FilmClips 

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IN THE BEDROOM A relentless downer cut from the same cloth as Affliction, The Sweet Hereafter and the upcoming Monster's Ball, In the Bedroom doesn't exactly seem like the sort of seasonal fare that would look comfortable snuggled up to Miracle on 34th Street and A Charlie Brown Christmas. But those with an iron disposition (or at least a fondness for alternative cinema) are sure to embrace this unflinching study of ordinary people coping with an unspeakable tragedy. Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek headline as a Maine couple proud of their son (Nick Stahl), an only child making plans to go to graduate school. But the boy's relationship with a single mom (Marisa Tomei) threatens to put his future aspirations on hold, and the lurking presence of her estranged, redneck husband (William Mapother) finally leads to a catastrophic incident. Actor Todd Field (Eyes Wide Shut, Ruby In Paradise) makes a sure-handed debut behind the camera, serving as director and adapting (with Rob Festinger) a short story by the late Andre Dubus. The result is about as raw ­ and as real ­ as anything that's passed through theaters these past 12 months, a searing drama that never shies away from examining the wildly divergent reactions mustered by people in impossible situations (when one character unexpectedly slaps a woman who had been reaching out for comfort, we ourselves feel like we've been smacked with a toaster). The eye-for-an-eye climax feels a little pat, but overall, this is a remarkably clear-eyed exploration of suffering and sacrifice, and the performances by Spacek, Tomei and especially Wilkinson are above reproach. 1/2

JOE SOMEBODY His work as Buzz Lightyear aside, Tim Allen is the new Steve Guttenberg, a bland actor whose generic films keep getting bankrolled presumably because a studio has some weird quota to fill. After all, with multiplexes jam-packed with accomplished blockbusters featuring ring masters and Oscar winners, who in their right mind would make this dud their top pick for a night out? The sort of smug, preachy anti-entertainment that usually stars Robin Williams, this turd of a title casts Allen as Joe Scheffer, a company employee who gets no respect from those around him. Matters get even more unpleasant when Joe gets punched out by a co-worker (Patrick Warburton) in front of his own daughter (Hayden Panettiere), but after wallowing in self-pity for a few days, he declares that he wants a rematch, an announcement that suddenly earns him the love and respect of everyone at the firm (is this a multi-million dollar corporation or an elementary school?). This teams Allen with director John Pasquin for the third time, and on a math grid, their union would represent John Ford-John Wayne after a translation of (-1, -1). Still, they can't be blamed for John Scott Shepherd's script, which alternates between being illogical and merely annoying (my favorite bit: never having played squash before in his life, Joe's whacking the ball like a pro halfway through his very first match!). Jim Belushi has some nice moments as a slovenly karate teacher who teaches Joe how to fight, but that also encapsulates the movie's shortcomings: You know you're in trouble when you're actively waiting for Jim Belushi to make an appearance in a movie.

KATE & LEOPOLD We're all familiar with Bonnie and Clyde and Thelma & Louise, but as far as screen couples go, look for Kate & Leopold to have a shelf life more in common with O.C. & Stiggs and Homer and Eddie. (Who, you ask? My point exactly.) Meg Ryan, whose ceaseless attempts to remain the pixie queen of frothy romantic comedies are becoming embarrassing, plays Kate, an ambitious sales executive whose career strength, according to her unctuous boss (Bradley Whitford), is that she knows what women want but thinks like a man while preparing successful ad campaigns. Naturally, it's going to take one special individual to thaw her out, and that would be Leopold (Hugh Jackman), a 19th century Duke who, via a scientific experiment conducted by Kate's ex-boyfriend (Liev Schreiber), is transported to present-day New York. Bland romantic comedies are a dime a dozen, but it's rare to come across a time travel tale as listless as this one. After an insufferable first half in which we watch Leopold predictably become perplexed by modern-day gadgets like toasters and telephones, the second half marginally picks up thanks to the pleasing presence of Breckin Meyer as Kate's good-natured brother. Still, this is awfully anemic material, and yet another misstep for Jackman, the X-Men star who needed this about as much as he needed Swordfish. 1/2

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING The second part of this season's highly anticipated wizard show, The Fellowship of the Ring has its roots in a literary legacy even more feverishly admired than the one for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Filming all three parts of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy in one fell swoop (the second and third films will be released over the next two Christmases), director Peter Jackson gets things off to a promising start with this first installment, a three-hour epic that, while rarely scaling new heights in the fantasy genre, should nonetheless please both fans and novices alike. Even those who haven't read the books are probably familiar with the saga's basic thrust ­ noble Middle-earth denizens must destroy a powerful ring before it falls into the hands of an evil warlord ­ but to their credit, Jackson and his co-scripters kick things off with a helpful prologue that nicely sets up the story (compare this to the opening crawl in David Lynch's Dune, which left viewers instantly confused). From there, Jackson juggles a daunting array of conflicts and characters (Ian McKellen as Gandalf is the cast standout), and it's to his credit that the pace rarely flags. Still, despite the fantastical setting, the sense of wonder that Jackson brought to such earlier credits as Dead Alive and Heavenly Creatures isn't quite as apparent (a determination not to offend the faithful may have something to do with it), and, as in Harry Potter, the computer-generated effects aren't always up to par. Admittedly, though, these are mere quibbles that diehard fans will brush aside like gnats, boding well for the remaining chapters in this ambitious undertaking.