Better than your average sequel, Shanghai Knightsalmost defies the law of diminishing returns. Lacking the freshness of Shanghai Noon, it compensates with a looser, disposable plot that plays to the strengths of costars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. It's 1887, and odd-couple heroes Chon Wang (Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) are in London to retrieve the Imperial Seal of China, stolen by an English lord (Aidan Gillen) who killed Wang's father in his quest for the British throne. Wang's lithe and lovely sister (Fann Wong) joins the battle with high-kicking force, appealing to Roy's roguish charm and surfer-dude anachronisms. While Chan continues his transition to safer stunts and good-natured homage to Buster Keaton, Gene Kelly, and other Hollywood legends, Wilson indulges the party vibe to good effect, maintaining the anything-goes approach that allows silly encounters with Jack the Ripper, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a Dickensian urchin named Charlie Chaplin. (Chaplin wasn't born until 1889, but if the filmmakers didn't care, why should you?) —Jeff Shannon

Divorced toy company executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen of Home Improvementand the Toy Storymovies) is pleased to have his son Charlie for Christmas, though the boy himself isn't happy about it. But when Santa Claus accidentally topples off the roof of the house and falls with a thud in the snow, Scott finds himself taking the merry old elf's place and earning new respect in his son's eyes. When the night ends, the reindeer take them to the north pole, and Scott discovers that by donning the fabled red suit, he's inadvertently agreed to become the next Santa Claus. The next morning he wakes up in his own bed and thinks it's all a dream—only Charlie remembers it with crystal clarity. Scott now has to deal with his suspicious ex-wife (Wendy Crewson, Air Force One) and her psychiatrist boyfriend (Judge Reinhold, Beverly Hills Cop), who both think he's playing tricks with Charlie's mind, and also with his own out-of-control body, which is putting on weight and growing a prodigious beard. The Santa Clauseprobably won't supplant It's a Wonderful Lifeor Miracle on 34th Streetas anyone's favorite holiday film, but it's an enjoyable, straightforward family film, anchored by the affable charisma of Allen. —Bret Fetzer

Doing for tigers what The Beardid for Grizzlies and Kodiaks, Two Brothersoffers lush adventure with a message that anyone can take to heart. French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud directed both films, blessing them with his keen eye for beauty and a love for wildlife that's as impassioned as it is infectious. This time, the adorable critters are Kumal and Sangha, sibling tiger cubs in French Indochina circa 1920, separated when a treasure-hunting adventurer (Guy Pearce) inadvertently leads them to capture. He makes amends by defending their right to freedom, but before that can happen, the now-grown tigers must endure cruel treatment that younger viewers (and sensitive adults) may find somewhat traumatic. There's a purpose to their ordeal, however, and Annaud (along with a world-class tiger trainer, 30 different tigers, and minimal use of digital trickery) films this uplifting story as a child's fable, with equal measures of danger and irresistible charm. As a family-friendly plea to protect endangered tigers everywhere, Two Brothersis cute, cuddly, and easily recommended. —Jeff Shannon

In Road to Perdition, Tom Hanks plays a hit man who finds his heart. Michael Sullivan (Hanks) is the right-hand man of crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman), but when Sullivan's son accidentally witnesses one of his hits, he must choose between his crime family and his real one. The movie has a slow pace, largely because director Sam Mendes (American Beauty) seems to be in love with the gorgeous period locations. Hanks gives a deceptively battened-down performance at first, only opening up toward the very end of the film, making his character's personal transformation all the more convincing. Newman turns in a masterful piece of work, revealing Rooney's advancing age but at the same time, his terrifying power. Jude Law is also a standout, playing a hit man-photographer with chilling creepiness. This movie requires a little patience, but the beautiful cinematography and moving ending make it well worth the wait. —Ali Davis

If you were a kid in the early 1960s, then you saw The Parent Trapwith Hayley Mills—it—it's as simple as that. Now Disney has pulled the beloved comedy—about a pair of twins who meet for the first time at summer camp and vow to reunite their long-divorced parents—out of the mothballs and remade it with a decidedly '90s feel. This time, the twins act is performed by newcomer Lindsay Lohan, who plays both Hallie and Annie, who each live with one of their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson). Adversaries when they first meet at camp, Hallie and Annie become, well, sisters when they figure out that they are siblings. The comedy springs from their efforts to sabotage Dad's impending marriage to the gold-digging Elaine Hendrix, while reintroducing Dad to Mom. Quaid has a nice, loosey-goosey way with slapstick, as does Richardson, who plays a very funny drunk scene. —Marshall Fine

