Based on Arenas' memoirs, Before Night Falls follows the Cuban artist through times of censorship. By the time Arenas is allowed to leave for New York City in 1980, Castro's persecution has taken its toll.

Before Night Falls is the second film by artist Julian Schnabel. His first film, Basquiat (1996) failed to make much of a dramatic impact. But Before Night Falls, another tale about an accomplished artist, is a cinematic triumph.

Schnabel recreates Arenas' life with flashes of intense realism. The Cuban landscape is as rich and moist as Arenas' obsession with sex.

Before Night Falls is an ambitious film, telling its story over 40 years. Schnabel reconstructs Arenas' life from childhood to death. Away from the historical background of the Cuban revolution, Before Night Falls emphasizes the human tragedy of Arenas' life without political agenda or a partisan point of view. Schnabel's movie could have been about Cuba itself. Wisely, it remains focused on the small details of one man's life. -- SR (Rated R.)

BILLY ELLIOT -- (Grade: B) Director Stephen Daldry's high-spirited, coming-of-age tale is a strange movie hybrid: a gritty British social drama as well as a musical fantasy. It's Northern England circa 1984 and Billy (Jamie Bell), age 11, watches the miners' strike take a toll on his family. His only joy comes from the ballet lessons that his father (Gary Lewis) forbids him to continue. Parental confrontation, you see, is a necessary part of every coming-of-age tale.

Bell's dead-on performance fills Billy Elliot with scenes of credible, heartfelt emotion. Granted, the film possesses more than its share of trite melodrama. Luckily, our most powerful images from the film remain focused on Billy's lively dancing. It's how it should be. After all, Billy Elliot owes its brassy entertainment to its bouncing, boy hero. -- SR (Rated R.)

CAST AWAY -- (Grade: B) Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) re-teams with Tom Hanks for a challenging, Robinson Crusoe-like tale. Granted, the film's set-up is rather ordinary. As FedEx troubleshooter Chuck Noland, Hanks sets out to portray a man ruled by time and schedules. Despite Hanks' earnestness, one never gets a firm grasp of Noland's psyche. It's up to Hanks' average Joe personality to pull us into his drama. The highlight of Cast Away is its middle act where Hanks becomes the star of a one-man show. It's these mostly dialogue-free scenes, where Noland is trying to survive alone on a desert island after his plane crashes, that make the most dramatic impact.

Helen Hunt offers little support as the love of Noland's life. She's the one thing that's supposed to keep Noland strong. Still, that task quickly falls to a volleyball named Wilson.

Hunt's threadbare performance aside, Cast Away regains its humanistic step with a surprising finale that's best described as transcendental. In an era where the Crusoe legend is defined by TV's Survivor, Zemeckis and Hanks offer a thoughtful alternative. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

CHARLIE'S ANGELS -- (Grade: B) Three hot women, kicking ass and looking good. That's what Charlie's Angels is billed as and that's what it delivers. Anyone looking for greater meaning in the movie, or hoping to deconstruct it as reflection of our world is missing the point. If you're willing to sit back and digest the eye candy -- so much eye candy, in fact, that your retinas will get cavities -- Charlie's Angels is pure escapist fun. About the only socially responsible message to derive from it is not to use guns. The Angels don't. Of course, the Angels don't use bras either.From the first big fight scene, a slick, Matrix-like karate ballet choreographed to Prodigy's "Slap My Bitch Up," it's clear that the movie is all about visual payoffs. Director McG's photography, while derivative of other recent blockbusters, seems fresh thanks to the stunning cast. Angels Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu never have looked so good. One can excuse the film for not having a brainy plot or a decent script, but Bill Murray's comic genius is mostly wasted and that's inexcusable. Expect this film to be critically lambasted. But no one expected this to be Sophie's Choice. It's more like Mission Impossible on estrogen. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

CHOCOLAT -- (Grade: C) Juliette Binoche dazzles as Vianne, a pretty chocolate shopkeeper with a mysterious past. She's also a single mother whose spicy chocolates change prudish lifestyles of the inhabitants of a French village. I admire how Lasse Hallström (The Cider House Rules, My Life as a Dog) directs movies that are unashamedly liberal. Chocolat, based on Joanne Harris' 1999 novel, is a film that qualifies as a democratic drama at a time when much of the nation is decidedly conservative.

