Film capsules -- 1997-2001

Dance With Me (PG) 124 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
A disillusioned former dancer (Vanessa L. Williams) and an idealistic young man (Latin music heartthrob Chayanne) find romance at a small-time Houston dance studio. Rated PG, profanity and adult themes.

Dancing at Lughnasa (PG) 92 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A graceful, touching film about the tribulations and small triumphs of Irish women, represented by the Mundy sisters, living in near-poverty in the West of Ireland in the mid-1930s. Adapted by filmmaker Pat O'Connor from Brian Friel's much-admired play, it stars Meryl Streep as Kate, the eldest Mundy and family matriarch by default. Michael Gambon and Catherine McCormack co-star. Sony Classics. Rated PG, with mild sexual references.

Dancer in the Dark (R) 137 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
Lars von Trier's strange musical melodrama, the tale of a blind factory worker, struggling to save her son from a similar fate. Though occasionally brilliant, it's also badly flawed, and falls far short of von Trier's earlier Breaking the Waves. Bjork, Catherine Deneuve and David Morse co-star. Fine Line. Rated R.

Dangerous Beauty (R) 110 min. Our rating: 9 Review · Clips
A sumptuous, sexy and provocative true story, about a 16th-century courtesan in Venice, on a quest to control her own destiny and make herself an equal to men. Starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell. Directed by Marshall Herskovitz. Warner Bros. Rated R, with profanity, nudity, sexuality and violence.

Dangerous Ground (R) 100 min. Garner's rating: 5 Review · Clips
South Central Los Angeles meets South Africa in Darrell Roodt's cross-cultural action film that extends the Boyz N the Hood concept to another part of the world. Ice Cube stars as an American with South African roots who tries to free his brother from Johannesburg drug lords. Elizabeth Hurley and Ving Rhames co-star. New Line. Rated R, with profanity, extensive violence, nudity and sex.

Dante's Peak (PG-13) 112 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Toss in a bit of Jaws, a touch of Twister and a dollop of Earthquake. Mix with a lot of digital hot air. Then watch the mountain blow its top. That's the recipe for this volcano movie. Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton co-star, though the mountain that spews special effects is the star of the picture. Roger Donaldson directs. Universal. Rated PG-13, with profanity and violence, including children in danger.

Dark City (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
A visually and thematically fascinating film, in which life may in fact be a dream. But the solution doesn't live up to the nightmarish hallucinations that precede it. Starring Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland. Directed by Alex Proyas. New Line Cinema.

The Daytrippers (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review
A saga from first-time writer-director Greg Mottola about a messed-up Long Island family, that unravels over the course of a day, cramped together in a station wagon. Ironically, they're on a mission to preserve the family. Anne Meara, Hope Davis, Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber star. CFP. Unrated, with profanity and sex.

Dead Man on Campus (R) 110 min. Garner's rating: 2 Review · Clips
Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do) stars in this comedy about a pair of mismatched college roomates who find a highly unusual way to elevate their grades. Rated R, with profanity, implied sex.

Deconstructing Harry (R) 95 min. Garner's rating: 10 Review · Clips
Woody Allen's devastatingly honest, hysterically funny film about a creative artist who thrives even when his checkered personal life goes, literally, to hell. One of the filmmaker's most brilliant works, it stars Allen, Kirstie Alley, Judy Davis, Richard Benjamin, Billy Crystal, Demi Moore, Robin Williams. Rated R, with strong, frequent profanity.

Deep Blue Sea (R) 100 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
A highly derivative summer action film about "smart" sharks and the havoc they create at an at-sea medical lab. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Saffron Burrows and Stellan Skarsgard. Directed by Renny Harlin. Warner Bros. Rated R, with strong violence and profanity.

The Deep End (R) 99 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
An engrossing relationship drama, made even more tantalizing by the film noir mystery that envelopes it. Tilda Swinton is brilliant as a mother, trying to save her son from entanglements that lead to death and blackmail. The script and direction by Scott McGehee and David Siegel are both first-rate. Goran Visnjic and Jonathan Tucker co-star. Fox Searchlight, 99 mins. Rated R, with profanity, violence and a strong sex scene.

The Deep End of the Ocean (PG-13) 108 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
A family's emotional currents ebb and flow in this domestic drama with Michelle Pfeiffer. Ulu Grosbard's heartfelt film exposes the pain and trauma suffered by a family when a child is lost. Treat Williams co-stars. Columbia. Rated PG-13, with moderate profanity.

