Now here's a switcheroo: In a movie about a mild-mannered police photographer who is befriended by a swaggering gangster, Bill Murray plays the gangster and Robert De Niro plays the photographer. Directed by John McNaughton from a script by Richard Price, this comedy-drama has its moments but never quite lifts off. De Niro plays a shy type nicknamed Mad Dog who accidentally saves Murray's life. In gratitude, Murray "gives" him a girl, Glory (Uma Thurman), who is supposed to satisfy his needs and make him feel good. Instead, the photographer falls in love with her. When the gangster wants her back, the photographer says no, triggering an unlikely showdown. Murray is scarily funny as a mobster who wants to be a standup comic, but De Niro plays this nonentity as, well, a nonentity. Thurman is luminous; who wouldn't want to fight over her? —Marshall Fine

This is a surprising disappointment, considering it is the third film from director Danny Boyle, writer John Hodge, and actor Ewan McGregor. This disjointed and strained romantic comedy is not even near the same league as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. Cameron Diaz is a spoiled heiress and McGregor an aimless janitor brought together by two angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) hoping to hang onto their wings. McGregor kidnaps Diaz, the boss's daughter, after being fired from his crummy job. She is not all that averse to being snatched. Most of the laughs are lost to a scattershot story that feels preposterous instead of magical. —Rochelle O'Gorman

Italy's rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes the impossible in his World War II comedy Life Is Beautiful: he shapes a simultaneously hilarious and haunting comedy out of the tragedy of the Holocaust. An international sensation and the most successful foreign language film in U.S. history, the picture also earned director-cowriter-star Benigni Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. He plays the Jewish country boy Guido, a madcap romantic in Mussolini's Italy who wins the heart of his sweetheart (Benigni's real-life sweetie, Nicoletta Braschi) and raises a darling son (the adorable Giorgio Cantarini) in the shadow of fascism. When the Nazis ship the men off to a concentration camp in the waning days of the war, Guido is determined to shelter his son from the evils around them and convinces him they're in an elaborate contest to win (of all things) a tank. Guido tirelessly maintains the ruse with comic ingenuity, even as the horrors escalate and the camp's population continues to dwindle—all the more impetus to keep his son safe, secure, and, most of all, hidden. Benigni walks a fine line mining comedy from tragedy and his efforts are pure fantasy—he accomplishes feats no man could realistically pull off—both of which have drawn fire from a few critics. Yet for all its wacky humor and inventive gags, Life Is Beautiful is a moving and poignant tale of one father's sacrifice to save not just his young son's life but his innocence in the face of one of the most evil acts ever perpetrated by the human race. —Sean Axmaker

N'ayant connu le succès que tardivement, une fois sorti en vidéo, Karmina, de Gabriel Pelletier, est un film injustement méconnu, une hilarante "comédie de vampires québécoise". Sur le point de se marier à l'immonde Vlad (Yves Pelletier), Karmina (Isabelle Cyr), une jeune et belle vampire, fuit sa Transylvanie natale, et se réfugie, à Montréal, chez une tante (France Castel), qui lui fait boire une potion permettant aux vampires de devenir humains pendant quelque temps. La "vampirette" s'éprend d'un jeune musicien (Robert Brouillette), mais l'abject Vlad débarque à l'aéroport de Mirabel, vampirise un douanier (Gildor Roy), et part sur les traces de sa future épouse. Ça va saigner !

De Polanski (Le Bal des vampires) à Molinaro (Dracula père et fils), vampirisme et humour ont souvent fait bon ménage. Coscénarisé, dialogué et interprété par Yves "RBO" Pelletier, Karmina est un film délicieux, à l'intrigue originale, à l'humour punché, aux gags délirants et aux personnages attachants. De la photo d'Éric Cayla à la musique de Patrick Bourgeois, en passant par les costumes de Denis Sperdouklis, les maquillages de Pierre Saindon et les décors de Normand Sarrazin, chaque aspect du film est irréprochable. Sous la direction assurée de Gabriel Pelletier (La Vie après l'amour), Karmina est une incursion très réussie (et trop rare au cinéma québécois) dans la comédie fantaisiste. —Éric Fourlanty

Attention, les vampires reviennent terroriser Montréal dans Karmina 2 ! Cette comédie d’horreur, signée Gabriel Pelletier (La Vie après l’amour), s’avère toutefois moins originale et poétique que le premier volet, devenu depuis sa sortie en vidéo une sorte de film-culte.

