ADAM SANDLER'S EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS Any critical goodwill Adam Sandler earned for Punch-Drunk Love will be negated by his participation in this animated feature for which he co-wrote the script, served as a producer, and voiced three of the central characters. Basically a frat-house version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, this shows how an anti-social slacker becomes a swell guy thanks to the efforts of a diminutive elderly man. As is par for the course, the movie turns faux-sentimental in time for the fadeout, but before that, we're subjected to the usual gross-out humor. The musical numbers (featuring lyrics like "I don't decorate no trees... But I'll give this old lady's melons a squeeze") are well-executed, but the movie's product placements travel far beyond the already shameful norm, as logos for (among others) Foot Locker and Victoria's Secret come alive to offer lectures on the meaning of Christmas. This corporate pimping is actually far more offensive than the scatological humor, which, had this been live-action rather than animated, would have earned the film an R rather than its benign PG-13 rating. 1/2

ANALYZE THAT With Robin Williams ceasing his whoring ways with the one-two punch of Insomnia and One Hour Photo, it's now squarely Robert De Niro who's doing his best to keep the world's oldest profession flourishing in Hollywood. In yet another take-the-paycheck-and-run example, the once respectable actor shamelessly mugs his way through a needless (not to mention unfunny) sequel to 1999's Analyze This. In this outing, his mob boss is released from prison into the care of his hapless psychiatrist (Billy Crystal) on the condition that he go straight, but it's not long before he's up to his arched eyebrows in gangland shenanigans. This sloppy sequel requires De Niro to gleefully mangle tunes from West Side Story and wave his "sausage" at middle-aged ladies, and it's impossible to feel anything but embarrassment for the actor. 1/2

ANTWONE FISHER "But what I really want to do is direct" is an age-old adage that has seemingly fallen from the lips of every Hollywood employee from screenwriter to key grip, but because of their clout, it's the members of the acting profession who get to realize this fantasy the most. The latest example is Denzel Washington; he doesn't do a damn thing fancy in his first at-bat behind the camera, and that turns out to be his strong suit. The screenplay's the story here, and Washington gets out of its way, letting his actors (including himself) relate it simply and honestly without feeling the need to gum it up with show-off stylistics. Antwone Fisher wrote the script, based on his own life story, and he and Washington luck out by having an engaging newcomer named Derek Luke handle the heavy lifting. This talented young actor gives his all in this drama about a troubled sailor whose anti-social behavior brings him into contact with a Navy psychiatrist (Washington) who eventually helps him get to the root of his emotional problems. Luke enjoys an easy rapport with his co-stars (his romantic interludes opposite the bright Joy Bryant are especially pleasing), and the film's Psychology Lite is effective enough that we buy into the satisfying resolution.

FAR FROM HEAVEN While many films sacrifice emotional investment for the sake of stylistic innovation and vice versa, this one fearlessly tackles both facets and emerges a winner on both fronts. In crafting what turns out to be one of the best films of the year, writer-director Todd Haynes (Safe) has made a glorious-looking picture that's almost fetishistic in its desire to replicate cult director Douglas Sirk's Technicolor-soaked melodramas from the 50s. Haynes pulls off this verisimilitude, yet he also nails the oversized emotions and barely repressed attitudes, resulting in one of the most affecting "weepies" of recent times. Julianne Moore, in what may endure as the performance of 2002, stars as a content housewife in 1957 Connecticut whose life starts to unravel once she discovers that her husband (Dennis Quaid) is a closeted homosexual and that she's feeling an attraction for her gentle black gardener (Dennis Haysbert). Foregoing any semblance of irony or camp or even dreamy nostalgia (traits that invariably affect any 50s-set flick made today), Haynes has instead come up with a straight-faced triumph that works as both a poignant love story and a piercing social commentary. I'm upping this a half-star from my original review, not only because the film has stuck with me more than any other 2002 release but also because it holds up beautifully on a second viewing.

GANGS OF NEW YORK There's no hemming and hawing on projects like Gangs of New York, those epic undertakings that result in inflated budgets, overlong shoots, studio bickering, and reams of newspaper copy predicting failure (see Apocalypse Now and Titanic). A quick answer is all but required by curious moviegoers: yes or no? In the case of Martin Scorsese's 170-minute achievement -- hell, yeah. The bad news for Miramax is that it's unlikely such a grim picture will make back its $100 million cost, especially at Christmastime. Instead, the studio will have to console itself with the fact that it has produced one of the year's most notable films, a historical drama that presents a compelling revenge yarn set against the backdrop of New York in the mid-19th century, with an explosive climax that brings the draft riots of 1863 to chilling life. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Amsterdam Vallon, a strong-willed kid who seeks to avenge the death of his father (Liam Neeson),the leader of a borough's immigrant crop, at the hands of "Bill the Butcher" (Daniel Day-Lewis), the brutal yet clever ruler of the "natives." It'd be a mistake to dismiss this as a period Death Wish -- there's genuine tension in Amsterdam's mission, and Scorsese and his crackerjack team spare no expense in immersing us in what amounts to a grungy hell on earth. DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz are both solid, yet it's Day-Lewis' riveting work in an unexpectedly complex role that puts New York over the top. 1/2

