BAD SANTA (R) Billy Bob Thornton stars as the world's most horrible department store Santa in this wonderfully disgusting new comedy from Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World). The closest modern equivalent to the movie's brand of sick-sick-sick humor might be There's Something about Mary, but Bad Santa turns wallowing in ugliness into something not only very funny but also very sad and real in a way that the Farrelly Brothers rarely manage. Things get a little gooey at the end (when Thornton's relationship with a weird little kid blossoms) and chirpy Lauren Graham of The Gilmore Girls seems a bit out of place here, but the rest is solid gold, dipped in blood, booze and puke. Also stars Bernie Mac, Tony Cox and John Ritter. 
BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD (PG-13) Director Deepa Mehta, previously responsible for ambitious but unremarkable arthouse fare like Fire and Earth, now tries her hand at a romantic comedy that, in-line with the monosyllabic nature of her other titles, might well have been called Soap. Mehta uses plot points and stylistic devices from Bollywood's colorful films to tell her story of a rich, conservative businessman and a poor and somewhat untraditional girl falling in and out of love, but the movie simply isn't smart or graceful enough to pull it off. Bollwood/Hollywood comes off as a pale imitation of the Indian movies it's supposed to be referencing, a half-comedy/half-melodrama that's neither funny nor well acted enough to completely convince on either level. There is enough going on here, however, that the movie will hopefully encourage viewers unfamiliar with Bollywood movies to seek out the real thing. Stars Rahul Khanna, Lisa Ray, Moushumi Chatterjee and Dina Pathak. 1/2
BROTHER BEAR (G) There's nothing particularly bad about Disney's latest animated feature, but not much really stands out either. Joaquin Phoenix provides the voice for Kenai, a brash young warrior who learns about humility and love when he's magically transformed into a bear and forced to walk a mile in the shoes — er, paws — of the very critters he's blithely killed. The lush animation is mostly of the old-fashioned 2-D variety, the obligatory, ultra-cute talking animal sidekick is on hand (a little cub called Koda), and the moral instruction offered by the movie, while well-meaning and potentially valuable, is a bit too preachy for both tykes and their parental units. Also features the voices of D.B. Sweeney, Jeremy Suarez and Michael Clarke.
CALENDAR GIRLS (PG-13) For those who just can't get enough of The Full Monty, here's a new British comedy about a group of proper middle-aged ladies who decide to raise money for a hospital by posing in the all-together for a calendar. Any questions? Stars Helen Mirren and Julie Waters. Opens Jan. 2 at local theaters. (Not Reviewed)
CAT IN THE HAT (PG) The sets are as crazily colorful as you'd expect from a movie directed by a former production designer, but that's about all The Cat in the Hat has going for it. The jokes are weak, the musical numbers and special effects decidedly un-special, and Mike Meyers' titular character is neither particularly funny nor endearing. Meyers looks lumpy and uncomfortable in his oversized cat suit, playing the character as an unappealing cross between Regis Philbin, Oz's Cowardly Lion and his own New Yawk Coffee Talk Lady. The movie never really gets going, and seems to be overcompensating for its tepidness by practically screaming in our ear "Are we having fun yet?!" every 15 seconds. An even worse Seuss adaptation than the recent The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Also stars Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin. 1/2
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt star as the loving but harried parents of 12 children in this remake of the 1950 comedy of the same name. Chaos ensues. Also stars Piper Perabo and Hilary Duff. (Not Reviewed)
COLD MOUNTAIN (NR) There's more than a whiff of dread hanging in the air in director Anthony Minghella's wildly tragic-romantic opus, and it won't be giving away much to mention that it all ends badly. Jude Law and Nicole Kidman (sporting not-too-embarrassing Southern accents) star as a pair of absurdly clear complected, Civil War-era lovebirds buffeted by the cruel winds of destiny. He's been to hell and back in the war, and spends most of the movie's two-and-a-half hours trudging through the ravaged countryside, encountering various colorful characters along the way, as Kidman's voice-over periodically implores "My love, my love, where are you?" The film practically begs for consideration as Minghella's Gone With the Wind, or maybe his Pilgrim's Progress, a panoramic study of a vanished America, bolstered by handsome cinematography and oodles of lively performances. Even at 150 minutes the movie feels rushed, though, visibly straining to cram in too many characters and events. For all the epic sprawl, there's a scattered, episodic quality to the film that makes even the better performances feel a bit like cameos. And even though everyone's faces are dutifully smudged and fingernails are appropriately dirty, Kidman and Law rarely fail to look like fashion models striking poses out in the wild. Also stars Renee Zellweger and Natalie Portman.
ELF (PG) A good bit more than just another forgettable project for some former SNL cast member, Elf benefits from some very funny gags, smart direction, and a solid cast — beginning with its star, Will Ferrell. Ferrell plays Buddy, an overgrown Gump-ian man-child raised by elves (don't ask), who now finds himself in the urban jungle of the human world in search of his biological father (James Caan). Ferrell remains one of the funniest and most underrated performers ever to pass through the SNL factory, and director Jon Favreau gives him plenty of room to display the fearless, manic comedy he does so well. The humor veers between gleefully lowbrow slapstick and over-the-top oddness verging on performance art, but most of it works surprisingly well. The supporting cast is appealing as well, beginning with Caan, who makes a great straight man to Ferrell's ball of absurdist energy. Also stars Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen and Ed Asner. 1/2
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN (PG-13) Epic (and reportedly nearly word-for-word), three-hour telling of the Gospel of John, in which the adult Jesus meets opposition as he attempts to bring his ministry to the people. Stars Henry Ian Cusick, Richard Lintern and Stephen Russell. (Not Reviewed)
GOTHIKA (R) In her first post-Oscar role, Halle Berry plays a psychotherapist who begins seeing nasty visions and winds up in the damaged souls section of a prison that more closely resembles a haunted house than a penitentiary. The story teases us with some Is she actually nuts or is there really something supernatural afoot? mind games, but that's only window dressing for what is essentially just your basic freaky horror flick. Neon lights flicker at predictable intervals, the wind howls incessantly, and director Mathieu Kassovitz's camera twirls about to the point of distraction, sort of a 21st-century equivalent of those irritating zoom shots of the '70s. The movie is stylish, and Berry holds her own, but Gothika's script is a plodding, convoluted mishmash of horror cliches (complete with eleventh-hour revelations). Even worse, everybody but Berry and Robert Downey often gives the impression that they're being directed by someone with a less-than-perfect grasp of the nuances of the English language. Also stars Penelope Cruz and Charles S. Dutton.
HAUNTED MANSION (PG) The year's second movie based on a Disney theme park attraction isn't quite the unexpected surprise that Pirates of the Caribbean was, but there are certainly worse ways to while away an empty hour or two. Eddie Murphy stars as a workaholic real estate agent trapped with his wife and kids in a creepy house inhabited by ghosts. The movie's target audience is 12 and under, but there's an actual attempt at a plot, of sorts (something about an ancient curse resulting from a tragically ended romance), some respectable special effects and appealing performances both from Murphy and Terrence Stamp (playing a sinister, spectral butler). Parents should be forewarned that there's a particularly frightening sequence halfway in (involving re-animated, decaying corpses), that is probably too intense for most children under the age of seven or so. So if you bring the kiddies, prepare to cover those little eyes. Also stars Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly and Nathaniel Parker.
HONEY (PG-13) Dark Angel's Jessica Alba stars as an aspiring dancer/choreographer who moves to the big city to pursue her dream. Trials and tribulations ensue. Also stars Mekhi Phifer and Lil' Romeo. (Not Reviewed)
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (PG) Andre Dubus III's acclaimed bestseller makes its way to the big screen, complete with a couple of Oscar-winning actors to round out the pedigree. Sir Ben Kingsley stars as an Iranian immigrant who purchases a house that, owing to a bureaucratic snafu, has been taken away from recovering addict Jennifer Connelly. Also stars Jonathan Ahdout. (Not Reviewed)
IN AMERICA (NR) Jim Sheridan's new film is about characters haunted by death, but it's also something of a fairytale, the sweetly old-fashioned kind that come complete with three wishes. The director wrote the film with his two grown daughters, drawing upon their early memories to fashion In America's more-or-less autobiographical account of a family of Irish immigrants struggling to get by in New York City. The earlier and, by far, most successful sections of the film feel delightfully spontaneous and loosely sketched, conveying an unmistakable air of authenticity that makes small moments like purchasing an old air conditioner or strolling through a street fair feel quite large indeed. That magic dissipates during the film's later sections, however, when the movie cops out with a number of conventional flourishes, including a terminal illness for one of the characters and a complicated pregnancy for another. Even more problematic, however, is the movie's awkward, eleventh-hour shift into darker territory, as the film somersaults into an orgy of blood, death and drama-queen theatrics that would make a Palestinian suicide bomber blush. It's almost enough to make us forget that In America is also a movie that brims with life. Stars Samantha Morton, Paddy Considine, Djimon Hounsou, Sarah Bolger and Emma Bolger.
