Bad Company (2002)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

The unexpected casting of honored thespian Anthony Hopkins and incidental actor Chris Rock – the former as a CIA operative and the latter as a street punk who’s recruited by the agency to help track down a missing atom bomb – gives Bad Company some zip. Yet rather than allow us to enjoy their comic

Majestic, The (2001)

Drama Rated PG

Just the sort of noble bore Oscar usually loves, this latest two-hour-plus tale from director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) stars Jim Carrey as a blacklisted screenwriter who develops amnesia and is mistaken for a small-town hero lost in World War II. Darabont and Carrey are trying to whip up some sort

Curious George (2006)

Family Rated G

As long as you like primary colors, you should be satisfied with Curious George. Less a movie than an exercise in bright reds, blues, yellows and greens, this traditionally animated adaptation of the children’s books by Margret and H.A. Rey has the production design of a preschool classroom – which is appropriate, for that is

Mission to Mars (2000)

Action/Adventure Rated PG

A popcorn flick masquerading as a head trip, this space adventure still offers some good gripping fun. Don Cheadle, Gary Sinise and Tim Robbins are among the first astronauts to land on Mars, where they encounter lots of rocks and grand philosophical questions left over from 2001: A Space Odyssey. From unlikely director Brian De

Are We There Yet? (2005)

Family Rated PG

Consider this title a form of honesty: A movie named after one of the universally annoying whines of childhood isn’t even trying to hide the fact that watching it is a grind for parents. Ice Cube, exploring new dimensions of selling out, plays a committed bachelor who gets stuck on a road trip with his

Monkeybone (2001)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Undermined by a misleading advertising campaign (this isn’t a live-action farce for the Rugrats set) and attacked in countless cranky reviews, Monkeybone was the most underrated movie of 2001. Yes, there’s way too much plot – something about a cartoonist (Brendan Fraser) who does battle with his own creation – but this amalgamation of live

Around the World in 80 Days (2004)

Family Rated PG

The latest adaptation of the Jules Verne novel about an 1880s adventurer trying to circumnavigate the globe presented a possible new direction for Jackie Chan’s career: Drop him in remakes where the plot comes to an awkward standstill for him to stage one of his comedic fight scenes. This already being a frantic tale, the

Nurse Betty (2000)

Comedy Rated R

Don’t worry about the plot – Renee Zellweger’s waitress thinks she’s living within a soap opera, all while hit men Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock track her down – and instead enjoy the loopy amiability with which the movie skips along. Zellweger’s rarely been better, Rock and Freeman make a clever comic team and director

Bachelor, The (1999)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Chris O’Donnell’s painful romantic comedy, in which he has less than 24 hours to wed his longtime girlfriend (Renee Zellweger) or anyone else he can find if he wants to receive a $100 million inheritance, would be merely insipid if it weren’t for the ugly attitude toward women that runs throughout the film. As O’Donnell

Patriot, The (2000)

Drama Rated R

Brutal and honest, The Patriot certainly is a rousing celebration of American independence, but the movie is more valuable as a rumination on vengeance and violence. When Mel Gibson’s pacifist farmer forms a militia against the British to avenge an attack on his family, far more than a Rambo revenge fantasy follows. Instead, The Patriot