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* Box Office records toppled by 'Alice' *
Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" broke through the looking glass to the top of the North American box office this weekend with 116.3 million dollars in receipts. [More]

* Grindhouse (Garber review) *****
I have no hesitation recommending this one with a full five-star rating. Go see it in theatres -- it will not translate as well to the small screen. [More]

* In Bruges (Keyes review) ****
Two hitmen spice up the picturesque Belgian town of Bruges with filthy language, in this not-for-the-kiddies dark comedy. John Keyes gives it four stars. [More]

* Inglourious Basterds (Keyes review) ***
Trust Qunetin Tarantino to blast his way back onto the big screen with a movie that's part genre homage, part blow-'em-up-good action movie and part teen-fantasy Nazi-porn revenge flick. [More]

* Movie Openings -- Vancouver & Lower Mainland *
This week's new movies for Vancouver & the Lower Mainland. [More]

* Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (Garber review sans Quicktime trailer) *****
Here's the same five-star review sans embedded trailer. [More]

*Flushed Away (Garber review) *****
It says a great deal about the calibre of an animated feature film when two critics leave the theatre after a first viewing and both say: "We'll HAVE to buy this one when the DVD comes out." [More]

A concise history of the Oscars *
The highlights of the first 76 Oscar celebrations. . . [More]

Adult acting world no child's play *
The historic best-actress Oscar nod for a 13-year-old may inspire more starstruck parents and put the spotlight on new changes in B.C. law, ALEXANDRA GILL writes. [More]

American Splendor earns L.A. critics' award *
American Splendor, a film biography starring Paul Giamatti as grouchy comic-book writer Harvey Pekar, was picked as the best picture of 2003 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. [More]

And now, Lord of the brass rings? *
The final chapter of the Middle-Earth saga leads with 11 Academy Award nominations. [More]

Arcand carries off the Oscar for best foreign film *
Canada's premier director, Denys Arcand, showed his usual self-effacing irony last night after winning his Oscar for The Barbarian Invasions when he waived the opportunity to make the usual acceptance speech. Known as a critic of American culture and its excesses, he made the ultimate statement by not making one at all. [More]

Arcand wins France's top movie prizes *
Filmmaker Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions took home three prizes Saturday from the César awards -- France's equivalent of the Oscars -- best film, best director and best original screenplay. [More]

Barbarian Invasions gets best foreign-film award *
Mystic River wound its way to the top of the U.S. National Board of Review's list of the best films of 2003, directed by Clint Eastwood. [More]

Batman Begins (Garber review) ****
Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins prequel explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. [More]

British Academy Awards presented *
Quebec filmmaker Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions failed to make a breakthrough Sunday at the British Academy Film Awards, despite two nominations. [More]

Closer (Madelyn Miller review) ****
"Warning," says Madelyn Miller, "Do not go to see the movie Closer with your significant other; it may be dangerous to your relationship." [More]

Cold Mountain leads British film award nominees *
Cold Mountain with 13 nominations and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with a dozen led the nominations Monday from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. [More]

Colin Farrell to replace Heath Ledger in unfinished film *
Colin Farrell says it's an honour to help replace Heath Ledger in the actor's final film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. [More]

Depp surprise SAG winner *
Johnny Depp was a surprise lead actor winner Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, while Charlize Theron took the best-actress honour for the serial-killer drama Monster. [More]

Desolation Sound (Waldman review) *
Going from Vancouver to secluded Desolation Sound seemed like a no-brainer for Laurel and Michael Elliot; everything seems to be going well -- until one of their big city friends decides to pay them a visit. [More]

Dude, where's your bling? *
With the MuchMusic Video Awards set to roll tomorrow, staff say it's time Canadians got their red-carpet look down. [More]

Eastwood film named best of the year *
Mystic River wound its way to the top of the National Board of Review's list of the best films of 2003. [More]

Eastwood wins best director Oscar *
Hollywood tough guy Clint Eastwood on Sunday won the second best director Oscar of his career for his dark boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. [More]

Eleven films eligible for animation Oscar *
Eleven films, including Shrek 2, Shark Tale and the Japanese movie Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, are eligible to be nominated for the best animated feature film Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced. [More]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Groen review) *
Anatomy of a lover's mind... [More]

Eurotrip: The kids don't even swear ** 1/2
Ha, here's a laugh: One of the hottest properties around Hollywood a few summers ago was The Ugly Americans, the story of four innocents abroad, chasing through France and Germany in search of fraternité and frauleins.More]

Fahrenheit 9/11 (Garber review) **** 1/2
I'm going to step out of character a little today and get political. Let's just say that today -- only a few days before the Canadian National election takes place -- is the perfect time for all Canadians to see this Michael Moore film. [More]

Finding Neverland (Garber review) ****
This wonderful Johnny Depp vehicle is bound and determined to put an end to the questions and controversy surrounding the life of James M. Barrie and his relationship with the family that inspired his stage play, Peter Pan. [More]

Full list of Oscar nominations for 2003 *
...for awards presentation in 2004... [More]

Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic tour a memorial in 3-D ****
Using remote-controlled robots, director James Cameron takes us inside rooms that haven't been visited for almost a century [More]

Gigli leads Razzie nominees *
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's real-life romance crashed and burned. Now the two are front-runners for worst on-screen love affair. [More]

Good Bye, Lenin! (Groen review) ***
Remembrance of East past... [More]

Grindhouse (Kit Johnson review) *****
I was told that our policy is that if you would recommend a film to 10 out of 10 people, it rates five stars. Hell, I would recommend this movie-duo to DEAD people! Go see it. . .NOW! [More]

Halloween kills at box office, sets record for Labour Day weekend *
Halloween came early and closed Hollywood's strong summer season with a record-breaking Labour Day weekend debut. [More]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Garber review) ****
If Harry Potter already has you spellbound, you will enjoy the magic and the vision of this adventure. [More]

Hellboy (Groen review) ***
If you like your movies inspired by comic books — and who among us does not — then Hellboy is quite the little treat. [More]

Hitch (Madelyn Miller review) *
"I loved this movie." Confesses Madelyn Miller. "It was a perfect match for my mood and mindset. I think it was because I went with someone I have had a crush on for a long time." [More]

Hollywood North: Would-be satire quickly heads south (Lacey review) ***
The Canadian movie industry is always a ripe subject for satire. Year after year, tax-supported pseudo-commercial films are justified by dubious claims of cultural worthiness. The industry has been mocked before, on television by SCTV and in the Paul Donovan movie, Paint Cans (1994). Now we have Hollywood North from Peter O'Brian, himself a veteran producer of the darkest days of the tax-shelter period of the late seventies. [More]

HOT DOCS WRAPS UP, ANNOUNCES TWO MORE AWARD WINNERS *
With the 12th annual festival having closed on Sunday, May 1, Hot Docs is proud to announce a record-breaking attendance of 41,000 and an astounding 100 per cent increase in sold-out screenings over the 2004 festival. [More]

Jersey Girl (Groen review) ** 1/2
By his own admission, Smith has no feel for the camera, and that hasn't changed — even Vilmos Zsigmond, the great cinematographer, can't seem to help him here. [More]

Karla (Garber review) *
A highly subjective review: In my mind, this was -- at first -- a "must-see" film, a reflection of the Canadian psyche at its worst. However, after viewing a press preview, I honestly can't recommend that anyone will want to spend a couple of hours in a darkened movie theatre in close company with this pair of psychopaths. [More]

Kidman film leads Golden Globe nominations *
The Civil War epic Cold Mountain collected a leading eight Golden Globe nominations Thursday including best drama, as Hollywood marked the start of its annual trophy-giving season. [More]

Kill Bill (Groen review) **** 1/2
The most influential director of the 1990s is back with a dazzling kung fu actioner [More]

Kill Bill 2: Relax, it's just play-acting (Groen review) *** 1/2
Although Tarantino doesn't quite deliver the goods in part two of Kill Bill, there's lots to savour. [More]

Kitchen Stories (Lacey review) ****
Kitchen Stories, set in Norway of the early 1950s, is a comedy, albeit of the Scandinavian deadpan variety, with a chuckle beneath a solemn exterior. [More]

Liam Lacey: Onward to the Oscars *
Merry Os-mas everyone! The movie competition/promotion of the Oscar campaign has become so mixed with the Christmas season that Hollywood and the retail industry really should converge to create a new superholiday, celebrating the best in celluloid pride and seasonal joy. [More]

