With Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen good-naturedly bites the hand that feeds him. The modern studio system is a ripe target for Allen’s rapier wit, but the veteran writer-director goes a delicious step further by playing a has-been filmmaker who suffers from psychosomatic blindness-during the production of his big-budget comeback! Rather than sabotage his career, he proceeds to direct the film with guidance from his Chinese cinematographer’s translator, telling his agent (played by another veteran director, Mark Rydell) while hiding the truth from his ex-wife and producer (Téa Leoni), her studio honcho husband (Treat Williams), and his ditzy actress girlfriend (Debra Messing), who has a small role in the film. Chaos ensues-and so does Allen’s predilection for casting much-younger female costars-but Hollywood Ending favors a more contemplative blend of comedy and drama, peppered with memorable punch lines and blessed with, yes, a Hollywood ending that’s as entertaining as the mayhem that precedes it. -Jeff Shannon.

As she does in The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Janeane Garofalo proves she's a capable leading lady-beautiful, charming, self-effacing, and what used to be referred to as sharp as a tack. Garofalo plays Marcy, aide to dim Massachusetts senator McGlory (Jay O. Sanders). Denis Leary is appropriately slimy as a fellow aide. The senator and Nick dispatch Marcy to the remote (and fictitious) Irish town of Ballinagra, where she's supposed to unearth relatives to use in the senator's PR campaign. Along the way, Marcy not only encounters the eccentric locals, but finds herself in the maelstrom of the town's annual matchmaking festival. The single Marcy inadvertently catches the eye of the movie's eponymous matchmaker Dermot (a captivating Milo O'Shea). Dermot senses sparks between Marcy and the equally cynical, recently returned local boy, Sean (David O'Hara), once a successful journalist who's returned home to work on a book. The intimacies of the small town, the relationships between the locals, and the dialogue are credible and engaging. Look for beautiful cinematography and music, too. [+]

Jackie Chan, acting as writer and director as well as star, was quick to follow up the huge success of his contemporary action hit Police Story with a film that, despite a number of excellent action sequences, comes off as second-rate Jackie. Busted down to motorcycle cop due to his unconventional tactics and tremendous property damage, Jackie finds himself the target of the vengeful mobster he put out of business in the first film while simultaneously hunting down a team of bomb-happy extortionists and trying to salvage his unraveling love life (poor Maggie Cheung, who winds up almost as bruised and battered as Jackie). Jackie is chased by radio-controlled cars armed with bombs (à la The Dead Pool), ambushed in a playground in a terrifically choreographed tour-de-force where he single-handedly battles a dozen armed baddies while leaping through a jungle gym of obstacles, and makes his last stand in a fireworks warehouse just itching for a light. The generic story generates little interest and even the half-hearted slapstick misses the spark of his better work (such as the spectacular, stunt-filled follow-up Supercop), but Jackie is magic on the screen, a gymnastic dynamo with the clean-cut charm of the boy next door. The postfilm montage of outtakes is a painful reminder not to try these stunts at home. The American version features a rock-tinged score and sloppier dubbing than usual. Jackie again provides his own voice. -Sean Axmaker.

Born Free is a bona fide family classic. The tale of how Kenya game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy (on whose book the film is based, with Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers in the principal roles) adopted and raised three orphaned lion cubs, taking a particular shine to the one they call Elsa before helping her return to the wild, is familiar by now; so's John Barry's Oscar-winning title song. And while the movie has its flaws (it contains references to "Bwana George" and such that would be considered frightfully un-PC nowadays), the animal footage, especially that of the lions in their various stages of development, is extraordinary and timelessly entertaining. DVD bonus features are limited to theatrical trailers, but the digitally remastered film can be viewed in both widescreen and full screen. A keeper. -Sam Graham.

