40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS (R) -- NOT RATED Hunky Josh Hartnett's post-breakup Lenten plans entail giving up women. As if! Meanwhile, his ex schemes to win him back. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS (R) -- NOT RATED
Kevin Bray, who developed his cinematic vision shooting videos for *NSync and Whitney Houston, directs Ice Cube and Mike Epps in this whimsical adventure about a bounty hunter who teams with his former prey for a diamond heist. Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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, Prytania
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. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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. Nominated for four Oscars. (Carlson) 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. In French with English subtitles. Plaza
THE CIRCLE (NR) -- NOT RATED
Jafar Panahi's documentary about the institutional, political and sexual repression of Iranian women reportedly was suppressed by the Iranian government. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, March 13-14, at Zeitgeist
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) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
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. (Carlson) Galleria, Palace 16, Palace 20
A COW AT MY TABLE (NR) -- NOT RATED --
This documentary examines the animal-rights movement with interviews with animal-welfare experts, activists and agribusiness representatives. Co-sponsored by Food Not Bombs. 8 p.m. Friday, March 15, at Zeitgeist
CROSSROADS (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Britney Spears vehicle features the pride of Kentwood bonding with two friends on a road trip. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE (R) -- NOT RATED
Guillermo del Toro (Mimic, the upcoming Blade II) directed this ghost story set in a mysterious orphanage for children of militia and politicos. In Spanish with English subtitles. Canal Place
DRAGONFLY (PG-13) -- B
Kevin Costner stars as Joe Darrow, a Chicago doctor convinced his dead wife, Emily (Susanna Thompson), is trying to contact him. Costner's competent performance serves as a nice centerpiece for Tom Shadyac's (Patch Adams) otherwise tentative drama. (Carlson) 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. Nominated for seven Oscars. (Simmons) Canal Place
HARRISON'S FLOWERS (R) -- B+
This initally powerful film by Eie Chouraqui about a woman's (Andie MacDowell) attempt to rescue her photographer husband (David Strathairn) from the war-torn former Yugoslavia has an odd resonance to it once you walk away from it and realize it's pure fiction. And yet the photographs used were taken directly from photojournalist Isabel Ellsen, whose novel (Le Diable a l'avantage) inspired the script. Unsettling on many levels. MacDowell is surprisingly effective while Strathairn is typically sharp. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Opens Friday, March 15, in local theaters
HART'S WAR (R) -- B+
Gregory Hoblit's World War II courtroom drama is set in a German POW camp where American commander Bruce Willis assigns a young lieutenant to defend a black pilot against charges of having murdered a vicious white racist. (Barton) Palace 20
IRIS (R) -- NOT RATED
Dame Judi Dench and Kate Winslet each received Oscar nods for portraying British author/philosopher Iris Murdoch and her lifelong romance with John Bayley (Oscar-nominated Jim Broadbent) in this biopic by Richard Eyre. 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, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
JUVENILE IN/JUSTICE (NR) -- NOT RATED
Zeitgeist's Tuesday series on the juvenile justice system continues with the following youth-produced videos that examine how youth crime develops, its treatment in the media, and problems with the system: Tough on Crime, Tough on Our Kind; Youth Vs. Media, and Old Enough to Do the Time. 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, at Zeitgeist
THE KEY (NR) -- NOT RATED
Ebrahim Forouzesh's comedy tells the story of a 4-year-old boy using all his craftiness when saddled with the responsibility of taking care of his younger sibling. Written by Abba Kiarostami. 8 p.m. Sunday-Monday, March 17-18, at Zeitgeist
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 20
LANTANA (R) -- NOT RATED
The discovery of a murdered woman affects four different couples in this mystery starring Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia and Barbara Hershey. This film, completely ignored by the Oscars, virtually swept the Australian Film Institute Awards. Canal Place
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. Nominated for two Oscars. (Barton) Canal Place, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (R) -- C+
Another adaptation of New Orleans' own Anne Rice's work suffers in its journey to the big screen. While Interview With the Vampire suffered from a poorly chosen all-star cast, this film is "damned" by a poorly chosen no-star cast and scattered direction. (Simmons) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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. Palace 16
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (R) -- A-
Director Wes Anderson progresses yet again with this scattered, frenetic ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family of geniuses reunited by their manipulative father. Anderson and co-star Luke Wilson were Oscar-nominated for their script. (Simmons) Palace 20
SNOW DOGS (PG) -- NOT RATED
Cuba Gooding Jr. winds up in Alaska's Iditarod dog-sled race. Palace 16, Palace 20
SUPER TROOPERS (R) -- NOT RATED
The Broken Lizard comedy team stars in this comedy of wacky Vermont State Troopers stumbling onto a drug operation. Palace 20
THE TIME MACHINE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Simon Wells (The Prince of Egypt) makes his live-action debut by directing a remake of the 1960 film based on the science-fiction classic written by his great-grandfather, H.G. Wells. Guy Pearce (Memento), Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune) and Orlando Jones (Evolution) co-star. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
TOGETHER (R) -- A
Lukas Moodysson's riotous comedy looks at the self-indulgent nonsense of a 1975 Stockholm hippie commune. The picture's brilliance resides in the filmmaker's deft ability to skewer the communitarians' intellectual pretense even as he makes us care about them as people. (Reviewed in this issue.) (Barton) 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 18, at Canal Place, sponsored by the New Orleans Film Festival
WE WERE SOLDIERS (R) -- NOT RATED
Mel Gibson leads a battalion of outnumbered U.S. troops against the Vietnamese in the battle of la Drang, the first major battle of the Vietnam war in this fact-based war film by Randall Wallace. Chalmette, Galleria, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
