Mega Movie Guide 2004

Sterritt **** In ancient China a warrior visits an emperor to receive praise for killing the ruler's enemies. He describes his exploits, then faces unexpected questions that cast a new light on everything we've seen. Pure cinema. In Mandarin with subtitles.

Staff *** Rich, rewarding, intricately woven.

Sex/Nudity: 3 Violence: 15 scenes. Profanity: None. Drugs: 1 scene.

Director: Joe Johnston. With Viggo Mortensen, Omar Sharif, Zuleikha Robinson. (136 min.)

Sterritt ** A rough-riding cowboy (Mortensen) leaves a Wild West show to enter himself and his mustang in a high-stakes race across the Middle Eastern sands, hindered and helped by a sheikh (Sharif) who has an interest in the outcome. You might expect "Seabiscuit" meets "Lawrence of Arabia," but overall, it's a big, beautiful bore.

Director: Chuck Parello. With C. Thomas Howell, Nicholas Turturro, Lin Shaye. (96 min.)

Sterritt * Melodrama based on a real serial-killer case. Sordid and sleazy, although the lead performances are hard to fault.

Sterritt **** Director: Michael Mayer. With Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts. (97 min.)

A gay cook discovers he's straight, a gay journalist stays gay, and both strive to form a stable, lasting family with an eccentric woman they've befriended. Michael Cunningham's screenplay is less complex than his novel but there is much compassion here, and Roberts's acting is excellent.

Director: Paola di Florio. With Sander Vanocur, Gloria Steinem, John Lewis. (75 min.)

Sterritt **** Amazing footage from the glory period of the civil rights movement energizes this documentary about Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a white woman whose 1965 murder by white supremacists in Alabama helped push Congress to pass voting rights legislation.

Directors: Will Finn, John Sanford. With voices of Judi Dench, Roseanne Barr. (76 min.)

Sterritt *** A money-hungry villain wants to take over an old-fashioned dairy farm, and a nervy cow organizes fellow animals to save the day. Old-style animation slows down after a snappy start, but it's lively enough to keep kids from fidgeting too much.

Staff *** Delightful, fresh, great songs.

Sex/Nudity: 2 mild instances. Violence: 10 scenes. Drugs: 1 scene with drinking.

Director: Terry George. With Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix. (121 min.)

Sterritt ** Fact-based drama about a hotel manager who starts a sort of "Schindler's list" by giving shelter to displaced members of the Tutsi tribe under siege from Hutu fighters. The subject is crucially important, but the movie dilutes its impact with by-the-numbers filmmaking, and Cheadle's one-note performance displays few of his acting gifts.

Director: Zhang Yimou. With Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro. (119 min.)

Sterritt **** Love, treachery, and skulduggery zing like flashing blades through this thorny comedy-drama-romance, punctuated by the most inventive effects this side of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which it often resembles. China's finest filmmaker is in stunning form. In Mandarin with subtitles.

Sex/Nudity: 5 instances. Violence: 15 Profanity: None. Drugs: 3 scenes with drinking.

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