Deep Impact (PG-13) 123 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
The first of the season's two action epics about an impending collision between an asteroid and the earth. Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall star in this brave but overly contrived attempt to put a human face on disaster. Mimi Leder directs. DreamWorks. Rated PG-13, with moderate profanity and disaster violence.

Deep Rising (R) 120 min. Garner's rating: 1 Review · Clips
A luxury liner on its maiden voyage in the South China Sea is hijacked by gun-runners. Strange thing though... all but one of its passengers and crew have disappeared. Treat Williams, stars as the lone survivor. Co-starring Famke Lanssen, Anthony Heald, and Kevin J.O'Connor. Rated R, with profanity and violence.

Deja Vu (PG-13) 116 min. Our rating: 7
A romantic fantasy about an about-to-be-married woman who must decide between destiny and duty. Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Victoria Foyt and Stephen Dillane. Rated PG-13, with rough language, brief sensuality and a scene of drug use.

The Designated Mourner (R) 95 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review
A strange and static talking-heads movie, with three characters debating the fall of intellectualism and the triumph of empty pop culture. Mike Nichols, Miranda Richardson and David de Keyser perform Wally Shawn's script for director David Hare. It makes My Dinner with Andre look like Die Hard. First Look Pictures. Rated R, with profanity and sexual references.

Desperate Measures (R) 115 min. Garner's rating: 3 Review · Clips
A highly implausible contrivance in which a police officer (Andy Garcia) needs to get his son a bone marrow transplant from a convicted murderer (Michael Keaton.) Things get crazy when the convict escapes. Barbet Schroeder directs. TriStar. Rated R, with profanity and violence.

Detroit Rock City (R) 95 min. Our rating: 4 Review · Clips
A hit-and-miss (mostly miss) youth comedy about four friends in 1978 who will do anything to get tickets to a Kiss concert in Detroit. Stars Edward Furlong, Melanie Lynskey and Shannon Tweed. Directed by Adam Rifkin. New Line Cinema. Rated R, with profanity, violence and nudity.

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (R) 84 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
The silly, low-grade, but admittedly popular Adam Sandler school of comedy resurfaces under the guise of comedian Rob Schneider who stars in this uneven saga about a fish-tank cleaner who stumbles into a gigolo gig -- which leads to a wild menagerie of "dates." Bathroom jokes and politically incorrect humor abound. Mike Mitchell directs. Sandler produces. Touchstone Pictures. Rated R, with strong profanity and sexual references.

Devil's Advocate (R) 134 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Taylor Hackford's intriguing but overly long fire-and-brimstone version of The Firm, with Keanu Reeves as a hotshot young lawyer who is recruited to work for a Manhattan law firm headed by the devil himself. Satan is played with juicy verve -- and just the right degree of restraint -- by Al Pacino. Warner Bros. Rated R, with profanity, nudity, sex and gore.

The Devil's Own (R) 107 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
The Irish Troubles ferment pain and betrayal in an American home, in Alan J. Pakula's flawed but affecting new drama. Harrison Ford and an especially riveting Brad Pitt head the cast, playing men who become as close as brothers, only to be torn by conflict. Columbia. Rated R, with strong violence and profanity.

Diamond Men (Not rated) 100 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review
Robert Forster is the gem in this heartfelt tale of an aging traveling salesman, trying to teach a troublesome young guy the ropes of selling jewelry on the road. Donnie Wahlberg co-stars for writer-director Daniel M. Cohen. Panorama Entertainment. Unrated.

Diamonds (PG-13) 91 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
Aged superstar Kirk Douglas delivers a gem of a performance. Otherwise, this contrived comedy-drama about an elderly ex-boxer offers dime-store rhinestones. Dan Aykroyd and Lauren Bacall co-star for director John Asher. Miramax. Rated PG-13, with profanity, brief violence and sexual references.

Dick (PG-13) 95 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A clever satire that rewrites Watergate history as an adolescent comedy. Two clueless teen-age girls (Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams) bring down the Nixon presidency. Dan Hedaya is fabulous as Nixon. Andrew Fleming directs. Columbia. Rated PG-13, with moderate profanity.

