the results are horrifically gory, and, thanks to the film's insistently realistic tone, all the more terrifying. By the final act, a memorably mud-caked Arnie must discard all his high-tech weaponry and fight hand-to-hand against creature effects wizard Stan Winston's classic monster; McTiernan's action choreography ensures that the outcome of this hard-fought duel is never a foregone conclusion.

On the DVD: Predator at last gets the DVD release it deserves. Its previous incarnations used the bowdlerised TV edit; but this two-disc set restores the full theatrical cut, with skinned corpses aplenty and Carl Weathers' lopped-off arm among other messy delights. Not only that, but the sound options are now ultra-vivid Dolby 5.1 or DTS 5.1, though the anamorphic picture is still grainy in some of the darker scenes. John McTiernan provides a decent director's commentary, but much more fascinating information can be had from a text commentary option.

On the generously filled second disc there are seven short behind-the-scenes featurettes (including one dedicated to "Old Painless" the Gatling gun) plus a retrospective documentary, "If It Bleeds We Can Kill It", which includes both old and new interviews with many of the cast and crew. There are also outtakes and a deleted scene, special effects segments, camouflage tests and a text profile of the creature and its weaponry, plus a photo gallery. —Mark Walker

Keira Knightley, Matthew MacFadyen, Joe Wright Rightly winning wide acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, this latest take on Jane Austen’s classic Pride & Prejudice is a real, all-round triumph. The age-old story still holds real resonance, and it follows the tale of five sisters dealing with love, and the many trials and tribulations that brings.

There are so many delights to director Joe Wright’s take on the story, and his direction is a strong place to start. In spite of having to condense the tale to fit a movie running time, he nonetheless injects a real energy and intelligence to his retelling, and he’s served supremely well by his cast. Backed up by strong support by the likes of Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland, it’s Keira Knightley in the lead turn who’s a real surprise here. Her performance is a real joy, and very much at the core of the film’s success.

The film inevitably draws comparison with the superb 1995 BBC adaptation, and while arguably it doesn’t quite scale the same peaks, it’s to the credit of the filmmakers that their version still holds strong. For this is a tremendously enjoyable drama, and one that should continue to find an audience for a long time to come. An excellent film.—Simon Brew

Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Susan Stroman The film-of-the-musical-of-the-film, The Producers unites the hit Broadway pairing of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, drafts in Uma Thurman, and somewhere along the way loses half the fun that made the original movie and the Broadway show such a success.

Under the watchful eye of creator Mel Brooks, this may be a musical version but it tells the same tale—two men stumble across a great way to make money, by putting on a Broadway flop. So off they go to devise the most offensive, sure-fire failure, only to see their creation—Springtime For Hitler—become the town’s hot ticket.

While there’s undoubtedly some fun to be had here, and Lane and Broderick are clearly have a great time in their roles, there are a couple of key problems with The Producers. Firstly, and most crucially, is the staid direction. This very much feels like a camera was placed in front of a stage, and it hurts the film a lot. Secondly, the wonderful energy of Mel Brooks’ original movie is sadly lacking, and at no time does this no version threaten to be an equal to its predecessor.

And yet there are winning moments, some good laughs, and a gentle couple of hours of entertainment. Yet the key attraction is clearly a chance for the majority who never got to see Lane and Broderick treading the boards in their acclaimed performances before, and for many, that rightly justifies the asking price. You just can’t help wishing the film around them was a little better, though.—Simon Brew

Brittany Snow, Scott Porter, Nelson McCormick An attractive cast of young performers lead by Brittany Snow (Hairspray) is the main selling point for Prom Night, a remake of the 1980 Canadian slasher film starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Snow makes for a capable lead as the sole survivor of her family's massacre at the hands of an obsessed teacher (Jonathan Schaech), who returns three years later to finish his campaign on the eve of her senior prom. While no one's idea of a classic horror film, the Paul Lynch-directed Prom Night offered viewers a modest whodunit angle in between the killings; here, the villain's identity is known from the get-go, and what's left is a string of mechanical stalkings (which feature a surprisingly modest amount of blood) and reams of turgid teenspeak, which is handled as best as possible by Snow and her cast mates. The end result is a dull, suspense-free chiller that manages to make its mediocre source material seem inspired by comparison. Older moviegoers may note the presence of actors Idris Elba and James Ransone, both used so well on The Wire, and so thoroughly wasted here. —Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

John Travolta, Thomas Jane, Jonathan Hensleigh The impressively muscular chest of Tom Jane is the focal point of The Punisher, a movie based on a Marvel Comics superhero. Frank Castle (Jane, Deep Blue Sea) retires from the FBI, which means—as any moviegoer expects—that his family is toast. Howard Saint (John Travolta, Face/Off), a shady Florida businessman whose son was killed in Castle's last mission, orders a hit not only on Castle's wife and child, but also on his parents and a whole bunch of aunts, uncles, cousins, and so forth. The killers shoot Castle himself in the chest, but he inexplicably survives and—as any moviegoer expects—sets out to even the score. Implausibly, given his sometimes curious and roundabout methods, he succeeds. Also featuring Will Patton (Armageddon) as an oily thug, Laura Harring (Mulholland Drive) as Saint's fleshpot wife, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men) as a waitress with bad taste in men. —Bret Fetzer

THE PUNISHER : Marvel Comics presents a second big-screen version of THE PUNISHER, with this action-packed adaptation from screenwriter-turned-director Jonathan Hensleigh. Frank Castle (Tom Jane) is a retired F.B.I. agent spurred into action after the merciless slaying of his wife, father, and son. Adopting the superhero guise of The Punisher, Castle aims to wreak vengeance for his dead family by tracking down the culprits responsible for their demise. All clues point to Howard Saint (John Travolta), a ruthless businessman and nightclub owner whose son was mistakenly killed by Castle in a botched undercover operation back in his F.B.I. days. Unique amongst Marvel superheroes, The Punisher possesses no special powers, just remarkable strength parried with a blind determination to avenge his family. As he hunts down Saint, Castle surrounds himself with three fellow societal outcasts to get the job done, namely Joan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Bumpo (John Pinette), and Dave (Ben Foster). Director Hensleigh eschews flashy CGI effects for the bulk of the movie, and instead reverts to old action-movie staples such as thrilling stunt work, gunfights, and huge explosions. The old-fashioned feel suits The Punisher well, providing an apt mirror of the hero's own lack of super powers. Hensleigh winds the film through a thrilling white-knuckle ride to its spectacular conclusion, ultimately providing a highly appropriate movie for one of Marvel's lesser-known comic book heroes.PUNISHER - WAR ZONE is the third screen appearance from Marvel Comics' angel of death, and continues the saga of Frank Castle, a normal New York City citizen turned Mafia-slaying vigilante following the murder of his family. Six years after the tragedy, Frank is still waging war against organized crime in New York. After he ambushes a party for an aging mob boss and turns it into a bloodbath.

Henry Rollins, Tommy Ramone, Don Letts Actors: Henry Rollins, Tommy Ramone, David Johansen, Legs McNeil, Steve Jones
Director: Don Letts
Manufacturer: Fremantle Home Entertainment

Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Gabriele Muccino A heart-warming film that demonstrates how good, hard-working people can become homeless almost overnight, The Pursuit of Happyness is a tour de force showcase for Will Smith, who convincingly portrays a down and out dad trying to better his family's life. Smith, who is usually cast in effortlessly boyish roles (Men in Black, Independence Day), is wonderful in the film—even in the scenes that shamelessly tug at viewers' heart-strings. Based on the true-life story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman forced at times to shelter his young son (played by Smith's adorable look-alike offspring Jaden Smith) in a men's room, there is little suspense to the film in terms of Chris's outcome. (His story and eventual success as a prosperous Chicago businessman was well-publicised on the news magazine show 20/20.) And let's face it, Hollywood's not too keen on making feel-good movies with unhappy endings.

The beauty (and suspense, to a certain extent) of The Pursuit of Happyness is in the way the story is told. Though he is constantly rushing around to get to appointments and pick up his child, things do not happen quickly for Chris. When he accepts an internship with a prestigious stock brokerage firm, there's a catch: The position is unpaid, suitable more for trust-fund children than single parents with no other source of income. In many scenes, the viewer panics along with Chris, wondering how he's going to feed his child. While Smith and his son, Jaden, share many tender moments together, Thandie Newton (Crash) has the thankless role of playing Chris' shrill wife, who deserts her family early in the film. It's not a particularly challenging part for the talented actress, and her departure doesn't impact much on the storyline. As for the film's mis-spelled title, it's inspired by a scene early in the film (seeing a mural drawn by the children at a daycare centre, Chris points out to the proprietor that "happiness" is spelled incorrectly. She notes that it doesn't matter how the word is written—just that the kids have it). With The Pursuit of Happyness, Smith has come out of his safety zone and, in turn, ends up playing his most heroic role to date. —Jae-Ha Kim

Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Barry Sonnenfeld The long tradition of family vacation comedies continues in RV, with Robin Williams doing his best to keep things amusing. He succeeds, for the most part, by downplaying his manic persona and settling comfortably into his role as well-meaning husband and father Bob Munro. Determined to combine work and pleasure, Bob rents the titular motor home to drive his wife (Cheryl Hines), teenage daughter (Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) and pre-teen son (Josh Hutcherson) on a scenic vacation in the Colorado Rockies while secretly preparing his presentation for a high-stakes corporate merger. Their dysfunctional road trip leads to repeated encounters with the all-too-happy Gornicke family (led by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth), who only appear to be stupid rednecks, when in fact they represent the familial togetherness that Bob is striving to regain. As directed by comedy veteran Barry Sonnenfeld (whose image as "Irv" the RV rental king is plastered across the side of the Munro's RV), these warm-and-fuzzy sentiments are strictly by-the-numbers, along with plenty of jokes about raw sewage, scavenging raccoons, and RVs run amuck. There aren't any real highlights, and the outcome is utterly predictable, but RV delivers enough comedy to qualify as an enjoyable diversion. Those who remember Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Vincente Minnell's 1954 hit The Long, Long Trailer may find RV similarly entertaining. —Jeff Shannon

Chris Barrie, Craig Charles

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel Arguably the finest movie of its kind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day captured Arnold Schwarzenegger at the very apex of his Hollywood celebrity and James Cameron at the peak of his perfectionist directorial powers. Nothing the star did subsequently measured up to his iconic performance here, spouting legendary catchphrases and wielding weaponry with unparalleled cool; and while the director had an even bigger hit with the bloated and sentimental Titanic, few followers of his career would deny that Cameron's true forte has always been sci-fi action. With an incomparably bigger budget than its 1984 precursor, T2 essentially reworks the original scenario with envelope-stretching special effects and simply more, more, more of everything. Yet, for all its scale, T2 remains at heart a classic sci-fi tale: robots running amok, time travel paradoxes and dystopian future worlds are recurrent genre themes, which are here simply revitalised by Cameron's glorious celebration of the mechanistic. From the V-twin roar of a Harley Fat Boy to the metal-crunching steel mill finale, the director's fascination with machines is this movie's strongest motif: it's no coincidence that the character with whom the audience identifies most strongly is a robot. Now that impressive but unengaging CGI effects have come to over-dominate sci-fi movies (think of The Phantom Menace), T2's pivotal blending of extraordinary live-action stuntwork and FX looks more and more like it will never be equalled. —Mark Walker

Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul W.S. Anderson Given that Resident Evil is a Paul Anderson movie based on a computer game which was itself highly derivative (especially of George A Romero and James Cameron films), it's probably unfair to complain that it hasn't got an original idea or moment in its entire running time. In the early 1980s, Italian schlock films such as Zombie Flesh Eaters and Zombie Creeping Flesh tried to cram in as many moments restaged from American originals as possible, strung together by silly characters wandering between monster attacks. This is a much-improved, edited, photographed and directed version of the same gambit.