Little Miss Sunshine bright ray at SAG Awards *
The road-trip romp Little Miss Sunshine won the prize for best film ensemble, the guild's equivalent of a best-picture award. [More]

Lord of the Oscars *
Peter Jackson's third film in the hugely successful series won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards; Canada led by Denys Arcand's Barbarian Invasions and composer Howard Shore. [More]

Lord of the Rings leads Oscar nominations *
The final chapter of The Lord of the Rings trilogy The Return of the King garnered 11 Oscar nominations Tuesday, including best picture and director, pushing the adventure epic to the front of the pack in the race for film's most prestigious statue. [More]

Lost in Translation named film of the year *
Lost in Translation, writer-director Sofia Coppola's story of two American insomniacs whose paths cross in Tokyo, has been named the best film of the year by the Toronto Film Critics Association. [More]

Lost in Translation: Lost and found in Tokyo ****
In Sofia Coppola's captivating second film, two lonely hearts in limbo connect and Bill Murray really hits his stride, LIAM LACEY writes [More]

Lost strikes Gold *
Scarlett Johansson, call your agent. He thinks he can get you 20 mil for your next picture. [More]

LOTR: Return of the King (Lacey Review) ****
The Ring thing is back, with kings and eagles and flying dragons, and wraiths and mountain fortresses and at the heart of it, a couple of plucky little boy-men out to save the world. [More]

Love Actually: Feel the love, over and over *** 1/2
Romantic comedies don't usually run in excess of two hours, though a quick glance at the cast of this homage to love British-style will offer a clue to the reason for its length. [More]

Luck (Groen review) *** 1/2
This hockey film wins until it loses... [More]

Man on Fire (Groen review) ** 1/2
Revenge served tepid... [More]

Master & Commander: Dashing derring-do (Groen review) ****
Peter Weir's high-seas yarn has red-blooded swashbuckling for the lads and Russell Crowe striking manly poses on the prow for the lasses. [More]

Michael Moore doc to hit theatres in weeks *
Canada's Lions Gate joins 'coalition of the willing' to release scathing Fahrenheit 9/11. [More]

Michael Moore loves Alberta's nurses *
Canadian Distributor echoes his sentiments by offering free admission to all nurses across Canada, starting Monday, July 16, 2007. [More]

Middle-Earth scores big with N.Y. critics *
The best-film nod for The Lord of the Rings epic boosts Oscar likelihood as well. [More]

Million Dollar Baby knocks out the competition *
Million Dollar Baby scored a knockout punch Sunday night, picking up Oscars for best picture, as well as best director honours for Clint Eastwood and acting statuettes for Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. [More]

Miracle: This sure ain't Slap Shot (Groen review) ** 1/2
Every once in a sentimental while, the American Goliath likes to pretend it's a David, and takes inspiration from movies -- Seabiscuit is one, this pseudo-epic is another -- that honour the spirit of the plucky little guy who beats the odds to triumph over the big bad giant. [More]

Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle -- Hauru no Ugoku Shiro (Garber review) *****
Director Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) again creates a world apart from our own, yet jarringly resonant of the terra firma we know. A brilliantly haunting feature-length animated adventure-of-the-spirit. Five stars. [More]

Mona Lisa Smile (Groen review) ***
First things first: As one of my wise editors noted, no person who can flash as many teeth as Julia Roberts should ever star in a movie called Mona Lisa Smile. [More]

Monsieur Ibrahim: Sharif still has the touch (Lacey review) *** 1/2
A warm, if somewhat wooly, coming-of-age fable set in Paris of the early sixties, Monsieur Ibrahim explores the friendship between a Jewish teenager (Pierre Boulanger) and an elderly Muslim shopkeeper (Omar Sharif), who teaches him wisdom from the Koran. [More]

Moore, Gibson win People's Choice Awards *
Filmmakers Michael Moore and Mel Gibson were all smiles after they won top honours at the 31st Annual People's Choice Awards on Sunday night. [More]

My Architect: A Son's Journey: Journey behind a father's façade ****
Five years in the making, and currently nominated for an Oscar, My Architect: A Son's Story is a twofold story of heroic achievements and personal failings. Both stories are about the architect Louis Kahn, a major figure in modern architecture and, as we discover, a lousy dad. [More]

My Baby's Daddy: Idea or two outnumbered by bodily-function jokes (Lacey review) ** 1/2
When studios choose not to show movies to the press ahead of their theatrical release, the usual reason is that they're trying to limit losses by keeping the negative buzz to a minimum (remember The Avengers?). [More]

My Date With Drew (Garber review) ****
The premise of the film is that 27-year-old Brian Herzlinger is out of a relationship, out of work, out of the loop and pretty much out-of-it in general, but he has not given up on his dream: To get a date with Drew Barrymore. [More]

Mystic River receives three SAG nominations *
Mystic River and The Station Agent each collected three Screen Actors Guild nominations on Thursday, including best ensemble cast. [More]

Mystic River: A current of darkness ****
Clint Eastwood's latest imbues grim life in a poor Boston neighbourhood with the relentlessness of classical tragedy [More]

Napoleon Dynamite & Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story --Revenge of the nerds revisited (Lacey reviews) ** 1/2
The movies' continuing fascination with nerds, geeks, dweebs and dufusses represents a substantial strain of doubt in America's win-win culture. [More]

NASCAR 3D: The Imax Experience: Days of blunder, but in 3-D at least (Groen review) ** 1/2
With its huge camera and its vast screen, the Imax "experience" (as the billing goes) is big on big things, fond of exploring the world at its inflated extremes -- the extreme of outer space, the extreme of Titanic depths, the extreme of belching volcanoes. [More]

Nibbling at the junkie food chain (Cole review) ***
On the Corner is convincingly staged, and filmmaker Geary deftly captures the junkie food chain in an early sequence that finds the just-arrived teenager Randy Henry trying to bum a smoke from one of the Pennsylvania Hotel's mid-level entrepreneurs, Cliffe, a wild-eyed crack dealer. [More]

NOW PLAYING -- Friday, January 9, 2004 - Thursday, January 15, 2004 *
Current movies -- Friday, January 9, 2004 - Thursday, January 15, 2004 [More]

Oscar puts on an international look *
Shohreh Aghdashloo grew up in Iran, infuriating her mother with the outrageous dream of being a Hollywood star. Djimon Hounsou was an African immigrant in Paris, once so destitute that he slept on the streets. [More]

Oscar ratings follow box-office slide *
Sunday's Academy Awards telecast averaged 38.8 million viewers, down nearly 8 per cent from last year, bearing out predictions that a relative lack of star power and the serious, art-house subject matter of Oscar-nominated films such as Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Munich and Capote would dampen interest in this year's show. [More]

OSCAR UNWRAPPED (Groen) *
It used to be clear -- the tripe was on the tube and films were where something finer occasionally emerged. But now, the best of TV offerings easily rival Oscar's finest flicks, RICK GROEN writes. [More]

OSCAR UNWRAPPED (MacDonald) *
The jousting over jewellery, gowns and spa spots is well under way, as Oscar, who was denied maximum glitz last year, gets ready for a blowout party, GAYLE MacDONALD reports from Tinseltown. [More]

Oscar via the sip, shot and chug *
The Academy's taking the high road (yawn), but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to, JOHANNA SCHNELLER writes. [More]

Oscar, you look mahvelous! *
Billy Crystal is back to helm the Academy Awards. Thank goodness, JOHN DOYLE writes. [More]

Oscars 2004: Backstage, there's comedy, nerves and drama *
As a cart with 51 glistening Oscars is wheeled into the wings of the stage, Robin Williams arrived and immediately began cracking off-colour jokes to anyone who would listen. Everyone groans. . . [More]

Oscars and Passion did fine job of crucifying the viewer *
I realize the Oscars were awarded five long days ago, but forgive me, I'm only now waking up. The show was so soundly boring, I fell into a semi-coma from which I am just emerging. To paraphrase the comic-book salesman on The Simpsons, "Worst Oscars ever." [More]

Peter Pan (Garber review) **** 1/2
Jason Isaacs and Jeremy Sumpter star in Muriel's Wedding director P.J. Hogan's family adventure-fantasy based on the classic story of the boy who wouldn't grow up. Rated PG. Four-and-a-half stars. [More]

Pirates of the Caribbean -- Dead Man's Chest (Garber review) *****
LOVED it! Five Stars. [More]

Polar Express in IMAX 3D *****
An unbelieveable sensory experience earns THIS version of Polar Express an unqualified five stars! [More]

Ratings up 17 per cent for Oscars *
They slew beasts, toppled tyrants and destroyed a ring of ultimate evil, becoming lords of the Academy Awards for their troubles. [More]

Rocket Science (Waldman review) * 1/2
Rave reviews at the famed Sundance Film Festival don't necessarily translate to broad appeal. [More]

Rush Hour 3 (Waldman review) *** 1/2
France will never be the same once the Rush Hour crew takes on Parisian society. [More]

Shrek 3 tops weekend box office with $122 million *
After ruling the box office for two weekends, Sony's Spider-Man 3 slipped to second place with $28.5 million, raising its domestic total to $281.9 million. [More]

Sin City (Kit Johnson review) *****
In cinema, what Spiderman has achieved for comic books, Sin City will undoubtedly do for graphic novels, says Kit Johnson. He also calls it an "instant classic." Five stars, no less. [More]

Spanish festival honours Huppert, Penn, Duvall *
Isabelle Huppert, Sean Penn and Robert Duvall will be honoured with lifetime achievement awards at the 51st San Sebastian International Film Festival. [More]

Spartan: Starts strong. Goes all wonky (Groen review) ***
If fiction is a forgery, if art is a con, then David Mamet is a con artist extraordinaire. [More]

Spider-Man 3 box office debut climbs higher *
Spider-Man 3 made the biggest opening day debut ever in the history of film on Friday, grossing about 382 million dollars worldwide. [More]

Spider-Man 3 spins ultimate web at box office *
Sony's Spider-Man 3 took in US$60 million in its second weekend, a hefty 60 per cent drop from its record debut a week earlier but good enough to easily outdistance the competition and remain the No. 1 movie. [More]

Spider-Man: A perfect entry for the spin cycle (Groen review) **** 1/2
From pricey action to deliciously cheap sight gags, the acrobatic arachnid turns out to be even better on the second go-round. [More]

Spidey shatters box-office records *
Spider-Man caught just about everyone in his web. The superhero's latest adventure, Spider-Man 3, smashed box-office records with a domestic take of $148 million in its first three days. [More]

Statement falls flat ***
Despite its high-profile cast, this is a thriller that lacks suspense, and a story of moral urgency that moves at a snail's pace. [More]

Stealth (Kit Johnson review) ** 1/2
"Just enough plot to keep the special effects coming," is how I would sum up this action thriller. Don't get me wrong: There's plenty about the movie to like. It's gripping, edge-of-the-seat fun, but it certainly won't make your brain hurt in any way. [More]

Stuck on You: One double-edged joke ***
It's always a debate whether the latest Farrelly brothers comedy represents a new high or a new low for the reigning kings of sugar-coated gross-out. [More]

Superbad guffaws its way to top of weekend box office *
Sony Pictures' coming-of-age comedy Superbad did a super JOB at box office at U.S. and Canadian theatres this weekend, earning an estimated 31.2 million dollars in ticket sales and more than earning back its 20-million-dollar production cost. [More]

Sylvia: Life inside the bell jar (Groen review) *** 1/2
Sylvia refuses to point fingers as it portrays the hellishly fertile period of Plath's union with Ted Hughes [More]

Taking Lives (Cole review) ****
Jolie sparkles in dark thriller... [More]

Talking Pictures: John Keyes' Oscar picks 2004 *
John Keyes, evalu8.org's intrepid Film (video, DVD) Editor succinctly describes his reasons for cheering for just one of the nominees for Best Picture at the 2004 Academy awards. [More]

Talking Pictures: John Keyes's Oscar picks 2006 *
John Keyes, evalu8.org's intrepid Film (video, DVD) Editor succinctly describes his top ten choices that he hopes will be considered for the 2006 edition of the Academy awards. [More]

Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (Garber review) *****
Let's cut right to the chase, here: If you love Jack Black and if you enjoyed School of Rock, this new, spirited rock-'em-sock-'em musical fun-fest will make you laugh out loud. Five stars. (You have to "allow" Quicktime in order to view the trailer embedded in this review. Prompt says: "Click to run an ActiveX control on this webpage" -- click OK.) [More]

The Alamo: Pioneer Texans' patriotic act (Lacey review) *
"People expect things," says an apologetic Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) on the eve of his death at the Alamo, by way of explaining to a fellow soldier that he's not really the river-jumping, bear-strangling wild man from Tennessee of his legend. [More]

The Aristocrats (Madelyn Miller review) *** 1/2
Warning: Not exactly a movie spoiler, but this review contains words and describes situations that are strictly for adults. Reader discretion is advised! [More]

The Big Bounce: Caper is short on bounce *
Despite its robust cast, this movie often feels content to be second-rate -- underachieving and proud of it. [More]

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi -- Traipsing around the blood (Lacey review) *** 1/2
Takeshi (Beat) Kitano's shamelessly entertaining new martial-arts drama, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, has a fresh craziness that evokes the spirit of Felix the Cat -- violent, capricious, musical and endlessly inventive. [More]

The Butterfly Effect (Groen review) ** 1/2
Say this, and not much else, for The Butterfly Effect: It definitely makes good on that title. [More]

The Cat in the Hat: Yikes -- This Cat is on drugs (Lacey review) **
A semi-intriguing abomination, the movie The Cat in the Hat takes a piece of classic childhood Americana and turns it into something garish, dumb, ugly and senseless. [More]

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Garber review) *****
Controversy swirls around The Chronicles of Narnia and its author C.S. Lewis, but there's no denying this is a first-rate film, with some of the best special effects ever seen on the big screen. Five stars. [More]

The Company: Company worth keeping ****
Robert Altman takes a risk but lands on his feet with this affectionate, fly-on-the-wall look at performers who put their egos and bodies on the line. [More]

The Cooler: See a film without a compass at your own risk ** 1/2
It's a comedy, it's a romance, it's a gangster flick. The Cooler is all of that and much, much less. This is a movie without a compass, switching pace and direction as haphazardly as a caffeinated SUV driver on a cellphone.
Yeah, but what did you really think, Mr. G? For the record: We at evalu8.org liked this film a whole star more than Rick Groen did! Maybe you have to be into Vegas as much as we are. [More]

The Corporation: God Save us from the corporations ****
Corporations are wonderful things, if you own shares and they're up. But, as Enron's chief financial officer marched off to 10 years in prison this week, many agree that all is not well in the corporate world. Is it a question of "bad apples," or is the tree rotten? [More]

The Da Vinci Code (Garber review) *****
Sure, Tom Hanks is pretty much a "sure thing" in any new movie, and you can usually count on Ron Howard to deliver the goods, too, but with all the controversy surrounding the release of the movie, I admit I exhaled a sign of relief that it lived up to my expectations. [More]

The Day After Tomorrow (Groen review) ***
Freud would have a field day with Roland Emmerich. Born in Germany yet beloved in Tinseltown, Emmerich is a director who earns a fat living making big movies that trash American monuments to the sheer delight of American audiences. In the vapid Independence Day, he blew up the White House. In the god-awful Godzilla, he razed the Chrysler Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and Madison Square Garden. Now, in The Day After Tomorrow, he shreds the Hollywood sign, buries the Statue of Liberty up to her celebrated torch, and then gets seriously cold-hearted — turning everything above the Mason-Dixon line into one massive popsicle. Hmm, ponder the subtext only if you dare. [More]

The Dreamers: Bertolucci's ménage à blah (Groen review) *
Paris, May, 1968 -- sex is in the air, violence is in the streets, the revolution is on. But don't ever mistake the setting for the mood. [More]

The Fog of War: Older, but is he any wiser? (Lacey Review) *
Forever linked to the Vietnam War, Robert McNamara retouches his past in a gripping character study by filmmaker Errol Morris. [More]

The Girl Next Door: Risqué, but also risk-free business ***
The mainstream prominence of pornography gets a shove forward with the teen comedy, The Girl Next Door, an improbably-not-terrible teen sex comedy. [More]

The Globe's Best Surprise of 2003 *
This delightful feature-length animation was a hit with grown-ups and kids alike. [More]

