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, Plaza
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. Palace 16, Palace 20
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) 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, Plaza, 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
DEUCES WILD (R) -- NOT RATED
Gang wars erupt in Brooklyn during the summer of 1958, the first year after the beloved Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, in this film from Scott Kalvert (The Basketball Diaries). Stars Fairuza Balk, Matt Dillon, Stephen Dorff, James Franco, Balthazar Getty, Deborah Harry, Frankie Muniz and Brad Renfro. Palace 12, 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
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
HOLLYWOOD ENDING (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Once again, Woody Allen directs, wrote and co-stars in this story of a director (Allen) who starts to go blind when he accepts a possible comeback film project only if he agrees to direct his ex-wife (Tea Leoni) at the insistence of the studio boss (Treat Williams). 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
ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS (R) -- B+
Writer-director Lone Scherfig has done the near-unthinkable: craft a romantic comedy that still sticks to the spirit of the sometimes overly righteous Dogma 95 credo. Though filled with plenty of dark moments -- death looms around almost every corner, or propels the action -- Scherfig's tale of desperate singles looking for love in a beginning Italian course in suburban Denmark features sympathetic characters whom you can root for even while wondering what the hell is wrong with them. The surprisingly Nora Ephron-esque notion that romantic love saves us from ourselves is a bit annoying, while the film's notions of interconnectedness are more compelling. In Danish with English subtitles. (Simmons) Canal Place
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
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
LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT (PG-13) -- C
Stephen Herek's retro romantic comedy stars Angelina Jolie as an ambitious newscaster and Edward Burns as her laid-back camera man. A hokey plot turn causes Jolie to think she's about to die and causes her to reassess her priorities. This is as fresh as last week's bread and just about as warm. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Chalmette, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20
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
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
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
NEW ORLEANS AFRICAN WORLD FILM FESTIVAL --
This nine-film festival, co-sponsored by the Mayor's Economic Development Fund, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and the Downtown Joy features critically acclaimed films Lumumba and Orfeu. Call 522-7575 for complete schedule. Friday-Sunday at the Downtown Joy
OPEN SCREENING POTLUCK --
Short works by local artists will be presented by Courtney Egan. 7:30 p.m. Friday at Zeitgeist
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. 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) 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
SPIDER-MAN (PG-13) -- B
Tobey Maguire spins a believable web as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in this Sam Raimi effort. Superb casting, excellent use of Matrix technology and occasional flashes of visual brilliance make this one a solid summer flick, but it's not nearly the total comic book package that Darkman -- or even Batman -- was. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Palace 12, Palace 16, Palace 20, 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. Palace 12, Palace 20
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
