Baby Boy (2001)

Drama Rated R

Writer-director John Singleton returns to the streets of south central Los Angeles, this time to tell the story of a selfish, 20-year-old single father of two who learns to embrace his responsibilities. Though preachy at times, this is a surprisingly inspirational pro-family drama with touches of Singleton’s distinct visual style. Former MTV personality Tyrese Gibson

Spy Kids (2001)

Family Rated PG

Like a child’s imagination on overdrive, this Robert Rodriguez lark careens through its espionage tale with wild abandon, following a brother and sister as they embark on a mission to rescue their kidnapped secret-agent parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino). Among the movie’s clever touches are pintsize submarines, quirky castles and bad guys called Thumb-Thumbs

Bad Boys II (2003)

Action/Adventure Rated R

Another exercise in action incoherence from director Michael Bay, who reunites with Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as bickering Miami cops. As usual, nihilism reigns. Bad Boys II has no respect for the dead – one car chase involving a mortuary van features cadavers as road kill – and even less for the living.

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002)

Family Rated PG

Watching Spy Kids 2 is a bit like walking into a little boy’s room where countless toys are scattered about in mid-play. It may be messy, but the sheer imagination on display is undeniable. Writer-director Robert Rodriguez revisits his fun, unassuming James Bond takeoff for the Happy Meal set, this time throwing in a weird

Bon Voyage (2003)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Historical drama becomes the stuff of farce in this breezy, cheeky ensemble piece set during the Nazi occupation of France. Gregori Derangere headlines the cast as a young writer whose devotion to a conniving actress (Isabelle Adjani) gets him into trouble with the French police, then the Nazis and eventually lands him in the middle

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

Family Rated PG

Junior James Bond Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) sets out to rescue his sister (Alexa Vega), who has been trapped inside a virtual-reality video game in the third installment in the endlessly inventive family action series from Robert Rodriguez. This one’s in 3-D, but it didn’t need to be: The awkward glasses and washed out colors

Cell, The (2000)

Thriller Rated R

This ambitious, inventive and visually stunning science-fiction thriller – about a child therapist (Jennifer Lopez) who enters the mind of a serial killer – never manages to justify all of the horrific images of death and torture that it shows. The movie doesn’t quite revel in them in the way that the similarly themed Seven

Squid and the Whale, The (2005)

Drama Rated R

It took me awhile to get past writer-director Noah Baumbach’s Wes Anderson affectations (Baumbach worked with Anderson on the script for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), but beneath them is a layer of hurt that feels authentic. Like Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, this droll drama follows a peculiar, intellectual New York family (headed by

Daredevil (2003)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

This comic-book adaptation about a blind lawyer who spends his nights as a masked vigilante teeters on the brink of ridiculousness – just watch Ben Affleck, as the title character, amble about with sunglasses and a walking stick. But a lighthearted tone and spirited supporting turns by Colin Farrell and Jennifer Garner coax the movie

Village, The (2004)

Thriller Rated PG-13

The Sixth Sense-level whopper of M. Night Shyamalan’s period picture – about a 19th-century enclave haunted by creatures in the surrounding woods – is the best thing about the film, mainly because the rest of it is rather clunky (the assured filmmaking in Signs is only occasionally on display). Perhaps Shyamalan was looking for the