Jane Alderman

Clint Eastwood's adaptation of the non-fiction book Flags of Our Fathers concerns the lives of the men in the famous picture of soldiers raising the American flag over Iwo Jima during that historic WWII battle. Battle scenes are intercut with footage of three of the soldiers - played by Ryan Phillipe, Jesse Bradford, and Adam Beach -- who survived the battle going on a goodwill tour of the United States in order to sell war bonds. Many evening they are forced to reenact their famous pose, something each of them finds more and more difficult to do as they suffer from survivor's guilt. Eastwood frames the story by having one of the men's grown son (Tom McCarthy) interview his father's old comrades in order to find out more about what happened to his father. Eastwood followed this film with Letters from Iwo Jima, a second film about the battle of Iwo Jima, but told from the Japanese perspective. Flags of Our Fathers was produced by Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Although undergoing a sex change is not as unusual a procedure as it once was in days gone by, it is still hardly an everyday occurrence -- especially in rural, conservative western Illinois, where Normal takes place. After 25 years of marriage, Roy Applewood (Tom Wilkinson) surprises his wife, Irma (Jessica Lange), by announcing that he'd rather be a woman, and in fact has felt like a woman for most of his adult life. As Roy undergoes the standard hormone and prosthetics process to transform himself into "Ruth," his sudden gender switch elicits shock, surprise, and anger from friends, family members, and co-workers alike -- but also is met with support and sympathy from a number of extremely unlikely sources. Tastefully produced and acted, the film wisely avoids shock value in its subject matter and condescension in its treatment of middle-America types. Directed by Jane Anderson, who also adapted the script from her own stage play Looking for Normal, the made-for-cable Normal premiered March 16, 2003, on HBO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this darkly comic film noir from writer/director David Atkins, Steve Martin revisits dentistry -- an occupation he'd explored 15 years prior, in the camp musical Little Shop of Horrors. Novocaine casts Martin as a much more mild-mannered D.D.S., Dr. Frank Sangster. Engaged to a prim and delicate hygienist, Jean (Laura Dern), Sangster leads a placid, upper-middle class existence, save for the occasional visit from his deadbeat artist brother Harlan (Elias Koteas). But Sangster finds his life turned inside out from the moment the alluring Susan (Helena Bonham Carter) plops down in his reclining vinyl chair: Complaining about her molars, she's really more interested in the refrigerator of narcotics the good dentist keeps on hand for his patients in pain. Once they manage to get Sangster's guard down, Susan and her brother (Scott Caan) rob him blind -- and worse yet, frame him for the theft. When a dead body turns up in Sangster's sleek suburban home, he finds that clearing his name will be a difficult proposition indeed. Novocaine marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Atkins, who first made his mark with the script for Emir Kusturica's oddball cult favorite Arizona Dream (1993). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

A detective is urged on by the lunatic he's trying to put behind bars in this crime thriller. Joel Campbell (James Spader) is a police detective who has recently relocated to Chicago after spending eight frustrating years trying to track down a vicious serial killer who has been terrorizing Los Angeles. However, the slayer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), doesn't want the game of cat and mouse to end; even though he previously put his murderous activities on hold, Griffin has started murdering young women again -- and is sending clues to Campbell, mailing him photos of his intended victims and urging Campbell to save them while he still can. Also starring Marisa Tomei, Ernie Hudson, and Chris Ellis, The Watcher was directed by Joe Charbanic. It marked Charbanic's first feature project after directing videos for a number of alternative rock groups, including Soul Coughing, Sonic Youth, and Reeves' band, Dogstar. The film was produced under the title Driven. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Martial arts hero Thomas Ian Griffith wrote, produced, and starred in this action thriller. Terry McCain (Griffith) is a Chicago police officer who is bent on revenge after his partners are killed by Mafia gunmen. McCain knows that he won't be able to get the justice he demands within the system, so he persuades his boss, Devlin (Lance Henriksen), to keep him off the list of suspects after he kills mob kingpin Sal DiMarco (Burt Young). McCain changes his mind about killing the crime boss, but someone else with a grudge guns down DiMarco instead; however, when he tries to meet with Devlin to explain what's happened, he's met by a squad of killers. McCain learns that his partner Frankie (Tony Todd) is actually still alive and was in cahoots with Devlin to steal $3 million in drug money away from DiMarco, a deal scotched by McCain's desire for revenge. The supporting cast includes James Earl Jones and Charlotte Lewis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this quirky romantic comedy about soul transference, Alec Baldwin plays Peter Hoskins, the straight-laced head of the microfiche department at a company that publishes scientific journals. When he meets a free-spirited, sleep-deprived bartender named Rita (Meg Ryan), the opposites attract and launch into a round-the-clock romance characterized by private jokes and an intense connection that defies description. When the two decide to marry, however, an unforeseeable cosmic occurrence entirely alters the nature of their relationship. Those who claim that marriage changes a person couldn't be more right in this case, as a confused old man (Sydney Walker) wanders into the wedding reception and plants a single kiss on the lips of the new bride. Longing for the youthfulness he sees in the happy couple, the man inadvertently causes the two to switch bodies during the smooch. Thinking no one will believe the story, Rita (now hidden inside a cancer-ridden octogenarian) leaves the premises before causing any more of a stir, while the old man in Rita's body is whisked off with Peter on their honeymoon before anyone is the wiser. Soon, Peter begins noticing that his new bride is an entirely different person, but can't figure out why -- and wonders if it's just a natural dose of cold feet. When he can no longer ignore the total dissimilarity, Peter begins suspecting that something supernatural has occurred, and wondering how he can restore his wife to her former self, especially when her body's new occupant resists the effort and goes on the lam. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

