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A BUG'S LIFE (86 mins., G) A hellzapoppin creature-feature jamboree. Flik, a renegade ant, defends his colony by rounding up a troupe of flea-circus performers. Some of the jokes are great, but the insects are strangely one-note characters. B -- OG

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (96 mins., PG) DreamWorks' first animated musical turns the stormy figure of Moses into a mild-spirited young man whose wispy beard makes him look like a draft dodger, but it takes him on a moral journey that's swift, sure, and compelling. Moses was elevating mankind to a place closer to God, but when the Red Sea parts here, the feeling it gives you isn't awe; it's closer to deep impact. B (#463, Dec. 18) -- OG

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (113 mins., R) Enchanting. It's 1593, and William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is at work on his new play, a romantic comedy entitled Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Then he meets Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), a beautiful heiress who is gaga for his writing. Unfortunately, she is set to marry someone else. As the weeks go by, the play becomes infused with the lifeblood of Shakespeare's passion. Shakespeare in Love has been made with an exuberant theatricality and wit; it's the richest and most satisfying romantic movie of the year. A (#462, Dec. 11) -- OG

A SIMPLE PLAN (120 mins., R) Lean, elegant, and emotionally complex -- a marvel of backwoods classicism. In Sam Raimi's crime thriller, Hank (Bill Paxton), a small-town accountant, is wandering through the snow with his dim-bulb brother, Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), and Jacob's buddy (Brent Briscoe), when they discover a crashed plane containing $4 million. Their greed acts like truth serum, gradually exposing the tensions in their relationships. A (#462, Dec. 11) -- OG

YOU'VE GOT MAIL (105 mins., PG) Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan play e-mail sweethearts who don't realize they're business enemies in Nora Ephron's unsteady but ultimately seductive romantic comedy. All credit goes to Hanks, endearingly convincing as the hard-charging owner of a book-superstore chain. Ryan, with her perky-pooky mannerisms, is less convincing as the owner of an independent children's bookshop. B (#463, Dec. 18)

Posted Jan 15, 1999 | Published in issue #467 Jan 15, 1999 | Order Article Reprints