All the King’s Men (1949)

Drama Rated NR

A piercing, if not very subtle, adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning political novel about the rise and eventual corruption of a man of the people. Broderick Crawford is a blowzy, booming force as Willie Stark, a man who means well at the start of his political career and still believes he means well

Jet Li’s Fearless (2006)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

A highbrow martial-arts picture in the tradition of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Jet Li’s Fearless has lofty ambitions but lacks the necessary talent. Li stars as real-life martial-arts legend Huo Yuanjia, who fought for the pride of China against foreign challengers at the turn of the 20th century. As it follows Yuanjia from childhood to

Rocky (1976)

Drama Rated PG

“Stallone struck a deep, lasting chord with this fountainhead of clichés…”

Flyboys (2006)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

There is a reason it isn’t called Flymen. Flyboys, which follows James Franco as an American volunteer who pilots a fighter plane for the French in World War I, is thoroughly adolescent. That’s fine during the exciting – albeit computer-assisted – dogfight scenes, but not so good for the rest of the film. Here it’s

All the King’s Men (2006)

Drama Rated PG-13

“Penn is … playing the part of Great Actor more than the part of Willie Stark.

Barbershop (2002)

Comedy Rated PG-13

There’s a plot – in which a restless entrepreneur (Ice Cube) regrettably sells his late father’s title business – but Barbershop doesn’t really need one. Its best moments are those spent eavesdropping on the conversations, arguments and debates the barbers have with their customers and with each other. The result is a feel-good glimpse at

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Family Rated PG

As overblown as an electrical socket with too many Christmas lights plugged into it, this is a lamentable distortion of Theodor S. Geisel’s 1957 children’s book (kids who get over-stimulated by the movie likely won’t have the patience for the gentle, kind-hearted original story). What’s worse, the Grinch has been transformed from a villain into

Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Family Rated PG

If Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas was a distortion of the original, this is more like an extension of its source material. It helps that spastic action is inherent in the story and that Mike Myers has the right affinity for monkey business for the title role. There are problems, such as an

Pokemon Heroes (2003)

Family Rated G

The fifth installment in the Pokemon film franchise exhibits all of the qualities that have made the series one of the most inexplicably successful kiddie enterprises: rudimentary animation, aggressively generic background music and a barely coherent storyline. Subjecting tykes to such shoddy junk should count as cinematic child abuse (no matter how loudly they plead

Science of Sleep, The (2006)

Comedy Rated R

Can a movie be too creative for its own good? This latest cinematic art project from director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) once again expands your definition of what a movie can be, but this time you’re left feeling exasperated rather than elated. The construction-paper plot follows a daydreaming artist (Gael Garcia