As amnesiac Milla Jovovich remembers amazing kung fu skills and anti-globalist Eric Mabius mutters about evil corporations, a gang of clichéd soldiers without a distinguishing feature between them (except for Michelle Rodriguez as a secondary tough chick) are trapped in an underground scientific compound at the mercy of a tyrannical computer—which manifests as a smug little-girl-o-gram—fending off flesh-eating zombies (though gore fans will be disappointed by the film's need to stay within the limits of the 15 certificate) and CGI mutants, not to mention the ever-popular zombie dogs. It's tolerably action-packed, but zips past its borrowings (Aliens, Cube, Deep Blue Sea) without adding anything that future schlock pictures will want to imitate. — Kim Newman

Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Jared Harris, Michael Madsen 2002's popular video-game-derived hit Resident Evil didn't inspire confidence in a sequel, but Resident Evil: Apocalypse defies odds and surpasses expectations. It's a bigger, better, action-packed zombie thriller, and this time Milla Jovovich (as the first film's no-nonsense heroine) is joined by more characters from the popular Capcom video games, including Jill Valentine (played by British hottie Sienna Guillory) and Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, from 1999's The Mummy). They're armed and ready for a high-caliber encounter with devil dogs, mutant "Lickers," lurching zombies, and the leather-clad monster known only as Nemesis, unleashed by the nefarious Umbrella Corporation responsible for creating the cannibalistic undead horde. Having gained valuable experience as a respected second-unit director on high-profile films like Gladiator and The Bourne Identity, director Alexander Witt elevates this junky material to the level of slick, schlocky entertainment. —Jeff Shannon

Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant

Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Paul Verhoeven When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop was like a high-voltage jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie was a huge hit, and has since earned enduring cult status as one of the seminal science fiction films of the 1980s. Followed by two sequels, a TV series, and countless novels and comic books, this original RoboCop is still the best by far, largely due to the audacity and unbridled bloodlust of director Verhoeven. However, the reasons many enjoyed the film are also the reasons some will surely wish to avoid it. Critic Pauline Kael called the movie a dubious example of "gallows pulp," and there's no denying that its view of mankind is bleak, depraved, and graphically violent. In the Detroit of the near future, a policeman (Peter Weller) is brutally gunned down by drug-dealing thugs and left for dead, but he survives (half of him, at least) and is integrated with state-of-the-art technology to become a half-robotic cop of the future, designed to revolutionize law enforcement. As RoboCop holds tight to his last remaining shred of humanity, he relentlessly pursues the criminals who "killed" him. All the while, Verhoeven (from a script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner) injects this high-intensity tale with wickedly pointed humour and satire aimed at the men and media who cover a city out of control. —Jeff Shannon, amazon.com

The delightful designs of William Joyce (writer/illustrator of such popular children's books as George Shrinks and Bently & Egg) make Robots a joy to behold. The round, bouncy, and ramshackle forms of hero Rodney Copperbottom and his computer-animated friends are part of an ornate and daffy Rube-Goldberg universe of elaborate contraptions and gleaming metallic surfaces. Rodney (voiced with a hint-of-Scottish lilt by Ewan McGregor) is a young inventor who sets off for Robot City to work for Big Weld (Mel Brooks), the supreme inventor of the mechanical world. But upon his arrival, Rodney discovers that Big Weld has disappeared, and the slick, shiny Ratchet (Greg Kinnear) is phasing out the spare parts that lumpen robots need to function and replacing them with "upgrades"—expensive and glistening new exoskeletons. Unfortunately, from this suitable beginning, the story degenerates into a series of action sequences that make very little sense, though some are kinetic and fun (though others are only there to serve the inevitable Robots video game). Most kids will enjoy the sheer visual pleasure of the movie, but compared to the narrative richness of Pixar movies like The Incredibles and Toy Story, that pleasure is pretty short-lived. Also featuring the voices of Robin Williams, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Jennifer Coolidge, and many, many more. —Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton, Guy Ritchie

The 1976 Oscar winner for Best Picture, John G Avildsen's Rocky is the story of a down-and-out club fighter who gets his million-to-one shot at a world championship title. In the title role, Sylvester Stallone (who also penned the screenplay) draws a carefully etched portrait of a loser who, in Brando-esque fashion, "coulda been a contender". Rocky then actually becomes one thanks to a publicity stunt engineered by current champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), while finding love, courtesy of timid wallflower Adrian (Talia Shire), along the way. Burgess Meredith revives the spirit of 1940's genre pictures through his scenery-chewing performance as Rocky's trainer. An enormous entertainment, Rocky is irresistible in its depiction of an underachiever who has the courage to start all over again—a description that could have been applied to Stallone's own life at the time. —Kevin Mulhall

Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire

Rocky Balboa comes out of retirement to step into the ring for the last time and face the heavyweight champ Mason 'The Line' Dixon.

Manufacturer: Boulevard Entertaiment

Robert De Niro stars as an American intelligence operative adrift in irrelevance since the end of the Cold War—much like a masterless samurai, aka "ronin". With his services for sale, he joins a renegade, international team of fellow covert warriors with nothing but time on their hands. Their mission, as defined by the woman who hires them (Natascha McElhone), is to get hold of a particular suitcase that is equally coveted by the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists. As the scheme gets underway, De Niro's lone wolf strikes up a rare friendship with his French counterpart (Jean Reno), gets into a more-or-less romantic frame of mind with McElhone and asserts his experience on the planning and execution of the job—going so far as to publicly humiliate one team member (Sean Bean) who is clearly out of his league. The story is largely unremarkable—there's an obligatory twist midway through that changes the nature of the team's business—but legendary filmmaker John Frankenheimer (Seconds, The Manchurian Candidate) leaps at the material, bringing to it an honest tension and seasoned, breathtaking skill with precision-action direction. The centrepiece of the movie is an honest-to-God car chase that is the real thing: not the how-can-we-top-the-last-stunt cartoon nonsense of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon) but a pulse-quickening, kinetic dance of superb montage and timing. In a sense, Ronin is almost Frankenheimer's self-quoting version of a John Frankenheimer film.There isn't anything here he hasn't done before but it's sure great to see it all again. —Tom Keogh

Caroline Aherne, Sue Johnston, Mark Mylod On paper, The Royle Family doesn't sound that promising: a working-class family from Manchester sit in their cluttered living room, watch the telly and argue over domestic details (the arrival of a telephone bill, for instance, provides the big dramatic event of the first episode, which aired in September 1998). But from such small everyday incidents, Royle Family creators Caroline Aherne and Dave Best (who play young couple Denise and Dave) have crafted one of the most successful shows on British television: a comedy about the joys and frustrations of family life that's warm, honest and very, very funny—Britain's answer to The Simpsons, whose success the show rivalled when it started broadcasting on BBC2 (the programme jumped channels to BBC1 for its second series).

The Royle Family marked an on-screen reunion for Brookside-actors Ricky Tomlinson (who plays bearded, big-hearted, banjo-playing Jim Royle) and Sue Johnston as his wife Barbara, the driving force behind the Royle household. It is smart casting because The Royle Family is as much a soap opera as a situation comedy. Now in its third series, The Royle Family has seen its characters develop like real folk. Denise and Dave got married and now have a little sprog; Barbara starts menopause (how many sitcoms are brave enough to use that for laughs?) and Denise's kid brother Anthony shakes off his surly adolescence when he turned 18 in series two. Unlike Oasis, who provide the shows theme song "Halfway Round the World", this programme just keeps getting better.

But no soap—not even Brookside in its dafter moments—has one-liners as brilliantly crafted as The Royle Family. (The scripts from the series are available to buy.) Slouched in his armchair, Jim's dour running commentary on the TV shows that are on at the time are particularly priceless: Changing Rooms, for instance, boils down to "a Cockney knocking nails into plywood... Is this what its come to?" Not quite: because as long as the Royle Family are around, there is something worthwhile to watch. —Edward Lawrenson

Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Brett Ratner The plot line may sound familiar: Two mismatched cops are assigned as reluctant partners to solve a crime. Culturally they are complete opposites, and they quickly realize they can't stand each other. One (Jackie Chan) believes in doing things by the book. He is a man with integrity and nerves of steel. The other (Chris Tucker) is an amiable rebel who can't stand authority figures. He's a man who has to do everything on his own, much to the displeasure of his superior officer, who in turn thinks this cop is a loose cannon but tolerates him because he gets the job done. Directed by Brett Ratner, Rush Hour doesn't break any new ground in terms of story, stunts, or direction. It rehashes just about every "buddy" movie ever made—in fact, it makes films such as Tango and Cash seem utterly original and clever by comparison. So, why did this uninspired movie make over $120 million at the box office? Was the whole world suffering from temporary insanity? Hardly. The explanation for the success of Rush Hour is quite simple: chemistry. The casting of veteran action maestro Jackie Chan with the charming and often hilarious Chris Tucker was a serendipitous stroke of genius. Fans of Jackie Chan may be slightly disappointed by the lack of action set pieces that emphasize his kung-fu craft. On the other hand, those who know the history of this seasoned Hong Kong actor will be able to appreciate that Rush Hour was the mainstream breakthrough that Chan had deserved for years. Coupled with the charismatic scene-stealer Tucker, Chan gets to flex his comic muscles to great effect. From their first scenes together to the trademark Chan outtakes during the end credits, their ability to play off of one another is a joy to behold, and this mischievous interaction is what saves the film from slipping into the depths of pitiful mediocrity. —Jeremy Storey

Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner Rush Hour 2 retains the appeal of its popular predecessor, so fans will enjoy the antics of the returning stars, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. The action—and there's plenty of it—starts in Hong Kong, where Detective Lee (Chan) and his LA counterpart Detective Carter (Tucker) are attempting a vacation, only to get assigned to sleuth a counterfeiting scheme involving a Triad kingpin (John Lone), his lethal henchwoman (Zhang Ziyi, from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and an American billionaire (Alan King). Director Brett Ratner simply lets his stars strut their stuff, so it hardly matters that the plot is disposable, or that his direction is so bland he may well have directed the film from a phone in a Jacuzzi.

