Last Days (2005)

Drama Rated R

In this unobtrusive account of the final days of a strung-out rock star, based on the suicide of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, the camera passively watches as the central figure (Michael Pitt) trudges across the grounds of a rural mansion. Even the most mundane of scenes are given an ethereal sheen by director Gus Van Sant.

Manchurian Candidate, The (2004)

Drama Rated R

If Fahrenheit 9/11 made you feel queasy, take some Pepto-Bismol before seeing this remake of the 1962 thriller from director Jonathan Demme and star Denzel Washington. It may be a work of fiction, but its paranoid vision of events circa 2004 somehow felt even more real. Both the original and the remake revolve around a

Mystic River (2003)

Drama Rated R

Filmmaking workhorse Clint Eastwood takes a seemingly routine genre exercise – an adaptation of a mystery novel by Dennis Lehane – and makes it something all his own, in this case another of his meditations on the ripple effect of violence. Mystic River follows three childhood friends (Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, all excellent)

Open Range (2003)

Drama Rated R

A welcome return to form for director-star Kevin Costner, at least if you appreciate his stubborn brand of cinematic nostalgia (Field of Dreams, Dances With Wolves). A traditional, pastoral Western with wide vistas and consequential violence, Open Range stars Costner and a lively Robert Duvall as cattle-drivers up against a gluttonous rancher. This is a

Saraband (2003)

Drama Rated R

A sequel of sorts to the 1973 intimate epic Scenes From a Marriage. That Ingmar Bergman picture detailed the breakdown of the seemingly perfect union between Johan and Marianne (Erland Josephson and Liv Ullmann), and Saraband reunites them 30 years later. New drama is mined by exploring the relationships among Johan, his son Henrik (by

Sideways (2004)

Comedy Rated R

The drudgery of everyday existence gets another gentle tweaking at the hands of writer-director Alexander Payne (About Schmidt). A priceless Paul Giamatti plays a neurotic English teacher and would-be novelist who takes his mismatched best friend (Thomas Haden Church) on a trip to California wine country to celebrate the friend’s impending marriage – a journey

Signs (2002)

Thriller Rated PG-13

If you’re a fan of the last-minute switcheroos in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, this latest genre reworking from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan may initially seem underwhelming – the revelation comes not during a dramatic twist of the plot, but during a quiet change in its hero’s heart. That would be Graham Hess (Mel Gibson),

Training Day (2001)

Action/Adventure Rated R

As a Los Angeles police detective gone bad, Denzel Washington is so determined to put the heroic characters of his past behind him that he turns this one into a villainous cartoon. All of his trademarks – his authoritative speech pattern, that unwavering stare – are turned inside out here and amplified, to less than

Closer (2004)

Drama Rated R

Closer is for those who hate the falseness of Hollywood endings and maybe even hate life itself. The trailer is touting this as a sexy love square involving Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen as two couples who become unwisely intertwined, but the film is too pessimistic to ever raise much of

Wings of Courage (1995)

Drama Rated G

Despite familiar stars and seasoned writer-director Jean-Jacques Annaud (Enemy at the Gates), this 3-D Imax film still plays like a gimmick, a slight story slapped around neat-o special effects. Val Kilmer and Craig Sheffer play 1930s French pilots risking their lives to deliver mail over the Andes mountains. Sure, the rusty bolts of the rickety