Should the desire to see a clever zombie movie strike, try the recent remake of "Dawn of the Dead" or last year's "28 Days."

The casting falters on every level compared with Queens.

Thackeray said that he wanted "to leave everybody dissatisfied and unhappy at the end of the story." Nair may have had other intentions, but by film's end, audiences are bound to be left dissatisfied with the choppy and confusing storytelling style and unhappy about the missed opportunity.

A movie just good enough to keep nurturing rooting interest as you watch it.

At least director Dwight Little (Free Willy 2) gives us enough B-movie speed to keep Orchid from becoming a fountain of aging.

Here's a late-August dog-days atrocity from the "aren't farts funny?" school of filmmaking.

The movie's premise is as dopey as they come: A serial killer with a conscience is killing other serial killers.

In a summer filled with dumb comedies, this might prove to be the dumbest. Think "Road Trip" meets "City Slickers." Then dial the humor down a few notches, and you're left Without a Paddle.

Falls flat, enlivened only by the performances of its two charismatic lead dogs. The story is heavy-handed, and the human performances are, at their worst, caricatured.

A promising debut by young writer/director Jacob Estes, this story of a botched revenge plot still isn't likely to break out even in multiplex August dog days.

A revelation. One rarely sees American-made movies that are so unafraid to explore emotional cruelty and portray the consequences without positing easy answers or attaching happy endings.

We all love a good fairy tale, but the enchantment is missing in this predictable sequel.

This handsome movie works thanks to its lack of pretension and an atmosphere somewhat akin to the gentle wackiness of director Bill Forsyth's better works.

Shake it all up and you get Collateral, a movie with only one conceivable flaw: its disinclination to break new ground, though no one held that against "The Fugitive" more than a decade of Augusts ago.

Hunter is far too talented to waste her time with such mediocre material, as is co-star Kathy Bates, who plays Kippie Kann, an overbearing talk-show host.

For at least half the movie, you need a code book a few inches thick to decipher Code 46.

There's more terror than entertainment here, though. I've seen a lot of movies in my life I couldn't wait to see end; this may be the first good one.

A case of smart and talented people trying to jam a Cold War square into a Gulf War circle. You can feel the chafing, to say nothing of the burden this capably crafted shrug has taken on.

Fun at times and tedious at others, it's an action-adventure fantasy aimed particularly at gadget-loving boys.

The Village emerges as a victim of its own ambitions. At one point, Edward advises Ivy: "Do your very best not to scream." That doesn't require much restraint on our part.

The recent model for this kind of surreal jazz-riff comedy is Doug Liman's 1999 "Go," a neo-classic. But you know already from the director (Dude, Where's My Car?'s Danny Leiner) if this movie is for you. Leiner has cornered the recent market on low-rent farces.

Though unlikely to have the lasting quality of "The Graduate," it feels a bit like that seminal film for today's generation.

This 140-minute I-don't-know-what-it-is unravels like a ball of yarn after a bout with a tiger on Colombian catnip. Lee exhaust me.

This incarnation is funny, quirky and clever, with some mesmerizing action sequences.

Taut, tightly paced and thrilling, with some of the best chase sequences -- whether by foot, taxi or Jeep -- in recent memory.

Hisses for Catwoman. Unfortunately for Oscar winner Halle Berry, this movie belongs in the litter box.

The movie is really a lovely ensemble piece. Beautifully conceived and written by Michael Cunningham (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours), the film has a distinctly novelistic and literate style.

Desperately conceived by even the most insipid standards of contemporary teen-queen cinema, A Cinderella Story operates under a rotting pumpkin of a supposition.

Performances, plot and pacing are as mechanical as the hard-wired cast.

Gracefully acted, and the story packs a powerful punch straight to the gut.

Jeff Bridges has enough demons in The Door in the Floor to jam a crowd scene, but the actor's sheer likability remains undiminished.

That he can make his anchorman chauvinistic, deluded and ridiculous but still manage to give him some humanity is testimony to Ferrell's comic talents.

