Translating Marcel Proust's vast 12-volume novel A la recherché du temps perdu (Rembrance of Things Past) to the screen was never going to be a pushover, and several distinguished film-makers have tried and failed. It fell to the veteran Chilean-born director Ral Ruiz to bring it off better than anyone had a right to expect. Ruiz adopts the strategy of taking as his framework Proust's final volume, in which all the strands of the towering masterpiece are pulled together. Into this autumnal narrative the film weaves intricate flashbacks to events from the earlier volumes, revealing the workings of time itself. Rich and complex, Time Regained presents a sweeping panorama of early 20th century French high society, portrayed with all Proust's ambivalent mixture of mockery and snobbish fascination, while the elegant pans and slow tracking shots mirror his serpentine prose. A matchless cast of actors (Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Béart, John Malkovich) give utterly stylish performances. The film is superbly mounted and visually ravishing, though those not familiar with the original may occasionally feel a little confused. --Philip Kemp

Pay no attention to the fact that Timecop is an insult to intelligent science fiction, and that it gradually succumbs to an acute case of the sillies. It is a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, after all, so check your brain at the door and enjoy this action flick set in the year 2004. Van Damme plays an officer in the Time Enforcement Police, assigned to prevent criminals from travelling to the past with the intent of altering the future. Ron Silver plays the evil politician who plots to retrieve a stockpile of gold from the Civil War to finance his latest campaign. The film is clever to a point, and entertaining if you can ignore the dumb jokes and inconsistencies. Best of all, it's an above-average vehicle for Van Damme (relatively speaking), who gets to kick some villainous butt and share a few scenes with Mia Sara, who plays the Timecop's wife. As Van Damme fans can tell you, this is one of the action star's better movies. -- Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Time travelling yarn from the pen of Michael Crichton (Jurrasic Park, Westworld, ER). A group of archaeological students go back to 14th Century France to rescue their professor, but get stuck in the time frame themselves...