Rose McGowan vamps it up mercilessly as the "Satan in heels," a teenage-bitch queen whose birthday prank gone terminally wrong leaves her best friend dead, choked to death on a jawbreaker the size of a fist. Rebecca Gayheart, with her sparkling eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg, is the good girl at heart who becomes a social pariah when she drops out of the group, trading her plunging necklines for librarian-lite sweaters and long skirts. Jawbreakerwants nothing less than to be the Heathersof its generation, but only intermittently hits the mark, such as when McGowan turns a mousy nobody into the next big thing, a slutty tease whose craving for attention soon challenges McGowan's supremacy. "She's evil," someone finally realizes, "and she's only in high school!" That's unfortunately the best Darren Stein's film gets. For all its catty talk and surface glamour, it's a flat, broadly directed satire that never lives up to its evocative title. Features an appearance by teen rock punks the Donnas as the prom band. —Sean Axmaker

You don't have to be a Star Trekfan to enjoy Galaxy Quest, but it certainly helps. A knowingly affectionate tribute to Trekand any other science fiction TV series of the 1960s and beyond, this crowd-pleasing comedy offers in-jokes at warp speed, hitting the bull's-eye for anyone who knows that (1) the starship captain always removes his shirt to display his manly physique; (2) any crew member not in the regular cast is dead meat; and (3) the heroes always stop the doomsday clock with one second to spare. So it is with Commander Taggart (Tim Allen) and the stalwart crew of the NSEA Protector, whose intergalactic exploits on TV have now been reduced to a dreary cycle of fan conventions and promotional appearances. That's when the Thermians arrive, begging to be saved from Sarris, the reptilian villain who threatens to destroy their home planet.

Can actors rise to the challenge and play their roles for real? The Thermians are counting on it, having studied the "historical documents" of the Galaxy QuestTV show, and their hero worship (not to mention their taste for Monte Cristo sandwiches) is ultimately proven worthy, with the help of some Galaxygeeks on planet Earth. And while Galaxy Questserves up great special effects and impressive Stan Winston creatures, director Dean Parisot (Home Fries) is never condescending, lending warm acceptance to this gentle send-up of sci-fi TV and the phenomenon of fandom. Best of all is the splendid cast, including Sigourney Weaver as buxom blonde Gwen DeMarco; Alan Rickman as frustrated thespian Alexander Dane; Tony Shalhoub as dimwit Fred Kwan; Daryl Mitchell as former child-star Tommy Webber; and Enrico Colantoni as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose sing-song voice is a comedic coup de grâce. —Jeff Shannon

Predatorwreaked havoc in the jungle and struck box-office gold, so Hollywood logic dictated that Predator 2should raise hell in the big, bad city. Los Angeles, to be specific, and this near-future L.A. (circa 1997) is an ultra-violent playground for the invisibility-cloaked alien that hunted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the previous film. Scant explanation is given for the creature's return, and because Ah-nuld was busy making Total Recall, Danny Glover was awkwardly installed as the maverick cop (is there any other kind?) who defies a government goon (Gary Busey) to curtail the alien's inner-city killing spree. But why bother, when the victims are scummy Colombian drug lords? Don't look for intelligent answers; director Stephen Hopkins favors wall-to-wall action over sensible plotting, allowing Stan Winston's more prominently featured Predator to join the ranks of iconic movie monsters. The promise of Alien vs. Predatorwas only fulfilled in comic books, but look closely: there's a familiar-looking skull in the Predator's trophy case! —Jeff Shannon

The first feature Katsuhiro Otomo has written and directed since his watershed Akira(1988), Steamboyoffers a fantastic, sepia-toned vision of the past-as-future. In place of the dystopic Neo-Tokyo of Akira, Steamboyis set in England in 1866. Young Ray Steam receives a Steam Ball, a mysterious, powerful device, from his inventor grandfather. Governments and businesses covet the Steam Ball, and Ray finds himself in a murderous conflict over its possession. He's also caught between his father, a 19th century Darth Vader who builds terrible weapons for an American arms merchant, and his grandfather, who believes science should improve people's lives. Otomo uses computer graphics to create dazzling visuals that few recent films—animated or live action—can match: monumental systems of gears and pistons; machines that dwarf the Tower of London; antique weapons of mass destruction. But the dazzling imagery can't disguise the lack of a coherent plot and the flimsiness of the characters.

