Open Water (2003)

Thriller Rated R

Writer-director Chris Kentis’ independent picture will terrify anyone who has ever had some mysterious underwater object brush up against his or her legs. A shark-attack movie that uses real sharks, this manages to create legitimate chills by taking a no-frills approach to its central tale – that of a scuba-diving couple stranded in dangerous waters.

50 First Dates (2004)

Comedy Rated PG-13

It is hard to imagine an Adam Sandler movie played straight – Happy Gilmore as a tragedy, anyone? – but that may have been the only approach that could have saved 50 First Dates. There’s a fine conceit for a romantic drama here – Sandler plays a veterinarian in love with a woman (Drew Barrymore)

Ice Age (2002)

Family Rated PG

A fine feature debut from computer-animation director Chris Wedge and Blue Sky Studios, about the adventures of a mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano), a sloth (John Leguizamo) and a saber-tooth tiger (Denis Leary). Financier Twentieth Century Fox seems to have steered Wedge’s dark sense of humor towards a gentler, Disney-esque narrative, but the movie’s best

Secret Lives of Dentists, The (2002)

Drama Rated R

This independent drama follows a young couple (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis) trying to cram dual careers, three young kids and a happy marriage into one overextended life. The daily tensions only intensify when he begins to suspect her of having an affair. Not much happens that doesn’t happen in the lives of millions of

102 Dalmatians (2000)

Family Rated G

This sequel to Disney’s 1996 cash cow may not be as cynical as Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but it still exists just to rake in the dough by catering to kids’ crudest instincts. Glenn Close returns as the loud and boorish Cruella De Vil, and the movie mainly follows her lead.

Moolaade (2004)

Drama Rated NR

A condemnation of the African practice of female circumcision, Moolaade is rudimentary in terms of narrative and structure, yet it has a folkloric power. Ousmane Sembene – who made this film in his native Senegal at the age of 81 – gives the heavy topic a disarmingly light tone as he follows four girls who

Stuart Little (1999)

Family Rated PG

Stuart Little aims right for the heart – and the movie often hits its mark. An adaptation of E.B. White’s classic children’s story about a naive and gentle mouse, Stuart Little combines realistic computer animation and expert model work to create a fairy-tale world reminiscent of Babe and its sequel.

Best in Show (2000)

Comedy Rated PG-13

Writer-director Christopher Guest reteams with much of his Waiting for Guffman cast for another mock documentary, this time about a series of dog lovers whose reasons for being revolve around a canine competition. Top to bottom a master class in structured improvisation on the parts of Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock,

40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)

Comedy Rated R

If you have a high tolerance for wisecracks about condoms or crucifixes (there’s actually more of the latter), then this slight sex comedy might grow on you. Josh Hartnett plays a ladies man who makes a vow of chastity for Lent. If he and Shannyn Sossamon, as his potential soul mate, have an ingratiating chemistry,

25th Hour (2002)

Drama Rated R

Spike Lee’s provocative if problematic chronicling of the last day in the life of a convicted drug dealer (Edward Norton) before he’s sent to prison. The movie proceeds with a gripping sense of dread, even if it never quite comes into focus. Especially arbitrary are intermittent homages to a post-Sept. 11, 2001, New York. Lee