Antz

From the Manhattan skyline to Woody driveling anxiety to his shrink, the first moments of Antz suggest a film destined to become another prototypical Woody Allen movie. Until Woody (now an ant named "Z") gets off the psychoanalyst's couch and walks into "The Colony." The makers of Antz seem particularly interested in demonstrating their ability to depict water and human movement, disregarding the fact that the plot must make some rather forced detours in order to accommodate these animated showpieces. Though the character of Allen as well as those of the other actors (voiced by Dan Akroyd, Anne Bancroft, Sylvester Stalone and Jennifer Lopez among others) take some of the edge off the hackneyed plot, Antz fails to fully engage. Carla Blackmar

Apt Pupil

Apt Pupil would seem to be a thriller that hovers somewhere between tolerable and entertaining. Scenes in the style of Stephen King, normally complex and intriguing, are here sickening. The ethics of making Dussander (a former SS officer) the interesting character and his strident accusers the bland and vapid ones are, of course, also questionable. This said, Ian McKellan may be given credit for giving the masterful performance one expects of him. Todd Renfro's acting (as the boy who discovers Dussander) is generally bland and flat, more appropriate to a sitcom, or an after-school special, than the thriller that is being attempted here.   John T. Maier

Beloved

In Beloved, the highly-anticipated adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, slavery is explored in a subtle, almost metaphorical fashion. It is an exercise in psychology, exploring the mind of Morrison's steel-willed protagonist Sethe (Oprah Winfrey), a former slave who now lives as a free woman in Ohio in the 1870s. Beloved is a handsome, classy production that is distinguished in every possible way, but it is also a cold film. The screenplay grapples admirably with Morrison's convoluted narrative but can never get to the heart of it. The saving grace of the movie is the renowned cast.   Bill Gienapp

Bride of Chucky

The joys of Chucky are pure and simple. There's this doll, see, and he's possessed by the soul of a serial killer and so he kills a lot of people in improbable ways. Twist? Chucky's ex-girlfriend is turned into an equally evil and equally plastic doll. The brilliance of this premise will not be appreciated during our lifetime. With just a sprinkling of self-consciousness and heaps of bad taste, director Yu has made a B-movie that can easily stand next to such giants as Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, and Plan 9 From Outer Space. I, for one, saw Chucky the way it was meant to be seen: in an empty theater on a Monday night, with some friends, and a bunch of drunk guys and four-year-olds yelling at the screen. It was the most fun I've had since I came to Massachusetts.   Benjamin L. McKean

Lolita

For all the hype that surrounded its 10-month saga to find an American distributor, Lolita is, in the end, surprisingly tame. Overwhelming us with a cascade of lovely images, Lolita succeeds in being tragically moving despite the unsavory plot. Indeed, the reason why Lyne's film works is that it focuses upon the potential of film to beautify even the grotesque. The effect is a little artificial, a spectacle designed to seduce the viewer into turning away from the moral problem of the film. In a time when films often try to say something about life, here is a film about the power of film.   Irene Hahn

Next Stop Wonderland

Next Stop Wonderland is charming not because it is a groundbreaking movie (it's not), but because it succeeds so refreshingly and so endearingly despite its unoriginal premise. Where other movies would be cranking up bathos-filled love songs, Next Stop Wonderland plays toe-tapping Brazilian music. When other actresses would be weeping over a picture of their ex, Erin contemplatively stares out at the ocean or reads her late father's poetry. Fate may bring the happy couple together under its wing, but we get the feeling that they would be okay even if they never met. As the Wonderland promo posters say, "Love is the destination." But the journey's pretty wonderful, too.   Sarah A. Rodriguez

One True Thing

In the days of "Size Does Matter" and "Bigger is Better," can a pure human drama still affect us? Leave it to Meryl Streep to quash all doubts about that. Her latest acting showcase, One True Thing, tells such an incredibly small story that it puts all the vast, sweeping movies of recent memory to shame. The film tells the story of a single family and manages to weave a stunningly intricate emotional epic. The main narrative unfolds in a flashback. Reporter Ellen Gulden is being questioned by a district attorney about assisting in her cancer-stricken mother's death. Using characters grounded in the simplicities of life, One True Thing gives us something almost unparalleled in recent cinematic memory--the triumph of the ordinary.   Soman Chainani

Practical Magic