ALONG CAME A SPIDER -- (Grade: D) Missing in action since 1997's Kiss the Girls, Morgan Freeman finally returns as Washington, D.C., police detective and psychologist Alex Cross. Surprisingly, Freeman's return is somewhat of a disappointment. In director Lee Tamahori's adaptation of author James Patterson's 1999 novel, Freeman's steely charisma is incapable of energizing what turns out to be a thrill-less thriller.After the daughter of a U.S. Senator is kidnapped from a posh private school, her kidnapper, Gary Soneji (Michael Wincott) contacts Cross and pulls him into the chase. FBI Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Monica Potter) turns out to be Cross' pretty girl Friday. The catch is for Cross and Flannigan to outwit Soneji in time to save the girl.

Readers of author James Patterson's popular thrillers realize that Freeman is 25 years too old to play Cross. What Freeman lacks in youthful spunk, he more than makes up with intelligence and intensity. It's impressive how Freeman takes full command of Along Came a Spider. He's completely at ease playing Cross. Freeman's natural believability turns out to be the best thing about the film. Potter turns out to be nothing more than the bland blonde on Cross' arm. It's astounding how little she contributes to the film.

But it's Tamahori who turns out to be the film's real villain. After an explosive beginning that pays homage to Vertigo, Tamahori never manages to build much suspense out of Patterson's tricks and double-crosses. In Along Came a Spider, the ultimate victim is Freeman's wasted performance. -- SR (Rated R.)

BLOW -- (Grade: B) OK, here it is: Blow is the best film of 2001. So far. I know, we've got a long way to go. But we may have to wait a while before the next best thing comes along.Blow is based on the true story of George Jung (Johnny Depp), the American behind the introduction of Colombian cocaine into the U.S. during the late '70s and early '80s. The film has its share of the wild signs of the times that politicians and other moral pundits will eagerly denounce without paying attention to the human lessons.

Blow has the spirit of Boogie Nights and the substance of Traffic. But Demme's film comes to life in the flesh-and-bone story of its doomed man. It's Depp who makes Jung as compelling as his story. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY -- (Grade: C) From the producers of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill comes the latest romantic comedy to feature Hugh Grant opposite an American actress. Bridget Jones's Diary is based on the best-selling book by Helen Fielding. Grant enjoys a stretch here, playing a cad. Renée Zellweger gamely takes on a Brit accent and some well-publicized extra weight to bring this thirty-something "singleton" to life. Bridget Jones's Diary is full of supposedly adult, professional girls hooking up with the wrong guys at work, listening to the same Van Morrison song, and making embarrassing, public declarations of love. The requisite group of wacky friends (a British staple) has now become little more than smart, hip faces (one has to be gay) who know how to use the word "fuck" to some effect.

To its credit, Bridget Jones's Diary doesn't stop there. Bridget fumbles into a bit of success on the job and observes her parents working through their own relationship issues. These real-life moments elevate a film that, like its heroine, desperately wants to be loved. Zellweger's efforts aren't entirely wasted, but I don't fall in love so easily. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

THE BROTHERS -- (Grade: C) With The Brothers, writer/director Gary Hardwick has given us what he knows. Unfortunately, what he knows is too familiar. The Brothers feels like the next installment of The Best Man, The Wood and love jones. Its drama of African-American men-in-midlife-crisis is something we've seen many times before. The casting of recognizable faces -- Morris Chestnut and Bill Bellamy as two of the four leads, with D. L. Hughley and Shemar Moore rounding out the titular quartet -- fuels this sense of dejà vu. There is nothing brave or new about a movie where each character's major flaw is explored and resolved before the toast in the final moments. Adding further insult is a soundtrack that sells songs never heard during the movie. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

CAST AWAY -- (Grade: B) Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) re-teams with Tom Hanks for a challenging, Robinson Crusoe-like tale. Granted, the film's set-up is rather ordinary. As FedEx troubleshooter Chuck Noland, Hanks sets out to portray a man ruled by time and schedules. Despite Hanks' earnestness, one never gets a firm grasp of Noland's psyche. It's up to Hanks' average Joe personality to pull us into his drama.

