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THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Rosalinda Celentano, Sergio Rubini & Mattia Sbragia
Directed by: Mel Gibson

This film tells the story of the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus (Caviezel), on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. This film's script is based upon several sources, including the diaries of St. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) as collected in the book, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ", "The Mystical City of God" by St. Mary of Agreda, and the New Testament books of John, Luke, Mark and Matthew.

It begins in the Garden of Gethsemane, with Jesus praying for strength for what he is about to endure. He is arrested by the Jewish high priests, who see him as a dangerous blasphemer. After a contentious, preordained trial, they take him to the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, because they do not have the legal power to put him to death. Pilate tries to duck responsibility, sending Jesus to King Herod to be judged; having him scourged in an attempt to appease the priests; and finally letting the crowd choose who it would rather see die, Jesus or Barabbas. He sentences Jesus to be crucified, but there is still the long, painful walk to Golgotha and the crucifixion itself. Along the way, there are about a dozen brief flashbacks -- to Jesus preaching, the Last Supper, etc. -- which provide some context.

In a movie filled with nearly unwatchable torture and pain, the sequence that stands out is the scourging of Christ by sadistic Roman guards. The movie is so singular, so intense, so overwhelming that it simply has to be experienced. And nothing can prepare you for how brutal, how shocking, how awash in blood and pain Gibson has made his version of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

BELLY OF THE BEAST

Starring: Steven Seagal, Byron Mann, Monica Lo, Tom Wu, Vincent Riotta, Chau Siu Tung, Kevork Malikyan & Russell Wong
Director: Siu-Tung Ching

Soon-to-retire CIA agent Jake Hopper (Steven Seagal) is on vacation in Thailand when his daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless terrorist group led by General Jantapan (Tom Wu). The CIA launches their own operative to retrieve her safely, but unorthodox Hopper feels the need to take the matter into his own hands. Byron Mann plays Sunti, Hopper's ex-CIA partner who became a monk 10 years ago after he accidentally shot a woman during a gunfight. After Hopper tells Sunti the story, he voluntarily leaves his Buddhist Monastery to help Hopper. Seagal's love interest is played by Monica Lo (Lulu), she falls madly in love with Seagal after he beats the guys chasing her in a club.

Director Tony Ching ("Naked Weapon") choreographs the action scenes well enough. Byron Mann is a pretty good martial artist and a fair actor. In comparison to Seagal's recent works, it is a passable entertainment.

CAME ALONG POLLY

Starring: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Hank Azaria
Directed by: John Hamburg

Ben Stiller plays risk-averse Reuben Feffer, whose best-laid plans for life and love careen wildly go off track when his bride willowy real-estate agent Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing) dumps him on their honeymoon for a muscle-bound scuba instructor named Claude (Hank Azaria). He is an insurance company's risk-assessment expert who lives on the conservative side. Stunned, humiliated and in the grip of acute indigestion, Reuben plans to play it safer than ever. But a chance encounter with an adventure-craving, childhood friend and old classmate named Polly (Jennifer Aniston) who'd been traveling for years before re-emerging as a caterer, shoots him into a whirlwind of extreme sports, spicy foods, ferrets, salsa dancing and living in the moment. Can Polly teach Reuben to lighten up? Can Reuben plan a stable future with this on-the-move bohemian? Will Lisa come back? See the movie to find out more.

COLD MOUNTAIN

Starring: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Renée Zellweger, Ray Winstone, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brendan Gleeson, Giovanni Ribisi & Donald Sutherland
Director: Anthony Minghella

Anthony Minghella’s ‘Cold Mountain’ is a rapturous, unusual romantic adventure, detailing mostly unexplored sides to the Civil War and female companionship. Populated with miles of stunt casting, along with two seamless lead performances, the film’s fate is truly sealed by Renee Zellweger, who commits grand theft movie, and pushes ‘Mountain’ into becoming one of the best pictures of the year.

On the eve of the Civil War, a young labourer named Inman (Jude Law) has developed an attraction for Ada (Nicole Kidman), the new lady in town. Unable to express himself, Inman finds it difficult to reveal his feelings for Ada, which she eagerly returns with similar shyness. When the war comes to Cold Mountain, their peaceful North Carolina town, Inman enlists in the fight, leaving behind Ada just as they were about to embark on a passionate romance. Over the next 4 years, Ada sends Inman letters of love and hope, even as her own life is falling apart. Inman decides to desert the Confederacy and return home. Along the way, he meets a host of characters that alternately help and hinder his progress. Back in Cold Mountain, Ruby Thewes (Renee Zellweger), a drifter and skilled farmhand, comes to the town to help Ada tend to the land, as well as protecting her from lawmen who look to claim the nearly deserted town for their own.

“Cold Mountain” comes from the best selling book by Charles Frazier, who captivated a nation of readers with his account of long lost love, companionship, and redemption, set against the backdrop of the rapid morale loss of the south during the final gasping moments of the Civil War. Writer/director Anthony Minghella has quite a job in front of him in adapting the kaleidoscopic book for the big screen. But with exact attention to detail, magnificent casting, and source material ripe for the picking, ‘Cold Mountain’ is a stirring success on every level imaginable.

RUNAWAY JURY

Starring: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce Davison, Bruce McGill, Jeremy Piven & Nick Searcy
Director: Gary Fleder

Nick Easter (John Cusack) is an apparently reluctant juror on one of the most significant civil trials ever to hit the New Orleans court system. A widow is suing a major gun manufacturer for damages because her husband was killed during a rampage by a man using their product. Both sides have the best attorneys: crusader Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman) represents the widow and high-priced Durwood Cable (Bruce Davison) is on hand for the defendants. The gun company has retained the services of big-time jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), whose job is to stock the jury with men and women who will be sympathetic to a firearms producer. What neither Rohr nor Fitch is aware of is that Nick has plans of his own. He intends to "own" the jury so they will deliver the verdict he wants. Along with his accomplice, Marlee (Rachel Weisz), he makes an astounding offer to the two sides: for $10 million, they can buy the verdict. Fitch, however, doesn't like Nick's rules and decides to play his own game of cat and mouse, with Marlee as the prey. And Rohr engages in a struggle of conscience about whether it's better to pay the money and win the case or stay true to the law and lose it.

