Mega Movie Guide 2004

Sex/Nudity: 2 instances of innuendo. Violence: 25 scenes Profanity: 16 expressions. Drugs: 3 counts of smoking, 1 of drinking.

Director: Mark Rosman. With Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Regina King. (97 min.)

Sterritt * The timeless fairy tale is updated into a cookie-cutter specimen of the teen-girl comedy about a mistreated high-schooler who goes to a dance despite her stepmother's wishes and lands the handsome boy. Even the delightful Duff disappoints.

Staff ** Juvenile, clean, well-intentioned.

Sex/Nudity: 1 innuendo. Violence: 2 scenes. Profanity: 5 mild expressions. Drugs: none.

Director: Pieter Jan Brugge. With Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Willem Dafoe. (94 min.)

Staff *** Redford gives one of his best performances ever in this taut, emotionally engrossing thriller about a wealthy businessman kidnapped by a criminal and held for ransom. Only a sentimental, strung-out ending mars the drama's momentum.

Staff ** Modest, chilly, underplayed.

Sex/Nudity: 2 instances of innuendo. Violence: 6 scenes. Profanity: 10 strong expressions. Drugs: 2 scenes of drinking, 2 of smoking.

Director: Robert Ramirez. With voices of John Ritter, Jenna Elfman, Wayne Brady. (74 min.)

Sterritt ** Capping a long career in children's books and TV, the much-loved Big Red Dog gets a frame large enough for his body. In his first feature film he runs away to a performing-animals show, hoping he'll win a lifetime supply of the dog food that bankrupts his owner because he eats so much. Great for little kids, if not for grownups.

Director: Nick Willing. With Goran Visnjic, Miranda Otto. (108 min.)

Sterritt *** A small-time psychotherapist takes time off from his stop-smoking practice to help a policewoman track down a serial killer, using what may be psychic powers to sense the thoughts of a young victim. Smartly tuned-in directing turns a run-of-the-mill detective story into a striking, sometimes harrowing blend of horror and suspense.

Director: Mike Nichols. With Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen. (101 min.)

Sterritt *** Four characters - a photographer, a writer, a stripper, a physician - go through various permutations of lust, love, and combinations thereof as Patrick Marber's screenplay shuffles and reshuffles their four-way relationship. Intense, engrossing, and extremely well acted.

Staff *** Complex, chamber play, highly sexual material.

Sex/Nudity: 15 scenes including frank talk and nudity. Violence: 4 scenes. Profanity: 68 harsh expressions. Drugs: 17 scenes of smoking and drinking.

Director: Richard Sylvarnes. With D.J. Mendel, Miho Nikaido, Thomas Jay Ryan. (83 min.)

Sterritt *** A physician, a fortune teller, and a possibly reincarnated wife are the main characters of this spooky, atmospheric tale. Beautifully photographed.

Director: Michael Winterbottom. With Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri. (92 min.)

Sterritt *** A couple feels romantic in a future society where pervasive human cloning makes some sexual relationships too risky to be allowed. Not always compelling, but intelligent and perhaps prophetic.

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