The highlight of Cast Away is its middle act where Hanks becomes the star of a one-man show. It's these mostly dialogue-free scenes, where Noland is trying to survive alone on a desert island after his plane crashes, that make the most dramatic impact.

In an era where the Crusoe legend is defined by TV's Survivor, Zemeckis and Hanks offer a thoughtful alternative. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

CHOCOLAT -- (Grade: C) Juliette Binoche dazzles as Vianne, a pretty chocolate shopkeeper with a mysterious past. She's also a single mother whose spicy chocolates change prudish lifestyles of the inhabitants of a French village.

I admire how Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, My Life as a Dog) directs movies that are unashamedly liberal. Chocolat, based on Joanne Harris' 1999 novel, is a film that qualifies as a democratic drama at a time when much of the nation is decidedly conservative.

Johnny Depp gives Binoche competition in the chiseled cheekbones department as a handsome gypsy passing through town. Like most moviemade couples, Binoche and Depp look great together. Unfortunately, their attractive looks never ignite any much-needed passion.

Despite a sweet, fairy tale-like ending, Chocolatnever comes fully to life. By the closing credits, you feel as if Binoche's magical smile and winsome personality have been wasted. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON -- (Grade: A) Breathtaking action, incredible stunts, spectacular landscapes and a childlike sense of make-believe lifts director Ang Lee's Taiwanese epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the level of a fairy tale. Set among ornate palaces, teaming Peking streets and rural villages, the film evolves into a martial arts Western that's both poetic and spiritual.

Warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) is yearning to leave his fighting lifestyle behind, but when a young thief, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), steals Li's ancient sword, Green Destiny, Li gets pulled back into his warrior ways. Only Lu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), Li's longtime friend, looks capable of helping return Green Destiny from Jen and her mentor Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei).

Although working in the action genre, Lee once again emphasizes rich characters, substantial storytelling and humanistic ideals. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is momentous not because of the size of its spectacle. It's timeless because of the size of its heart.-- SR (Rated PG-13.)

ENEMY AT THE GATES -- (Grade: C) It's ironic that the most expensive European film ever made is only half a movie. Enemy at the Gates is at times a wonderful, epic war film and at other times a hackneyed, disjointed mess. It's sad to see, because the film, as it stands, is the start of something beautiful. Comparisons to Saving Private Ryan are a bit overboard, but it's still far better than The Thin Red Line.

Jude Law stars as Vassilli Zaitsev, a Russian farm boy whisked away to war when his talents at marksmanship give the Russian army something to boast. Ed Harris is Maj. Konig, a German sharpshooter sent to Stalingrad to stop him. (Great casting, by the way. Harris has such interesting eyes.)

You'd think a foreign-made film would pay more attention to the actors' accents, which are lazy at best. You'd also hope for a non-Hollywood ending. Blame must go to French director Jean-Jacques Annaud. He must still be thinking about ways to trim Seven Years in Tibet. -- RP (Rated R.)

EXIT WOUNDS -- (Grade: C) Let's make no mistake. Steven Seagal and DMX are the good guy/bad guy leads in this Joel Silver production. Silver's involvement, as the producer of the cult-fave The Matrix, means there's plenty of wire and camera effects to give the impression that Seagal is a martial artist who can dodge bullets from point blank range. Now, that's something not even the agents in The Matrix were able to accomplish.

Like always, Seagal is a take-no-prisoners, shoot-first, punch-kick-wrist-grab-flip-you-for-real cop. It's been awhile since we've had the chance to see the big awkward-moving fella in a picture. Nothing's changed; he's the same old Seagal. As for DMX, he's supposed to be an X factor, but come on, if you go see Exit Wounds, you're rooting for him.