At its best, Rush Hour 2 compares favourably to Chan's glossiest Hong Kong hits, and when the action moves to Las Vegas (where Don Cheadle makes an unbilled cameo), the film goes into high-pitched hyper-drive, riding an easy wave of ambitious stunt-work and broad, derivative humour. However, echoes of Beverly Hills Cop are easy to see and stale ideas (including a comedic highlight for Jeremy Piven as a gay clothier) are made even more aggravating by dialogue that's almost Neanderthal in its embrace of retro-racial stereotypes. Of course, that's what makes Rush Hour 2 a palatable dish of mainstream comedy: it insults and comforts the viewer at the same time, and while some may find Tucker's relentless hamming unbearable, those who enjoyed Rush Hour are sure to appreciate another dose of Chan-Tucker lunacy. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

SWAT MOVIE - 3? Mini DVD for PH

Tobin Bell, Beverly Mitchell, Darren Lynn Bousman Given the haste in which this sequel followed the original, hopes may not have been particularly high for Saw 2. Yet the film itself proves to be a welcome surprise. For while it has moments where it needlessly attempts to out-gore the original, and while it’s not as clever, there’s plenty here to lift it above the status of lazy cash-in.

The premise, once again, contrives to put a series of apparent strangers into one location, surrounded by various traps and clues to get out. That location, a dilapidated house in this instance, is locked up, and slowly filling with nerve gas. In short, thanks to the work of deadly serial killer Jigsaw, the collection of people inside have two hours to live. This time though, their plight is being watched remotely via a video link by police officers, specifically Detective Eric Matthews, who quickly discovers his son is one of those caught in Jigsaw’s deadly trap.

With a tempered running time that allows little time for waste, where Saw 2 scores is in simply getting on with the job. It’s a slightly bumpier ride than first time round, but again, it’s hard not to get drawn into the fun.

One notable word of warning though: Saw liked its gore, and so does this sequel. No doubt the imminent third entry in the series will be fond of it too. Still, if you’re wary of the need for a strong stomach, there’s a lot to enjoy in this surprisingly strong second instalment.—Simon Brew

Danny Glover, Cary Elwes, Dina Meyer, Monica Potter Adam (Leigh Whannell) wakes up in a dank room across from Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) and the body of a guy who has blown his own brains out. Not a happy place, obviously, and it gets worse when both men realise that they've been chained and pitted against one another by an unseen but apparently omniscient maniac who's screwing with their psyches as payment for past sins. Director James Wan, who concocted this grimy distraction with screenwriter Whannell, has seen Seven and any number of other arty existential-psycho-cat-and-mouse thrillers, so he's provided Saw with a little flash, a little blood, and a lot of ways to distract you from the fact that it doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense. Wan and Whannell (who's not the most accomplished actor, either) pile on the plot twists, which after some initially novel ideas become increasingly juvenile. Elwes works hard but looks embarrassed, and the estimable Danny Glover suffers as the obsessed detective on the case. The denouement will probably surprise you, but it won't get you back the previous 98 minutes. —Steve Wiecking

UMD all regions The Mystery Inc. gang have broken up but find themselves together on Spooky Island. Strange things happen on the island resulting in the gang getting together to solve the case.

Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth, Phil Daniels, John C. Mcginley

Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Joel Osment, John C. Mcginley

Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Joss Whedon Serenity is a film that, by rights, shouldn’t have been made. For starters, it’s spun out of the short-lived and quickly-cancelled TV series Firefly, which has only itself got the full recognition it deserves on DVD. It then marries up two seemingly incompatible genres, the western and science fiction, has no major stars to speak of, and pretty much has ‘hard sell’ written all over it.

Perhaps that explains its modest box office performance back in 2005. What it fails to reflect, however, is that this is one of the most energetic, downright enjoyable sci-fi flicks in some time. Not for nothing did many rate it higher than the Star Wars movie that appeared in the same year.

It follows renegade captain Mal Reynolds and his quirkily assembled crew, as they work on the outskirts of space, trying to keep out of the way of the governing Alliance. That plan quickly changes when they take on a couple of passengers who have attracted the attention of said Alliance, and thus the scene is set for an action-packed, cleverly written movie that deserves many of the plaudits that have rightly been thrust in its direction.

What’s more, Serenity works whether you’ve seen the TV series that precedes it or not. Clearly fans of the Firefly show will be in their element, but even the casual viewer will find an immense amount to enjoy.

The only real problem is that given the film’s box office returns, further adventures of Reynolds and his crew look unlikely. Unless Serenity turns into a major hit on DVD, that is. It’s well worth playing your part in making that happen.—Simon Brew

Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, David Fincher The most viscerally frightening and disturbing homicidal maniac picture since The Silence of the Lambs, Seven is based on an idea that's both gruesome and ingenious. A serial killer forces each of his victims to die by acting out one of the seven deadly sins. The murder scene is then artfully arranged into a grotesque tableau, a graphic illustration of each mortal vice. From the jittery opening credits to the horrifying (and seemingly inescapable) concluding twist, director David Fincher immerses us in a murky urban twilight where everything seems to be rotting, rusting, or moulding; the air is cold and heavy with dread. Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are the detectives who skillfully track down the killer—all the while unaware that he has been closing in on them, as well. Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey are also featured, but it is director Fincher and the ominous, overwhelmingly oppressive atmosphere of doom that he creates that are the real stars of the film. —Jim Emers

If a weekend of team building exercises in the woods sounds like your personal idea of torture, spare a thought for the poor pen pushers of Severance. As if the obligatory paintball and trust exercises weren’t enough, there’s a killer lurking outside their cabin—a killer holding a grudge against the unsuspecting employees of Palisade Defense...

Severance is one of the best British horror movies to come out of the last couple of years. It’s smarter than it has any right to be; screenwriter James Moran neatly sidesteps the numerous clichés littering the genre, balancing eye-watering gore with almost surreal humour, while Creep helmer Chris Smith’s assured direction sells even the daftest (and cruellest) moments.

Smith also draws great performances from a talented cast, including Dead Like Me’s Laura Harris, Black Adder’s Darling Tim McInnerny, and Danny Dyer of Mean Machine and The Football Factory.

Horror fans will lap this up; those lacking an iron stomach might watch some scenes from behind laced fingers, but will appreciate the fast-paced action and black humour nonetheless.—Sarah Dobbs

Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, Bob Gunton When The Shawshank Redemption was released in 1994, some critics complained that this popular prison drama was too long to sustain its plot. Those complaints miss the point, because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience, the squeaky wheels of justice and the growth of a life-long friendship. Only when the film reaches its final, emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont (adapting a novella by Stephen King) allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace.

Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy who is sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge, but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red (Morgan Freeman), we soon realise his claims of innocence are credible. We also realise that Andy's calm, quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude, and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life. So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre (violence, brutality, riots) to illustrate its theme of faith, friendship and survival. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay, it's a remarkable film (which movie lovers count among their all-time favourites) that signalled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker.

On the DVD: The Shawshank Redemption limited-edition release contains the complete 48-minute documentary "Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature", including interviews with all the principal cast and crew; plus more interview material and the theatrical trailer. —Jeff Shannon

A lot of movies can be described as "dripping with atmosphere," but in the case of Silent Hill it's literally true. Faithfully adapted from the Konami video games by French director Christophe Gans and Pulp Fiction cowriter Roger Avary (both self-confessed video game addicts), this dark and grisly horror-fest is nothing if not a triumph of cinematography and production design, consisting of a minimal and mostly incoherent plot propped up by a mysterious maze of sets that literally seep, drip, and ooze with the atmospheric evil of past misdeeds. Welcome to the abandoned and perpetually foggy ghost town of Silent Hill, where grey ash falls like snow, a devastating coal-mine fire still burns in a hellish underground, and demons of various shapes and sizes make your worst nightmares seem like a walk in the park. It's here that distressed mother Rose (played by Pitch Black heroine Radha Mitchell) has taken her daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) in hopes of discovering the source of Sharon's sleepwalking nightmares. What they find instead is a burned-out legacy of unspeakable evil, as Silent Hill's dark secrets are revealed. As opposing denizens of Silent Hill's meta-morphing underworld, Canadian actresses Alice Krige and Deborah Kara Unger seem to be the only ones who recognize this morbid mess as campy comedy; Gans (who established his visual flair with The Brotherhood of the Wolf) and Avary take it far too seriously, and the entire movie is utterly devoid of any emotional hooks or plot logic that would make us care about anything that happens. In crafting a loyal big-screen rendition of Silent Hill and its Playstation sequels, they've forgotten that movies play by a different and more demanding set of rules. As a result, they've made an impressive-looking but ultimately hollow horror film that only Silent Hill game-players can truly appreciate. —Jeff Shannon

David Silverman

Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino

Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, M. Night Shyamalan "I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked nine-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is trying to find out what's triggering Cole's visions, but what appears to be a psychological manifestation turns out to be frighteningly real. It might be enough to scare off a lesser man, but for Malcolm it's personal—several months before, he was accosted and shot by an unhinged patient, who then turned the gun on himself. Since then, Malcolm has been in turmoil—he and his wife (Olivia Williams) are barely speaking, and his life has taken an aimless turn. Having failed his loved ones and himself, he's not about to give up on Cole.

