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. 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, 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 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. Palace 12
BLADE 2 (R) -- NOT RATED
Wesley Snipes is back as the action-packed vampire hunter who this time must form an uneasy alliance with the blood-suckers in order to defeat viral-infected monsters that can suck blood with the touch of a hand. Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS (R) -- B+
If this was indeed a 2001 release, then Stockard Channing (Six Degrees of Separation) got royally screwed out of an Oscar nomination as a corporate shark who forms an unlikely bond with assistant Julia Stiles almost immediately after firing her. See this one while you can during this all-too-brief local run.(Simmons) Through Tuesday at Canal Place
CROSSROADS (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Britney Spears vehicle features the pride of Kentwood bonding with two friends on a road trip. Palace 16
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) Palace 12, Palace 16
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL: THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY (PG) -- B+
Steven Spielberg (Jaws) was already a hot ticket in 1982 when he directed this phenomenally popular, manipulative escapist fantasy about a lovable (and marketable) alien who lands in suburbia and immediately tries to "phone home." Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace Stone and a pre-rehab Drew Barrymore co-star. And yes, Debra Winger provided the voice for E.T. (Simmons) Chalmette, 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 curious resonance to it once you walk away from it and realize it's pure fiction. MacDowell is surprisingly effective, while Strathairn is typically sharp. (Simmons) Palace 20
ICE AGE (PG) -- NOT RATED
A woolly mammoth and other Ice Age animals help a human infant get back to his family in this animated film starring the voices of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo and others. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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 16, Palace 20
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IRIS (R) -- B
Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet all earned deserved Oscar nominations for this surprisingly fractured and tepid look at British author/philosopher Iris Murdoch's capitulation to Alzheimer's disease. All three essentially rise above the material here. (Simmons) Canal Place
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, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
KISSING JESSICA STEIN (R) -- B+
Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen co-wrote and co-star as two straight women who meet through a personals ad and develop an awkward romance in this smart, witty comedy directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld. There is an undeniable charm and chemistry between the two leads as the film looks at the fluidity of love between and among the sexes. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Opens Wednesday at Canal Place, Palace 20
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
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 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) Palace 20
RESIDENT EVIL (R) -- NOT RATED
The popular video game (and the books it inspired) comes to the big screen with the help of Milla Jovovich, Eric Mabius, and Michelle Rodriguez. Paul Anderson (not to be confused with Paul Thomas Anderson) directs. Chalmette, 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. Palace 12
THE SCOUNDREL'S WIFE (R) -- B
Glen Pitre (Belizaire the Cajun) directed and co-wrote with wife Michelle Benoit this tale of romance amid suspicion and paranoia during World War II in Pitre's south Louisiana hometown of Cut Off. While Pitre breathes life and warmth into his familiar surroundings and tries to capture the complexities of time and place, limited dramatic tension and a mixed-bag performance by lead actress Tatum O'Neal holds the film back a bit. Still, Scoundrel is a unique history lesson and a love letter to a region rarely captured on the big screen. (Simmons) Palace 16, Palace 20
SHOWTIME (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Two cops -- grizzled veteran Robert De Niro and frustrated actor Eddie Murphy -- are recruited to join a reality-based TV cop show in this action comedy by Tom Dey (Shanghai Noon). Think The Hard Way meets 48 Hours, the latter of which starred Murphy, which makes you wonder about Murphy's career. Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
SORORITY BOYS (R) -- NOT RATED
Three college seniors get kicked out of their frat and wind up dressing in drag to enter a sorority that serves as a refuge for unattractive co-eds. And then the guys learn a little life lesson about true beauty. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, 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, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
WE WERE SOLDIERS (R) -- B+
Randall Wallace's depiction of the men who fought America's first big battle in Vietnam gets off to a shaky and cliched start. Once the fighting starts, however, the picture finds its rhythm and its heart. Mel Gibson is at his best as the field commander. The picture properly honors the courage of our soldiers, all the while subtly illustrating the astonishing corruption of those who allowed the war to happen. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
