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Tilda Swinton in The Deep End, which opens Wednesday
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AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS (PG-13) -- B- Realizing that this is a romantic comedy, viewers must go in accepting its inherit corniness. Despite the strength of what should be an all-star cast (on-par performances by John Cusack and Julia Roberts; annoying ones by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Billy Crystal), the script, co-written by Crystal, favors wisecracks over a story. (Etheridge) Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
AMERICAN OUTLAWS (PG-13) NOT RATED
Colin Farrell stars as legendary outlaw Jesse James and Scott Caan as his fellow bandit and rival Cole Younger in this comedic Western directed by Les Mayfield (Encino Man). Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
AMERICAN PIE 2 (R) -- C
Jim, Stifler, Finch and the gang are back after a year of college and still horny as hell -- and essentially for the same people. That flimsy set-up and a string of barely funny sight gags keep this weak sequel from going anywhere. (Simmons) Chalmette, Palace 16, Palace 20
BABY BOY (R) -- B+
John Singleton's brave and compelling romantic drama is his best film since his 1991 debut, Boyz N the Hood. Like an Old Testament prophet, Singleton calls contemporary black culture to account for what he sees as a disastrous acquiescence to infidelity and a prideful defense of promiscuity. (Barton) Plaza
CAPTAIN CORRELLI'S MANDOLIN (R) -- NOT RATED
John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) directs Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, John Hurt and Christian Bale in this World War II love story set on the Greek isle of Cephallonia. Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE CLOSET (R) -- B
Francis Veber's comedy stars Daniel Auteuil as a mild-mannered, heterosexual accountant who pretends to be gay to save his job at a condom factory. Gerard Depardieu is the homophobic personnel director who tries to become the accountant's best friend in order to keep his suddenly P.C. superiors from threatening his own job. Not as consistently funny as Veber's earlier Les Comperes or The Dinner Game, but nonetheless thoroughly diverting. (Barton) Canal Place
CYBERWORLD (NR) -- NOT RATED
Billed as the first-ever animated IMAX film, Cyberworld features the voice of Jenna Elfman and characters from The Simpsons and the film Antz. Entergy IMAX
THE DEEP END (R) -- B-
What do you do with a thriller that doesn't thrill? This beautifully shot drama about a housewife (Tilda Swinton) desperately trying to protect her son from a murder rap and her family from blackmail deserves credit for a realistic, mature and unconventional approach to the noir thriller genre. Swinton plays her character with maternal conviction, but beyond that, the storyline plods to a rather half-assed resolution. Not a wasted opportunity, necessarily, but not the ride most thrillers offer, either. (Simmons) Opens on Wednesday at Canal Place, Palace 20
DR. DOOLITTLE 2 (PG) -- NOT RATED
Eddie Murphy is back as the vet who can talk to the animals. Steve Carr (Next Friday) is at the helm for this one. Palace 16, Palace 20
GALAPAGOS (NR) -- A-
Smithsonian Institution marine biologist Carole Baldwin leads an expedition of the mysterious islands explored by Charles Darwin more than 160 years ago. An amazing use of IMAX 3D technology, the film is a feast for the eyes, if not the intellect. (Carlson) Entergy IMAX
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (R) -- A
John Cameron Mitchell deftly reprises his roles as writer, director and star of this glam-rock inspired musical about a boy's odyssey from East Berlin to becoming an "internationally ignored song stylist." Mitchell shows amazing skill as a first-time director, realizing the aural and visual possibilities that his one-man show suggests. Perhaps the best movie of the year to date, and also the best rock musical ever. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
HIMALAYA (NR) -- B
Eric Valli's adventure set in the remote mountains of Nepal is the story of an aging chief and his young rival both leading caravans from the highlands to the valley below. Culturally interesting and thematically instructive, the picture is nonetheless narratively clumsy and thereby a tad disappointing. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Leaves Canal Place on Wednesday
JURASSIC PARK III (PG-13) -- B
Family themes and predictably improved dinosaur special effects make this continuation of Steve Spielberg's popular franchise a worthy third effort. Director Joe Johnston, a Spielberg protege, keeps everything simple and relatively smart, even though the beginning and ending are poorly developed. Great to see Sam Neill back as Dr. Alan Grant. (Simmons) Chalmette,
Downtown Joy,
Plaza, Palace 16, Palace 20
LEGALLY BLONDE (PG-13) -- C-
The always-watchable Reese Witherspoon is brought low by this lame story about a bright but perceptively challenged California girl who goes to Harvard Law School hoping to win back the boy who dumped her. Do something else, instead. (Barton) Galleria, Palace 16
MADE (R) -- B- Swingers stars Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn reunite for the story of a couple of palookas who can't take directions well enough to make it as mob thugs. There are some laughs in the early going, but we gradually lose patience with Vaughn's insistence on stepping on every hoe he encounters and director Favreau's evident willingness to consider that perhaps the next hoe won't bop them both on the noggin. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.)
