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

28 Days Later (2002)

Horror Rated R

London has succumbed to a virus that turns anyone infected into a homicidal maniac. Almost everyone has been wiped out – except for a hospitalized bicycle courier (Cillian Murphy) who awakens from a weeks-long coma to find his world irrevocably changed. With his thrilling revisionist zombie movie, director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach) suggests civilization

Lady in the Water (2006)

Drama Rated PG-13

To get the most out of a movie by M. Night Shyamalan you have to meet the filmmaker halfway. A convoluted fairy tale that makes a few crucial missteps, Lady in the Water requires more work than most of his films, yet if you give it a chance you’ll be able to appreciate the film

6th Day, The (2000)

Action/Adventure Rated PG-13

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s working with a decent story this time around – he plays a helicopter pilot in the near future who’s illegally cloned – but he’s a long way from the cutting-edge special effects of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (that’s what happens when you lose your box-office clout and studios refuse to give you blockbuster

8 Mile (2002)

Drama Rated R

A dramatization of Eminem’s early days in Detroit, 8 Mile doesn’t justify the hateful violence in the rapper’s lyrics, but its depiction of his bleak background helps you understand where that rage comes from. As an impoverished factory worker struggling to make a name for himself in the hip-hop scene, Eminem doesn’t rap so much

13 Going on 30 (2004)

Romantic Comedy Rated PG-13

Jennifer Garner plays a gawky adolescent who magically turns 30 after making a wish on her 13th birthday, but she’s also turned into a petty and shallow woman. Could a reunion with her formerly sloppy friend from junior high (Mark Ruffalo) help her reclaim her youthful innocence? This is more of a romance than its