AMELIE (R) -- B+ Jean-Pierre Jeunet (co-director of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children) presents this unashamedly joyous and cheeky story of a young woman (Audrey Tautou) who invests her energy in everyone's happiness but her own. In French with English subtitles. Nominated for five Oscars. (Simmons) Canal Place, Palace 20
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (PG-13) -- B
Ron Howard's drama profiles a genius mathematician who struggles with mental illness. The picture offers another brilliant performance by Russell Crowe and fine supporting work by Jennifer Connelly and Ed Harris. Nominated for eight Oscars. (Barton) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
BIG FAT LIAR (PG) -- NOT RATED
Junior-high student Frankie Muniz (TV's Malcolm in the Middle) seeks revenge when seedy Hollywood producer Paul Giamatti (Planet of the Apes) makes a movie out of the boy's class essay without giving credit. Amanda Detmer co-stars. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
BIRTHDAY GIRL (R) -- B+
Jez Butterworth's excellent romantic thriller stars a superb Nicole Kidman as a Russian mail-order bride brought to England by lonely bank clerk Ben Chaplin. The romance is sexy and touching all the while the script keeps you nicely off balance. This picture is only one good last twist from greatness. (Barton) Palace 20
BLACK HAWK DOWN (R) -- A
In this approximation of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, director Ridley Scott rolls out an amazingly choreographed chaos and then allows his actors to stand in the storm and deliver finely nuanced performances. Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Sam Shepard star. Nominated for four Oscars. (Carlson) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (R) -- NOT RATED
Christophe Gans directed this French horror-mystery (which has been all the rage in Europe) about an 18th century legend of a wolf monster terrorizing villagers. Co-stars Monica Bellucci (Malena). In French with English subtitles. Palace 20
COLLATERAL DAMAGE (R) -- F-
Andrew Davis' direction and Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting would make this one bad under normal circumstances. Seen through the prism of Sept. 11, this story of a fireman pursuing the terrorist who killed his wife and child is simply unforgiveable. (Carlson) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (PG-13) -- C-
Director Kevin Reynolds squanders a great premise and a good cast in this poorly directed and distractingly edited version of Alexandre Dumas' enduring tale of betrayal and revenge. Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce and Richard Harris star. (Carlson) Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
CROSSROADS (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Definitely not a re-telling of bluesman Robert Johnson, this Britney Spears vehicle features the pride of Kentwood bonding with two friends on a cross-country drive. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
GOSFORD PARK (R) -- A-
Robert Altman craftily recasts Jean Renoir's 1939 classic Rules of the Game as an Agatha Christie murder mystery with greater emphasis on social-class conflict. His ensemble cast soars, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Emily Watson, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Clive Owen and Helen Mirren. Nominated for seven Oscars. (Simmons) Canal Place, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
HART'S WAR (R) -- NOT RATED
Army lieutenant Colin Farrell defends Tuskegee Airman Terrence Howard in a murder trial inside a German POW camp during World War II, with Bruce Willis an Army general. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
HOW HIGH (R) -- NOT RATED
Rappers Redman and Method Man play two stoners whose consumption of the evil weed makes them so smart they're able to get into Harvard. Plaza
I AM SAM (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Oscar-nominated Sean Penn is a mentally retarded man trying to regain custody of his young daughter, who's been taken away by social services. Directed by Jessie Nelson (Corrinna, Corrinna) and co-starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Laura Dern and Dianne Wiest. Palace 16, Palace 20, Prytania
IN THE BEDROOM (R) --
A- Todd Field's emotionally draining drama concerns a middle-age couple unable to recover from the death of their college-graduate son. Nominated for five Oscars. (Barton) Canal Place, Palace 12, Palace 20
JOHN Q. (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Protective dad Denzel Washington takes a hospital hostage until his kid gets a life-saving operation. Now that's health care reform! Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PG-13) -- A
This first Lord of the Rings movie is better than fans of the books possibly could have imagined. Peter Jackson's masterful direction and devotion to Tolkien's tale create an epic of the highest order. Nominated for 13 Oscars. (Carlson) Palace 16, Palace 20
MONSTER'S BALL (R) -- B-
Marc Forster's drama about a racist prison guard who falls for a black waitress offers an Oscar-nominated lead performance by Halle Berry and a convincing depiction of the way family members of criminals are among crime's victims. Much of the romance, though, feels more willed than earned, and the core theme about redemption lacks requisite heft. Nominated for two Oscars. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES (PG-13) -- B+
Richard Gere is engaging as a newspaper reporter with a personal stake in his investigation of paranormal phenomena in a small West Virgina town in Mark Pellington's adaptation of John Keel's fact-based novel. (Simmons) Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
RETURN TO NEVERLAND (G) -- NOT RATED
At long last, Disney finally offers a sequel to its 1953 animated classic, Peter Pan. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
ROLLERBALL (R) -- NOT RATED
John McTiernan remakes Jewison's 1975 futuristic story of a blood sport. Stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J, Jean Reno and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (R) -- A-
Director Wes Anderson progresses yet again with this scattered, frenetic ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family of geniuses (Ben Stiller and Gwyneth Paltrow among them) reunited by their manipulative father (Gene Hackman). Anderson and co-star Luke Wilson were Oscar-nominated for their script. (Simmons) Canal Place, Palace 20
SNOW DOGS (PG) -- NOT RATED
Cuba Gooding Jr. winds up in Alaska's Iditarod dog-sled race. Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
SUPER TROOPERS (R) -- NOT RATED
The Broken Lizard comedy team stars in this comedy of wacky Vermont State Troopers stumbling onto a drug operation. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
A WALK TO REMEMBER (PG) -- NOT RATED
Teen pop sensation Mandy Moore is a minister's daughter who falls for rich kid Shane West. Chalmette, Palace 16, Palace 20
