ALONG CAME A SPIDER (R) -- NOT RATED Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) teams up with a Secret Service agent (Monica Potter, essentially replacing Ashley Judd) to figure out if the kidnapping of two Washington, D.C., high school girls is tied to a serial killer with bigger plans. Chalmette, Palace 16, Palace 20
AMORES PERROS (R) -- B+
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's triptych concerns Mexican families in crisis. Jealousy, lust, greed and spiritual emptiness plague characters in three faintly interconnected stories. So often we become what we hate. Success is fragile. Mistakes repeat themselves. This Oscar nominee is fascinating but flawed, intermittently brilliant but ultimately elusive. (Reviewed in this issue) Canal Place
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY (R) -- A-
The realistic tale of a thirtysomething Brit who fancies her boss, obsesses about her weight and her love life, and possesses an uncanny ability to say and do exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. Renée Zellweger positively shines as the eponymous heroine, and costars Hugh Grant and Colin Firth do much to help her overcome the film's rather rocky, but nonetheless charming, final act. (Carlson) Canal Place, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE BROTHERS (R) -- NOT RATED
When the playboy in a group of four African-American buddies -- Bill Bellamy, Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley and Shemar Moore -- announces he's getting married, the other three are faced with their unwillingness to commit. Chalmette, Palace 16, Plaza
THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE (R) -- B-
Eve's Bayou director Kasi Lemmons reunites with Samuel L. Jackson and New Orleans' own Terence Blanchard (who composed both film scores) in this story of a schizophrenic homeless man (Jackson) who tries to solve a murder. (Simmons) Plaza
CHOCOLAT (PG-13) -- B
Lasse Hallstrom directed this comic fable about a candy store owner (Juliette Binoche) in a small French town who falls into disfavor with the mayor (Alfred Molina). (Barton) Chalmette, Palace 20, Plaza
CROCODILE DUNDEE IN LOS ANGELES (PG)
-- NOT RATED
If he's been to New York and back to Australia, where else for Paul Hogan and his ruddy Outback character to go but L.A.? Strange that this sequel appears 13 years after the last one. Simon Wincer (Operation Dumbo Drop) directed. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE DISH (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Did you know that the Apollo 11 landing on the moon would not have been seen by the world but for the efforts of townfolk in a small Australian town that possessed a huge satellite dish? Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) and Patrick Warburton (Puddy from Seinfeld) star in this Aussie comedy-drama based on the true story. Rob Stitch (The Castle) directed. Canal Place
DRIVEN (PG-13) -- D
Renny Harlin's latest effort is a shameless testosterone fest that goes from zero to suck in no time flat. As a group of competitive racecar drivers, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger and Sylvester Stallone simply can't stay on track. Cheesy special effects and needless melodrama about the "brotherhood of speed" do this one in. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
EXIT WOUNDS (R) -- NOT RATED
Steven Seagal is a tough New York cop trying to find as many ways as possible to apply violence to clean up corruption in his precinct. Palace 16, Palace 20
THE FORSAKEN (R) -- NOT RATED
A young man (Kerr Smith) reluctantly joins forces with a hitchhiker (Brendan Fehr) to do battle with a roving band of hip, good-looking bloodsuckers in this vampire tale written and directed by J.S. Cardone. Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
KINGDOM COME (PG) -- NOT RATED
Whoopi Goldberg, Toni Braxton, Cedric the Entertainer, Ellen Cleghorne, Vivica A. Fox, LL Cool J and Jada Pinkett Smith star in this comedy about a family that airs its dirty laundry during the father's funeral. Doug McHenry (Jason's Lyric) directed. Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
A KNIGHT'S TALE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Heath Ledger (The Patriot) is a hunky but poor-boy knight wannabe in this tongue-in-cheeky romp on 14th century jousting, complete with Queen and Bachman-Turner Overdrive tunes. Brian Helgeland wrote and directed. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16
MEMENTO (R) -- B
Christopher Nolan's notably complicated thriller-in-reverse about a man (Guy Pearce) with no short-term memory investigating the rape and murder of his wife. (Barton) Canal Place
THE MUMMY RETURNS (PG-13) -- C
Director Stephen Sommers, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and the gang return in this sequel to the wildly popular 1999 remake of the films of the 1930s. Action sequences piled upon subplots piled upon new characters create a loud mess with very little room to breathe. But at least everyone looks like they're having fun. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza, Prytania
NIKITA BLUES (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Marc Cayce directed this story of the adventures of an outspoken African-American high school student (Essence Atkins) who gets caught in a romantic triangle with her English teacher and the principal. Downtown Joy, Palace 16, Palace 20
ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S (R) -- B
Harald Zwart's debut feature with Liv Tyler, Michael Douglas, Matt Dillon, John Goodman and Paul Reiser is a black comedy about a manipulative beauty and a handful of guys who fall for her felonious charms. (Barton) Palace 20
SPY KIDS (PG) -- B
It's bonds. Family bonds. Actually, it's James Bond meets Willy Wonka in what might prove to be a new genre: the kids' action flick. The two kids in question (Daryl Sabara, Alexa Vega) set out to rescue their parents (Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino), and then the whole family gets together for some quality-time world saving. (Tisserand) Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
SUPERSTARLET A.D. (NR) -- NOT RATED
In a post-apocalyptic future where the women wear vintage undergarments and the men are morons, "beauty cults" roam the earth searching for "lipstick and ammo." This exploitation farce from cult director JMM is part of the Tease-O-Rama burlesque convention. 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 18-19, Zeitgeist
THE TAILOR OF PANAMA (R) -- A-
John Boorman's adaptation of the John Le Carré novel about a renegade British spy brewing up a batch of trouble in Central America is a delightful scam flick. (Barton) Canal Place, Palace 20
TOWN AND COUNTRY (R) -- NOT RATED
In what should be no stretch, Warren Beatty is an architect struggling through a mid-life crisis (and the accompanying desire to cheat) in this ensemble romantic comedy also featuring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Garry Shandling. Josh Hartnett and Jenna Elfman try to balance the age scales. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