THE LAST SAMURAI (PG-13) Tom Cruise plays a guilt-ravaged, Civil War-era soldier who accepts an offer to travel to Japan to prepare that country's army to battle a legion of samurai warriors resisting encroaching modernity (read: Western influence). It's clear from the outset that Algren's admiration lies more with his brave-hearted adversaries than with his fat-cat employers — and when the samurais capture him, Cruise's love affair with his honorable foes begins in earnest. It's all very beautifully realized, although not particularly subtle, with endless scenes of samurai life accompanied by warm, gooey music that makes the theme from Love Story sound restrained. The movie falls into a pattern of sorts, with quieter sequences involving Cruise's character's personal transformation followed by a succession of big, juicy battle scenes that pop up roughly every 20 minutes. So even if all the sensitive stuff is putting you to sleep, you won't have long to wait for the next energetically edited sequence of heads being lopped off, swords piercing flesh, and screaming men on horses galloping in all directions. Also stars Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall and Billy Connolly.
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (PG) A blend of live action and cartoon craziness that, while not up to Who Framed Roger Rabbit standards, is certainly several steps up from Space Jam. The basic scenario here is simply a series of predictably frenetic chases — Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman join Daffy and Bugs in a mad race to locate a valuable diamond — but director Joe Dante infuses the project with more than enough clever pop culture references to keep the boomers happy. Legendary B-movie king Roger Corman shows up at one point (directing a Batman movie, of all things), and the scene where Elmer Fudd chases Bugs and Daffy through the paintings of the Louvre is a simply glorious display of imagination. Also stars Steve Martin, Timothy Dalton and Joan Cusak.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (PG-13) The grand finale of Peter Jackson's masterful adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's books is a 210-minute, total immersion experience that's apt to leave one feeling both exhilarated and emotionally exhausted. All in all, it's a deeply satisfying conclusion to a series that now seems all but assured of a place in cinema history as the War and Peace of fantasy-adventure movies. The scale here is even more immense than that of the previous two installments, with a furious Mother of All Battles only part of a vast, Wagnerian spectacle, complete with grand transformations and much talk of blood, essence, history and destiny. Most of the movie's incredible imagery is computer-generated, but perhaps the greatest accomplishment of Return of the King is that all the high-tech shenanigans are always at the service of a story that never loses sight of its old-fashioned humanity. It can (and will) be argued that the movie's too long and contains at least one or two endings too many, but there's a lovely symmetry to the film's structure that ties together the entire trilogy with grace and humor. And frankly, I for one can't wait to see the even longer cut on DVD next year. Stars Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and Billy Boyd. 1/2
LOVE ACTUALLY (PG-13) From Four Weddings and a Funeral to Notting Hill, Richard Curtis' scripts have proven consistently funny, energetic, romantic, and just smart and quirky enough to compensate for stray moments of unruly sappiness. Love Actually, Curtis' first self-directed project, breaks absolutely no new ground, but it showcases most of the things the writer-director does best. Curtis interweaves nearly a dozen tales here, showing us all kinds of love, from the puppy and unrequited varieties, to office romances to power worship that might or might not be love, actually. None of it ultimately matters much, since Love Actually awards happy endings to all, urging its characters along to the fulfillment of their romantic daydreams, like lemmings to the sea. But, like those lemmings, it's hard for those of us in the audience not to get caught up in the movie's glib, carefully orchestrated enthusiasm. Stars Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy, Martine McCutcheon, Andrew Lincoln and Laura Linney.
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (PG-13) Director Peter Weir's latest film is every bit the rousing, testosterone-infused adventure you're probably expecting, but it's also an above-average character study, and a finely drawn portrait of seafaring days in the early 19th-century. Based on Patrick O'Brian's popular novels about Captain Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander follows Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and the crew of HMS Surprise as they travel the seven seas (well, two or three of them), playing cat-and-mouse with a bigger, faster, better-armed French vessel. For all its mainstream appeal, Master and Commander in many ways harks back to its director's earlier efforts — quiet, delicately textured films like Picnic at Hanging Rock — that relied as much on atmosphere as on plot. Weir's a good enough filmmaker to infuse this big-budget, big-name production with artistry, without alienating the affections of audiences primarily craving exhilarating action scenes. Also stars Paul Bettany and Billy Boyd. 1/2
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (R) Revolutions begins with a series of elegant set pieces, leading to a CGI-generated machines-versus-humans battle of numbingly epic proportions (with visuals ripped from Aliens via Robocop), and concludes with Keanu Reeves' savage messiah dishing up some obligatory cosmic comeuppance. There are few surprises this time out, but the movie feels more cohesive than the last installment, and it's so well made that we can't help but get caught up in all the fireworks. Several of the more intriguing (and complicated) ideas from Matrix Reloaded are left hanging, but the over-tidy simplification actually helps us get involved with the movie on an emotional level, rather than just in a visceral or cerebral way. Also stars Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Jada Pinkett Smith. 1/2
THE MISSING (R) Ron Howard's new film takes place in the Old West, and it consciously recalls classic Westerns like The Searchers, big movies about obsessive quests, family, redemption, and the land. At the same time, The Missing isn't a Western at all; it's a horror story. Cate Blanchett is in typically fine form as a frontier doctor in crisis when an evil Apache witch doctor kills her lover and kidnaps her teenaged daughter. With no one else to turn to, she enlists the help of her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) — a conflicted and tragically flawed white man who's spent most of his life living with Indians — and together they ride off in search of the stolen child. Howard has some good, nasty fun weaving elements of supernatural horror throughout the film, and the unforgiving, anything-goes terrain of America's 19th-century frontier provides a surprisingly effective setting for it all. At the same time, The Missing remains a Western, first and foremost, with everything from James Horner's musical score to Salvatore Totino's exquisite cinematography evoking the form in fine style. Also stars Evan Rachel Wood. 1/2
MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) New teacher Julia Roberts shakes things up at a conservative college for women in the 1950s, in this Dead Poets Society for girls. Roberts butts heads with the uptight administration and snooty students, deals with the affections of a suitor or two, and ultimately serves as an inspiration and guiding light to scads of bright young women who might otherwise have spent their lives making meatloaf for their hubbies. Roberts might just be atoning for Pretty Woman with her strong, vaguely bohemian character here, but the movie is just too shallow and predictable to really qualify as anything special. Also stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles and Marcia Gay Harden. 1/2
MYSTIC RIVER (R) Clint Eastwood's latest directorial offering dives into somewhat unfamiliar waters, with mostly successful results. Mystic River is an epic tragedy about how two devastating events, a quarter-century apart, change a handful of lives in a Boston working class neighborhood. Eastwood's film is uncharacteristically filled with charged symbols and nakedly emotional Big Speeches, but the top-notch ensemble cast is good enough to pull it off and leave us wanting more. Tim Robbins is particularly effective as the damaged man-child who never quite recovered from being molested as a child, and Sean Penn burns up the screen as a man with a dead daughter and one too many secrets. Also stars Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, Laurence Fishburne and Marcia Gay Harden. 1/2
PAYCHECK (PG-13) While Face/Off remains John Woo's only truly worthwhile American movie, there's much to like about Paycheck, a brisk little science fiction thriller based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Woo's new movie represents an interesting change of direction for the filmmaker, who largely eschews his familiar, over-the-top bullet-ballet style in favor of a more subtle, suspenseful approach here. Despite virtual cameo appearances of a few of Woo's trademark flourishes (a fluttering white dove, two guys pointing guns in each other's faces), the director often seems to be channeling Hitchcock (or perhaps he's just channeling Brian DePalma channeling Hitchcock). The plot feels a little Hitch-y, too — specifically North By NorthWest meets Memento, with an amnesiac hero running around trying to figure out why everyone is shooting at him. Continuing his tradition of working with popular but hopelessly lame stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Christian Slater, Woo teams up with J Lo's favorite stiff, Ben Affleck, who becomes the black hole at the center of what might otherwise have been a perfectly watchable film. Uma Thurman, looking more like a knock-off Modigliani than ever, has the unenviable task of acting as if she actually cares for Affleck. Also stars Aaron Eckhart and Paul Giamatti.
