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Top five movies and upcoming releases
By Times staff
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 14, 2002
1 Bowling for Columbine -- America's best cinematic muckraker, Michael Moore, takes aim at the nation's passion for gun ownership and its tragic knack for using them badly. Moore isn't always a straight shooter, but his film is a fascinating starting point for debate.
2 Auto Focus -- Greg Kinnear's fine impersonation of Hogan's Heroes' Bob Crane makes tragic the television star's descent into obsessive, video-recorded sex. Willem Dafoe is memorably crude as his accomplice in slime.
3 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -- The second film adventure of J.K. Rowling's literary wizard is scarier, louder and longer than the first. Potterphiles won't mind at all. Harry and his friends chase a monster terrorizing Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft.
4 The Ring -- Director Gore Verbinski shapes a fascinating suspense yarn about a videotape that kills anyone who views it. Smarter than the average horror flick, with arresting visuals and quietly accumulating terror reminiscent of The Sixth Sense.
5 Punch-Drunk Love -- Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) shared the best director prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for shaping Adam Sandler's goofy screen persona into a plot that makes it seem like art.
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Nov. 22: Die Another Day, The Friday After Next, Far From Heaven, The Emperor's Club
Nov. 27: Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, Treasure Planet
Nov. 28: Drumline
Nov. 29: East of Harlem, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Ararat
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