It's Tamahori who turns out to be the film's real villain. After an explosive beginning that pays homage to Vertigo, Tamahori never manages to build much suspense out of Patterson's tricks and double-crosses. In Along Came a Spider, the ultimate victim is Freeman's wasted performance. -- SR (Rated R.)

BLOW -- (Grade: B) OK, here it is: Blow is the best film of 2001. So far. I know, we've got a long way to go. But we may have to wait a while before the next best thing comes along.Blow is based on the true story of George Jung (Johnny Depp), the American behind the introduction of Colombian cocaine into the U.S. during the late '70s and early '80s. The film has its share of the wild signs of the times that politicians and other moral pundits will eagerly denounce without paying attention to the human lessons.

Blow has the spirit of Boogie Nights and the substance of Traffic. But Demme's film comes to life in the flesh-and-bone story of its doomed man. It's Depp who makes Jung as compelling as his story. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

BREAD AND ROSES (Grade: B) Ken Loach sets his latest story during a city-wide janitor strike in Los Angeles. One of the unexpected strike leaders is Maya (Pilar Padilla), a young Mexican immigrant who works cleaning the offices in a downtown high-rise. The other leader is a feisty union activist named Sam (Adrien Brody). Before long, Maya and Sam are an item on and off the picket lines.Loach creates a compelling story of working-class people with all the emotional depth and human sensitivity we've come to expect from him. Bread and Roses is a story about the struggles for members of the everyday working class. All of which means that Bread and Roses tells a story about people ignored by most commercial movies. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY -- (Grade: C) From the producers of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill comes the latest romantic comedy to feature Hugh Grant opposite an American actress. Bridget Jones's Diary is based on the best-selling book by Helen Fielding. Grant enjoys a stretch here, playing a cad. Renée Zellweger gamely takes on a Brit accent and some well-publicized extra weight to bring this thirty-something "singleton" to life. Bridget Jones's Diary is full of supposedly adult, professional girls hooking up with the wrong guys at work, listening to the same Van Morrison song, and making embarrassing, public declarations of love.

To its credit, Bridget Jones's Diary doesn't stop there. Bridget fumbles into a bit of success on the job and observes her parents working through their own relationship issues. These real-life moments elevate a film that, like its heroine, desperately wants to be loved. Zellweger's efforts aren't entirely wasted, but I don't fall in love so easily. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

THE BROTHERS -- (Grade: C) With The Brothers, writer/director Gary Hardwick has given us what he knows. Unfortunately, what he knows is too familiar. The Brothers feels like the next installment of The Best Man, The Wood and love jones. Its drama of African-American men-in-midlife-crisis is something we've seen many times before. The casting of recognizable faces -- Morris Chestnut and Bill Bellamy as two of the four leads, with D. L. Hughley and Shemar Moore rounding out the titular quartet -- fuels this sense of dejà vu. There is nothing brave or new about a movie where each character's major flaw is explored and resolved before the toast in the final moments. Adding further insult is a soundtrack that sells songs never heard during the movie. -- t.t. clinkscales (Rated R.)

CAST AWAY -- (Grade: B) Director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) re-teams with Tom Hanks for a challenging, Robinson Crusoe-like tale. Granted, the film's set-up is rather ordinary. As FedEx troubleshooter Chuck Noland, Hanks sets out to portray a man ruled by time and schedules. Despite Hanks' earnestness, one never gets a firm grasp of Noland's psyche. It's up to Hanks' average Joe personality to pull us into his drama.

The highlight of Cast Away is its middle act where Hanks becomes the star of a one-man show. It's these mostly dialogue-free scenes, where Noland is trying to survive alone on a desert island after his plane crashes, that make the most dramatic impact.

In an era where the Crusoe legend is defined by TV's Survivor, Zemeckis and Hanks offer a thoughtful alternative. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON -- (Grade: A) Breathtaking action, incredible stunts, spectacular landscapes and a childlike sense of make-believe lifts director Ang Lee's Taiwanese epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the level of a fairy tale. Set among ornate palaces, teaming Peking streets and rural villages, the film evolves into a martial arts Western that's both poetic and spiritual.