Mike Myers's first feature role without his Wayne's Worldwig is a performance at odds with the best interests of the movie. Myers plays a single guy who always manages to find something seriously wrong with each of his girlfriends. His new love (Nancy Travis), a butcher, may be the perfect woman, except for one thing: she might be a "black-widow" killer who prefers dispatching husbands with a sharp instrument. Robbie Fox's original script has a fine shape and strong, black-comedy material within it. But Myers creates unnecessary dissonance by playing a variety of characters (including an irascible Scotsman like the one he often played on Saturday Night Live) and accenting his skills as an improvisational comic (such as impersonating the soothing cadences of a massage therapist). It's not that Myers isn't funny doing all that, but it has nothing to do with the movie. Directed by Thomas Schlamme (Miss Firecracker). —Tom Keogh

Garry Marshall's 1988 drama about a 30-year friendship between two women, one wealthy (Barbara Hershey) and the other (Bette Midler) seeking her fortune in show business, is well written (based on the novel by Iris Rainer Dart) and nicely textured in its contrast between the characters' separate destinies. When Hershey becomes ill with cancer, the film takes a predictably sentimental course, yet Marshall brings out the best in both actresses and catches some very fine drama. The film is a little too long, perhaps, but overall it is a fine experience. —Tom Keogh

When released in December 2000, Thirteen Dayswas pummeled for taking liberties with the facts of the Cuban missile crisis and smothering its compelling drama with phony Boston accents by its primary stars. More tolerant critics hailed it as one of the year's best films, and that's the opinion to believe for anyone who enjoys taut, intelligent political thrillers. For those too young to relate directly to the timeless urgency of the crisis that played out over 13 days in October 1962, Thirteen Daysjoins the classic TV treatment The Missiles of October(1973) as an intense and thought-provoking study of leadership under pressure.

The film (and costar-coproducer Kevin Costner) drew criticism for fictionally enhancing the White House role of presidential aide Kenneth O'Donnell, but while Costner's Boston accent may be grating, his fine performance as O'Donnell offers expert witness to the crisis, its nerve-wracking escalation, and the efforts of John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and Robert F. Kennedy (Steven Culp) to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Russia. While Soviet missiles approach operational status in Cuba, director Roger Donaldson (who directed Costner in No Way Out) cuts to exciting U.S. Navy flights over the missile site, ramping up the tension that history itself provided. Donaldson's occasional use of black and white is self-consciously distracting, and he's further guilty of allowing a shrillness (along with repetitive, ominous shots of nuclear explosions) to invade the urgency of David Self's screenplay. Still, as Hollywood history lessons go, Thirteen Daysis riveting stuff. You may find yourself wondering what might happen if reality presented a repeat scenario under less intelligent leadership. —Jeff Shannon

The success of Grumpy Old Menmade this 1995 sequel practically mandatory, and although it's not much more than a Grumpyretread, the same schtick is just as funny the second time around. Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reunited as the Minnesota neighbors who make a hobby out of mutual aggravation, but while Lemmon's married (to Ann-Margret), this time it's Matthau who's looking for love. He finds it when Sophia Loren arrives to open an Italian ristorante on the site of Jack and Walter's favorite bait shop, but only after the grumpy guys have done their best to stop the ristorante from opening. The impending wedding of Kevin Pollak (as Matthau's son) and Daryl Hannah (as Lemmon's daughter) puts love in the air, so it's not too long before Matthau and Loren are singing "That's Amore." And Burgess Meredith (in one of his final screen roles) returns as Lemmon's saucy old father, who gets all the best lines and delivers them with lusty vigor. —Jeff Shannon