PETER PAN (PG) A beautifully imagined retelling of J.M. Barrie's 1924 classic, faithful in essence and in particulars to its source while adding some creative touches of its own. Director P.J. Hogan (the "wedding guy" behind Muriel's Wedding and My Best Friend's Wedding) laces a slightly darker and more erotic tone throughout, with Wendy, Tink and Hook all smacking lips over Peter at one point or another. (Even weirder, Wendy also seems to find something, uh, strangely compelling about Hook — who is played, kinkily enough, by the same actor who plays her father.) The film looks gorgeous, with some nifty special effects and a strong cast that includes Jeremy Sumpter (the first actual boy to ever play Peter!), Ludivine Sagnier (Swimming Pool) as Tinkerbell, and Jason Isaacs as the best Hook since Dustin Hoffman's turn in Spielberg's underrated Hook. There are some overly sentimental moments here, to be sure, but some magical ones too. When all's said and done, the movie succeeds mightily on smarts, style and sheer fairy power — and we're not talkin' Queer Eye here. Also stars Olivia Williams and Rachel Hurd-Wood. 1/2
RADIO (PG) Apparently pitched very much in the same territory as The Rookie, this feel-good tale combines sports, soap opera and nostalgia for the kinder, gentler ways of small-town America, circa anytime but now. The same guy who wrote The Rookie supplied the story, in fact, which is based on the actual life of a mentally challenged man whose eternal optimism inspires the local high school football team. Stars Cuba Gooding, Ed Harris and Debra Winger. (Not Reviewed)
SHATTERED GLASS (PG-13) Before Jason Blair, there was Stephen Glass, the respected New Republic journalist who turned out to have built a career on writing fabricated stories. Shattered Glass is part character study of the needy, neurotic Glass (beautifully played by Hayden Christensen), but mostly it's a crackling good mystery, one that unfolds with the straightforward, no-nonsense approach of an old-fashioned police procedural. There are broader political and cultural implications here, of course, and the movie does in fact often seem like an All the President's Men for the new century — one where the media is on the prowl again, only this time they're out to get themselves. Consider it a cautionary tale for the Jerry Springer Age, in which the drive for increasingly sensationalized versions of reality inevitably leads to everyone's fall from grace. Also stars Peter Sarsgarrd and Hank Azaria. 1/2
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) Diane Keaton delivers a memorable performance, both touching and very funny, as a middle-aged woman who finds herself all shook up in love for the first time in ages. Jack Nicholson is also in fine form as the aging playboy playing romantic head games with our heroine, and Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet work wonders with small roles as Keaton's sister and daughter, respectively. Other than some very engaging performances, however, there's not all that much going on in Something's Gotta Give, a romantic comedy that breezes along on a handful of cute jokes and the sort of star power that transcends a so-so script. It's all appealing enough until a disastrously predictable last act appears, demonstrating nothing less than the fact that the movie has simply run out of ideas. Also stars Keanu Reeves.
STUCK ON YOU (PG-13) As if further proof were required, this new project from the Farrelly Brothers shows the team's patented brand of "offensive" comedy has become an occasionally amusing but, for the most part, rigorously inoffensive formula that the filmmakers can apparently whip up in their sleep. Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear generate some good chemistry as a pair of conjoined twins ("We're not Siamese," snips Damon's character. "We're American"), but the filmmakers seem to be pulling their punches and playing it safer than ever. As if compensating for the politically incorrect nature of the material, every potentially sensitive gag is wrapped in oodles of irony-free sentimentality, usually accompanied by an upbeat and/or heartwarming tune (including "Moon River," The Stones' "Wild Horses" and even a whiff of Bread). It's not nearly as awful as you might imagine from the premise (or the trailer), but — outside of one priceless moment with Kinnear performing a one-man play while dragging his twin behind him — not nearly as funny either. Also stars Eva Mendes, Wen Yann Shih, Seymour Cassel and Cher. 1/2
TIME LINE (PG-13) Yet another big-screen adaptation of another Michael Crichton book, and basically one big drag. Paul Walker and Frances O'Connor are among a team of young archeologists transported back in time to 14th-century France, where they find themselves caught up in the ongoing war between the English and the French. Crichton's narrative hooks are as catchy and as shallow as ever, but veteran director Richard Donnor directs the movie with all the grace, energy and ingenuity of a high school play on an off-night, or an old episode of Scooby Doo where the gang goes back in time. There are battles aplenty, but for all the bloodletting, everything here feels strangely bloodless, with rambling, lethargic story-telling, phoned-in performances and virtually no sense of time or place. Also stars Billy Connolly and Gerard Butler. 1/2
21 GRAMS (NR) It isn't until nearly half an hour into 21 Grams that we have the slightest idea of what's going on in this alternately depressing and hysterical stew, what with an aggressive editing approach that seems patterned after William S. Burrough's cut-up technique. Scenes are shown out of sequence, spat out in random, infuriating bursts, as if director Gonzales Inarritu (Amores Perros) assumes his film will become more intriguing by scrambling cause and effect. (It doesn't.) Mostly, 21 Grams is an excuse for its characters to wallow in endless rivers of anguish. Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro deliver intense and beautifully articulated performances, but all exclusively on the one note provided by the script. The movie is a symphony, but it's a symphony of pain and pain alone. And while there's much to admire in its purity of purpose and performances, 21 Grams ultimately lacks the sort of subtlety and scope that would allow it to become something more than a meticulously detailed portrait of all the colors of the dark. Also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg. Held over at Muvico Baywalk and Sarasota Hollywood 20. 1/2
— Reviewed entries by Lance Goldenberg unless otherwise noted.
This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2004.