Steamboyis being released in a dubbed version that's been shortened by 20 minutes, and a more satisfying subtitled version that preserves Otomo's original pacing. Both versions suggest that Steamboyis the work of an important filmmaker who can't quite shape his awesome visions into a effective narrative. (Rated PG-13 for action violence.) —Charles Solomon

The intoxicating chemistry and repartee between the oft-teamed William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles—America—America's favorite soused detectives—is fully 100-proof in the marvelously witty Thin Man movies. You simply won't find more delightful movie company than Nick and Nora. The title, of course, refers not to Nicky the dick, but to the mysteriously missing scientist he and his lovely partner set out to find. Powell and Loy deliver their sparkling dialog with giddy enthusiasm (and occasionally slurred speech) in this rapid-fire, three-martini suspense comedy directed by famously speedy W.S. Van Dyke and adapted from the novel by Dashiell Hammett. The success of The Thin Manspawned a litter of sequels, including After the Thin Man(featuring a young James Stewart), Another Thin Man(in which a baby is added to the Charles family), Shadow of the Thin Man, The Thin Man Goes Home, and Song of the Thin Man. —Jim Emerson

In the ongoing deluge of comic-book adaptations, Hellboyranks well above average. Having turned down an offer to helm Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanin favor of bringing Hellboy's origin story to the big screen, the gifted Mexican director Guillermo del Toro compensates for the excesses of Blade IIwith a moodily effective, consistently entertaining action-packed fantasy, beginning in 1944 when the mad monk Rasputin—in cahoots with occult-buff Hitler and his Nazi thugs—opens a transdimensional portal through which a baby demon emerges, capable of destroying the world with his powers. Instead, the aptly named Hellboy is raised by the benevolent Prof. Bloom, founder of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, whose allied forces enlist the adult Hellboy (Ron Perlman, perfectly cast) to battle evil at every turn. While nursing a melancholy love for the comely firestarter Liz (Selma Blair), Hellboy files his demonic horns ("to fit in," says Bloom) and wreaks havoc on the bad guys. The action is occasionally routine (the movie suffers when compared to the similar X-Menblockbusters), but del Toro and Perlman have honored Mike Mignola's original Dark Horse comics with a lavish and loyal interpretation, retaining the amusing and sympathetic quirks of character that made the comic-book Hellboy a pop-culture original. He's red as a lobster, puffs stogies like Groucho Marx, and fights the good fight with a kind but troubled heart. What's not to like? —Jeff Shannon

Who else but Tim Burton could make Corpse Bride, a necrophiliac's delight that's fun for the whole family? Returning to the richly imaginative realm of stop-motion animation (after previous successes with The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), Burton, with codirector Mike Johnson, invites us to visit the dour, ashen, and drearily Victorian mansions of the living, where young Victor Van Dort (voiced by Johnny Depp) is bequeathed to wed the lovely Victoria (Emily Watson). But the wedding rehearsal goes sour and, in the kind of Goth-eerie forest that only exists in Burton-land, Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty (how pleasantly full-bosomed she remains!) with a loquacious maggot installed behind one prone-to-popping eyeball. This being a Burton creation, the underworld of the dead is a lively and colorful place indeed, and Danny Elfman's songs and score make it even livelier, presenting Victor with quite a dilemma: Should he return above-ground to Victoria, or remain devoted to his corpse bride? At a brisk 76 minutes, Burton's graveyard whimsy (loosely based on a 19th century Russian folktale) never wears out its welcome, and the voice casting (which includes Tracey Ullman and Albert Finney) is superbly matched the film's gloriously amusing character design, guaranteed to yield a wealth of gruesome toys and action figures for many Halloweens to come. —Jeff Shannon

Le problème avec Harry, c'est qu'il est mort. Tel un cartoon, Mais qui a tué Harry ?présente un large panel de personnages, soit drôles, soit agaçants, qui ont la particularité commune de complètement se désintéresser du pauvre cadavre qu'ils rencontrent à tour de rôle. Le mort, Harry, une fois identifié, devient la cause de multiples stratagèmes destinés à le cacher. Il est d'abord enterré puis déterré, enterré à nouveau… Rarement l'humour grinçant d'Alfred Hitchcock n'a pu s'exprimer autant que dans Mais qui a tué Harry ?, une de ses vraies comédies qu'il citait souvent comme étant un de ses films préférés. D'autre part, la joyeuse partition de Bernard Herrmann complète parfaitement l'humour noir de cette étrange histoire, et le charme affiché par la débutante Shirley McLaine rompt avec les héroïnes "glacées" présentes dans les autres films d'Hitchcock. —Christophe Gagnot