Fleder's direction is clumsy, but the one aspect of the production that nearly balances out the negatives is acting. As Fitch, Gene Hackman is in top form. The character may be disappointing, but that has nothing to do with Hackman's performance. As portrayed by the veteran actor, Fitch is a force to be reckoned with - an amoral control-freak who is used to getting his own way and has never lost a case. John Cusack does what he's best at - getting the audience on his side. Nick's motives are not the most laudable, but we can understand them. Rachel Weisz is appealing and easy on the eyes. The supporting roles are filled with capable performers, including Bruce McGill as the judge, Jeremy Piven as one of Rohr's associates, and Bill Nunn, Nora Dunn, and Jennifer Beals as jurors.

THE MISSING

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Eric Schweig, Evan Rachel Wood & Jenna Boyd
Directed by: Ron Howard

Set in the stark New Mexico frontier, The Missing follows a lone tracker (Tommy Lee Jones) onto the wilderness ranch of his daughter. Maggie (Cate Blanchett) is both unprepared and unwilling to accept the return of her estranged father — who abandoned her as a child to join an Apache tribe. Driving him from her home, she later reluctantly accepts his help after a rogue Apache raiding party kills her husband and kidnaps her eldest daughter Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood). Lead by a sadistic witch doctor (Eric Schweig), the Apache desperado crew is roaming the territory kidnapping young women to sell into slavery south of the border. Therefore, with her gritty determination, the tracking skills of her father and her youngest child (Jenna Boyd) in tow, Maggie follows the gruesome trail desperate to stop the heathens before they reach old Mexico.

‘The Missing’ replaces romance with graphic and disturbing violence in an attempt to recount pioneering life in the wilderness. Indulging in the theme of white man embracing a native life — covered extremely well by films like The Last Of The Mohicans, Thunder Heart and Dances With Wolves — Howard is not breaking any cinematic barriers. However, he does manage to draw brilliant performances from his lead actors. Though Jones’ grizzled and gruff character is hardly a departure, he manages to draw believability out of his faux-native part. Cate Blanchett is absolutely brilliant, losing herself completely in the part. She will be certain to pick up the token Ron Howard nomination at this years Oscars, and deservedly so.

BEYOND BORDERS

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Clive Owen, Linus Roache, Teri Polo, Yorick van Wageningen & Noah Emmerich
Director: Martin Campbell

Beyond Borders love story is set against a backdrop of famine, corruption, and brutality in "third world" countries during the last two decades. Sarah Jordan (Angelina Jolie) is newly married to a seemingly perfect husband, Henry Bauford (Linus Roache). She is living a comfortable life in England when her world is suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of relief worker Nick Callahan (Clive Owen). Nick's purpose is to create a stir and make people aware of how desperately supplies are needed in Ethiopia. Seemingly inexplicably, Sarah responds, sinking $40,000 into food and medicine, which she accompanies to Africa to deliver to Nick. Sparks fly between the two of them. Five years pass before they meet again, this time in Cambodia. Nick has begun to smuggle arms for the CIA in order to be able to fund his relief efforts and Sarah now works for the U.N. She still lives with Henry, but her marriage has become a sham. Nick confesses that he loves Sarah, but cannot be with her because of the dangerous nature of his work. Their next meeting is six years further into the future, in Chechnya.

Neither of the main characters is well-developed or credible. What it ends up being is an unconvincing melodrama that seems more interested in pushing an agenda and preaching than in developing legitimate, compelling characters. Sarah's impulsive journey to Ethiopia isn't plausible, her love affair with Nick seems forced and unlikely, and Nick's reciprocation is even less believable. The acting by Clive Owen (often mentioned as a possible successor to Pierce Brosnan for the 007 role) is effective, and he succeeds in bringing a fierce energy and raw charisma to the part of Nick. But he is not well matched by Angelina Jolie, as her work here is lackluster.

STUCK ON YOU

Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Eva Mendes, Cher & Michael Callan
Directed by: Peter Farrelly& Bobby Farrelly

Bob and Walt Tenor are conjoined twins and small-town legends who excel at sports, and who are the proud owners of a fast-food restaurant where their four hands work the grill at lightning speed. They’ve vowed that they will never hold each other back, and thus each brother pursues his own dreams with the literal and figurative support of his brother. When Walt decides that, he wants to go to Hollywood to pursue his acting dream, Bob reluctantly agrees and the two head off to Hollywood. They make fast friends with their sexy neighbour, who helps Walt land a grizzled agent whose idea of a prime gig for Walt is a porn film. Things finally begin to look up for Walt when the boys encounter legendary diva and Academy Award winning actress Cher. Looking to sabotage her new television series, of which she wants no part, Cher casts Walt as her co-star. Instead of dooming the show, Walt propels it to the top of the ratings, and the brothers became instant celebrities. However, their real adventure is only beginning, as Bob finds romance with a longtime cyber-pal, and the brothers make a decision that will forever change their lives. Whatever happens to the boys, one thing is certain: nothing will ever come between them.

Damon and Kinnear are the blood, guts and bone structure of the entire film. Jokes, punchlines and physical comedy roll off the pair naturally and with charm. Kinnear in particular gives a sly and slightly demure delivery. At the same time, the two manage to convincingly convey a sense of unconditional love and brotherhood. The wart on the movie’s nose is diva Cher herself. Wooden-faced and cliché, Cher doesn’t seem to be capable of delivering a natural line. Interestingly, newcomer Eva Mendes seems to add more flavour to a far more minor role and Seymour Cassel’s out-of-touch talent agent is delightful.

THE LAST SAMURAI

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Koyuki & Tony Goldwyn
Directed by: Edward Zwick

Star/producer/swordfighter Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a decorated ex-soldier who has survived the Civil War and the Indian Wars with a Medal of Honor, a mean whiskey habit and a headful of guilt-spiked nightmares. Come the year 1876, Algren is hired by his old commander (Tony Goldwyn) to train the army of the Emperor of Japan Meiji, who is busy modernizing his country and needs help fighting an insurrection of samurai led by one Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Algren has barely gotten his recruits acquainted with their muskets when they are thrown into a disastrous battle, after which Algren is captured and taken back to Katsumoto’s village. He learns about their warrior honor code from their leader, Katsumoto, which forces him to decide which side of the conflict he actually wants to be on. Being a mercenary with a serious death wish, Algren doesn’t need much prodding to take up with Katsumoto’s side and soon a confrontation is set up whereby Algren will be riding into battle with his former enemies.

