School for Scoundrels (2006)

Two foils and a girl--what a hoot! Billy Bob Thornton (who charms in any role he plays, from U Turn to Bad Santa to Friday Night Lights) runs an unscrupulous motivational seminar for losers like meter maid Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) upon whom he plies his unorthodox mantras and methods. (Be a lion. Always get the girl alone. Lie, lie, and lie some more.) His cut-the-crap-you-namby-pambys curriculum keeps them off-balance and gets mixed results with sufficient twists and turns. Michael Clarke Duncan (The Whole Nine Yards) plays a threatening sidekick; Ben Stiller plays a manic has-been; Sarah Silverman is love interest Jacinda Barrett's bitter girlfriend; Luis Guzman is the creepy supervisor. It's a fine ensemble cast with Heder growing into his role as Thornton raises the stakes by going after his girl. The physical humor is generally hilarious; everyone in the preview I attended was laughing quite a lot. You will too. Four stars.

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

Here is a visual pageant, a storied spectacle, an opulent writer's bounty of words with a raft of characters bound in a complex drama. Almost every scene zings with memorable visuals and character conflict. Almost every line is worthy of the Bard's loquacity. I'll want to watch it again and again. A finely tuned screw! Five stars.

Sentinel (The) (2006)

This Secret Service thriller is a cogent blend of Murder at 1600 Pennyslvania (for its bad guys' quasipolitical death wish), Enemy of the State (for technology and professional logistics), and the TV series 24 (for spirit and complexity). It kept me roundly interested (though a few small plot gaps briefly set me adrift), so much that I would venture to say this is the best movie of this type I have yet seen. Four stars.

Chain Reaction (1996)

Some may dis this movie because they feel it's beneath them, but I've always found it to be a captivating science-suspense story with good cast chemistry and a modicum of mystery. Keanu Reeves does not reek -- in fact he holds my attention as the inspired if unaspiring machinist every time I see this film. Rachel Wiesz is always good, and if Morgan Freeman phoned in this role, then he did the same for Bruce Almighty. True, the script could have soared, but instead it flew steadily towards its destination and made a three-point landing; I am more than happy for that much in any science-oriented film. Chain Reaction ranks up there with The Saint but never so low as The Net. Four stars.

Brother Bear 2 (2006)

This movie suffers a bit from Disney sequelitis, faring about as well as other Disney direct-to-video titles. It's shorter and weaker than the original (which was quite good), though it carries on the spirit just the same. The voice talents and animation are quite nice (though Wanda Sykes voicing the shamaness is a shame). In short, even Rutt and Tuuk's Canadian brogue is growing old; this follow-on is derivative but acceptable for a knockoff sequel. Bonus features include only one song and one game, however. Three stars.