If that's not enough to occupy you, there's the "comic genius" of Tom Arnold. Then again, you could try keeping track of how many vehicles Seagal loses. See, there's something for everyone, for what it's worth. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

HANNIBAL -- (Grade: B) In The Silence of the Lambs, our fear is that the bogeyman is watching our every move. In Hannibal, Scott's elegant, but less effective thriller, we obsess over the bogeyman and all that he does. In Hannibal, fetishism drives the plot, action and mood.

Anthony Hopkins is creepier than ever as film's most elegant cannibal. Replacing Jodie Foster in the role of FBI Agent Clarice Starling, indie queen Julianne Moore captures the cool discipline and all-business attitude that's so integral to the role.

Scott builds adequate suspense out of the bloody reunion between Lecter and Starling. After months of hype and innuendo, Hannibal succeeds as a gory manhunt drama. It's clear that Lecter continues to fascinate us. Welcome back, psycho. We've missed you and your well-mannered bloodiness. -- SR (Rated R.)

HEARTBREAKERS -- (Grade: C) Director David Mirkin's screwball comedy Heartbreakers confirms Sigourney Weaver can play just about anything. In addition to wealthy Russian emigrée, Ulga Yevanova, she's Angela Nardino, a virginal bride who keeps her anxious groom Dean Cumanno (Ray Liotta) waiting on their wedding night. Ulga and Angela are both characters concocted by veteran con artist Max Connors (Weaver). Max's partner-in-crime is her own teen-age daughter, Page (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Max marries the men. Then, Page seduces them into bed. Their payoff arrives in the form of a quick divorce settlement.

After relocating to Palm Beach, cigarette tycoon William B. Tensy (Gene Hackman) becomes Max and Page's latest target. Everything is on schedule until Page falls in love with a local bartender (Jason Lee). Suddenly, her newfound conscience jeopardizes her mother's big-money con.

Weaver lets it all hang out in Heartbreakers. Her height (5 feet 11 inches) and sharp features are pushed aside in favor of curves and sexy flirtations. Weaver gets to play the vamp, and Heartbreakers is a better film because of it.

Inevitably, Heartbreakers loses its cynical edge whenever Weaver is absent from the screen. It's clear Hewitt is too goody-goody for a sarcastic caper film like Heartbreakers. Her big chance to play dirty is a huge failure. When the vampy Page gets her hair caught in a married man's zipper, Hewitt manages to make the gag look not the least bit naughty. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

JOE DIRT -- (Grade: C) The one thing broad comedies tend to lack, besides intelligence, is heart. Joe Dirt, the white trash David Spade vehicle, has loads of heart. If only it had a hair more class, the movie might really have been something. Of course, we're talking about a mullet-sporting hero. Class has no place here.Dirt (Spade) is traveling the country looking for his parents, after (he believes) he was mistakenly left at the Grand Canyon. His adventures lead him to several colorful characters and several off-color situations. Toilet humor used to mean anything "dirty." Now it literally means someone gets crapped on. We just don't need to see it.

Spade loses his smart-aleck Spade-isms and vaguely attempts to act. It's a valiant effort. Luckily, the character is well-drawn enough to keep you liking Dirt. Dennis Miller is his usual brilliant self, and Christopher Walken is the most alive we've seen him in years. Kid Rock makes his cinematic debut but, like the film, it's too hollow to really care about it. All in all, Joe Dirt is a fun but soiled movie. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS -- (Grade: D) The guitar riffs are fast and loud. The lyrics are of the bubble-gum variety. Everything about Josie and the Pussycats is intentionally sugarcoated. The problem is what works for a three-minute Pop song can't possibly sustain a feature film. It's surprising how fast Josie and the Pussycats loses its comic fizz.Co-directors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan never fully capitalize on the film's flair for teen consumerism amidst piles of Bloomingdale's shopping bags and Steve Madden shoes. They're too busy trying to make sense of a comic book plot about an evil record label that's putting subliminal messages in the Pussycats' music.

