House of Wax (2005)

Horror Rated R

This loose remake of the 1953 Vincent Price frightfest features a handful of clueless youths (Chad Michael Murray, Elisha Cuthbert and an extremely bored-looking Paris Hilton) who get stranded in a small town with an old wax museum and a high murder rate. Director Jaume Collet-Serra excels at establishing a consistent mood, so this works

Jakob the Liar (1999)

Drama Rated PG-13

Casually bashed as another one of Robin Williams’ pandering pieces of sentimental pap (Patch Adams, Bicentennial Man), this story of a recent widower in Nazi-occupied Poland is actually understated and respectful; the humor here is mostly bitter and rarely sweet. As the widower, who pretends he has a radio to bring hope to his fellow

Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (2003)

Horror Rated R

Another chapter in the Chainsaw canon – this one purportedly a remake of the low-budget, 1974 original – this is heavy on gore, torture and dismemberment and light on scares, suspense or even laughs. It’s a macabre mess, though not in the way the filmmakers intend. Once again, a group of kids on the road

Queen, The (2006)

Drama Rated PG-13

The Queen speculates on the behind-the-scenes turmoil that engulfed England’s royal family in the days following Princess Diana’s death. Helen Mirren anchors the picture as Queen Elizabeth II, and she’s able to simultaneously evoke disgust and sympathy at once. Even as she coldly dismisses the significance of Diana’s death, especially to her grandsons, Elizabeth exhibits

Bug (2007)

Horror Rated R

“It’s entrancing to watch and wonder just how crazy Bug is going to get. Then the movie goes absolutely bonkers, and you wish you hadn’t asked.

Man on Fire (2004)

Action/Adventure Rated R

I would have enjoyed Man on Fire much more if director Tony Scott wasn’t constantly standing in front of the screen in the theater. OK, so his intrusion isn’t that literal, but the twitching, fidgety filmmaking style he brings to this Denzel Washington kidnapping drama – he plays a bodyguard protecting a little girl (Dakota

Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

Drama Rated PG-13

At once a beautiful painting and a dull lecture, director Scott Hicks’ adaptation of David Guterson’s prize-winning novel awkwardly combines a nonlinear visual style with a preachy script. The result is a message-laden mess that makes star Ethan Hawke look even more lost than usual.

Infamous (2006)

Drama Rated R

This was a doomed project even before 2005’s Capote beat it to theaters, mainly because this second portrait of Truman Capote has no consistent creative vision. Part of the movie wants to be a comedy of manners, with Toby Jones as a far more flamboyant Capote than the one Philip Seymour Hoffman gave us. Another

Volver (2006)

Drama Rated R

Penelope Cruz gives a complicated, peerless performance in Pedro Almodovar’s Volver – and she looks like a classic screen goddess doing it. Cruz plays Raimunda, a working-class wife and mother in Madrid who gets caught up in a murder plot. I can’t say more – the movie operates on a series of startling revelations –

Chalk (2007)

Comedy Rated PG-13

"…will convince anyone who almost went into teaching that they made the right decision. Even if they’re currently on unemployment."