The Sixth Sense, M Night Shyamalan's third feature, sets itself up as a thriller, poised on the brink of delivering monstrous scares, but gradually evolves into more of a psychological drama with supernatural undertones. Many critics faulted the film for being mawkish and New Age-y, but no matter how you slice it, this is one mightily effective piece of filmmaking. The bare bones of the story are basic enough, but the moody atmosphere created by Shyamalan and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto made this one of the creepiest pictures of 1999, forsaking excessive gore for a sinisterly simple feeling of chilly otherworldliness. Willis is in his strong, silent type mode here, and gives the film wholly over to Osment, whose crumpled face and big eyes convey a child too wise for his years; his scenes with his mother (Toni Collette) are small, heartbreaking marvels. And even if you figure out the film's surprise ending, it packs an amazingly emotional wallop when it comes, and will have you racing to watch the movie again with a new perspective. You may be able to shake off the sentimentality of The Sixth Sense, but its craftsmanship and atmosphere will stay with you for days. —Mark Englehart

Mun-saeng Kim

Fraser Ayres, Debbie Chazen, Gareth Carrivick

Snatch, the follow-up to the Guy Ritchie's breakthrough film—the high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels—hardly breaks new ground being, well, another high-energy, expletive-strewn cockney-gangster movie. Okay, so there are some differences. This time around our low-rent hoodlums are battling over dodgy fights and stolen diamonds rather than dodgy card games and stolen drugs. There has been some minor reshuffling of the cast too with Sting and Dexter Fletcher making way for the more bankable Benicio Del Toro and Brad Pitt, the latter pretty much stealing the whole shebang as an incomprehensible Irish gypsy.

Moreover, no one can complain about the amount of extras featured on this DVD that includes 15 minutes of deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, trailer, storyboards, production notes and commentary from Ritchie himself. And, sure, people who really, really liked Lock, Stock—or have the memory of a goldfish—will really, really like this. The suspicion lingers, however, that if the director doesn't do something very different next time around then his career may prove to be considerably shorter than that of 'er indoors. —Clark Collis

Snoop Dogg

South Park Item is in perfect order opened but never watched.

Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Roger Donaldson There's a kind of perverse marketing genius at work in this cheesy sci-fi hit from 1995 in which scientists create a half-human, half-alien woman named Sil (Natasha Henstridge) who's capable of morphing from a slimy, tentacled creature into a blonde babe with the body of a Playboy centrefold. This makes it easy for Sil to lure gullible guys who are only too willing to indulge her voracious mating urge, realising too late that sex with Sil is anything but safe. As the body count rises, a handpicked team of specialists tracks the alien's killing spree, but their diverse expertise is barely a match for the ever-morphing Sil. Borrowing elements of the Alien movies (including bizarre alien designs by Swedish artist HR Giger) and spicing them up with some tantalising nudity, Species is a wet dream for creature-feature fans—kind of like watching a sci-fi vampire fantasy while browsing through the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

The movie that transformed Keanu Reeves into a bona fide action hero, Speed was also former cinematographer Jan De Bont’s assured directorial debut. It’s an almost perfect high-concept movie that lives up to its title both in the adroit choreography of the action set-pieces and Graham Yost’s taut screenplay, which is admirably stripped of all padding.

De Bont further heightens the excitement by his use of authentic locations as the out-of-control bus travels through, across and—in one unforgettable scene—a few feet in the air above the urban sprawl of LA. And instead of relegating the love interest to a dull subplot, here Sandra Bullock is an integral part of the action as she and her bus career around the city at 50-plus miles an hour. Even the opening credits neatly illustrate the film’s title, as does composer Mark Mancina’s pulsing score. Sensibly, Reeves passed on the ill-advised sequel and took on The Matrix instead; both screenwriter and director have yet to do anything better than this.

On the DVD: Speed is the kind of movie that was made for the DVD format, and this two-disc special edition does it full justice. The feature is presented anamorphically in its original 2.35:1 ratio with spectacularly vivid Dolby 5.1 or DTS 5.1 options. Jan De Bont provides a commentary, though his solo effort is less engaging than that of chatty producer Mark Gordon and writer Graham Yost who enjoy constantly interrupting each other.

Disc 2 has lots of goodies, including mini-documentaries on the key action set-pieces with storyboards and multi-angle views of the major stunts. "Inside Speed" looks at various aspects of the production, from locations to stunts; production design and visual effects, plus reproducing all of Graham Yost’s original screenplay. There are individual interviews with the director and principal stars, a short selection of extended scenes and a brief deleted one; a photo gallery, plus a promotional menu in which there is a HBO "making of" featurette, TV spots, trailers, a press kit and Billy Idol’s music video. In all, a satisfyingly extensive package.—Mark Walker

An over-the-top, sensory overload experience determined to replicate its frantic, television-anime origins, Speed Racer is wild enough to induce a headache or wow a viewer with one dazzling effect after another. Adapted for the big screen as a live-action feature, Speed Racer is written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the sibling team behind the intensely satisfying The Matrix and its busier, less interesting sequels. Where the rich myth-making of The Matrix was entirely accessible, however, Speed Racer's overwhelming and gratuitously complicated story exposition is an enormous challenge to follow, let alone embrace. After a while, one simply surrenders to the unbroken din of dialogue concerning corporate chicanery, corruption in the sport of racing, and a value conflict between racing as a family business versus multinational cash cow. At the same time, the film's hyper-real equivalent of the old Speed Racer cartoon's great whoosh of color, motion, and edgy production design—such as inventive uses of scene-changing wipes, bold framing, shifting perspectives—are more overbearing than fun.

Emile Hirsch plays Speed Racer, younger brother of a deceased racing legend, Rex, and son of car designer Pops (John Goodman). The latter invented Speed's Mach 5, and is singularly unimpressed by an offer from a giant conglomerate that would lock Speed into exclusive racing services. Speed opts instead for family loyalty, incurring the wrath of the conglomerate's unctuous head (Roger Allam). With family honor on the line and the affections of girlfriend Trixie (Christina Ricci) behind him, Speed hits the track in hopes of fulfilling his destiny as a master racer. The cast is largely enjoyable, including Susan Sarandon as Speed's mom, Matthew Fox as mysterious Racer X, and a pair of chimps as the irrepressible Chim-Chim. All well and good, but in a movie that lives or dies by the excitement level of races that look like computer-animated Hot Wheels action, Speed Racer is a dreary adventure. —Tom Keogh

Dave Filoni Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the 2008 CGI-animated theatrical film that serves as the kick-off to the weekly animated Clone Wars TV series. The concept came about way back in 1977's original Star Wars film, when Leia says in her message to Obi-Wan Kenobi Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Initially a simple offhand reference that would reveal Luke's past, the phrase captured fans' attentions for years, until Episode II: Attack of the Clones revealed just how the Clone Wars figured into the battle between Republic and Empire. The 2008 movie is full of familiar characters—Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku—and a new one: Ahsoka Tano, a young girl who has been made Anakin's Padawan. Together, the two headstrong youths embark on a mission to rescue Jabba the Hutt's kidnapped child, battling each other as much as they battle the Separatist forces. There are some kind-of-cool sequences, including duels with Dooku and his assassin, Asajj Ventress, and it's interesting to see some new corners of the Star Wars universe, such as the seamy underbelly of Coruscant. But Ahsoka and her penchant for nicknames that are too cute to stomach seem aimed only at tween-age audiences, and for all that goes on in the movie, nothing really happens in the end. The 2003 animated Clone Wars microseries, which had the advantage of being directly tied into the live-action film series, had much more emotional bite. At least some familiar voices return: Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO, and still the only actor in every movie), Christopher Lee (Dooku). Other voices include Matt Lanter (Anakin), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka), and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan). But even the traditional opening crawl has been replaced by a narration more suited for Starship Troopers. Veteran Star Wars fans will probably want to see The Clone Wars—once—but it won't take them long to discover that this Star Wars isn't their Star Wars any more. —David Horiuchi

Casper Van Dien, Jolene Blalock, Ed Neumeier

Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Josh Lucas, Sam Shepard, Janeane Garofalo Featuring the best special effects that money can buy and a screenplay that any six-year-old could follow, Stealth is a pure action thriller that starts fast and never slows down. Moving up from The Fast and the Furious and xXx, director Rob Cohen proves himself as a master of popcorn entertainment for teenagers, turning this derivative military sci-fi action thriller into a dazzling showcase for impressive aerial action sequences, featuring digital effects and highly detailed model work (by James Cameron's Digital Domain effects company, among others) that are so realistic you could swear the movie's high-tech aircraft are absolutely real.

The plot serves the effects (it should be the other way around), and it's a cheesy hybrid of Top Gun, The Right Stuff, Firefox and Behind Enemy Lines, in which a close-knit trio of Naval Air Force aces (Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, and Jamie Foxx) pilot state-of-the-art "Talon" fighter-bombers, ready to scramble on orders from their not-entirely trustworthy commander (Sam Shepard). They're teamed up with an ultra-high-tech UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) nicknamed "EDI," an artificially intelligent fighter drone that's as erratically dangerous (after its circuitry is damaged by lightning) as it is deadly effective. With a standard third-act rescue mission amidst the threat of global warfare, Stealth is brainless entertainment from start to finish, but the aerial action and epic-scale pyrotechnics ensure that it's never, ever boring. Cohen may be guilty of dumbing down his recycled plots for mass appeal, but there's no denying his skills as an action auteur. Move over, Michael Bay, you've got serious competition. —Jeff Shannon

Takeshi Seyama, Katsuhiro Ohtomo PSP UMD MOVIE DIRECTORS CUT

Crude, juvenile (and proud of it), Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as two 40-year-old men, both living at home and leading the lives of 13-year-old boys, who are thrown together when their single parents (Mary Steenburgen, Parenthood, and Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under) get married. Brennan (Ferrell) and Dale (Reilly) start out hating each other as only teenage boys can—but things get even worse for their long-suffering parents when they become best friends. Step Brothers gets most of its mileage from very low brow humour, but hidden among the flatulence and masturbation jokes is the suggestion that while these guys may be emotionally arrested, so are Brennan's hotshot business executive brother (Adam Scott, Tell Me You Love Me) and his high-fiving frat boy pals—just in a way that's condoned because it makes money. Also crucial is that Ferrell and Reilly capture adolescence in all its gruesome glory—the awkward insecurity but also the egomaniacal, arrogant self-centeredness. Mind you, this isn't the American version of The 400 Blows or anything. All in all though, Step Brothers combines the adolescent humour of producer Judd Apatow (Superbad, Knocked Up) and the comic chemistry of Ferrell and Reilly (who previously co-starred in Talladega Nights)—fans of either will find plenty to enjoy. —Bret Fetzer

Stills from Step Brothers (click for larger image)

Dustin Hoffman, Ken Hutchison, Sam Peckinpah According to critic Pauline Kael Straw Dogs was "the first American film that is a fascist work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams called The Siege of Trencher's Farm which Peckinpah described as a "lousy book with one good action-adventure sequence". The setting is Cornwall, where mild-mannered US academic David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) has bought a house with his young English wife Amy (Susan George) in the village where she grew up. David is mocked by the locals (one of whom is Amy's ex-boyfriend) and treated with growing contempt by his frustrated wife, but when his house comes under violent siege he finds unexpected reserves of resourcefulness and aggression.