Sleepover might appeal to 11- and 12-year-old fans of slumber parties, but it likely will leave their parents stifling a few dozen yawns.

A revelation: funny, fascinating and insightful.

For better or worse, but surely satisfying novelty needs, Jerry Bruckheimer's King Arthur is set much earlier than usual and against the crumbling Roman Empire, which may even (or not) be historically legitimate.

De-Lovely has its moments of delight. Its defects lie mostly in failing to fully delineate what made musical icon Cole Porter tick.

A movie this diminutive can be easily oversold, but we might see it on some year-end best lists. It eats at you, just like renewed love.

This is one of those moderately engrossing movies that seems to collapse all at once during the wrap-up, yet it's well-acted all around.

An old-school documentary that is both non-controversial and uplifting, America's Heart & Soul could be subtitled the Anti-Fahrenheit 9/11.

With special effects so convincing you don't even think about them, a head-case hero and a three-dimensional villain who is his equal, socko Spider-Man 2 has something for everyone.

A gifted cast was bogged down by a treacly tale.

Borderline amazing and borderline dull at the same time.

What we get is a tweaked variation on the litany of men-disguised-as-women comedies: "Some Like It Hot" and "Tootsie," just for starters. Obviously, this sassy farce sounds recycled and certainly appears to be in the coming attraction. Yet it's also funnier than expected in ways you wouldn't expect.

The documentary's scathing attack on the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's presidency is informative, provocative, frightening, compelling, funny, manipulative and, most of all, entertaining.

Coach Torn adds to a palpably violent undertone by heaving wrenches at their heads and crotches, making The Three Stooges' poking and slapping look downright tame.

If moviegoers suspend their disbelief -- easy enough thanks to the diverse and talented cast, as well as Spielberg's capable direction -- they're bound to enjoy this cinematic fantasy.

Just going through the motions here (and mild ones at that), both Chan and the movie should have stayed at home.

Has a riddick-ulous sci-fi plot, overblown and numbing video game-style special effects and a going-through-the-motions lead performance by Vin Diesel.

You feel some of the strain in this immaculately shot, designed and costumed farce, but it's fast and the cast is lively, even though a lost-looking Broderick rarely gets to shoot his patented bewildered look.

Not even Bill Murray could save Garfield. Perhaps the comedian -- so pitch-perfect as the sardonic actor in "Lost in Translation" -- got too deeply into character.

There isn't much Napoleonic grandeur in this Idaho-set high school comedy, which in spite of its most condescending instincts, does have its moments.

Who would think Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban could be an art film? Thanks to director Alfonso Cuaron, a dazzling storyteller with a keen eye for whimsical detail, the third film in the Potter franchise is a visual delight.

Packed with digs at Bush-Cheney that even Democrats could find heavy-handed, the movie's lumbering approach reminds us that, OK, Emmerich did "Independence Day" -- but also 1998's "Godzilla," which began sinking back into the sea in week two.

With its excessive sleaze and gross-out gags, Soul Plane overshoots effective spoofery. Mostly it's a foul, eye-rolling experience.

This movie is more wistful and winking, though it's obvious Mario is still working out emotional baggage with his tyrannically driven old man.

Not only is Saved! subversively funny, it is unexpectedly sweet.

Almost nothing about Raising Helen rings very true, other than the camera's crush on Kate Hudson.

Just as funny, sweet and engaging as the first film starring the big galoot.

Designed to be a date movie, Rules could have stronger male appeal than many comedies of its ilk.

Entertainingly epic eye candy.

The warden implores the prisoners to relinquish their weapons, and out of the cells come flying a zillion blades of all sizes. In a Mel Brooks movie, this bit would be funny. Here, it sums up the chilling situation in five seconds.

Too slight and pointless.

A sluggish, tedious film about lost souls living dead-end lives in a dead-end town. Their actions often defy rationality.

The wrap-up feels tacked-on and too good to be true, with emotions the story really hasn't earned.