When his brother is murdered, a policeman is caught between his devotion to the law and his family's desire for revenge in this action drama. Patrick Swayze plays Truman Gates, who left his backwoods Appalachian home for life as a Chicago police officer. When his brother is killed by a gangster, Truman is determined to seek legal retribution. His older brother Briar (Liam Neeson) has different ideas, however, and travels to the city to seek old-fashioned vigilante justice. Truman must now choose between his family's belief in mountain justice and the duties of his job. Though the film is not particularly action-packed, director John Irvin does provide the expected gunplay and macho confrontations. However, despite a surprisingly distinguished cast (also including Helen Hunt and Michael J. Pollard), little distinguishes the film from numerous other revenge stories with a similar outline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Child's Play seems to have been concocted by a parent who went berserk after standing in line for hours on end to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980s. The film opens with serial killer Brad Dourif taking refuge in a doll factory. Dourif is killed by the cops, but not before he has invoked a voodoo curse which transfers his soul into one of the dolls. That particular doll, nicknamed Chuckie, is unwittingly purchased by Catherine Hicks for her son Alex Vincent. Several murders occur shortly thereafter; all evidence points to Alex, who insists that his cherub-faced doll is responsible. Detective Chris Sarandon, the man responsible for Dourif's death, doesn't swallow Alex's story, but he agrees to investigate because he's sweet on Alex's mom. The slasher-flick ending of Child's Play would seem to have settled Chuckie's hash for good and all, but guess again--the film spawned numerous sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Evil spirits follow a young girl from the suburbs to the city in the second follow-up to the blockbuster horror film Poltergeist. Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rourke) is now 12 years old and living with Patricia and Bruce Gardner (Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt), her aunt and uncle, in a high-rise apartment building in downtown Chicago. Carol Anne attends a school for gifted children, where the staff psychologist Dr. Seaton (Richard Fine) attributes her past troubles with noisy ghosts to mass delusions and hypnotic suggestions. However, Carol Anne isn't so sure that the explanation is that simple, especially since she still sees threatening apparitions in the mirrors of her apartment. Particularly troubling is the ghost of the wicked Reverend Kane (Nathan Davis), who is eager for Carol Anne to join him and his followers in the unknown world on the other side of the light. Sadly, Heather O'Rourke died due to surgical complications resulting from an intestinal blockage several months before Poltergeist III was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Following magnetic performances in Taps (1981) and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), young actor Sean Penn sealed his reputation as one of his generation's most gifted performers with his gritty star turn in Bad Boys (1983), an entertaining tale of teen hoodlums in juvenile lock-up. Penn plays Mick O'Brien, a Chicago street tough who's planning on ripping off drug dealer Paco Moreno (Esai Morales). When the scam goes bad and his partner Carl (Alan Ruck) is slain, Mick flees from the cops in his car and accidentally runs over Paco's little brother, killing the boy. Sent to juvenile hall, Mick encounters a violent prison society run by the murderous trustees Viking (Clancy Brown) and Tweety (Robert Lee Rush). After Mick defends himself by savagely beating Viking, he becomes the facility's new top dog. On the outside, however, Paco seeks revenge by raping Mick's girlfriend J.C. (Ally Sheedy). Enraged, Mick escapes with the help of his brainy roommate Horowitz (Eric Gurry), but Mick is captured by compassionate guard Ramon (Reni Santoni). When Paco is arrested and unwisely sent to the same jail holding Mick, a showdown between the two old rivals is inevitable. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Candice Bergen plays the title character, a naïve young woman from the countryside who ventures to the bright lights of Chicago in search of an interesting career, true love, and happiness. She ends up working a meaningless job and living in a drab apartment, and she remains lonely as her romantic entanglements also misfire. She has an affair with businessman Jack Mitchell (Peter Boyle), which ends terribly. Next she takes up with Larry Moore (James Caan), but that romance also goes nowhere. Peter Hyams wrote the script and produced the film, which was released in England under the title Date with a Lonely Girl. Director Herbert Ross had much better success with romantic-comedy material in later years when he filmed Neil Simon material such as The Goodbye Girl. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide