Protector, The (2006)

Action/Adventure Rated R

Amid all the atrociously edited, laughably dubbed and poorly plotted action that makes up this Thai import is a bravura sequence that single-handedly saves the movie. Tony Jaa plays a Thai elephant herder who travels to Australia to rescue a pair of pachyderms that have been kidnapped by gangsters – see what I mean? –

Before Night Falls (2000)

Drama Rated R

This ambitious biographical drama is so intent on defining persecuted Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas by his homosexuality that we never quite grasp a sense of his artistic accomplishments. Javier Bardem, nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Arenas, strains valiantly to fill in the gaps, but it still feels like an incomplete

Envy (2004)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Envy, about best friends (Ben Stiller and Jack Black) torn apart when one becomes rich, is like one of those cliffhanger rides at an amusement park: It starts out nice and smooth, then the bottom drops out. The movie’s release date was repeatedly delayed, and it seems to have seen the light of day not

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)

Drama Rated PG-13

Big Momma’s House meets Misery meets Enough. Who would want to combine a Martin Lawrence cross-dressing comedy, a Stephen King story about a tortured crippled man and a Jennifer Lopez melodrama about domestic abuse? Tyler Perry, who adapted the movie from his own stage play and stars as a sassy grandmother. His slapstick painfully grates

Elf (2003)

Family Rated PG

Will Ferrell brings his usual dim-bulb zaniness to this holiday comedy about a human orphan (Ferrell) raised by Santa’s helpers, but most of the laughs come from easy fish-out-of-water humor. This should have been much better considering the star and the premise.

Elizabethtown (2005)

Drama Rated PG-13

As another writing-directing effort from Hollywood sensitive male Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire), this carried the burden of high expectations. I watched it holding my breath, waiting for the arrival of that singular punch to the gut that all of Crowe’s movies deliver. It never comes. Elizabethtown flounders, flopping about in search of a consistent theme,

Fog of War, The (2003)

Documentary Rated NR

For this fascinating historical documentary, director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) interviewed former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara on the subject of warfare, specifically the roles he played in World War II and Vietnam. The result is an engrossing character study that suggests even the brightest and most well-meaning of us may be

Chinatown (1974)

Thriller Rated R

“…revisited the film noir genre only to perfect it.”

Friends with Money (2006)

Drama Rated R

Normalcy is an undervalued commodity in Hollywood, which leaves true drama – the sort we experience every day – to independent filmmakers such as Nicole Holofcener (Lovely & Amazing). Holofcener once again explores the minor triumphs and tragedies of average women’s lives, and she’s only further honed her talent for seeing the personal truths that

Sentinel, The (2006)

Thriller Rated PG-13

The Sentinel deals in political intrigue, rumor and assassination plots, so it makes sense that the movie has the demeanor of a conspiracy theorist. Fidgety and jittery, it’s as calm and collected as a puppy trotting down the aisles of PetSmart. As a narrative, the picture is so clunky it’s hard to determine which star