The movie, Peckinpah noted, was much influenced by Robert Ardrey's macho-anthropological tract, The Territorial Imperative. Its take on Cornish village life is fairly bizarre—this is a Western in all but name—and many critics balked at the transposition of Peckinpah's trademark blood-and-guts to the supposed peace of the British countryside. A scene where Amy is raped caused particular outrage, not least since it's hinted she consents to it. Not for the first time in Peckinpah's movies there are disquieting elements of misogyny, and it doesn't help that the chemistry between Hoffman and George is non-existent. (Impossible to believe these two would ever have clicked, let alone married.) But taken as a vision of irrational violence irrupting into a civilised way of life Straw Dogs is powerful and unsettling, and the action sequences are executed with all Peckinpah's unfailing flair and venom. Oh, and that title? A quote from Chinese sage Lao-Tze, it seems, "The wise man is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs." The film was long withheld from home viewing in Britain by nervous censors, but this release presents it complete and uncut. —Philip Kemp

On the DVD: Straw Dogs is as jam-packed a disc as is possible for a film made before the days of obligatory "making of" features. Both the sound and visuals have transferred well, and, like the script, have aged well. There's a bumbling original interview in the style of Harry Enfield's Mr. Cholmondley-Warner, along with stills and original trailers. The new material includes a feature on the history of the film's censorship and commentaries by Peckinpah's biographers musing over interesting fan-facts (though none of the speakers have any first-hand experience of the making of the film). However, Katy Haber's commentary, and interviews with Susan George and Dan Melnick, offer a much more in-depth and intimate portrayal of the man and the making of the film. —Nikki Disney

Street Kings is a pungent bouquet of corruption, violence, multi-ethnic mayhem, macho glee laced with macho angst, and fluorescently obscene dialogue from the mind of James Ellroy. Its hero, though he'd scarcely consent to be called one, is L.A. police detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), for whom life is a wound that won't heal and dealing out retribution to scumbags is the ongoing treatment. Ludlow's the star player—"the tip of the [expletive] spear"—on a team of detectives headed by Capt. Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). Coach Wander relies on his boys to keep breaking lurid cases, usually through deeply darkside underground work, and raising his profile with the media and the department. In pursuit of these goals, nothing is forbidden except failure, and the truth is what you make it look like. This is familiar Ellroy territory, most effectively translated to the screen in L.A. Confidential (which should have won the 1997 Oscar, and would have if Titanic hadn't launched that year). If you know Ellroy's ground game, you can pretty much guess where Street Kings is going, and where it's been. Still, the twists and torques of its urban road-rage course maintain the centrifugal force needed to hold us in our seats (a tactical highlight: refrigerator adapted as rolling barricade), and the movie keeps bopping us with oddball casting coups: comic Jay Mohr and Northern Exposure/Sex and the City veteran John Corbett as two members of Coach Warden's gonzo detective squad; Cedric the Entertainer doing a nicely nuanced turn as a street creature; Hugh Laurie doing a less-hyper version of House, if House worked Internal Affairs.

The problem is that director David Ayer keeps everything intense. Dialogues are shot too close-up, line readings are too strident, the action is too nonstop slam. Recall Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential and the mind's eye summons up a whole spectrum of existence, mood, place, historical period, emotional investment; there's an amplitude to the picture and the sensibility bringing it to us, something besides the whodunit and the endless rap sheet of nasty what-they-done. Everything in Street Kings is one-note, and with Keanu Reeves playing it implosive and Forest Whitaker locked in crazier-than-an-outhouse-rat mode, that's no way to stay the course. —Richard T. Jameson

This live-action version of EB White's novel doesn't have quite the magic of, say, Toy Story. Instead of entertainment the whole family can be enthralled with, Stuart Little is squarely aimed, and successfully so, at the four to 10-year-old viewer. Does this make it a bad family film? Not in the slightest. The gee-whiz visual effects (created by original Star Wars wizard John Dykstra) and the film's ebullient wholesomeness make this a welcome addition to the home library.

In EB White's world, it's hardly surprising that human parents would adopt "outside their species". The smooth-talking mouse Stuart (voiced by Michael J Fox) seems the perfect new child for parents Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie, especially with an adorable wardrobe of very small sweaters and pants. Stuart has more difficulty fitting in with the Little's family cat, Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane, who also deftly voiced Timon in director Rob Minkoff's last feature, The Lion King). The simple story deals with Stuart trying to fit in with his new life, including big brother George (Jerry Maguire's scene-stealing Jonathan Lipnicki). And of course there's an adventure when Snowbell's schemes put Stuart into real danger from the devious plans of an alley cat named Smokey (voiced by Chazz Palminteri). Brisk—85 minutes—amusing and tolerably cute, Stuart Little stands tall. Two curios: The effects are so cleanly done that we could call Stuart the first successfully computer-animated actor, and the screenplay was co-written by M Night Shyamalan, who made bigger waves in 1999 writing and directing The Sixth Sense. —Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

A combination of modern technology and more traditional filmmaking, Stuart Little 2 is, like its predecessor, a beautifully innocent children's movie. While the likes of Shrek and Monster's, Inc. have taken human actors visually out of the picture, Stuart Little 2 is more old-fashioned in its approach and themes: the tale of a big-hearted little mouse is familiar to anyone raised on classic Disney. For those who haven't seen the first film a fairly hefty suspension of belief is required, but this is an engaging tale. Packing everything into to a succinct 70 minutes the plot is a simple story, full of heartfelt platitudes and uplifting messages. Nathan Lane adds a welcome touch of sharp humour as the voice of Snowball the cat, and Hugh Laurie and Geena Davies' portrayal of Mr and Mrs Little has a knowing edge beneath their squeaky clean exterior. It may lack the cultural suss of some of its competitors, but Stuart Little 2 is hugely recommended for those wishing to be entertained, young and old alike.

On the DVD: Stuart Little 2 is an absolute visual delight, interweaving the worlds of real action and computer generation to sumptuous effect. The colours are vivid and bold, giving the film a cartoon, almost fantasy, quality that suits the feel of the story. There's a rake of extras, including several behind the scenes and technical featurettes that could possibly spoil some of the magic for younger children. That particular audience, however, will be entertained by the succession of games, stories, competitions and Web links. —Phil Udell

Audu Paden

You can never accuse director Danny Boyle of lacking ambition. Sunshine sees one of Britain’s most successful directors switching genre once more, as he tackles this gripping science fiction flick about a quest to re-ignite the dying sun. And he nails it, too, adding another plus to a CV that’s already covered a kids' film (Millions), a big Hollywood blockbuster (The Beach), horror (28 Days Later), and a pair of British classics (Trainspotting and Shallow Grave).

Bursting out of the gate at a terrific pace, Sunshine then doesn’t take its foot off the accelerator for much of its near-two hour running time. Set around the crew of the Icarus II who find themselves on a life-saving mission, things soon start going awry, and while you’ll find no plot spoilers here, Boyle proves a dab hand at ratcheting up tension on the way to the big finale.

If anything, it’s the finale to Sunshine that does let the side down, not quite living up to the standard of what preceded it. But such is the strength of the ride to that point that it’s hard to complain. Especially when the cast, led by the always-magnetic Cillian Murphy, put in believable performances and get heavily into the spirit of the film.

Topped off with cracking effects that belie its modest budget, Sunshine is a real treat, not just for sci-fi fans, but for anyone who likes a strong, tense, thrilling night in front of a movie. —Jon Foster

Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Chris Buck, Ash Brannon Surf's Up is a computer-animated sports mockumentary about penguin surfing contests, which makes it stand out from the crowd of penguin movies. The story unfolds as it would on any sports-channel on TV, with interviews (with penguins) overlapping footage of (penguin) surfing action, gradually unveiling the tale of Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LaBeouf, Transformers), a young penguin from Antarctica with dreams of winning a surfing competition—a competition named after his idol, the missing Big Z (Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski).

But when he joins the competition, Cody finds his zeal for winning may not be enough to defeat the cruel reigning champ, Tank Evans (Diedrich Bader, Grim & Evil). The story of Surf's Up is typical stuff: Youngster learns to value friendship over material success. But the documentary style gives the film a different rhythm from the usual feature-length cartoon; it stutters and skips around, dithers on side topics, and backtracks to catch up with supporting characters. Some viewers may be annoyed, but others—perhaps the more media-savvy—will find it a refreshing change of pace. (Kids who don't watch much sports, however, may just find it confusing.) Surf's Up also features the voices of James Woods (Hercules), Zooey Deschanel (Elf), and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). —Bret Fetzer

If you're into serial killer thrillers, you'll want to see Suspect Zero if only to soak up the genre's reliable penchant for creepy atmosphere and creepier behaviour. Dark, anguished and saturated with superficial style, it's a passable exercise in mystery from E. Elias Merhige, who fared better (both critically and artistically) with his acclaimed 2001 film Shadow of the Vampire. The directorial vision evident in that film is also apparent here, but it's pretentiously over-indulged in a grisly plot about the tormented victim of a secret, psychically abusive crime-fighting program (Ben Kingsley) whose pursuit of serial killers in New Mexico is designed to lure a similarly tormented FBI agent (Aaron Eckhart) and his understanding partner (Carrie-Anne Moss) into an investigation that grows increasingly violent and tragically intense. Like Eckhart's character, you may need a handful of aspirin after subjecting yourself to Merhige's visual excess, but as yet another variant of Seven, Suspect Zero scores points for attempting something different. —Jeff Shannon

Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Pierre Morel

Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Adam McKay Sweet baby Jesus, we thank you for blessing Will Ferrell and Adam McKay with the talent to create a NASCAR comedy as hilarious as Talladega Nights. The so-called "Ballad of Ricky Bobby" is hardly flawless in fact it's not always firing on all cylinders but with comedy star Ferrell and director McKay still hot from the success of their previous comedy hit Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, most of this 108-minute spoof of oval-track racing is so knee-slappin' funny that you can't help but surrender to the stupidity.