If ‘The Last Samurai’ were just about Algren’s change of heart, it would be a unwatchable film, even with all its rich elements. The script, by John Logan (Gladiator), is mostly unmemorable guff, to the point where even the normally game Cruise isn’t able to do much with it. Never one for the serious stuff, Cruise has nevertheless successfully played some more troubled characters in the past, but here he doesn’t seem to know what to do. Nevertheless, director Edward Zwick has an ace up his sleeve, in addition to all the glorious scenery and pulse-pounding battles- in Ken Watanabe. A Japanese actor who may have only been seen outside the country due to a small role in ‘Tampopo’, Watanabe is nothing short of a discovery here. Silent and glowering, he seems to always have a sardonic grin which just barely never appears, somehow mixing the magnetic charm of Chow Yun-Fat with the authority of Yul Brynner. Watanabe ably gives the film the gravitas which it otherwise would have lacked. The warrior bond between Algren and Watanabe is well presented.

INTOLERABLE CRUELTY

Starring: George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Billy Bob Thornton, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Adelstein, Edward Herrmann, Julia Duffy, & Michael A Tessiero
Directed by: Joel Coen

George Clooney is hotshot divorce attorney Miles Massey, and Catherine Zeta-Jones his latest courtroom casualty - gold-digger Marilyn Rexroth. After stumping her efforts to fleece husband Rex Rexroth (Edward Herrmann), she sets about taking revenge and oil baron Howard Doyle's hand in marriage (Billy Bob Thornton). When Marilyn approaches Miles to outline their prenuptial agreement, he is right to smell a rat. However, it is not long before the sweet scent of love is overpowering his senses.

Clooney is pitch perfect, matching comic timing and deadpan delivery. Equipped with the Coens' trademark snap-crackle dialogue, he zips through the gags so fast you might actually spot his feet leave the ground. Zeta-Jones offers a neat counterbalance, like a slow-burning flame alongside Clooney's storming performance. The transparency of her deception can sometimes dent the credibility of their burgeoning love. This is one of the most inspired, scathing, and downright side-splitting comedies to come out of Hollywood this year.

THE RUNDOWN

Starring: Seann William Scott, Christopher Walken, Rosario Dawson, Ernie Misko & Ernie Reyes Jr.
Directed by: Peter Berg

When Travis (Seann William Scott), the son of an underworld kingpin, disappears in the jungles of Brazil in search of a priceless artifact, Beck (Rock), the kingpin's retrieval expert, is sent to get him. Despite their hostility - and their love for the same woman (Rosario Dawson), the two must eventually join forces to fight the evil head (Christopher Walken) of a gold-mining corporation who is after the same treasure.

Despite a profoundly weak plot, glaring token stereotypes, contrived coincidences and some bad dialogue, the Rock manages to rise above it all and actually "act," and be entertaining. The Rock possesses that charm, self-deprecating qualities and sense of comedic timing sorely needed to carry an action movie from "crap" to "guilty pleasure." And that is precisely what's needed here. The movie full of cartoon violence where characters survive unscathed (one particular fall down a mountainside makes Homer Simpson’s tumble down the Springfield Gorge look restrained), it’s also the fight scenes that provide some of the best entertainment… Especially when they pit the Rock against Ernie Reyes, Jr.

POKEMON 4EVER

Starring: Veronica Taylor, Addie Blaustein, Rachael Lillis, Ikue Ootani & Eric Stuart
Directed by: Kunihiko Yuyama & Michael Haigney

The fourth installment in the popular Pokemon series of films, starring Ash, Pikachu, all the other Pokemon favorites, and a new time-travelling creature that has powers over nature as well as time and space.

A parallel story moves the action to a majestic forest, where a boy with ear locks rescues a rare Pokemon, Celebi from a poacher on a motorcycle who claims he can fetch a lot of money for the creature at auction. The boy, Sam, is apparently whisked 40 years into the future by Celebi. Ash and his cohorts, Misty and the obnoxious Brock, find Sam in the forest and revive him, and a sweet-if-predictable friendship develops between Ash and Sam. While the modern-age kids are helping their new friend save Celebi, the "voice of the forest" is in hot pursuit as the baddies try to capture Picachu. Sam brings the fading Celebi, which sports Tinkerbell-like wings and big blue eyes, back to light, or life, by dousing the creature in a magical lake. Directors Kunihiko Yuyama and Michael Haigney alternate between refreshingly tranquil, story-centered scenes like this one (and one where Sam and Ash swap stories as butterflies swirl around them) with more conventional action.

Like most Pokemon tales, this one offers lots of exposition and clunky dialogue. But unlike the others, "Pokemon 4ever" counters the expected mayhem with a sweet-sided story about friendship and peaceful creatures who prefer to live far from the madding crowd. The backdrop provides a welcome respite from the ear-, eye- and mind-numbing Pokemon action. And the time-travel plot, though less than inspired, is still tolerable enough for adults who are accompanying kids.

DARK BLUE

Starring: Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele, Brendon Gleeson & Ving Rhames
Director: Ron Shelton

Set in the LAPD in April 1992, it takes place just days before the acquittal of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King and the subsequent LA riots. In this racially charged climate, the LAPD's elite Special Investigations Squad (SIS) is assigned a high-profile quadruple homicide. As they work the case, veteran detective Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) tutors rookie Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman) in the grim realities of police intimidation and corruption. Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Holland (Ving Rhames), the only man in the department willing to stand up to the SIS, threatens to end Perry's brand of single-handed "justice" on the LA streets. While navigating through tumultuous neighborhoods of South Central LA, Perry and Keough must track down killers and face their own demons.

Shelton handles the action scenes adeptly, but more intimate sections are dull. David Ayer's script (adapted from a James Ellroy story) occasionally catches fire but covers little new ground. As for the acting, Speedman is suitably pretty. Love interest Michael Michele is appropriately sexy but looks ill at ease handling a gun as police officer Beth. Ving Rhames is dull as good cop, and Gleeson enjoys himself as much as he can in a fairly two-dimensional villain role. But, ultimately this is Russell's film. He has given some ostentatiously show-stopping speeches which he handles admirably. He even convincing in the marriage breakdown scenes with his disillusioned wife (Lolita Davidovich). It's a highly enjoyable performance, and the only thing which manages to lift this film out of the purely humdrum - but it's not enough on its own.

