CURRENT REVIEWS

STAR WARS III: REVENGE OF THE SITH ****½ (PG-13/2:20/5-19-05) Lucas’s Force works on us again.

OCEAN’S TWELVE *** (PG-13/2:05/12-10-04) Soderbergh’s dozen reunites, gets bigger paycheck for less work.

I HEART HUCKABEES ****½ (R/1:46/10-22-04) Existential comedy will not be hearted by everyone.

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS **** (PG/1:30/11-19-04) Nickelodeon cleans up with its favorite sponge.

THE POLAR EXPRESS **** (G/1:30/11-10-04) Tom Hanks takes Tom Hanks to meet Tom Hanks.

THE INCREDIBLES ****½ (PG/1:55/11-5-04) More from those Incredible cartoon superheroes at Pixar.

SHARK TALE **** (PG/1:30/10-1-04) Something fishy's going on at Dreamworks Animation.

SPIDER-MAN 2 ****½ (PG-13/2:07/6-30-04) Tobey Maguire reprises his role as the web-spinning wonder boy.

I, ROBOT **½ (PG-13/1:55/7-16-04) Will Smith gets jiggy; rest of movie doesn’t compute.

FAHRENHEIT 9/11 **** (R/2:02/6-30) Michael Moore turns up the heat on George W. Bush.

THE TERMINAL *** (PG-13/2:08/6-18-04) Spielberg’s genius reputation stuck, stalled, stranded in airport movie.

HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN **** (PG/2:22/6-4-04) Potter saga escapes restraints.

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW **½ (PG-13/2:04/5-28-04) Icy-cool effects offset frozen performances.

SHREK 2 ****½ (PG/1:33/5-19-04) Gargantuan green grouch, Grimm gang guarantee gags galore, great graphics.

TROY **½ (R/2:43/5-14-04) Greeks suffer Helen damnation while trying to find their Trojans. Buddy, I’ve been there.

BOTTOM *½ (NR/1:30) Young indie filmmaker attempts to break into the big leagues from the Bottom.

THE COOLER **** (R/1:41/11-26-03) Macy heats up the screen as a professional loser who suffers a lucky streak.

21 GRAMS ****½ (R/2:05/12-26-03) Oscar-nominated drama is definitely no lightweight.

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING **** (PG-13/1:35/12-26-03) Servant girl gets in Dutch with famous painter.

IN AMERICA ****½ (PG-13/1:47/5-8-03) Irish family seeks fortune, solace, acceptance in U.S., as does their film.

SEABISCUIT **** (PG-13/2:21/7-25-03) Horse teaches jockey (and America) about come-from-behind victories.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST ****½ (R/2:07/2-25-04) J.C. helps Gibson resurrect famous J.C. story.

MONSTER ****½ (R/1:51/12-26-03) Theron shows grit, which will come in handy when polishing her gold.

BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS ***½ (PG-13/1:56/2-6-04) The edge is dulled; it’s business as usual.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL ****½ (PG-13/2:23/7-9-03)
If these titles get any longer, I’m going to have to rethink my format.

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG *** (R/2:06/12-26-03) Finely crafted House story built on shaky foundation.

LOST IN TRANSLATION ***** (R/1:45/10-3-03) Sofia Coppola serves as an excellent interpreter.

CALENDAR GIRLS **** (PG-13/1:48/1-29) British townswomen pose nude, enhance their sagging...economy.

COLD MOUNTAIN **** (R/2:35/12-25-03) Minghella makes a Mountain out of a Nicole hill.

BIG FISH ****½ (PG-13/1:50/12-25-03) Tim Burton attempts to reel in a whopper at Oscar Pond.

PETER PAN **** (PG/1:53/12-25-03) More cinematic magic unfolds on the compu—I mean, movie screen.

LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING ***** (PG-13/3:21/ 12-17-03) A crowning achievement.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE ***½ (PG-13/2:18/12-4-03) You Gotta Give Jack & Diane credit for Something.

MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD ****½ (PG-13/2:18/11-14-03) Nice.

THE CAT IN THE HAT ** (PG/1:18/11-21-03) Dreamworks’s latest belongs in the litter box.

LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION ***½ (PG/ 1:30/11-14-03) Bugs in the 21st century? Whazzup wit dat, Doc?

ELF ***½ (PG/1:35/11-7-03) Will Ferrell be able to Caan us into a Newhart-felt sense of Christmas spirit?

MYSTIC RIVER **** (R/2:17/10-15-03) Clint Eastwood’s latest treatise on justified violence.

EXPIRATION **** (R/1:42/9-25-03) Montreal filmmakers present a telling Expo of their talent, their city’s underside.

INTOLERABLE CRUELTY **** (PG-13/1:40/10-10-03) Coen bros. torture us with a film that is less than perfect.

SCHOOL OF ROCK ****½ (PG-13/1:48/10-3-03) Black & White give a great lesson on Any Colour You Like.

LE DIVORCE **** (PG-13/1:57/8-29-03) French-American breakup film holds together well.

MATCHSTICK MEN ***½ (PG-13/1:56/9-12-03) Fiery, spark-lit cast attached to spindly, insubstantial screenplay.

SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS **** (PG/1:24/7-2-03) American attitude applied to Arab antihero.

FINDING NEMO ***** (G/1:41/5-30-03) Fish’s fretful father finds friends, fights foes in funny family fantasy.

IDENTITY ****½ (R/1:30/4-25-03) Horror film conceals own character, almost gets by with fake ID.

X-2: X-MEN UNITED **** (PG-13/2:13/5-2-03) X-heroes X-alted in X-cellent X-ample of cinematic X-cess.

CONFIDENCE ***½ (R/1:38/4-25-03) Derivative caper film robs others, lacks self-esteem to bank on its own ideas.

HOLES **** (PG/1:51/4-18-03) Disney execs make juvenile delinquents dig for box of(fice) treasure.

ABOUT SCHMIDT ****½ (R/2:05/12-13-02) Nicholson justifies his existence by playing a man who doesn’t.

PHONE BOOTH ***½ (R/1:21/4-4-03) A conceited jerk trapped on a Manhattan corner? Call somebody who cares.

HEAD OF STATE **½ (PG-13/1:35/3-28-03) Chris Rock’s directing debut takes a beating in the polls.

AGENT CODY BANKS **½ (PG/1:42/3-14-03) Muniz’s Agent Banks on him to save sugar-Codyd spy movie.

THE HOURS ****½ (PG-13/1:54/12-27-02) Three stories, eight decades, nine nominations, all in just a few Hours.

TEARS OF THE SUN *** (R/1:58/3-7-03) Misguided message: military muscle mines more misery.

OLD SCHOOL ** (R/1:30/2-21-03) Farrell and friends can sign their names, but haven’t learned their lessons.

THE PIANIST ***** (R/2:28/12-27-02) Polish musician survives Holocaust; Polish director doesn’t soft-pedal it.

GODS AND GENERALS **** (PG-13/3:40/2-21-03) “Stonewall” story stiff, stodgy, stirring.

DAREDEVIL *** (PG-13/1:40/2-14-03) Ben Affleck leaps blindly off into the superhero genre.

ADAPTATION ***** (R/1:54/12-6-02) Writer Kaufman is forced to adapt, adopt, & improve.

CHICAGO ****½ (PG-13/1:53/12-27-02) Zellweger razzles, Gere dazzles, Zeta-Jones delivers all that jazz.

CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND **** (R/1:53/12-31-02) Barris gets his story in before the gong.

A GUY THING *½ (PG-13/1:41/1-17-03) This is the kind of thing that makes Guys ashamed of their Things.