Warrior Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) is yearning to leave his fighting lifestyle behind, but when a young thief, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), steals Li's ancient sword, Green Destiny, Li gets pulled back into his warrior ways. Only Lu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), Li's longtime friend, looks capable of helping return Green Destiny from Jen and her mentor Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei).

Although working in the action genre, Lee once again emphasizes rich characters, substantial storytelling and humanistic ideals. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is momentous not because of the size of its spectacle. It's timeless because of the size of its heart.-- SR (Rated PG-13.)

THE DISH -- (Grade: B) Director Rob Sitch's heartwarming comedy The Dish takes a humorous look back to July 1969 and Australia's role in the Apollo 11 moon mission. NASA had intended to use a radio telescope in California as its prime receiver for televising Neil Armstrong's historical moonwalk. But a last-minute change in the Apollo 11 flight schedule rendered the California telescope ineffective and the Aussie dish became NASA's only hope for broadcasting man's first steps on the moon.Sam Neill plays Cliff Buxton, leader of the Australian radio telescope crew. When disaster strikes the Australian telescope, it's up to Buxton to make sure that Armstrong's moonwalk will be seen around the world.

The Dish possesses the type of easygoing storytelling necessary to make a feel-good movie. Alongside the laughs and retro soundtrack, there are themes about human loss and scientific achievement. What's even more unique is The Dish captures America's great scientific achievement and recreates it with an Australian point of view.

Ultimately, The Dish proves that feel-good comedy can also be part of the independent film movement. For those art house audiences looking for something gritty, The Dish turns out to be a warm and fuzzy surprise. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

DOWN TO EARTH -- (Grade: F) American Pie co-creators Chris and Paul Weitz tweak Warren Beatty's 1978 romance Heaven Can Wait into a one-joke social satire about a struggling black comedian who dies and returns to Earth as a white millionaire. The sorry target of the Weitz Boys' derivative comedy is real-life comedian Chris Rock. As Lance Barton, a Brooklyn bicycle messenger with show-biz aspirations, Rock receives the brunt of Down To Earth's laughless storytelling.It's a stretch for Rock to play a struggling comedian. He's just too naturally funny. Still, Down To Earth manages to make Rock look clumsy in comparison to his real-life self. Dressed in a clownish wardrobe of golf pants and a sweater, it's clear that Rock has just been bamboozled by one awful comedy. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

ENEMY AT THE GATES -- (Grade: C) It's ironic that the most expensive European film ever made is only half a movie. Enemy at the Gates is at times a wonderful, epic war film and at other times a hackneyed, disjointed mess. It's sad to see, because the film, as it stands, is the start of something beautiful. Comparisons to Saving Private Ryan are a bit overboard, but it's still far better than The Thin Red Line.

Jude Law stars as Vassilli Zaitsev, a Russian farm boy whisked away to war when his talents at marksmanship give the Russian army something to boast. Ed Harris is Maj. Konig, a German sharpshooter sent to Stalingrad to stop him. (Great casting, by the way. Harris has such interesting eyes.)

You'd think a foreign-made film would pay more attention to the actors' accents, which are lazy at best. You'd also hope for a non-Hollywood ending. Blame must go to French director Jean-Jacques Annaud. He must still be thinking about ways to trim Seven Years in Tibet. -- RP (Rated R.)

GET OVER IT -- (Grade: D) Once arty Miramax delivers another lame-o teen comedy, this time without the services of doofus Freddie Prinze Jr. In director Tommy O'Haver's Get Over It, perky Kirsten Dunst plays matchmaker for her lovelorn male bud (Ben Foster). Inevitably, they start to notice each other as more than friends.

O'Haver mixes together an attractive young cast and an indie soundtrack to no avail. Get Over It is the least original of the current wave of teen comedies. -- SR (Rated PG-13.).