Canal Place
ORIGINAL SIN (R) -- B-
Director Michael Cristofer, who helped a young Angelina Jolie sizzle in the cable-TV bio-pic Gia, reunites with the beestung-lipped wonder in a steamy, borderline-campy noirish film. Antonio Banderas and Jolie provide plenty of expected heat as a Cuban plantation owner and his mysterious mail-order bride, respectively. But that, Terence Blanchard's score, and gorgeous costumes and cinematography have to struggle against a twist-heavy and predictable story. (Simmons) Palace 16, Palace 20
OSMOSIS JONES (PG) -- NOT RATED
The Farrelly brothers (Kingpin, There's Something About Mary) team with animators Piet Kroon (The Iron Giant) and Tom Sito (The Prince of Egypt) with a live-action/animated story that features the voices of Chris Rock and David Hyde Pierce and the real-life acting of Bill Murray and Molly Shannon. Chalmette, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE OTHERS (R) -- NOT RATED
Nicole Kidman is a mom who finds the remote island mansion where she's taken her two sick children to recuperate is haunted. Damn Realtor! Also stars Christopher Eccleston. Chalmette, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
PLANET OF THE APES (PG-13) -- B+
Tim Burton's "re-imagining" of the 1968 sci-fi classic plays to his strength as a postmodern mythologist. But it also falls short of Burton's typical greatness with Mark Wahlberg's flat acting and a weak second half. Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter and the rest are perfectly cast. Gotta love the Charlton Heston cameo. (Simmons) Chalmette,
Downtown Joy,
Galleria, Plaza, Palace 16, Palace 20,
Prytania
THE PRINCESS DIARIES (G) -- NOT RATED
A funky New York teen (Anne Hathaway) finds out she's a princess to a small European nation and must be groomed to assume her royal position by her grandmother (Julie Andrews). Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
RAT RACE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Jerry Zucker directed this ensemble comedy starring Rowan Atkinson, Kathy Bates, John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Jon Lovitz in a mad dash for cash eerily reminiscent of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
RUSH HOUR 2 (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker stumbled onto a massive hit with the first film back in 1998, grossing $250 million worldwide. Now they're back with heftier paychecks as they reunite as an odd-couple crime-fighting team, this time in Hong Kong.
Chalmette, Downtown Joy,
Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
SCARY MOVIE 2 (R) -- NOT RATED
Keenan Ivory Wayans very quickly follows up his highly successful parody of horror and thriller movies with a cast that includes brothers Shawn and Marlon, as well as Tim Curry and Andy Richter. Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE SCORE (R) -- NOT RATED
Robert De Niro is a retired thief blackmailed by young hot-shot Edward Norton to do one more heist in this cheeky crime caper from Frank Oz (Bowfinger). Marlon Brando plays De Niro's fence, while Angela Bassett is De Niro's girlfriend (uh, yeah). Palace 20
SEXY BEAST (R) -- B+
Jonathan Glazer's drama is a contest of wills between a former criminal (Ray Winstone) trying to live the good life on the proceeds of his ill-gotten gains and his boss (Ben Kingsley), who is determined to drag him back into a life of crime. (Barton) Leaves Canal Place on Wednesday
SPY KIDS (PG) -- B
It's James Bond meets Willy Wonka in what might prove to be a new genre: the kids' action flick, in this re-release of the spring hit that features added special-effects scenes. (Tisserand) Palace 16, Palace 20