GOOD BOY

Starring: Liam Aiken, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, Brittany Murphy & Kevin Nealon
Directed by: John Hoffman

From the distant Sirius (Aka the "Dog Star"), an invasion of Earth has been planned for thousands of years now, as canine spies are sent to gather information to prepare for the coming attack. With none of their agents reporting back, the Sirius military sends their best dog, Canid 3942, whom Owen Baker (Liam Aiken) renames Hubble (voiced by Matthew Broderick). Owen runs a neighborhood dog-walking service to prove to his parents (Molly Shannon and Kevin Nealon) that he is responsible enough to have a dog of his own. Hubble proves to be much smarter than the ordinary canine; Hubble instantly knows how to sit, stay, roll over, and even play dead. Based on his previous training experience, Owen finds this degree of intelligence extremely odd. In search of answers, late one night Owen follows Hubble into the woods near their home; there he sees his dog communicating with a bright light in the sky.

Owen is now somehow able to communicate with Hubble and all of the other dogs he walks, as if they were all human. Hubble explains that thousands of years ago, dogs descended to Earth from the planet Sirius to overtake mankind, and that he was sent on a mission commissioned by the “Greater Dane” to inspect their progress. Now it is up to Owen to help Hubble improve the manners of the neighbourhood dogs before the arrival of the Greater Dane. If they can’t get their act together, the Earth’s dogs will be sent back to Sirius for some serious remedial training.... and man will lose all of his best friends.

OUT FOR A KILL

Starring: Steven Seagal, Corey Johnson & Michelle Goh
Directed by: Michael Oblowitz

Archaeologist Robert Burns (Steven Seagal) has unearthed some priceless artifacts in eastern China. When he discovers that the Chinese mafia--the Tong--are using them as containers to smuggle drugs overseas, Burns is marked for death. The Tong frame him for the murder of his assistant and he is thrown in a Chinese prison--but when he is released and used as bait in a joint effort by the Chinese and American governments to attract the Tong, Burns has his chance at vengeance.

THE HAUNTED MANSION

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Nathaniel Parker, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilley, & Wallace Shawn
Directed by: Rob Minkoff ‎

The Haunted Mansion is an expertly designed, loving ode to the Disney theme park experience. Jim Evers (Eddie Murphy) is a hotshot real estate agent who is constantly neglecting his wife, Sara (Marsha Thomason), and his two kids. Forced to arrange a countryside vacation so he can reconnect with his family, Jim and the Evers clan are summoned to the spooky and ancient Gracie Mansion to meet the Master of the house (Nathaniel Parker) and possibly arrange a sale. Upon arrival, Jim and the kids soon learn the nefarious plans of the Master and his butler, Ramsley (Terrance Stamp), and try to work their way through the intricate and dangerous halls and graveyards of the mansion to stop Sara from becoming a permanent fixture of the estate.

It is a kid-friendly horror film, but it does stay true to its source material, which means an exploration of cobwebbed hallways, ghosts with murderous agendas, and a soothsayer floating in a green crystal ball. The Disney ride is a mixture of the macabre and a dash of bizarre comedy interludes, mostly to keep the apprehensive in their moving doom buggies as the ride plays out. “Mansion” the movie tries to emulate that feeling, using Eddie Murphy as a kind of shield so sinister visuals can be placed onscreen and the film can remain a PG family fest. It isn’t outright scary, but Minkoff does a remarkable job at raising the terror pitch of the film to rival most mainstream productions that are often fraudulently billed as “horror.” Though done very tastefully, there are scenes of suicides, spider attacks, bloodthirsty undead skeletons, and Jim examining his decaying face in a magical mirror. The horror material is handled with a surprisingly straight face.

TOUGH LOVE

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino & Christopher Walken
Directed by: Martin Brest
‎ ‎
Larry Gigli (Affleck) is a lunkheaded mob enforcer. His new assignment is to kidnap the younger brother of a federal judge who has the power to put crooked New York based mob boss Louis (Lenny Venito) away for life. The brother, Brian (Justin Bartha) is a brain-damaged kid, irritating but a sweetheart, and obsessed with "Baywatch". Gigli takes Brian to his apartment for safekeeping. That's when Ricki (Lopez) - not her real name - shows up. She's a hit woman and has been sent to keep an eye on Gigli in case something goes wrong.

The movie introduces its main characters as hard-bitten criminals and then spends the rest of the time trying to convince you how lovable they are. The script, written by Brest gives Lopez zilch, so she can fall back on her diva power, in all its tawny sexuality and ferociousness. Affleck plays Larry Gigli like Edward Burns on stupid pills. Lopez is the more natural star here, thanks to her radiant smile and general ease in front of the camera, even if they rarely connect with a coherent character.‎

LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Billy West (II) & Heather ‎Locklear ‎
Directed by: Joe Dante & Dean Cundey ‎

Set in a live-action world in which Warner Bros' animated entertainers interact with ‎human characters for maximum comic effect, the story unfolds on the Studio backlot and ‎careens all over the map in classic Looney Tunes style. Our celluloid heroes embark on ‎an adventure that takes them from Hollywood to Las Vegas, Paris and the jungles of ‎Africa in search of Fraser's character's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey ‎Diamond. the Blue Monkey when used properly can turn humans into chimps. The ‎Chairman of the ACME Corporation (Steve Martin) wants to harness the power to turn ‎innocent folks into cheap, mindless labour. He’s racing to find the diamond before two ‎former Warner Bros. employees (Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman) retrieve it.‎

Dante has a technical feat on his hand, crafting a vigorous cartoon hybrid that seamlessly ‎merges beloved animated characters with unlucky C-list actors who apparently made ‎their agents very angry and are being punished. It’s wall-to-wall combustible energy, ‎powered by exhaustive car chases and endless cartoon-violent fistfights.‎

BROTHER BEAR

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Rick Moranis, Jeremy Suarez, Dave Thomas & Joan Copeland
Directed by: Aaron Blaise & Bob Walker

Set in the Pacific Northwest before the invasion of the white man, this is the story of the youngest (Phoenix) of three sons whose oldest brother was killed by a bear when he accidentally disturbed a mother bear, who killed him thinking he wanted to harm her cubs. Enraged, the young man sets out to hunt the bear himself when his other older brother refuses to form a hunting party right away. In his hunt for vengeance however, the young man is transformed by the spirits of the forest into the very thing that he sought to slay... a bear. Seeing the world through a bear's eyes, the young man will learn valuable lessons about the cycle of life... especially when he learns that his middle brother has finally formed a hunting party, aiming to kill *all* bears to avenge the brother's death... which means him too.