The Housekeeper: The middle-aged follies (Lacey review) *
A hugely messy Paris apartment, clothes and bottles and plates strewn here and there, a flat-screen television where a tiny man silently plays the piano. The camera turns to see a middle-aged man, lying shoes-and-all on his sofa, suddenly waking up. He drags himself to his bedroom, hugs his pillow and falls asleep again. [More]

The Incredibles (Garber review) *****
From the Academy Award-winning creators of Toy Story, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, comes this hilarious, action-packed animated adventure about superheroes forced to try to blend in as "normal folks." [More]

The Ladykillers (Groen review) *** 1/2
The Coens' direction does take a gorgeous first step. Their opening sequence is a weird and wonderful prelude to a recurring joke, but the sights go downhill from there. [More]

The Last Samurai: Pacific Cruise (Lacey review) *** 1/2
This western has travelled so far west it has become an eastern -- and a vehicle that takes a U.S. Civil War hero to Japan to find his inner samurai. [More]

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: It's the Lost Late Show Outtakes of the Fifties! (Lacey review) ** 1/2
The movie is the blockbuster antithesis, a celebration of vintage fifties and early sixties sci-fi schlock at its most pointless, although "celebration" is a bit too enthusiastic -- recapitulation would be more accurate. [More]

The Matador (Waldman Film Review) ****
Smooth as silk. Stirred but never shaken. Phrases like these sum up the persona of Pierce Brosnan. After being unceremoniously dumped by the James Bond producers, the man many consider the real heir to Sean Connery's coveted throne rebounds nicely in The Matador, a dynamic and hip tale of troubles galore. [More]

The Matrix Revolutions: The Matrix short-circuits (Lacey review) ** 1/2
The once-interesting concept has turned into a tired franchise where even the computer-generated heroics feel hackneyed. [More]

The Missing: Lost on the range ** 1/2
Looking for a film to match John Ford's vision? Keep searching, as Ron Howard misses the mark with this supernatural western. [More]

The Perfect Score: A perfect waste of your time **
Oh, it's perfect all right. In fact, The Perfect Score is a flawless example of the classic January movie release -- the kind of studio picture that even the studio loathes, and so consigns to the dumping ground of the year's frosty first month. [More]

The Polar Express (Garber backgrounder) *****
The Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump," "Cast Away") reunite for The Polar Express, an inspiring adventure based on the beloved illustrated children's book by Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji). [More]

The Prince & Me (Groen review) **
Royal meets rural: a stale tale. [More]

The Punisher: Characters aren't alone in getting punished here (Cole review) * 1/2
"Go with God," a sympathetic rescuer advises FBI special agent Frank Castle after hauling him in from the sea. Frank could use some help steering. He just took two in the chest from a gang of assassins. [More]

The reel alternatives *
LIAM LACEY ventures to the flip side of Hollywood, where films from Canada and abroad beckon. [More]

The Singing Detective: Potter's magic too great for big screen (Groen review) ***
When it first aired back in the eighties, The Singing Detective became an instant landmark in long-form television, proving what could be accomplished when the medium's generous expanse of running time got harnessed to a singular (and single) creative talent -- in this case, Britain's Dennis Potter. [More]

The Snow Walker (Groen review) ****
Love story is worth gnawing on. [More]

The Stepford Wives: Even the satire seems fake (Lacey review) * 1/2
There goes the neighbourhood -- the 2004 remake of a mid-seventies cult classic, The Stepford Wives, comes across as a vapid clone, just like its female characters. [More]

The Terminal: This turkey just doesn't fly (Groen review) **
Not even the golden touch of Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg can clear the lame script and static visuals for takeoff. [More]

THE TOP 15: Groen and Lacey pick their 'pretty goods' *
They don't like the term 'best' -- so here are their 'pretty goods.' [More]

The Triplets of Belleville (Groen review) **** 1/2
Every good movie isn't necessarily hard to describe, but every movie that's hard to describe is necessarily good. I'm talking about films so wedded to their medium, so tightly a fusion of sight and sound, that they dodge the explanatory lasso of mere words. Being John Malkovich is a fairly recent example — even its plot has to be seen to be appreciated. Now add The Triplets of Belleville to that short list. And did I mention it's a cartoon? [More]

The trouble with Harry (Groen review) ***
The hero's getting older -- his hormones kick in with this third instalment -- but the Potter franchise isn't getting better. In fact, despite a new director, this is a case of diminishing returns. [More]

The Whole Ten Yards (Cole review) ** 1/2
Should have quit while ahead by nine. [More]

There are no gods in Troy *
It seems there was no room for them in the Hollywood adaptation of the Greek classic, writes LIAM LACEY. Even Brad Pitt, who plays Achilles, admits he was a tad overwhelmed by Homer's Iliad. [More]

Tibet: Cry of The Snow Lion (Lacey review) ****
Cry, the beloved kingdom... [More]

Timeline: Where are Monty Python when you need them? ** 1/2
The 13th century, in case you hadn't noticed, rocks. First there was cute Heath Ledger, breaking bread with Chaucer in A Knight's Tale; then there was Martin Lawrence as Sir Jamal in Black Knight, teaching a 13th-century court how to shake their medieval booties. [More]

Tom Hanks Drives The Polar Express *
Tom Hanks talks about his animated holiday film, The Polar Express. . . [More]

Toronto International Film Festival: The best . . . and the rest *
MINI REVIEWS: The following assessments of major films at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival, rated on a system of 0 to 4 stars, are by Rick Groen (R.G.), Liam Lacey (L.L.), Ray Conlogue (R.C.), James Adams (J.A.) and Mark Peranson (M.P.) [More]

Toronto twist to Dickens keeps it down and dirty (Groen review) ***
Twist is a contemporary retelling of the Dickens classic -- Oliver Twist, of course -- that squeezes from the book most of the humour and all of the hope and anything resembling a happy ending. [More]

Touching the Void: Out of touch, out of time ****
Interviews and dramatic scenes recount a legendary climb in the Andes that became a harrowing struggle to survive. [More]

Twisted (Groen review) ** 1/2
Done in by a thin script... [More]

Two Canadian films win awards at Sundance *
The high-tech thriller Primer, about two get-rich-quick inventors whose time-travel device complicates their lives, won the top dramatic honour at the Sundance Film Festival. [More]

Two veterans take the top film-festival honours *
Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions and Zatoichi by Japan's Takeshi Kitano are voted the most popular movies as the curtain closes in Toronto [More]

Under the Tuscan Sun: Reno' romance a fixer-upper ***
The golden landscapes of Tuscany are the background in Under the Tuscan Sun, an improbable reworking of Frances Mayes's best-selling non-fiction book about a woman's midlife romantic awakening fantasy. [More]

War of the Worlds (Keyes review) ** 1/2
Cruise stars as Ray Ferrier, a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband drop off his teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (Dakota Fanning) for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down. John Keyes advises: Wait for the DVD. [More]

Waving a red flag *
Documentaries have created the biggest buzz at Sundance, SIMON HOUPT writes. [More]

Welcome to Mooseport: Does anybody love Romano's Mooseport? ** 1/2
Everybody loved Ray, but this flick needs a better script. [More]

Win a date with Tad Hamilton (Lacey review) *** 1/2
Sweet but clumsy, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton is a youth film with an appealing cast and not much idea what to do with it. [More]

Wordplay (Keyes review) ****
The editor of the NYT puzzles since 1993 has been a genial cryptologist named Will Shortz, whose avowed mission is to "stretch people's brains and bring joy to their lives." John Keyes gives this new movie four stars. [More]

You Got Served: Dance frenzy bookends dour drama *
There ain't much to You Got Served, but at least this teensploitation flick is bookended by two frenzied sequences that fully exploit the visual potential of street dancing. [More]

Zellweger shines with golden glow *
Canadian composer Howard Shore was among the big winners at last night's Golden Globe Awards. The Toronto-born composer was recipient of best original score for his work on the third instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. [More]

Secondary Sites:
* Deja Vu (Déjà Vu -- Garber review) *****
Gripping, entertaining and a real work-out for your brain, this new release delivers on all counts. Five stars. [More]

* Globe & Mail Movie Look-up *

* New Movies this week *
[More]

*A Mighty Wind (Garber review) ****
A Mighty Wind targets the true losers in the Folk Music Scene: the pompous and self-righteous folk impresarios and so-called artistic directors. [More]

*About Schmidt (Keyes review) **** 1/2
Nicholson plays an old fart, an insurance executive forced to confront real life after retiring from a hermetically sealed career atop an office tower in Omaha, Neb. [More]

*Adaptation (Keyes review) **** 1/2
The sooner you see Adaptation, the more you talk it up with your friends, the more DVDs it sells, the greater the chance that the movie industry's notoriously unimaginative, dumbed-down executives will summon the courage to green-light other innovative, risky material. [More]

*Anger Management (Keyes review) ***
Adam Sandler specializes in telling offbeat stories about lovable schlemiels who win in the end, and like Mike Myers (and unlike Jim Carrey), he doesn't seem to have anything against cranking out mass-market comedies one after another. [More]

*Basic (Keyes review) ***
The Hollywood Dream Factory continues to crank out action films predicated on the idea that America's security and military systems are rife with traitors or psychotics... [More]

*Bulletproof Monk: Confucian homilies, logic-proof plot **
In a plot so preposterous it could only have emerged from the underground comic world, Bulletproof Monk raises the philosophical question: If a butterfly flaps its wings in the mountains of Tibet, can it cause a raucous martial-arts movie to be shot in Canada? [More]

*City of God (Waldman review) *****
Look for Oscar gold from this Brazilian gem. [More]

*Confidence (Keyes review) ***
Somebody soon had better take the heist movie to a higher level, because with each new outing these days, the genre is starting to look as tame and formulaic as an episode of Friends. You know the episode -- the one in which Rachel, Joey, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Ross play back-stabbing grifters who steal from an evil narco-lawyer and then rip each other off. [More]

*Daredevil (Keyes review) ***
There is one excellent reason to go see this flick, and it is not Ben Affleck, who is merely adequate as Matt Murdoch, the superhero blinded as a young boy by biohazardous material. [More]

*Dark Blue (Garber review) ****
Okay, so for those of you who agree that Kurt Russell has -- shall we say -- underplayed his talents in far too many movies, keep reading, because this review is all about Russell really not holding back on this one. [More]

*Final Destination 2 (Keyes review) ***
"I have a really bad feeling that it's not over yet," says a terrified survivor after a narrow escape, and you just gotta know that a line like that is akin to asking to be killed. [More]

*Final Destination 2 (Waldman Review) ***
Shot in BC, Final Destination 2 is clean-cut fun out to please thrill seekers -- and succeeding beyond expectations! [More]

*Finding Nemo (Garber review) *****
Nemo is a charming little fellow -- a clown-fish with a minor "disability" -- and since he is the only surviving offspring of his proud daddy, Marlin, perhaps old dad is just a tad(pole) overly protective. [More]

*Frida (Waldman review) **** 1/2
Life in the Kahlo household seems the toast of the city. The father of the house, a distinguished German gentleman of Jewish extraction, seems to have a good life. [More]

*Gigli (Keyes review) *
What on earth did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck see when they cracked the script for Gigli -- each home alone -- away from their agents and handlers, reading from the stack of scripts that surely come their way? [More]

*Gods and Generals (Keyes review) **
Ted Turner could have saved himself and everyone else a lot of money if he had just bought every single living American a VHS set of the nine-episode 1990 documentary series by Ken Burns. [More]

*Hollywood Homicide (Garber review) ** 1/2
Just a few minutes into this movie, my companion whispered to me: "Is this a comedy?" "No…'action'," I whispered back. I should have reserved my judgement, as Hollywood Homicide turned out to favour Keystone Kops over Boys in Blue. [More]

*I Capture the Castle (Garber review) ****
I Capture the Castle is the kind of movie of which the easiest description might simply be "charming," but in fact, this film goes deeper than that. [More]

*India: Kingdom of the Tiger (Waldman review) *** 1/2
With India: Kingdom of the Tiger, a new movie from IMAX Films with an important message, both average filmgoers and those interested in environmental preservation may be startled to learn of the ongoing perilous plight of the revered Bengal tiger. [More]

*Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (Garber review) ** 1/2
One has to imagine that Angelina Jolie's life is not wholly different from that of fictional game-spawned character, Lady Lara Croft, in that nobody who's "normal" really lives with such opulence, fancy equipment, inflated breasts, violence and insurmountable (but ultimately achievable) tasks. At least not on a daily basis. [More]

*Laurel Canyon (Lacey review) ***
Rock 'n' roll mama, midlife model [More]

*Life of David Gale, The (Garber review) ** 1/2
A popular university prof devoted to the fight against capital punishment in Texas has been accused of murdering a fellow activist and is now on death row. If you love Kate Winslet, this film will disappoint you; if you love Kevin Spacey, you'll enjoy it. [More]

*Max (Waldman review) ****
Politics and art can make strange bedfellows. [More]

*National Security (Keyes review) **
Pretty much everything about this movie feels extemporized without a lot of faith that any one joke or sketch or scene is better than the one that preceded it. [More]

*Phone Booth (Keyes review) ***
In the entertainment food chain, the freelance publicist is a strange creature, at once pathetic and dangerous, a hypocritical, sycophantic hustler always looking for out for himself first, in the guise of taking care of his client. [More]

*Pinocchio (Waldman review) **
Disney's classic Pinocchio gets a timely update at the hands of madcap comedian Roberto Benigni. [More]

*Pirates of the Caribbean (Keyes review) ****
Of all the summer blockbusters, this is the most original, and for that reason alone it's the one most deserving of your hard-earned dollars. [More]

*Shanghai Knights (Keyes review) ***
Whatever ancient Chinese secret Jackie Chan has discovered to forestall the annual visitation of Father Time, he should bottle it and sell it on eBay. [More]

*The Burial Society (Garber review) *** 1/2
The central pivot around which the plot turns is a sacred, unapproachable group of aged men, known in Jewish communities as the Chevra Kadisha -- "The Burial Society." [More]

*The Core (Garber review) *** 1/2
Professor of Geophysics Dr. Josh Keyes (Eckhart) discovers that an unknown force has caused the Earth's inner core to stop rotating. With the planet's magnetic field rapidly deteriorating, our atmosphere literally starts to come apart at the seams with catastrophic consequences. To resolve the crisis, Keyes, along with a team of the world's most gifted scientists, travel into the Earth's core in a subterranean craft piloted by "terranauts," Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Swank) and Colonel Robert Iverson (Greenwood). Their mission: Detonate a device that will reactivate the core. Go for the fun. Just don't go deep. [More]

*The Legend Of Suriyothai (Miller review) ****
A story of intrigue, romance and war set in a dramatic period of Thailand's history, "The Legend of Suriyothai" is based on actual events in 16th century Thailand. [More]

*The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Anthony review) *** 1/2
Critic Ross Anthony likes The Two Towers, but has reservations... [More]

*The Wild Thornberrys Movie (Waldman review) ***
Dr. Dolittle lives! Or make that Ms. Dolittle. For in the deep jungles of modern Africa lives the Thornberry family. Parents Marianne and Nigel are British filmmakers out to do some exploration of the region's wildlife. [More]

*View from the Top (Keyes review) **
If the trailers on TV are anything to go by, this odd Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle is being marketed as a laugh-out-loud comedy, so if we judge it by the intentions of its producers, View from the Top is a flop. [More]

*Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Garber review) *****
We had the remarkable experience of viewing the film in its English-language form, while in Paris, and we thought sadly that many of the visual and language puns would, in fact, be lost on our fellow audience members. . . [More]

*Willard (Garber review) ** 1/2
One thing that can be said unequivocally is that if you are a horror genre film lover -- or if you were a big fan of the original movie -- you'll feel you got your money's worth. But if you're going for a big thrilling, suspense movie, you'll be shifting in your seat. [More]

13 Going on 30: Garner grows in Big role (Lacey review) ****
A child in an adult body is a familiar premise, but director Gary Winick and his leading lady keep the pace brisk and make an old formula appear fresh... [More]

2003-2004 Film Awards *
[More]

2004 was a Banner Year At Box Office *
Box office receipts soared to a new record in 2004, although the actual number of moviegoers declined for a second year in a row. [More]

2004-2005 Film Awards *
5th Annual Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards (awarded in 2005) [More]

2006 Hollywood Book Festival - Call for Entries *
The 2006 Hollywood Book Festival has issued a call for entries to its annual program celebrating books that deserve greater recognition from the film, television, game and multimedia communities. [More]