THE GOLDEN BOWL -- (Grade: D) This lush adaptation of the Henry James novel has all the period details one comes to expect from a Merchant Ivory production. The period costumes and European locales are stunning. Every member of its ensemble cast (Uma Thurman, Nick Nolte, Kate Beckinsale) delivers dialogue with appropriately stuffy accents. Everything is so Renaissance. But The Golden Bowl's drama about an American expatriate (Thurman) and her Italian lover (Jeremy Northam) who marry other people for money never rises above the level of a luxurious soap opera. Without an engaging lead performance from Thurman or the type of bitter class commentary that heightened Terrence Davies' Edith Wharton adaptation The House of Mirth, this production remains a lulling exercise in costume-drama aesthetics. -- SR (Rated R.)

JOURNEY INTO AMAZING CAVES -- (Grade: B) Cavers Nancy Aulenbach and Hazel Barton put an adventurous face on microbiology in the rousing OMNIMAX film Journey Into Amazing Caves. All the OMNIMAX tricks are tossed into this family-friendly nature documentary about exploring the Earth's underground frontiers. Actor Liam Neeson provides celebrity narration. The Moody Blues supply a soundtrack appropriate for aging baby boomers. Endless tracking shots take audiences over canyons, rain forests and icy tundra in dizzying fashion. Anything less stomach-churning would be considered a disappointment. -- SR (Unrated.)

KINGDOM COME -- (Grade: D) Playing the Slocumb family matriach, Whoopi Goldberg is the pillar of dramatic stability in director Doug McHenry's chaotic ensemble comedy. In a film that frequently seems desperate for a laugh, Goldberg's cool demeanor is a welcome shot of comic subtlety. L.L. Cool J, Anthony Anderson, Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A. Fox are the children in the oddball Slocumb family who return for the funeral of their mean daddy Woodrow "Bud" Slocumb. Inevitably, they get on each other's nerves.

Based on the play Dearly Departed, Kingdom Come flaunts its army of dysfunctional characters in the spirit of Robert Altman. But like many Altman films, Kingdom Come also struggles to connect its loose threads in time for a comedic payoff. The film's storytelling quickly dissolves into shrill hysterics. It makes one wish that McHenry would have paid more attention to Goldberg's restraint. -- SR (Rated PG.)

A KNIGHT'S TALE -- (Grade: B) A Knight's Tale begins with the unexpected death of a veteran knight. Squire William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) doesn't hesitate to put on the deceased knight's armor and take his place in the jousting tournament. It's a life-changing opportunity the would-be knight refuses to ignore.Writer/director Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of L.A. Confidential) infuses what appears at first glance to be an ordinary boyhood costume adventure with fun-loving verve, modern-day attitude and a surprising 1980s Rock soundtrack.

It's a testament to Helgeland's clever storytelling that the film's medieval/modern-day scramble works so well. It's safe to say that A Knight's Tale would be trite and kitschy in another director's hands. Instead, Helgeland appropriates wisely from past costume spectacles like Gladiator and The Adventures of Robin Hood. The result is a spirited and light-hearted film.

Still, A Knight's Tale ultimately belongs to Ledger's boyish hero. It's impressive how he is able to keep Helgeland's sprawling costume epic focused on its human story. Without a compelling hero, a film like A Knight's Tale would quickly unravel. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

THE LUZHIN DEFENCE (Grade: B)-- Set in the late 1920s at an Italian Lakes resort, The Luzhin Defence follows the unlikely romance between society beauty Natalia (Emily Watson) and the shy and clumsy Luzhin (John Turturro), a chess Grand Master. Everything looks destined for happiness when Natalia immediately falls in love with Luzhin, much to the chagrin of her socialite mother. But Luzhin's life begins to crumble under the struggle to beat a long-time challenger in the resort's chess tournament.

Director Marleen Gorris brings this adaptation of the Vladimir Nabokov story to life with plenty of period opulence. Watson is appropriately subtle as a woman hoping to save her troubled lover. But The Luzhin Defence ultimately belongs to Turturro. In his hands, the clichéd character of the idiot savant becomes something complex, emotionally damaged and thoroughly compelling. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

MEMENTO -- (Grade: A) Director Christopher Nolan's stylish thriller is a moviemade puzzle that keeps getting better each time I watch the film. What's astounding is how Nolan makes sense out of a narrative whirlwind of friends, foes and shadowy locales. Guy Pearce is riveting as Leonard Shelby, a man desperate to avenge his wife's brutal murder. But there is something odd about Shelby. He wears expensive suits and drives a Jaguar. Yet, he also lives in fleabag motels and pays for everything with a thick wad of cash. Shelby's problem is that he suffers from a rare affliction of short-term memory loss. Basically, Shelby is incapable of remembering what happened 15 minutes ago. With the help of photographs, charts, notes and tattoos across his body, Shelby tries to find his wife's murderer.

Carrie-Anne Moss offers gritty support as a femme fatale who appears at Shelby's side. Joe Pantoliano is even creepier as a supposed friend with a shady purpose.

Watched earlier at festivals in Toronto and Sundance, it's clear that Memento ultimately belongs to Pearce and his obsessive habits. He's the intense soul of Nolan's clever memory thriller. -- SR (Rated R.)

MOULIN ROUGE -- (Grade: A) Right from the start, it's evident that MoulinRouge sets out to push cinema's storytelling boundaries. For director Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge is a triumphant reinterpretation of Golden Age Hollywood musicals. Although his film tells a familiar story, Lurhmann combines old-fashioned melodrama, operatic staging and a Pop-influenced soundtrack into a hip and frenetic package that's appealing to today's techno-influenced moviegoers.

Moulin Rouge offers audiences a roller-coaster perspective of its colorful Parisian nightclub. The cameras never stop moving. It's difficult to determine specifically where Moulin Rouge gets all of its energy. Ewan McGregor, playing a young writer named Christian who has come to Paris to experience the bohemian revolution, captures the shyness and emotional clumsiness that's appropriate for a love-struck poet. As the film's whirling dervish in red curls, Nicole Kidman is equally sexy and funny as the vamping Satine. There's no doubt that her comic sass is the spark that keeps Moulin Rouge running at full speed. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

THE MUMMY RETURNS -- (Grade: D) Everybody runs in writer/director Stephen Sommers' silly update of Boris Karloff's archaeological villain. Adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) runs from giant bugs and mummified warriors. O'Connell's Egyptologist wife, Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), dodges a 3,000-year-old reincarnated royal (Patricia Velasquez). O'Connell's desert friend Ardeth Bay (Oded Fehr) sidesteps an army of undead jackals. All of them run from a supernatural creepie called The Scorpion King (played by WWF Wrestling Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). The Mummy Returns is one of those computer-generated blockbusters disinterested in taking the time to develop characters, build dramatic suspense or tell a substantial story. In a tale set eight years after Sommers' first Mummy adventure, O'Connell and Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) face new dangers when their long-time foe Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) is resurrected at London's British Museum. Rick and Evelyn are now parents of a young son named Alex (Freddie Boath). But these husband-and-wife adventurers have no interest in hiring a babysitter. For the O'Connells, saving the world becomes a family affair.

Sommers tosses out every computer-generated trick in a desperate attempt to compensate for his film's threadbare storytelling. Granted, some of the effects in The Mummy Returns are spectacular. But the best moment in The Mummy Returns arrives early in the movie. O'Connell and friends ride a speeding double-decker bus through the London streets in a desperate attempt to escape a pack of reanimated mummies. If the rest of the film only matched that early scene's intensity, Sommers could claim a film that's as entertaining as it is box-office friendly. -- SR (Rated PG-13.)

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? -- (Grade: C) Over the last 15 years, the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) have created a unique cinematic universe. With O Brother, Where Art Thou? the brothers once again display their distinct talents, but with much less success.

When the story begins, Ulysses (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) have just escaped from a chain gang in '30s Mississippi. We then follow the trio through a variety of set pieces; everything from the cutting of a hit record under the moniker, "The Soggy Bottom Boys" to an encounter with Babyface Nelson (Michael Badalucco) to the sabotage of a KKK rally. All of these plot twists unfold with little interest in creating a substantial narrative. The complex story lines of their past films (Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, Fargo) are sorely lacking in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Longtime Coen cinematographer Roger Deakins is once again enlisted, and his services help immensely. But even Deakins can't overcome a miscast Clooney and the continued insistence of the Coens to stick to their increasingly ironic stance. Oh yeah, it's based on Homer's Odyssey. -- Jason Gargano (Rated PG-13.)

PEARL HARBOR -- (Grade: D) Director Michael Bay pushes the special-effects envelope with this ultra-budget look at the day that lives in infamy. Yet, despite all the money, time and effort, Bay has made an over-the-top failure we've seen before. Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnett are the young faces who add a romantic triangle to the explosive histrionics. It's to Affleck's acting credit that he stands equal to the film's frequent explosions. By comparison, Beckinsale and Hartnett are transparent.

It's clear that Bay and screenwriter Randall Wallace emphasize wartime spectacle over romance and human drama. But Pearl Harbor is even disappointing as an action blockbuster.-- SR (Rated PG-13.)

POKÉMON 3 -- (Grade: C) The subtitle for this film is Spell of the Unown. Boy, that's an understatement. I remain baffled at how incomprehensible these 21st-century kids films have become. In Pokémon 3, a little girl stumbles across the mysterious Unown Pokémon, who turns her world into an altered reality by reading her mind. Inevitably, stand-by hero Ash, with lots of help from his friends and Pokémon posse, saves the day.

Fan favorite Pikachu and his new friend Pichu star in a short that's more confusing than the feature film. Still, judging by the young audience's reaction, logic and plot mean nothing in these Pokémon movies. -- RP (Rated G.)

RECESS: SCHOOL'S OUT -- (Grade: B) What does this say about the world we live in when kids' movies like Recess are far and away more intelligent than teen/young adult movies? Perhaps the "dumbing down" of America is more accelerated than we thought. Recess is a fun, tight little movie. It moves quickly, packing in loads of mostly innocuous jokes that are worth a few chuckles. Unlike any family film since Chicken Run, Recess appeals to both targeted generations. Any kids' film featuring a Classic Rock soundtrack, a '60s flashback and James Woods is bound to keep parents entertained.But the plot is all for kids. While the whole gang (the same one from the Saturday morning Recess cartoon) is enjoying summer vacation, an evil genius (James Woods) is cooking up a global-freezing scheme to end summer vacation forever. It's, of course, up to TJ (voice of Andy Lawrence) and his ethnically and socially diverse pals to save the day.

The animation quality falls somewhere between Beavis and Butthead and King of the Hill, but the writing is better than either. Its refusal to simply be a kids' flick is what ultimately saves it. -- RP (Rated G.)

SAVE THE LAST DANCE -- (Grade: C) It's Romeo and Juliet 'n the hood. Uprooted from her home, Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) loses her mother and her will to dance when she moves to inner-city Chicago to stay with her father. Not only does she have to make new friends, Sara has to adapt to life as a minority in her predominantly black school.

Save the Last Dance just tries too hard, attempting to be too many things at the same time. It's reasonably inspiring. When Sara takes the stage for her Juilliard audition, even the most cynical filmgoer secretly roots for her.

But why in a movie celebrating racial diversity would the white character ever so slowly through the course of the film become black? She stops dressing "cool" and starts "lookin' slamming." By film's end, Sara is one fly white girl.

Stiles is good, showing considerable emotional and physical range for her age. Sean Patrick Thomas as suitor Derek Reynolds is even better. Derek needs to be charismatic and dynamic and Thomas is both. He holds the film together, even while the script strays from its intended path. -- RP (Rated PG-13.)

SHREK -- (Grade: A) In directors Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson's Shrek, the role of the handsome prince is switched to something ugly and green. Everything about Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) screams, "Blech!" It's what one expects from a Scottish ogre. In the school of animated heroes, Shrek is intentionally unorthodox. The adventure starts when the laughable villain Lord Farquaad (voice of John Lithgow) sends Shrek and his unlikely friend, a talking donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy), to rescue Princess Fiona (voice of Cameron Diaz) to bring her back to be Farquaad's bride. Of course, Shrek doesn't realize Fiona is cursed with a magic spell.

Lifelike computer imagery courtesy of the engineers at Pacific Data Images (the company who made Antz) gives Shrek a stylish edge over its animated peers.