‘Brother Bear’ is a rare gem from Disney that, while lacking maybe in the essential cinematic desire to test new boundaries, is at least one of their more passionate and heartfelt animated pictures since the heyday of “Aladdin” and “The Lion King.” Bathed in forest greens and browns, and accented by autumnal pastels, “Bear” is an outright stunning visual feast. Its Disney’s best looking film in a long time. Of course, the story is no slouch either, providing rich teachings on understanding nature’s beasts and the importance of brotherhood. Uncharacteristically, none of the lessons are pounded too heavily on the audience. The morals are simply byproducts of the deeper emotional content provided by Kenai’s little discoveries of how his actions have affected the world around him.

KILL BILL: VOLUME 1

Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Darryl Hannah, Sonny Chiba, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks & Chiaki Kuriyama
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Kill Bill first volume (the second installment is slated for release in early 2004) is an action thriller film. The basic story has Uma Thurman (aka "Black Mamba") who has been wronged by her former partners in crime, sabotaged her Texas wedding by means of a hail of bullets. Waking up from a four-year coma, she sets out to take revenge on them one by one, starting with Vivica A. Fox (aka "Copperhead") and Lucy Liu (aka "Cottonmouth"). Meanwhile, Daryl Hannah (aka "California Mountain Snake"), "Reservoir Dogs" bad guy Michael Madsen (aka "Sidewinder") and "Kung Fu" star David Carradine ("Bill") await their turns in the forthcoming "Vol. 2."

The opening credit is a clear tribute to the Shaw Brothers martial-arts films of the '70s, and Asian action superstars Sonny Chiba and Gordon Liu make cameos. The most notable nudge-wink placement is Bill, played by David Carradine, still best known for his role as "Grasshopper." Here we only hear his voice, setting up eager anticipation for his inevitable showdown with Black Mamba in Volume 2. Bill oversees his own evil version of Charlie's Angels, so who better than Lucy Liu to play the key "bad angel" in Volume 1? Liu plays O-Ren Ishii a.k.a. Cottonmouth, the double-crosser with whom Black Mamba has her most spectacular battle. Liu's martial arts skills make her a natural for the role, but Thurman proves to be a worthy adversary. The intense training she received pays off on the big screen. Volume 1 sets up great expectations for these future battles.

MONA LISA SMILE

Starring: Julia Roberts, Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, Juliet Stevenson & Maggie Gyllenhaal
Directed by: Mike Newell

1953 - America was a time ripe for change for women and when a forward-thinking art history professor Katherine Ann Willis (Julia Roberts) arrives to teach at Wellesley College, she finds the institution drowning in outdated mores. Roberts helps student (Julia Stiles) apply to law school behind a fiancé's back. She butts heads with the oppressive alumni president's haughty daughter (Kirsten Dunst), who follows the path expected of her and winds up in a miserable marriage. In addition, Katherine is admired by a troubled but open-minded (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who recently had an affair with the same handsome, worldly Italian professor (Dominic West) that has caught Roberts' eye.
While the nation struggles with the fears that accompany a shifting political culture, the powers at Wellesley seem to want to re-corset the women who had been the backbone of the World War II workforce just a few years earlier. A passionate educator, Katherine takes on the establishment and in doing so, deeply affects her students who in turn lead her to alter the course of her life forever. Roberts brings considerable charm and her usual poised to Katherine.

HOW TO DEAL

Starring:  Mandy Moore, Trent Ford, Alexandra Holden, Dylan Baker, Allison Janney & Peter Gallagher
Directed by: Clare Kilner

In her second starring role, Moore plays Halley Martin, a disillusioned high schooler learning how to deal with a lifetime’s worth of problems. Halley’s divorced dad (Peter Gallagher) has a new fiancée, while her mom (Allison Janney) is still coping with the split. Her best friend, Scarlett (Alexandra Holden), is pregnant, and her older sister’s pending nuptials appear doomed from the start. Unexpectedly, Halley is falling for a detached hunk (Trent Ford) who might be able to convince her that true love exists. All these have combined to convince Halley that love is a ridiculous impossibility. However, when a tragic event in her life leads to a romantic encounter with Trent, Halley realizes the possibility of true love can sometimes lie in the most unconventional of places.

The performances are certainly strong, with veteran actress Allison Janney lending some credibility to the film and Alexandra Holden capably filling her usual role as the best friend of a more important member of the cast. Moore continues to prove that she may have some potential acting talent, but needs to find something more challenging than How to Deal if she wants to develop it.

MY BOSS’S DAUGHTER

Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Tara Reid, Terence Stamp, Molly Shannon, Andy Richter, Michael Madsen, Carmen Electra, Kenan Thompson, Jon Abrahams & Ever Carradine
Directed by David Zucker

This 90-minute diversion is painless and actually quite sweet with equal parts of madcap comedy, slapstick and love story. Tom Stansfield (Ashton Kutcher) is a young, enthusiastic publishing house employee with a crush on lovely co-worker Lisa Taylor (Tara Reid), who also happens to be his stern boss, Jack's (Terence Stamp)—yes, you guessed it—daughter. When Lisa invites him to housesit for her father, he mistakenly believes it is a date-invite when in actuality she just wants a favor so she can attend a party. Once at boss's spotless abode, Tom is bombarded with one unforeseen guest after the next, all of whom refuse to get out and are leaving a much bigger mess than he could ever possibly clean up. And when Lisa arrives home early, Tom must shield her from knowing about the other guests even as he finally gets the chance to get close to his dream girl.

This movie is a conventionally zany comedy with people running in and out of rooms and getting into sticky predicaments. For the first time, Ashton Kutcher bypasses his usual comically charged part to play the straight guy who must react to all the characters around him. The result is not fully successful, because Kutcher is not yet a strong enough performer to be captivating playing the normal guy. The usually bright Tara Reid recaptures her footing here with an easygoing performance that finds a nice balance between sexy and charming, with a little extra going on upstairs than originally meets the eye. As for the rowdy houseguests, Molly Shannon gets solid screen time as Audrey, the disgruntled assistant of Jack who has just been unfairly fired; Andy Richter plays Lisa's unlikely troubled brother, Red; Michael Madsen is Red's shady drug boss; and Carmen Electra plays Audrey's buxom friend.