2008 Oscar winners -- a few surprises . . . *
No Country for Old Men lived up to its front-runner status at Sunday's Academy Awards, winning the first two of its eight categories, adapted screenplay for the Coen brothers and supporting actor for Javier Bardem. [More]

21 Grams: Fated for greatness **** 1/2
Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's first English feature is one of the year's most original and best-acted films. [More]

50 First Dates *
Is there anyone out there under the delusion that Adam Sandler's movies are supposed to be the epitome of taste? Good — that relieves us all of risking saddle burn by jumping on a high horse about his latest opus, 50 First Dates. [More]

A Mighty Wind: Anatomy of the folkie ****
A comic ensemble's sendup of the three-part harmony subculture offers a feast of superbly nuanced performances [More]

A portrait of two Tupacs *** 1/2
Since his gunshot murder in 1996, rap star Tupac Shakur's reputation has grown exponentially: The result is a half-dozen best-selling albums, several documentaries and books. [More]

About Schmidt (synopsis only) *
OPENS January 3, 2003 -- A recently retired man realizes that everything that he has come to expect from life is fading away, including his relationship with his daughter. [More]

Against the Ropes: A one-way ticket to palookaville ** 1/2
Inspired by the gutsy life of taboo-smashing female boxing manager Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan), Against the Ropes wobbles like a punch-drunk fighter. [More]

Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London: Cancel that mission (Lacey review) * 1/2
Routine junior spy movie, in the line of Spy Kids, the first Agent Cody Banks and Catch that Kid. [More]

Alien Vs. Predator: Ugly gooey creatures in a no-win situation (Lacey review) ** 1/2
Yes, it's another great battle of the franchises (Jason Vs. Freddie, Pepsi Vs. Coke, FedEx Vs. Purolator), as Aliens and Predators have a showdown deep beneath the Antarctic ice. . . [More]

American Splendor: Hey, big Splendor (Lacey review) *****
Success began to get in the way of comic-book writer Harvey Pekar's determined misery. Now the former file clerk faces more anguish in the form of a terrific movie about his life [More]

Anchorman: Anchorless, even with Ferrell (Cole review) ***
In the now obligatory-for-comedies, post-credit outtakes, Anchorman's co-writer and star, Will Ferrell can be heard trying out expressions of alarm. [More]

Anything Else: That Woody's a case ** 1/2
The decline and fall of Woody Allen continues apace. Sadly apt in title, last year's Hollywood Ending seemed a nadir at the time. Up to that point, the erosion in his work had been obvious but not abject, thanks to the single skill that never deserted him -- his old pro's knack of cranking out a well-structured, three-act, safe-as-taxes comedy. [More]

Bad Bays II: Bad boys bolstering Bush? ***
Let's begin with the obvious and leave the disturbing news for later. Bad Boys II, wherein Will Smith and Martin Lawrence re-dance their buddy cop routine, is a B-movie in the most literal sense: You got your Bad, you got your Boys, you got your Bullets, you got your Banter. [More]

Barbarian Invasions: A welcome invasion ****
Denys Arcand's latest movie has a lusty energy that represents a return to form for the Quebec director. [More]

Barbershop 2: Back in Business (Lacey review) ***
As the title suggests, Barbershop 2: Back in Business isn't about to mess with a successful formula. [More]

Battle over movie screeners hits court *
The battle over screeners used to promote movies during award season reached the courts yesterday as representatives from the independent film community accused the major Hollywood studios of engaging in illegal anti-competitive behaviour by restricting the indies' ability to market their films. [More]

BCMPA Ratings *
BCMPA rates the movies . . . [More]

Beyond Borders: A good cause for disbelief (Lacey Review) ** 1/2
Similar in spirit to sweeping political thrillers such as Régis Wargnier's Indochine, or John Boorman's Beyond Rangoon, Beyond Borders offers a mix of humanitarian crises and romantic escapism that might better have been titled Beyond Belief. [More]

Big Fish: A whopper lacking splash (Lacey review) *
Director Tim Burton's signature visual style is in evidence, but not his riotous energy, which we could use if we're going to sit still for these tall tales. [More]

Blue Butterfly (Cole review) ***
Sometimes, the truth is not this pretty... [More]

Bon Voyage: Successful voyage, not worth taking (Groen review) ** 1/2
France, June, 1940. The Germans have marched to Paris, leaving the French government plus half the city to flee south to Bordeaux, where chaos swirls and confusion reigns. Hey, what better setting for a farcical comedy of mixed-up manners. Welcome, if you dare, to the wacky war that is Bon Voyage. [More]

Broken Wings *** 1/2
In the opening scenes of Broken Wings, 17-year-old Maya and her rock band are waiting in the wings to perform in a competition at a local club. The young singer-songwriter's chance to win a recording contract, or a least advance her budding career, is lost when her mother, apologetically, calls to say she has to work the night shift at the hospital and can't find a sitter. [More]

Cabin Fever (Groen review) ***
Good, honest, clean terror free of irony [More]

Capturing the Friedmans *
The harrowing nightmare of a "typical" family's private unravelling is at the centre of Andrew Jarecki's disturbing, yet undeniably fascinating documentary feature Capturing the Friedmans, which has received considerable media attention in the United States since winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival this year. [More]

Carandiru: Babenco sets 'em up only to shoot 'em down (Lacey review) ***
Loosely based on Dr. Drauzio Varella's experiences inside Sao Paulo's Carandiru penitentiary, the film is by director Hector Babenco, who returns to the world of the Brazilian criminal underclass that he visited in his first, most famous film, Pixote, and again in Kiss of the Spider Woman. [More]

Catch that kid (Groen review) ** 1/2
Sorry, but beyond the manicured geometry of the baseball diamond, batting one for three just doesn't cut it. In Catch That Kid, the children are engaging yet the script and direction are not, which leaves the thing to get all bogged down in its own derivative mechanics. [More]

Cellular: Hold the phone (Groen review) *
In fact, first in Phone Booth, and now again in Cellular, Hollywood looks to be slouching toward the installation of a brand-new genre -- the telecommunications thriller. Nice idea but, on the evidence to date, the installers are falling down on the job. . . [More]

Chasing Liberty: Daughter fodder wasted ** 1/2
Chasing Liberty ain't what it seems... [More]

Club Dread (Groen review) ** 1/2
Only a good murder can stop the dread... [More]

Cold Creek Manor: Script vies with old mansion in the creakiness stakes **
The most disturbing aspect of Cold Creek Manor -- a predictable, disjointed Cape Fear knockoff -- is that a script this disjointed and unoriginal could actually get the Hollywood green light. [More]

Cold Mountain: Love in the time of choler (Groen review) ****
Director Anthony Minghella's strong effort pales, if slightly, against the novel... [More]

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen: It's a Sin to waste your time (Groen review) *
Confessions Prompted by Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, a.k.a. A Long Night at a Short Movie...
Editor's note: This movie is so unimportant in the grand scheme of things, that the Globe didn't waste newspaper space on it, deciding to only run the review on its website! [More]

Connie and Carla: Alas, some like it familiar (Lacey review) ** 1/2
Big heart but big cheese. That was the trade-off with Nia Vardalos's megahit romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, in which audiences found the warmth and ingenuousness of Vardalos's ethnic Cinderella story was enough to get past the sitcom writing and high-pitched performances... [More]

Cowboy Bebop (Garber review) (AKA Tengoku no tobira) ****
Set on Mars in the year 2071, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is based on the much-loved animated television series by Japanese director Shinichiro Watanabe. [More]

Crazy8s film competition 2005 announced *
Starting next Thursday -- with the equivalent of $50,000 of support services from the Film Industry -- would-be filmmakers have eight days to create a professional short film that can cement, or sink, their creative aspirations. [More]

Darkness Falls (Garber review) *
...STUMBLES and falls, that is. YUK! [More]

Dawn of the Dead (Groen review) ** 1/2
Dead never comes to life... [More]

Demon Seed: Birth (Waldman review) **
Marriage can be a tricky affair. Look at the recent divorce rate statistics to confirm that I-do’s don’t necessarily last forever. . . [More]

Dirty Pretty Things: Inner demons, outer torments (Lacey review) ****
Contrary to the theory that a good director is one who leaves an indelible stylistic stamp, England's Stephen Frears often seems to make a virtue out of no style. His one famed eccentricity is that he's the writer's friend, and in adaptations as varied as The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons and High Fidelity, he's the sincere craftsman who lets the characters and story come alive while he hides behind his work. [More]