Tara Reid and Rosario Dawson offer little support as the back-up Pussycats, although Rachel Leigh Cook shows promising charisma as the spunky Josie. But Cook's punky red hair and big brown eyes are no match for Parker Posey's manic energy as the demented CEO of the Pussycats' record label. In this moviemade cat fight between Cook and Posey, it's Posey who ultimately wins hands down. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

JOURNEY INTO AMAZING CAVES -- (Grade: B) Cavers Nancy Aulenbach and Hazel Barton put an adventurous face on microbiology in the rousing OMNIMAX film Journey Into Amazing Caves. All the OMNIMAX tricks are tossed into this family-friendly nature documentary about exploring the Earth's underground frontiers. Actor Liam Neeson provides celebrity narration. The Moody Blues supply a soundtrack appropriate for aging baby boomers. Endless tracking shots take audiences over canyons, rain forests and icy tundra in dizzying fashion. Anything less stomach-churning would be considered a disappointment. -- SR (Unrated.)

KINGDOM COME -- (Grade: D) Playing the Slocumb family matriach, Whoopi Goldberg is the pillar of dramatic stability in director Doug McHenry's chaotic ensemble comedy. In a film that frequently seems desperate for a laugh, Goldberg's cool demeanor is a welcome shot of comic subtlety. L.L. Cool J, Anthony Anderson, Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A. Fox are the children in the oddball Slocumb family who return for the funeral of their mean daddy Woodrow "Bud" Slocumb. Inevitably, they get on each other's nerves.

Based on the play Dearly Departed, Kingdom Come flaunts its army of dysfunctional characters in the spirit of Robert Altman. But like many Altman films, Kingdom Come also struggles to connect its loose threads in time for a comedic payoff. The film's storytelling quickly dissolves into shrill hysterics. It makes one wish that McHenry would have paid more attention to Goldberg's restraint. -- SR (Rated PG.)

The MEXICAN -- (Grade: B) Samantha Barzel (Julia Roberts) and her boyfriend, Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt), yell at each other constantly. Sometimes Samantha shrieks and Jerry just listens.

Pitt plays Jerry, a slackerish bagman who is sent south of the border to retrieve an antique pistol known as "The Mexican." Of course, Samantha (Roberts) wants Jerry to leave the mob for more honest employment.

It's not long before Jerry's simple gangland errand turns badly. But things turn even more complicated after Samantha is kidnapped by a hit man (Gandolfini) to ensure the pistol's safe recovery.

Pitt and Roberts are only together for a handful of scenes in The Mexican. As a result, the film offers more comedy than romance. Luckily, for director Gore Verbinski's The Mexican, their separate adventures are clever, fast-paced and very funny. But it's Sopranos star (James Gandolfini) who surprisingly comes between celebrity co-stars Pitt and Roberts. A true scene-stealer, Gandolfini's performance as a soft-hearted hit man is the best thing in The Mexican. -- SR (Rated R.)

MISS CONGENIALITY -- (Grade: B) How do you keep a sexy Hollywood leading lady from seeming too out of touch with the masses? Miss Congeniality offers one possible answer. Sandra Bullock plays Gracie Hart, a hard-nosed FBI agent who would sooner cold-cock a man than get caught in an embrace with him. But just when you begin to feel bad for her and depressed in general, Bullock uncorks a surprising pratfall. Presto! Instant endearment. Gracie is offered career redemption if she will agree to go undercover at the Miss United States pageant. Seems a Unabomber-type assassin has targeted the ceremony as the site of his next bombing. This is where the sight gags come into play.

There may be nothing funnier than seeing one of People magazine's Most Beautiful Women fall on her face. Some of the hottest actresses working today already have figured this out, but none more than Sandra Bullock. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? -- (Grade: C) Over the last 15 years, the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) have created a unique cinematic universe. With O Brother, Where Art Thou? the brothers once again display their distinct talents, but with much less success.

