About 28 hours after viewing "28 Weeks Later ...," I woke up sweating, staring hungrily at my arm through scarlet eyeballs, and babbling, "No more reviews! No more reviews! No more. ..."   '28 WEEKS LATER ...' - Rose Byrne hides from her attackers in the sci-fi thriller '28 Weeks Later ...' CNS Photo courtesy of Fox Atomic. But that passed. And in less than 28 days, "28 Weeks Later ..." will have fallen into the compost ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES   'SPIDER-MAN 3' - Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man 3.' CNS Photo courtesy of Peter Lovino. SPIDER-MAN 3 - By the Big Three "event" criteria, "Spider-Man 3" qualifies: 1) It cost a lot; 2) It will earn a lot; 3) Hype matches 1 and 2. You can skip all the merchandising and avoid saying "Spidey" but still have a good time with "Spider-Man 3." It's a dynamic Spider-Man movie. The first sequel ... [full story]

"Lucky You" has (lucky us) Drew Barrymore, now looking more woman than girl, yet still the cutest star on fizzy tap, still a honey of charm, still graced by that glorious chin.   'LUCKY YOU' - Drew Barrymore and Eric Bana try to beat the odds in the romantic drama 'Lucky You.' CNS Photo courtesy of Merie W. Wallace. But "Lucky You" is a Barrymore film sort of like "The Hustler" was a Piper Laurie picture. Both ... [full story]

By the Big Three "event" criteria, "Spider-Man 3" qualifies: 1) It cost a lot; 2) It will earn a lot; 3) Hype matches 1 and 2.   'SPIDER-MAN 3' - Kirsten Dunst returns as Mary Jane Watson and Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man star in the action movie 'Spider-Man 3.' CNS Photo courtesy of Peter Lovino.  Such movies arrive with distortion factors. People may get their hopes and responses so jiggered by those inflation factors that determining just ... [full story]

Wrestling star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin can't act. His compensation, at least in "The Condemned," is that he can't be killed. As Riley, a federal undercover agent and commando so bulky he could only go undercover in a titanic black hole, Austin is roped in with other "Death Row contestants from Third World prisons" for a "reality" snuff program. Much as in the wittier Japanese film "Battle Royale," they're dropped on an obscure Asian island ... [full story]

String theory postulates that - among other things I won't go into because this is the only thing I know about string theory - ours is but one of many universes. Furthermore, the future is continually fracturing into an infinite number of alternative universes.   'NEXT' - Nicolas Cage is the man with special cognitive abilities who is brought in to help the FBI thwart a nuclear terrorist threat in 'Next.'. CNS Photo courtesy of Joseph ... [full story]

When an actor becomes so imperial in evil authority as Anthony Hopkins in "The Silence of the Lambs," that can distort his career. Charles Laughton never quite shook off Capt. Bligh, and Peter Lorre was chased through his American movies by the chill Germanic shadow of "M."   'FRACTURE' - Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins star in the suspense thriller 'Fracture.' CNS Photo courtesy of Sam Emerson. Hopkins' wonderfully decent work post-"Silence" in films like "The Human ... [full story]

Something very pleasant happened the other night as I was watching the train wreck of a romantic comedy "Because I Said So" (Universal, 1 1/2 stars): I accidentally turned off the DVD player. Rather than try to find my place in the movie again, I turned in for the night. It hurts to say this because I can't recall a Diane Keaton movie in which I haven't fallen in love with her all over again. ... [full story]

Do I really have to tell you that "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks/Paramount, 4 stars), available on DVD this week, was one of the most popular movies in theaters last year? I don't think so.   'DREAMGIRLS' - Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell, Beyonce Knowles as Deena and Jennifer Hudson as Effie (left to right) star in 'Dreamgirls.' CNS Photo courtesy of David James.  DVD RATINGS 4 stars: Don't miss: rent it/buy it 3 stars: Worth the risk: rent it ... [full story]

NEW RELEASES   'HOT FUZZ' - Simon Pegg plays Sgt. Nicholas Angel in the comedy cop movie 'Hot Fuzz.' CNS Photo courtesy of Matt Nettheim. HOT FUZZ - Cuteness needs to stay cute. Turning blatant, it crams in cutes like "Hot Fuzz." Of course, the title of this British comedy indicates that we will not get another "Kind Hearts and Coronets." And the Brits do have a tradition of broad comedy, as anyone can attest who knows ... [full story]

Cuteness needs to stay cute. Turning blatant, it crams in cutes like "Hot Fuzz."   'HOT FUZZ' - Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play British officers in the comedy movie 'Hot Fuzz.' CNS Photo courtesy of Matt Nettheim. Of course, the title of this British comedy indicates that we will not get another "Kind Hearts and Coronets." And the Brits do have a tradition of broad comedy, as anyone can attest who knows of Benny Hill or ... [full story]

When Matthew Broderick hacked into his high school's computer system in "WarGames" and changed Ally Sheedy's biology grade, it was downright thrilling: There was Broderick, hunched over the keyboard, Sheedy peering over his shoulder. Close-up on the keys! All that mysterious tap-tap-tapping! On his screen, a blinking cursor moved to the D; a tap of a key, and it became a B.   'PERFECT STRANGER' - Halle Berry plays a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with suspected ... [full story]

God may save the queen, but director Stephen Frears went a long way toward restoring her reputation with his drama "The Queen" (Buena Vista, 4 stars). And he had a great deal of help from the laser-accurate and Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II by Helen Mirren. "The Queen" is a smartly speculative account of the week in 1997 in which Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Fayed were killed in an ugly crash in ... [full story]