Camilleri, Terry

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Like, radical, dude--but not nearly as funny as it should be, even though it was a box-office hit. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are a pair of dim Valley boys, whose life is made heinous by a school history project. Enter George Carlin as a futuristic dude with a time-traveling phone booth. So Bill and Ted go back in time to round up a gang of historical figures (Socrates, Joan of Arc) to bring back for their presentation. Abe Lincoln at the mall? That's about as witty as it gets, rendering this the kind of comedy that gives teenaged audiences a bad name. --Marshall Fine

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) and Alex Winter (The Lost Boys) deliver "spirited performances" (The Hollywood Reporter) in the original righteous comedy about the two ditzy dudes from San Dimas California. Also starring George Carlin this hysterically funny historical comedy is a "snappily directed" (Time) "bouncy good time" (The Boston Globe) and a party that goes on and on!Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) have spent so much time forming their rock band The Wyld Stallyns that they're flunking history. Whoa duuuude! And when Ted's dad threatens to send him away to military school Bill and Ted realize it could mean the most heinous end of The Stallyns! Luckily a guardian angel from the future Rufus (Carlin) has come to them with a most bodacious solution: a time-traversing phone booth to take them into the past to learn about the world from some of history's most influential personalities. Their journey through time turns out to be a blast...but will they learn enough to pass their class?System Requirements:Starring: George Carlin Keanu Reeves Alex Winter Directed By: Stephen Herek Running Time: 90 Min. Color Copyright MGM Studios 2003.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 027616869265 Manufacturer No: 1002728

Superman III

Here was a case in which the progenitors of this successful comic-book adaptation figured they had to go in a new direction--and chose the wrong one. For starters, they recruited comedian Richard Pryor, who was the kiss of death for almost every movie he was in except his own concert films. He plays a computer specialist who is hired by a criminal mastermind (Robert Vaughan) to help him take on Superman by exposing him to a new form of Kryptonite: red Kryptonite, which always had unpredictable effects in the comic books. In this film, it splits Superman in two, dividing his good self from his dark side. The special effects had gone about as far as they could, and this movie strains to hold an audience's interest for its full running length. --Marshall Fine

Gigli

Many critics called Gigli one of the worst movies ever made, but their condemnation isn't entirely justified. The movie's got plenty of problems, such as inconsistent tone, gag-inducing dialogue, and a meandering plot that fails to generate momentum over 124 minutes. And yet, this character-based vehicle for Hollywood sweethearts Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez is not without its charms: To begin with, there's J-Lo, whose beauty and presence flourish despite her ill-conceived role as a lesbian contract killer. Critics were also wrong in saying Lopez lacks on-screen chemistry with her off-screen beau; there are moments when they click, but director Martin Brest's screenplay maintains sexual confusion right up to an ending that's a total cop-out. Affleck (who did the lesbian-love thing in Chasing Amy) plays another good-natured killer, and their joint kidnapping job (involving the mentally disabled brother of a federal prosecutor) is destined to fail for all the right reasons, even as this anti-romantic comedy (featuring scenery-chewing cameos by Christopher Walken and Al Pacino) fails for all the wrong ones. --Jeff Shannon

The Invisibles

The Cars That Ate Paris

Lying in a gently rolling range of hills, the town of Paris has prospered from the hunting and destruction of cars: the road into Paris is a death trap. Into this trap drive George and Arthur Waldo. George is killed; Arthur survives and is pronounced harmless by the mayor. Although unaware, Arthur is a prisoner. He must never leave Paris. But the town that lives by the car shall die by the car, and eventually the hunters become the hunted, in this film directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society and Witness).

Blue Fin