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By Inlander Staff


About Schmidt -- Jack Nicholson delivers a different-than-usual tour-de-force in this seriocomic road movie about a just-retired and just-widowed fellow who tries to make his aloof daughter see that she's marrying the wrong guy -- and getting the wrong in-laws to boot. (ES) Rated: R





Adaptation -- The newest creation from director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman isn't as surreal as their Being John Malkovich, but it's just as insane. "Based" on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean, it's about her tribulations writing it, while at the same time it's about the book's subject, the loopy John Laroche, and about Kaufman himself, struggling to adapt a screenplay from the book. (ES) Rated: R





Catch Me If You Can -- Spielberg lightens up from recent films in this comedy (with a serious undertone) inspired by the real-life adventures of teenage con man extraordinaire Frank Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio). Chased for years by a no-nonsense FBI man (Tom Hanks), his life probably wasn't as carefree as the film presents it. But this is one good romp. (ES) Rated PG-13





Charly -- Not to be confused with the 1968 Cliff Robertson film, this is about a young Mormon whose world is turned upside down when a free spirit from big, bad Manhattan moves to Salt Lake City and into his life. Rated: PG





Chicago -- Torn stockings and heavily mascaraed eyes abound in this tale of two music-hall vixens (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ren & eacute;e Zellweger) vying for public attention in the Windy City. Richard Gere shows that he can sing (and tap dance) as the lawyer out to make a buck defending them from murder charges. Otherwise, it's pretty much two-dimensional characters, awkward editing and some decent, if dated, music. But you should still see it on the big screen for the grand cinematography and stylish set design, which are "razzle-dazzling." (Marty Demarest) Rated: PG-13





Daredevil -- Marvel and Fox are positioning Daredevil as a dark, second-level comics hero, hoping to evade comparisons to Spider-Man. With the dozens of Marvel titles in development, they can't all be super-terrific, and Daredevil is like flipping through three or four issues of a comic you don't truly love but kind of enjoy. Ben Affleck acts mostly with his teeth; Jon Favreau is a dull sidekick; Jennifer Garner is a superb action heroine who ought to walk out of this movie and into her own; and Colin Farrell is the loosest of loose cannons as Daredevil's arch-nemesis Bullseye. (RP) Rated: PG-13





Final Destination 2 -- Logging trucks wreaking fiery havoc all over the freeway... idiots who spill their coffee and try to clean it up while driving... garbage disposals itchy for human flesh... This movie's got it all! Plus teenage hotties and, well, death. Rated: R





Gangs of New York -- Martin Scorsese and innumerable conspirators have struggled for almost three decades to produce Gangs of New York, and yet it is a terrible movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is a puffy cipher as a young man with vengeance on his mind; Daniel Day-Lewis offers epic hamming as the villain. (RP) Rated: R





The Hours -- The supposedly unfilmable novel by Michael Cunningham becomes a mesmerizing, almost intoxicating movie that tells the stories of one real and two fictional women -- Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman), Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) and Clarissa Vaughan (Meryl Streep) -- and how they're tied together over the decades by Woolf's book Mrs. Dalloway. An elegant film, featuring one of Kidman's best performances. (ES) Rated PG-13





How to Lose a Guy -- Golden-haired twinklers Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey square off in supposed urban-sophisticate high-concept Cosmo magazine-style romantic comedy about the rules of dating and the unpredictably of love. A chick flick that wants to be a date flick, but a comedy that wastes the charm of the dynamic duo, as well as Bebe Neuwirth and Adam Goldberg. (RP) Rated: PG-13





Jungle Book 2 -- Catching up with the 1967 original right where we left it, Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) is bored in his new village -- in spite of every bear necessity being taken care of, including a cute girlfriend, Shanti. He ventures off to see how the jungle is doing without him, and finds that the villainous Shere Khan has been eagerly awaiting his return. Rated: G





