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Directed by Lewis Teague. Starring Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito, Avner Eisenberg, Spiros Focás, Hamid Fillali, Daniel Peacock, Paul David Magid, Holland Taylor. (PG)

"Romancing the Stone" sequel finds the relationship between Joan Wilder (Turner) and Jack Colton (Douglas) growing musty, but adventure and intrigue are on the horizon when North African ruler Focás recruits Joan to write her biography and they get caught up in a conflict with a rebel tribe, all of them fighting to get their hands on the much ballyhooed Jewel of the Nile. The spark of the original is dimmed this time out, with the plot working hard to manufacture ways to insert--and keep--Ralph (DeVito) into the story; a few good set pieces and the occasionally entertaining interplay between the stars hold interest, but it's not nearly as much fun watching them bicker as a frayed couple than it was when they were falling in love the first time. Eisenberg, as a holy man, has a deft, innocently amused style about him that can be delightful, but DeVito is forced to keep playing the same note over and over. Magid is a member of the juggling and comedy troupe The Flying Karamazov Brothers (also seen in an episode of "Seinfeld"); all of his brothers briefly appear alongside him as his onscreen brothers as well.

63/100

Directed by Otto Preminger. Starring Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Judith Anderson, Dorothy Adams.

Classic film noir with Tierney as the titular fixation, idealized by all who surround her, murdered under mysterious circumstances, with Andrews as the prosaic, no-nonsense detective assigned to the case...who finds himself falling under the young woman's elusive spell as well ("You'd better watch out or you'll finish up in a psychiatric ward...I doubt they've ever had a patient who fell in love with a corpse"). Style dominates substance, with Preminger's subtly sinister direction, David Raskin's famed score, Joseph LaShelle's Oscar-winning photography, and a handful of scintillating supporting performances deserving of praise; full of contrivances, to be sure, but that goes with the territory, and individual scenes are so full of perfectly pointed lines of dialogue that it was worth whatever effort was necessary to manufacture their appearance. Only considerable drawback: Tierney's lackluster performance, falling far short of the romanticized promise of her character (though few actresses could have possibly lived up to the encompassing hype); delicious turns from Price and (especially) Webb make up for it.

87/100

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. Starring Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Johnny Depp, Julianne Moore, CCH Pounder, Dan Hedaya, Oliver Platt, Joe Grifasi, William H. Macy. (PG-13)

Aggrieved mechanic Benny (Quinn) cares for his schizophrenic sister, Joon (Masterson), unwilling to abandon her to professional care and unable to pursue other relationships because his life is "complicated." Then, through a shamefaced contrivance, an illiterate social misfit named Sam (Depp)--with more than a passing interest in the genius of Buster Keaton--comes to live with them and becomes romantically involved with Joon. Well-meaning and touching at times; eschews the saccharine that would sink most similar pictures while nevertheless overdosing on the whimsy. The script conveniently glosses over harsher realities for the sake of precious moments and crowd-pleasing catharsis. Depp gets to dig deep into his sandbox of oddball mannerisms and has a few amusing moments (though most of his rehashed silent comedy bits do little besides remind just how brilliant the original stars were), but it's Quinn's journey that matters most--an otherwise thankless role, but he's the true heart of the story. Popularized the Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in the US, an appropriate soundtrack choice for the movie considering that it's both grating and irresistible.

59/100