Video Rentals

1 Hannibal

$14.6 million1 week in release$14.6 million to date

PLOTGrotesque sequel to Silence of the Lambs, with Hannibal Lecter emerging from "retirement" to revisit FBI agent Clarice Starling.

CAUTIONRated R for strong gruesome violence, nudity, and bad language.

BOTTOM LINEHorrific violence undermines an already weak plot, wasting talent in front of and behind the camera.

$4.5 million3 weeks in release$20.9 million to date

PLOTThe search for an elusive Mexican pistol creates the backdrop for this bloody romantic comedy/drama.

CAUTIONRated R for violence, bad language, and implied homosexual intercourse.

BOTTOM LINEDespite a strong cast, the movie is a mishmash of genres with an unsettling amount of Tarantino-esque violence.

$4.4 million2 weeks in release$9.9 million to date

PLOTA New York cop and an arson investigator track two killers who are filming their crimes and manipulating the media.

CAUTIONRated R for violence, bad language, and nudity.

BOTTOM LINEEffective as a thriller, less so as an indictment of blood- and scandal-obsessed media; it's just as violent as that which it condemns.

$3.9 million2 weeks in release$9.9 million to date

PLOTTwo snipers, one Russian, one German, play cat and mouse among the ruins of WWII Stalingrad.

CAUTIONRated R for strong graphic war violence and a lengthy sex scene.

BOTTOM LINEA visually striking film that loses credibility each time the characters open their mouths.

$3.5 million6 weeks in release$43.6 million to date

PLOTA Wall Street bachelor gets the chance to experience life with a wife and family.

CAUTIONRated PG-13 for sensuality and some bad language.

BOTTOM LINEPro-family, pro-children, without being smarmy; a moving variation of It's a Wonderful Life (but note the cautions).

In a year of failed blockbusters and dim-witted teen comedies, a new Woody Allen film is an attempt at something different. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (DreamWorks; rated PG-13 for some sexual innuendo and bad language) is a throwback to old screwball comedies and detective stories-but with far too much modern attitude toward sexual mores. Mr. Allen plays a boorish insurance investigator in 1940 whose "luck" is better than his ability. His nemesis at the office is a new manager (Helen Hunt) who hates him and is also having an affair with their boss (Dan Ackroyd). The pair is hypnotized by a jewel thief (David Ogden Stiers of M*A*S*H fame) into robbing their employer's rich clients. The Allen character winds up chasing himself. Unlike some 1990s Woody Allen films like Celebrity and Husbands and Wives, at least the audience isn't dragged into the depths of the auteur's nihilism. But can audiences get past Mr. Allen's tawdry off-screen life? Playing the role of an aging jerk who lusts after younger women at the office can't possibly help. His character is supposed to be funny, but given his personal conduct, it just comes off creepy.