Dogville (2003)

Drama Rated R

Danish director Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark) has always provoked, but usually he does so through art. Dogville is agitprop. A failed, formalist experiment involving a single soundstage and chalk marks to denote buildings, the movie follows a moll (Nicole Kidman) on the run in Depression-era America who seeks solace

Dogma (1999)

Comedy Rated R

Writer-director Kevin Smith is hell-bent on proving that God has a sense of humor with this self-described “comedic fantasy,” in which an abortion-clinic worker (Linda Fiorentino) tries to save the world from a pair of murderous angels (Matt Damon and Ben Affleck). There’s enough sharp, satirical humor here – and honest intention – to make

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Drama Rated R

In Notes, Judi Dench pulls a fast one on both the other characters in the movie and the audience, and it’s a delight to be deceived. Dench plays Barbara, a hard-knock schoolteacher who discovers that a friend and fellow teacher (Cate Blanchett) is having an affair. She swoops in to correct the situation as responsibly

Year of the Dog (2007)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Treading lightly between bemused affection and outright derision, Year of the Dog infuses one of society’s standard wallflowers, the single dog-lady, with uncommon dignity. The lady in question is Peggy (Molly Shannon), a mousy cubicle worker whose life revolves around her beloved dog Pencil. Shannon’s face rarely reveals anything but a pleasant, benign smile, yet

Behind Enemy Lines (2001)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Owen Wilson is a comic actor as odd and quirky as his dented nose, but Behind Enemy Lines smooths him out into a generic action figure. He plays a Navy pilot who’s shot down over Bosnia, and even his clever ad libs are drowned out by the roar of jet engines. This is one of

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Horror Rated R

The nightmarish flip side of The Chronicles of Narnia, which also explored how traumatized children seek solace in imagination. Director Guillermo del Toro’s film follows the harrowing adventures of a little girl (Ivana Baquero) caught up in the warfare of 1944 Spain. One evening, she encounters a version of the mythical Pan, who promises that

Hitcher, The (2006)

Horror Rated R

The Hitcher opens in a queasy state of moral unease, as a young couple nearly runs over a hitchhiker and then flees the scene rather than stopping to see if he’s OK. It turns out they made the right decision, for when he catches up with them at a gas station … well, I don’t

Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)

Family Rated PG

The stray dog in this saccharine family drama has an unusual nose: It sniffs out wisdom-spouting adults. And so the lonely 10-year-old who adopts it starts following it from role model to role model, including pop star Dave Matthews as a pet store clerk who serenades the animals. Sentimental director Wayne Wang (Anywhere But Here)

Devil’s Rejects, The (2005)

Horror Rated R

Credit rocker turned horror director Rob Zombie with this: he can film a bloody, naked corpse like no one else. This sequel to Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses has its own distinctive flair, specifically rooted in the grindhouse exploitation flicks of the 1970s. With impulsive freeze-frame shots and a retro, country-rock soundtrack, the movie stands

Fever Pitch (2005)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Watered-down Farrelly brothers is still good enough to make for a passable romantic comedy. This time the sibling directing team abandons the sort of touchy topics they’ve mined before – schizophrenia, obesity – to follow a rabid Boston Red Sox fan (Jimmy Fallon) who must decide if it is time to change priorities in his