Day After Tomorrow, The (2004)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Yet another disaster picture from director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day), this boasts some whopping scenes of destruction, but it is ultimately a special-effects demo reel that runs out of money shots. You know there’s a problem when a movie about tornadoes, floods and hurricanes turns to escaped zoo wolves and a leg infection for drama

Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)

Drama Rated R

This ensemble picture means to explore the nature of happiness, but only one plot strand, in which Alan Arkin plays a corporate drone at an insurance company, really comes close to saying something interesting about the subject. As other characters (played by the likes of Matthew McConaughey and John Turturro) float in and out of

Charlotte’s Web (2006)

Family Rated G

For generations, children have clung to E.B. White’s deceptively humble story about the unlikely friendship between a clever spider and the sweet pig she tries to save from slaughter. For many young readers, this was the first time words simultaneously captured the world’s cruelty and natural beauty. At its best, this live-action adaptation competently captures

Very Long Engagement, A (2004)

Drama Rated R

Whimsy and war wouldn’t seem to be likely companions, but don’t tell that to Audrey Tautou and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the star and director, respectively, of the French romantic comedy Amelie. The pair re-teamed for this World War I romantic drama about a young French woman in search of her missing fiance. This has an epic

Watcher, The (2000)

Thriller Rated R

Evidence that serial killers are still dull, derivative cliches even when they’re played by Keanu Reeves. James Spader’s burnt-out FBI man (is there any other kind?) chases Reeves’ killer through Chicago’s gritty streets. There’s hardly a scene without the el in the background, which should give you an idea of the level of creativity at

Windtalkers (2002)

Action/Adventure Rated R

One of the most fascinating stories of World War II – that of Navajo-Americans who fought as radio men, using their native language as an impenetrable code – falls prey to the White Man Syndrome. Windtalkers spends more time following Nicolas Cage’s anguished sergeant through a series of war-film cliches than the journey of Ben

Beauty Shop (2005)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Diminishing returns continue for the Barbershop franchise with this third entry, in which Gina (Queen Latifah) heads from Chicago to Atlanta and opens her own salon. There is far more plot than necessary, but the shop itself features enough comic camaraderie among the stylists to forgive many of the movie’s weaknesses. When these ladies start

Birth (2004)

Thriller Rated R

If you ever wondered what was going through the head of Mary Kay Letourneau when the teacher started an affair with her seventh-grade student, Birth offers a possible answer. The movie stars Nicole Kidman as a grieving widow who meets a 10-year-old claiming to be her reincarnated husband. That’s good enough for her, and before

Cabin Fever (2002)

Horror Rated R

Flickers of macabre creativity can be found in Cabin Fever, but they face stiff competition from every horror-movie cliche known to man. The film follows five college friends holed up in a remote cabin, where a gruesome, highly contagious virus arrives in the form of an infected hunter. The debut of writer-director Eli Roth.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

You can forgive an adventure movie just about anything except dullness, which is all this video-game adaptation has to offer thanks to a labyrinthine plot. Angelina Jolie plays the title heroine, a comely British explorer who uses a push-up bra for a compass, and she certainly cuts a striking figure. But with unimaginative action scenes