Planet of the Apes (2001)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Director Tim Burton apes a standard blockbuster filmmaking style in this satisfying remake of the 1968 science-fiction classic. There’s plenty of entertaining makeup effects and action here, but Burton’s talent for imposing his personal vision on the most commercial of pop tableaus (Batman, Sleepy Hollow) never shines through.

Raising Helen (2004)

Drama Rated PG-13

No one quite does manipulative pap like director Garry Marshall (The Princess Diaries), and he pours it on again with Raising Helen. The movie concerns a modeling-agency assistant (Kate Hudson) who inherits three young kids when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident. Marshall saws at your heartstrings early on, then immediately

Ray (2004)

Drama Rated PG-13

This movie biography of American music icon Ray Charles is reverential – with a spitting-image performance by Jamie Foxx – yet you’ll find more heartache, passion and pure emotion in the two-and-a-half minutes of What Would I Do Without You than in this picture’s more than two hours. Ray is a tribute movie, really, something

Resident Evil (2002)

Horror Rated R

For awhile, there are enough good scares and gonzo stunts to make this adaptation of the zombie-fighting video game fun – a highlight is when star Milla Jovovich drop-kicks a zombie Doberman pinscher. But by the time the movie hauls out the requisite computer-generated creature for its last act, the overblown action and cheapo effects

Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)

Horror Rated R

A sequel to the 2002 video-game adaptation that was most notable for introducing the concept of the zombie dog, this seems to be based on an entire video-game arcade. It’s so random and haphazard, watching it feels like jumping from one arcade game to the next without ever finishing on any of them. Milla Jovovich

Return To Me (2000)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG

The movie equivalent of holding hands, this romantic comedy is innocent, simple and sweet – all without making you gag. David Duchovny and Minnie Driver hit it off wonderfully as the lovebirds, and writer-director Bonnie Hunt surrounds them with a spirited supporting cast. All together, they’ve pulled off a movie miracle of sorts: a feel-good

Gothika (2003)

Horror Rated R

If you’re going to give Gothika a chance, you’ll have to get over a lot more than Halle Berry in the role of a criminal psychologist who begins to question her own sanity. There’s a lot of silliness here, but also some genuine scares, thanks mostly to the way the movie gets you inside a

Into the Blue (2005)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Paul Walker auditions for the part of Aquaman as Jared, a beach bum in the Bahamas with dreams of finding sunken treasure. In the course of the overly plotted story that ensues – involving drug dealers, corrupt cops and Jessica Alba as his bikini-baring girlfriend – Jared finds himself forced to cling from the side

Grudge 2, The (2006)

Horror Rated PG-13

The Grudge 2 commits the cardinal sin of horror films: it’s stupefyingly boring. The few jolts won’t scare those in the audience, just wake them up. Director Takashi Shimizu – returning from 2004’s The Grudge, which was itself a remake of his own Japanese original – trots out the same two ghosts from the other

Big Trouble (2002)

Comedy Rated PG-13

If you don’t find at least one amusing thing in Big Trouble, then you’re either having a really bad day or you should admit to being a professional crab. This is a movie packed with about 15 story lines, 14 main characters (played by the likes of Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Dennis Farina) and