Inland Empire (2007)

Drama Rated R

A nearly three-hour opus that in its few coherent moments centers on an identity crisis suffered by a Hollywood actress (Laura Dern), this will try the patience of the most devoted fans of director David Lynch. Mood, motif – these are the usual rewards of a Lynch picture, but even they wear out their welcome

Cries and Whispers (1972)

Drama Rated R

Set in the late 1800s, this Ingmar Bergman picture follows two sisters who have returned to the family mansion to sit at the death bed of another sister. Three lifetimes’ worth of jealousy, spite and regret percolate in the red-painted rooms, with only the genuine care and affection of the family servant offered as respite.

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Thriller Rated PG-13

With this thriller about married empty-nesters (Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford) living in a haunted house, director Robert Zemeckis was accused of aping suspense master Alfred Hitchcock, but he’s really reinvigorated the genre by giving it a modern twist. After the couple’s daughter leaves for college, she’s replaced by a ghost who’s trying to avenge

Puccini for Beginners (2007)

Comedy Rated NR

If Woody Allen, at the height of his smugness, were to make yet another angst-ridden, New York romance and add a lesbian twist, it might look something like the insufferable Puccini for Beginners. Painfully pleased with its own cleverness, of which there isn’t much, the movie follows a romantic triangle involving an on-the-rocks New York

Dead Girl, The (2007)

Drama Rated R

An oblique approach to the serial-killer thriller, The Dead Girl examines a young woman’s murder from nearly every angle – except for the traditional Hollywood one. When a body is found in a field, writer-director Karen Moncrieff (Blue Car) doesn’t proceed into a game of cat and mouse. Instead, she broods in separate segments over

Klute (1971)

Thriller Rated R

Because she has offered so many different public versions of herself – from Vietnam activist to workout video mogul – it is difficult to accept Jane Fonda onscreen as anything but a slight variation of her persona. In Klute she plays Bree Daniels, a New York City call girl being stalked by a client, and

Breaking and Entering (2007)

Drama Rated R

"Its waywardness may not make for the tightest of narratives, but it certainly gives the movie the pulse of real, random life."

Doom (2005)

Action/Adventure Rated R

As an adaptation of the point-and-shoot video game of the same name, Doom is more honest than most action films. While the nihilism of the on-screen deaths in such movies is usually vicarious for the viewer, Doom puts the carnage right in our hands. Not that the filmmakers intend to implicate the audience in any

Imagine Me & You (2005)

Romantic Comedy Rated R

In true British tradition, this is elevated to the status of pleasant diversion thanks to its comic supporting cast. That isn’t to dismiss the impressive British accent showcased by New Jersey girl Piper Perabo as Rachel, a newly married woman whose matrimonial bliss is upset by her attraction to a female florist (Lena Headey). Anthony

Last Shot, The (2004)

Comedy Rated R

Screenwriter and first-time director Jeff Nathanson gets his chance to call the shots with this Hollywood satire about a wide-eyed, aspiring director (Matthew Broderick) who thinks he’s been given his first chance to helm a movie but actually is serving as a front for an FBI operation targeting industry-related organized crime. Nathanson is so thrilled