Digimon: The Movie (PG) 88 min. Our rating: 2 Review · Clips
Digimon: The Movie is concerned with a group of Japanese children and an American boy. More than just fond of hacking away at their computers, these kids live and almost die by them. When one of them creates a monster that runs amok, the kids undertake an international rescue mission. With Joshua Seth and Mona Marshall. Directed by Jeff Nimoy and Bob Buchholz. 20th Century Fox. Rated PG, with some violence.

The Dinner Game (PG-13) 85 min. Our rating: 8 Review · Clips
French farce about an idiot (Jacques Villeret) who unknowingly turns the tables on the snob (Thierry Lhermitte) who brought him to a dinner party where diners are requested to bring the stupidest guests they know. In French with English subtitles. Lions Gate Films. Not rated; in French with English subtitles.

Dinosaur (PG) 82 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
Hollywood's endless fascination with dinosaurs reaches a new pinnacle in Disney's first venture into digital animation. Dinosaur is a rousing success, a sort of reptilian Bambi, told through a captivating blend of reality and fantasy. Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton co-direct. Disney. Rated PG, with moderate nature violence.

Dirty Work (PG-13) 97 min. Unreviewed. Clips
Norm MacDonald (Weekend Update) opens a service that'll help you get even with anyone -- for a price. Co-starring Jack Warden, Artie Lange, Traylor Howard, Don Rickles and Chevy Chase. MGM. Rated PG-13.

The Dish (PG-13) 101 min. Not reviewed. Clips
Mixing historical drama and offbeat humor, this Australian comedy gives the scoop on the 1,000-ton satellite dish -- located on a sheep farm in New South Wales -- that helped trasmit images of the Apollo 11 moon landing to the world.

Disturbing Behavior (R) 83 min. Garner's rating: 3 Review · Clips
A less-than-thrilling teen thriller about a high school where the clean-cut kids are brainwashed zombies who attempt to stomp out all the other school cliques. An exercise in over-the-top silliness -- and very little suspense -- it's directed by David Nutter, and stars James Marsden, Katie Holmes and Nick Stahl. MGM. Rated R, with violence, profanity and implied sex.

Divided We Fall (PG-13) 122 min. Our rating: 9 Review · Clips
During WWII, a Czech couple decides to hide their Jewish ex-neighbor from the German Nazis. The couple's best friend is a Nazi collaborator whose romantic interest in the wife puts them in danger. Nominated for a foreign-language Oscar. In Czech and German with English subtitles. Rated PG-13, with some violence and sexual content.

Doctor Dolittle (PG-13) 95 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Comedian Eddie Murphy continues his shift to lighter, family-friendly humor with "Dr. Dolittle," updating the old, somewhat-stale Rex Harrison family film, about an eccentric physician who is able to "talk to the animals" he treats. Many of the film's laughs -- and its obvious child appeal -- are generated by the various furry and feathered creatures (voiced by notable comedians Albert Brooks, Chris Rock, Norm MacDonald, Julie Kavner and others.) Betty Thomas directs. Fox. Rated PG-13, with vulgarity and sexual themes.

DR2: Doctor Dolittle 2 (PG) 90 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Several amusing talking animals steal the show from a restrained Eddie Murphy in this modestly entertaining family film, a sequel to the hit 1998 comedy. This time Dolittle and the animals try to save a forest threatened by developers. Steve Zahn and Norm McDonald contribute the most memorable animal voices for director Steve Carr. Twentieth Century Fox, 90 min. Rated PG with mild sexual references.

Dogma (R) 125 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips · Interview
Kevin Smith, the iconoclastic young filmmaker behind Clerks and Chasing Amy, turns his satirical eye and comic-book mentality to the Catholic Church in this irreverent, sloppy, silly, and frequently hilarious new comedy. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Rock and Linda Fiorentino head the film's enthusiastic, eclectic ensemble. Lions Gate. Rated R, with strong profanity, violence.

Dog Park (R) 91 min. Unreviewed.
A sometimes sweet, sometimes savage romantic comedy that follows the relationships of a group of young people working their way through the dating chain in search of love and commitment. Stars Natasha Henstridge, Luke Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, Mike McKinney and Bruce McCulloch. Written and directed by Bruce McCulloch. Independent Films. 91 minutes. Rated R, with profanity and sexual situations.

A Dog of Flanders (PG) 100 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
Nineteenth-century tale of a young orphan boy who sets out with his beloved dog to pursue his dream of becoming a great artist. Jeremy James Kissner, Jack Warden and Jon Voight star. Rated PG, with moderate violence.

