OPENED YESTERDAY
Evita <img src="star2.gif">Madonna plays the title role in the film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical. The clamorous, overblown style can't disguise the vagueness of the story. A triumph of flash over substance. (PG) At Waikiki 3
OPENING TOMORROW
Ghosts of Mississippi Director Rob Reiner builds suspense in the telling of how the killer of of civil-rights activist Medgar Evers was finally brought to justice. The movie is also a healing experience for viewers. Stars Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. (PG-13) At Kapolei, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
CONTINUING
Beavis and Butt-head Do America MTV's animated moronic teenage geeks cover more ground than Bob Hope and Bing Crosby ever did in their road movies, but don't generate as much laughter. Faithful fans of the cartoon duo may be amused, but audiences new to the pair likely will wonder what the fuss is all about. (PG-13) At Kahala, Kapolei, Keolu, Laie, Pearlridge, Restaurant Row
The Crucible
Handsome, impassioned and vigorously staged adaptation of Arthur Miller's play is a reminder of the work's wide reach. The beautifully acted drama stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Joan Allen and Charlayne Woodard. (PG-13) At Varsity
Daylight
Sylvester Stallone plays a familiar hero role when a group of people are trapped in the Holland Tunnel after an explosion. There's little suspense, and no villain to boo, so despite Stallone's muscle flexing the movie's a bit of a bore. (PG-13) At Kam Drive-In, Kapolei, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
The English Patient <img src="star2.gif">
This adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's romantic novel of wartime passion packs all the adventurous and emotional wallop of "Casablanca" and all the coolheaded intellectualism of some scholarly treatise on the futility of war. Stars Ralph Fiennes, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche. (R) At Varsity
Evening Star
The sequel to the 1988 Oscar-winning "Terms of Endearment" is vastly disappointing. The melodrama has subplots, characters, actors and mushy sentiments, but not enough substance or quality for one good feature. (PG-13) At Kahala, Kailua, Kapolei, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
Jerry Maguire <img src="star2.gif">
A modern morality play in which Tom Cruise plays a sports agent who dishonors himself by being honest. Nobody does redemption better than Cruise, and he does it again - and better, as a sports agent who dishonors himself by being honest. (R) At Kailua, Kapolei, Koko Marina, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row, Waikiki 1
Jingle All the Way <img src="star2.gif">
What was intended to spread Christmas cheer is a downer that slam bang special effects can't rescue. The one joke of the premise - a busy executive (Arnold Schwarzenegger) spends Christmas Eve searching all over town for the only toy his young son wants and finds himself in direct competition with another frustrated dad (Sinbad) - is never developed into any real comedy. (PG) At Kahala, Kapolei, Pearlridge West
Mars Attacks!
Tim Burton's cult sci-fi comedy is miscast as an elaborate, all-star extravaganza. Instead of the uproarious humor that might have ensued from the material, there is only wonderment at the bizarre imaginations and impressive skills of the filmmakers. (PG-13) At Kapolei, Keolu, Marina, Nanakuli, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
Michael
This story about a grungy archangel's visit to Earth owes almost all of its pleasures to the film's star, John Travolta. (PG) At Aikahi, Kahala, Kam Drive-In, Kapolei, Keolu, Koko Marina, Mililani, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
My Fellow Americans
The ever-reliable Jack Lemmon and James Garner are as audience-friendly as old easy chairs, playing former chief executives who hate each other but are thrown together dodging operatives in this prefab comedy. Hokey script is laced with all the sexual crudities its MPAA rating will allow. (PG-13) At Kahala, Kapolei, Keolu, Mililani, Restaurant Row
One Fine Day
Michelle Pfeiffer is a do-it-all career woman/single mom who is certain that all men are worthless. Enter George Clooney as a columnist and divorced father. They accidentally switch cellular phones and eventually fall in love. (PG) At Enchanted Lake, Kahala, Kapolei, Mililani, Pearlridge West, Restaurant Row
101 Dalmatians <img src="star2.gif">
Where the 1961 animated "101 Dalmatians boasts both style and substance, the live-action remake has neither. Instead it has Glenn Close in an over-the-top impersonation of Disney icon Cruella DeVil, and harebrained violence. (G) At Enchanted Lake, Kahala, Kapolei, Mililani, Nanakuli, Pearlridge
The Preacher's Wife
The most genuine moment of "The Preacher's Wife" happens in the first minutes when we see the movie's namesake, Julia Biggs (Whitney Houston), belting gospel music. Almost every element of this story of an angel (Denzel Washington) sent to help an overworked preacher (Courtney B. Vance) and his family feels carefully calibrated to meet the ideal of old-fashioned family fare. The resulting film is something less than dynamic. (PG) At Kapolei, Keolu, Laie, Marina, Mililani, Pearlridge, Restaurant Row
Ransom
The young son of a wealthy tycoon (Mel Gibson) is abducted and held for $2 million ransom in this extremely smart Ron Howard movie. Gibson drags viewers through every conceivable emotion and Rene Russo does a fine job showing a mother's anguish. (R) At Kapolei
Scream
Director Wes Craven's new teens-in-peril thriller raises the cheesy formula of the stalk-and-slash movie to an unexpected level of intelligence and valid suspense. (R) At Aikahi, Enchanted Lake, Kam Drive-In, Kapolei, Pearlridge West, Waikiki 2
Set It Off <img src="star2.gif">
Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise play four housing project women who, with everything stacked against them, explode. Despite some implausibilities, the movie excels at action, drama and depicting rage over an all-too-common reality. (R) At Kam Drive-In, Pearlridge
Shine <img src="star2.gif">
Australian filmmaker Scott Hicks tells the story of a prodigy, pianist David Helfgott, driven to madness by a possessive father, and saved by strangers. It is an unforgettable story of the power of love, richly rendered. (PG-13) At Cinerama
Space Jam
Basketball mega star Michael Jordan and cartoon mega star Bugs Bunny team up for this clever, cute, rambunctious mix of animation and live action. (PG) At Kahala, Kapolei, Mililani, Pearlridge, Restaurant Row