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This is a story with vitality, fun, and all that jazz. A story about greed, murder, corruption, adultery, and all those things we hate to love and love to hate. Let your imagination run wild in another musical revival much in the same way as last year's `Moulin Rouge.' `Chicago' is an energetic and zanily treacherous tale behind the genius mind of Bob Fosse, now brilliantly written and adapted to the screen by director Rob Marshall. This razzle dazzle musical set in 1930s Chicago focuses on Roxie Heart (Renee Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), two women who will stop at nothing to make it big on the stage, but are put in jail after killing off their spouses for cheating on them. In comes Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a hot shot lawyer who comes to prove their innocence at all costs. The entire cast, including Queen Latifah (Momma) and John C. Reilly (Amos) pulls all the stops in some solid performances, but the standout is Zeta-Jones in a bravura performance. The music is readily tuned to all that jazz and the cinematography is top-notch as it is dark and appropriate for the movie's Broadway feel. Winner for best picture in the Broadcast Film Critic's circle and the Golden Globe Award for Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture.

The year's best acting showcase next to `Chicago' is a beautiful literary adapted tearjerker from the novel by Michael Cunningham. The performances are moving and brilliantly showcased by Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, and Ed Harris. Directed by Stephen Daldry, `The Hours' is a melancholic, arresting, and powerful movie about three women living in three different times and how one's life touches and shapes the life of the other. Amazingly enough, the film takes place in one day. It features Virginia Woolf (Kidman) writing the novel Mrs. Dalloway and how Laura Brown (Moore) and Clarissa Vaughan (Streep) are wired within the book's pages, which reveals an emotionally overwhelming, tragic, yet life-affirming story. This unforgettable mosaic is woven through some poignant vignettes and its flawless editing, rousing musical score, and masterful screenplay make it one of the year's best. This film garnered a best picture win from the National Board of Review and the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Motion Picture. Special note: This has been a great year for John C. Reilly (`Magnolia') who has appeared in some of the year's most recognized films including `Gangs of New York,' `The Hours,' `Chicago,' and `The Good Girl.'

This is a thriller to end all thrillers. It is sweat-inducing, heart-pounding, bloody, brutal, and so energetic you will be tired after the film has ended. Directed by Joe Carnahan, `Narc' is a movie that dresses itself nicely instead of delivering its conventions. Ray Liotta is a memorable and intimidating cop who lost his partner (Alan Van Sprang) and now desires vengeance upon the savage killer. Jason Patric is solid as an undercover narcotics officer returning from retirement to seek the cop killer. The two become partners to once again reemerge themselves in the drug world, fight mental scars, and ultimately find redemption in working on the behalf of Sprang's widow and children. The movie is definitely not for all tastes. The violence is heavy-handed and shocking in several ways. However, there has never been anything like it, and for that, it deserves a watch. Surely it will leave you breathless, cold, and shocked to the bone. The movie is directed with style and the use of the hand-held camera and snappy editing create an appropriately gritty effect. Not to be missed!