Lewis Milestone was Hollywood's premier director of war films (starting with his 1930 Academy Award winner All Quiet on the Western Front), and Edge of Darkness is among his finest. Warner Bros. ' biggest star Errol Flynn gets top billing, but his performance-remarkable for its unaccustomed sobriety-is only one admirable part of a strong ensemble. This underscores the theme of a remote Norwegian fishing village of 800 united selflessly in resistance to the 150 German troops garrisoned in their midst during World War II. Robert Rossen's screenplay is essentially a variation on the sturdy proletarian fables he'd been writing for Warners (the only outright unsympathetic Norwegian is the owner of the cannery!); every character in the large cast is sharply defined, taking his or her place in a nuanced allegory of the myriad ethical, political, and emotional tensions of occupation and resistance. But what blows you away-besides the dramatic subject matter, the unorthodox Norway setting, and the eruptions of stark violence and atrocity-is Milestone's powerful direction and ultra-kinetic visuals. A town meeting conducted in the guise of an evening church service, with townsfolk arguing and interacting while continuing to face forward in their pews, is a brilliant set-piece; and throughout the film there are startling uses of a zoom lens (virtually unheard-of at the time), especially in the explosive action climax. To cite only the most stellar performers, Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon play the town doctor and his wife, Judith Anderson is Flynn's sister (hating herself for loving "good German" Tonio Selwart), Ann Sheridan plays Flynn's love interest and fellow resistance leader, and Helmut Dantine rattles the rafters as the German commandant, bitter at being stranded in a backwater of the war. Terrific movie. -Richard T. [+]

As with Star Wars, the George Lucas-produced Indiana Jones trilogy was not just a plaything for kids but an act of nostalgic affection toward a lost phenomenon: the cliffhanging movie serials of the past. Episodic in structure and with fate hanging in the balance about every 10 minutes, the Jones features tapped into Lucas's extremely profitable Star Wars formula of modernizing the look and feel of an old, but popular, story model. Steven Spielberg directed all three films, which are set in the late 1930s and early '40s: the comic book-like Raiders of the Lost Ark, the spooky, Gunga Din-inspired Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the cautious but entertaining Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Fans and critics disagree over the order of preference, some even finding the middle movie nearly repugnant in its violence. (Pro-Temple of Doom people, on the other hand, believe that film to be the most disarmingly creative and emotionally effective of the trio. ) One thing's for sure: Harrison Ford's swaggering, two-fisted, self-effacing performance worked like a charm, and the art of cracking bullwhips was probably never quite the iconic activity it soon became after Raiders. Supporting players and costars were very much a part of the series, too-Karen Allen, Sean Connery (as Indy's dad), Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri, Denholm Elliot, River Phoenix, and John Rhys-Davies among them. Years have passed since the last film (another is supposedly in the works), but emerging film buffs can have the same fun their predecessors did picking out numerous references to Hollywood classics and B-movies of the past. -Tom Keogh.

The ever-limber Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in the entertainingly over-the-top action flick Derailed. The plot has to do with a deadly virus on a runaway train, but that's hardly the point-what makes the movie fly along is the ridiculous yet entirely enjoyable escalation of plot devices: not only is Van Damme on the train to protect a beautiful high-tech thief (Laura Elena Harring, Mulholland Drive), not only is the train hijacked by terrorists, not only is the virus actually released into the train's ventilation system, not only is the engine on fire, but Van Damme's family came on board to surprise him on his birthday and are now being used as pawns by the terrorists. Derailed is also loaded with spectacle: car chases, shootouts, explosions, a train collision, hand-to-hand combat, and Van Damme riding a motorcycle on top of the train-you really couldn't ask for more. Sheer trashy fun. -Bret Fetzer.

Sean Connery plays a master thief thought to be long retired, while Katherine Zeta-Jones is his foil, a hotshot insurance investigator assigned to his case. They both have a little something to hold over each other's heads, until it turns out that Zeta-Jones is a professional art thief herself and is playing on both sides of the fence. At first they eye each other with mutual distrust until they team up for a job, which goes off without a hitch. Inevitably their prickly relationship begins to thaw somewhat, and the two become attracted to each other as they plan out the massive Y2K bank scam that is the movie's climax (complete with sequel-ready ending). Entrapment plays somewhat like a '70s caper movie revamped for the gadget-happy high-tech '90s. The plot takes a few too many labored twists and turns, and the chemistry between the two leads is nearly nonexistent, though both carry on gamely in their parts. On the other hand, there is some genuine suspense in many scenes as they go about their business, dripping with whiz-bang burglary devices. Zeta-Jones, of course, is drop-dead gorgeous, and Connery is as reliable as always in his role. The fairly flat editing and direction tends to drag the film down somewhat, but fans of caper movies, high-tech thrillers, and the two leads should find plenty to like in this film. -Jerry Renshaw When a priceless Rembrandt is stolen in New York, the evidence points to a solitary master thief (Connery), who is about to meet the insurance company's most cunning - and seductive - investigator (Zeta-Jones). [+]

This video collection contains The Batman movie starring Michael Keaton of 1989, Batman forever starring Val Kilmer of 1995, and Batman & Robin starring George Clooney of 1997.