Johnny Depp gives Binoche competition in the chiseled cheekbones department as a handsome gypsy passing through town. It's not long before he tweaks Vianne's own heart.

Like most moviemade couples, Binoche and Depp look great together. Unfortunately, their attractive looks never ignite any much-needed passion.

Despite a sweet, fairy tale-like ending, Chocolat never comes fully to life. By the closing credits, you feel as if Binoche's magical smile and winsome personality have been wasted. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON -- (Grade: A) Breathtaking action, incredible stunts, spectacular landscapes and a childlike sense of make-believe lifts director Ang Lee's Taiwanese epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the level of a fairy tale. Set among ornate palaces, teaming Peking streets and rural villages, the film evolves into a martial arts Western that's both poetic and spiritual. Warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) is yearning to leave his fighting lifestyle behind, but when a young thief, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), steals Li's ancient sword, Green Destiny, Li gets pulled back into his warrior ways. Only Lu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), Li's longtime friend, looks capable of helping return Green Destiny from Jen and her mentor Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei).

Although working in the action genre, Lee once again emphasizes rich characters, substantial storytelling and humanistic ideals. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is momentous not because of the size of its spectacle. It's timeless because of the size of its heart.-- SR (Rated PG-13.)

DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS -- (Grade: D) No amount of bells, whistles, gizmos and amusement park-like sets can breathe much-needed, childhood wonder into this bloated and unfunny adaptation of Theodor S. Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss's, children's classic.Jim Carrey brings Dr. Seuss' celebrated Grinch alive courtesy of a stunning green Grinch suit created by make-up-effects tech Rich Baker. Carrey has a few, funny moments. But it's not long before Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas overwhelms Carrey's clownish performance with its clunky storytelling.

The film's core story is familiar: The Grinch is determined to keep the residents of Whoville from celebrating their favorite holiday. But director/producer Ron Howard tweaks the 1957 book into a surprisingly adult direction. The film sheds unnecessary light on the Grinch's unpleasant childhood. We learn more about the Whos. None of it ultimately matters in a film that's forfeited a classic Christmas story for elaborate sets and special effects. -- SR (Rated PG.)

DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? -- (Grade: D) If only the movie were half as funny as its title. It might have been marginally watchable. Instead it's a moronic comedy with a few bright spots, but not nearly enough to save it.Jesse (That '70s Show's Ashton Kutcher) and Chester (Road Trip's Seann William Scott) partied a little too hard last night. Problem is, they don't remember any of it, nor where they left their car. Now they have to deal with everything from transsexual strippers to angry girlfriends to pumped up jocks looking to do a little nerd-bashing. What's a dude to do? Some folks sing the praise of the "stupid movie" genre. I just think they're stupid. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE -- (Grade: C) Uncle Walt might be trying too hard on this one. After Aladdin and The Lion King, the folks at Disney have tried to copy the formula so much that they forgot the central ingredient: heart.Self-centered Emperor Kuzco (voice of David Spade) is turned into a llama by his scheming advisor Yzma (Eartha Kitt). Now he must regain his throne with the help of good-natured Pacha (John Goodman).

The Emperor's New Groove is a derivative, lackluster cartoon. It's Hercules all over again. The animation is fair and the story is mildly amusing. The one really good thing going for it is music by Sting. But don't be fooled; there are only a couple of songs in the whole film. Even Sting can't save it. -- RP (Rated G.)

