Good Year, A (2006)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Watching Russell Crowe attempt comedy here is a bit like watching a dancing bear at the circus. He makes the right moves, but the rhythm is all off. It’s admirable that an established, accomplished dramatic presence such as Crowe would take this sort of risk. I just wish he had done it in a riskier

Kangaroo Jack (2003)

Family Rated PG

Kangaroo Jack, about two buddies who chase a kangaroo across the Australian outback, isn’t half as stupid as it looks – which is to say it just barely escaped my list of the worst movies of 2003. I would say some moments – namely those of the kangaroo watching his pursuers (Jerry O’Connell and Anthony

Copying Beethoven (2006)

Drama Rated PG-13

“Thank goodness for the music, for it is the only thing that can be heard above Harris’ embarrassing bellowing.

Valentine (2001)

Horror Rated R

This slasher flick, in which four equally vacuous single women are stalked by a crazed killer around Valentine’s Day, begs this question, considering it came out just before that same holiday: Is a movie that only gives itself a shelf life of two weeks really worth 90 minutes of your time?

Transporter 2 (2005)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

There is a purity to Transporter 2 that even the most action-averse moviegoer should appreciate. A sequel to the similarly streamlined 2002 picture, the movie pares the action-film structure down to its basic elements – it’s a cinematic energy drink. In the driver’s seat once more is Jason Statham as a transporter of illicit –

Harsh Times (2006)

Drama Rated R

Any actor looking to go berserk on screen should track down filmmaker David Ayer. In the Ayer-scripted Training Day, Denzel Washington ranted and raved as a bad cop all the way to an Oscar. Now Ayer has directed Harsh Times, in which Christian Bale blows his top as an ex-Army Ranger who turns into an

Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A (2006)

Drama Rated R

This has a lot of standard, Mean Streets stuff, but what makes the movie unique is its framing device. It gives the clichÈs an extra dimension. Writer-director Dito Montiel already covered this territory in his 2003 memoir, which recalled his life as a hell-raising kid in 1980s Queens. For the movie, he’s added his own

Thank You For Smoking (2006)

Comedy Rated R

As it targets Big Tobacco – a soulless cigarette lobbyist (Aaron Eckhart) is its protagonist – this satire indulges in the sort of relentless cynicism that is only born of defeat. Directed by Jason Reitman and based on Christopher Buckley’s novel of the same name, Thank You essentially takes us on a tour through the

Bride and Prejudice (2004)

Musical Rated PG-13

There had to have been an easier way to drag the Bollywood style – that epic, musical method of Indian filmmaking – into Hollywood than this ungainly experiment, which melds Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and musical numbers, all in an Indian setting. As forced as a fake smile, this is multiculturalism at its most

Crush (2001)

Drama Rated R

Starring Andie MacDowell, Crush follows the contrived, melodramatic lives of three middle-aged friends, whose weekly Sex and the City-style drinking sessions devolve into stereotypical obsessing over men. This is supposed to be a glimpse at the secret lives of real women, but it looks suspiciously like a daytime soap opera.