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

Collateral (2004)

Action/Adventure Rated R

First and foremost a continuation of director Michael Mann’s love affair with nocturnal urban landscapes, Collateral centers around a night-shift cabbie (Jamie Foxx) kidnapped by a professional killer (Tom Cruise, callous and funny) and forced to drive him from hit to hit. Fluorescent lighting courses through the movie, set as it is in Los Angeles,

Miami Vice (2006)

Action/Adventure Rated R

Most of Michael Mann’s movies have been broad-chested exercises in machismo – Heat, Collateral – but few have dealt in the sort of self-parodic chest-beating that undoes Miami Vice. This was supposed to be the serious version of the 1980s television series Mann created, but it’s worth remembering that the series took itself pretty seriously,

Comedian (2002)

Documentary Rated R

Far from a vanity project, this revealing documentary follows Jerry Seinfeld as he tries to create an entirely new stand-up act. The star generously allows screen time for bits by aspiring comedian Orny Adams and candid conversations with the likes of Garry Shandling, Chris Rock and others – heck, even Jay Leno has something interesting

In My Country (2004)

Drama Rated R

An earnest but awkward drama set against the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, which aimed to heal emotional wounds in post-apartheid South Africa, In My Country can’t overcome the disjointed pairing of its leads: supple French actress Juliette Binoche and strident American star Samuel L. Jackson. She’s a soft natural presence, while he specializes in

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Drama Rated R

Erin Brockovich uses all of Julia Roberts’ attributes – her casual glamour, genial humor and, yes, acting talent – to make this fact-based story about a single mom who leads a legal battle against a polluting corporation into a compassionate and riveting consideration of America’s class system. It’s a surprising delight that gives star vehicles

Core, The (2003)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

This could have been a good bad disaster movie, but despite its laughable dialogue, third-rate special effects and ludicrous premise, The Core fails to work as an apocalyptic hoot. Aaron Eckhart plays a geophysicist who leads a team of “terranauts” to the center of the planet in order to jump-start the earth’s stalled core. Once