Obviously, Ferrell's the shining star, and his portrayal of lead-footed pit-crew-member-turned-#1 NASCAR champion Ricky "I Wanna Go Fast" Bobby (how can you not love that name?) is spot-on perfect, righteously spoofing the entirety of NASCAR culture without insulting its oft-ridiculed roots in redneck bootlegging of a bygone era. You could even argue that Talladega Nights is truer to NASCAR than Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder, and it's certainly more entertaining, especially when you add John C. Reilly as Ricky's life-long pal, teammate, and eventual rival Cal Naughton, Jr. (together they're nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake"), and Sacha Baron Cohen (from Da Ali G Show and Borat) as gay French "Formula Un" driver-turned NASCAR rival Jean Girrard, to a stellar cast including Molly Shannon, Greg Germann, Amy Adams and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Sure, it's mostly a showcase for Ferrell's loud, over-the-top antics and nonsensical non sequiturs (like cameo appearances by Elvis Costello and Mos Def), but with Ferrell behind the wheel, Talladega Nights rolls into victory lane with fuel to spare, and there's one final bit of comedy (with a tip of the hat to William Faulkner) for those who sit through the credits. —Jeff Shannon

An elite U.S. counter-terrorism squad loses a member while decimating half of Paris in the reckless pursuit of Middle Eastern maniacs; a Broadway actor with a traumatic childhood secret is naturally hired to replace him. Oh—and they're all marionettes. South Park maestros Trey Parker and Matt Stone (along with co-writer Pam Brady) came up with this shameless satire of pea-brained Hollywood action flicks and even smaller-minded global politics, so don't expect subtlety or even a hint of good taste. Team America is soon on the trail of North Korea's evil Kim Jong Il, who treats us to a tender song about his loneliness before ensnaring Alec Baldwin and the rest of the oblivious Film Actors Guild (F.A.G. for short) in a plot to blow up every major city on the planet. Just as the mindless squad cheerfully demolishes everything in sight, so do director Parker and company. Throwing punches left, right and in-between, the movie's politics leave no turn un-stoned; there's even time to bludgeon the musical Rent. It's offensive, irresponsible comic anarchy seemingly made by sniggering little boys. Painfully funny sniggering little boys. —Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com

Various

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Jonathon Mostow With a reported budget of $172 million, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines starts in high gear and never slows down. The apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of Terminator 2 was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing T2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being pursued yet again, this time by the advanced T-X, a sleek "Terminatrix" (coldly expressionless Kristanna Loken) programmed to stop Connor from becoming the saviour of humankind. Originally programmed as an assassin, a disadvantaged T-101 cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger, bidding fond farewell to his signature role) arrives from the future to join Connor and his old acquaintance Kate (Claire Danes) in thwarting the T-X's relentless pursuit. The plot presents a logical fulfillment of T2 prophesy, disposing of Connor's mother (Linda Hamilton is sorely missed) while computer-driven machines assume control, launching a nuclear nightmare that Connor must survive. With Breakdown and U-571 serving as worthy rehearsals for this cautionary epic of mass destruction, director Jonathan Mostow wisely avoids any stylistic connection to James Cameron's Terminator classics; instead he's crafted a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, humorous and yet still effectively nihilistic, and comparable to Jurassic Park III in returning the Terminator franchise to its potent B-movie roots. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

The Terminator was the film that cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's place in the action-brawn firmament, and both his and the movie's subsequent iconic status are well deserved. He's chilling as the futuristic cyborg that kills without fear, without love, without mercy. James Cameron's story and direction are pared to the bone and are all the more chillingly effective for it. But don't overlook the contribution of Linda Hamilton, who more than holds her own as the Terminator's would-be victim, Sarah Connor, thus creating—along with Sigourney Weaver in Alien—a new generation of rugged, clear-thinking female action stars. The film's minimalist, malevolent violence is actually scarier than that of its far more expensive, more effects-laden sequel. —Anne Hurley

There's Something About Mary is one of the funniest movies in years, recalling the days of the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker movies, in which (often tasteless) gags were piled on at a fierce rate. The difference is that co-writers and co-directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly have also crafted a credible story-line and even tossed in some genuine emotional content. The Farrelly brothers' first two movies, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin, had some moments of uproarious raunch, but were uneven. With Mary, they've created a consistently hilarious romantic comedy, made all the funnier by the fact that you know that they know that some of their gags go way over the line. Cameron Diaz stars as Mary, every guy's ideal. Ben Stiller plays a high-school suitor still hung up on Mary years later; the obstacles standing between him and her include a number of psychotic suitors, a miserable little pooch, and, oh yeah, a murder charge. The Farrellys' admittedly simplistic camera work, which adapts easily to a TV screen, and the fact that you'll likely laugh yourself so silly over certain scenes you'll want to replay them to see what you were missing while you were busy convulsing, make this a perfect video movie. —David Kronke

Tony Shalhoub, Matthew Lillard, Steve Beck A by-the-numbers haunted house movie, albeit one with some neat twists, a couple of good performances and impressive design work, Thirteen Ghosts is a remake of the 1960 original by exploitation superstar William Castle. When ghost-hunter Cyrus (F Murray Abraham) dies his quietly decent widower nephew Arthur (Tony Shaloub) inherits his house. With almost infinite predictability, he, his teenage daughter (Shannon Elizabeth) and young son, as well as a rival ghost-hunter and Cyrus' untrustworthy tame psychic (Mathew Lillard), are trapped in the house, which is a glass labyrinth of sliding panels and shifting staircases. As the woman ghost-hunter Kalina helpfully explains, the house is "a machine designed by the devil and powered by the dead"—specifically by 12 ghosts, most of them murderously malevolent.

Shaloub and Lillard manage to make us care about this farrago and Abraham lends his few scenes his usual malignant authority, but the real star is the inventively designed house itself and the outrageous horror-comic makeup of the ghosts. This is a knowingly trashy film enjoyable on its own level.

On the DVD: Thirteen Ghosts comes with a short textual explanation of who Castle was and why he should get this sort of homage, a self-congratulatory making-of documentary and filmographies for cast and crew, as well as odd short featurettes explaining the imagined back-story for each of the ghosts. The disc has Dolby sound and is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen ratio.—Roz Kaveney

The Three Lions Roared

From a visual standpoint, this CG feature starring the venerable '80s and '90s superheroes the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is nothing short of slam-bang; the computer animation has a scope and look that transcends both the original comics and animated series and the three live-action features that preceded it. Writer/director Kevin Munroe creates a striking animated world for the four heroes in a half-shell to live, play, and fight in, and the action sequences are occasionally breathtaking in their speed and complexity. But where TMNT stumbles is its bland plot, which picks up after the last of the live-action features with all four teen turtles in disarray, and abandons longtime villain Shredder in favor of an industrialist (well voiced by Patrick Stewart) who recruits the Foot Clan (including Karai, played by Zhang Ziyi) to revive thirteen ancient monsters to aid in his world domination scheme. It's a simple and fun story for kids, but longtime Turtles fans will miss the wry humour and smart sense of irony of the original comics (created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, who gets an executive producer credit here) in this storyline. Still, for most adolescent audience members, such concerns won't matter a whit in the face of the abundant action. —Paul Gaita

Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Antoine Fuqua

Nelson Shin During the 1980s, one cartoon series ruled the airwaves...Transformers. This paragon of consumerism was created with a dual purpose: to entertain and to galvanise children to buy the toys. Somewhere along the line, the show became a cult favourite, so in 1986 they fashioned an epic tale of good versus evil specifically for the big screen. The result looked vaguely like an animated remake of Star Wars. Who are the Transformers? The good guys are the Autobots: Optimus Prime, SoundWave, Jazz, Ultra Magnus, and many more. Their mortal enemies are the evil Decepticons, led by Megatron and StarScream. The Autobots must save their home planet from an evil entity known as Unicron (voiced by Orson Welles). At the same time, they must defend themselves from an all-out attack from the Decepticons. Along the way, lives are lost, battles are fought, and a new Autobot leader is born as another dies. The story and action never stop in a thrilling ride that often makes you forget that you're watching an 80s cartoon with inferior graphics. The violence will also come as a mild shock to those who haven't seen this film for a while—definitely a movie for the 8 and over audience. —Jeremy Storey

Jason Statham, Matthew Modine, Louis Leterrier Transporter 2 knows what its audience wants and—like its title character—it delivers. This is a movie that has not only a fight choreographer but also a car stunt choreographer; a movie in which a female assassin wears nothing but a bra and panties because, presumably, additional clothing would be too cumbersome; a movie in which crashing through a concrete wall in order to leap over a four-lane street will not even rumple the hood of the hero's car; a movie in which a drunken supermodel, after her advances are chastely and gently rebuffed by the hero, says "Thanks for the respect—that's what I needed most"; a movie, in short, for those who liked the first Transporter but found it too subdued and character-driven.

Jason Statham (The Italian Job remake) reprises his role as Frank Martin, a perhaps overly diligent chauffer who will break bones if his duty is impeded. The sheer glee with which Transporter 2 casts aside logic, probability, and the laws of physics is infectious. If the sequence in which Frank flips his car upside-down in order to detach the bomb attached to his undercarriage doesn't reduce you to intoxicated giggles, well...you're watching the wrong movie. Transporter 2 is utterly shameless, unstoppably ridiculous, and completely enjoyable. Also featuring Amber Valetta (Hitch), Jason Flemyng (Snatch), and Matthew Modine. —Bret Fetzer

Jason Statham, Qi Shu, Cory Yuen, Louis Leterrier

Christian Slater, Michael Rapaport, Tony Scott

Tupac

Tobias Menzies, Laurence Fox, Diarmuid Lawrence, Tom Clegg, Tim Leandro Focusing on the adventures of an SAS unit, Ultimate Force was conceived around the character of new-man-on-the-team Jamie Dow, but realised as a star vehicle for Ross Kemp as the clichéd tough-but-caring leader Sgt "Henno" Garvie. Kemp essentially plays a legitimate version of his Eastenders hardman persona, Grant Mitchell, while Jamie—Billy Elliot—Draven wins a lot of hearts as the troubled but sensitive Dow. The two are the focus of this hit ITV series which, harking back to the thick-ear undercover shenanigans of The Professionals, echoes the macho camaraderie, soap opera character development and explosive action of London's Burning and Soldier, Soldier.

By TV standards the set-pieces are bold and bloody, but the stories are routine, from rescuing hostages in the feature-length opener, to tracking a war criminal in the finale. Despite being cowritten by ex-SAS man Chris Ryan, the show regularly stretches credulity, and sometimes, as when demonising anti-globalisation protestors as would-be assassins, displays a tabloid sensibility quite out of step with reality. Ultimate Force is essentially an updated Who Dares Wins; a far better insight into the real SAS is Bravo Two Zero starring Sean Bean, which, not coincidentally, was also directed by Tom Clegg.

