THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Eddie Murphy does his multiple-role thing playing a nightclub owner on the moon
who gets caught up in space-mob trouble in this action/sci-fi comedy that also
features Rosario Dawson, Jay Mohr and Joe Pantoliano. AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER (PG-13) -- A-
Perhaps the funniest of the Austin Powers trilogy, Goldmember introduces the eponymous bad guy, a Dutch madman maimed in a smelting accident (Mike Myers), as well as Powers patriarch, Nigel (Michael Caine). Myers has ratcheted up the bathroom humor to great effect, proving that silly can be a satisfying, side-splitting and sophisticated venture. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
BLOOD WORK (R) -- C
Clint Eastwood exudes his usual charisma as a retired F.B.I. agent with a heart transplant back at work on a serial murder case. A solid cast includes Anjelica Huston, Jeff Daniels, Paul Rodriguez and Wanda De Jesus. If you figure out the mystery early on, a lot of the fun of this picture evaporates. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
BLUE CRUSH (R) -- NOT RATED
Michelle Rodriguez, Kate Bosworth, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem are four thrill-seeking surfer girls partying it up in Hawaii. Directed by John Stockwell (Crazy/Beautiful) and not to be confused with the 1998 women's surfing documentary of the same name. Co-starring Matthew Davis and Faizon Love. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
THE COUNTRY BEARS (G) -- NOT RATED
You've seen the Disney attraction, now see the movie! A bear named Beary (Haley Joel Osment's voice) who was raised by humans decides to seek his real, pawed family in Tennessee. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
THE GOOD GIRL (R) -- NOT RATED
Jennifer Aniston is a dutiful, bored housewife who falls into a relationship with younger Jake Gyllenhaal in this film by Miguel Arteta (Chuck and Buck). Co-stars John C. Reilly and Tim Blake Nelson. Canal Place, AMC Palace 20
K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER (PG-13) -- B-
Kathryn Bigelow's naval drama tells the story of a Cold War Soviet submarine that suffers a nuclear accident which threatens a lot more than fish. Harrison Ford is the mission-focused captain and Liam Neeson his crew-loyal executive officer. Heads inevitably butt. Important points are at least tangentially made. But we've seen this movie more than once before. (Barton) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
LIKE MIKE (PG) -- NOT RATED
Lil' Bow Wow plays a little kid who, through a freak accident, becomes an NBA star. Features cameos by NBA luminaries including Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Chris Webber. AMC Palace 16, Plaza
MARTIN LAWRENCE LIVE: RUNTELDAT (R) -- NOT RATED
The comic presents his first concert performance on film since 1994's wildly popular You So Crazy. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
THE MASTER OF DISGUISE (PG) -- F
Dana Carvey stars in this "comedy" about a son who must embrace his family's history of disguise to save his father, who has been kidnapped and forced into evil deeds. An audience of kids laughed at the endless fart jokes. But to put this succinctly, this was the worst movie I've seen. Ever. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
MEN IN BLACK II (PG-13) -- B+
The sequel to the 1997 box office barn burner Men in Black is fresher and funnier -- although even more familiar -- than ever. Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Rip Torn obviously relish the opportunity to reprise their roles. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (PG) -- NOT RATED
Nia Vardalos wrote and stars in the screen adaptation of her autobiographical one-woman play about the misadventures of a Greek woman marrying a non-Greek man. AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
NOVAC 30-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE --
Zeitgeist's salute to NOVAC continues this week with screenings including the following: A House Divided With James Earl Jones, Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics, Police Brutality and Rape NOLA (Tuesday); Storyville: The Naked Dance and Video Workshop Called Streetcar (Wednesday); View From a Stoop, Get Down Street and Cheap and Greasy (Thursday); The Transparent Object, I Feel Pretty, New Orleans: One City, Many Voices and Poets in the Dream State (Friday); and Best of the Louisiana Video Shorts Festivals (Saturday). 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at Zeitgeist
POSSESSION (PG-13) -- A-
Neil LaBute adapts the much-loved A.S. Byatt novel, which tells the story of two modern-day academics (Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart) and their pursuit of the romantic tale of two Victorian-era poets (Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle). A deceptively simple film, Possession thoughtfully and teasingly examines the negotiation of the self through a thing called love, as well as the present's relationship to the past. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) Opens wide release Friday, Aug. 30
ROAD TO PERDITION (R) -- C
Sam Mendes' rampantly disappointing follow-up to American Beauty is a Depression-era crime drama that ought to be about a father's search for redemption but is instead about a father's search for revenge. Great cinematography by Conrad L. Hall and a terrific cast can't save a story that proceeds from plodding to preposterous to predictable. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
SERVING SARA (R) -- NOT RATED
Process server Matthew Perry gets duped into serving divorce papers for shady lady Elizabeth Hurley in this romantic action comedy from Reginald Hudlin (House Party, Boomerang). Co-stars Bruce Campbell, Cedric the Entertainer and Vincent Pastore. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
SIGNS (PG-13) -- B-
M. Night Shyamalan continues what feels like a downward career trajectory after his thrilling debut, The Sixth Sense, with this manipulative, choppy and ultimately thin exploration of a creeping alien invasion. Delightful nods to War of the Worlds and Night of the Living Dead can't cover up Shyamalan's weak themes and Mel Gibson's depth-free acting. The shock scenes and humorous moments often cover up the film's flaws. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Plaza
SIMONE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Struggling producer Al Pacino replaces the lead in his comeback film effort with a digitally replicated actress (Rachel Roberts) in this film by Andew Niccol (Gattaca), who scripted The Truman Show. Co-stars Catherine Keener, Jay Mohr, Winona Ryder and Louisiana's Pruitt Taylor Vince. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Prytania
SPY KIDS 2 (PG) -- NOT RATED
Robert Rodriguez's follow-up to last year's successful romp with a brother-sister team taking over for their spy parents (Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino) when mom and pop are put out of action. This time, the kids find peer rivals and eventually combine forces to save the world. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Plaza
STUART LITTLE 2 (PG) -- B
This sequel still doesn't measure up to E.B. White's book, but it easily tops the first film in whimsy and age-appropriateness. This time, the mousy hero meets a new feathered friend and embarks on adventures throughout a lovingly photographed New York -- in fact, the opening panorama, set against Mary Mary's version of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," plays as a post-9/11 valentine to the city. Michael J. Fox voices the squeaky hero and James Woods is a villainous falcon, but Nathan Lane gets the film's best laughs as a bitchy house cat. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
TADPOLE (PG-13) --
B- Gary Winick's comedy about a 15-year-old boy having an affair with a 40-year-old woman consciously exudes a French attitude about intergenerational sex. Without bearing much narrative scrutiny, the picture is frequently funny and offers an effectively lascivious performance by Bebe Neuwirth. I could not help but worry, however, about the film's sexual double standard. How would this picture play if genders were reversed? (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
UNDISPUTED (R) -- NOT RATED
Boxing champ Ving Rhames gets sent to prison on a rape charge, only to be forced
into a bout with prison boxing champ Wesley Snipes in this film co-starring
New Orleans' own Master P as the leader of a prison rap group. AMC Palace
12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
XXX (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Overnight action hunk Vin Diesel reunites with The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen and producer Neil Moritz in this story of an on-the-edge, extreme-sports wild man (Diesel) recruited by the government's Samuel L. Jackson to bust up a Russian crime gang. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Plaza