Bruce Lee kicked around Hollywood for years looking in vain for an American break when Hong Kong came calling. As Kato in the TV series The Green Hornethe had become an Asian star (the series was renamed for his character when it crossed the Pacific) and ripe for his own vehicle. This raw, low-budget effort, called The Big Bossin its native Hong Kong, is a generic revenge drama enlivened by Lee's intense screen presence and martial arts prowess. He's a country boy who takes a job at a Thailand ice-packing plant and discovers it's a cover for heroin smuggling. Lee is held back through the first half of the film by a promise he made his sweet, gray-haired mom not to brawl (which means you have to wait to see him in action), but his indignation turns to fury as friends and coworkers disappear and the boss sends thugs to take care of the brooding, intense country boy. The final half of the film is a series of violent confrontations, culminating in a marvelously choreographed showdown at the ice plant. Lean, mean Lee, with a physique that looked sculpted in bronze, became an overnight sensation with this film, breaking all Asian box-office records and starting an international kung fu craze, but none of the pretenders ever touched Lee's cool cinematic charisma or his martial arts grace. Lee returned the next year in The Chinese Connection. —Sean Axmaker

With The Return of the King, the greatest fantasy epic in film history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. Director Peter Jackson's awe-inspiring adaptation of the Tolkien classic The Lord of the Ringscould never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively loyal to Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for physical and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure scale and ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as the brave yet charmingly innocent Hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) continues his mission to Mordor, where he is destined to destroy the soul-corrupting One Ring of Power in the molten lava of Mount Doom. While the heir to the kingdom of Men, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the allegiance of the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), the dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the great wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo and stalwart companion Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) must survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly nuanced computer animation.

Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow Hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they ensure that The Return of the Kingmaintains the trilogy's emphasis on intimate fellowship. While several major characters appear only briefly, and one (Christopher Lee's evil wizard, Saruman) was relegated entirely to the extended-version DVD, Jackson is to be commended for his editorial acumen; like Legolas the archer, his aim as a filmmaker is consistently true, and he remains faithful to Tolkien's overall vision. If Returnsuffers from too many endings, as some critic suggested, it's only because the epic's conclusion is so loyally inclusive of the actors—most notably Astin—who gave it such strength to begin with. By ending the LOTRtrilogy with noble integrity and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling, The Return of the King, like its predecessors, will stand as an adventure for the ages. —Jeff Shannon

There's no business like ghost business and when you join Mystery Inc. you get to travel! This cool ghoul collection features all 13 mysteries from Season Two of the series that launched Scooby-Doo and the spook-chasing Mystery Inc. gang into the 21st century. Start packing because you're going on an endless summer vacation, visiting six different countries from around the goblin globe including Greece, Egypt, Tokyo, Transylvania and happy penguin feet in the South Pole! Thank goodness you're not afraid of ghosts...or vampires, mummies, an invisible madman and fire-breathing toy dragons! Track down and capture them all!

Bad romantic comedies make you scoff at their absurdity; good ones make you wish your life was that absurd. Just Like Heavenis just smart and likable enough to trigger that wishing. David (Mark Ruffalo, Collateral, You Can Count On Me) finds an amazing apartment in San Francisco—only to discover it's haunted by the spirit of the previous tenant, an overachieving doctor named Elizabeth (Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde, Election). There's something not quite right about Elizabeth's afterlife; against his better judgement, David agrees to help her investigate her life...but finds himself digging into his own as well. The plot takes a twist that some viewers will see coming, but Just Like Heavendoesn't rely on the surprise alone; the revelation takes the story in a new and just as entertaining direction. Witherspoon and Ruffalo are two of the best romantic leads around, but the surprise is how well their contrasting flavors (perky and moody, respectively) mesh, creating a sparky, engaging chemistry. Also featuring Dina Waters (Freaky Friday), Donal Logue (The Tao of Steve), Ben Shenkman (Angels in America), and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Crisply directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), who carefully keeps the supernatural from getting silly and the romance from getting gooey. —Bret Fetzer

This science fiction blockbuster from 1990 began its production life as a very different movie than the one that was released. An adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,"Total Recallwas originally conceived of with Richard Dreyfuss starring as a Walter Mitty-like character who experiences a variety of artificially induced fantasies. The movie we know is a mega-budget action epic set on Mars. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a normal working man who discovers that his entire reality has been invented to conceal a plot of planetary domination. Oscar-winning special effects and violent action propel the twisting plot, in which Arnold manipulates his manipulators in a world of dazzling high technology. Director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop) indulges his usual penchant for gratuitous bloodshed, but the movie has enough cleverness to rise above its excesses. —Jeff Shannon