After a brief prologue and a slick opening credit sequence where the actors’ names appear with their black-and-white comic book counterpart, SIN CITY (which brings three of writer-artist Frank Miller’s comic arcs to monochromatic life) gives us a taste of “That Yellow Bastard�, in which fanatical cop Hartigan (Bruce Willis), on the eve of his retirement, is on a mission to rescue a young girl from sicko senator son Junior (Nick Stahl...[more]...

UNDERCOVER BROTHER stars Eddie Griffin as the titular character, a superfunky Robin Hood of the 'hood. This afro-topped, bell-bottomed anachronism finds himself recruited into the BROTHERHOOD for a mission of utmost importance. Their shadowy foe "The Man" has brainwashed a respected military veteran and possible presidential candidate (still-suave Billy Dee Williams in a non-embarrassing appearance -- well, except for the whole fried chicken thing) and is using him as a spokesperson for a black-focused fast-food franchise, delivering crispy mind-control poultry to drive the blackness from soul brothers and sisters everywhere...[more]...

In FIREFOX (based on a novel by Craig Thomas), Clint Eastwood is Vietnam vet Mitchell Gant, who is brought back into service to swipe an experimental high-tech fighter jet from those evil 80s-era Soviets. This new MIG fighter is the next step in the evolution of air combat, a virtually invisible craft that responds to its pilot's thoughts. The governing powers have determined that despite being occasionally incapacitated by fiery flashbacks, Gant is The Right Guy For The Job, mostly because he speaks Russian and he's expendable...[more]...

With LAYER CAKE, Guy Ritchie cohort/producer Matthew Vaughn sticks his mug in the viewfinder for the first time and whips up something tonally closer to Brit gangster films from decades earlier (GET CARTER, THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, etc.) than the frenetic, self-conscious heist cyclones of his chum...[more]...

Set during the 1700s during China's Qing Dynasty, MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE opens with the title character, an old blind man (Kong Kam) who learns that his two disciples have been slain by a One-Armed Boxer. Seeking revenge, he takes the notorious flying guillotine (equal parts yo-yo, beekeeper's hat and buzzsaw) out of retirement and hits the road in search of the man who killed his acolytes, decapitating any slob he finds who is unfortunate enough to possess only one torso appendage...[more]...

After a mere six years together, John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as if you didn’t know) are having marital problems. As they explain to an unseen counselor (an uncredited William Fichtner offering his strangely soothing voice), their daily existence has become monotonous and their mutual interest is as dry as their sex life (the implausibility of which doesn’t even approach the boundaries of disbelief required by the following two hours...[more]...

At its essence, Satoshi Kon’s anime feature MILLENNIUM ACTRESS is an interview (note I didn't say "merely"). Genya is a documentary filmmaker seeking a dialogue with the reclusive Chiyoko Fujiwara, a once-famous actress who for decades has all but disappeared from the public eye. He and his lanky young cameraman Kyoji travel to her secluded home, and when Genya produces a small gold key, he finds Chiyoko surprisingly amenable to imparting her life story...[more]...

Watching Hong Kong headbreaker Jet Li in movies like TAI CHI MASTER, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA and the magnificent FIST OF LEGEND makes you really scratch your head and wonder. Though his English has improved dramatically since his US debut in the otherwise inexcusable LETHAL WEAPON 4, his American projects still mostly present him as a reticent wushu whirlwind who does his communicating through skeletal fractures and subdural hematomas, in hyper-edited fight scenes that only hint at his virtuoso martial arts talents...[more]...

After being portrayed by everyone from Douglas Fairbanks to Lou Ferrigno and battling countless rickety Harryhausen monsters, the legendary sailor Sinbad arrives in the adventurous medium of animation. In SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS, the infamous plundering rogue (voiced by Brad Pitt) and his appropriately eccentric mates intend to hijack the Book of Peace, a magical manuscript that safeguards the Twelve Cities. While raiding the transport ship, Sinbad discovers the tome is under the protection of old childhood chum Proteus (Joseph Fiennes), and the duo briefly reunites to fend off a tentacled sea-beast (one that will tickle Lovecraft fans...[more]...