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Last year's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring proved to be one of those rare films that actually improves with each viewing; that may turn out to be the case with The Two Towers as well. After an initial watch, however, this second chapter doesn't quite match the majesty of its predecessor, though that's hardly meant as a knock -- a rousing, far-reaching spectacle of unlimited ambition, TTT scores on enough fronts to ensure that it will ice the rest of the holiday competition. But whereas Fellowship did a nice job of balancing quieter moments with the bombast, this installment is largely all action all the time, with the few expository scenes practically presented as asides (too many good actors -- Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Miranda Otto -- are given the short shrift in this outing); what's more, the movie doesn't deepen or expand the tale's themes as masterfully as The Empire Strikes Back added to Star Wars's mystique. But as a stirring story of unsullied heroism, it's a winner, and as an action epic, it features some of the best battle sequences ever created on film. And while the planned campaign to win a Supporting Actor Oscar for the CGI-created Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis) seems far-reaching, he turns out to be the best special effect in a movie crammed with them.

MAID IN MANHATTAN Maid In Manhattan obviously wants to be Jennifer Lopez's own monogrammed version of Pretty Woman, but the end product is more like Pretty Woeful. As far as actor-singers go, Lopez isn't rancid like, say, Madonna -- she hits her marks and conveys the proper emotions -- but as a vibrant on-screen personality, there's simply no there there, resulting in characters about as flavorful as tepid tap water. In Maid, she plays a hotel employee who, in one of those "mistaken identity" crises that were pulled off with more elan by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers back in the day, finds herself wooed by a compassionate Republican (or is that an oxymoron?) who erroneously believes she's another hotel guest. Ralph Fiennes plays this politician, and it's nice to see the tormented star of The English Patient and Red Dragon in a more relaxed mode; otherwise, this unimaginative effort moves with martinet precision through the usual cringe-worthy circumstances, including the expected moment where Lopez and her sisters-in-service shimmy to the Golden Oldie Flavor of the Month. In this case, it's Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out," though reaction to the movie itself brings to mind an earlier Ross tune: "Run, Run, Run." 1/2

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN Hardly the comprehensive Motown documentary that many music fans might be expecting, this is nevertheless terrific entertainment, an endlessly captivating movie that pays tribute to a group of largely unknown musicians known as The Funk Brothers. Basically Berry Gordy's "house band" during the heyday of the Detroit sound, these men backed up such Motown luminaries as Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as they produced hit after hit between 1959 and 1972. Director Paul Justman (miles removed from his first directing credit, something called T&A Academy 2) doesn't rely simply on talking heads, though in this instance that would have been entirely justified, given the rich anecdotes spun by the surviving musicians; instead, he mixes present-day interviews with archival photos, a few dramatic reenactments and footage from a recent concert in which most of the Funk Brothers reunited to play Motown classics fronted by the likes of Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins and Joan Osborne (soaring through a lovely version of "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted"). Gordy's rocky relationship with his employees is treated with kid gloves, but this is a mere quibble when juxtaposed against the film's utter success in bringing alive the music of Motown -- and the memories of the men who orchestrated its success behind the scenes. 1/2

STAR TREK: NEMESIS Devotees of Gene Roddenberry's baby will want to apply their own four-star rating to Star Trek: Nemesis, even more so since it's the first ST motion picture in four years and might be the final Enterprise outing to be produced for the big screen (much has been made of the poster's tagline, "A Generation's Final Journey Begins"). More casual fans, on the other hand, will likely find this 10th chapter in the sci-fi saga to be a diverting amusement that doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. If this is indeed the final flick, it goes out with neither a bang nor a whimper but somewhere in between: Draggy in some spots, exciting in others (the final half-hour especially delivers the goods), the plot concerns itself with the battle of wills between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart, commanding as always) and Shinzon (Tom Hardy), an enigmatic figure who turns out to be Picard's corrupt clone. In addition to returning as Data, Brent Spiner co-wrote the script with ST mainstay Rick Berman and Gladiator scribe John Logan, and the trio made sure to include several surprises for the Trekkie contingent, including a few cameos, a wedding between two principals, and an unexpected send-off for one major character. It's enough to keep the loyalists satisfied until somebody comes up with the next major Trek enterprise. 1/2