Distant (Lacey review) **** 1/2
Distant, set in contemporary Istanbul, is a doleful Turkish masterpiece which won major awards at Cannes (Grand Prize and a shared best-acting award for its stars) and is glum to the bone. [More]

Dogville: Daring film puts viewers to the test (Lacey review) *****
Is Lars von Trier's new film, Dogville: A, a masterpiece? B, a childish anti-American insult? C, as long and grey as a Scandinavian winter? [More]

Duplex: It's murder, alright! ** 1/2
Danny Devito's new comedy Duplex follows a yuppie New York couple (Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore) as they plot the murder of the old Irish lady who lives in the upper apartment of the duplex they've just bought. Why murder? [More]

Elephant: An unforgettable Elephant (Groen review) **** 1/2
Gus Van Sant's mesmerizing film captures the frustration we feel trying to understand all the tragic Columbines. [More]

Ella Enchanted: Princess aims to please (Lacey review) ***
No doubt Anne hath a way. The radiant 21-year-old actress Anne Hathaway, a namesake of Mrs. William Shakespeare, is a gawky beauty with oversized eyes who evokes both the demureness of Audrey Hepburn and brass of Julia Roberts. [More]

Fahrenheit 9/11: Art steps aside for politics (Groen review) ***
Filmmaking plays second fiddle to rabble-rousing in Moore's hotly anticipated movie. [More]

Father and Sons (Conlogue review) *** 1/2
In the film-Noiret comic genre... [More]

Festival Express: All aboard the new rockumentary classic (Lacey review) *** 1/2
Pulled out of archives, garages and more than 30 years of legal limbo, about 70 hours of film have been carefully assembled into what amounts to a new rockumentary classic, Festival Express. [More]

Film critics honour their favourites *
The final instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy claimed best picture and best director honours at the Critics' Choice Awards, while Mystic River star Sean Penn was named best actor and Charlize Theron took the best actress honour as a serial killer in Monster [More]

FREDDY VS. JASON: Too much chat, not enough chill **
This face-off was an inevitable exercise in marketing synergy, but it's also part of a B-movie tradition stretching back decades [More]

Gadgets that made the grade *
Ian Johnson's top picks of the best gadgets of 2003. [More]

Gangs of New York (Garber review) *****
Gritty, violent, realistic and spellbinding, Gangs of New York gets a rare five stars! [More]

Gigli: A hit taken out on the audience *
This summer, the celebrity magazine and TV entertainment shows have produced a purgatorial monotony of data on the canoodlings of movie stars, all of whom happen to be promoting new films. A half-century after the end of the studio system and its publicity manipulations, the use of celebrities' sex lives, real or invented, to sell tickets, is brazenly back in style. [More]

Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed: These wolves won't blow the house down *
Sequel to the Canadian horror film isn't quite in the same witty feminist mould. [More]

Girl with a Pearl Earring: She's a pearl; so is the picture ****
Scarlett Johansson so embodies the period of this cinematic portrait that she looks like she stepped out of a Vermeer frame. [More]

HBO dramas top awards list *
HBO's Sex and the City and Six Feet Under each collected three nominations from the Directors Guild of America on Tuesday. [More]

Heart breaker or fortune-maker? Alfie (Waldman review) ***
Okay -- so here's one guy who actually liked the remake of Alfie! [More]

Hollywood box office boasts first-ever $4-billion summer *
Bad weather? Hot movies? Free air-conditioning? Whatever the reason for this summer's success, Hollywood distribution moguls are no longer wringing their hands over box office receipts. [More]

Holy box office, Batman! *
Director Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, broke box office records on its opening weekend with $155.34 million, beating Spider-Man 3 by $4 million. [More]

Home on the Range (Lacey review) ***
The best part about Home on the Range, the short (76-minute) and formulaic new Disney animated feature about a trio of cows who save their farm, is the singing of two songs by Alan Menken ( Beauty and the Beast). [More]

House of Sand and Fog (Lacey review) *
In a year of movies about dubious real-estate deals (Duplex, Cold Creek Manor, Under The Tuscan Sun) and bleak tales about tragic vigilantism (Mystic River, 21 Grams), House of Sand and Fog falls on both lists. [More]

House of Sand and Fog and Oscar? *
Director Vadim Perelman's moving and star-studded first feature, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Andre Dubus III, has the look -- and buzz -- of a winner. [More]

How Falling Angels took flight ****
The wind beneath this movie's wings was provided, in part, by a young director who fell in love with Barbara Gowdy's book, LIAM LACEY writes. [More]

Human Stain: Ladies play it down (Groen review) ** 1/2
NICOLE KIDMAN as trailer trash is difficult to fathom. It's one reason why this Stain just doesn't come out in the wash. [More]

I'm Not Scared (Groen review) ***
Horror goes downhill... [More]

In America: Magic beyond the blarney **** 1/2
Back in Ireland, they were a loving family of five, but Frankie died before his third birthday, and his death drove them away -- first to Canada, then across the border and now, in this opening scene, into the murk of the Lincoln Tunnel. [More]

In the Cut: Ladies play it down (Lacey Review) ** 1/2
MEG RYAN gets involved with a cop who may be a killer in director Jane Campion's hack job on a best-selling erotic novel. [More]

In This World (Groen review) ***
A disorienting odyssey with the dispossessed... [More]

Jeepers Creepers: In a flap over the boys **
The surprise box-office success of Freddy Vs. Jason this summer will undoubtedly influence the nature of cheese-ball horror sequels for years to come. Genre fans are salivating at the possibility of all kinds of celebrity death matches: Wishmaster vs. Candyman, Leprechaun vs. Chucky, maybe even a Children of the Corn vs. Village of the Damned battle royal. [More]

Jewison one of six G-G's award winners *
Douglas Campbell, Ian Tyson also to receive prize... [More]

John T.D. Keyes' 2002 Top Ten Movies *
John Keyes presents his Top 10 movies of 2002. [More]

Kart Racer: Formula 1 movie making ** 1/2
Kart Racer is a go-kart movie custom-built for preteen consumption. [More]

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (Cole review) ** 1/2
Last time we saw Lara Croft she was skiing on skidding feet, hands tight on the reins of a dogteam pulling her from an exploding cave. Moments earlier she'd reduced a Vishnu monster to a fine rain of dust and saved the free world from the Illuminati by joining together severed halves of an ancient triangle at a moment of planetary alignment that comes every 5,000 years. [More]

Le Divorce: Overwrought and over there (Lacey review) ** 1/2
With two appealing young stars, Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson, a best-selling book as its source material and its Paris setting, you'd think Le Divorce would at least be fresh and sprightly. [More]

Mambo 101 for filmmakers *
Just going for the ethnic laughs won't replicate the success of a Canadian hit like Mambo Italiano, LIAM LACEY writes. You need an authentically personal story, and a lead actor who can keep it real [More]

Mambo Italiano: My big gay Italian coming-out ***
Latest ethnic comedy hits in spots but ultimately misses the mark [More]

Matchstick Men (Groen review) ** 1/2
Matchstick Men is a movie about con artists that turns out to be a con job, and guess who's getting played for a sucker? Of course, like any grifter after our money, this one appears legit on the sunny surface of things, duping us with some impressive-looking credentials. Behind the camera, there's Ridley Scott -- sorry, Sir Ridley these days -- whose be-knighted career stretches from Alien and Blade Runner through Thelma & Louise straight on to Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. [More]

Medallion: Chan missing in action (Groen review) **
The actor's acrobatic gifts play second fiddle to computerized special effects [More]

Minor League effort: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen **
Shouldn't filching a whole team of superheroes and setting them loose to fight a megavillain be more fun than this? [More]

Monster: Theron fills out a killer role ****
The hype around the film Monster is justified by the performance of Charlize Theron: The silky golden South African beauty of Cider House Rules and The Devil's Advocate plays the real-life Florida highway prostitute and convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos. [More]

Motion Picture Association of America Movie Ratings *
Movie ratings from the MPAA [More]

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands: The good, the bad and the British ***
What a great comic idea: a Sergio Leone western, complete with shivery harmonica riffs and robbery-revenge subplots, transplanted to muddle-class, suburban England. Only instead of panoramic takes of craggy bluffs and ecstatic shootouts, we get wide-angle shots of identical row houses and Friday-night bingo. ("Chips and curry on a plate -- 38!") [More]