Domestic Disturbance (PG-13) 88 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
"The boy who cried wolf" is at the core of this under-achieving thriller with John Travolta and Vince Vaughn. They play dueling Dads in a modest suspense saga about Danny (Matt O'Leary), a boy embittered by his Mom's second marriage -- and by the thought that his new stepfather may be a killer. Harold Becker directs. Paramount. Rated PG-13, with violence, profanity.

Donnie Brasco (R) 121 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
Al Pacino and Johnny Depp co-star in this engrossing tale of mafia low-lifes and the FBI informant who brings them down. Englishman Mike Newell has created the best mob movie in years, made by somebody not named Scorsese or Coppola. Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby and Anne Heche co-star. Tri-Star. Rated R, with strong violence, profanity and nudity.

Don't Look Back (R) 96 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review
Musical documentary of Bob Dylan's 1965 English tour, by director D. A. Pennebaker.

Don't Say a Word (R) 114 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
A far-fetched storyline about a kidnapping isn't done any favors by humdrum direction in this action-thriller. Starring Michael Douglas, Sean Bean and Famke Janssen. Directed by Gary Fleder. Twentieth Century-Fox. Rated R, with profanity, nudity and graphic violence.

Double Jeopardy (R) 105 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones co-star in this thriller about a woman convicted of murdering her husband who then discovers he's a very-much-alive con man. Jones plays the parole officer who gives chase. Bruce Beresford directs a film that feels very much like Fugitive III. Paramount Pictures. Rated R, with violence and profanity.

Double Take (G-13) 88 min. Garner's rating: 3 Review · Clips
A convoluted action-comedy with Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin as two contrary figures on the run from corrupt cops, drug-money launderers and shady businessmen. Jones and Griffin are funny together, but they're struggling as underdeveloped characters entangled in an overdeveloped plot. George Gallo writes and directs. Touchstone. Rated PG-13, with profanity and violence.

Double Team (R) 90 min. Garner's rating: 4 Review · Clips
Tsui Hark's flashy but flawed new action flick with Jean-Claude Van Damme is most notable for the big screen presence of flamboyant NBA star Dennis Rodman in something other than a basketball cameo. Rodman's acting brings additional meaning to the title of his recent autobiography, Bad As I Wanna Be. Still, he adds an amusing presence to this jumbled but energetic espionage adventure, created in the style of a Hong Kong martial arts movie. Mickey Rourke co-stars. Columbia. Rated R, with profanity and strong violence.

Doug's 1st movie (G) 77 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
Based on the TV cartoon show, this animated feature plays well to its targeted under-10 audience in a story about Doug coping with a date with Patti Mayonnaise and the secret of a local deep-sea monster. Featuring the voices of Thomas McHugh, Fred Newman and Chris Phillips. Directed by Maurice Joyce. Walt Disney Pictures. Rated G.

Down in the Delta (PG-13) 112 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
Maya Angelou's directorial debut tells of a drug-wrecked woman (Alfre Woodward) who is uprooted from Chicago to a small town. Co-starring Al Freeman Jr., Wesley Snipes and Esther Rolle. Miramax. Rated PG-13, with profanity.

Down to Earth (PG-13) 88 min. Garner's rating: 3 Review · Clips
A dead comedian gets a second chance at life in this far-fetched, thinly written comedy. Starring Chris Rock and Regina King. Directed by Chris and Paul Weitz. Paramount. Rated PG-13, with rough language, sexual humor and some drug references.

Down to You (PG-13) 100 min. Unreviewed. Clips
A college freshman enters a new romance and reconsiders his breakup with his old girlfriend. Starring Freddie Prinze Jr., Julia Stiles and Selma Imogen. Directed by Kris Isaacson. Rated PG-13, with mature thematic material, sexual content, language, and drug and alcohol use.

Dracula 2000 (R) 100 min. Not reviewed.
The vampire legend is directed by horror maven Wes Craven and stars Jennifer Esposito and Jonny Lee Miller. Rated R, with violence, gore, rough language and some sexuality.

The Dreamlife of Angels (R) 113 min. Our rating: 9 Clips
Erick Zonca directed this award-winning French realist film about the energetic but blasted lives of two working-class girls played by Elodie Bouchez and Natacha Regnier. Sony Classics. Rated R, for language, nudity, strong sexuality and violence. In French with English subtitles.

