instantwatcher.com

Jan Stuart, Newsday

1. Boarding Gate 2007 The picture grows on you, as does its laconic leading lady, whose slurry delivery conceals an ever-alert mouse handily equipped to beat the cat at his own game. full review
2. Chop Shop 2007 It's already been compared to Brazilian classics City of God and Pixote. But Chop Shop is both more hopeful and less punishing than those films, in no small measure owing to the synergy between first-time actors Polanco and Gonzales. full review
3. Civic Duty 2007 Asks the piercing question: does the terrorist lurk within us? In actuality, it's a question worth exploring, but not one that this bombastic and silly thriller is prepared to answer in any dramatically sustainable fashion. full review
4. Memory 2007 To what niche does this movie aspire, Michael Crichton sci-fi chiller, Ed Wood camp or neo-'60s grand guignol for former leading ladies of a certain age? You decide. full review
5. The Signal 2007 The Signal is a well-oiled example of that oxymoronic Tarantino phenomenon: the arty grindhouse picture. full review
6. Brooklyn Rules 2006 If Winter had an extraordinary youth, it eludes Brooklyn Rules, another generic memory piece in which the now-successful writer takes us on a thinly veiled tour of the burger joints, bowling alleys and faces from his formative grunge years. full review
7. Cashback 2006 How ironic that Richard Lester had to go all the way to England to make that chef-d'oeuvre of sex comedies, The Knack... and How to Get It, while Ellis stays home and churns out the British answer to American Pie. full review
8. The Fall of Fujimori 2006 The Fall of Fujimori couldn't happen along at a more pregnant moment for America, as we agonize over how far we are willing to let our own leaders fudge the rules to stamp out terrorists. full review
9. The Ground Truth 2006 Even if you endorse the director's bullish peacenik stance, you may feel like picking an argument, for the unique thrill that only ambiguity can deliver. full review
10. Lady Chatterley 2006 A film of sun-dappled beauty and unbridled joys that arrive as much as a surprise to the audience as they do to the characters. full review
11. One to Another 2006 The flaw is underscored by the one-bod-fits-all casting that renders everyone indistinguishable, especially when they have their clothes off (which is a good deal of the picture). full review
12. The Wind That Shakes the Barley 2006 Folks who are heavily invested in stereotypes of thuggish terrorists may balk at Loach's portrait of articulate IRA ideologues. But there is no denying his ferocious grip on our emotions. Barley is one tough and beautiful film. full review
13. Cavite 2005 Enhanced by the you-are-there immediacy of a hand-held digital camera, Cavite works up a visceral potency that overleaps the credibility gaps in the omniscient-terrorist device. full review
14. Lonesome Jim 2005 If Lonesome Jim feels like it's perpetually on the verge of evaporating, Buscemi brings to the material the boundless empathy for misfits and screw-ups he displayed in Trees Lounge. full review
15. Old Joy 2005 Every frame of Old Joy bespeaks a yearning for a more user-friendly day, when gas was less than $2.50 a gallon and there was always a used record store to unload your scratched vinyl. full review
16. The Producers 2005 Brooks and Stroman have taken a classic and flattened it into just the sort of glib, tired-businessman's musical adaptation that Max Bialystock once built his sagging reputation on. full review
17. Stagedoor 2005 Watching these pint-sized Lizas resuscitate a dying popular art in a ghost-town vacation resort, you don't know whether to laugh or cry for the loony resilience of the Broadway spirit. full review
18. Inside Deep Throat 2004 Bailey and Barbetto have mined this all-American circus for all its mindbending absurdity and legitimized it with a who's who of cultural critics. full review
19. White Chicks 2004 White Chicks feels more like an idea for a TV sketch that would have been much fresher had it been inflated into a movie in the '90s. full review
20. Identity 2003 It can make for an exasperating ride, since the filmmakers fudge the line between earnest manipulation and flip self-mockery. full review
21. Equilibrium 2002 Dour and charmless. full review
22. The Master of Disguise 2002 A calamitous attempt at reviving the anarchic, little-kid spirit of Jerry Lewis. full review
23. Sonny 2002 Actors generally make good actor's directors, but Sonny is a mixed bag in that department. full review
24. The Sum of All Fears 2002 This engrossing, characteristically complex Tom Clancy thriller is shifty in the manner in which it addresses current terrorism anxieties and sidesteps them at the same time. full review
25. XX/XY 2002 Ruffalo continues to be one of the most intriguing actors of his generation. full review
26. Baran 2001 Majidi's poetic love story is a ravishing consciousness-raiser, if a bit draggy at times. full review
27. Children Underground 2001 A heartrending act of courage in the guise of a documentary film. full review
28. The Fluffer 2001 A crisp and credible behind-the-scenes drama. full review
29. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back 2001 A dumbfounding, cameo-peppered road comedy that demeans everyone associated with it. full review
30. Manic 2001 The young cast throw themselves (quite literally) into their demanding assignments with vigor. full review
31. The Musketeer 2001 Chambers exhibits a negative screen presence that seems to recede into the scenery every time he opens his mouth. full review
32. Rat Race 2001 Rat Race is like being locked in a car trunk for two hours with a marching band playing the collected hits of Spike Jones. full review
33. Tomcats 2001 Yet one more slice of American Pie-style outrageousness for and about guys with raging libidos and pinheads. full review
34. Gossip 2000 This propulsive drama about the impact of gossip on a university student population flakes out in the final count.
35. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle 2000 By the last half hour, you may feel zombied out yourself.
36. Beautiful Creatures 2000 Tedious and unfunny. full review
37. Gangster No. 1 2000 They crush each other under cars, throw each other out windows, electrocute and dismember their victims in full consciousness. And we don't avert our eyes for a moment. full review
38. Maybe Baby 2000 A romantic comedy so slick you can see the reflection of a hundred better movies in it. full review