Mega Movie Guide 2005

Director: Greg Harrison. With Courteney Cox, James LeGros, Anne Archer. (78 min.)

Trying to track down the truth about her boyfriend's murder, a photographer finds a mass of contradictory clues, some of which point back to her. An ingeniously scripted psychological thriller. Grade: A
- D.S.

Director: Campbell Scott. With Joan Allen, Sam Elliott. (105 min.)

Domestic eccentricities - some amusing and some troubling - surface when the IRS arrives to audit a New Mexico family that lives in the middle of nowhere. Scott has the courage to let the imaginative story unfold at its own leisurely pace, and it's not surprising that the acting is excellent, considering that he's among the very best American screen actors. Grade: A
- D.S.

Director: Roman Polanski. With Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark. (130 min.)

"Oliver Twist" is a near-masterpiece. All of the familiar scenes are here: The starving, orphaned Oliver risking the wrath of his overseers at feeding time by asking for "more"; Oliver's introduction to the lair of street-gang leader Fagin; the murder of the prostitute Nancy - Oliver's one true friend. Polanski's film is the first to truly put forth the dark derangement of Oliver's world, and it is this passion for emotional honesty that binds the famous scenes into a flowing whole. Grade:A
- P.R.

Sex/Nudity: 2 scenes of innuendo.
Violence: 20 instances.
Profanity: 5 instances.
Drugs/Alcohol: 6 scenes of smoking, 9 drinking.

Director: Stephen Vittoria. With Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, Howard Zinn, Warren Beatty. (125 min.)

Lively documentary about McGovern's disastrous run for the US presidency. The interviews with him are worth the price of admission. Grade: A
- D.S.

Director: Marcos Bernstein. With Fernanda Montenegro, Raul Cortez, Laura Cardoso. (98 min.)

Participating in a neighborhood-watch program for senior citizens, a lonely Brazilian woman spies a murder in an apartment across the street and starts dating the retired judge who she thinks committed it. An absorbing new spin on the "Rear Window" concept, with poignant comments on aging in modern society. In Portuguese with subtitles.Grade: B
- D.S.

Director: Adam Shankman. With Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham. (95 min.)

In this variation on "Kindergarten Cop," a Navy Seal is assigned to protect a family of kids from ruthless foreign agents. Cooped up in their home, the five children resent their babysitter/bodyguard and try to oust him, bringing a whole new meaning to the term "domestic terrorism." As predictable as you'd expect, but it exudes a low-wattage charm. Grade: C-
-Stephen Humphries

Director: Todd Solondz. With Ellen Barkin, Jennifer Jason Leigh. (100 min.)

The controversial Solondz strikes again with this indirect sequel to "Welcome to the Dollhouse," focusing on a 13-year-old girl whose desire to get pregnant sends her into a strange odyssey away from her family and friends. Having several actresses (and an actor) portray the heroine is just one of the drama's weirdly absorbing strategies. It's truly one of a kind. Grade: A
- D.S.

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