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from the December 26, 1995 edition Freeze Frames Movies containing violence (V), sexual situations (S), nudity (N), and profanity (P) are noted. Ratings and comments by the panel (blue stars) reflect the sometimes diverse views of at least three Monitor staffers. Look for more guidance in our full reviews. EVALUATION SYMBOLS David Sterritt Staff Panel Meaning O O Forget it * * Only if it's free ** ** Maybe a matinee *** *** Wait in line **** **** See it twice Motion Picture Association of America ratings are as follows: G General Audiences: All ages admitted. PG Parental Guidance: Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. R Restricted: Children under 17 require accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 No Children Under 17 Admitted (age may vary in certain areas). ** Family Films Looking for a movie to share with the whole family? Choose one of these Monitor favorites, and be sure to gauge age- appropriateness with our guide. Rated G: Across the Sea of Time (IMAX) Babe Balto A Little Princess Pocahontas Toy Story Rated PG: Apollo 13 Casper The Indian in the Cupboard Persuasion ** ** Four-Star Films of 1995 Only 16 movies won the highest rating during the year from our reviewers. Both Monitor critic and staff panel: The Postman ("Il Postino") (PG) Monitor critic David Sterritt: Betty Boop Confidential (not rated) The Big City (not rated) Georgia (R) Gorilla Bathes at Noon (not rated) Jalsaghar (not rated) The Middleman (not rated) Safe (R) The World of Apu (not rated) Monitor staff panel: Apollo 13 (PG) Burnt by the Sun (R) Goldeneye (PG-13) The Madness of King George (not rated) Persuasion (PG) Sense and Sensibility (PG) Toy Story (G) ** ** Staff-Panel Picks We asked the 10 most avid moviegoers on the Monitor staff to name the film they enjoyed the most this year and to explain why. Here's what they had to say: Persuasion This superb rendering of Jane Austen's novel avoids predictability and cliches to deliver a love story that has viewers desperately wanting to see the protagonists united. No violence, no bad language, no sex. Just insightful character portrayals and warm humor amid gorgeous scenery. When the hero finally takes his stand, you just want to cheer. - Terri Theiss, photo Braveheart A rip-roaring history lesson with Hollywood flair. This film not only entertains, but it also tells the stirring story of the Scots, including national hero William Wallace, fighting 13th-century English rule. Some moviegoers may object to the graphic violence. But the film wonderfully captures the courageous spirit of men and women struggling for freedom. - John Dillin, managing editor Babe I would even take my parrot to see "Babe." There is absolutely nothing offensive about this movie. So how do you make a great movie with no violence, blood and gore, foul language, psychological melodrama, or sex? You take all the opposites: caring, laughter, humor, joy, and mix them with a delightful story. Every time I think about Babe the pig, all the other animals, and the people, I smile. - Carol Hartman, information systems The Brothers McMullen Three Irish-American siblings put their morals to the test in this tale of love and fidelity in blue-collar Brooklyn. With a modest budget and an inexperienced cast, first-time director Edward Burns does a remarkable job of keeping three separate story lines moving along. And like Woody Allen, that other New York filmmaker, Burns saves the best lines for himself. - Scott Baldauf, national news Apollo 13 This film was a real-life thriller, not a Hollywood make-believe tale. The actual events were terrifying enough; no one needed to spice it up. I was an adult during the 1970s when the flight took place, but I could not remember exactly what had happened, so I was on the edge of my seat with the younger members of the audience. Tom Hanks did a great job in the role of commander Jim Lovell, and Ron Howard's directing was superb. This movie is one the whole family could enjoy. - Joyce McMillin, library A Little Princess The story of a young girl who attends an English boarding school while her father, a single parent, is away at war. This beautiful film is treated with moments of humor, seriousness, fantasy, and love. It will be enjoyed by all those with big hearts - not only children, but also adults of all ages. - Bill Grant, photo Babe A movie billed for kids but delightful nonetheless for adults, who can learn a lesson or two themselves. The pig (actually 48 piglets were used), who forgets he is a pig and wants to be a sheep dog, tugs at heartstrings as he gets into one scrape after another. The sound effects are extraordinary as farm animals from husky-sounding sheep dogs to intelligent-sounding sheep "talk" their way through this hilarious movie. - Kashmira Tumboli Baldauf, international news Goldeneye As the ever-debonair Pierce Brosnan drove a rumbling Russian tank crashing through the streets - and a few buildings - of St. Petersburg, I was convinced: Bond really is back. But when a winged-horse statue fell on top of the tank and became a giant hood ornament triumphantly leading Bond's charge after the bad guys, it was clear this Bond-making team hadn't forgotten to have fun. They had lots. So did I. - Abe McLaughlin, "The News in Brief" Muriel's Wedding This movie introduced me to the 1970s Swedish group Abba. The songs "Waterloo" and "Dancing Queen" stayed in my head for days afterward. I ended up purchasing the CD "Abba Gold," and ever since then, have considered myself an Abba fan. It's not the most intellectual film of 1995, but its humor and musical picks make it fun to watch. - Lisa Leigh Parney, opinion/editorial Strange Days Aimed at a Generation-X audience, "Strange Days" is a masterly marriage of dazzling visual effects and creative cinematography that leaves the audience spinning. Although it has a relatively simple story line, the plot twists so often that you're better off just sitting back and watching rather than trying to figure out what's going to happen next. The film takes a dark view of the not-so-distant future, and if its violence doesn't create a stir, the social issues it addresses just might. - Marianne Le Pelley, photo ** ** It May Have Been a Lackluster Year, But Our Critic Still Digs Up 10 Gems By David Sterritt, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor New York IT hasn't been a great year at the movies. Hollywood studios pounded away at tried-and-true formulas with even less originality than usual, and theater owners continued to fill their screens with this high-profile trash rather than independent and international films considered too risky at the box office. It's hard to come up with a 10-best list under these circumstances, but hey, danger is my business. I've bent the rules a little to fill the quota - putting a 1964 revival onto the roster and combining two not-quite-great Shakespeare movies into a single entry. Here are the most substantial pictures of a disappointing year, listed in alphabetical order. Moviegoers should remember that some contain violent or otherwise distasteful moments, and may not be suitable for all viewers. * "Dead Man Walking," directed by Tim Robbins. Opening at the tail end of the year, this fact-based melodrama stars Susan Sarandon as a Roman Catholic nun who befriends a convicted murderer played by Sean Penn. She helps him appeal his sentence and prepare for the death penalty that awaits him if their efforts fail. While preachy and self-conscious at times, the picture is richly intelligent in its critical view of capital punishment and deeply moving in its insistence on the ultimate humanity of all its characters. * "Georgia," directed by Ulu Grosbard. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham play sisters with rival pop-music careers and a complex offstage relationship. Grosbard's filmmaking is inventive and Barbara Turner's screenplay is insightful, but what makes the film indelible is Leigh's harrowingly real portrayal of the drug-abusing loser of the family. It's easily the performance of the year. * "I Am Cuba," directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. American filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola unearthed this overlooked 1964 gem, a Soviet drama about Cuban political rebels in the period just before Fidel Castro's revolution. The picture's forced nostalgia for Soviet-style socialism seems largely irrelevant today, but its visual style is explosively exciting, turning dry material into a brilliantly cinematic tone poem. * "Nixon," directed by Oliver Stone. Carrying less visual interest but more psychological involvement than "JFK," this new venture into Stone-style history is as rambling, mercurial, infuriating, and fascinating as the politician it's about. Anthony Hopkins heads a superbly chosen cast, and the screenplay strikes a provocative balance between criticism and compassion toward its unpredictable hero. Sure to be the most talked-about of the year's late releases. * "Il Postino" ("The Postman"), directed by Michael Radford. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda spends a period of exile in an Italian fishing village, making friends with a poor postman who finds magic in the literary world he's discovering for the first time. Philippe Noiret and the late Massimo Troisi give standout performances in this quietly moving tale, which is also a cogent exploration of the relationship between nature and culture in a slowly modernizing European town. * "Richard III," directed by Richard Loncraine, and "Othello," directed by Oliver Parker. The former makes Shakespeare's greatest villain a 20th-century fascist, and the latter goes multicultural with a strikingly international cast. Ian McKellan is a scary and spellbinding Richard, and Kenneth Branagh's insidious Iago is the best achievement of his screen career. * "Safe," directed by Todd Haynes. The year's best movie focuses on a woman who thinks her mysterious illness is caused by toxins in the environment and pursues a "new age" cure that slowly isolates her from all she once held dear. At once an emotionally rich drama and a scathing critique of pseudo-psychological fads, the film is also a landmark in film style, refusing to manipulate its audience with standard cinematic cues. Julianne Moore is close to perfect as the heroine. * "Through the Olive Trees," directed by Abbas Kiarostami. A man courts a woman while acting in a film within the film we're watching. This exquisite Iranian production is funny, tender, and engrossing - everything we complain Hollywood doesn't give us, but frequently ignore when it comes to us from abroad. Miramax had the courage to release it (hurray!) but whisked it off the market (boooo!) when audiences didn't materialize. Here's hoping it resurfaces soon. * "Tsahal," directed by Claude Lanzmann. The great documentarist spends five hours exploring Israel's military culture. Not likely to show up at your local multiplex, but an absorbing and instructive experience. * "Twelve Monkeys," directed by Terry Gilliam. Not since "Brazil" has the former Monty Python cartoonist cooked up such a thrilling blend of high adventure, social satire, and filmic wizardry. Bruce Willis plays a time-traveler trying to save Earth from ecological disaster, and Brad Pitt is the manic animal-rights activist who dogs his trail. Always wild, often weird, and downright wonderful at times. In the runner-up department, several good documentaries focus on talented people: "Unzipped," on a fashion designer; "Crumb," on an underground cartoonist; "Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Meant for These Times," on a rock musician. Good family films included the animated "Toy Story," the live-action "A Little Princess," and the indescribable "Babe." In retrospect, "Clueless" was the most clever of three Jane Austen adaptations. New director Lodge H. Kerrigan made a stunning debut in the scalding "Clean, Shaven." Surprises abounded in the suspenseful "Fun" and "The Usual Suspects," and new perspectives on African-American life enriched "The Glass Shield." The big winner in the New York Film Critics Circle awards, "Leaving Las Vegas," had the imagination to make miserable, self-destructive lifestyles look as miserable and self-destructive as they really are. Maybe it wasn't such a bad year after all. ** ** And the Winner Is ... Best-picture "Oscars" went to these films during the past 67 years: 1927-28 Wings 1928-29 The Broadway Melody 1929-30 All Quiet on the Western Front 1930-31 Cimarron 1931-32 Grand Hotel 1932-33 Cavalcade 1934 It Happened One Night 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty 1936 The Great Ziegfeld 1937 The Life of Emile Zola 1938 You Can't Take It With You 1939 Gone With the Wind 1940 Rebecca 1941 How Green Was My Valley 1942 Mrs. Miniver 1943 Casablanca 1944 Going My Way 1945 The Lost Weekend 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives 1947 Gentleman's Agreement 1948 Hamlet 1949 All the King's Men 1950 All About Eve 1951 An American in Paris 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth 1953 From Here to Eternity 1954 On the Waterfront 1955 Marty 1956 Around the World in 80 Days 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1958 Gigi 1959 Ben-Hur 1960 The Apartment 1961 West Side Story 1962 Lawrence of Arabia 1963 Tom Jones 1964 My Fair Lady 1965 The Sound of Music 1966 A Man for All Seasons 1967 In the Heat of the Night 1968 Oliver! 1969 Midnight Cowboy 1970 Patton 1971 The French Connection 1972 The Godfather 1973 The Sting 1974 The Godfather Part II 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1976 Rocky 1977 Annie Hall 1978 The Deer Hunter 1979 Kramer vs. Kramer 1980 Ordinary People 1981 Chariots of Fire 1982 Gandhi 1983 Terms of Endearment 1984 Amadeus 1985 Out of Africa 1986 Platoon 1987 The Last Emperor 1988 Rain Man 1989 Driving Miss Daisy 1990 Dances With Wolves 1991 The Silence of the Lambs 1992 Unforgiven 1993 Schindler's List 1994 Forrest Gump 1995 To be announced - From 'The 1996 Information Please Entertainment Almanac' ** Top-Grossing Films Of the Year As of Dec. 11 1. Batman Forever (Warner Bros.) Opened: June 16 Gross: $183,997,904 Opened Gross 2. Apollo 13 (Universal) June 30 $172,036,360 3. Pocahontas (Buena Vista) June 16 $141,395,135 4. Casper (Universal) May 26 $100,280,870 5. Die Hard With a Vengeance (FOX) May 19 $100,003,359 6. Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls (Warner Bros.) Nov. 11 $98,539,453 7. Crimson Tide (Buena Vista) May 12 $91,381,194 8. Waterworld (Universal) July 28 $88,214,660 9. Seven (New Line Cinema) Sept. 22 $86,507,192 10. Dangerous Minds (Buena Vista) Aug. 11 $83,294,447 - Provided by Exhibitor Relations Co., Los Angeles. Profits from Pocahontas, Ace Ventura 2, Seven, and Dangerous Minds are still being tracked. ** What Other Veteran Critics Say About the Year in Film MANY movie critic knows there are two Hollywoods. The first glitters for better or worse on the screen of your neighborhood multiplex. The second looms behind the screen where business decisions usually determine content and costs. In excerpts from interviews with staff writer David Holmstrom, four veteran film critics comment on the two Hollywoods in 1995. Peter Travers, Rolling Stone One of the worst years for inventive movies in quite some time, even though [total box office] should reach around $5 billion, a record, but costs are so high.... Some really decent little movies did try to do something with the medium and push it forward - movies like "Leaving Las Vegas" or "Crumb" or "Get Shorty."... But most people are less willing to pay $8 to take a chance on a new director or small film. What they want is spectacle, some kind of event, something not seen before, and that is becoming harder for Hollywood to produce.... "Toy Story" will wind up being the most successful [earnings] film of the year, but "Batman Forever" is tops now. Batman is not an enduring film. It's just a product, and that is what Hollywood is in business for, making a product that worked before.... Oscars will go to "Apollo 13" because this is the kind of movie that fits the traditional Academy [of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences] view of what movies should be - to celebrate America even in adversity. Jack Kroll, Newsweek The entertainment business caters to appetites, and appetites are not ideals or ideologies. The society that makes a lot of harrumphing noises about sleaze and violence in films is the same society that turns around and buys all the goodies right next door.... There has been an amazing number of Jane Austen movies. The fact that filmmakers want to make these movies, and there is an audience for them, is very significant. They won't make $200 million, but they are high-class works.... What is at the center of filmmaking is new, younger people like Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs") who sense new rhythms in the culture, and the smart, young part of the audience latches on to the rhythms. They say, "Yeah, that's it," and the "it" is a cynical culture which is driven by a kind of corrupted individualism.... Violence in 1930s movies violated a principle.... Today, violence doesn't seem to violate anything, but is an energy totally let loose on its own. Michael Medved, 'Sneak Previews,' PBS Many of the best films this year were basically made for children: "Toy Story," "Babe," "The Indian in the Cupboard," "Jumanji," and "A Little Princess." This is encouraging because the percentage of G- and PG-rated films that did well at the box office is higher than R-rated films, usually over 60 percent of all films.... But this was not a year of "Schindler's List" or "Forrest Gump," where people say the films will still be watched 50 years from now. "Toy Story" could be a classic because it is a technological triumph as well as witty, and "Babe" could be a classic.... "Showgirls" was a terrible movie. It completely misread the American public, which is not demanding new, envelope-pushing sexual material.... "Jade," "Strange Days," "The Scarlet Letter," and "Never Talk to Strangers" all did badly. Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer It was not a good year for [writer] Joe Eszterhas movies.... "Showgirls" is everything that is ugly and bad about Hollywood; it was exploitive and cynical, and "Jade" was the same, yet he got paid millions for them.... "Toy Story" is probably an instant classic, a timeless story. It's a shame that Disney is so great at merchandising and marketing because the movie has all the ads in it, and they detract from the genuine fun and intelligence of the movie.... "Smoke" is on my 10-best list because it addressed a lot of issues about the good side of humankind, and it was a wonderful piece of ensemble filmmaking.... "Waterworld" was a rehash of "Mad Max" movies, a soggy "Road Warrior" that just didn't have charm or spark. I didn't think the money that was spent on the movie was on the screen at all.... Interactive film so far has not been successful. They are just video games on a big screen without appeal to the general audience, but the virtual-reality people in Hollywood are aiming at the multiplexes of the future. I'm old-fashioned. I like to go to the movies and see someone else's creation. I don't want to be a participant in the narrative. ** The Duds. These films earned a "Forget it" rating from either Monitor critic David Sterritt or the staff panel. The Cure Destiny Turns on the Radio A Kid in King Arthur's Court Showgirls Three Wishes ** The Monitor's 1995 Movie Guide MOVIES teach us, touch us, and take us to different places than we've been before, media observer Brian Stonehill says of one of America's favorite pastimes. Movie-going today can be an "excellent adventure" - amusing, exhilarating, thought-provoking, satisfying. Yet, depending on the films one sees, it can also be disappointing, depressing, even frightening. To help you find the kind of adventure you value, we've put together a special road map - a master list of Monitor "freeze frames" for the entire year. Compiled from our Friday movie guide, it includes star ratings from film critic David Sterritt and evaluations by moviegoers from the Monitor staff. Not everyone plots the route to a new place the same way. So we've included several waymarks for making your choices. Lists of our reviewers' four-star films and family favorites, Oscar winners, and top staff picks are included as quick-glance alternatives to scanning the master list. Mr. Sterritt and other film critics share their thoughts on the year. And crossword buffs can test their knowledge of movie trivia with our special puzzle in the Friday, Dec. 29, Monitor. Like road maps stashed for quick reference in your car, this eight-page guide can be kept handy to direct you to rewarding choices at the movie theater and the video store - not just during this holiday season but for months to come. 1995 Theater Releases ACE VENTURA 2: WHEN NATURE CALLS (PG-13) * Jim Carrey & cast have some hilarious moments - especially the opening parody of "Cliffhanger." But this is mostly a couple hours of the rubber-faced, very likable Carrey mugging for the camera. Youngsters may enjoy it. But the humor is generally of the genre heard in the boys' locker room at the high school gym. By John Dillin ** Sophomoric, bathroom humor; Jim Carrey shines. ACROSS THE SEA OF TIME (G) *** Made in the IMAX 3D process, this nostalgic little drama centers on an immigrant boy who wanders the streets of New York City looking for a long-lost relative's home, guided by old photos and the words of an ancestor who made a similar voyage many years earlier. The story is sappy, and the portrait of New York is hopelessly romantic. The views of Manhattan are positively breathtaking, though, making this a strong candidate for best IMAX movie ever made. THE ADDICTION (Not rated) *** A graduate student becomes a vampire, stalking her prey through Greenwich Village streets and school- rooms. Barely under control at times, Abel Ferrara's ambitious shocker takes huge risks by using horror-movie conventions to explore profoundly serious issues of modern humanity's capacity for evil. The result is flawed, ferocious, and grimly fascinating. Lili Taylor stars. S V P AMATEUR (R) * A man with no memory of his past, a nun entering the secular world after 17 years of seclusion, and an actress of very dubious morality are the main characters of Hal Hartley's offbeat drama, which explores complicated issues of identity and sexual politics, but remains too schematic to gain the emotional impact it sorely needs. S N V P The Amazing Panda Adventure (G) * A 10-year-old American boy, a product of divorce and shopping malls, visits his father in China and finds him too distracted to give him any attention. Despite beautiful scenery and sets, the adventure of finding a wounded panda and cub, and fighting off the poachers, is predictable and marred by bad dialogue. By Carol Hartman * Disappointing, stilted; wooden acting. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (PG-13) *** Comedy about a well-meaning but wishy-washy chief executive who happens to be a widower. He learns a few things about principle and commitment when political enemies make a phony character issue out of his romantic relationship with an attractive lobbyist. Michael Douglas and Annette Bening head the well-chosen cast, but what gives the movie substance is its willingness to take real stands on real political issues. Rob Reiner directed. P *** Clintonesque, romantic, snappy dialogue. AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE (R) ** A teenage girl joins a small-time theater troupe in Liverpool, England, where she meets an assortment of characters whose behavior ranges from odd to outrageous. The filmmakers appear to be aiming for laughs much of the time, and on this level their efforts fall completely flat. Seen as an eccentric look at the sociology, sexuality, and theatricality of postwar Britain, however, it's interesting in a misanthropic sort of way. Directed by Mike Newell. Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman head the cast, but young Georgina Cates makes the strongest impression. V S N P APARAJITO (Not Rated) *** A superb coming-of-age movie, following its hero's life from childhood to young adulthood, with special attention to the pains of family separation suffered by his mother and himself. Directed by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray in 1956, as the second installment in his renowned "Apu" trilogy. Known as "The Unvanquished" in its English-subtitled version. APOLLO 13 (PG) ** A near-catastrophic NASA mission of 1970 is the subject of this fact-based drama about three astronauts who head for the moon, lose control of their expedition when an oxygen tank explodes, and refocus their attention on getting back to Earth in one piece. There's not much suspense, since audiences know the real-life incident ended safely, but director Ron Howard spins the story with enough gusto and gumption to make it reasonably entertaining. Tom Hanks heads a solid cast that includes Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, and Bill Paxton in lead roles. P **** Intriguing, instructive, glorious. ARIZONA DREAM (Not Rated) ** A young man visits his eccentric Arizona family, whose members include a high-pressure automobile dealer, a self-destructive woman with a gift for music, and an aging widow who can't think of anything but aviation. The cast is just as varied, with Johnny Depp and Jerry Lewis playing opposite Faye Dunaway and Lili Taylor, plus other famous faces in smaller roles. It's all barely held together by Bosnian filmmaker Emir Kusterica. V S N P ART FOR TEACHERS OF CHILDREN (NOT RATED) *** Deliberately rough-hewn, commendably serious-minded docudrama about a teenage girl who has an affair with a photographer who teaches in her high school, then gets harassed by authorities who investigate her former lover years afterward. Written, directed, photographed, and edited by Jennifer Montgomery, who based the film on her own experiences and the lessons she learned from them. S N P ASSASSINS (R) * Two hit men try to rub each other out while feuding over a woman who peddles industrial secrets. It's all very slick and action-packed, but there's not an original moment to be seen or heard. Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore play the leads. Richard Donner directed. V P * Improbable, tiring, meaningless. AUGUSTIN (NOT RATED) *** He's a natural-born actor who supports himself with run-of-the-mill jobs while awaiting the stardom that's surely just around the corner. Jean-Chretien Sibertin-Blanc gives a priceless performance in this short-and-sweet French comedy, directed by Anne Fontaine, his very talented sister. P BAB EL-OUED CITY (NOT RATED) *** The theft of a loudspeaker from the rooftop of a mosque in Algiers sparks a string of dramatic events in a working-class neighborhood where poverty and intolerance are everyday facts of life. Directed by Merzak Allouache, who turns authentic locations and a largely nonprofessional cast into the makings of an urgent and compelling tale with much to reveal about urban life in Algeria today. V BABE (G) *** He's a pig who longs to be a sheepdog, to the consternation of his barnyard friends and the confusion of the humans who own him. The movie is at times raucous, but its spirits couldn't be higher, and the tale teaches a good-natured lesson about why cooperation is better than coercion. Best of all is the very funny climax, which should have grownups brushing away happy tears along with their kids. Directed by Chris Noonan. *** Hilarious, delightful, appealing to adults. THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB (PG) ** A teenage girl renews her relationship with her estranged father (Peter Horton) while helping her friends run a backyard summer camp for little kids. The movie is fresh and friendly, but it doesn't have many surprises and the story sags at times. Based on Ann M. Martin's popular book series and directed by Melanie Mayron. BALLET (NOT RATED) *** In the 27th documentary of his distinguished career, Frederick Wiseman turns his camera on the American Ballet Theater, charting activities as varied as rehearsing, performing, hiring new talent, and coping with the financial pressures facing a modern cultural institution. Life itself becomes a kind of choreography in Wiseman's artful view, which is sometimes as funny as it is beguiling. P BALLOT MEASURE 9 (NOT RATED) *** Engrossing documentary about the political fight over a 1992 ballot measure in Oregon designed to curtail civil rights for homosexuals, with attention to the horrific rise in antigay violence that accompanied the campaign. Includes nudity and sexually blunt language in material circulated by conservative groups supporting the measure. Heather MacDonald directed. V N P BALTO (G) ** Against all odds, a wolf-dog makes a perilous trek for medicine to save an Alaskan town from an epidemic. Simon Wells directed this handsomely drawn feature-length cartoon, which also features a couple of touching live-action sequences. May be too intense for younger children, though. V BANDIT QUEEN (NOT RATED) *** Drama based on the real-life exploits of Phoolan Devi, who allegedly committed a series of explosive crimes - or revolutionary acts, depending on one's perspective - before her arrest in 1983. Directed by Shekhar Kapur, the Indian production characterizes Devi as a sort of female Robin Hood whose rage is aimed at an unjust social system based on systematic oppression of poor people and women. The film's indignation is righteous and vivid, although Kapur's weakness for repetitious violence tends to lengthen his social indictments without deepening them. V P THE BASKETBALL DIARIES (R) ** Jim Carroll's autobiographical book is a largely amoral account of his life as a street hustler, narcotics addict, and high-school athletic star. Scott Kalvert's movie adds a kicking-the-habit sequence to give the impression that it's an antidrug story, but the results are more sleazy than insightful. Leonardo DiCaprio heads a generally excellent cast. V S N P BATMAN FOREVER (PG-13) ** As usual, the Caped Crusader (Val Kilmer) is less fun to watch than the villains he's chasing, especially the maniacal Riddler, played by Jim Carrey in a zany performance that's over the top even by his lofty standard. Tommy Lee Jones tries to match him as Two-Face, but quickly falls behind, and Nicole Kidman is fetching as the psychologist who tries to help our hero get in touch with his repressed memories. Directed by Joel Schumacher with occasional gestures toward social commentary, and enough spectacle to mask the movie's deep down emptiness. V ** Holy hyperbole! bat-lite, cartoonish. BEFORE SUNRISE (R) *** Romantic comedy about a young American and a French student who meet on a European train and decide to spend a spontaneous day together. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are attractive stars, but what's most appealing about the picture is the value it puts on sharing ideas and feelings through language. Directed by Richard Linklater. P *** Engaging, talky, believable. BEFORE THE RAIN (NOT RATED) * Three related tales rooted in Macedonia's current political strife. The first deals with a young monk and an Albanian runaway; the second with a Macedonian photojournalist and his British lover; the third follows the photojournalist back to his native village. The subjects are interesting, but Milcho Manchevski's filmmaking is too disjointed. S V P *** Artistic, topical, evocative imagery. BELLE DE JOUR (R) *** Catherine Deneuve plays a Paris homemaker whose boredom with everyday life leads her to become a prostitute in her spare time. Directed in 1967 by the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel, this French production contains many of the surrealistic touches that were his trademark, yet seems rather flat and obvious in comparison with his most imaginative works. Sacha Vierny did the radiant cinematography. V S N P BETTY BOOP CONFIDENTIAL (NOT RATED) **** One of the all-time-great cartoon compilations, serving up 11 classics made in the early to mid-'30s by Max and Dave Fleischer, with a few photographed in vivacious color. Some have dull stretches, especially when a bouncing ball invites us to croon some boring tune along with Ethel Merman or Lillian Roth, but others are dreamlike and dazzling. The likes of "Dancing on the Moon" and the astonishing "Bimbo's Initiation" have never been encountered since. BEYOND RANGOON (R) * On a trip to Burma in 1988, hoping to forget sad events in her recent past, an American woman finds herself running from murderous armed forces that oppose the country's student democracy movement. John Boorman's political adventure calls admirable attention to dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, a courageous foe of Burma's military dictatorship. But the movie puts more emphasis on endless chase scenes and jungle heroics, and Patricia Arquette's performance is terribly weak. V S P ** Informative, troubling, too long. THE BIG CITY (NOT RATED) **** A woman takes a job to raise her family's desperately low finances, but her foray into the urban world causes as many problems as it solves, especially when her underpaid husband starts feeling pangs of envy and insecurity. Occasional touches of melodrama lend just the right spice to this understated parable of cultural uncertainty in postcolonial India, directed by Satyajit Ray in 1963. BILLY MADISON (PG-13) * Adam Sandler's creative songs and silly expressions on "Saturday Night Live" may have turned him into a celebrity, but this movie based solely on his antics doesn't work. Sandler plays Billy, whose father who owns a multimillion-dollar hotel chain. When his father decides to pass along the company to him, Billy is forced to repeat grades K-12 (in six months) so he can prove his mettle. By Lisa Parney S P BLESSING (NOT RATED) ** Sincere, modestly crafted tale of a young woman's effort to shake off the emotional pressures of life on her family's farm. Written and directed by Paul Zehrer, a promising new filmmaker. V P BLUE IN THE FACE (R) *** Harvey Keitel reprises the role he played in "Smoke," a friendly cigar-store clerk whose modest establishment serves as a meeting place for various denizens of his racially mixed Brooklyn neighborhood. This time all the scenes are improvised around brief scenarios written by Paul Auster, who directed the movie in partnership with Wayne Wang. The results are ragged, disjointed, and endearing. Other cast members include Giancarlo Esposito, Jim Jarmusch, Madonna, and Roseanne. P S N BOYS ON THE SIDE (r) ** Three women start on a cross-country trip, hoping for a better life: a gay singer, a businesswoman diagnosed with AIDS, and a hustler who's just killed her abusive boyfriend. The movie tries to outdo "Thelma and Louise" by upping the number of heroines, but it lacks the moral seriousness to tackle its sensitive material. Herbert Ross directed. N P V S *** Hilarious, heavy on social issues, tragic. The BRADY BUNCH MOVIE (PG-13) Those groovy Bradys are now living in the '90s, and