As far as acting goes, neither Olsen is ready for Euripides' Medea, yet each projects well enough in their shared big scene.

The dashing Jackman plays his part well enough, but the script doesn't provide sufficient "Indiana Jones"-style bons mots to win us over.

Riveting and darkly comic Super Size Me is a whip-smart documentary.

Envy is in the unenviable position of saddling two of Hollywood's most talented comic actors with a script that doesn't do them justice.

The best that can be said about the film is that its naturalistic look and dark hues are occasionally intriguing, and its twist is fairly unpredictable, if far-fetched.

With tangy Fisher equaling the leads in a sometimes scene-stealing role as Moore's mom, the actors emerge unscathed. Brosnan's part, in fact, is among the actor's most convincing non-Bond characters.

Mean Girls has the same fancifully dead-on tone as the 1995 high-school comedy "Clueless" without the sweetness because, hey, these snits are mean.

Amusing, charming and pleasantly nostalgic.

Not too many R-rated revenge pics depend on "Uptown Girls'" Dakota Fanning for the stronger scenes. Yet once the 10-year-old star exits the picture, Man on Fire starts blowing a lot of smoke.

Bout No. 2 is among the best closed-quarters screen fights ever, as good as (and longer than) Frank Sinatra vs. Henry Silva in The Manchurian Candidate. And Hannah does more for an eyepatch than anyone since the late Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan.

Vardalos' comedic style is old-fashioned in the worst way; her humor is stodgier than the most retro Catskills laughmeister.

Trashy and disturbingly violent yet fairly zippy and amusingly cast.

This movie is so much the opposite of uplifting that you think Gary Oldman ought to be in it. But it's honestly made, and its second half does linger in the memory.

Thornton is excellent and now seems genetically incapable of being anything less than great in any role he takes.

It has a few moments of fun and whimsy, but it lacks the joyous spirit and intelligent humor of the children's novel on which it's based.

A mildly satirical but essentially sweet, benign comedy.

Destined to be on DVD by the time 2004 reaches the 50-yard line, Ten is more stale than it is ungodly.

Worth seeing not only because it's a highly effective thriller, but also because it's a finely tuned evocation of innocence at the mercy of adult cynicism.

Too bad first-time director Christopher Erskin, who cut his teeth on music videos and commercials, took so many predictable turns on this Vacation.

Hellboy's cheeky attitude and snarky dialogue, specifically Perlman's snidely funny lines, are the highlights.

The visual effects are lovely to behold, and the songs by Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and k.d. lang are fairly catchy.

Even its pre-teen audience could use a bit more quirkiness and a little less formula.

Though there's something mildly disarming about a movie this unpretentious, a few more like it might end up turning The Rock into a TV actor.

Smith is looking more and more like a developing major talent, so it could be years until we get a handle on this movie's legacy. The film is not only defensible as a cute one-shot, but also as a positive sign for the future.

A Southern-style "Ocean's 11" without the pretty boys and Vegas attitude but with plenty of laughs.

Not for everyone. It is darkly funny, intellectually challenging and obliquely didactic. It also grows bleaker over the course of its nearly three-hour running time.

Pulpy, fairly speedy but just the same old urban thing by its wrap-up.

The movie, which has a rusty photographic veneer, is monotonous and drags toward the end.

A little soon for any movie this millennium to reunite overacting Matthew Lillard, underacting Freddie Prinze Jr., feigning mousy Linda Cardellini and the more obviously lip-glossy Sarah Michelle Gellar.

It is by turns comic, dark and surprisingly tender. If one must reduce it to simple description, call it a love story with a twist. Or a twisted love story.

The trouble with indulging Taking Lives is that it's taking your time.

Overall, this Dead is zippier than 1995's retake on "Village of the Damned" and somewhat less junky than the recent remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The filmmaker's new subject, the German occupation of France, has been treated with the seriousness it deserves in countless movies over the past half-century. This treatment is light and breezy for a change, though not altogether frivolous.

Stretching what was a cute concept to the breaking point.