One of the most important fairy tales of East German film production, Wolfgang Staudte's The Story of Little Mook (1953) is a well-crafted work brimming with solid performances, lavish costumes, and authentic scenery. The Arabian tale is of an old hunchback who shares his captivating life story: As an orphan boy named Mook (Thomas Schmidt) he bravely sets out to find the Merchant of Good Fortune. Instead, he stumbles upon a pair of magic slippers and a golden scepter, which help to earn him a position in the Sultan's court-until he becomes a threat to a trio of crafty courtiers. Through kindness, cleverness, and a bit of magic, Little Mook navigates his way through the evils of betrayal and imprisonment to help his friend, Prince Hassan, win the hand of Princess Amarza. The enchanting family film underscores the timeless truths that appearances can be deceiving and good fortune wears many disguises. The film is dubbed in English and suitable for ages 6 and older. -Lynn Gibson.

Can we talk? Everybody is pretty well agreed that Great Britain's Ken Loach is one of our most important filmmakers. On the basis of his work with actors alone-often actors who are unknown until showcased in his films-he commands a place in the modern Pantheon. The problem is that he sounds terminally "worthy"; his films invariably reflect a commitment to framing harsh sociopolitical realities and steeping us in the fight for justice, a square deal, or a square meal. They sound, in short, as if they're "good for you"-whereas the fact is that they're almost always damned good, period. My Name Is Joe makes for an excellent introduction to Loach country-partly because it's just a tad more immediate in its basic viewer appeal. Joe Kavanagh (Peter Mullan), out-of-work Glasgow housepainter, is a terrifically attractive fellow, and though he's also a recovering alcoholic, he seems eminently pulled-together and ready for yeoman service as a movie leading man. The main story line concerns his encounter with and growing attraction to a smart social worker (Louise Goodall). There's nothing star-crossed about their potential love, but each is tough enough to set limits till they've traveled over a distance of mutual ground. Meanwhile, Joe's status as role model among his more emotionally and economically precarious neighbors-an extended family of man-is good for a surprising number of lusty laughs and one fatal, criminal complication that could jeopardize his future. Peter Mullan won a well-deserved Best Actor award at Cannes in 1998, and subsequently directed a family comedy-drama of his own, Orphans. [+]

A fictional dramatization of the anti-Communist witch-hunts that plagued the U. S. during the late 1940s and early '50s, Guilty by Suspicion examines one of the most shameful periods of American history. After producing such prominent films as Rocky and Raging Bull, Irwin Winkler made his directorial debut with this 1991 drama, basing his screenplay on the harsh reality of the blacklisting era. Set during 1951, when the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held hearings to target alleged Communist affiliations within the Hollywood filmmaking community, the film stars Robert De Niro as a prominent director who is urged to "name names" to appease the committee. Rather than betray one of his closest friends, he refuses to "cooperate" with the committee and is quickly blacklisted, his entire career in jeopardy. Costarring Annette Bening as the director's sympathetic ex-wife, the film doesn't pack the emotional punch of The Front (another blacklisting-era film, starring Woody Allen), but Winkler captures the paranoid anxiety of the period with a wealth of authentic detail. Because the De Niro character underestimates the power of the HUAC, we share his shock and dismay when he must finally face the committee. Without seeming like a dry history lesson, Guilty by Suspicion illuminates the unconstitutional evil of the blacklist era while offering a glimpse behind the scenes of Hollywood's past. Adding to the realism, director Martin Scorsese makes a rare cameo as another filmmaker under fire. [+]

One of Roman Polanski's more overt comedies, this 1966 monster spectacle stars Jack MacGowran and Polanski as a clunky but heroic pair of vampire killers. Called upon to rescue the beautiful and buxom daughter (Sharon Tate) of an innkeeper from a Draculalike bloodsucker, the duo muddle through all sorts of scrapes, the most intense being a scene in which a room full of dancing vampires realize the human interlopers are the only ones in the room who are reflected in a mirror. Scary and funny, the film has some unforgettable set pieces, a terrific score, one of the few records of Tate's extraordinary beauty, and vibrant performances. Not exactly Polanski in a relaxed mode, but clear evidence of his estimable skills as a director of both brilliance and polish. -Tom Keogh.