OUT OF TIME

Starring: Denzel Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Eva Mendes, Dean Cain & John Billingsley
Directed by: Carl Franklin

This is a most gripping, well performed, well-made and very watchable thriller, which due to its light-hearted edge, actually manages to reinvent the genre. Oscar winning Denzel Washington plays Chief of Police, Matt Lee Whitlock of a small Florida town. Before he realises, he's mixed up in a crime of betrayal and what appears to be the double homicide of Ann Merai Harrison (Sanaa Lathan) - the woman he loves - and her violent husband, Chris (Dean Cain). Put in charge of the case along with FBI detective Alex Diaz Whitlock (Eva Mendes -also happens to be his estranged wife), Matt must now solve a murder where all the evidence points to him. What makes matters worse is the fact that Chief Whitlock has also ‘borrowed’ $485,000, which he gave to Ann to help cure her of cancer. A whole manner of evidence now begins to unravel and it seems everything Matt knew and trusted is actually one huge lie! And so, the race is on for him to paste the pieces of the puzzle and his life back together, before he literally runs 'Out of Time'.

This film will certainly take you for pulse-pumping ride, though it has not been particularly well hyped. The film is recommended highly if you're not a fan of either Washington or Mendes, there's always the beautiful sun-drenched scenery to soak up!

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts & Fred Savage
Directed by: George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh

Sam Rockwell plays Chuck Barris as a man who was given gifts but not the ability to enjoy them. He is depressed not so much, because he thinks he could have done better in his life. From his start as an NBC page in 1955, through his backstage work on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," to the crushing blow of having ABC choose "Hootenanny" over his "Dating Game" pilot, Barris comes across as a man who wants to succeed in order to confirm his low opinion of himself. When his shows finally make the air, the TV critics blame him for the destruction of Western civilization, and he does not think they are so far off. Early in his career, Barris is recruited by a CIA man named Jim Byrd (George Clooney) and agrees to become a secret agent, maybe as a way of justifying his existence. Two other women figure strongly in his life. Patricia Watson (Julia Roberts) is the CIA's Marlene Dietrich, her face sexily shadowed at a rendezvous. She gives him a quote from Nietzsche that could serve as his motto: "The man who despises himself still respects himself as he who despises." Then there's Penny (Drew Barrymore), the hippie chick who comes along at first for the ride and remains to be his loyal friend, trying to talk him out of that hotel room.

"Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" makes a companion to Paul Schrader's "Auto Focus," the story of the rise and fall of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane. Both films show men whose secret lives are more exciting than the public lives that win them fame. Barris seems to want to redeem himself for the crimes he committed on television, while Crane uses his fame as a ticket to sex addiction. Both films lift up the cheerful rock of television to find wormy things crawling for cover. The difference is that Crane comes across as shallow and pathetic, while Barris--well, any man who would claim 33 killings as a way to rehabilitate his reputation deserves our sympathy and maybe our forgiveness.

BASIC

Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Harry Connick Jr. & Taye Diggs
Directed by: John McTiernan

In the military thriller ‘Basic’, a young U.S. Army provost marshal (Connie Nielsen) teams up with a cocky DEA agent Hardy (John Travolta) to investigate the suspicious death of a hated Marine sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson) during an exercise at a basic training camp, Fort Clayton, in Panama. As they reconstruct the events that led to the sergeant's demise, they uncover a web of lies and conspiracies in which no one can be trusted, and nothing is at all what it seems.

John Travolta is at ease in his manic tough guy persona, and he enjoys a decent chemistry with Connie Nielsen that only falters when the script takes an unnecessary shot at generic sexual tension. The supporting cast is generally solid, even though their roles are anything but original. Tim Daly makes a welcome turnaround from the waning days of TV's Wings, when he was increasingly forced to play the stooge. Giovanni Ribisi overacts but at least avoids the pitfall of playing yet another clueless, teary-eyed simpleton. Roselyn Sanchez adds "tough chick" to her acting resume, barely recognizable as the group's token version of Vasquez. But as usual, Samuel L. Jackson is the man who steals the show. The most overt feature of Basic is how it is anything but what its title implies. The movie winds its way through a tangled maze of twists and turns with some predictable and others genuinely surprising. Unfortunately, for all the ups and downs this story takes, this rollercoaster ends on a low point.

OPEN RANGE

Starring: Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, Abraham Benrubi, Robert Duvall & Michael Gambon
Directed by: Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner's "Open Range" tries to open up the Old West once more as prime movie territory. This portrayal of an 1882 Montana range war is an epic film with big stars and spacious landscapes. Following the day-to-day encounters of four cattle herders who roam the countryside without owning a particular piece of land, or "freegrazers" Boss Spearman, Charley Waite, Button & Mose (Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Diego Luna, Abraham Benrubi), living in the final years of the Wild West, this film tells the story of how they eventually team up to rid a burgeoning remote town, Harmonville, from the machinations of a ruthlessly evil rancher, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon), who forms a sort of ‘outlaw state’ where he makes the laws and rules, and enforces them using scare tactics and brute force.

"Range" is done in a deliberately classic, slowed-down style. Screenwriter Craig Storper based the film on a novel called "The Open Range" by Lauren Paine, and it's really the same sort of story you've seen innumerable times, especially if you like Westerns. It starts out like a range-war Western soaked in history and filled with detail. However, Costner and company don't follow through, and the movie becomes a stylized, town-taming Western. Nevertheless, this is Costner's best directorial work since ‘Dances With Wolves.’ He's cast the film well - Duvall and Gambon are superb, Bening tough, and Jeter a stitch - and he seems to love the opportunity to get his camera out of doors, restage these archetypal situations and fill in the little touches that make it come alive.

MASTER & COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD

Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Ian Mercer, James D'Arcy & John Desantis
Directed by: Peter Weir

Russell Crowe is Lucky Jack Aubrey, the Navy’s greatest fighting captain and Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) is ship's surgeon, amateur naturalist and Aubrey's best friend, confidante and, when necessary, Jack’s conscience. The ship, the HMS Surprise, is suddenly attacked by French gunship the Acheron during the Napoleonic Wars. the French vessel not only has more men and mightier cannons than the Surprise's 28 guns and ‘197 souls’, she's faster and stronger. Aubrey refers to her as a phantom.

With the Surprise badly damaged and much of his crew injured, Aubrey – the "Master" of the Surprise and "Commander" of his men – is torn between duty and friendship as he sets sail in a high-stakes chase across two oceans, to the far side of the world, to intercept and capture their foe. It's a mission that can decide the fate of a nation – or destroy Lucky Jack and his crew. The film is based on the narrative outline of the tenth book in Patrick O'Brian's legendary "Aubrey/Maturin" series of high seas novels set at the beginning of the 19th century. With the exception of two stops at the Galapagos Islands, the picture takes place almost entirely at sea.

