Reviews and ratings of feature films.

Byline: Terry Lawson

AUTO FOCUS

2

Greg Kinnear gives a fine performance in an otherwise pointless film as Bob Crane, the clean-cut "Hogan's Heroes" star whose obsession with sex and porn may have led to his brutal murder. Rated R; sexual situations, nudity, language, violence. 1 hour, 44 minutes.

BARBERSHOP

2

This surprisingly sentimental urban comedy starring rapper Ice Cube takes some unwelcome side trips into slapstick. Yet its focus on relationships in a barbershop on Chicago's South Side places it a cut above, as Cube's third-generation owner must decide whether to stay or sell. Rated PG-13; language, sexual content. 1 hour, 42 minutes.

_John Monaghan

BELOW

2

From the director of "Pitch Black," this ghost story set in the claustrophobic confines of a World War II submarine does its own diving in the second half. But it still may be see-worthy for its period atmosphere, solid performances and the appearance of Muskegon's USS Silversides. Rated R; violence, language. 1 hour, 45 minutes.

_John Monaghan

BLOODY SUNDAY

4

A documentary-like depiction of the violence that erupted in 1972 when an Irish solidarity match in Londonderry went horribly awry with help from frightened British solders, whose bullets would kill 14 people. This is the movie "Black Hawk Down" wanted to be. Not rated; violence, language. 1 hour, 37 minutes.

BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE

3

Pugnacious provocateur Michael Moore makes his best film yet with a stroll down the rabbit hole of U.S. gun culture, playing Bugs Bunny to a forest of Elmer Fudds in a satirical and on-target documentary. Rated R; violence, language.

BROWN SUGAR

3

Director Rick Famuyiwa's love for hip-hop provides some needed ballast for this romantic comedy starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan as best friends who bonded over their love for hip-hop as kids. Now he's a top record producer and she's a magazine editor and author, but something's missing in both their beautiful lives: Could it be each other? Rated PG-13; sexual situations, language. 1 hour, 49 minutes.

CIRCUIT

2

A gay Midwestern cop moves to West Hollywood and gets involved in its legendary party scene, including the controversial circuit parties that pinball across the country. Like most movies about the pitfalls of sex and drugs, the movie can't help but get off on the skin, glitz and tragic melodrama that go along with them. Not rated; nonstop sex, language, drug use. 2 hours.

_John Monaghan

COMEDIAN

3

A funny, insightful and informative documentary following Jerry Seinfeld as he attempts to put together an hour's worth of new material for his concert performances. Rated R; language. 1 hour, 21 minutes.

8 WOMEN

3

French director Francois Ozon follows his emotionally devastating drama "Under the Sand" with a bubbly palate-cleanser, a retro cocktail that shakes up 1930s women's pictures with Agatha Christie drawing-room whodunits and adds a dash of the phoniest of Technicolor musicals. Rated R; sexual situations, language. 1 hour, 53 minutes. In French with English subtitles.

THE FAST RUNNER

3

An award winner at Cannes and Toronto, the first Inuit feature is a mostly mesmerizing story of an Inuit tribe out to rid itself of a decades-old curse in icy northern Canada. At nearly three hours, the mix of "Nanook of the North" and Shakespearean tragedy can be plodding, but you won't have another movie experience like it this year. Not rated; nudity, sexual situations, violence. 2 hours, 52 minutes. In Inuktitut with English subtitles.

_John Monaghan

FEMME FATALE

1

A sexy jewel thief turned ambassador's wife (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) is forced to return to Paris where the accomplices she double-crossed await, in a ludicrous thriller from Brian De Palma. Rated R; sexual situations, nudity, violence, language. 1 hour, 51 minutes.

FORMULA 51

1

Expect some chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson as a kilt-wearing drug inventor and Robert Carlyle ("Trainspotting") as his wise-guy escort in …