Jackass: The Movie (2002)

Comedy Rated R

Its legion of teen male fans would be loathe to admit it, but this spinoff of the MTV reality series is the most blatant display of latent homosexuality since The Ambiguously Gay Duo on “Saturday Night Live.” Nearly every stunt eventually finds its way to the crotch, while two particular members of the gang might

Emperor’s Club, The (2002)

Drama Rated PG

A remedial-course version of Dead Poets Society, this manages just enough good will of its own to excuse any lack of innovation. Kevin Kline stars as William Hundert, one of those boarding-school instructors who spends so much time inspiring his students you wonder if he ever does any actual teaching. Watching him may feel a

My Dog Skip (2000)

Family Rated PG

This is less of a children’s movie than it is a series of stupid pet tricks, although there’s enough life lessons to make you feel like you should earn a merit badge just for watching it. Frankie Muniz stars as a 9-year-old boy whose Jack Russell terrier helps him face the challenges of growing up,

Glory Road (2006)

Drama Rated PG-13

Disney’s fact-based, sports-movie formula has become so drowsily familiar by now that watching another one of these films nearly serves as a sedative – if not outright anesthesia. The only thing wrong with Glory Road – a dramatization of the 1966 season of the Texas Western basketball team, which was the first to start five

Rock Star (2001)

Drama Rated R

When it’s not burdened by trying to be a cautionary parable about the dangers of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, this fact-based drama makes some interesting observations about stardom – what it looks like, who has it and why everybody seems to want it. Mark Wahlberg certainly has it, which is why his performance as

Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)

Horror Rated R

As a sequel, this horror flick inherently contains the mythical back story that the flimsy first film lacked, but it still skimps on scares. A few good frights – including an opening daylight attack in a cornfield by the scarecrow or gargoyle or whatever the series’ monster is supposed to be – can’t make up

Sky High (2005)

Family Rated PG

The teen son (Michael Angarano) of two superheroes begins his first year at a hero-training high school in this Frankenstein’s mishmash of other, better kids’ films. The movie might as well split its poster into thirds, with one panel devoted to Spy Kids, another to The Incredibles and the third to any one of the

Maid in Manhattan (2002)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

This is a fantasy about many things, but the movie’s greatest delusion is that it is offering audiences something new. Jennifer Lopez stars as a single mother and hard-working maid at an upscale New York hotel who is pursued by a senatorial candidate (Ralph Fiennes) after being seen out of uniform. Everyone involved in this

Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951)

Drama Rated G

A landmark in terms of science-fiction style and influence, The Day the Earth Stood Still boasts a wavering, theremin score (by Hitchcock regular Bernard Herrmann), a shiny, disc-shaped spacecraft and even a robot named Gort. Yet it deals in these sci-fi cliches with an amazing artistry. That score is delicately employed, the special effects still

Rundown, The (2003)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Dwayne “The Rock” plays Beck, a nice-guy knee breaker who’s sent after an indebted explorer (Seann William Scott) in the Amazon jungle. All of it is mildly amusing and fairly innocuous until the climax, when the previously gun-averse Beck reluctantly grabs a huge weapon in each hand and then rises into the melee like a