On the DVD: Ultimate Force is presented with a near flawless anamorphically enhanced picture in the original TV broadcast ratio of 16:9, while for a modern action drama the sound is perfectly capable but less than spectacular stereo. Two DVDs contain the complete first season; a 74 minute introductory episode and five 48-minute regular shows. Other than subtitles for hard-of-hearing the only extra is a standard 17-minute behind-the-scenes featurette shot on location during the making of series 2. —Gary S Dalkin

Milla Jovovich, Cameron Bright, Kurt Wimmer As an overdose of eye candy, Ultraviolet can be marginally recommended as the second half of a double-feature with Aeon Flux. Both films are disposable adolescent fantasies featuring a butt-kicking babe (in this case, the svelte and sexy Milla Jovovich) in a dystopian future, and both specialize in the kind of barely-coherent, video-game storytelling that's constantly overwhelmed by an over-abundance of low-budget CGI. Director Kurt Wimmer fared much better with his earlier film Equilibrium, but he's trying for a lively comic book vibe here (beginning with Hulk-like opening credits) with a digitally enhanced, Tron-like color palette. It largely suits this late-21st century story of a "blood war" between the ultra-violent Violet (Jovovich), member of a vampire-like group of resistance fighters infected with a man-made virus called the Hemophage, and the human Vice Cardinal Daxus (Nick Chinlund), who's determined to eliminate Violet's kind once and for all. Wimmer takes all of this way too seriously, crafting a plot involving Violet's rescue of a human clone boy (Cameron Bright) that's intended as an homage to John Cassevetes' 1980 drama Gloria, but Wimmer's good intentions are mostly lost in a repetitive series of chaotically choreographed fight scenes, mostly involving the tight-bodied Jovovich wiping out dozens of armour-clad enemies. It's all too numbingly hectic to qualify as a satisfying movie, but sci-fi buffs should give it a look anyway, if only to see how locations in Shanghai and Hong Kong contribute to the film's futuristic design.—Jeff Shannon

Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Bill Nighy, Sophia Myles, Devon Alan Underworld is a hybrid thriller that rewrites the rulebook on werewolves and vampires—imagine Blade meets The Crow and The Matrix. It's a "cuisinart" movie (blend a lot of familiar ideas and hope something interesting happens) in which immortal vampire "death dealers" wage an ancient war against "Lycans" (werewolves), who've got centuries of revenge—and some rather ambitious genetic experiments—on their lycanthropic agenda. Given his preoccupation with gloomy architecture (mostly filmed in Budapest, Hungary), frenetic mayhem and Gothic costuming, it's no surprise that first-time director Len Wiseman gained experience in TV commercials and the art departments of Godzilla, Men in Black and Independence Day. His work is all surface, no substance, filled with derivative, grand-scale action as conflicted vampire Selene (Kate Beckinsale, who later became engaged to Wiseman) struggles to rescue an ill-fated human (Scott Speedman) from Lycan transformation. It's great looking all the way, and a guaranteed treat for horror buffs, who will eagerly dissect its many strengths and weaknesses. —Jeff Shannon

This item is in perfect order opened but never watched.

Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bryan Singer

Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Sommers Like a roller coaster ready to fly off its rails, Van Helsing rockets to maximum velocity and never slows down. Having earned blockbuster clout with The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, writer-director Stephen Sommers once again plunders Universal's monster vault and pulls out all the stops for this mammoth $148-million action-adventure-horror-comedy, which opens (sans credits) with a terrific black-and-white prologue that pays homage to the Universal horror classics that inspired it. The plot pits legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) against Dracula (the deliciously campy Richard Roxburgh), his deadly blood-sucking brides, and the Wolfman (Will Kemp) in a two-hour parade of outstanding special effects (980 in all) that turn Sommers' juvenile plot into a triple-overtime bonus for CGI animators. In alliance with a Transylvanian princess (Kate Beckinsale) and the Frankenstein monster (Shuler Hensley), Van Helsing must prevent Dracula from hatching his bat-winged progeny, and there's so much good-humored action that you're guaranteed to be thrilled and exhausted by the time the 10-minute end-credits roll. It's loud, obnoxious, filled with revisionist horror folklore, and aimed at addicted gamers and eight-year-olds, but this colossal monster mash (including Mr. Hyde, just for kicks) will never, ever bore you. —Jeff Shannon

Matthew Fox, Richard T. Jones, Pete Travis Vantage Point, which aspires to be a cunningly twisted thriller, comes equipped with plenty of hurtling action, handheld camerawork, what-was-that? editing, and a plot that has multiple, contradictory agendas writhing like a nest of snakes. It's all set within a few blocks of a town square in Spain where a U.S. President is targeted for assassination. Although the movie lasts 90 minutes, the events it depicts are mostly over within fifteen minutes or so—but seen, rewound, and reseen from half a dozen different (you guessed it) vantage points. The first line in the credits reads "Original Film," apparently the name of the production company. "Gimmick Movie" might be more accurate. The opening reel, effectively jolting, affords an initial overview of the events through the eyes, lenses, monitors, and duelling sensibilities of a TV news producer (Sigourney Weaver), her activist-minded reporter (Zoe Saldana) and crew. Everybody’s in Salamanca for the start of an international conference to reaffirm Arab-Western commitment to the fight against terrorism. Terrorism, of course, sees this as an ideal moment to break out. As gunshots and explosions reduce everything to chaos, the clock is reset to zero and we proceed to revisit the scene as experienced by several Secret Service agents (namely Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), an American tourist with camcorder (Forest Whitaker), sundry locals—including three who may be caught up in a love triangle or a conspiracy or both—and even the President himself (William Hurt).

For a while, this is mildly diverting: that guy, or that gesture, so sinister when glimpsed across the plaza in one run-through, now appears harmless in closeup—or vice versa. But there's no real ambiguity (so stop with the careless comparisons to Kurosawa's Rashomon)—this is a shell game in which the peas aren't worth tracking. Despite decent actors, the characters might as well be holograms (although poor Forest Whitaker is saddled with "motivation" of surpassing sappiness), and the casting telegraphs several twists: one redoubtable good guy practically gives a wink-wink, nudge-nudge that he's really bad, etc. The movie declines to specify which nutjob philosophy the terrorists espouse, and their numbers are multi-ethnic. There's also a laborious suggestion that they have bloodthirsty, reactionary counterparts among the President's inner circle, which perhaps qualifies as redeeming socio-political comment and prompts a meaningless declaration of deep meaning from the Prez. The whole megilleh finally comes down to an extended car chase through impassably claustrophobic streets that would mark a lurch into unintentional self-parody—if only that point hadn't been passed a couple of rewinds earlier. —Richard T. Jameson

John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Jake Kasdan The Pixar-like roll of Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) continues with another sure-fire hit. In charting the meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and Lazarus-like comeback of rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard parodies the classic Hollywood bio-pic, cashing in mostly on Walk the Line. John C. Reilly, one of Hollywood's most solid character actors, makes the most of his Golden Globe-nominated star turn as Dewey, whose road to stardom is paved with a childhood tragedy that claims the life of his prodigiously talented brother ("The wrong kid died," is his father's mantra), instant stardom (his first record is a hit just 35 minutes after it was recorded), sex and drugs, and the inevitable "dark (effen) period" that leads him to rehab.

Reilly gets solid back-up from current and former Saturday Night Live alumni, including Kirsten Wiig as his incredibly fertile first wife who has no faith in his musical aspirations ("You're never going to make it," she cheerily ends one phone call); Tim Meadows (never better) as Dewey's drummer, who, in one of the film's best scenes, does a poor job of dissuading him from trying marijuana); and Chris Parnell as his bass player. Jenna Fischer leaves Pam back at The Office as Darlene, Dewey's virtuous duet partner. Hilarious cameos give Walk Hard a great "Hey!" factor: Hey, that's Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly. Hey, that's "Kenneth" from 30 Rock. Hey, there's Jack Black and Paul Rudd as—no kidding—Paul McCartney and John Lennon revealing "a rift in the Beatles." Some of the jokes are obvious (come on; the guy's last name is Cox), others inspired. But the decades-spanning music, echoing the styles of gritty Johnny Cash, romantic Roy Orbison, obtuse Bob Dylan, trippy Brian Wilson, and even a bit of anachronistic punk rock, is as pitch perfect and affectionately observed as in The Rutles, This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. Walk Hard earns its R-rating, particularly for a sure-to-be-talked-about scene of hotel-room debauchery. But: Hilarious? Outrageous? Twisted? To quote the title of one of Dewey's hit songs, "Guilty as Charged." —Donald Liebenson

In Wall Street Michael Douglas perfectly embodies the Reagan-era credo that "greed is good" and won an Oscar for his efforts. As a Donald Trump-like Wall Street raider aptly named Gordon Gecko (for his reptilian ability to attack corporate targets and swallow them whole), Douglas found a role tailor-made to his skill in portraying heartless men who've sacrificed humanity to power. He's a slick, seductive role model for the young ambitious Wall Street broker played by Charlie Sheen, who falls into Gecko's sphere of influence and instantly succumbs to the allure of risky deals and generous payoffs. With such perks as a high-rise apartment and women who love men for their money, Charlie's like a worm on Gecko's hook, blind to the corporate manoeuvring that puts him at odds with his own father (played by Sheen's off-screen father, Martin). With his usual lack of subtlety, writer-director Oliver Stone drew from the brokering experience of his own father to tell this Faustian tale for the "me" decade but the film's sledgehammer style is undeniably effective. A cautionary warning that Stone delivers on highly entertaining terms, Wall Street grabs your attention while questioning the corrupted values of a system that worships profit at the cost of one's soul. —Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

