Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica in this documentary to talk to the eclectic and often bizarre people who staff the various scientific research station on the icy continent at the bottom of the world. Full of interesting personalities and gorgeous scenery, this picture details life in an unyieldingly harsh climate.

Grade: B+.

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The days leading up to Operation Desert Storm are told here from the point of view of a Marine sniper, Swoff, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal, along with Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx, brings this account of everyday life in the Marine Corps in a war zone realistically to life.

Grade: B+.

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Christian Bale stars in this Vietnam War picture about a German-American pilot who gets shot down on a mission, ends up in a POW camp, and tries to help his fellow prisoners escape. The acting is solid and the photography is beautiful, but the screenplay trudges a little bit.

Grade: B.

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In this unbelievably long Bollywood picture, villagers in India revolt against a food tax, Lagaan, by challenging the British soldiers who oppress them to a game of cricket. With lots of music and some hilarious overacting, this enjoyable picture stands out as one of India’s finest crossovers to Western audiences.

Grade: A-.

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Bassist Charles Mingus leads an unbelievably talented ensemble in this classic work that displays the composition, arranging, and improvisation genius of a great artist. Several of the tunes on this outstanding record are instant jazz classics and the whole work stands as a monument of creativity and astonishing musical achievement.

Grade: A++.

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Lilya is a young teenager, in this heartbreaking foreign film, whose mother moves to America without her and leaves her to survive in squalor in Estonia, before she unwittingly becomes a sex slave in Sweden. The bleakness of this picture is astonishing, as well as the brutal hardships she endures.

Grade: B-.

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In four seasons, the producers of this spectacular science fiction show created a vivid story full of intriguing characters trying to figure out the secret of the 4400 returnees, smart episodes that evoke more questions than are answered, and moments of incredibly compelling television drama with an unforgettable cast.

Grade: A+.

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Victor, a young man living in New York City, tries to maintain his reputation as a ladies man in his neighborhood. His approach and subsequent friendship with “Juicy” Judy gets the gossip going. A good cast and solid writing make this piece memorable and the relationships depicted endearing and believable.

Grade: B.

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In this Oscar-nominated documentary, the race to test the hydrogen bomb on the Bikini Atoll is examined with lots of stock footage and interviews with the Bikinian chief and some of the personnel who were there. The film levels a scathing indictment of the decisions that endangered so many.

Grade: B.

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Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, Morgan Freeman, and Anthony Hopkins lead a talented cast in this historical drama about La Amistad and the slaves who mutinied and took the ship. With a well-written script, this detailed account features magnificent acting performances, amazing realism, wonderful cinematography, and a haunting evocative score.

Grade: A-.

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