THE FAMILY MAN -- (Grade: B) It's George Bailey redux. There's no better way to describe director Brett Ratner's (Rush Hour) Christmas drama. Trying to become a new version of It's a Wonderful Life is setting some intentionally high standards. Luckily, Nicolas Cage is the actor assuming the Jimmy Stewart position. Under the gaze of Cage's hound-dog gaze and heavy eyelids, The Family Man (co-written by David Diamond and David Weissman) turns social fantasy into a heartfelt tale of spiritual redemption.Fifteen years after dumping his college girlfriend, Kate (Tea Léoni), Manhattan executive Jack Campbell (Cage) receives an unexpected second chance after bragging to a convenience store robber (Don Cheadle) about his regret-free life. Campbell has all the trappings of success. But when he wakes up one Christmas morning and finds himself in a different life -- married to the woman he left behind, two children, a house in New Jersey and a job in a tire store -- Campbell discovers a new set of life priorities. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

FINDING FORRESTER -- (Grade: B) Veteran actor Sean Connery and newcomer Rob Brown team up for another mentor-student picture, similar to Good Will Hunting and Wonder Boys. Maybe it's true that there are no more original ideas left in cinema. Personally, I don't have a problem with that, as long as filmmakers appropriate well. In this case, Gus Van Sant, the director of Good Will Hunting, is allowed to borrow from his own movie. An underprivileged teen-ager from the Bronx (Brown) wins a scholarship to an Upper East Side prep school using both his academic and basketball skills. His adjustment is aided by a wealthy classmate (Anna Paquin). But his true friend is reclusive, Salinger-like author (Connery) who ends up becoming the missing father figure.

First-time screenwriter Mike Rich squeezes every bit of drama out of his time-honored tale. Thankfully, Van Sant treats the material delicately. Finding Forrester is one of the quieter Hollywood movies in a long time. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

HEAD OVER HEELS -- (Grade: D) Be careful. This one might fool you. This film is a light sham on many levels. While pretending to be a movie, Head Over Heels is nothing more than a 90-minute sitcom without commercials. Everything is neatly tied up before the end credits roll. There's physical comedy, mistaken identities, and even potty humor, but it's not a movie and therefore not really worth the price of a ticket. Remember, you don't pay to watch Friends.The name on top says Freddie Prinze Jr., but the real star is Monica Potter as Amanda Pierce, the innocent art restorer and would-be sleuth searching for a good man in the big city. She has a sweet, bumbling charm that could remind the audience of a made-for-television Julia Roberts. Prinze is best as the is-he-or-isn't-he modeling exec/perfect guy. Well, at least when he isn't walking or talking. Prinze would have made a perfect model in another movie or maybe he can find his niche when Head Over Heels gets made into a sitcom for real. And when it does, the producers should stick with the models. Who needs actors in these roles or in a project like this? -- T.T. Clinkscales (rated: PG-13.)

MISS CONGENIALITY -- (Grade: B) How do you keep a sexy Hollywood leading lady from seeming too out of touch with the masses? Miss Congeniality offers one possible answer. Sandra Bullock plays Gracie Hart, a hard-nosed FBI agent who would sooner cold-cock a man than get caught in an embrace with him. There is absolutely nothing glamorous about her life. She packs heat. She lives in a modest apartment and eats microwave dinners exclusively. She wallops the punching bag in her living room after an awful day at work.But just when you begin to feel bad for her and depressed in general, Bullock uncorks a surprising pratfall. Presto! Instant endearment. Gracie is offered career redemption if she will agree to go undercover at the Miss United States pageant. Seems a Unabomber-type assassin has targeted the ceremony as the site of his next bombing. If someone in the pageant is helping him, the Feds need someone inside to stop him. This is where the sight gags come into play.

There may be nothing funnier than seeing one of People magazine's Most Beautiful Women fall on her face. As a society, after all, we're just a bunch of jealous slobs. We like to see the demigods reduced to mortal blunders. Some of the hottest actresses working today already have figured this out, but none more than Sandra Bullock. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? -- Over the last 15 years the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) have created a unique cinematic universe. With O Brother, Where Art Thou? the brothers once again display their distinct talents, but with much less success. When the story begins, Ulysses (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) have just escaped from a chain gang in '30s Mississippi. We then follow the trio through a variety of set pieces; everything from the cutting of a hit record under the moniker, "The Soggy Bottom Boys" to an encounter with Babyface Nelson (Michael Badalucco) to the sabotage of a KKK rally. All of these plot twists unfold with little interest for creating substantial narrative. The complex story lines of their past films (Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, Fargo) are sorely lacking in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Longtime Coen cinematographer Roger Deakins is once again enlisted, and his services help immensely. But even Deakins can't overcome a miscast Clooney and the continued insistence of the Coens to stick to their increasingly ironic stance. -- Jason Gargano (Rated PG-13.)

THE PLEDGE -- (Grade: B) Sean Penn the actor arrived many years ago, but Sean Penn the auteur has been waiting in the wings. Previous efforts -- The Indian Runner and The Crossing Guard -- showed a hint of promise, but both films were too rough around the edges. Maybe it was Penn's pen that was more at fault than his direction, having written both of his prior behind-the-camera projects. With The Pledge, Penn let someone else handle the writing, allowing him to do what he does best: manage the amazing talent he assembles in his films.This go-round features heavy hitters including Jack Nicholson, Aaron Eckhart, Sam Shepard, Benicio Del Toro, Vanessa Redgrave and wife Robin Wright Penn. All are great and given loads of time to explore their characters in front of our eyes. Nicholson, particularly, shows flashes of the brilliance that made him the superstar he is today.

But Penn's desire to be the ultimate actor's director also slows The Pledge down to near stand-stills. His pace is turtlelike and pulls the audience out of the story too often. The good news: The story is compelling enough to pull the audience back. -- RP (Rated R.)

REMEMBER THE TITANS -- (Grade: C) Beware of films that immediately spell out their claims for authenticity. When the words "Based on a True Story" flash across the screen -- as is the case with director Boaz Yakin's 1970s football drama, Remember the Titans -- there is something conniving about its blatant attempt to come across as earnest and true.The story begins in 1971 at newly integrated T.C. Williams High School in Virginia and it's Coach Herman Boone's (Denzel Washington) job to calm racial tensions, as well as win football games. Washington's powerful lead performance as the tyrannical coach gives the film a much-needed emotional boost. Anyone else and the film would have been forgettable. -- SR (Rated PG.)

SAVE THE LAST DANCE -- (Grade: C) It's Romeo and Juliet 'n the hood. Uprooted from her home, Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) loses her mother and her will to dance when she moves to inner-city Chicago to stay with her father. Not only does she have to make new friends, Sara has to adapt to life as a minority in her predominantly black school.Save the Last Dance just tries too hard, attempting to be too many things at the same time. It's reasonably inspiring. When Sara takes the stage for her Juilliard audition, even the most cynical filmgoer secretly roots for her.

But why in a movie celebrating racial diversity would the white character ever so slowly through the course of the film become black? She stops dressing "cool" and starts "lookin' slamming." By film's end, Sara is one fly white girl.

Stiles is good, showing considerable emotional and physical range for her age. Sean Patrick Thomas as suitor Derek Reynolds is even better. Derek needs to be charismatic and dynamic and Thomas is both. He holds the film together, even while the script strays from its intended path. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

SAVING SILVERMAN -- (Grade: D) Take a hopelessly sensitive guy (Jason Biggs) who gets setup by one of his two best buddies with a beautiful woman (Amanda Peet). Have the girl beauty steal him away from said buddies who happen to be goofy for the sake of goofiness. Add a simple-minded kidnapping of the beautiful woman and the return to town of an old high school crush (Amanda Detmer) who happens to be the daughter of circus freaks now on her way to becoming a nun. Throw in a dash of Neil Diamond and what do you get? A terribly dumb comedy from the director of Big Daddy that plays like the love child of a David Spade vehicle and something by the Farrelly brothers. Maybe Saving Silverman is supposed to be a guy's date movie. At the end, everybody gets somebody to love.

Steve Zahn and Jack Black are the buddies. All of which makes me wonder: Is it better to attempt to elevate silliness to the level of the sublime or should you strive for something more right off the bat? Guys, could you answer that one? I'll try to base this on potential. -- T. T. Clinkscales (Rated PG-13.)

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE -- (Grade: B) In Shadow of the Vampire, E. Elias Merhige and writer Seven Katz's homage to pioneer filmmaking, comedy mixes delicately with horror. The film legend behind Merhige's fantasy is German filmmaker F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, the silent film that introduced Count Dracula to moviegoers. Nosferatu starred German actor Max Schreck as Count Orlock, a character based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. Shadow of the Vampire proposes the idea that Schreck was a real vampire, intent on wreaking havoc on Murnau's set. Thanks to Dafoe's stand-out performance as Schreck, it's a premise we're willing to accept as true.There are plenty of laughs in Shadow of the Vampire. Malkovich is droll and eccentric as Murnau. Like Being John Malkovich, Shadow of the Vampire allows the veteran actor to be completely silly. It's a challenge Malkovich meets wonderfully.

But in terms of comic moments, Dafoe gets to deliver all the best lines. His verve ultimately steals the eerie spotlight as the creepy Schreck. As he has done so often throughout his career, Dafoe completely transforms himself into somebody else.

Merhige pays homage to Nosferatu with his own visual experimentation. Shadow of the Vampire is a movie in love with the art of moviemaking. For film buffs who feel the same way about the silent classics, it's impossible to resist. -- SR (Rated R.)

SNATCH -- (Grade: A) Guy Ritchie cranks up another notch for post-modern filmmaking with Snatch, his hyper, over-produced ode to western European gangsters. Fans of Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels take note: Snatch might as well be a sequel.It features the same basic plot line, the same colorful language, the same ruthless but oddly loveable characters, and the same kinetic visual style that Ritchie excels at. But what Lock, Stock didn't have is what makes Snatch so much better: Brad Pitt.

Hunky Pitt turns in his best supporting work since True Romance, playing the mush-mouthed gypsy, One Punch Mickey O'Neil. It's certainly not Pitt's charming good looks, buried under a layer of filth, that lend Snatch a sense of Hollywood validity. Rather, he dives head-first into the character and the mess created around him. That makes every scene he's in sparkle with energy.

John Woo choreographs violence as a ballet; with Ritchie, it's a rave. People are shot, cut and mauled arbitrarily, forcing you to wonder if there is any method to the madness. But it's that sense of unpredictability that makes Snatch so good. -- RP (Rated R.)

STATE AND MAIN -- (Grade: A) Hollywood send-ups, done by the right people, are great fun. They keep screen legends grounded and make those of us not in the "biz" aware of the shallowness of the process. Steve Martin's Bowfinger reserved its venom for the stars and their cultish religion, but kept the art of making films high on a pedestal. In State and Main, writer-director David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner) takes it off the pedestal and hurls it to the ground for everyone to kick. The result may be the finest film about Hollywood ever made by Hollywood.Mamet goes one better than his predecessors by showing Hollywood's impact on small town America. His fictitious film crew invades a quaint, picturesque Vermont burg and injects the once-wholesome townsfolk with greed, lust and vengeance. Watching two elderly men discuss the weekend grosses at the local coffee shop says it all.

The film might be too subtle and high-minded for some. There's also that unique Mamet acting style that vets like Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker and William H. Macy love to dabble in. But the film is, start to finish, a joy to watch. A genuine hoot. -- RP (Rated R.)

SUGAR & SPICE -- (Grade: F) Handy rule of thumb: Any film that ends on a fart joke is not good. That last joke is priceless real estate. It sums up the comedy in one moment. So it's somewhat fitting that Sugar & Spice ends with gas.While the premise, cheerleaders robbing banks, is fun, the script is tired and old. Relying on forced, sophomoric humor, Sugar & Spice doesn't even try to be creative. It's all about the cheap laugh. The characters aren't even interesting. The brain. The rebel. The virgin. Didn't The Breakfast Club teach us something about stereotyping teens?

The young actresses try their darnedest to make the script work. Marley Shelton, as pregnant homecoming queen Diane Weston, has the same doe-eyed innocent beauty that launched Heather Graham's career. And Mena Suvari, not that far removed from her American Beauty performance, shows some moxie as the feisty Kansas Hill. It's too bad the movie fails their talents.

It's like the girls are smart-mouthed just for the sake of being smart-mouthed. That's not clever. That's real life. And I wouldn't pay nine bucks to listen to teens talk. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

THIRTEEN DAYS -- (Grade: C) Kevin Costner's over-the-top Boston accent cracks the period-perfect veneer of director Roger Donaldson's Thirteen Days, an earnest and serious-minded recreation of the events of the 1962 October missile crisis. Costner plays White House aide Kenny O'Donnell, a key advisor to President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and Attorney Robert F. Kennedy (Steven Culp). Greenwood sparkles as JFK. It's impressive how he manages to make an American icon appear human and compassionate. Culp is also equal to the task as Bobby Kennedy. Together, they help put a much-needed human face on a drama fixated on its nuclear toys.

Costner's New England twang only exasperates his lack of credibility as White House insider O'Donnell. In historical dramas like Thirteen Days, believability is everything. Thirteen Days would like to be one of those rare, serious dramas that confirms film as America's great history teacher. But Costner sabotages the film by overreaching his acting capabilities. He really should stick to nice-guy roles in romantic-comedies. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

TRAFFIC -- (Grade: A) Its cross-country array of locales gives Traffic, director Steven Soderbergh's complex, drug-trade thriller, the visual quality of an epic drama. Traffic flips nimbly from a courthouse in Columbus to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, from crack houses in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood to upscale homes in La Jolla, Calif., and ultimately, the White House itself. From the film's first moments, Traffic never rests from its multi-layered storytelling.An extensive ensemble cast helps Soderbergh tell his complex story. Michael Douglas is the big name as conservative Ohio State Supreme Court Justice, Robert Wakefield, but it's Benicio Del Toro who grabs hold of Traffic's dramatic spotlight as conflicted Tijuana cop, Javier Rodriquez.

Sharp, stylish, and well spoken, Traffic is rightfully a Soderbergh film. In an era best represented by mindless blockbusters, Traffic is literate and substantial, a political drama that thrives on screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's script. Soderbergh deserves an award just for keeping everything running so smoothly. -- SR (Rated R.)

VALENTINE -- (Grade: F) In this Valentine's Day massacre, the killer dons an appropriate mask. It's to be expected of a moviemade maniac walking in the footsteps of Friday the 13th's Jason and Halloween's Michael Myers. Director Jaime Blanks (Urban Legends) is working from a long tradition of low-brow films. So it's comical just how suspense-less and unfunny Valentine turns out to be. There is little laughter and there is even less screaming. Firmly based in the genre of trashy fun, Valentine turns out to be just uninspired trash.Valentine explains its killer's thirst for blood in whimsical fashion. Basically, bloodshed is caused by a man with a broken heart. Through a series of threatening Valentine's Day cards, the masked murderer targets a group of pretty coeds (Denise Richards, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Cauffiel, Marley Shelton and Katherine Heigl).

Like most slasher films, all the female victims in Valentine are incredibly attractive. But Valentine tries to be politically correct by avoiding the gratuitous T&A.; In Blanks' mind, it's OK just to let every member of the film's cast look stupid. -- SR (Rated R.)

TEH WEDDING PLANNER -- (Grade: B) If Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Lopez ever were to procreate, you could bet the result would be one gorgeous child. So too is McConaughey and Lopez's cinematic love child, The Wedding Planner. It looks good. But don't expect anything deeper than the dimples on McConaughey's cheeks.San Francisco wedding planner Mary Fiore (Lopez) is great at her job but bad at her love life. Enter mystery-man Steve Edison (McConaughey), who saves Mary's life from a runaway dumpster. He's smart, successful and sexy. The only hitch is Mary is planning his wedding.

Director Adam Shankman stays out of the way and lets his stars smolder for the camera. And while The Wedding Planner won't stand the test of time, it's a fine date movie and should find an audience that doesn't care for the awards season.-- RP (Rated PG-13.)

WHAT WOMEN WANT -- (Grade: B) What women want is Mel Gibson. And after this film, I can't say I blame them. Gibson turns on the charm with a stylish, almost self-mocking performance as a man who suddenly discovers he can hear women's thoughts.The film is solid but nothing happens that you wouldn't expect. Yet, on Gibson's charisma alone, What Women Want transcends from mindless studio fluff to peppy studio fluff. You may not laugh, but you'll smile a lot. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

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