they must raise $20,000 or else their house will be auctioned off. Based on the '70s TV show, the plot works well compared with most sitcom movies. The cast is a close match to the original. Avid "Bunch" fans will "dig it," while others may find it hokey. Directed by Betty Thomas. By Shelley Coolidge. *** Nostalgic, campy; Marcia steals the show. BRAVEHEART (R) ** Aye, here's a wee bit of a three-hour epic about a handsome 13th-century hero freeing Scotland from its English overlords. Directed by and starring Mel Gibson, who puts more brawn than brain into both jobs. V S N P *** Engrossing history lesson, violent battle scenes. BRIAN WILSON: I JUST WASN'T MADE FOR THESE TIMES (NOT RATED) *** Rocking, rolling, highly entertaining portrait of the great guiding force behind the Beach Boys, one of the most important groups in pop-music history. The picture would be stronger if it had more footage and music from bygone years, instead of focusing on Wilson's present-day musings. It's mighty captivating, though. Directed by Don Was. Shown in some places with "Gentle Giants," director Bruce Weber's brief, beautiful look at favorite movie stars, pop-culture icons, and dogs. P THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (R) *** Romance buds and blossoms during the brief adulterous encounter of an Iowa homemaker and a wandering photographer. Still one of Hollywood's most assured directors, Clint Eastwood transcends the story's cliches with a classically restrained yet steadily imaginative filmmaking style. He also gives one of his most fully realized performances, opposite Meryl Streep in the sort of introspective role she handles best. And don't miss the soundtrack, full of atmospheric jazz that reflects Eastwood's excellent musical taste. Richard LaGravanese wrote the screenplay, based on Robert James Waller's bestseller. S N P *** Exquisite, romantic, Streep and Eastwood shine. BROKEN HARVEST (PG) ** Family tensions, financial pressures, and lingering Civil War resentments bring difficulty to a farmer's life in Ireland in the 1950s. Some powerful material appears in this Irish production, but writer-director Maurice O'Callaghan is stronger on scenic details than imaginative storytelling. V P THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN (R) ** The personal, family, and romantic adventures of three Irish-American brothers in the New York City suburbs. The movie tries earnestly to blend wry humor with a no-nonsense charm deemed appropriate for its working-class characters, but the acting and scripting are too uneven for either the drama or the comedy to gather much steam. Written and directed by Edward Burns, who also plays one of the main characters. S P *** Unpretentious, funny, frank. UN BRUIT QUI REND FOU (THE BLUE VILLA) (NOT RATED) uuu In a remote European town, pulses quicken when a legendary criminal returns to collect a debt, raising questions about what really happened in a long-ago murder case. This labyrinthine drama was written and co-directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet, a key figure in modern French literature but less distinguished as a filmmaker, partly because of his proclivity for sensationalistic material. He succeeds unusually well here, partly because a sense of self-parodying humor runs through his maze-like screenplay. Co-directed by Dimitri de Clercq. S V BULLETS OVER BROADWAY (R) ** A young playwright juggles art, romance, and gangsters while preparing his first big production. Woody Allen's comedy is rarely inspired, but provides some good laughs and an energetic depiction of the Roaring '20s. V P S *** Snappy, clever; Dianne Wiest heads a remarkable cast. BURNT BY THE SUN (R) ** The time is 1936, the place is an estate in the USSR, and the main character is an aging Bolshevik hero confronted by a Stalinist rival. Directed with much warmth but little energy by Nikita Mikhalkov, who also plays the central role. V S P **** Deep, historically revealing, unforgettable. BUSHWHACKED (PG-13) * A fleeing fugitive gets lost in the woods with a rowdy group of Cub Scout campers. Older kids may appreciate the comedy's brash vulgarity. Others may feel the title refers to them. Daniel Stern stars, which makes sense, since this is basically an outdoor edition of "Home Alone." Greg Beeman directed. A BUSINESS AFFAIR (Not rated) ** Comedy-drama about an aspiring writer caught between her egotistical husband, who's an established author, and a self-important publisher who wants to steal her away from him. Carole Bouquet is an attractive heroine, and it's fun watching actors as talented as Christopher Walken and Jonathan Pryce compete for attention. Charlotte Brandstrom's directing rarely shines, though, and the jokes are more pretentious than amusing. N V P BYE BYE, LOVE (PG-13) *** Three divorced men juggle relationships with their angry ex-wives, their frustrated kids, and each other. Sam Weisman's comedy has a couple of touching moments and several hilarious ones, although it's a little too polite to become the biting satire it might have been. P S *** Insightful, funny, poignant. CANADIAN BACON (PG) ** Deciding the US needs a fresh enemy to rally against now that the cold war is over, the president declares a crusade against Canada, prompting a gung-ho Niagara Falls sheriff to launch a guerrilla raid on the new evil empire. Written and directed by Michael Moore, this over-the-top comedy blends sardonic political satire with dumb-and-dumber jokes aimed at fans of the late John Candy, who heads the cast. P V CARRINGTON (R) *** Drama about the long relationship between author Lytton Strachey and painter Dora Carrington, with emphasis on the complications raised by Strachey's homosexuality. Although it lapses into sensationalism, explicit sex, and historical inaccuracy, the movie convincingly portrays unconventional artists who crystallized a unique moment in post-Victorian culture. Emma Thompson is appealing as the title character, and Jonathan Pryce does more acting with his bushy beard than most actors manage with their whole bodies. Christopher Hampton directed his own screenplay, and Michael Nyman composed the evocative score. S N P ** Self-indulgent, amoral, well-acted. CASINO (R) *** Martin Scorsese spins the seamy tale of a gambling impresario who runs a Las Vegas casino with help and hindrance from tough-guy associates, his drug-abusing wife, and a childhood friend with a dangerously unstable streak. The filmmaking is brilliant and creative, but the story is as cold and superficial as the jewels one crooked character likes to steal. Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone head the excellent cast. S N V P ** Excessively violent, long, Stone is superb. CASPER (PG) *** The friendly ghost makes his big-screen debut in a friendly movie, playing ectoplasmic games with a teenager who likes him, two fortune-hunters who covet the treasure hidden in his haunted house, and a spooky psychiatrist who gives therapy to "living-impaired" individuals. The young actress Christina Ricci, so funny as the creepy Wednesday in the Addams Family films, is a scream as Casper's best friend. Brad Silberling directed. V P ** Goofy, unrealistic, fabulous special effects. CHARULATA (NOT RATED) *** A publisher's wife becomes fascinated with her visiting brother-in-law, a handsome young man with a poetic sensibility. This reissued work from 1964 is too dramatically diffuse to stand with the greatest works of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, but it contains ravishing images and sensitive performances, and the screenplay does a splendid job of mingling deeply personal matters with political and cultural overtones of Calcutta in the late 19th century. Also known as "The Lonely Wife." CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (PG-13) ** The place is an Irish village in 1957, and the heroines are three young women negotiating the twists and turns of love, friendship, and family relations. Pat O'Connor directed this likable but unmemorable comedy-drama, which creates some vivid moments without quite managing to flesh out its commonplace characters. V S P *** Heartwarming, engaging, beautiful scenery. THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (R) ** A little girl and a strongman search for a child kidnapped by a mad scientist, who steals children's fantasies because he's lost his ability to dream. Directed by the French team of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, this delirious film is overflowing with energy and effects, but it lacks the heart and soul that would have made it important as well as impressive. V P CITY UNPLUGGED (NOT RATED) ** Mindful of the responsibilities his new baby will bring, a young man gets involved in a plot to steal a fortune in gold from the treasury of Estonia by causing a temporary blackout in the capitol of the newly independent country. The scathingly sardonic story was filmed in Estonia by Finnish director Ilkka Jarvilaturi, from a screenplay by American writer Paul Kolsby. Also known as "Darkness in Tallinn." V S N P CLEAN, SHAVEN (NOT RATED) *** A schizophrenic man searches frantically for a young daughter who has been removed from his care. Written and directed by newcomer Lodge H. Kerrigan, this extraordinary debut film combines innovative cinematics with unmistakable compassion for its tormented protagonist; its nonstop intensity may be too unsettling for many spectators, however. V P S CLOCKERS (R) *** Spike Lee plunges into the world of underclass crime, focusing on a small-time cocaine dealer who agonizes over his brother's arrest for murder. All the while he must steer a course between a psychopathic drug supplier and a hard-nosed homicide detective. Lee tells this harsh-toned story through a bold cinematic style that calls as much attention to itself as to the real-world problems he wants to explore. While the result is visually brilliant, it's oddly disjointed and packs less emotional force than Richard Price's novel. Delroy Lindo and Harvey Keitel give the best performances. V P CLUELESS (PG-13) ** Valley-girl types cope with life, love, and clothes in a Los Angeles high school. For a while, it's like really cool, with lots of energy and stuff, but then it gets like major repetitious, and you wish it was like over, y'know? As if! Directed by comedy specialist Amy Heckerling. P ** So totally entertaining, playful, clued in. CONGO (PG-13) * Scientists, capitalists, and a talking gorilla hunt for African diamonds. Is this a thriller trying to be funny, or a comedy trying to be exciting? One thing is certain: It's a bomb trying to be a hit, and at that it'll never succeed. John Patrick Shanley's screenplay is feistier than Michael Crichton's flatly written novel, but also dopier. Frank Marshall directed. V P ** Heart-stopping, unrealistic, emotional. THE CONVENT (Not rated) *** John Malkovich and Catherine Deneuve play husband-and-wife researchers poking around an old monastery in search of evidence about William Shakespeare's ancestry. Portugal's greatest filmmaker, Manoel de Oliveira, directed this comedy-drama, which is as mischievous as it is mysterious. V S COPYCAT (R) ** Holly Hunter and Sigourney Weaver play a cop and a psychologist trying to trap a serial killer who imitates the crimes of his most famous predecessors. The acting is capable and the suspense is effective at times, but the gore is grisly and the climax is surprisingly hokey. Jon Amiel directed. V P N COUNTRY LIFE (PG-13) *** Anton Chekhov's great play "Uncle Vanya" inspired this exquisitely filmed, superbly acted comedy-drama about family tensions. An aging expatriate brings his beautiful, restless wife for an extended visit to his family's rural Australian homestead, now maintained by his spirited young daughter and her cranky old uncle. Written and directed by the hugely talented Michael Blakemore, who also plays the returning relative in a splendidly irascible performance. Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, and Kerry Fox are other standouts in the excellent cast. V S N P CRIMSON TIDE (R) *** The setting is a submarine on its way to confront nuclear-armed Russian rebels. The main action is a showdown between the sub's commander, a flinty veteran of many conflicts, and the executive officer, a thoughtful young fellow with more book-learning than experience. The movie has nothing intelligent to say about post-cold-war tensions or anything else, but it's great fun to watch Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington square off in a submarine that looks like a cross between the Starship Enterprise and something you'd get in a cereal box. Tony Scott directed. V P THE CROSSING GUARD (R) *** Sensitive, sometimes disturbing drama about a grieving father who wants revenge against the man who killed his daughter in a drunk-driving accident. Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston give mature performances as the bereaved parents, and David Morse brings an offbeat touch to the basically decent man who traumatized their lives. Written and directed by Sean Penn, fast becoming one of the most interesting filmmakers of his generation. N S P V THE CRUDE OASIS (R) * Kansas oil country is the setting for this low-key melodrama about a dissatisfied wife's relationship with a local worker who resembles a man she's seen in her dreams. Written, directed, and produced by newcomer Alex Graves, who coaxes a fair amount of cinematic value from his shoestring budget but doesn't make the story or characters as involving they might have been. (R) V P CRUMB (NOT RATED) *** Absorbing but disturbing documentary about R. Crumb, a pioneer of kinky "underground comix," bringing out both the vivid imagination and the raging sexual obsessions that have characterized his career. Directed by Terry Zwigoff over a six-year period, the film also gives a poignant account of Crumb's sadly dysfunctional family, providing clues as to why his talent evolved in such bizarre directions. V S N P CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY (PG-13) *** During the reign of South African apartheid, a black clergyman learns that his son has killed a white man known for opposing racism; he then receives unexpected comfort from the murdered man's father, a longtime apartheid supporter whose ideas are now radically changing. Although the film is slow and sometimes ungainly, it takes on surprising power from the quiet dignity of its performances and the moral strength of its ideas. James Earl Jones and Richard Harris star. Based on Alan Paton's novel. Directed by Darrell James Roodt. V P THE CURE (PG-13) O Friendship develops between two boys, one of whom has AIDS, and they share various adventures before the unhappy ending. It's bad taste, bad filmmaking, and bad morality to use the AIDS crisis to prop up storytelling as trite and insipid as this. Directed by Peter Horton. P N V DANGEROUS MINDS (R) * Michelle Pfeiffer plays a new teacher confronting a class of inner-city students with various chips on their shoulders. Movie stars have tamed sassy kids in movies from "The Blackboard Jungle" to "Stand and Deliver," but it's hard to remember an example more patronizing or sentimentalized than this one. Directed by John N. Smith, whose earlier "The Boys of St. Vincent" is incomparably superior in every department. V P ** Predictable, patronizing, shallow. THE DAY THE SUN TURNED COLD (NOT RATED) ** Based on real events, this unusual Chinese drama focuses on a young man's effort to have his mother prosecuted for the alleged murder of his father. Written, directed, and produced by Yim Ho, who keeps the story interesting and credible, if not as intellectually provocative or emotionally persuasive as one might wish. V P DEAD PRESIDENTS (R) *** A young black man fights terrible battles in Vietnam, returns to a miserable life in the South Bronx, and succumbs to the temptation of a high-stakes robbery that could make his family more comfortable. Much of the film plays like a standard inner-city melodrama in the vein of "Menace II Society," the previous Hughes Brothers picture. What lends special interest is its provocative insistence on probing the links between urban violence and military indoctrination. S V P DEATH AND THE MAIDEN (R) *** In a Latin American country after the fall of a dictatorship, a woman accuses a stranger of having tortured her when she was a political prisoner. The movie's fascination comes partly from uncertainty as to whether the woman's charges are correct. On a deeper level, her violent behavior raises troubling questions. Based on Ariel Dorfman's play, and capably directed by Roman Polanski. N V P ** Cliched, passionless; graphic descriptions of abuse. DESPERADO (R) ** Vengeance and violence follow a man stalking an elusive enemy with a guitar case full of guns. There are enough clever cinematic setups to make this an improvement over Robert Rodriguez's previous picture, the hyperactive "El Mariachi," and Steve Buscemi gives a winning performance that's over too soon. But this is mostly just another exercise in snappy editing and over-the-top mayhem that will leave most grown-up movie- goers cold. Antonio Banderas stars. V S N P ** El Pulpo Fictiono, ludicrous, shallow. DESTINY TURNS ON THE RADIO (R) O Turn it off, quick! Jack Baran's muddled adventure-comedy centers on a godlike character who dogs the trail of an escaped prisoner chasing a bundle of loot and a former girlfriend. Quentin Tarantino does the liveliest acting, which shows how low the picture's standards are. P V S DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (R) ** An unemployed black man agrees to track