Signs (PG-13) The least convoluted but, in some ways, the least compelling movie yet from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable). Mel Gibson stars as a faith-challenged former clergyman who spends most of the movie sweating bullets and waiting, along with the rest of the world, for a devastating attack from hostile extraterrestrials. The movie is all mood — ominous, still and full of apocalyptic mystery. Nothing much happens, but it's good, uncomplicated pulp entertainment, with a vaguely spiritual underpinning that rises to the surface in the last act. Creepy as it is, Signs is also effortlessly commercial, with a filmmaking sensibility a little bit like that of a darker, more obsessive Spielberg. Like all of Shyamalan's movies, it also feels more than a bit like a half-hour episode of The Twilight Zone that somehow wound up getting expanded into a feature-length film. Also stars Joaquin Phoenix , Cherry Jones and Rory Culkin. 
Space Station (PG) New IMAX featurette documenting a pair of voyages to the international space station floating high above planet Earth. The multinational crews include a mix of American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. At IMAX Dome Theater.
(Not Reviewed)
Spider-Man (PG) Sam Raimi's big screen adaptation of Spider-Man is surprisingly faithful to Spidey's origins as an outsider superhero, even if the edges have been smoothed out a touch. The movie's first half lays the story out in a manner that has all the symmetry and primal oomph of modern myth, with Peter Parker spending most of the movie simply adjusting to his new powers (we don't even see Spidey in full costume until a full hour into the movie). Even though the second half of Spider-Man is infinitely more action-packed than the setup, the movie gives the distinct impression of slowing down as it progresses. The main reason the movie's second half suffers is due to the fundamental shift from characters to CGI-dominated action — and, frankly, some of the digital effects aren't quite up to the task. Also stars Kirsten Dunst and James Franco. 
Spy Kids 2 See Film column.
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. Stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee.
Stuart Little 2 (G) Teeny tiny tikes will eat up this barely 75-minute sequel to Stuart Little, but most grown-ups will either be bored out of their skulls or find their teeth tingling from all the sugar-coated sap. Despite the expensive- looking production values and state-of-the-art CGI effects, Stuart Little has the bland, throwaway feel of a direct-to-video sequel. There wasn't much of an edge to the first Stuart project, but in this one, virtually everybody is as sweetly innocuous as the title rodent. Stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and the voices of Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith and Nathan Lane. 
Sunshine State (PG-13) A big film, with dozens of characters from all sorts of backgrounds, and dozens of tales that slowly entwine as the movie goes about its business. John Sayles' new film is set in a run-down Florida beach town in danger of being swallowed up by teams of competing out-of-state developers. The locals are conflicted about what to do, and the whole thing is further complicated by all sorts of factors, not excluding the various characters' race, gender and age. Sunshine State weaves a rich, complicated web, both personal and political, threading a series of smart little character sketches into an appealing mix of soap opera and ideology (not to mention some great one-liners). The film is made up mostly of small, intimate moments, but it's essentially a panorama of American life, Florida-style, that at its best recalls Robert Altman's Nashville or, even more specifically, Sayles' own Lone Star. Sunshine State doesn't quite rank with Sayles' best stuff, but it's certainly entertaining, witty, thoughtful, and with the sort of distinctively Floridian atmosphere that's rarely seen outside of a Victor Nunez film. Stars Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Timothy Hutton, James McDaniel and Mary Steenburgen.
