Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (PG) As enticing as anything George Lucas has ever done, Episode II is good enough to not only ease the pain of the fiasco otherwise known as Episode I, it quite nearly redeems it. The middle installment of Lucas' new trilogy is a big, juicy entertainment that manages to put into perspective everything that's come before and neatly set up what's to follow. The action sequences are among Lucas' most muscular and exciting to date, but the movie's narrative is surprisingly intriguing as well. There are problems here, to be sure — hokey dialogue, too many pandering, cartoony bit players, a romance that verges on kitsch, a grand finale battle royale that includes everything including the kitchen sink and just goes on forever — but it's a Star Wars movie, after all, and that's just part of the charm. Stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee. 
The Sum of All Fears (PG-13) An expertly crafted thriller that delivers a terrifyingly believable account of the doomsday scenario so many of us now consider inevitable — terrorists smuggle in a nuclear device and detonate it on U.S. soil. The Sum of All Fears will be a little too real for many. A nutty neo-Nazi plans to play the U.S. and Russia against each other, orchestrating attacks in each country for which the other will be blamed and consequently triggering Armageddon — causing the movie to play out a little like Dr. Strangelove redone as a Hollywood thriller.
Ultimate X (PG) Not your standard IMAX movie by a long shot, Ultimate X cops an attitude that's almost as edgy and irreverent as its subject matter — those Extreme Sports featured in ESPN's popular X Games, like BMX biking, skateboarding, street luge, wakeboarding, speed climbing and all other manner of daredevil events. The stunts and tricks are spectacular, and so are the wipeouts. Featured are skaters Tony Hawk, Bob Burnquist and Bucky Lasek, BMX stunt riders Ryan Nyquist and Cory Nasty Nastazio and Moto X rider Carey Hart. At Channelside IMAX. Call theater to confirm.
Unfaithful (R) A tale of marital deception that starts out as a fairly standard erotic thriller but becomes much more interesting in its later stages, when it tackles the aftermath of the affair. Diane Lane stars as a more-or-less happy suburban housewife who enters into a steamy affair with a sexy French bohemian (Olivier Martinez) who soon has her reading esoteric poetry, attending Jacques Tati film festivals and engaging in mildly kinky sex in public bathrooms. Lane (who's quite convincing as a woman both thrilled and repelled by what she's doing) and hubby Richard Gere sink gradually into an abyss of secrets and lies, with the movie's real strength being the unflinching detailing of that unhappy process.
Windtalkers (R) A different sort of film for John Woo, the Hong Kong action auteur who came to Hollywood and went on to break the bank with stylish mayhem like Mission: Impossible II. Woo's latest is a traditional, even old fashioned war movie, starring Nicolas Cage as brooding, traumatized marine charged with protecting a Navajo code talker during World War II. Cage excels at playing souls in pain, and he has some extraordinary moments here, but the movie only really comes alive at those times when his wound is at its most naked. Otherwise, Windtalkers is a fairly conventional tale of men in combat, with each scene of quiet reflection and manly camaraderie being inevitably followed by one of tremendous bombast and flying body parts. Adam Beach is particularly good as Cage's Navajo charge, and Christian Slater shows up as well, although he doesn't have much to do outside of smiling a lot and playing dueling receding hairlines with Cage. Also stars Roger Willie.
—Reviewed entries by Lance Goldenberg unless otherwise noted