Kangaroo Jack -- Kangaroo Jack's brain weighs less than a hard-boiled egg, and yet he's still capable of stealing $100,000 from two hapless New Yorkers. The New Yorkers are a musician (Anthony Anderson) and his best friend (Jerry O'Connell). Rated: PG





The Lion King -- The ultra-smash Disney hit from 1994 now gets the IMAX treatment, making it bigger, but not necessarily better. The lion cub Simba witnesses the terrifying death of his father, then is convinced by an evil uncle to run away from home without taking the throne that's rightfully his. (ES) Rated G





My Big Fat Greek Wedding -- This is the slobbo American version of Four Weddings and a Funeral, getting no marks for subtlety but laughs from those of us who can laugh at the idea of an obnoxious ethnic family getting into the marital spirit. (RP) RATED: PG





The Pianist -- Adrien Brody gets his juiciest role to date as the real-life Wladyslaw Szpilman, the Polish concert pianist whose life was shattered, along with the rest of the Jewish population, during the Nazi invasion of his country. But he survived -- by cunning and dumb luck -- although his ordeal reduced him to a starving, wide-eyed animal. Roman Polanski's direction is sure and steady. The film's production design is as stunning as Brody's performance. (ES) Rated R





The Quiet American -- The Graham Greene novel, first made in 1958, gets upgraded in every way in this version with Brendan Fraser and Michael Caine. Set in early '50s Vietnam, while France was still involved and America wasn't, it's the story is of a jaded journalist (Caine) and an ambitious American aid worker (Fraser) and the woman they both want. But it's also about the quickly changing political climate. An excellent, riveting film. (ES) Rated: R





Rabbit Proof Fence -- A magnificently made, moving story of a trio of Aboriginal girls who escape a government camp in 1930s Australia. Everything clicks, from director Philip Noyce's pacing, to Chris Doyle's blue-and-brown palette of light, to Peter Gabriel's score. (RP) Rated: PG-13





The Recruit -- Al Pacino is the CIA recruiter, Colin Farrell is the man he wants to work for the agency. And that's about the only straightforward part of this twisting and turning thriller. Pacino bangs out another great low-key performance; Farrell edges ever closer to stardom. High-tech visuals are presented terrifically. (ES) Rated: PG-13





Shanghai Knights -- One of the odder movie-buddy pairings returns in this sequel to Shanghai Noon, with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson again finding themselves together -- this time in jolly old 19th-century England, where Chan's Chon is searching for the killer of his father. The inventive slapstick fight scenes are almost nonstop, except for a couple of vicious segments that prove how bad the bad guys are. Chan plays the voice of reason; Wilson plays the voice that never shuts up. Much goofy fun ensues. (ES) Rated: PG-13





Talk to Her -- In this tear-stained male weepie about the love of women, Pedro Almod & oacute;var retains his irreverence while burnishing his knack for baroque d & eacute;cor and plot turns. Almod & oacute;var, who was just nominated for a best directing Academy Award for this film, says the movie is partly about silence and about how it partakes of "the eloquence of the body." You can smile with gratitude at each facial expression, framing of action and motion of an actor. The plot is filled with parallels, surprises and eccentric but assured turns. Almod & oacute;var always delivers a strange and beautiful treasure. (RP) Rated: R





The Two Towers -- This magnificent sequel to last year's magnificent original welcomes back most of the same characters (including a new, improved Gandalf), and features many new ones, with the CGI creation of the hideous and chilling Gollum standing out. This one is darker and more violent than the first, with a more intense and epic approach. (ES) Rated PG-13





Two Weeks Notice -- Hugh Grant plays the sort of charming, shallow cad he's become so adept at, this time as a billionaire who happily lets his lawyer (Sandra Bullock) handle all the troublesome little details, legal or otherwise. Rated: PG-13





& lt;i & Capsule reviews are written by Ed Symkus (ES) and Ray Pride (RP), unless otherwise noted. & lt;/i &





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Publication date: 02/20/03