Hardly a mind-blowing piece of science fiction, Red Planet still entertains as an outer space version of television’s “Survivor.” After five men crash-land on Mars, they engage in a series of wily tactics, machinations and double-crosses that eventually result in only one of them returning to Earth.

The manic, messy and magical style of director Terry Gilliam (Brazil, 12 Monkeys) defines this clever riff on fairy tales, in which the title brothers (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, both delightfully light on their feet) pretend to be ghostbusters in 19th-century Germany. Like Neil Jordan’s The Company of Wolves and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s

Admitting in its credits that it is simply “suggested by” the science-fiction writing of Isaac Asimov, I, Robot treats whatever ideas that may lie in its source material as little more than excuses to make a Will Smith cop picture with the slight novelty of having robots as perps. Too bad they look less like

This is the point at which Quentin Tarantino officially crossed the line from junk collector to junk producer. The first Kill Bill installment at least intrinsically offered hope that its follow-up would add a bit of substance to the proceedings. Instead, the second half of Tarantino’s tribute to every crappy kung fu/revenge/biker flick he had

Legend holds that Robert Rodriguez made his debut for just $7,000, but more impressive than his thrift was his knack for offbeat humor, inventively staged action and an even control of pacing rarely found in low-budget flicks. This is really a comedy, as a traveling musician (Carlos Gallardo) is mistaken for a vicious criminal. It’s

This standard shoot-’em-up, in which Vin Diesel plays a DEA agent looking to avenge the murder of his wife, is rife with cliches and incoherent action scenes. It’s a straight-to-video mishap masquerading as a feature film.

With its bursts of violence, recurring characters and interweaving plots, Nicotina seems determined to ape every move ever made by Quentin Tarantino. What’s missing is the clever dialogue, riveting characters and sheer pop style of Tarantino at his best. Instead we get Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) as a genial computer hacker who gets