When the story begins, Ulysses (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) have just escaped from a chain gang in '30s Mississippi. We then follow the trio through a variety of set pieces; everything from the cutting of a hit record under the moniker, "The Soggy Bottom Boys" to an encounter with Babyface Nelson (Michael Badalucco) to the sabotage of a KKK rally. All of these plot twists unfold with little interest in creating a substantial narrative. The complex story lines of their past films (Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, Fargo) are sorely lacking in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Longtime Coen cinematographer Roger Deakins is once again enlisted, and his services help immensely. But even Deakins can't overcome a miscast Clooney and the continued insistence of the Coens to stick to their increasingly ironic stance. Oh yeah, it's based on Homer's Odyssey. -- Jason Gargano (Rated PG-13.)

POKÉMON 3 -- (Grade: C) The subtitle for this film is Spell of the Unown. Boy, that's an understatement. I remain baffled at how incomprehensible these 21st-century kids films have become. In Pokémon 3, a little girl stumbles across the mysterious Unown Pokémon, who turns her world into an altered reality by reading her mind. Inevitably, stand-by hero Ash, with lots of help from his friends and Pokémon posse, saves the day.

Fan favorite Pikachu and his new friend Pichu star in a short that's more confusing than the feature film. Still, judging by the young audience's reaction, logic and plot mean nothing in these Pokémon movies. -- RP (Rated G.)

POLLOCK -- (Grade: B) In Pollock, a look inside tortured artist Jackson Pollock, Ed Harris -- as both director and star -- avoids giving the audience docu-style talking heads and a cast of quirks in search of their characters. What he presents is quiet and sometimes truly intimate, yet is still removed from the vital essence of Pollock. We look at (and not into) him, because of what Harris the director gives us.

The one true and unerring thing in Pollock's life and this film was not necessarily his prodigious talent, but his wife and fellow artist Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden). The Academy Award for Harden is recognition for her deft mini-portrait of the woman who willingly provided a lifeline for Pollock's vision. Harris is also rewarded for his obvious labor of love that is far from perfect, but pleasing at a certain distance. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

SEE SPOT RUN -- (Grade: C) I don't know how child-appropriate a movie is when a running gag involves a gangster who loses a testicle in a dogfight. If I'm squirming over the bad taste, I can't imagine the parents who later have to explain the joke.

It's a shame the makers of See Spot Run didn't lose the adult humor in this mildly charming tale of a kid who needs a father and a man who needs to grow up. Angus T. Jones has all the requisite cute traits to pull off the part of the boy. And David Arquette may be the perfect actor to play the dim man-child.

Let's not forget dear Spot. This is, after all, a dog movie. Or is it? When Spot isn't fetching balls, he fades a bit into the background. Which is fine, because See Spot Run doesn't need any more crude comedy. That would be nuts. -- RP (Rated PG.)

SOMEONE LIKE YOU -- (Grade: D) Ashley Judd's pretty appearance is everything in a superficial movie like director Tony Goldwyn's lovelorn comedy Someone Like You. Take away Judd's smiling face and Someone Like You fails to exist. It's that hollow.

As Jane Goodale, a perky producer at a morning talk show, Judd is the big-city version of the girl-next-door. Finding the "right" guy is the priority of Jane and her sassy girlfriend Liz (Marisa Tomei). But Jane's boy trouble turns complicated after she falls for Ray Brown (Greg Kinnear), the new executive producer at her show.

Jane's loveless personal life is the dramatic focus of Someone Like You. It's also the main source of the film's single-girl comedy. But Goldwyn never finds the melodramatic balance between the film's laughs and tears. Someone Like You falls into the mixed-up limbo of the movie dramedy. It's not willing to be an all-out sex comedy or a heart-wrenching women's weepie. By the time Jane becomes the roommate of a handsome womanizer (Hugh Jackman) and starts writing a dating advice column, Someone Like You loses all of its storytelling momentum. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

SPY KIDS -- (Grade: B) There is a valuable lesson tucked alongside the chases, explosions and gadgetry of writer/director Robert Rodriguez's rousing family adventure Spy Kids. Beneath the surface of a tranquil family life, a child can discover great adventure. He'll also find the hero inside himself.

Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) and his big sister Carmen (Alexa Vega) can't get enough of their mother's (Carla Gugino) bedtime stories about how she met and fell in love with their father (Antonio Banderas). The difference is Gregorio Cortez (Banderas) and his wife Ingrid (Gugino) are secret agents.