Part of director Peter Weir's genius is how deeply he immerses us in the rough life of a sailor aboard “this little wooden world,” as Aubrey puts it. His actors shimmy up rain-slick ropes, perch on the towering mizzen, slither along treacherous riggings, sing sea chanties to keep themselves entertained and their spirits up. Bettany, who played Crowe's imaginary roommate in “A Beautiful Mind,” has completely shifted his body rhythms. he's more centered. His doctor is a thoughtful man, a moral man, a man ruled more by reason than impulse. As for Crowe, “Master and Commander” is hard to imagine without him. He bestrides the movie like a colossus, aglow with authority, cunning, humour and just the right touch of swashbuckling. It's the sort of broad-shouldered, epic-size picture that, thanks to “Gladiator's” Oscars and advanced technology, may be back in style.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Johnny Depp & Ruben Blades
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez

Robert Rodriguez returns with the mythic guitar-slinging hero, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) in the final installment of the Mariachi/Desperado trilogy. The saga continues as El Mariachi makes his way across a rugged landscape on the blood trail of Lord Barrillo (Willem Dafoe), a cartel kingpin with one last score to settle who is planning a coup d’etat against the president of Mexico. Enlisted by Sands (Johnny Depp), the coolest, coldest CIA operative south of the border, El Mariachi demands retribution, and the adventure begins against a backdrop of revolution, greed, and revenge for the death of his beloved Carolina (Salma Hayek, seen in flashbacks) and daughter, murdered by the crooked Gen. Marquez (Gerardo Vigil). The movie also includes a chihuahua-accessorized Mickey Rourke as one of Barillo's captains, Rubén Blades as a former FBI agent, Eva Mendes as Depp's gun-packing girlfriend, Cheech Marin as an informant and Enrique Iglesias as one of El Mariachi's accomplices.

Johnny Depp stole the show in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and in “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” his fellow actors may learn to be wary of his larcenous, scene-stealing ways. Shot with impressive clarity on digital video, the movie renders a fever-dream fantasy of a Mexico whose chocolate-and-blood-red alleys swarm with the grinning skulls of a Day of the Dead parade.

THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving & Jada Pinkett-Smith
Directed by: Larry & Andy Wachowski

"The Matrix Revolutions" is the final, essential movement of the Wachowskis’ vivid imagination for their series. It doesn’t quite answer all the questions, but it delivers the thrills and the reverence. This final chapter is sure to be debated for years to come. When we last left Neo (Keanu Reeves) was laid out on a table in a coma next to the Agent Smith-controlled Bane (Ian Bliss). With the machines burrowing their way into Zion for a last, winner-takes-all battle, it’s up to Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) to help Neo out of his mental prison, which takes them to the Merovingian (Lambert Wilson) and the Oracle (Mary Alice) for assistance. Now, with time ticking away before Zion is destroyed, Neo must make choices that will affect his life, and those of his loved ones; also having to defeat the machines and the even greater evil: the rapidly spreading Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) who is becoming impatient in his pursuit of Neo.

The film is very lean on introductions, plunging right into the third chapter of Neo’s journey to become the chosen one, though a base knowledge of what occurs in the video game “Enter The Matrix” might help with understanding what exactly happened to Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith) and her ship. “Revolutions” is more direct in its story since the film isn’t saddled with the burden of setting up plot threads like “Reloaded” was frantically trying to do. “Revolutions” is a war film; a soliloquy on sacrifice and death. Gone are the Architect and his unquestionably summer-blockbuster-unfriendly nonsense, the dance parties on Zion, and the defining action sequences that made the first two films so memorable. Outside of an introductory fight in the Merovingian’s Club Hell (featuring an all too fleeting glimpse of Monica Bellucci’s Persephone), there is nothing in “Revolutions” that could compare to the ‘Burly Brawl’ or the freeway chase of “Reloaded.” And quite honestly, those touches are missing.

DOWN WITH LOVE

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Renee Zellweger, Sarah Paulson, Rachel Dratch, David Hyde Pierce & Tony Randall
Directed by: Peyton Reed

‘Down With Love’ is Feather-light and frothy movie. It's 1962 and Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) arrives in New York City with a head full of "If I can make it here" dreams. She's just written a pre-feminism book that counsels women to stop connecting sex with love if they want to get ahead in the business world. Bounder-about-town Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), a writer for the men's magazine Know, rightly sees her book as the writing on the wall for the roué way of life. He's determined to bring Barbara to her knees -- any way he can. He masquerades as a shy astronaut whose "shucks-ma'am" routine would placate the Singing Nun.

After a slightly flat middle, the movie shifts into high gear and introduces complications. The movie goes beyond pure parody to a more convoluted level whose deceptions evoke a Restoration comedy. Director Peyton Reed has created a retro-delight -- the bright colors, the satisfyingly fake ‘sophisticated Manhattan’ backdrops, the glamorous costumes & the spunky heroine. From the stars' sidekicks (arch Sarah Paulson for her, effete David Hyde Pierce for him) to you-have-my-blessings cameo by Randall, the movie exudes goodwill and good work. Zellweger starts out a little too cartoonish but she soon settles down, giving Barbara a girly perkiness that's too irresistible to be cloying. McGregor is hilarious from the moment he swaggers onscreen, capturing that caddish aura so many early-'60s swingers.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport & Keira Knightley
Directed by: Gore Verbinski

Set in the Caribbean Sea in the 17th century, this is the story of a gentleman rogue of a pirate, Jack Sparrow (Depp), who teams up with the daughter (Keira Knightley) of a governor (Pryce) to stop the evil plan of a ship of dangerous pirates (led by Geoffrey Rush) who are trying to reverse an ancient curse that leaves them stuck between life and death, with the light of the moon revealing their skeletons, like some kind of undead monsters.

The movie might have way too many words in its clunky title, but it's still the surprise movie. As postmodern, live-action pirate adventure, it scores well across the board as a sophisticated family film packed with creepy danger, old-fashioned swashbuckling, "Indiana Jones"-style humor and fairly amazing performances. As punch-drunk pirate, Depp is nothing short of great. Director Gore Verbinski has outdone himself, interjecting his costume epic with eye-catching crane shots and judicious editing. The movie feels welcomingly fresh, innovative and free of too many pirate-film clichés. The rest of the cast is spot on, too. But Depp is so unusual he has you seeking out Sparrow even when he's in the background, just to catch his reaction to what others are saying.

