ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS (R) -- NOT RATED Ice Cube and Mike Epps co-star in this adventure about a bounty hunter who teams with his former prey for a diamond heist. 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. Winner of four Oscars. (Barton) Palace 20
BLADE II (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. Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
THE CAT'S MEOW (PG-13) -- B+
Peter Bogdanovich's (Last Picture Show) first film in a decade offers a fictionalized version of the 1924 Hollywood scandal involving media mogul William Randolph Hearst, actress Marion Davis and Charlie Chaplin aboard Hearst's yacht. Bogdanovich ably captures this Hollywood legend with great aplomb, and Kirsten Dunst and Edward Hermann are great in the leads, but other characterizations and a plodding pace get in the way. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
CHANGING LANES (R) -- B
Roger Michell's urban drama stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck as two contemporary New Yorkers who get in a fender bender and then spend a long day in a series of escalating attacks on each other. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Prytania
CLOCKSTOPPERS (PG) -- NOT RATED
A scientist tries to undo his own handiwork after developing a mechanism that speeds up anything it hits -- including his own kids. Palace 16, Palace 20
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. (Simmons) Palace 16
FRAILTY (R) -- NOT RATED
Character actor Bill Paxton makes his directing debut and co-stars in this film about a man (Matthew McConaughey) who recounts his abusive childhood while telling the FBI his brother may be the serial killer they're tracking. Palace 20
HIGH CRIMES (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Hot-shot San Francisco attorney Ashley Judd turns to retired military lawyer Morgan Freeman to help defend husband James Caviezel in military court. Carl Franklin (One True Thing) directs. Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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
JASON X (R) -- NOT RATED
Because you can never get enough of a good thing, one of horror film's great bad guys returns for a 10th go-around at the innocent prey. James Isaac directs. Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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! Palace 16
JOSHUA (G) -- NOT RATED
Based on the first installment of a popular Christian novel series, this theatrical-release debut from John Purdy stars Tony Goldwyn (Ghost) as a carpenter who moves to a small town and whose seemingly miraculous feats get the townfolk buzzing that he might be the Second Coming. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
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. (Simmons) Canal Place
LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
TV reporter Angelina Jolie learns to appreciate life after getting a premonition of her own demise in this film by Stephen Herek (Rock Star). Co-stars Edward Burns, Stockard Channing and Tony Shalhoub. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, 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. Winner of four Oscars. (Carlson) Palace 20
MONSTER'S BALL (R) -- B-
Marc Forster's drama about a racist prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) who falls for a black waitress (Halle Berry) offers an Oscar-winning lead performance by Berry and a convincing depiction of the way family members of criminals are among crime's victims. (Barton) Plaza
MONSOON WEDDING (R) -- B
Mira Nair's (Mississippi Masala) mostly festive look at an arranged marriage in contemporary Delhi between an otherwise strikingly modern bride and groom is full of energy and joy but only narrowly skirts narrative disaster in a late turn about incest and pedophilia. (Barton) Canal Place
MURDER BY NUMBERS (R) -- B
Director Barbet Schroeder and producer/New Orleans resident Susan Hoffman return to familiar ground with this tepid psychological crime thriller about a detective (Sandra Bullock) tracking a Leopold-Loeb-type pair of killers (Ryan Gosling, Michael Pitt) while battling her demons. (Simmons) Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VAN WILDER (R) -- NOT RATED
Professional college student Van Wilder (Ryan Reynolds) tries to keep his "job" even after his dad finally cuts him off in his seventh year at school. Palace 20
NATIVE AMERICAN FILM TRIBUTE
-- NOMA presents this collection of Native American-related films in conjunction with Jazz Fest, including Robert Mirabal: Music From a Painted Cave, Making a Noise: A Native American Musical Journey With Robbie Robertson, and Smoke Signals. 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at NOMA
PANIC ROOM (R) -- NOT RATED
Single mom Jodie Foster and her daughter hide out from burglars Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam and Jared Leto in the supposedly secure room of a new townhouse, not realizing the room hides the goods the burglars seek. David Fincher (Se7en) directs. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE ROOKIE (G) -- B+
Director John Lee Hancock and star Dennis Quaid prove that baseball diamonds are a movie-going girl's best friend in this big league, based-on-a-true-story, charming family film. (Carlson) Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
THE SCORPION KING (PG-13) -- F
A worthwhile film franchise goes horribly wrong with this tale of a legendary Akkadian fighter. A poor script, lackluster direction and hammy supporting cast chip away at The Rock, who otherwise shows a moment or two of actual action potential. (Carlson) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, Plaza
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. (Simmons) Palace 20
STATE PROPERTY (R) -- NOT RATED
Gang leader Beanie Sigel tries to become the drug kingpin but clashes with rival Jay-Z in this film directed by first-timer Abdul Malik Abbott, who directs Jay-Z music videos. Plaza
THE SWEETEST THING (R) -- NOT RATED
Cameron Diaz's talents are on full display as she portrays a party girl who tries to settle down after finding her Mr. Right -- who just happens to be engaged. Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
TALES FROM ARAB DETROIT (NR) -- NOT RATED Loyola's Arab Film Festival concludes with this film. 7 p.m. Thursday at Loyola's Bobet Hall Room 101
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (NR) -- A
Alfonso Cuaron's sexually explicit road "comedy" about two teenaged boys and the 28-year-old runaway wife they take to the beach is really an elaborate allegory about Mexican history and society. (Barton) Canal Place