Gregorio and Ingrid's first assignment in nine years places them in the clutches of evil genius Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming). It's up to Juni and Carmen to become junior James Bonds and save their parents from mutated secret agents, giant robot thumbs and cyborg children. With a little bit of luck, Juni and Carmen might very well save the world.

Banderas and Gugino make an attractive pair of secret agents. But Spy Kids ultimately succeeds thanks to the bravery of its pint-sized heroes, Sabara and Vega.

In fact, the only letdown is that a junior agent adventure like Spy Kids proves incapable of producing a Bond-like finale of over-the-top explosions and outrageous stunts. Still, Spy Kids did borrow one important detail from the Bond movie handbook. Its closing scene sets up the next Spy Kids adventure. -- SR (Rated PG.)

TRAFFIC -- (Grade: A) Its cross-country array of locales gives Traffic, director Steven Soderbergh's complex, drug-trade thriller, the visual quality of an epic drama. Traffic flips nimbly from a courthouse in Columbus to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, from crack houses in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine to upscale homes in La Jolla, Calif., and ultimately, the White House itself.

An extensive ensemble cast helps Soderbergh tell his complex story. Michael Douglas is the big name as conservative Ohio State Supreme Court Justice, Robert Wakefield, but it's Benicio Del Toro who grabs hold of Traffic's dramatic spotlight as conflicted Tijuana cop, Javier Rodriquez.

Sharp, stylish, and well spoken, Traffic is rightfully a Soderbergh film. In an era best represented by mindless blockbusters, Traffic is literate and substantial, a political drama that thrives on screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's script. -- SR (Rated R.)

THE WIDOW OF ST. PIERRE -- (Grade: A) Juliette Binoche dazzles in director Patrice Leconte's compassionate 19th-century period drama, based on a true story, about the devotion between a French Captain (Daniel Auteuil) and his headstrong wife Madame La. On the island of Saint-Pierre, a French territory off the coast of Newfoundland, sailor Neel August (Yugoslavian director Emir Kustirica in his acting debut) is found guilty of murder. But Madame La wants to rehabilitate August before the guillotine arrives for his execution. Her devotion causes dismay from the local politicians who want August executed. After the Captain supports his wife's beliefs, these same politicians plot a conspiracy to end the Captain's career.

Leconte (Girl on the Bridge, The Hairdresser's Husband) tweaks the costume drama format with plenty of sexual tension and anti-capital punishment themes. More importantly, Binoche's verve updates Madame La into a modern-day heroine. Just watching Binoche's heartfelt performance in The Widow of St. Pierre makes the Newfoundland landscape seem a lot less bleak. -- SR (Unrated.)

yi yi -- (Grade: A) Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang finds exquisite detail inside the cluttered apartment of a Taipei high-rise. It's here that the teen-age Ting-Ting Jian (Kelly Lee) lives with her middle-class parents, NJ (Wu Nienjen) and Min-Min (Elaine Jin), 8-year-old brother Yang-Yang (Jonathan Chang) and elderly grandma (Tang Ruyun). But a bag of garbage left on the Jians' apartment balcony becomes dramatically important for Ting-Ting. She believes her grandma collapsed while taking out the garbage. In a dark bedroom, Ting-Ting reaches out for the still hand of her comatose grandma. The young girl seeks forgiveness.

In Yi Yi, Yang's epic drama about a Taipei family, a simple image of two clasped hands becomes something rich, dramatic and powerful.

With its 173-minute length, Yi Yi is considered a challenge for most movie audiences. But Yi Yi's deliberate storytelling is so rich and multi-faceted that its running time doesn't matter. Yang develops his ensemble of characters thoroughly. Basically, Yi Yi is one of those rare films you wish would go on forever. As substantial and lyrical as a novel, Yi Yi is a quiet masterpiece worthy of a sizable audience. It's an essential film, and that's something I don't say very often. -- SR (Unrated.)

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