Released amidst rumors of romance between costars Angelina Jolie and soon-to-be-divorced Brad Pitt, Mr. and Mrs. Smithoffers automatic weapons and high explosives as the cure for marital boredom. The premise of this exhausting action-comedy (no relation to the 1941 Alfred Hitchcock comedy starring Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery) is that the unhappily married Smiths (Pitt and Jolie) will improve their relationship once they discover their mutually-hidden identities as world-class assassins, but things get complicated when their secret-agency bosses order them to rub each other out. There's plenty of amusing banter in the otherwise disposable screenplay by Simon Kinberg (xXx: State of the Union, Fantastic Four), and director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) gives Pitt and Jolie a slick, glossy superstar showcase that's innocuous but certainly never boring. It could've been better, but as an action-packed summer confection, Mr. and Mrs. Smithkills two hours in high style. —Jeff Shannon

En province, c'est le moment de fêter Noël dans une famille bourgeoise principalement composée de femmes. Seul le père, resté tard au lit, paraît mettre du temps à s'immiscer dans les retrouvailles. Normal. Sa propre fille le découvre poignardé dans sa chambre. Les harpies se retrouvent entre elles avec, sur les lèvres, cette question commune : qui est l'assassin ? On savait le mépris qu'entretenait François Ozon pour la cellule familiale depuis son déroutant Sitcom. Là, il enfonce le clou en réunissant une distribution en or massif (Deneuve, Ledoyen, Béart…) pour un règlement de comptes vaudevillesque entre femmes, où tout le monde, mère, fille, tante et grand-mère comprises, en prend pour son grade. Un brin décousu, le film est surtout prétexte à des numéros de divas cinématographiques, souvent épatants. Ceux qui avaient aimé l'univers intimiste de Sous le sablerisquent d'être désorientés par le nouvel Ozon. Mais les amateurs de kitsch tendance La Cage aux follesapprécieront. Et ils sont nombreux, si l'on en juge par le succès considérable remporté par 8 femmesdepuis sa sortie en salles. —Jean-Pascal Grosso

One of the most invigorating period adventures to hit the big screen in decades, this lavish, brilliantly directed film drew critical and audience raves when it was released in 1995. Inspired by historical fact and larger-than-life legend, the intelligently scripted story takes place in Scotland in 1713, when Highland farmer and clan leader Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is forced to borrow money from the duplicitous aristocrat Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) to help his clan survive a harsh winter. When Montrose's vile henchman (Tim Roth) schemes to dishonor MacGregor and his wife (Jessica Lange) and take the money for himself, the rugged Highlander must take courageous action to preserve his integrity. What follows—along with some of the finest sword-fighting ever filmed—is a tale of courage and valor destined to become an enduring movie classic. Tim Roth received a well-deserved Oscar nomination (for Best Supporting Actor) for his indelible performance as the foppish but deadly villain Cunningham, and both Neeson and Lange bring an earthy, sensual quality to their passionate roles. Boasting a wealth of breathtaking scenery and high-intensity action, Rob Royis further blessed by a splendid supporting cast (including Brian Cox and Eric Stoltz), and the lush soundtrack by Carter Burwell strikes a perfect balance of romanticism and vigorous dramatic energy. —Jeff Shannon

In English comedy at its blackest (and funniest) pitch, this droll 1955 farce finds Alec Guinness in one of his typically deft, chameleon turns as would-be criminal mastermind Professor Marcus. When Marcus's grand plan to pull off a train heist leads him to a strategically situated house occupied by the genteel Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson), the ensuing masquerade triggers a mordant, even macabre comedy of manners. With Marcus and his rough-hewn cronies (Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, and Danny Green) posing as a string quartet, and the dear lady's demise seen as the means to their larcenous end, the gang's sinister machinations are consistently, if unwittingly, foiled by the good-hearted, resourceful widow. —Sam Sutherland