Charles Fleischer

[8] Bob Hoskins stars as a 1940s Hollywood detective who is reluctantly pulled into a murder investigation in which the prime suspect is a cartoon rabbit. Can he overcome his hatred of ‘toons’ and prove Roger Rabbit’s innocence? Or will the real culprit get away with much more than murder? Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Romancing the Stone) directs this hybrid blend of animation …

[8] Teenagers are hunted in their dreams by a murderous burn victim. But unlike normal nightmares, if the kids die in their dreams, they also die in real life. Writer/director Wes Craven (Scream, The Hills Have Eyes) works from a marvelous concept and introduces the world to one of the horror genre’s most indelible villains — Freddy Krueger, played with monstrous glee by Robert Englund, …

[5] Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr. star in David Fincher’s film about the investigation of the so-called ‘Zodiac’ killer in the late ’60s through the early ’80s. Downey and Gyllenhaal’s characters work for the San Francisco Chronicle, which begins receiving letters from the killer. As he seeks fame in the press, Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards are the cops who try for years …

[4] A country girl leaves her stifling life behind to try and make it in the big city, serendipitously becoming the most popular radio talk show host in Chicago. Straight Talk is a Dolly Parton vehicle, and just about everything that’s good about it indeed stems from Dolly, whose natural acting instincts and easy charm go a long way for me. But Dolly’s not given …

[6] Ben Stiller gives a career-best performance in Permanent Midnight, based on Jerry Stahl’s autobiographical book of the same name. As Jerry, Stiller plays a Hollywood writer whose heroin habit almost destroys him. Elizabeth Hurley and Maria Bello play romantic interests, while Owen Wilson, Janeane Garofalo, and Fred Willard pop up in supporting roles. While Stahl’s downward spiral is certainly harrowing, complete with endangering the …