Cinq ans ont passé et les vampires vivent maintenant comme des humains, grâce à la potion préparée par le douanier québécois Ghislain Chabot (Gildor Roy). Après une chicane de ménage, son épouse névrosée (Diane Lavallée) lui vole la précieuse recette. Danger à l’horizon : Chabot appelle à l’aide Vlad Sanguinez (Yves Pelletier de feu Rock et Belles Oreilles), ce Dracula contemporain recyclé en fraudeur débauché. Le duo tentera tant bien que mal de récupérer le grimoire et de juguler la menace aux longues dents.

Malgré une brochette de personnages colorés (dont Julien Poulin en trafiquant véreux), de beaux costumes et des effets spéciaux honorables, Gabriel Pelletier ne réussit pas à rassasier le spectateur. À part Diane Lavallée, succulente en épouse délaissée devenue vampire méchante et sans scrupules, la plupart des acteurs se contentent d’un jeu plutôt caricatural. Si Karmina se voulait une jolie fable sur l’amour, le dernier volet s’apparente plutôt à une suite de sketches assemblés autour d’une intrigue prometteuse, mais mal exploitée. Dommage. —Julie Parent

Meg Ryan (YOU'VE GOT MAIL) and Hugh Jackman (X-MEN) are paired as star-crossed lovers who discover that passion and chivalry never go out of style! When a rip in time brings together a charming 19th century bachelor and a thoroughly 21st century woman, the potential for an old-fashioned modern romance ignites! Also starring Breckin Meyer (ROAD TRIP) and Liev Schreiber (SCREAM 3).

Michael Biehn plays a Seattle attorney who talks his friend, a physics instructor (Matt Craven), into joining a party with plans to climb the tallest and least accessible mountain in the world, K-2. Biehn's arrogant character immediately bumps noggins with the tour's leader (Raymond J. Barry) and the latter's strong-willed girlfriend (Patricia Charbonneau). But when various disasters begin to strike at the group, cooperation ensues, followed by assorted acts of heroism, friendship, and self-sacrifice under almost unimaginable conditions of lethal distress. Based on a play that examined the view on human values from a perch far above the world most of us know, K-2 surrounds that essential drama with extraordinary location footage. Director Franc Roddam (Quadrophenia) succeeds very well at turning a thoughtful piece into a fine action movie—and vice versa. —Tom Keogh

Patrick Braoudé fait endosser à Michael Youn le costume du célèbre héros de Tabary qui veut devenir calife à la place du calife. Une nouvelle adaptation de bande-dessinée reposant entièrement sur les épaules du trublion du PAF qui y met toute son énergie. Villeret, Kad et Olivier apportent quant à eux une large contribution comique à ce divertissement bon enfant.

L’édition collector propose une interactivité pharaonique (califesque pourrait-on dire) au travers de menus recherchés. Making-of, teasers et bandes annonces font place, sur le second disque, à une multitude de modules permettant de visiter l’envers du décor : rencontre entre Tabary et Youn, création des décors, effets visuels, costumes, musique et scènes coupées. - www.ecranlarge.com

Dix-sept ans plus tard, Denys Arcand retrouve les personnages du Déclin de l’empire américain dans un film très émouvant symbolisant le passage du flambeau entre les générations, et traitant d’un des plus grand tabous de la société occidentale : la mort. Gagnant d’un oscar, de six Génies, de trois Césars et de six Jutras, Les Invasions barbares a également brillé à Cannes, où le film a reçu le prix du scénario et Marie-Josée Croze, le prix d’interprétation.

The sequel to the wonderfully wacky Hot Shots! uses Rambo as its model for nonstop send-ups (though director Jim Abrahams can't resist inserting a Saddam Hussein lookalike, given the film's post-Gulf War release). This time, Lloyd Bridges, who was an admiral in the first movie, has become president (take that, Colin Powell!) and needs someone to take care of the threat posed by a certain mustached Middle Eastern dictator. Who better than ever-reliable Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen)? In addition to trying to take out Saddam commando-style, Topper must juggle two women: Valerie Golino, from the original, and CIA babe Brenda Bakke, who knows a thing or two about close-quarters combat. If anything, this may be funnier than the first. —Marshall Fine