Movie Minis

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• After the Sunset (2004) (PG-13) — A caper comedy-mystery with Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayak as diamond thieves in retirement on a Caribbean island. Though far from his jurisdiction, an FBI agent played by Woody Harrelson hopes to lure the couple into legal jeopardy with the prospect of a rare gem that got away, scheduled for display during an ocean cruise. Don Cheadle and Naomie Harris also have principal roles.

• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) (R) — The movie version of Helen Fielding’s follow-up novel to her enormously successful brainstorm, the diary of a lovelorn comic heroine in contemporary London. The plot of the original was designed to mirror Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” The sequel borrows aspects of “Persuasion.” Renee Zellweger returns in the title role, with Colin Firth as steady beau Mark Darcy, destined to be alienated for a spell, and Hugh Grant as returning snake in the grass Daniel Cleaver.

• Lightning in a Bottle (2004) (PG-13) — A concert documentary directed by Antoine Fuqua, who observes the preparations and final performances for a “Salute to the Blues” concert at Radio City Music Hall in February 2003.

• Seed of Chucky (2004) (R: Strong horror content, sexual situations and coarse language.) The doll that simply won’t die is back in the dubious horror franchise’s fifth installment. Chucky (Brad Dourif) and bride Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) are the proud parents of a doll baby who unfortunately might take after its parents. The original “Child’s Play” came out in 1988.

• Tarnation (2004) (No MPAA Rating — adult subject matter, consistent with the R category; occasional profanity, nudity and sexual candor; autobiographical content that emphasizes grotesque footage of aging or mentally disturbed relatives) — . The sort of vanity production now within the grasp of all shameless neurotics with video cameras and editing machines. Jonathan Caouette, a wayward homosexual youth from Texas who fled to New York in search of an elusive acting career, draws on an excruciating private archive of home movies and confessional videos that testify to his unstable heritage. Self-exposure doesn’t get much uglier. Exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema.

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• Alfie (2004) (R) — A remake of the 1966 British movie about a Cockney womanizer that confirmed Michael Caine’s stellar potential. The American writer-director Charles Shyer retains the Cockney characteristics while casting Jude Law as an Alfie transposed to New York City in the present. The protagonist still takes the audience directly into his confidence. The consorts include Jane Krakowski, Nia Long, Sienna Miller and Susan Sarandon. The source material is a play by Bill Naughton. Elaine Pope collaborated on the new screenplay.

• Being Julia (2004) (R: Sexuality; brief nudity) —**1/2. Annette Bening plays a vain and sulky but gradually sympathetic queen of West End theater in this whimsical high-fashion farce set in prewar London. Directed by Istvan Szabo. Also starring Jeremy Irons. Reviewed by Scott Galupo.

• Birth (2004) (R: Sustained morbid content; fleeting nudity and sexual candor, including an interlude of simulated intercourse; intimations of pedophilia) — . Nicole Kidman as a pixie-visaged and coifed widow named Anna is persuaded that a persistent, poker-faced 10-year-old boy is the second coming of her late husband. Given this starting point, could “Birth” fail to be a dilly? While wedding the prurient to the portentous and the insufferable, director Jonathan Glazer remains madly infatuated with his own stylistic bombast.

• Enduring Love (2004) (R: Occasional graphic violence, with gruesome illustrative details; occasional profanity; sexual candor mixed with morbidity) — **. An initially arresting and ultimately revolting movie adaptation of an Ian McEwan novel about the aftermath of a freak accident. Daniel Craig plays a psychology professor who sees a hot-air balloon gusting perilously across an Oxford meadow. He and three other strangers rush to help and one perishes from a fall when the machine becomes airborne again. The bravery of the impulses is canceled out when one of the bystanders, played by Rhys Ifans, begins stalking Mr. Craig, whom he seems to regard as a savior and then a love object. Few stories can boast of going this bughouse after a compelling start.

• Fade to Black (2004) (R) — A pop music concert documentary about a Madison Square Garden appearance by the hip-hop headliner Jay-Z in November 2003. Guest performers include Beyonce Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly and Foxy Brown. Not reviewed.

• Friday Night Lights (2004) (PG-13: Coarse language, teen drinking and violent sports action) — ***. Texans take their high school football very seriously, as viewers of the new “Friday Night Lights” soon find out. Billy Bob Thornton stars as a straight arrow couch trying to bring another championship to a small Texas town known for its gridiron heroes. “Lights” never glosses over the punishment the players face both on the field and from their neighbors and loved ones when the ball doesn’t bounce their way. The often exhilarating film is based on H.G. Bissinger’s book. Reviewed by Christian Toto.

• The Grudge (2004) (PG-13: Sustained ominous atmosphere; recurrent scenes of death or supernatural assault, with gruesome illustrative details; a demon child as a menace) —* . A remake of the Japanese horror thriller “Ju-On,” currently at the E Street Cinema. The same filmmaker, Takashi Shimizu, guided a predominantly American cast through the same plot while shooting in Japan with his regular crew. The results are predictably superfluous and monotonous. Sarah Michelle Gellar plays an exchange student who agrees to substitute for a nurse and finds herself in a severely haunted house. The unfortunate visitors include Bill Pullman, William Mapother, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall and Grace Zabriskie. Any building that makes noises or has a landing, stairwell, closet, attic, mirror, bathtub and wall space hospitable to shadow patterns is bound to be treacherous in Mr. Shimizu’s clammy grip.

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