Shrek takes full advantage of every satirical opportunity with parodies that run the gamut from Grimm's Fairy Tales and The Dating Game to Gladiator and big-time wrestling. Some of Shrek's best gags lie with its pokes at the Disney mythos.

Fractured or otherwise, Shrek is still a fairy tale at heart. That matters end "happily ever after" is a dramatic given. Shrek just happens to give the time-honored phrase a playful jab in the ribs. -- SR (Rated PG.)

SPY KIDS -- (Grade: B) There is a valuable lesson tucked alongside the chases, explosions and gadgetry of writer/director Robert Rodriguez's rousing family adventure Spy Kids. Beneath the surface of a tranquil family life, a child can discover great adventure. He'll also find the hero inside himself.

Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) and his big sister Carmen (Alexa Vega) can't believe that their parents Ingrid and Gregorio (Carla Gugino and Antonio Banderas) are secret agents. After Gregorio and Ingrid's first assignment in nine years places them in the clutches of an evil genius (Alan Cumming), it's up to Juni and Carmen to become junior James Bonds and save their parents.

Banderas and Gugino make an attractive pair of secret agents. But Spy Kids ultimately succeeds thanks to the bravery of its pint-sized heroes, Sabara and Vega.

In fact, the only letdown is that a junior agent adventure like Spy Kids proves incapable of producing a Bond-like finale of over-the-top explosions and outrageous stunts. Still, Spy Kids did borrow one important detail from the Bond movie handbook. Its closing scene sets up the next Spy Kids adventure. -- SR (Rated PG.)

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA -- (Grade: C) Pierce Brosnan steps away from his 007 character to play Brit spy Andy Osnard in director John Boorman's unsatisfying adaptation of John Le Carre's The Tailor of Panama.Brosnan is wonderfully creepy as Le Carre's corrupt spy boy who plots political chaos for the Panamanian government and its newfound ownership of the Panama Canal. Geoffrey Rush bumbles admirably as the well-connected tailor with his own closet full of skeletons. But The Tailor of Panama soon falters despite the efforts of its male leads. A clumsy finale makes it clear that Boorman re-shot the film's ending after poor test screenings. Still, it's hard to imagine how The Tailor of Panama could possibly be more disappointing. Boorman has given us an adult spy thriller that simultaneously closes the door on the adult spy thriller. Somehow, I don't think that was his intention. -- SR (Rated R.)

TOMCATS -- (Grade: D) You have to at least respect a film that wears its erection on its sleeve as proudly as Tomcats does. But the problem with Tomcats and most teen sex-comedies is that it emphasizes too much sex and too little comedy. And what little comedy offered up is so broad and sophomoric that it elicits groans instead of chuckles. A group of guys who call themselves the Tomcats make a pledge at a friend's wedding that they won't ever get married. To make it interesting, they decide to kick in money so the last bachelor standing wins all the cash. That cash would come in handy when Michael Delaney (Jerry O'Connell) finds himself buried in debt. He conspires with feisty Natalie Parker (Shannon Elizabeth) to get his last single friend hitched.

There are some good moments in the film, notably American Beauty and Mission:Impossible 2 parodies. O'Connell is also quite good as the fool in love.

But Tomcats suffers from a common ailment these days: lack of wit. -- RP (Rated R.)

TRAFFIC -- (Grade: A) Its cross-country array of locales gives Traffic, director Steven Soderbergh's complex, drug-trade thriller, the visual quality of an epic drama. Traffic flips nimbly from a courthouse in Columbus to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, from crack houses in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine to upscale homes in La Jolla, Calif., and ultimately, the White House itself.

An extensive ensemble cast helps Soderbergh tell his complex story. Michael Douglas is the big name as conservative Ohio State Supreme Court Justice, Robert Wakefield, but it's Benicio Del Toro who grabs hold of Traffic's dramatic spotlight as conflicted Tijuana cop, Javier Rodriquez.

Sharp, stylish, and well spoken, Traffic is rightfully a Soderbergh film. In an era best represented by mindless blockbusters, Traffic is literate and substantial, a political drama that thrives on screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's script. -- SR (Rated R.)

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