Out of Sight

Part of the wonder of "Out of Sight" (1998) is the perfect balance between its two very sexy costars. Back then, both Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney must have thought they were on the verge of big, big careers. Well, now we know she wasn't - and he sure was. But that's beside the point, romantically. It's the absolute equipoise of their shared moment in celluloid time that matters. With some help from Elmore Leonard (on whose novel the film is based), and Steven Soderbergh (who directed it), the audience receives a rare lesson in screen chemistry, one in which even the tiniest molecule generates heat.

—M.F.