Film capsules -- 1997-2001

Valentine (R) 96 min. Not reviewed. Clips
Four college girls make fun of a nerdy classmate. When the young man grows handsome and self-assured, he takes his revenge: Each Valentine's Day, he takes one of them on a murdurous date. David Boreanaz and Denise Richards star. Rated R, with strong horror violence, some sexuality and rough language.

(John Carpenter's) Vampires (R) 107 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
The first foray into vampire lore by Halloween director Carpenter; a gory, Western-influenced saga about a cynical vampire hunter (James Woods) and his efforts to rid New Mexico of a violent nest of vipers. Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee and Maximilian Schell co-star. Columbia. Rated R, with much gore, strong profanity, nudity and sex.

The Van (R) 110 min. Garner's rating: 7 Review · Clips
A slight but amusing Irish tale of two out-of-work guys in a Dublin suburb who strain their friendship by selling burgers together from a curbside van. The concluding chapter of the trilogy that includes The Commitments and The Snapper, it's directed by Stephen Frears and stars Colm Meaney and Donal O'Kelly. Fox Searchlight. Rated R, with strong profanity.

Vanilla Sky (R) 133 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
A darkly oddball psychological romantic thriller, with Tom Cruise as a wealthy Manhattan playboy who discovers his dream of a life turning into a nightmare. Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz co-star for writer-director Cameron Crowe. Paramount. Rated R, with sex and profanity.

Varsity Blues (R) 106 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Dawson Creek's James Van Der Beek stars as a high school quarterback leading a team rebelling against an obsessed, authoritarian coach (Jon Voight) in football-mad West Texas in this uneven but entertaining adolescent drama. Paul Walker Ron Lester, Scott Caan and Amy Smart co-star for director Brian Robbins. Paramount. Rated R, with profanity, nudity and sex.

Va Savoir (Who Knows?) (PG-13) 150 min. Our rating: 7 Clips
Jacques Rivette, a founder of the French new wave, directs this romantic drama. Jeanne Balibar stars as Camille, the lead in an Italian theater company that travels to Paris. She's dating the director but has complications with her ex, his wife, her lover, his half-sister and her mother. Rated PG-13, with brief nudity. In French and Italian with subtitles.

Vegas Vacation (PG) 105 min. Unreviewed. Clips
Chevy Chase continues the National Lampoon's Vacation series, this time in Las Vegas.

Velvet Goldmine (R) 125 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Ewan McGregor stars in this drama set amid London's glamrock scene of the 1970's. Co-starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale and Toni Collette. Rated R.

Venus Beauty Institute (R) 110 min. Not reviewed. Clips
Something of a Parisian version of Sex and the City, the film examines the romantic lives of the workers at a spa -- specifically Angele (Nathalie Baye). Angele's always looking for love, but when it appears, she rebuffs it. In French with English subtitles. Rated R, with strong language, sex and nudity.

Vertical Limit (PG-13) 126 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
Riveting action balances old-fashioned melodrama in Martin Campbell's mountain-climbing thriller. Chris O'Donnell, Bill Paxton, Robin Tunney and Scott Glenn co-star. Columbia. Rated PG-13, with intense and sometimes-tragic climbing action.

Very Bad Things (R) 101 min. Garner's rating: 6 Review · Clips
An uneven, but frequently funny gross-out comedy about a bachelor party gone wrong when a hooker is killed. Paranoia and betrayal cloud wedding plans. Christian Slater, Jon Favreau and Cameron Diaz stand out in an also-uneven ensemble cast. Peter Berg directs. Polygram. Rated R, with strong violence, profanity and much sick humor.

The Virgin Suicides (R) 97 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
Sofia Coppola's disturbing, surprisingly humorous and insightful film, detailing the tragic and bizarre suicides of five teenage girls in one suburban family in the 1970s. Kathleen Turner, James Woods and Kirsten Dunst co-star. Paramount Classics. Rated R, with profanity, sexual content and teen suicide.

Virus (R) 106 min. Not reviewed. Clips
Jamie Lee Curtis and William Baldwin star in this sci-fi thriller about a ghost ship that returns to Earth carrying a deadly alien life form. Universal. Rated R.

Volcano (PG-13) 102 min. Garner's rating: 8 Review · Clips
Mother Nature struts her destructive stuff again in this high-energy explosion. If you like movies that approximate theme park rides, you gotta lava it. The $100 million outing from director Mick Jackson is the year's second volcanic eruption -- preceded by Dante's Peak, which opened in February. If you're number two, you have to try harder -- and Volcano does. Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche co-star. 20th Century Fox. Rated PG-13, with profanity and lots of volcanic violence.