Open Range: Costner right at home on the range (Lacey review) ***
Kevin Costner's new movie, Open Range, is a classically styled Western, perhaps the only one of its kind in this centenary year of Hollywood's historically most popular genre. [More]

Osama (Lacey review) ****
Want to go see a film called Osama about cruelty and child abuse under the Taliban? Obviously, this is no easy sell, but give writer-director Siddiq Barmak full credit for portraying his country's social catastrophe with restraint, concision and some real beauty. [More]

Owning Malowny: Crime, Canadian style ****
A new movie about a gambling-obsessed banker who embezzled millions portrays Canada with unusual realism: Even the cops say please, RAY CONLOGUE writes [More]

Party Monster (Lacey review) ** 1/2
"Do you think we're superficial?" asks Macaulay Culkin, who, in his first film role since Richie Rich (1994) plays the real-life nightclub promoter and convicted killer Michael Alig, the title character of Party Monster. [More]

Paycheck (Lacey review) ***
Liam Lacey gives this new Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman vehicle its Pink Slip. [More]

Peter Pan: Hormones flying across the sky *
The first live-action film in the sound era of Peter Pan is lush, loud and sparkling, and not nearly as innocent as you might imagine. [More]

Phone Booth (Anthony review) ** 1/2
A phone call can change your life, but for one man it can also end it. Set entirely within and around the confines of a New York City phone booth, Phone Booth follows a slick media consultant (Farrell) who is trapped after being told by a caller -- a serial killer with a sniper rifle -- that he'll be shot dead if he hangs up. [More]

Phone Booth (Schneller backgrounder) ***
How many directors can you fit in a Phone Booth? [More]

Pieces of April: A tart and tender treat (Cole review) **** 1/2
The trouble with sentimental movies is they're usually made by confirmed saps. Oh that more filmmakers didn't observe the pastry chef's fundamental rule -- meringue works best with lemon filling. [More]

Radio (Groen review) ***
Yet another memo from the Department of Faint Praise: Radio isn't nearly as mawkish as its sappy trailer would suggest. [More]

Saved: A teen comedy with God on its side (Lacey review) *** 1/2
Long we have prayed that Saved!, the religious comedy that was a Sundance hit in January, might serve as a cheeky corrective to the sanguinary excesses of The Passion of the Christ, a reminder that you needn't burn in hell for having a sense of humour. [More]

School of Rock: Rock 'n' roll 'n' recess ****
Nutty professor Jack Black shakes up the school and steals the show in a likable tour de farce. [More]

Scooby-doo-doo, we're warning you **
The first movie wasn't that funny. Scooby-Dooby Doo -- can it really be true? Are you just in it for the money? [More]

Seabiscuit: A canter to the box office (Lacey review) *** 1/2
The movie, with its careful agenda of American rehabilitation, isn't the champion the real Seabiscuit was. But it's a good ride [More]

Secret Window (Groen review) *** 1/2
The pirate's a poet: Depp gets deep... [More]

Seducing Doctor Lewis (Groen review) *** 1/2
Just what the doctor ordered... [More]

Shattered Glass: All the facts that fit the film ***
In telling the true tale of a journalistic fraud, Shattered Glass is convinced it's doing God's work. And if His work is only in the details, then the job looks pretty well done. However... [More]

Shrek 2: Monstrously entertaining (Groen review) **** 1/2
The ogre rules again in a sequel that pitches its split-level humour perfectly to both kids and adults. [More]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Christopher Johnson review) *** 1/2
If Style Over Substance is your idea of entertainment, then Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is certainly for you. . . [More]

Something's Gotta Give: Jack's not so nimble any more ** 1/2
He's a playboy, she's a playwright. He's sixtysomething, and dating beauties less than half his age. She's fiftysomething, and not dating at all. He's Jack Nicholson, who once upon a time was an Easy Rider. She's Diane Keaton, who long ago was Annie Hall. [More]

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (Lacey review) ** 1/2
As opposed to the cobwebbed medievalism of the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings franchises, indie film hero Robert Rodriguez's kids' movies, Spy Kids and Spy Kids 2, felt like they were made by a grownup kid. They were contemporary, technological with a colourful snap, inventiveness and humour, and the preachiness was limited to one topic (family matters). [More]

Star Wars Breaks Box-Office Records *
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith became the year's first movie blockbuster while setting some historic benchmarks, as it rode a record-breaking debut on Thursday to the biggest number ever for a four-day opening, $158.5 million. [More]

Starsky and Hutch (Lacey review) ***
TV redux: Cheeky & Klutz... [More]

Swimming Pool (Groen review) *** 1/2
It takes quite a bushel to hide the light of Charlotte Rampling, one of the screen's hugely intelligent beauties. Yet, early on in Swimming Pool, she dims her wattage remarkably, chiselling out a very specific portrait of the artist as an old maid. [More]

T3: wrong direction *** 1/2
In the 12 years since Terminator 2, even the hidebound universe of Hollywood has seen a few changes... [More]

Tell No One -- the book behind the French movie (and backgrounder on Harlan Coben) *
Coben's books are set in and around New York and New Jersey, and some of the supporting characters in two series of novels have appeared in both. He is clearly a sports fan -- and more importantly, a knowledgeable HOCKEY fan. Copious reference to real-life sports figures dot his books. FINALLY, his books are coming to filmdom. [More]

The Fighting Temptations: Gospel saves us from Temptations ***
The plot is a bottom-drawer Hollywood formula: a phony Manhattan ad exec must rescue hometown Georgian church gospel choir to save his character and pay his debtors. The star, Cuba Gooding Jr., is at his most camera-licking shameless. Those substantial reservations aside, The Fighting Temptations is still a lot more fun than you'd expect for an MTV-produced vehicle for pop diva Beyoncé Knowles. [More]

The Hulk (Groen review) ***
When a director of great talent takes on an artifact of comic book culture, something usually has to give. Sometimes, it's the artifact, which gets changed for the better — witness Tim Burton's work in the original Batman. Sometimes, it's the director, who gets put through the wringer — remember Robert Altman's struggles with Popeye. But in the strange case of Ang Lee versus The Hulk, the verdict isn't nearly as clear — hell, it's downright murky. [More]

The Magdalene Sisters: Sister act from hell (Lacey review) ****
Director Peter Mullan shows no mercy in this exposé of Ireland's church-run prisons for so-called wayward girls [More]

The Republic of Love: A quirky Valentine (Lacey review) *
What's to love about Deepa Mehta's story of winter romance? Well, there's charisma, chemistry and sweet fantasy. What's not so endearing is the broad comedy. [More]

The Rundown: Wonky Walken Moments and more ***
Connoisseurs of Christopher Walken, and there are some hard-core addicts lurking about, will have good reason to take in The Rundown -- they can add a few more riches to their treasure chest of Wonky Walken Moments. [More]

The Weather Underground: Days of rage revisited (Adams review) *
An absorbing documentary pulls few punches in look at Weather Underground. [More]

Thirteen (Lacey review) *** 1/2
At times, Thirteen is so real it feels like it should come with a warning. Then it stoops to shock and is a lesser film [More]

Tickled Pink to be here *
Canadian actress Daniela Saioni switches horses, but not in mid-stream. [More]

Two Weeks Notice (synopsis only) *
Two of the highest box office draws in the romance-comedy genre team up for the first time in "Two Weeks Notice," a holiday release about a lawyer and her rich client who annoy each other so much that they fall in love. Sound familiar? [More]

Underworld: Action movie goes for the jugular ** 1/2
Vamps, werewolves in neck-and-neck fight for civilization [More]

Uptown Girls: Shallow reaches a new low * 1/2
This lightweight flick tries to be both drama and comedy and fails dismally at both [More]

Vancouver Critics Salute Quebec Film *
The members of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle have named Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions) the Best Canadian Film of 2003. [More]

Walking Tall: Tall tale falls short of original * 1/2
The Rock may have an inch and a half on Joe Don Baker, but the updated remake of Walking Tall, The Rock's latest flick, does not measure up to the 1973 original, which starred Baker as a vigilante-turned-lawman cleaning up corruption in his Tennessee town by wielding a big wooden stick. [More]

You haven't seen the last of Spider-Man *
Spider-Man 3 made the biggest opening day debut ever in the history of film on Friday, grossing about 382 million dollars worldwide. [More]

Zap2It Movie showtimes *
Free showtime listings [More]