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes & David Andrews
Directed by: Jonathan Mostow

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in this third installment of the popular sci-fi action saga as a cyborg from the future. He becomes involved in the affairs of John Connor (Nick Stahl) and his first battles with the lethal model machine - the female 'Terminatrix' (Kristanna Loken), bent on destruction. This search-and-destroy robot seems to take her cues from Robert Patrick, who played the ever-charging, ever-mutating T-1000 in the first sequel. John is humanity's only hope in the future when machines wage war against humans. He meets up with his eventual mate (Claire Danes) and they're chased by Terminatrix sent by machines to ice Connor and a bunch of his future lieutenants. Schwarzenegger's slightly altered Terminator (he's now a T-850) is sent by humans from the future to protect them. There's a lot of hand-wringing over SkyNet, the controlling computer program that's more a menace to humans than they realize.

'T3' seems quite similar to 'T2'. The plot contains very little new material. This movie would have been nothing without Schwarzenegger. His Terminator talks more than ever. It does interject this film with a good dose of humor, for example his robot is also programmed as a psychotherapist. Without James Cameron's expertise, the 'Terminator' is not really back. This movie is a mishmash of flying debris, giant collisions, improbable maneuvers and crushed telephone poles. It's loud, it's brutal, but it's never an effective symphonic orchestration of destruction.

X MEN 2

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Halle Berry & Brian Cox
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Written by: Zak Penn, Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris

Mutants continue their struggle against a society that fears and distrusts them. Their cause becomes even more desperate following an incredible attack by an undetermined assailant possessing extraordinary abilities. The shocking attack renews the political and public outcry for both a Mutant Registration Act, and an anti-mutant movement, now led by William Stryker (Brian Cox). A vocal, wealthy, former commander for the Army, Stryker, is rumoured to have experimented on mutants. Stryker's dubious mutant "work" is somehow tied to Logan's/Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) mysterious and forgotten past. As Logan/Wolverine searches for clues to his origin, Stryker puts into motion his anti-mutant program--launching a severe attack on Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mansion. Magneto, newly escaped from his plastic prison, proposes a partnership with Professor Xavier and the X-Men to combat their common and formidable enemy: Stryker. With the fates of Xavier, mankind, and mutantkind, in their hands, the X-Men face their most dangerous mission yet.

'X2: X-Men United' is sure to satisfy most fans of the first 'X-Men' movie, including the zealous devotees of the comic books that spawned the flicks. With his new instalment, director Bryan Singer is able to leap in without the cumbersome character and situation setups needed for the initial film. 'X2' rips along at a faster pace, pulsing with wilder action sequences and more dazzling visual effects.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen & Christopher Lee
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson & Stephen Sinclair

The trilogy or the second book in the J.R.R. Tolkien saga continues Frodo's quest and provides the staging ground for one spectacular battle after another. It begins with the galvanizing last stand of Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) against the evil Balrog in the Mines of Moria. The pair tumble for an eternity, locked in mortal combat.

As we saw at the end of the earlier movie, the Fellowship has been shattered. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas the elf (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli the dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) are following the trail of their hobbit friends, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), who've been carried off by Orcs to be delivered to the malevolent wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee). Saruman thinks one of them may be the hobbit bearing the Ring, the most powerful thing in Middle-earth. The real Ring bearer, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his loyal companion, Sam (Sean Astin), head for the fires of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, where they intend to destroy the Ring and thereby annihilate the great lord Sauron (glimpsed only as a flame-rimmed eye). They are joined by the movie's techno-coup-d'etat, the emotionally damaged Gollum (part actor Andy Serkis, part extraordinary computer effects), who himself once possessed the Ring. Will Frodo's pity prove stronger than the lure of his "precioussss" as he calls the Ring, or -- as Sam believes -- will Gollum be their doom?

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin are rescued by Treebeard (voiced by Rhys-Davies), leader of the massive tree-monsters called the Ents. Aragorn and company have been sidetracked by a mighty battle brewing between the Riders of Rohan and Saruman's savage hordes. However, this is just a prelude to the final siege at Helm's Deep, one of the most stunning war scenes ever seen on film.

'The Two Towers' brings on a throng of new characters, all of whom will figure conspicuously in 'The Return of the King' is due December 2003). There's Theoden (Bernard Hill), the king of Rohan, who's fallen under the spell of his advisor, Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), a secret emissary for Saruman, his nephew Eomer (Karl Urban), one of the noblest of Rohan's horse lords, and his niece Eowyn (Miranda Otto), who immediately falls for Aragorn. The love story between Aragorn and the elf princess, Arwen (Liv Tyler) is also re-introduced.

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBERS OF SECRETS

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Kenneth Branagh, John Cleese, Rupert Grint & David Bradley
Directed by: Chris Columbus
Written by: Steve Kloves & J.K. Rowling

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals, irrepressible Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and brainy, beautiful Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), are back at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their second year; it's even more hazardous than their first. A monster locked away in a secret chamber a half-century ago has somehow been released. Now it's prowling the school, turning several students to stone. However, Hogwart's headmaster, Professor Dumbledore (the late Richard Harris in his last film), knows it's just a matter of time before someone is killed.

A seemingly less deadly mystery concerns a long-forgotten diary that finds its way into Harry's hands. Our ever-more-heroic wizard begins communicating with its author -- one Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson) -- who was enrolled at Hogwart's during the first attacks. Harry hopes Riddle can help him find and destroy the creature.

Everyone, on and off the faculty, is back. There's Maggie Smith as the strict but benevolent Professor McGonagall; Alan Rickman as the cold-eyed Professor Snape; Julie Walters as the Weasleys' generally merry mom; and, of course, dear Harris, as the wise and wonderful Dumbledore. The crowd-pleasing giant, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), is even given his own heroic entrance. A welcome addition is the shamelessly funny Kenneth Branagh as the preening wizard Gilderoy Lockhart, who calls his best-selling autobiography "Magical Me" and was five times voted "Best Smile" by Witches Weekly. Another newcomer is the computer-generated House Elf, Dobby (voice by Toby Jones), who shows up in Harry's bedroom at the dreaded Dursleys (his Muggle relatives) and insists Harry not return to Hogwart's.

Of the three kid stars, Radcliffe's growth spurt is the most evident, though he's already committed to the third film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," due out in 2004 and directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Whether Radcliffe will be a permanent fixture in the "Harry Potter" series is a matter of fate, nature and director's whim.