down a missing white woman with connections to the local political establishment and the African-American community. Carl Franklin's drama is stylishly filmed and has vivid late-1940s atmosphere. The story soon lapses into familiar private-eye formulas, though, and the characters aren't interesting enough to hold much attention on their own. Denzel Washington's talent shines like a beacon over the film's other elements. S V P *** Earthy, suspenseful, Denzel dazzles. DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (R) *** This sequel delivers even more explosions, effects, and stunts than its predecessors. Jeremy Irons plays Simon, a German-accented villain who wants to even the score with Det. John McClane (Bruce Willis). Simon phones in riddles and instructions that McClane must follow or else another building will be blown up. Samuel L. Jackson costars as McClane's sidekick, Zeus, and the pair's chemistry provides the film's entertainment. But where can the "Die Hard" series go from here? Nowhere. By Lisa Leigh Parney V S P * Uninspired, formulaic, Jeremy Irons's villain is fantastic. DIRTY MONEY (NOT RATED) * Lackluster thriller about a misunderstanding that leads an ordinary guy into a frantic flight from cops and killers. Directed by James Bruce. S V P DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (PG-13) (RE-RELEASE) ** David Lean pulled out all the melodramatic stops in his film version of Boris Pasternak's novel about love and death in revolutionary Russia, but there's enough spark in the main performances to compensate for the top-heavy style. Robert Bolt wrote the ponderous screenplay and Freddie Young did the sumptuous cinematography. Restored to its full length of nearly 3-1/2 hours for its 30th-anniversary rerelease. S V DOLORES CLAIBORNE (R) *** She's accused of murdering her obnoxious employer, and while her estranged daughter thinks that she might be innocent, she's being hounded by a police officer who's convinced this isn't her first homicide. Kathy Bates gives her most gripping performance since "Misery," also based on a Stephen King thriller. The picture is weakened by a rambling and inconsistent screenplay, though. Taylor Hackford directed. S V P *** Eerie, disturbingly violent; Kathy Bates is great. DON JUAN DEMARCO (PG-13) ** Romantic dreams abound as a burned-out psychiatrist (Marlon Brando) enters the make-believe world of a young patient (Johnny Depp) who thinks he's the famous Don Juan of bygone years. The picture has more charm than credibility, and its conquistador-like attitude toward women is mighty questionable; but the story becomes resonant if you see it as a fable about Brando vicariously regaining his youth by teaming with Depp in this all-stops-out movie fantasy. V S N P *** Refreshing, funny, clever. THE DOOM GENERATION (Not rated) * Yet another punkish romance about sleazoids on the run. Directed by Gregg Araki with an enthusiasm for gross-out naughtiness that might be provocative if it weren't so relentlessly childish. S V N P DOUBLE HAPPINESS (PG-13) *** Even single happiness is hard to grasp when you're a young Chinese-Canadian woman with an acting career that's stalled at the starting line, a white boyfriend who's a little too pushy, and old-fashioned parents who think they always know what's best. Mina Shum's debut film is consistently warm and amusing, although its energy flags a bit as the story unfolds. P DUMB & DUMBER (PG-13) * And how. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels play a couple of losers who get into stupid scrapes. The pointless plot and scatological humor are to be expected; more surprising are the nasty undertones of the story. Peter Farrelly directed. V N P * Third-grade bathroom humor, senseless, offensive. THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN (PG) ** A whimsical, small-scale item about a surveyor (Hugh Grant) in Wales, circa 1917, who arrives in a village to measure the terrain. When the residents discover that their pride and joy is going to be designated a hill instead of a mountain (it's short by 20 feet), they conspire to keep him there while they lug buckets of dirt to the top. Even Grant's comic skills and charm can't save the film from triviality. By Frank Scheck ERMO (NOT RATED) *** In a rural Chinese village, a hard-working woman sets herself the daunting challenge of earning enough money to buy the biggest-screen television set in town. Zhou Xiaowen directed this clever, sometimes touching satire on the temptations of capitalist consumerism. P EROTIQUE (NOT RATED) * Three major female directors with strong international reputations made this anthology film dealing with sexuality. Only the episode by Lizzie Borden, about an actress and a cop, has any cinematic interest. Clara Law's segment, about quarreling lovers in Hong Kong, is simply repetitious; and Monika Treut's tale of two predatory German women is incoherent. S N V P ETERNITY/ IS THAT ALL THERE IS? (NOT RATED) *** "Is That All There Is?" is a sly and intimate self-portrait by the late Lindsay Anderson, who directed such celebrated movies as "If..." and "This Sporting Life" as well as many important stage productions. "Eternity" is an artful semidocumentary about an Englishman who devoted much of his life to scrawling the word "eternity" on streets and sidewalks. These essays make a stimulating double bill. P EXOTICA (R) *** A man tries to assuage family-related grief through an oblique relationship with a nightclub dancer. Atom Egoyan, perhaps the most imaginative filmmaker in Canada today, wrote and directed this explicit but serious-minded study of sexual obsessiveness. P S N V FARINELLI: IL CASTRATO (R) ** The life and loves of Europe's most renowned 18th-century castrato singer, focusing on his often peculiar relationships with composers, women, and his brother. The subject has historical and musical interest, and the technicians have done an impressive job of reproducing the hero's androgynous vocal quality on the soundtrack. But, director Gerard Corbiau shows more interest in sensational details than aesthetic insights, and the acting is uneven. S N V P FATHER OF THE BRIDE PART II (PG) ** He married his daughter off in the previous movie, and now she's pregnant. So is his wife, and our hero is in a perpetual tizzy over the comic complications that spring up. This feature-length sitcom episode is handsomely filmed, but not as funny as you'd hope with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in leading roles, and some of the humor has a nasty edge. Charles Shyer directed. P *** Sweet, light, unsurprising. FEAST OF JULY (R) * Two brothers feud over a somewhat mysterious young woman who's moved into their household and is trying desperately to overcome memories of her difficult past. This prettily photographed English drama has much appealing 19th-century atmosphere, but the story is unsurprising, and we've met these characters too many times before. Directed by Christopher Menaul. V S P FIRST KNIGHT (PG-13) ** Competently made, proudly old-fashioned retelling of the King Arthur story, focusing much of its attention on the romantic triangle involving love-smitten Arthur, his lovely bride Guinevere, and loyal but temptable Lancelot, the newest member of the Round Table gang. Sean Connery does the best acting as Arthur, but there's dandy chemistry between Richard Gere and Julia Ormond, and Gere swings a mean broadsword. Directed by Jerry Zucker. V * Excali-BORE, Gere as Lancelot lost-a-lot; inaccurate. FORGET PARIS (PG-13) *** That's what married friends keep telling Mickey and Ellen, a couple who met in the City of Light but now are struggling to stay married. The pair seesaws between his career and emotional needs and hers, never quite striking a balance. For a change, Hollywood dips into a mature theme: What keeps a romance afloat when reality sets in. Billy Crystal gets to use his patented one-liners to good effect, and Debra Winger has the right blend of toughness and vulnerability as his wife. By April Austin S P *** Hilarious, clever, heartfelt. FRANKIE STARLIGHT (R) ** The memoirs of an Irish dwarf with a troubled family history, told in flashback as he experiences the challenge of becoming a popular author who fits few of the public's expectations. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the picture is often sentimental but rarely slides into real tear-jerker territory. Anne Parillaud, Matt Dillon, and Gabriel Byrne give likable performances, and newcomer Corban Walker steals the movie as the astronomy-loving title character. S N V P FREE WILLY 2: THE ADVENTURE HOME (PG) * Cute kids, cuter whales, two nasty villains who want to kidnap Willy, and an oil spill to rile 'em all up. Little of the yarn is very adventurous, despite its title, but the watery scenes are prettily photographed by the great Laszlo Kovacs. Directed by Dwight Little. P FRENCH KISS (PG-13) ** Romantic comedy about an American woman who chases her straying Canadian fiance from Toronto to Paris, and picks up a new French boyfriend along the way. Kevin Kline has some amusing moments, but Meg Ryan's acting runs out of energy, and Lawrence Kasdan's directing is too laid-back to help her out. Adam Brooks ("The Big Chill," "The Accidental Tourist") wrote the occasionally snappy screenplay. N P ** Interminable, too cute, Kevin Kline carries the picture. FUN (NOT RATED) *** Desperate for some excitement in their humdrum lives, two teenage girls commit an appalling crime. Swinging between interviews with the main characters and flashbacks to their day of violence, Rafal Zelinsky's drama etches a chilling portrait of American society as a spiritual wasteland that's unwilling or unable to cultivate the vast potential of its youngest members. Produced about the same time as "Heavenly Creatures," which it resembles in many ways. S V P GEORGIA (R) **** Jennifer Jason Leigh gives the performance of a lifetime as a deeply troubled rock singer who moves in with her sister, a country-music star who's achieved success at the expense of strained family relations. Directed by Ulu Grosbard, who has never done a better job of filling the screen with superb acting, and shows great ingenuity at interweaving music with other aspects of the story. Barbara Turner wrote the sensitive screenplay. Contains graphic portrayals of substance abuse and other unsavory material. S V P N GET SHORTY (R) ** A mob money-collector flies into Hollywood on the trail of a client who's absconded with a bagful of cash. There he meets a Grade Z producer with Grade A ambitions, an actress with similar credentials, and a Major Star who wants to learn gangster-speak by hanging around with our hero. John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito give appealing perform- ances, but director Barry Sonnenfeld has reduced the bite of Elmore Leonard's novel, making this more a smart-alecky trifle than the wicked Tinseltown satire it might have been. V P S *** Wry, satirical, wacky but violent. THE GLASS SHIELD (NOT RATED) *** Thoughtful suspense drama about the first African-American man to join an all-white branch of the Los Angeles sheriff's office, where he encounters racism, brutality, and corruption. Written and directed by the hugely talented Charles Burnett, who uses a subtly stylized approach that avoids any hint of sensationalism while conveying the realities of the fact-based story with surprising impact. Michael Boatman heads the excellent cast. V P GOLDENEYE (PG-13) *** Bond is back, and he's better than ever. Pierce Brosnan plays OO7 - the secret agent with a proper smirk, some great lines, a to-die-for car, a beautiful woman, a wicked woman, and a couple of nasty bad guys. Bond is still a "sexist misogynist dinosaur," but Brosnan makes him irresistible fun. A few editing flaws and a scene of one-on-one combat that goes on too long can't keep "Goldeneye" from being highly entertaining. By Carol Hartman S V P N **** Explosive, zany, Bondescent. A GOOFY MOVIE (G) ** Single dads are so popular in Hollywood that even Goofy gets to be one, dragging his son on a fishing trip so they can be better pals. Kevin Lima's feature-length cartoon has some funny moments, but why couldn't the gang at Walt Disney Pictures provide something for girls and moms to identify with, too? GORILLA BATHES AT NOON (NOT RATED) **** A lonely Soviet soldier wanders through Berlin after the cold war, looking for love, companionship, and fresh fruit to munch on while he remembers a more heroic past. Written and directed by Dusan Makavejev, once a towering figure in Yugoslavian cinema, this low-key comedy needs more than melancholy jokes and time-traveling montage to overcome its unfortunate shortages of energy and imagination. V GROSSE FATIGUE (R) *** French actor Michel Blanc plays himself in this rambunctious comedy, which begins with his perplexing discovery that once-adoring fans now jeer instead of cheer when he goes by, and blame him for all sorts of problems he has nothing to do with. Much of the picture is fast and funny, although many gags have an in-joke quality aimed mainly at French-film connoisseurs. Blanc directed from his own screenplay. S P HALFAOUINE (Not RATED) *** A boy comes of age amid the complexities of Arab folk culture in this colorful and instructive drama. Also known as "Boy of the Terraces." S N V HEAT (R) ** Robert De Niro plays a nasty criminal and Al Pacino plays the obsessive cop who's determined to bring him down. The performances are persuasive but the plot rattles on much too long. Written and directed by Michael Mann in his usual moody style. V P ** Long, bloody, stereotypical. HEAVYWEIGHTS (PG) *** A lightweight Disney romp through a summer camp for fat boys. Here, the weight reduction has taken a backseat to fun. But the woodsy resort becomes a concentration camp, run by German-accented musclemen, when a Tony Robbins-like motivational guru takes over. He has plans to make millions producing a video of his weight-loss methods. The pudgy kids rebel, producing predictable juvenile hijinks and a lesson in overcoming low self-esteem. by David Clark Scott P HIDEAWAY (R) * An ordinary man becomes clairvoyant after a near-death experience, and finds himself on the trail of a serial killer. This new ripoff of "The Silence of the Lambs" is scuttled by dopey dialogue and silly situations, although there are a couple of snappy suspense scenes. Brett Leonard directed. P S V HIGHER LEARNING (R) *** A look at college race relations, focusing on three students: a white woman whose social awareness is raised after a date-rape incident; a black man who resents unspoken racism; and a white man who's recruited by a skinhead gang. The film treats realistic subjects in a stylized way, putting its main energy into exploring ideas rather than building emotional power. Written and directed by John Singleton. V S N P ** Sobering, realistic, disturbing. HIGHLANDER 3 (PG-13) * Strictly for swordplay freaks. Longevity isn't all it's cracked up to be for the hero in this third episode of the Highlander saga. An immortal Scotsman, played by Christopher Lambert, yearns for normalcy but must spend centuries sparring with his nemesis until one of them is eliminated. Plenty of nifty special effects can't save this ponderous movie. By Kristiana Helmick V P * Excessive violence, unimaginative, a soulless sequel. HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS *** When 30-something Claudia goes home for Thanksgiving, she takes us along on a disjointed but often hilarious ride through family and Americana. The film has several warm and insightful moments, but it highlights family dysfunction and issues surrounding a homosexual marriage. Holly Hunter, Ann Bancroft, and Robert Downey Jr. give strong performances. By Terri Theiss P ** Empathetic, touching, adolescent. HOOP DREAMS (PG-13) *** A team of documentary filmmakers spent years tracking two young basketball players who hoped sports careers might be their ticket out of Chicago's inner city. The movie is a provocative commentary, but the material could have been shaped into a tighter, more cohesive structure. P uuu Insightful, sensitive, but a tad slow. HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT (PG-13) ** While visiting her grandmother's house, where she plans to finish a school project and decide whether to marry her boyfriend, a student gets caught up in the reminiscences of older women who gather to work on a quilt with "Where Love Resides" as its theme. The movie does a nice job of stitching together several different stories. Unfortunately, director Jocelyn Moorhouse works against the screenplay's diversity by filming all the action in the same syrupy style. The cast includes Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, and Alfre Woodard. S N P *** Heartwarming, sentimental, insightful. THE HUNTED (R) ** Christopher Lambert die-hard "Highlander" fans will find only slightly more substance here between the samurai slices. Lambert plays an American computer-chip designer pursued by hackers who try to kill him and restore the honor of their Ninja cult leader. The Japanese setting and Joan Chen are the film's only redeeming elements. V S N P by David Clark Scott HYENAS (NOT RATED) *** A woman returns to her village in Senegal after many years, offering to lift it out of poverty if the townspeople will inflict vengeance on a man who wronged her long ago. Based on Friedrich Duerrenmatt's haunting play "The Visit," this engrossing drama is at once an unsettling psychological study and a pungent commentary on the temptations of materialism in the third world. Directed by the great Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety. V I AM CUBA (NOT RATED) *** In content, this 1964 epic by Mikhail Kalatozov is poetic propaganda for Cuban-Soviet solidarity. In style, it's a dazzling series of imaginative shots that transform landscapes and cityscapes into transcendent visions of almost hallucinatory power. Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Cuban poet Enrique Pineda Barnet wrote the screenplay. V I CAN'T SLEEP (NOT RATED) ** An actual case inspired this French drama about events surrounding the highly publicized exploits of a serial killer who attacks elderly women. Somewhat similar in theme to "The Silence of the Lambs," the picture has been directed by Claire Denis with so much tact and circumspection that the story runs short of dramatic and emotional power. Its most impressive aspect is Denis's keen sensitivity to the ways in which urban architecture inflects contemporary life. V S N P I, THE WORST OF ALL (Not rated) *** The setting is Mexico in the 17th century, and the heroine is a nun who infuriates her superiors by refusing to stop writing poetry, studying the stars, and insisting that pursuit of knowledge is not a male prerogative. Directed with an elegant, sometimes heavy touch by the late Argentine filmmaker Maria Luisa Bemberg; based on Octavio Paz's account of the real-life poet who inspired the drama. IMMORTAL BELOVED (R) ** Who is the mysterious woman to whom Beethoven left his worldly goods? That's what the executor of his will has to discover. Everything about this crazy "biopic" is barely under control, from Gary Oldman's acting to Bernard Rose's directing. The result is fascinating in a creepy sort of way. V S N ** Predictable, shallow, but good soundtrack. IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (R) ** Tracking down a horror-novel author who's mysteriously vanished, an investigator enters a real-life nightmare straight from the pages of the missing writer's books. John Carpenter's thriller is too clever for its own good, swamping its potential thrills in self-conscious tricks and special effects. P V THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD (PG) ** A nine-year-old New Yorker becomes the owner of a magical cupboard that brings his toys to life. This gives him two new friends - a miniature Indian and cowboy - and also the difficult job of keeping them a secret from uncomprehending adults. The story is sensitively told, reminding young moviegoers that history is made of real people, not the caricatures who inhabit Hollywood myths. The film contains caricatures of its own, though, and the rap artist called Litefoot makes a lead-footed acting debut in the title role. Directed by Frank Oz. V P ** Delightful, caring, imaginative. INTO THE DEEP (NOT RATED) ** A documentary on undersea life. The movie is just a collection of pretty shots with nothing in particular to say, but the combination of 3-D photography and the huge Imax screen gives it plenty of visual punch, and it's all over in a snappy 35 minutes. JADE (R) O Advertised as a film about fantasies, it is more a nightmare of gory violence and women-bashing. While the infidelities of men are deemed business as usual, the infidelities of the female lead character result in blackmail, murder, and mayhem. One good chase scene does not a movie make. An unrealistic script makes little use of quality actors such as David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, and Chazz Palminteri. By Terri Theiss S V N P * Rough, bloody; weak story line. JALSAGHAR (NOT RATED) **** "The Music Room" is the English-language title of this 1958 masterpiece by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, about a declining aristocrat who descends into unwinnable class warfare with a local businessman by competing to see which of them can stage the most elaborate entertainments in his home. Only a melodramatic ending mars the excellence of Ray's superbly acted and exquisitely photographed tale, which is packed with an unusually large quantity of wonderful Indian music. THE JAR (Not rated) *** A crack develops in the water-storage jar at a school in Iran's central desert, sparking a series of comic and dramatic events. Ebrahim Foruzesh's quietly realistic film is slender but endearing. V JEFFERSON IN PARIS (PG-13) *** Living in Paris as American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson observes France's growing revolutionary fervor while striking up two romantic relationships: one with the wife of a foppish French painter, the other with the African-American nursemaid of his youngest daughter. Calling on the civilized intelligence that is their enduring trademark, director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala use their historical material to explore issues related to democracy, revolution, and the psychological complexities of a sensitive man. V S N ** Slow, beautiful, Nolte's Jefferson is implausible. JEFFREY (R) *** The film version of Paul Rudnick's hit Off Broadway comedy about a young gay man (Steven Weber of TV's "Wings") who decides against sex in the era of AIDS. The play's impressionistic tableaux of homosexual life doesn't translate with complete success to the screen, but there are many hilarious lines. Blatant sexuality shows up in some scenes. Patrick Stewart (of "Star Trek" fame) is a riot. By Frank Scheck S N P ** Provocative, amusing, poignant. THE JERKY BOYS: THE MOVIE (R) O Johnny Brennan and Kamal may have built a cult following with their two albums of obnoxious prank phone calls, but they will scare away fans with "The Jerky Boys: The Movie." This picture proves that Brennan and Kamal should stick to what made them famous in the first place: vinyl. The plot is weak, the lines are unimaginative, and the humor is dull. Let's hope a sequel won't surface. By Lisa Parney V P JOHNNY MNEMONIC (R) ** Keanu Reeves logs onto the big screen as the title character in this cyber-adventure based on the short story by William Gibson. Johnny must race against time to remove data trapped on the hard disk implanted in his head before it or a band of thugs kill him. Set in the future, the virtual-reality sequences threaten sensory overload, but the otherwise entertaining flick sends you away wanting more. Excellent sound editing makes it worthwhile to search out a theater with digital sound. Violence is plentiful. By Marianne Le Pelley V P * Silicon-chip thin plot, shallow, soulless. THE JOURNEY OF AUGUST KING (PG-13) ** A white mountain man helps a runaway slave escape her cruel master. The story is filmed with picturesque skill by director John Duigan, but it would seem more powerful and authentic if it paid due attention to the brave woman at the heart of the adventure, instead of following Hollywood convention and letting her white friend grab the limelight. Jason Patric and Thandie Newton star. Narrated by poet Maya Angelou. V P S JUDGE DREDD (R) ** Ideas from numerous better movies, including "Blade Runner" and "The Boys From Brazil," have a multilane collision in this cyber-trashy thriller about a brawny "judge" (Sylvester Stallone) who dispenses vigilante justice in a chaotic city of the future. Danny Cannon directed the gun-obsessed action, based on the popular comic-book series of the same title. V P * Dark, dreadful, tiring, violent. JUMANJI (PG) * Two children meet an overgrown kid who's been trapped for years in the exotic world of an adventure board game. Mostly trite and tacky despite Robin Williams's strenuous acting. Some scenes could be disturbing to young children. Based on Chris Van Allsburg's book. Directed by Joe Johnston. V *** Fast-paced, fun, somewhat scary. JUPITER'S WIFE (NOT RATED) ** Michel Negroponte directed this highly personal documentary about a homeless woman he met in a New York park. The film has much to reveal about American society's attitudes toward people who march to their own drummers for reasons that may seem eccentric or obscure to others. The narration is simplistic at times, though, and the movie raises more questions about social issues than it's prepared to explore. P JUST CAUSE (R) ** A white law professor defends a young black man sentenced to death for a horrible crime, and encounters jarring surprises. Although the first hour builds effective suspense, the story sags into a warmed-over combination of "The Silence of the Lambs" and both versions of "Cape Fear," and the violent climax looks like it was shot in an Everglades theme park. Ed Harris steals the show as a Hannibal Lecter wannabe. Arne Glimcher directed. V P * Brutal, unoriginal; waste of fine cast. KICKING AND SCREAMING (R) *** A visit with twenty-somethings who stick around their college after graduation because they can't think of anything else to do. Written and directed by newcomer Noah Baumbach with an excellent ear for absurdity and a keen eye for the offhand realities of everyday life in a den of unmitigated slack. P N S A KID IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT (PG) O Where he defeats a bad knight and befriends a princess before zooming back to the modern USA in time to win a ballgame. Rarely do the well-financed wizards at Walt Disney Pictures cook up a movie this badly written, acted, and directed. Released with "Runaway Brain," a mildly amusing Mickey Mouse cartoon with a G rating, which is often featured just before the movie. The directors were Michael Gottlieb for the feature, Chris Bailey for the cartoon. V KIDS (Not Rated) *** Hard-edged docudrama about a loose-knit group of Manhattan teenagers, focusing on a possibly AIDS-afflicted boy who takes pride in sexual conquests of young adolescent girls. Directed by respected photographer Larry Clark, the unusually explicit movie pulls no punches in capturing the raw, amoral energy of the subculture it depicts. While many observers feel it should be strictly off-limits for teenage audiences, it's hard to remember a film that conveys the destructive force of heartless sex and drug abuse with more cautionary power. V S N P ** Bleak, depressing, stirring. THE KINGDOM (Not rated) *** Pitch-dark comedy about strange doings in a Copenhagen hospital that's full of ultramodern technology, but can't escape the spell of spirits and phantasms that haunt the ancient ground it's built on. Directed by the adventurous Lars von Trier, and first shown as a Danish television miniseries in the "Twin Peaks" vein. S V P KISS OF DEATH (R) ** David Caruso takes his "NYPD Blue" talent to the big screen, playing a New York City crook who lets himself get suckered into one last job, then agrees to squeal on his accomplices. Even nastier than the 1947 gangster film it's based on, this updated "film noir" is stronger on gruesome details than psychological involvement. It's well acted, though. Barbet Schroeder directed. V S P * Ugly, sexist, extremely violent. LAMB (NOT RATED) uuu A teacher leaves his Irish parochial school with a boy who has been mistreated there, caring for him while evading authorities who want him arrested for kidnapping. Liam Neeson heads a superb cast in Colin Gregg's drama. P LAMERICA (Not Rated) *** After the fall of Albania's communist regime, two Italian entrepreneurs travel there to start a phony business enterprise, and one of them finds his life intertwined with a befuddled old man whose innocence and ignorance stand as poignant metaphors for a changing Europe that doesn't yet know where its future lies. Gianni Amelio's drama is both moving and intelligent, if less resonant than his earlier "Open Doors" and "Stolen Children." V THE LAST GOOD TIME (NOT RATED) *** In a rundown urban neighborhood, unlikely friendship develops between a dignified old man and a streetwise young woman who hides in his apartment after escaping from her abusive boyfriend. Bob Balaban has directed the slender story with commendable sensitivity, helped by excellent performances from Armin Mueller-Stahl and Olivia d'Abo. S N V P LAST OF THE DOGMEN (PG) ** Wistful tale of a solitary mountain man and a college professor who discover the last remaining group of native Americans living in the wild. These Indians are hidden in the mountains of Big Sky country. The plot is too schmaltzy to be believed and even has a chase scene reminiscent of the "Electric Cowboy." Entertaining even if it is fantastic. By Joyce McMillin * Flat, ho-hum, naive. LAST TANGO IN PARIS (NOT RATED) (Re-RELEASE) *** Reissue of Bernardo Bertolucci's melodrama about an American man and a French woman whose relationship is based entirely on physical attraction. Many call it a masterpiece, and it certainly contains one of Marlon Brando's most adventurous performances. Others find it as pretentious today as they did in 1972, even if the florid sex scenes appear a little less audacious with the passage of time. What's not debatable is the exquisite shine of Vittorio Storaro's dazzling cinematography. N S V P LEAVING LAS VEGAS (R) *** The ill-starred love affair of two misfits in an uncaring world. Rarely have the miseries of alcoholism and prostitution been portrayed with such cautionary force, or such an unshakable sense of compassion for their victims. Directed by Mike Figgis with a keen eye for revealing visual details and a brilliant ear for musical underpinnings that enrich scene after scene. A tacked-on "uplifting" finale provides the film's only false note. Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue head the excellent cast. S N V P LEGENDS OF THE FALL (R) * The story begins as a family saga in old Montana, but turns into a hackneyed tale of rivalry between two brothers who love a beautiful widow. The scenery is pretty in a calendar-art sort of way, but nothing else is worth the price of admission, including Anthony Hopkins's weak acting. Directed by Edward Zwick. V S N P ** Tear-jerker, melodramatic, beautiful scenery. LES MISeRABLES (R) * French filmmaker Claude Lelouch intertwines themes from Victor Hugo's great novel "Les Miserables" with a tale of suffering, intrigue, and triumph in France during the Nazi years. The movie is colorful, ambitious, and useful insofar as it brings French collaboration with Nazi Germany into a film aimed at popular audiences. But writer-director Lelouch drenches the story in the breezy romanticism that's always been his trademark, swamping the moral seriousness of the troubling material he's chosen to depict. S V P LESSONS OF DARKNESS (Not rated) AND SATYA: A PRAYER FOR THE ENEMY (Not rated) *** A powerful double bill. "Lessons of Darkness," directed by German filmmaker Werner Herzog, is a cinematically stunning look at the near-apocalyptic devastation caused by environmental effects of the Persian Gulf war. "Satya: A Prayer for the Enemy" is American filmmaker Ellen Bruno's visually poetic, verbally graphic account of Tibetan nuns who bravely resisted China's occupation of their country. Both are well worth viewing on cultural, artistic, and moral grounds. V LITTLE ODESSA (R) ** A mob assassin returns to his Russian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn for a killing he's been ordered to commit and becomes reentangled with his estranged father, his admiring young brother, and a girlfriend with ambivalent feelings toward him and his violent work. Written and directed by newcomer James Gray, who makes up in melancholy atmosphere what he loses in dramatic urgency. S V N P A LITTLE PRINCESS (G) *** When her father goes to fight in World War I, a creative young girl finds herself trapped in a nasty boarding school where she's reduced to the status of a mistreated servant. This comedy-drama for children and adults is made with more intelligence and imagination than many of the so-called art films that come our way, filling the screen with vivid images that ideally suit its fanciful plot. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese and Elizabeth Chandler, based on the well-known Frances Hodgson Burnett novel. *** Enchanting, improbable, captivating for all ages. LIVING IN OBLIVION (R) *** This is a low-budget independent film about the making of a low-budget independent film; fortunately, the picture we're watching is a zillion times more entertaining than the movie-within-the-movie appears to be. Written and directed by Tom DiCillo, the comedy reaches out most strongly to movie buffs who enjoy peering behind the scenes. But even casual spectators should enjoy its frequently hilarious satire on cinematic pretensions. Steve Buscemi leads th smartly chosen cast. S N P LORD OF ILLUSIONS (R) ** A private eye pursues a magician whose illusions are supernatural tricks of the most sinister kind. Clive Barker's horror yarn starts with a really original wallop, then sinks into standard chiller-diller gore. Scott Bakula stars. V N P LOSING ISAIAH (R) *** Two years after losing her baby while in a drug-induced haze, an African-American woman tries to regain custody from the affluent white family that's adopted him. The drama raises many sensitive issues, and while it doesn't explore their complexities very deeply, it treats its characters with respect and compassion. Directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal with strong visual imagination. P V LOVE & HUMAN REMAINS (NOT RATED) ** A lonely journalist, her cynical gay roommate, and a mysterious killer are among the characters of this ambitious but unfocused drama about the traps and dangers lurking within contemporary attitudes toward sexuality. Directed by Canadian filmmaker Denys Arcand, lauded by many for such pictures as "Jesus of Montreal" and "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire," but still not a very consistent or compelling storyteller. Written by Brad Fraser from his successful stage play. S V P N MAD LOVE (PG-13) *** An outstanding high school student falls in love with a deeply troubled classmate, springs her from a mental hospital after she attempts suicide, and joins her in a headlong flight from society. The theme of amour fou has been tackled by many artists over the ages, and this effort stands as a modest but respectible addition to the genre until a contrived happy-ending explodes its credibility. Directed by Antonia Bird with a visual intelligence that her controversial "Priest" only hinted at. V S P ** Irresponsible, disturbing, barely believable. THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE (NOT RATED) *** Maybe it's family problems, or the stress of losing the American colonies; but whatever the cause, the monarch's mental health has become shaky, and this is of enormous interest to friends and enemies alike. Excellent acting undergirds this historical comedy-drama, directed by Nicholas Hytner. P **** Droll, powerful; fine acting by Nigel Hawthorne. MAGIC IN THE WATER (PG) ** Orky is a sea monster who loves chocolate cookies, and while most folks in town don't believe he exists, he helps two kids develop a closer relationship with their workaholic dad during an adventure-filled vacation. Rick Stevenson directed this mildly entertaining fantasy. P MAJOR PAYNE (PG-13) ** He's a tough-as-nails Marine who'd rather be dodging battlefield bullets than whipping a squad of prep-school kids into shape. Most of the jokes are dumb and dumber, but Damon Wayans is a riot as the hero, and military machismo is an excellent target for his satire. The film is less painful than the title leads you to expect. Nick Castle directed. P V A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (PG) *** Also known as "Stairway to Heaven," this 1946 fantasy has its climax in a heavenly courtroom where David Niven asks to be spared a wartime death so his love for Kim Hunter can blossom over the years. Written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who never created a more widely loved picture. V MIAMI RHAPSODY (PG-13) ** The adventures of a Miami family, focusing mainly on sex, romance, and marriage. Sarah Jessica Parker and Mia Farrow are ideally matched as a daughter and mother who fall for the same guy, and Paul Mazursky and Antonio Banderas stand out as two of the men in their lives. Written and directed by David Frankel, whose attempt at following in Woody Allen's footsteps would have been more productive if it weren't so slavish. S N P * Vapid, self-indulgent characters; zzzzzzz. THE MIDDLEMAN (Not Rated) **** A young man enters Calcutta's business world hoping to boost his family out of its near-impoverished condition, and immediately finds himself on a slippery slope of moral and ethical compromise. Few filmmakers have shown Satyajit Ray's sensitivity and intelligence in exploring the morality of everyday life, and this 1975 drama ranks with his best achievements. MIGHTY APHRODITE (R) ** Woody Allen plays a married sportswriter who adopts a baby boy, becomes obsessed with finding the child's mother - a prostitute with the proverbial heart of gold - and then tries to hold his marriage together as he and his wife flirt with illicit relationships. Tabloid readers will find many connections between this slightly dark comedy and the highly publicized controversies of Allen's own life. Others will find a few hilarious jokes surrounded by flimsy attempts at self-justification. Mira Sorvino and Helena Bonham Carter lead the fine supporting cast. P ** Weak, marginally funny, typical Allen. MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS (PG-13) * Surprise, surprise: The intrepid teens battle an interdimensional slimebag named Ivan Ooze, save the universe, and market a zillion tie-ins while they're at it. Lively, colorful, violent, stupid. Bryan Spicer directed. V MINA TANNENBAUM (NOT RATED) ** The lives and loves of two Jewish women in Paris between the late 1960s and early '90s. Romane Bohringer and Elsa Zylberstein are nicely unassuming as the heroines. The plot doesn't quite hang together, though. Written and directed by Martine Dugowson. P S V A MONTH BY THE LAKE (PG) ** Vanessa Redgrave and Edward Fox give amiable performances in this lightweight comedy about four characters who almost pair off with the wrong partners during a sun-struck vacation in an Italian resort. Directed by John Irvin with a self-consciously playful touch. *** Enchanting, gentle, comic. MONEY TRAIN (R) ** Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson are back together for some laughs and macho action. This time, instead of sinking baskets they're transit-cop brothers trying to steal an armored subway train full of cash, and seduce their equally tough female partner along the way. Slick and slightly amusing at times, but for the most part unimaginative. Still, the public will sleep better knowing this duo has our best interests in mind. Directed by Joseph Ruben. By Caren Krams P V S MOONLIGHT AND VALENTINO (R) *** Friendship, marriage, and motherhood are considered in this film about a group of women including a best friend, two sisters, and an ex-stepmother helping the central character cope with the sudden loss of her husband. While it is not a masterpiece, there are some great moments of insight and humor. It includes some sexual content and commentary, but none is explicit. Cast includes Kathleen Turner, Elizabeth Perkins, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jon Bon Jovi. By Terri Theiss S *** Compassionate, introspective, funny. MORTAL KOMBAT (PG-13) *** A classic martial-arts flick pitting good against evil in a battle to save Earth, bringing the popular arcade game to the big screen with a heart-pounding soundtrack and dazzling special effects. It is one continuous fight sequence from opening scene to final credits, but lacks the blood, profanity, and gore that would have merited a more adult rating. Christopher Lambert is featured, but not even his talents can save the otherwise miserable acting. If you aren't into today's alternative pop scene, you won't enjoy this film. By Marianne Le Pelley V * Mindless mayhem, moronic, awesome special effects. MOVING THE MOUNTAIN (NOT RATED) uu Documentary about the Chinese democracy movement and the Tiananmen Square massacre, with special attention to Li Lu's activities as a leader of the protest. Capably directed by Michael Apted, whose career swings between fiction and nonfiction cinema, usually succeeding best in the latter category. V MURDER IN THE FIRST (R) ** An attorney defends an Alcatraz prisoner who murdered another inmate, arguing that the killer's mind was warped by the tortures of solitary confinement. The story poses important questions about penology and rehabilitation, but it's too heavy-handed to be effective. Directed by Marc Rocco. V S N P *** Grim, unsettling, upbeat ending. MURIEL'S WEDDING (R) *** Muriel is a misfit who's desperate to get married, but has everything from overbearing parents to nasty friends standing in her way. Australian newcomer P. J. Hogan wrote and directed this high-energy comedy, which earned several of this year's Australian Academy Awards. S N P ** Tragicomic, fast-moving plot, well-drawn characters. MUTE WITNESS (R) ** Working after hours in a Moscow movie studio, a mute woman witnesses a brutal murder, discovers it's part of a sinister conspiracy, and runs from killers who're determined to eliminate her before she can blow the whistle. Anthony Waller's violent drama has little depth but lots of twists, turns, and surprises. V P S N MY FAMILY (Mi Familia) (R) *** "My Family" is the tale of a Mexican family in East L.A. narrated by its eldest son. The story is told with great humor, but it attempts to make a few too many social statements. Thoughtful performances and a strong sense of family love and moral values make it an enjoyable work. Directed by Gregory Nava. By Terri Theiss V P *** Picturesque, instructive, original. NADJA (R) ** She's a Transylvanian vampire on the loose in New York, and a dedicated monster-hunter is on her trail. The story has little to offer, but the movie takes on strong visual interest when director Michael Almereyda allows it to get really weird, creating some of his effects with a toy Pixelvision camera. Elina Lowensohn is convincing as the title character, but Galaxy Craze is irritatingly self-absorbed in the other key female role. V S P NATIONAL LAMPOON'S SENIOR TRIP (R) O Whatever significance the National Lampoon trademark may have had is dissipated by this witless slapstick comedy about a disastrous road trip undertaken by a group of high school students. The only saving graces are Matt Frewer's well-timed comic performance as a hapless principal, and, for 1970s cultists, Tommy Chong reprising his shtick as a blissed-out druggie. By Frank Scheck S P NELL (PG-13) ** Jodie Foster plays a young woman who's been raised in almost total isolation. Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson play scientists who try to befriend her, but can't protect her from the world. The movie wants to explore the secrets of a person who evades all categories, but the filmmakers place her in their own categories, transforming their fascinating subject into a very ordinary drama. V N *** Engrossing, touching; fine work by Jodie Foster. THE NET (PG-13) * Computer hacker-hero vs. high-tech saboteurs. Sandra Bullock is her usual appealing self, but she can't transcend the predictable material she's programmed with here. Directed by Irwin Winkler, a filmmaker with more social awareness than cinematic imagination. V P *** Fast-paced, exciting, implausible. NEW JERSEY DRIVE (R) *** Stealing cars and joy-riding become deadly pastimes for a group of African-American youngsters in a New Jersey ghetto. Nick Gomez doesn't recapture the full cinematic excitement of his first movie, "Laws of Gravity," but he still shows himself to be a wildly talented young filmmaker with a piercing eye for life in the jungle of cities. P V NICK OF TIME (R) * Johnny Depp's daughter is kidnapped, and he has 90 minutes to assassinate the governor of California or the kid gets it. What can he do? If you're him or anyone in the audience, you keep looking at your watch. The story is told in real time, starting at noon and ending at 1:30 - probably how long it took to shoot the movie. Christopher Walken walks through his role as the looming psycho in this misdirected action thriller, where the gimmick runs out of time before the film does. Directed by John Badham. By Caren Krams P V NINE MONTHS (PG-13) ** The movie isn't quite that long, but it has more than one dull stretch as a man reluctantly accepts the idea of parenthood with his pregnant girlfriend. The story is loaded with cliches and perilously weak on logic. Hugh Grant goes through his usual repertoire of lovable tics, but Robin Williams steals the show as a Russian doctor who says "Anastasia" instead of "anesthesia." Directed by Chris Columbus. P *** Goofy, sappy, slapstick. NIXON (R) *** Oliver Stone portrays the former President as a hugely complicated mixture of conflicting qualities - on one hand a foul-mouthed bigot and geopolitical killer who bombs Southeast Asia with hardly a shrug, on the other a perspicacious world-changer who might have been a 20th-century giant if his personality hadn't been so flawed. Less cinematically daring but more psychologically rich than Stone's amazing "JFK," the picture is as rambling, mercurial, infuriating, and fascinating as its hero. Anthony Hopkins heads a superbly chosen cast. V P *** Long, entertaining, cathartic. NOBODY LOVES ME (Not rated) ** And few will love this picture very much, although there are some lively moments near the beginning. The meandering story centers on an almost-30 woman who cultivates unlikely interests as a way of meeting new people and looking for romance. Directed by German filmmaker Doris Dorrie. S V N P NOBODY'S FOOL (R) *** Paul Newman does his best acting in years as Sully, a likable loser juggling relationships with friends and relatives who can't figure out why he's still drifting aimlessly through life after passing his 60th birthday. Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis head the strong supporting cast. Directed by Robert Benton. V S N P *** Sad, honest, well-acted. THE NOVEMBER MEN (Not rated) *** A filmmaker plans a movie about an attempt on President Bush's life, but his project may be a smoke screen for an actual assassination plot. This uneven but provocative picture was directed by the feisty Paul Williams, whose guerrilla-like filmmaking has enabled him to incorporate actual Bush footage into his fictional story. V P NOW AND THEN (PG-13) *** Lightweight coming-of-age movie about girls growing up in a small Indiana town in the 1970s. Of the three current films about women ("Moonlight and Valentino" and "How to Make an American Quilt" are the others), this is the least introspective but the most fun. Baby boomers will enjoy the trip back to tract housing and music from the Monkees and the Jackson 5. Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, and Melanie Griffith open and close the movie, but it's the younger lesser-known actresses who give it spunk. By Joyce McMillin P ** Predictable, heartwarming, pat. ONCE WERE WARRIORS (R) *** A harrowing visit to the New Zealand household of an ethnic Maori woman whose husband has scarred their 18-year marriage with bouts of drunken violence. The drama is not so much artful as powerful; but its cry against domestic abuse is strong and unflinching. Lee Tamahori directed. S V P ** Powerful, harsh, degrading portrayal of sex. OPERATION DUMBO DROP (PG) ** Green Beret soldiers transport an elephant to a remote Vietnamese village. Danny Glover and Ray Liotta head a cast of likable actors, and the dialogue provides some hearty laughs. The story has few real surprises, though, and it's disconcerting to see war-torn Vietnam turned into the backdrop for an escapist entertainment in the usual Disney mold. Simon Wincer directed. V P OTHELLO (R) *** William Shakespeare's towering tragedy about a jealous husband manipulated by an evil companion. Laurence Fishburne gets off to a shaky start as the title character, and director Oliver Parker has trouble integrating the accents of his international cast into a convincing ensemble. His visual style is both pungent and poetic, though, and Kenneth Branagh's insidious Iago is far and away the best performance of his uneven screen career. Irene Jacob is her usual radiant self as the ill-starred Desdemona. S N V OUTBREAK (R) * A virus developed for biological warfare breaks loose in a California town, and military brass debate the issue while Dustin Hoffman tries to save the day. It's sad to see such an empty-headed movie on such an attention-worthy subject. Clunkily directed by Wolfgang Petersen. P V PANTHER (R) ** The rise and fall of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, which was founded in 1966 by African-American militants Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, and has been wildly controversial ever since. Bold and bombastic throughout, this action-filled docudrama blurs every line between fact and fiction by cramming hugely complicated issues into the simplistic confines of a streetwise genre piece overstuffed with shootouts and chases. The result is rarely artful or insightful, but it's undeniably hard-hitting. Directed by Mario Van Peebles from a screenplay by his father, Melvin Van Peebles, once a towering figure in black American cinema. V P PARTY GIRL (R) ** She's a not-so-swinging single in New York, dreaming of fame as a dance-club entrepreneur but earning her living as a library clerk with a love-hate attitude toward the Dewey Decimal System. Parker Posey gives a charismatic performance in the title role, but the movie is too ragged to be called a success. Directed and cowritten by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. V N P PATHER PANCHALI (NOT RATED) *** The first film by Indian director Satyajit Ray explores the life of a poor rural family with wit, understatement, and a gracefulness rarely found in today's hectic movie world. Originally released in 1955, and known as "Song of the Little Road" in its English-subtitled version. Ravi Shankar composed the superb music. THE PEREZ FAMILY (R) ** Eager to enter the United States after the Mariel boatlift in 1980, four Cuban emigrants with the same last name assemble themselves into a phony family to improve their chances of joining American society. Mira Nair's romantic comedy-drama has a generous heart and a lively spirit, but it's rarely as funny or touching as it sets out to be. Marisa Tomei and Alfred Molina head the energetic cast. V S P *** Thought-provoking, lively, unrealistic ending. PERSUASION (PG) *** Glowingly filmed adaptation of Jane Austen's late novel about life and love in 19th-century England, centering on the emotional life of a young woman who reencounters an attractive man she once spurned on the advice of a misguided friend. Directed by Roger Michell from Nick Dear's literate screenplay, which reflects the sly charm if not the rich complexity of Austen's mature prose. **** Authentic, understated, a Jane Austen gem. PICTURE BRIDE (NOT RATED) ** Likable, sincere, but very uneven drama about Asian women brought as mail-order wives to live and work on a Hawaiian sugar-cane plantation. Directed by Hawaiian-born filmmaker Kayo Hatta. V P S POCAHONTAS (G) *** The adventurous romance between a spunky Indian girl and a hardy English colonialist, retold by the Walt Disney studio with a predictable tilt toward nostalgic myth rather than clear-eyed history. The film is attractively designed and energetically edited, in the usual Disney fashion, and it's interesting to see the Disney folks convey such a hearty endorsement of interracial dating. The drawing, directing, and dialogue all seem a bit mechanical, though, suggesting that the studio's magic formulas are wearing thin. Mel Gibson, Irene Bedard, and native-American activist Russell Means head the talented cast. Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg directed. *** Highly enjoyable, light, earth-friendly. THE POSTMAN ("IL POSTINO") (PG) **** Exiled by his 1950s political foes to a fishing village off the Italian coast, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda strikes up an unexpected friendship with a meek postman who's one of the island's few literate inhabitants. Directed with exquisite care by Michael Radford, this loosely fact-based drama is both a touching story of mutual affection and a deeply intelligent essay on the relationship between nature and culture. Philippe Noiret is a fully believable Neruda, even if the screenplay doesn't reflect the rich variety of the actual poet's work, and the late Massimo Troisi is brilliant as his unlikely companion. S P **** Poetic, tender, quietly humorous. PRIEST (R) ** While wrestling with questions of conscience arising from his homosexuality, a Roman Catholic priest agonizes over whether he should break the secrecy of his confessional and intervene in a child-molesting case involving a local family. Antonia Bird's drama is serious, heartfelt, but ultimately too superficial for comfort especially when compared with a vastly superior effort like "The Boys of St. Vincent." S V P PROFESSION: NEO-NAZI (NOT RATED) ** Documentary on the activities of Ewald Althans, a young leader of Germany's frightening neo-Nazi movement. Less far-reaching in its concerns than one might wish, the film still contains starkly revealing moments, as when Althans harangues tourists at the Auschwitz death camp, and when he settles in for a chat with his parents, who evidently love their son but despise the demagoguery he's taken up. THE PROMISE (NOT RATED) * The story of a love affair that begins around the time the Berlin Wall is constructed, and persists until the momentous changes that mark the end of East Germany's Communist era. German filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta is an experienced director with strong social and political awareness, but she badly weakens the impact of this drama by confining its fascinating issues to the predictable boundaries of a corny soap-opera plot. Its lack of historical depth is almost shocking at times. V P THE PROPHECY (R) ** This wacky horror film written and directed by Gregory Widen (he also wrote "Highlander") revolves around a group of wayward angels fighting over people's souls. The main reason to see it is Christopher Walken's wild turn as the baddest angel of all; this gifted actor pulls out the stops with his outrageous mannerisms, and is clearly having the time of his life (even if his career is threatening to turn into Bela Lugosi's). Be prepared for many gruesome scenes of charred corpses, and much profane, hard-boiled dialogue. By Frank Scheck V P N PULP FICTION (R) *** Four interlocking stories about sex, drugs, violence, and other sensational stuff, tempered with an interest in redemption that suggests filmmaker Quentin Tarantino might be growing up a little. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are terrific as talkative hit men, and Bruce Willis is equally good as a boxer who refuses to throw a fight. Look out for over-the-top scenes of mayhem and brutality, though. V S N P *** Surprising, wry, gory. A PURE FORMALITY (NOT RATED) ** A famous novelist is arrested and interrogated for a violent crime that he can't remember committing. Giuseppe Tornatore, the overrated Italian director of "Cinema Paradiso," almost makes a good movie out of this unusual story, which combines elements of suspense and mysticism before losing its bearings in a murky finale. Tornatore wrote the screenplay with Pascale Quignard, and did the snappy editing. Gerard Depardieu and Roman Polanski are terrific as the author and his interrogator. V P PUSHING HANDS (NOT RATED) *** Retiring from his long career as a tai-chi teacher, a Chinese man moves into his son's American household, spars with his discontented daughter-in-law, and faces the loneliness of being a stranger in a strange land. No filmmaker has a more sensitive grasp of family relationships than Ang Lee, who fills the movie with finely realized details that bring the slender plot vividly to life. Made in 1991, this is the first part of his remarkable trilogy on families, friends, and food, which continues with "The Wedding Banquet," still his most touching film, and concludes with the enjoyable "Eat Drink Man Woman." V P QUEEN MARGOT (NOT RATED) ** Intrigue and bloodshed in the 16th century, starting with the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and continuing with hardly a letup. Isabelle Adjani is striking as Marguerite of Valois, but the main draw is Philippe Rousselot's moody cinematography. Directed by Patrice Chereau, who captures the turbulence if not the epic scale of the Dumas novel. N V S *** Vivid, bloody, historical soap opera. THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (R) *** A vengeful woman takes on a sadistic sheriff who keeps order by staging shootouts in the town square. Sam Raimi's western parodies the western genre with energy and affection. Contains lots of violence, but done in a cartoonish way that diminishes its impact. V P N *** Suspenseful, violent, Sharon Stone's best film. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (NOT RATED) *** James Dean gave his most indelible performance in this 1955 melodrama about a sensitive young man's painful efforts to find meaningful rapport with his family, his peers, and himself. Natalie Wood and Jim Backus are marvelous as his hard-to-get girlfriend and weak-willed father, but Sal Mineo stands out most as a desperately sad teenager whose emotional agonies spark the tragic climax. Directed by Nicholas Ray, and reissued in its original CinemaScope format for its 40th anniversary. V RECKLESS (PG-13) ** Dark, often crazy comedy about a woman who flees her dangerous husband, moves in with an unconventional couple she's just met, and tries to find herself through new friendships and relationships. The film deserves credit for taking a risk a minute, but few of the gambles pay worthwhile dividends. Mia Farrow and Mary-Louise Parker star. Norman Rene directed Craig Lucas's screenplay. V P RED FIRECRACKER, GREEN FIRECRACKER (NOT RATED) * In rural China, a young woman renounces her femininity in order to rule her family's fireworks business with an iron hand, but this arrangement is threatened by an artist who falls in love with her. The story makes a good metaphor for conflicts between selfhood and tradition, but director He Ping shows a weakness for melodramatic excess that outweighs the film's assets of colorful cinematography and earnest acting. S V RHYTHM THIEF (Not rated) *** Strikingly filmed story about an emotionally isolated young man who sells bootleg rock-music tapes on a Manhattan street corner. Energetically directed by Matthew Harrison and starring Jason Andrews in a fierce performance as the unlikely hero. Howard Krupa did the streetwise cinematography. Fine work all around. S V P RIVER OF GRASS (NOT RATED) *** The title is largely ironic, since little grass is visible near the cheap motels, convenience stores, and sun-baked highways that frame this superbly made drama about two losers who hit the road after having an accident with a gun that's fallen into their hands. While the characters are anything but appealing, the film combines vivid storytelling with a sad commentary on some people's eagerness to define themselves in terms borrowed from the lowest grade of media fantasy. Evocatively directed in Florida locations by gifted newcomer Kelly Reichardt. V N P THE RIVER WILD (PG-13) ** Meryl Streep saves her family from evil kidnapers on a rafting trip. Lots of action, loads of cliches, and enough water to keep you feeling soggy for a week. Curtis Hanson directed. V S P ROB ROY (R) ** Sir Walter Scott's novel is turned inside-out by Michael Caton-Jones's movie, which transforms the title character from an elusive rogue into a conventional hero who swaggers across the screen from beginning to end. Liam Neeson plays him with conviction, and Tim Roth makes an uncommonly hissable villain. The adventure goes on too long, though, and wallows in nasty details that would have made Scott shudder. V S P ** Predictable, violent (with slayings and a brutal rape scene). ROOMMATES (PG) ** The up-and-down friendship of a hard-working young physician and his crotchety old grandpa. The story never gets beyond stereotypes and cliches, although Peter Falk manages to build some touching moments. Peter Yates directed. P S V ROY COHN/JACK SMITH (NOT RATED) *** Roy Cohn was a conservative lawyer who hid his alleged homosexuality, while Jack Smith was an openly gay filmmaker and artist. Both are portrayed by the late Ron Vawter in Jill Godmilow's movie, which juxtaposes a homophobic Cohn speech with a campy Smith performance. The film would be more resonant if it let Smith's absurdist humor serve as a direct deconstruction of Cohn's elitist hypocrisy, instead of alternating between its two subjects. It makes provocative social and political points, however, and provides an invaluable record of Vawter's awesome talent. P SABRINA (PG) ** Remake of Billy Wilder's comedy about a playboy who falls in love with a chauffeur's daughter, causing his stodgy brother to distract the young woman so an already arranged marriage can take place. Harrison Ford shows a flair for romantic comedy, but the cast can't match the 1954 original, which featured Humphrey Bogart and William Holden opposite Audrey Hepburn's inimitable charms. Directed by Sydney Pollack, who manages to dilute both the fairy-tale magic and the real-world cynicism that made the first version a classic. V P *** Delightful, slightly naive, great one-liners. SAFE (R) **** A woman develops health problems, decides chemicals in the environment are to blame, and contacts a cultlike self-help organization that leads her to progressive isolation from the everyday world. This thoughtful, chilling film is at once a poignant psychological drama and an incisive study of complex issues. Directed by Todd Haynes with a brilliantly controlled visual style that conveys great emotional power while purposefully avoiding the manipulative cues that conventional Hollywood movies rely on. Julianne Moore heads the superb cast. S P THE SCARLET LETTER (R) * This film, which its makers admit is "freely adapted" from Hawthorne's classic, misses the mark. In attempting to make some heavy-handed political statements, it ends up as a mish-mash of "Last of the Mohicans," "Robin Hood," and oh yes, a bit of the title's tale of desperate lovers. Roland Joffe directed Demi Moore and Gary Oldman. Substantial nudity and sexual content are present, as well as violence. By Terri Theiss S N V ** Superficial, uninspiring, uneven. SEARCH AND DESTROY (R) ** Griffin Dunne plays a small-time entrepreneur who wants to make a film version of a didactic novel written by a self-help guru. Dennis Hopper is hilarious as the guru and Illeana Douglas is appealing as the hero's new girlfriend. Others in the cast, including such excellent actors as Christopher Walken and John Turturro, give surprisingly weak performances. Directed by painter David Salle in his cinematic debut; unfortunately, he lacks the filmmaking savvy to unify the screenplay's inconsistent events and atmospheres. S V P N THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH (PG) ** Living on the Irish coast with her grandparents, a little girl hears local legends that take on vivid meaning in her life. John Sayles normally steers toward social realism in his movies, and while this fairy tale has many ingredients for effective family entertainment, he's not a graceful enough filmmaker to create the mystical mood he seeks. ** Enchanting, slow; seals and seagulls are captivating. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (PG) *** Two sisters with contrasting personalities face family challenges and romantic complications within the carefully structured social codes of English country life about 200 years ago. Jane Austen's deeply ironic novel loses some of its bite but little of its beauty in Emma Thompson's screen adaptation, which is fetchingly photographed and capably acted by Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, among others. Directed by Ang Lee with a touch that seems oddly impersonal compared with "The Wedding Banquet" and his other films. **** Nuanced, majestic, brilliant. SEVEN (R) *** Two cops, a fresh newcomer, and a jaded veteran track down a serial killer whose grisly crimes echo the seven deadly sins. Although the story's basic setup is anything but original, it's powerfully directed by David Fincher, and Morgan Freeman gives another of his superbly understated performances. Be warned that the picture contains enough horrific details to make it a worthy successor to "The Silence of the Lambs," which obviously inspired it. Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey round out the principle cast. S V P N * Horrifying, repulsive, masterly cinematography. SEX, DRUGS & DEMOCRACY (NOT RATED) ** Documentary about social policy in the Netherlands, emphasizing the liberality of Dutch attitudes. While the film makes provocative points, its argument could be more persuasive. Directed by Jonathan Blank. N S P SHANGHAI TRIAD (R) *** Recruited to serve a notorious mobster, a young boy witnesses the illicit power games and tumultuous romantic secrets that flourish in the Shanghai underworld during the 1930s. Giving the popular "Godfather" genre a clever Chinese twist, Zhang Yimou's drama is less original than masterpieces like his "Ju Dou" and "The Story of Qiu Ju," but packs an entertaining wallop with its inventive filmmaking and deft performances. Gong Li stars as the gangster's petulant moll. V S SHOWGIRLS (NC-17) * A young woman finds unsatisfying success as a nude dancer. In its depiction of the Las Vegas nightclub scene and in its own cinematic strategies, the film is quite instructive about the intersection of sex, money, and entertainment in some areas of popular American culture. Joe Eszterhas's cliche-ridden screenplay is dully directed by filmmaker Paul Verhoeven. N S V P O Dumb, degrading, violent. SISTER MY SISTER (NOT RATED) ** Oppressed by the wealthy dowager who employs them, two young servants retreat into a private world of memory, fantasy, and animosity. Based on the events that inspired Jean Genet's provocative play "The Maids," this serious but unsubtle drama uses incest and violence as metaphors for the evils bred by class privilege. The cast includes Julie Walters, Joely Richardson, and Jodhi May. Directed by Nancy Meckler. V S SMOKE (R) *** Wayne Wang's film seamlessly weaves the lives of tough but gentle people around a Brooklyn tabacconist. Harvy Keitel and Stockard Channing stand out, but William Hurt as a confused writer is a piece of wood (balsa). The action is talky and philosophical but in sweet celebration of everyman going nowhere. People actually discuss this film afterwards. By Jeff Danziger SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT (R) ** A husband's infidelity sparks a crisis in a seemingly happy marriage. Fans of the overrated "Steel Magnolias" should find much to enjoy in Lasse Hallstrom's dramatic comedy, which combines a character-driven screenplay with a colorful Southern setting. Both the humor and the poignancy stay strictly on the surface, though, and the story's occasional signs of lifelike ambiguity are canceled by a tacked-on happy ending. Julia Roberts gives one of her best screen performances, but is still out-classed by Gena Rowlands and Robert Duvall. Written by Callie Khouri and photographed by Sven Nykvist. V P ** Funny, uneven, not high-reaching. SON OF THE SHARK (NOT RATED) *** Rejecting society, which has given them no sense of belonging, two young French brothers struggle to survive in hostile urban surroundings. Agnes Merlet's debut film is admirably direct and unsentimental, and acted with stunning forcefulness. But it's so derivative of "The 400 Blows" that fans of French cinema will have attacks of deja vu. S N V P SPECIES (R) ** A dangerous alien is on the loose in Los Angeles, and must be tracked down before she mates with an unsuspecting man. The first 30 minutes are exciting, inventive, and witty, but the picture soon settles into a routine of chases and gross-out scenes. Most surprising is its misogynistic tone, suggesting that strong women are still more feared than respected in Hollywood. Roger Donaldson directed. V S N P ** Repulsive, gory, a poor man's "Alien." STAR TREK GENERATIONS (PG) ** Captain Kirk meets Captain Picard, and the two commanders of the Starship Enterprise vanquish an evil alien. The time-traveling story is disjointed and the action scenes aren't very original. What's best are the quiet, human moments that have always been the strongest suit of the "Star Trek"series. David Carson directed. THE STARS FELL ON HENRIETTA ** A rascally but lovable old coot gets the notion that dowsing for oil is his ticket out of the Depression that's causing heartache for his rural Texas neighbors. Robert Duvall gives another of his compulsively watchable performances, but the story is trite and few of the char- acters are very interesting. Directed by James Keach. V STARTING PLACE (NOT RATED) *** In the late '60s, politically committed filmmaker Robert Kramer went to Vietnam with the collective known as Newsreel to make a documentary on the war; in the early '90s he returned to Hanoi to trace the aftermath of events he had witnessed there. The result is a colorful, provocative, and proudly personal work. V N STEAL BIG, STEAL LITTLE (PG-13) ** Andy Garcia plays Hispanic twins in this ragged comedy about one brother's effort to salvage a family estate from the other brother's exploitative schemes. The story is uneven, unwieldy, and much too long, but its ambition and sheer goofiness give it an intermittent charm. Alan Arkin and Rachel Ticotin head the good supporting cast. Andrew Davis directed. S V P STRANGE DAYS (R) *** On the eve of the 21st century, a former cop hustles an illegal entertainment device that pumps sensory impressions into the brain, and could provide clues to a murder that's threatening a massive race riot. Kathryn Bigelow's science-fiction epic is a stunning technical achievement and a bold catalog of provocative social issues, converging in a finale that's either a Hollywood happy ending or a blatant ideological cop-out, depending on your point of view. The picture contains enough violence to spark a controversy all its own. Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis, and Angela Bassett star. S V N P * Perverse, caustic, leaves you spinning. STRAWBERRY AND CHOCOLATE (R) *** In contemporary Cuba, a Castro loyalist strikes up an acquaintance with a gay artist to gather evidence of his moral decadence, but grows to understand and respect his many good qualities. Directed by Tomas Gutierrez Alea in collaboration with Juan Carlos Tabio, the movie is tame in style, but has lively performances and a tolerant spirit. Subtitles. S N P *** Sensitive, sensual, thought-provoking. STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY (PG-13) ** He's good enough. He's smart enough. But doggone it, do people really like him? That's the question for viewers who may or may not be familiar with "Saturday Night Live's" Al Franken who plays the pathetic 12-step neurotic, Stuart Smalley. In this sometimes silly, sometimes funny film, Stuart makes his movie debut as he tries to save his own mixed-up, addiction-prone relatives from driving one another crazy. And even if Stuart isn't totally successful, that's OK, because he really needs to accept himself as he is. By Elizabeth Ross TANK GIRL (R) * The fearless comic strip-come-to-life "Becca" and her two mousy sidekicks face crisis after crisis in a violent futuristic world. Predictably, they fight off a legion of bad guys and enlist some weird victims-turned-good guys to help. Not successful at shattering stereotypes, the film ends as Becca is reunited with her team of girl fighters and smiles dreamily at her newly won, genetically altered man. By Christina Nifong V N P THEREMIN - AN ELECTRONIC ODYSSEY (PG) *** The life and times of Leon Theremin, the Russian inventor who dreamed up the first electronic musical instrument in 1920, and also pioneered surveillance "bugs" for the Soviet government, which showed its appreciation by having the KGB kidnap him. This informative and entertaining documentary was smartly directed by Steve M. Martin, no relation to the other Steve Martin. *** Earthy, suspenseful, Denzel dazzles. THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU'RE DEAD (R) * Seeing this movie isn't one of them. Accepting one last job, a retired hit man finds himself on the wrong side of a nasty enemy, and the outcome is like a nincompoop version of "The Usual Suspects," which unfolds a somewhat similar story with more success on every level. Gary Fleder directed Scott Rosenberg's screenplay. Andy Garcia and Christopher Walken head the unfortunate cast. S N V P THREE WISHES (PG) O Coping with the loss of her husband and the illness of her little boy, a woman gets unexpected help from a mysterious stranger and his equally enigmatic dog. Not often is wish-fulfillment fantasy as arbitrary, gratuitous, and all-around unconvincing as in this dopey tale. The special effects are pretty, though. Martha Coolidge directed Elizabeth Anderson's screenplay. Patrick Swayze and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio star. V P N TO DIE FOR (R) *** Convinced that her lackadaisical husband is weighing down her hoped-for career as a media star, a TV weatherwoman seduces a high-school student into eliminating her spouse. This satire of middle-class media madness owes more to screenwriter Buck Henry than to director Gus Van Sant, who courts mass-market appeal by soft-pedaling his usually subversive style. The result is a conventional dark comedy with moments of unexpectedly biting wit. S V P N (Includes explicit sex scenes.) *** Captivating, sly; Kidman's role is a scream. TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING... (PG-13) * Three female impersonators from Manhattan spend an unexpected weekend in a remote little town. Presumably this comedy wants to promote tolerance and diversity - so why is its attitude toward rural people, working men, and other "normal" targets so insulting and condescending? Directed by Beeban Kidron from Douglas Carter Beane's aimless screenplay. In all, a pathetic echo of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," which had real insights into its unconventional subject. Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo star, with a cameo by Robin Williams. P V ** Droll, tolerant, poorly written. TOM & VIV (NOT RATED) * The troubled marriage of poet T.S. Eliot and his first wife, Vivienne, whose lively intelligence gave way to mental and physical problems that Eliot proved sadly incapable of helping. Eliot the poet is fascinating, but this dull movie is about Eliot the husband, whose pathetic failings are hardly the stuff of scintillating drama. Brian Gilbert directed. S P V * Myopic, a downer; too much emphasis on illness. TOMMY BOY (PG-13) * Chris Farley and David Spade (from "Saturday Night Live") star in this sophomoric slapstick comedy. Farley plays Tommy Boy, a witless kid who must save his father's auto-parts company from a conniving couple (played by Rob Lowe and Bo Derek); Spade is his smart-aleck sidekick. The two travel across the Midwest to sell brakes and find themselves in silly situations. There are a few good laughs in this corny movie, but overall, it's a no-brainer. By Lisa Parney P TOTAL ECLIPSE (R) * A melodramatic visit with 18th-century French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, paying more attention to their sexual excesses than the roots of their revolu- tionary art. Many talented people make amazingly weak showings: director Agnieszka Holland, screenwriter Christopher Hampton, actors David Thewlis and Leonardo DiCaprio, and actress Romane Bohringer, all of whom are capable of much better work. S N V P TOY STORY (G) *** Computer-animated film about two action toys, a cowboy and an astronaut, trying to reunite with the boy who's lost them. With its many eye-catching shots of consumer products, the picture starts off more like a promotional ploy than a kid-friendly entertainment. Happily, the plot and dialogue turn out to be hilarious, making this the most enjoyable picture of its kind in a very long while. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen provide the heroes' voices. John Lasseter directed, and Randy Newman wrote the songs. V **** Computerrific, highly creative, refreshing. TWO BITS (PG-13) ** A boy scavenges his Depression-ravaged neighborhood for the price of a movie ticket, diverting his attention from the imminent death of his much-loved grandfather. Al Pacino and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are fun to watch, but the picture's main asset is Juan Ruiz-Anchia's luminous cinematograhpy. James Foley directed. V P TWO DAUGHTERS (NOT RATED) *** Stories by Indian author Rabindranath Tagore provide the starting points for the two episodes of Satyajit Ray's movie. "The Postmaster" centers on a rural official who becomes friend and mentor to a little girl, while "Samapti" looks at a stubborn intellectual who's determined to marry an eccentric young woman his family and friends think is the worst imaginable choice. First released in 1961, this is not a major work by the great Bengali filmmaker, but it nicely showcases his perennial ability to enhance fine performances with expressive settings and poetic camera work. THE UNDERNEATH (R) *** After a long absence from home, an irresponsible young man renews old relationships with his affectionate mother, his ambivalent brother, and a former girlfriend who's acquired a menacing new lover. Jealousies flare, and soon he's mixed up in a crime that could wreck the lives of all involved. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. V S P UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (R) * One siege was enough. Steven Seagal reprises in his role as a gun-toting, bomb-throwing, martial-arts hero who saves the day, and the hostages. Yet the implausible plot, brainless and predictable, doesn't even qualify as good summer fun. By John Dillin V * Bullets, broken bones, and bad boys. UNSTRUNG HEROES (PG) ** Buffeted by family problems, a 12-year-old boy goes to live with two uncles whose eccentricities make his own troubled household seem almost tame. Diane Keaton directed this ragged but lively comedy-drama from Richard LaGravenese's imaginative screenplay. Michael Richards and Maury Chaykin play the rowdy relatives, supported by Andie MacDowell as the boy's dying mother and John Turturro as his brainy father. Nathan Watt is best of all as the young hero. V P ** Heavy, bittersweet, often slow-moving. UNZIPPED (R) *** Wildly entertaining documentary tracing the activities of fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi as he prepares to unveil his 1994 collection at a New York show. Directed with nonstop energy by Douglas Keeve and imaginatively photographed by Ellen Kuras in black-and-white and color. Bold, boisterous, beautiful. P *** Eclectic, good-humored, lively. THE USUAL SUSPECTS (R) *** Five shady characters meet in a police-station lineup and decide to take advantage of their acquaintance by planning a crime together; but the story's key character turns out to be a master criminal who's so elusive it isn't even clear whether he exists or not. Bryan Singer's thriller is awfully violent in spots, but a breakneck pace and truly surprising story raise it well above average for its genre. The cast includes Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin, and Gabriel Bryne. V S P ** Dark, crude, absorbing. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (R) ** Remake of John Wyndham's tale about a bunch of sinister children born into a sleepy town terrorized by their unearthly powers. Some scenes convey the unsettling plot twists with chilling restraint. Other sequences are violent and vacuous, losing the spirit of the 1960 version by Wolf Rilla, a model of crisp science-fiction storytelling. Directed by John Carpenter, who also composed the effective music with Dave Davies. V VIRTUOSITY (R) ** A former convict battles a computer-generated villain. Like the more inventive "Natural Born Killers," this is a movie that chides its audience for gawking at violence while wallowing in violence from beginning to end. Flashes of wit and imagination can't disguise its basic nastiness, although Denzel Washington's talent still shines through the mayhem. Directed by Brett Leonard. V N P ** Amateur, cybertrash, laughable. WAITING TO EXHALE (R) ** The tribulations and triumphs of four African-American women in search of meaningful romance. Directed by actor Forest Whitaker, the comedy-drama gets off to a zesty start, but lapses into superficial sentiment coated with syrupy music and familiar story twists. The good cast includes Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Gregory Hines, and Giancarlo Esposito. P S A WALK IN THE CLOUDS (PG-13) *** A recently returned World War II veteran poses as the husband of an unwed mother-to-be, and finds him- self in a complex relationship with her Mexican-American family. The tale is far from original, but director Alfonso Arau bathes it in a golden glow that goes beyond nostalgia to sheer dreaminess. Keanu Reeves and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon make appealing protagonists, although Giancarlo Giannini and Anthony Quinn get the best lines. V ** Touching, unconvincing, beautifully filmed. WATERWORLD (PG-13) ** Kevin Costner plays a web-footed mutant who steers his ecologically correct sailboat through a future world inundated with water. Also on hand are two female companions and a villain who leads his wicked crew from a stronghold on the infamous Exxon Valdez tanker. Despite its record-setting budget, the movie is just a high-tech comic book that borrows from the "Mad Max" movies of the early '80s. At least Dennis Hopper plays the bad guy with wildness and wit. Costner's stolid hero seems a washout by comparison. Kevin Reynolds is credited with directing. V N P *** Rambunctious, exhausting, entertaining. WHEN BILLY BROKE HIS HEAD ... AND OTHER TALES OF WONDER (Not rated) uuu Refusing to accept limitation in his busy and fulfilling life, Billy Golfus wrote and narrated this autobiographical film about the ongoing campaign of disabled Americans to be recognized as complete and productive members of society. The movie is by turns charming, harrowing, and remarkably funny. Directed by Golfus with David E. Simpson. P WHEN NIGHT IS FALLING (Not rated) ** A college professor is torn between a theology teacher who wants to marry her and a gay actress who unexpectedly attracts her. While the movie is intelligently directed by Canadian filmmaker Patricia Rozema, her screenplay fails to draw believable connections between the religious backgrounds and sexual behaviors of some key characters. P S N ** Heavy, bittersweet, often slow-moving. WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (PG) *** A lonely subway-token collector (Sandra Bullock) saves the life of an attorney she's had a crush on. Now he's in a coma, and his family is misled to believe that she's his fiancee. Delightful, predictable, a film to please all generations. By Staff Panel P WHITE MAN'S BURDEN (R) * In a fictional US where race relations are reversed, a white laborer kidnaps a black executive who inadvertently ruined his life, and each grows a bit wiser before events take a tragic turn. The novelty of the premise doesn't keep the story from seeming trite and arbitrary, and despite its apparently good intentions the picture can be seen as just another exercise in making African-Americans look unappealing on the screen. Harry Belafonte and John Travolta give earnest performances, though. Written and directed by Desmond Nakano. V P ** Contrived, unpolished, powerful WILD BILL (R) ** Raucous retelling of the Wild Bill Hickok story, portraying the frontier hero as dirty, dangerous, lecherous, and so ill-tempered you wonder why any sane person would stay in the same town with him. Jeff Bridges has a good time wallowing in his down-and-dirty role, and Ellen Barkin almost makes Calamity Jane into a character from life instead of legend. Directed by action specialist Walter Hill, the movie is a job well done but not necessarily one worth doing. V S N P THE WILD BUNCH (R) ** Reissued in a "director's cut" that includes a few minutes of previously excised material, Sam Peckinpah's violent 1969 western looks in retrospect like neither a transgressive triumph nor an orgy of immorality, but just an unusually ambitious genre piece that's more troubling for its misogyny than for its itchy trigger finger. William Holden and Robert Ryan star. S V P N WILD REEDS (NR) ** At a boarding school in southwestern France during the early 1960s, a teenage boy develops complex relationships with an attractive girl, a working-class boy, and an Algerian exile with aggressive right-wing views. Directed by the talented French filmmaker Andre Techine, the drama operates on many layers without developing enough power to be a full-scale success. V S P WINDOW TO PARIS (PG-13) * Rowdy Russians discover a magical window that transports them to Paris, where they're seduced by the possibility of comfortable Western decadence. Yuri Mamin's boisterous comedy takes on the serious issue of East-West relations after the cold war, but settles for clowning around. P V S WINGS OF COURAGE (G) * The first dramatic film in Imax 3-D is about an intrepid aviator trekking to civilization after crashing his plane in a South American mountain range. The snow is astoundingly real, the story is amazingly repetitious, and the movie is mercifully short, clocking in at around 40 minutes. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud THE WORLD OF APU (NOT RATED) **** The final installment of Satyajit Ray's renowned "Apu" trilogy is a portrait of the artist as a young man with a poetic sensibility, a wife he hardly knows, and much uncertainty about his future. It's hard to think of a filmmaker from India or anywhere else who has equaled Ray's ability to turn tragic events into life-affirming metaphors, or to portray the smallest details of everyday existence with an eye so keen and true. A masterpiece. * This section compiled and designed by Jane Lampmann, April Austin, Jennifer Wolcott, Judy Nichols, Suman Bandrapalli, John Van Pelt, and Leon Poindexter.
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