Smaller films have a better chance of capturing life’s smaller moments, and so the independent Raising Victor Vargas is a more touching evocation of puppy love than most Hollywood teen romances. Set in a low-income Latino community, Raising Victor Vargas gets amazingly naturalistic performances from its two leads: Victor Rasuk, as the would-be Casanova of

Based on the highly suspect autobiography of Gong Show host Chuck Barris, George Clooney’s assured directorial debut explores the dark side of the American dream. Barris (a squirrelly Sam Rockwell) pioneered reality television, was consequently skewered by cultural critics and despised himself for all of it. Clooney’s lively, inventive style makes this feel more fun

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

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