As the impresario behind gravity-defying Russian blockbuster Night Watch, it's inevitable that Hollywood would come calling for Timur Bekmambetov. With a studio budget and an international cast, including two Oscar winners, Timur cooks up a Hong Kong-styled actioner bursting with fast cars and big guns. Our unlikely hero is mild-mannered Chicago accountant Wesley Gibson (Atonement's James McAvoy), whose father died when he was a tot. Wesley never learned to stand up for himself, and his girlfriend, boss, and best buddy all take advantage until the seductive Fox (Angelina Jolie) rescues him from a sharpshooter named Cross (The Pianist’s Thomas Kretschmann). After which, she whisks him away to a mansion on the edge of town to meet the other members of the Fraternity, where leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) informs Wesley that Cross, a rogue agent, executed his father. Sloan believes Wesley has the goods to take him out, so he undergoes the Fraternity's brutal training regimen (Marc Warren and Common dish up some of the abuse). When he's ready, Sloan sends him out to fulfill his duty, but matters become complicated when Wesley finds out someone isn't telling the truth, leading our former milquetoast to exact an elaborate revenge. For those who've been following McAvoy's career to date, Wanted will surely come as a surprise. In adapting Mark Millar's comic series, Timur offers buckets of blood and a smidgen of depth, but fans of The Matrix and Mr. and Mrs. Smith will want to give this one a look. —Kathleen C. Fennessy

Michael Beck, Dorsey Wright, Walter Hill Walter Hill's controversial 1979 drama was blamed for causing gang violence at theatres, but now it looks as highly stylised and pulpy as Hill (Last Man Standing) intended. The plot finds a New York gang having to cross the territory of rivals in order to get to their own 'hood. A sort of urban Western with a comic-book pace, artificial colours, fable-like tone and broad acting, the film isn't intended to steep us in gritty realities so much as spin a decadent fantasy out of them. Still, this is a tough film with an almost futuristic element to its characterisations of gang activity, and it is more absorbing than Hill's more elaborate youth opera of punk wars, Streets of Fire. —Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Alex Etel, Bruce Allpress, Jay Russell Based on a novel by Dick King-Smith, author of The Sheep Pig (from which Babe was adapted), the touching and often spectacular The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep ingeniously presumes to explain the truth behind "Nessie," , the Loch Ness Monster. The story, told in present day to a couple of American tourists by a kindly gentleman (Brian Cox) in a pub, begins with a lonely boy, Angus (Alex Etel), pining for his father, who is serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. Angus, along with his sister (Priyanka Xi) and mother (Emily Watson), live on an estate that has been billeted by soldiers in the Scottish Highlands, near Loch Ness. The troop’s commander (David Morissey) has an eye for mom, suspicions about a mysterious handyman, Lewis (Ben Chaplin), who is also a war hero, and an absurd contention that the Highlands are the real frontline in the war against Germany.

Into this intriguing drama comes a completely different element, a fantastical creature of Celtic mythology that befriends Angus and is, in fact, the sea-beast who will eventually be known as the Loch Ness Monster. Trying to hide the dinosaur-like fellow, nicknamed Crusoe, Angus enlists Lewis to transfer it to the lake, where boy and serpent have extraordinary adventures together until human stupidity threatens Crusoe’s existence. A true family film, there is a lot for adults to like about the grownup story in The Water Horse. Meanwhile, the wistful relationship between Angus and Crusoe—each of whom helps the other move past obstacles toward their individual destinies—will leave children feeling both happy and melancholy in the best possible sense. Directed by Jay Russell (My Dog Skip), The Water Horse is the best of a mini-genre of films about or inspired by old Nessie. —Tom Keogh.

Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, David Dobkin With Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as a pair of brazen wedding crashers, this buddy/romantic comedy milks a few big laughs from its foolproof premise. Under the direction of David Dobkin (who previously worked with Wilson on Shanghai Knights), the movie ranges from bawdy romp to mushy romance, and that tonal identity crisis curtails the overall hilarity. But when the well-teamed co-stars are firing on all pistons with fast-paced dialogue and manic situations, belly laughs are delivered at a steady clip. Things get complicated when the guys infiltrate the family of the Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken), resulting in a romantic pair-off between Vaughn and the congressman's oversexed daughter Gloria (Isla Fisher) while Wilson sincerely woos another daughter, Claire (Rachel McAdams), who's unhappily engaged to an Ivy League cheater (Bradley Cooper). Walken is more or less wasted in his role, but Jane Seymour and Henry Gibson make amusing appearances, and a surprise guest arrives late in the game for some over-the-top scene-stealing. It's all a bit uneven, but McAdams (considered by some to be "the next Julia Roberts") is a pure delight, and with enough laughs to make it easily recommended, Wedding Crashers will likely find its place on DVD shelves alongside other flawed but enjoyable comedies that embrace a naughtier, nastier brand of humour with no need for apologies. —Jeff Shannon

Drew Barrymore, Angela Featherstone, Frank Coraci Don't just think of The Wedding Singer as an Adam Sandler comedy—though it most certainly is that. But also think of it as the tip of the wave of the 1980s nostalgia craze that followed on the heels of the 1970s nostalgia craze. Set in the post-disco, new wave era, the film tells the story of Robbie Hart (Sandler), the king of small-town wedding-band singers, who once dreamt of being a rock star. But his contentment with life shatters when his fiancée stands him up at the altar. After wallowing in self-pity (by musically attacking the next wedding couple he serenades) and swearing off women, he helps a new friend, Julia (Drew Barrymore), get ready for her impending nuptials—only to find himself falling in love with her. If you're a Sandler fan, you'll enjoy him as an actual adult, though a wise-cracking one. And dig all those kooky 80s reference jokes and that greatest-hits-of-early-MTV soundtrack. —Marshall Fine

Cameron Diaz Ashton Kutcher Dennis Farina Queen Latifah Rob Corddry, Tom Vaughan

Camilla Belle, Tommy Flanagan, Simon West

Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans

Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger, Geoffrey Sax

John Jarratt, Cassandra Magrath, Greg McLean

BRET "HIT MAN" HART The Best There Is… The Best There Was… The Best There Ever Will Be… He traveled the globe for the better part of two decades, winning the coveted WWE Championship as well as millions of fans. Born into wrestling royalty and fulfilling his destiny with a straight-laced attitude and finely tuned technical ability, he is revered in his home country of Canada and appreciated around the world. Fans identified with his no-nonsense style and many of his peers call him one of the great technical wrestlers of all time. A worldwide Superstar, he achieved the ultimate goal in sports-entertainment and suffered unimaginable personal tragedies. This is the Bret Hart story. Hear from Bret Hart himself as he takes you through his early years with Stampede Wrestling, the Hart Foundation, his reign as WWE Champion, internal family feuds, Survivor Series 1997, WCW, the death of his brother, Owen Hart, and much more. Over 7 hours of extras 20 minutes of new Bret Hart interviews Tribute music videos 18 complete matches, hand-chosen by Bret including: Hart Foundation vs. British Bulldogs Madison Square Garden (July 13, 1985). Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers Saturday Night’s Main Event (April 28, 1990). Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Mr. Perfect WWE Intercontinental Championship Match SummerSlam 1991 (August 26, 1991). Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Owen Hart WrestleMania X (March 20, 1994). Bret "Hit Man" Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin Submission Match WrestleMania 13 (March 23, 1997.

Wwe

Wwe

Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson, Rob Cohen Vin Diesel is no James Bond, and he doesn't want to be. That's why XXX announced Diesel as the adrenalin-junkie Bond of the PlayStation generation, copying the Bond formula so shamelessly that this action-packed silliness would be a Bond movie if it starred Pierce Brosnan. Reuniting Diesel with his Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen, XXX has an attitude (if not a brain) all its own, plucking Diesel's Xander Cage from his celebrity as an extreme sports renegade, recruited by a National Security Agency big shot (Samuel L. Jackson) to foil a nasty Czech villain (Marton Csokas) who's eager to depopulate Prague with remote-controlled biological weaponry. Toss in a sulky, sultry Russian agent (Asia Argento) and you've got extreme Bond-age for anyone who thinks tuxedos are passé. With a handful of eye-popping action sequences, XXX launched a movie franchise with a cool guy, another cool muscle car, and plenty of box-office sizzle. —Jeff Shannon

Ice Cube, Samuel L. Jackson, Lee Tamahori With a core audience of gameboys and hot-rodders aged 25 and under, xXx 2 is the kind of action movie that requires literally no thought to enjoy. With Vin Diesel's original character just killed in Bora Bora (for details, see the uncensored unrated director's cut of xXx), Ice Cube steps in to play bad-ass, and the whole franchise takes on a hip-hop edge that's almost admirably absurd. The asinine plot is anarchy in Washington, D.C., as an insanely hawkish Secretary of State (Willem Dafoe) plots a Capitol coup just as the President (Peter Strauss, playing it straight) is giving his state-of-the-union address. All of this is prefaced by Cube's recruitment as a former Navy SEAL turned new-xXx, escaping from jail (Dafoe's character put him there), hooking up with an old flame who runs a chop-shop full of the world's hottest wheels, and reuniting with his old commander (Samuel L. Jackson) for a bullet-train climax that feels like Mission Impossible lite. You could argue that Diesel's the smartest guy in the franchise for cashing out early, but xXx 2 gets the job done in passable fashion, with action veteran Lee Tamahori delivering the goods while he waits for a grown-up script to come along. —Jeff Shannon

Jim Carrey, Peyton Reed Jim Carrey does wonders with a slight premise that finds his reserved, emotionally-distant character, Carl Allen, a banker who routinely turns down loan applications, accepting a challenge to open up to life by saying "yes" to everything. A man who constantly disappoints friends by weaseling out of opportunities for bonding and happiness, Carl radically changes into a creature of complete spontaneity. By never saying no anymore, he gets into situations with unpredictable outcomes, such as driving a homeless stranger to a scary-looking park at night. But for the most part, whatever Carl says yes to becomes a road to worthwhile experiences, even receiving a promotion at work for approving hundreds of micro-loans against all policy. Zooey Deschanel, who often plays appealing kooks, is very good as Carl's girlfriend, a free spirit who takes to his positivity about everything, for a while anyway. Director Peyton Reed (Down with Love) makes the most out of the gimmicky comedy, as does Carrey, who does wonders with scenes that are often left open-ended just to see what the brilliant comic will do with them. —Tom Keogh

Omari Grandberry, Marques Houston, Christopher B. Stokes You Got Served has one simple priority, and if you're into the latest hip-hop dance moves, you'll get served an enjoyable 93-minute diversion. For anyone else, however, all bets are off, since this wretchedly plotted film was written by director Christopher B. Stokes as a crassly commercial vehicle for B2K, the teen group that Stokes managed while making cheap movies like this one. There's a tissue-thin romantic subplot, but mostly it's about the MTV-styled showdown between B2K (as Orange County white boys) and their black LA competitors, including members of the hip-hop group IMx. Their aggressive moves are undeniably impressive (in other words, don't try this at home unless you know a good chiropractor), but Stokes would've been better off making a straight documentary. —Jeff Shannon

Robin Williams, Jonah Bobo, Jon Favreau, Joe Johnston