The stodgy works of Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, makers of Howard's End and Jefferson in Paris, have encouraged the sad notion that costume dramas must be leaden and respectable. Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility helped rehabilitate the form; now Patrice Leconte's Ridicule ventilates the genre with yet more fresh...

In the golden age of Hollywood, no less than Frank Capra owned Christmas on the big screen. But if you want Proof Number 496 of how far things have fallen, consider that in the '90s, holiday cinema is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chris Columbus -- hired gun of John...

The ratings system has its inconsistencies, but, after reading a synopsis of Microcosmos, you'd have to wonder just what the MPAA was thinking. This French import is rated G, despite more on-screen violence than all three Die Hards put together. Murders, accidental deaths, mortal combats, cannibalism and attempted genocide are...