A fitfully amazing, frequently disheartening hodgepodge of action, farce, and romance, slapped together as a costarring vehicle for three of Hong Kong's major movie stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung (who also directed), and Yuen Biao. Its light-footed, try-anything spirit makes it consistently enjoyable, but these wonderful performers are working (to put it kindly) beneath their gifts. Chan plays a womanizing attorney who recruits arms-dealer Hung and madcap inventor Biao to dig up dirt on the corporate sleaze balls he's supposedly defending-industrial polluters (and heroin smugglers) whose effluents threaten the bucolic fish farm of a handsome widow woman. The trio doesn't have many collective scenes, so their Three Musketeers act never really gets off the ground. As always, the fights and stunt work are mind-boggling; the jaunty details are fun: Chan's flick-of-the-wrist trick with a fancy briefcase; Hung's deft run- through of a few choice Cantonese opera moves; and Yuen Biao's Olympic-level acrobatics on, around, and within an industrial steel-tube staircase. -David Chute.

A well-oiled Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in what may be one of the few kickboxing films to be based on a true story. The Muscles from Brussels plays Frank Dux, the first Westerner ever to win the extreme "whupfest" known as the Kumatai (a long-running, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in Hong Kong). While a bit deficient in the script department (to say the least), this undeniably exciting flick succeeds by letting Van Damme play to his strengths: namely, minimal acting and a lot of impossibly acrobatic splits while kicking people in the head. A guilty-pleasure testosterone blast of the highest order, with a memorable villain (the massive Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon), and a multitude of well-choreographed fight scenes. An embarrassed-looking Forest Whitaker cameos as a hapless (and non-kickboxing) cop. -Andrew Wright.

Arm-wrestling might be far down on most viewers' list of "most cinematic sports," but Sylvester Stallone certainly goes the distance to prove the contrary in this lightweight but entertaining mid-'80s action/family feature. Stallone (who co-wrote the script with Stirling Silliphant) plays taciturn trucker Lincoln Hawk (though he's called "Hawks" by large portions of the cast), who faces two considerable challenges at once: to win the Las Vegas Arm Wrestling Championship, and to impress the son (David Mendenhall) who's been turned against him by his grandfather (Robert Loggia, snarling up a storm). Menahem Golan's direction and the soundtrack of bombastic '80s pop-rock (by Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, and others) is anything but subtle, and the host of opponents Stallone faces look like they were culled from professional wrestling (indeed, veteran grappler Terry Funk is in the cast), but Sly stalwarts and '80s action aficionados may find this rousing entertainment. The widescreen anamorphic DVD offers only the original theatrical trailer as an extra. - Paul Gaita Sylvester Stallone creates another sports hero with heart in the Rocky mold, a big-rig trucker using his armwrestling talent to rebuild his shattered life. Year: 1987 Director: Menahem Golan Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely.

In between the Hollywood productions Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon, Hong Kong's most popular export, Jackie Chan, returned home to indulge his romantic side in this modern fairy tale. He plays a modern Prince Charming, a big business mogul and notoriously eligible big-city bachelor to dreamy teenager Shu Qi, a girl from a Taiwan fishing village. When a heartbreaking message in a bottle washes ashore, she traces it back to Hong Kong, where she meets Jackie in the midst of a mid-ocean brawl on a luxury yacht. Hong Kong heartthrob Tony Leung has a grand time spoofing his image, playing a gay fashion photographer who "adopts" Shu Qi and helps her woo her handsome dream lover. It's a pleasant change to see 40-plus Jackie discard his usual goofy lovesick fool to play a suave swinger, but next to giggly teen Shu Qi, who proves to be a spunky and winning actress, he seems a little too mature. There are still plenty of opportunities to see Jackie in acrobatic action with a subplot involving a boyhood friend turned shady business rival, but at heart it's a sweet, silly little love song full of unabashed romantic imagery, elegant art design, snazzy fashions, and a gooey happy ending. Jackie doesn't provide his own voice in the English dubbed edition, which makes a minor dent in his charm but does little to affect the film as a whole. -Sean Axmaker.