Constant Gardener, The (2005)

Thriller Rated R

The personal and the global are at frustrating odds in this ambitious adaptation of a John Le Carre novel that tries to tie together one man’s love for his late wife with drug-company espionage in Africa. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz ably anchor the personal story, while talented Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God)

Seabiscuit (2003)

Drama Rated PG-13

As Rocky on four legs, Seabiscuit works just fine – it’s a stately, based-on-fact drama about the unlikely champion racehorse of the 1930s and the jockey (Tobey Maguire), trainer (Chris Cooper) and owner (Jeff Bridges) who made him. Writer-director Gary Ross stretches his underdog theme a bit too far by envisioning the horse as an

Die Another Day (2002)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

This is Bond by the numbers, but after a summer of tired spoofs (Austin Powers in Goldmember) and lame imitations (XXX), its familiarity ironically felt refreshing. Pierce Brosnan was still donning Bond’s tuxedo, and it still made for a nice fit. Adding to the fun is everything we’ve come to expect from the series: babes

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Comedy Rated R

“…a literal mind-bender.”

Weather Man, The (2005)

Drama Rated R

A tragicomic dissection of male, middle-aged angst, this centers on a Chicago meteorologist (Nicolas Cage) who is a well-meaning but consistently disappointing divorced father of two. As it chronicles his foibles, you realize few movies plant us so squarely inside a character’s head. Partly this is due to Cage’s sad-clown performance and part of it

Big Fish (2003)

Drama Rated PG-13

Big Fish, about the reconciliation between a tall-tale-telling father (Albert Finney) and his skeptical son (Billy Crudup), is an odd Tim Burton film, but not in the way that a Tim Burton film usually is odd. This time he forgoes his artful despondency for an unadorned, unabashed emotional warmth. Still, Burton purists needn’t worry: There

Wedding Crashers (2005)

Comedy Rated R

I don’t think Vince Vaughn stops talking at any point throughout Wedding Crashers – and that includes the scenes he isn’t even in. Thank goodness, otherwise this would be just another romantic comedy piffle. Vaughn and Owen Wilson play friends who crash nuptial events to take advantage of women who are “aroused by the very

Bourne Identity, The (2002)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Matt Damon and director Doug Liman (Swingers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) bring plenty of verve to Robert Ludlum’s classic spy novel, about an amnesiac with literal killer instincts. Even someone with memory loss would recognize the action-thriller tactics on display here, but at least they’re skillfully employed.

We Were Soldiers (2002)

Drama Rated R

In this well-intentioned attempt to honor American soldiers who fought in Vietnam, writer-director Randall Wallace and star Mel Gibson have created a Saving Private Ryan wannabe, from the melodramatic air of reverence to the trendy dollops of gore. Do Vietnam veterans who fought bravely and honorably deserve our respect? Certainly. But lazily anointing them as

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Romantic Comedy Rated R

This smart adaptation of Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel is a romantic comedy in search of contentment rather than Prince Charming, which gives it a sense of realism that both aches and inspires. As the title heroine – a single British woman whose life is a cycle of highs and lows, most of which have to