ABOUT A BOY (PG-13) -- B+
Chris and Paul Weitz step up in class with this comedy (from the Nick Hornby novel) about a rich idler who prides himself on avoiding all human relationships that might obligate him in any way. Hugh Grant is in top form as the protagonist. The picture doesn't take us any place surprising, but its resolute subtlety sets it apart from the routine cinematic obviousness. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
BEIJING BICYCLE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Two teenagers fight over a bicycle, then try to share it during a mountain trip in this film directed by Wang Xiao-Shuai (Frozen). In Mandarin with English subtitles. Through Thursday at Canal Place
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 Davies 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) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20
ENIGMA (R) -- NOT RATED
Jeremy Northam, Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet and Saffron Burrows star in this fact-based World War II tale of a team of British wunderkinds assembled to crack the Nazis' secret codes. Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist) adapts Robert Harris' novel. Canal Place
ENOUGH (PG-13) -- C+
It's Sleeping With the Enemy with an aggressive twist. Deciding that the best defense is a good offense, battered wife J Lo stops running and learns to fight back when abusive husband Billy Campbell won't let her go. Good performances buoy a predictable script. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
GREASE 2 (PG) -- B-
In a case of pure whimsy, Plaza manager Ellis Fortinberry celebrates the 20th anniversary of this sequel to the blockbuster hit starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. This time around, Maxwell Caulfield (remember him?) is a Brit transfer student trying to prove himself to Rydell High toughie Michelle Pfeiffer. Most memorable song: "Cool Rider." (Simmons) Plaza
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (PG) -- A-
Oscar Wilde's comic confection sports a plot as twisty as a pretzel and about as nutritious. Director Oliver Parker's fine cast (including Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Frances O'Connor and Reese Witherspoon) brings infectious zest to Wilde's tangy string of zingers about love and life. (Reviewed in this issue.) (Barton) Canal Place
INSOMNIA (R) -- B-
Christopher Nolan (Memento) returns with an Oscar-winning cast (Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank) but a weak script and a conventional neo-noir thriller format in this curious remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name. Gratefully, Pacino and Williams downplay their roles as an L.A. detective and his elusive prey, but neither generates much chemistry either. Here's hoping Nolan wakes up next time. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
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. 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) AMC Palace 20
THE NEW GUY (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
High school geek DJ Qualls gets expelled from school and sent to prison, where cellmate Eddie Griffin shows him how to act "cool" before he's released and goes to a new school to start fresh. Trouble ensues when a bully from the previous school shows up at the new one. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
PAULINE AND PAULETTE (PG) -- NOT RATED
The relationship between a mentally challenged 75-year-old woman (Dora van der Groen) and her younger sister (Ann Petersen) changes dramatically when the former's roommate dies in this directing debut from Lieven Debrauwer. In Flemish with English subtitles. Through Thursday at Canal Place
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) AMC Palace 20
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) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
SPACE STATION (NR) -- NOT RATED
This latest 3-D IMAX documentary captures the wonder of the International Space Station, which hovers 250 miles above Earth. Entergy IMAX
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON (G) -- NOT RATED
A wild horse in the Wild West gets tamed for calvary duty in DreamWorks' traditional animation production. Features the voices of Matt Damon and Bryan Adams, who adds many, many songs to the soundtrack. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Plaza
STAR WARS: EPISODE II -- ATTACK OF THE CLONES (PG) -- A-
The Empire bounces back as George Lucas brings us ever closer to the Star Wars mythology we know and love. Plenty of action, stunning visuals, a kick-ass Yoda and Hayden Christiansen's pitch-perfect performance as young Anakin Skywalker make this one more The Empire Strikes Back than Phantom Menace. The fun is definitely back in the Force. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Prytania
THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Director Phil Alden Robinson and star Ben Affleck assume the helm of the Tom Clancy spy-thriller series featuring CIA superhero Jack Ryan. This time German neo-Nazis are trying to use a nuclear device they've swiped, use it at the Super Bowl, blame it on the Russians, and set off another Cold War. Phew! Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber, Bridget Moynahan, James Cromwell and Philip Baker Hall co-star. (Note: In Clancy's novel, the villains were Muslims, but that was actually changed before Sept. 11.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Plaza
UNDERCOVER BROTHER (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
The animated, made-for-Internet comedy series comes to life with Eddie Griffin as hero of the title trying to make the (white) world safe for African-Americans in this action comedy/spoof. Intriguing supporting cast includes Denise Richards, Dave Chappelle, Chris Kattan, Gary Anthony Williams, Neil Patrick Harris, Aunjanue Ellis, Jack Noseworthy and a cameo by James Brown. Malcolm Lee (The Best Man) directs. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
UNFAITHFUL (R) -- B-
Though resolutely artful and blessed with exceptionally fine performances by Diane Lane and Richard Gere, Adrian Lyne's domestic drama about the cheating wife of a decent man suffers from a clumsy script and a stubborn Hollywood determination to turn everything into a thriller. Too bad, so sad. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (NR) -- A
Alfonso Cuaron's sexually explicit road "comedy" about two teenage boys and the 28-year-old runaway wife they take to the beach is really an elaborate allegory about Mexican history and society. (Barton)