Dream With the Fishes (R) 96 min. Our rating: 8 Review · Clips
A surprisingly affecting film about a terminally ill young man who offers to kill a would-be suicide victim in exchange for the chance to live out his own fantasies. Starring David Arquette, Brad Hunt, Cathy Moriarty. Directed by Finn Taylor. Sony Pictures Classics. Rated R, nudity, profanity, violence.

The Dress (Unrated) 103 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review
Offbeat tale, set in the Netherlands, about the life of a modest print dress, from the day it's designed, through its first sale, and on through the various circumstances that bring it into the lives of a variety of eccentric owners. Unrated; in Dutch with English subtitles.

Drivers Wanted (Unrated) 80 min. Garner's rating: 5 Review · Clips
Irondequoit, N.Y., native Jimmy Beideck's comedy about a group of pizza delivery drivers. Made locally and on a shoestring budget, Beideck's film tells the tale of young people who hustle to get the hot pies to your house. Unrated.

Drive Me Crazy (PG-13) 94 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
This teen comedy plays like a re-do of She's All That released earlier this year. In this version a popular high school girl is having trouble landing a date with the star of the basketball team, so she and another student try to make him jealous. Stars Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier. Directed by John Schultz. 20th Century Fox. Rated PG-13, with teen drug and alcohol use and profanity.

Driven (PG-13) 117 min. Garner's rating: 5 Review · Clips
Renny Harlin's modestly entertaining, overly simplistic, paint-by-the-numbers actioner, fuel-injected with lots of race footage for people who get excited by zoom-zoom. The script's by Sylvester Stallone, who delivers an ingratiating performance as a veteran who monitors a hot-shot rookie driver, played by Kip Pardue. Burt Reynolds co-stars as the hard-nosed race team owner. Warner Bros. Rated PG-13, with moderate profanity and innuendo.

Drop Dead Gorgeous (R) 97 min. Our rating: 6 Review · Clips
A mockumentary about a teen beauty pageant in small-town Minnesota that finds laughs in the worst possible taste. Still, it's a laugh-provoking satire, even if it telegraphs too many of its punches. Starring Kirstie Alley, Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards. Directed by Michael Patrick Jann. New Line Cinema. Rated R, for profanity, violence and nudity.

Drowning Mona (PG-13) 100 min. Our rating: 4 Review · Clips
The town's worst person dies under suspicious circumstances -- and everyone seems to have a reason for killing her, in this weak comedy-mystery. Starring Bette Midler, Danny DeVito, Neve Campbell and Jamie Lee Curtis. Directed by Nick Gomez. Destination Films.

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (PG) 102 min. Garner's rating: 9 Review · Clips
Resourceful actor Jim Carrey and imaginative director Ron Howard offer a zestful, funny, superbly crafted, live-action version of the holiday perennial. Universal. Rated PG, with mild violence.

Dr. T and the Women (R) 122 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
Robert Altman's amusing take on the battle of the sexes is explored through the misadventures of a Dallas gynecologist (Richard Gere). Helen Hunt and Farrah Fawcett co-star. Artisan. Rated R, with brief nudity, profanity and innuendo.

Dude, Where's My Car? (PG-13) 95 min. Not reviewed. Clips
In this teen comedy, two party dudes can't remember where they parked -- which gets them in bad with their girlfriends. Talent from That '70s Show, Freaks and Geeks and Road Trip is involved -- including Ashton Kutcher, Seann William Scott and Jennifer Garner. Rated PG-13, with profanity, drug use and sexual situations.

Dudley Do-Right (PG) 75 min. Our rating: 1 Review · Clips
A weak and dim-witted film adaptation of a Jay Ward cartoon from the 1960s, about a dumb Mountie and the villain who snookers him. Stars Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker and Alfred Molina. Directed by Hugh Wilson. Universal Pictures. 75 minutes. Rated PG, with slapstick violence.

Duets (R) 112 min. Our rating: 5 Review · Clips
Comedy revolving around the little known world of karaoke and the whimsical characters who inhabit it. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Andre Braugher, Maria Bello and Huey Lewis. Rated R, with rough language and sexual situations.

Dungeons & Dragons (PG-13) 105 min. Garner's rating: 1 Review · Clips
A silly action rip-off of a score of better fantasy films, based on the popular role-playing game. Jeremy Irons is an over-the-top villain, opposite Justin Whalin, Marlon Wayans and Thora Birch, for first-time director Courtney Solomon. New Line. Rated PG-13, for fantasy action violence.