Romeo Must Die (R)

Hip-hop meets kung fu in Romeo Must Die, Hollywood's latest attempt to import Hong Kong martial arts for western audiences. Sadly, it only comes to ass-kicking life when it strays from its predictable, oddly platonic take on Shakespeare's classic storyline. Action producer Joel Silver has wisely taken a cue from his last big hit, The Matrix, incorporating similarly cutting-edge visual effects and high-wire stunts for knockout action sequences. But this one moves at half the pace despite the considerable charisma of its wu shu-fighting superstar, Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4).

The Green Mile  (1999)

The Green Mile has a vivid, emotional story to tell before it sentences viewers to interminable spiritual uplift. It may be a bit much to expect searing, Ken Loach- style realism here. This is, after all, a Tom Hanks holiday movie based on a Stephen King novel — a big, gift- wrapped, Oscar- ready entertainment. Alas, writer- director Frank Darabont's strengths (storytelling mojo, deft touch with actors) are overwhelmed by his weaknesses (inability to grasp the concept of brevity, weakness for histrionics). As the third hour of mystical healing and predictable plot twists got under way, I realized there was even less compelling justification here for the gargantuan running time than in Darabont's first King adaptation (and first film), The Shawshank Redemption.  

The Princess Bride  (1987)

Once upon a time, in a land called Hollywood, the jester Meathead (secretly director Rob Reiner) decided to expose his true identity as a prince of the projector. Polishing his pate to a luster and making a wish for a blockbuster, he proved himself thrice worthy. Still questing acclaim, he decided to cast a really big spell with a magnificent fairy tale, "The Princess Bride."

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Denzel Washington coaches Southern high school football in Remember the Titans

Godzilla 2000  (2000)

A Godzilla expert has spent his life studying the habits of the great lizard, trying to uncover a pattern to predict the monster's next appearance and minimize the damage done. But, despite the scientist's research, Godzilla rises again from the ocean and attacks a nuclear power plant, destroying a city in the process. On his way back out to sea, the big guy encounters an out-of-this-world enemy. Will breathing a nasty atomic flame be enough to vanquish this foe?

Highlander: Endgame  (2000)

The film and television series that began with Highlander in 1986 rolls forward. The fourth film reunites the hero of the first three films, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), with the hero of the TV series, Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul). The two MacLeods have shared the screen just once before (in the pilot episode for the television series) and may not share it again — the most persistent rumor swirling around Highlander: Endgame is that Lambert's Connor will finally lose his head. (Newbies: The Highlander heroes, or "Immortals," can't be killed except by decapitation.) The plot of the new movie has otherwise been kept almost entirely under wraps, but decapitations, immortal angst, and at least one luscious woman will almost certainly be involved.