24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (R) -- NOT RATED
Michael Winterbottom chronicles the amazing Manchester music scene of the late
'70s/early '80s that spawned Joy Division/New Order, the Happy Mondays and others.
The very-cool soundtrack also features the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Buzzcocks.
Happy, indeed. Canal Place
APOLLO 13 THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (PG) -- NOT RATED
Ron Howard's 1995 film about the doomed space flight (starring Tom Hanks, Kevin
Bacon and Ed Harris) becomes the first 35mm live-action film to be digitally
remastered for IMAX viewing. Entergy IMAX
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). (Carlson) AMC Palace 12
BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER (R) -- NOT RATED Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu are rival agents who, while playing their unending game of cat-and-mouse, realize they might need to be on the same team in this action thriller from Wych Kaosayananda. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE BANGER SISTERS (R) --
Down-and-out bartender Goldie Hawn hunts down fellow ex-groupie Susan Sarandon in the suburbs to loosen her up for old time's sake. (Williams) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
THE BARBERSHOP (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Employees at a Chicago barbershop kick the gossip and speculation when a $50,000 reward is offered for help in solving a recent bank heist. Cedric the Entertainer and Ice Cube lead an ensemble cast. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Downtown Joy, Hollywood Cinemas 9
CITY BY THE SEA (R) -- NOT RATED
New York cop Robert De Niro investigates a murder only to find his erstwhile son James Franco is a prime suspect. Frances McDormand and Eliza Dushku co-star. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20
THE FOUR FEATHERS (PG-13) -- C-
Director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) gets lost in the desert in this remake of a remake of a remake. Flat cinematography and a stilted script undermine a sympathetic performance by Heath Ledger (The Patriot). This movie wants to be an epic and has all the trappings, but none of the heart. A vapid Kate Hudson, a catatonic Wes Bentley and an underused Djimon Hounsou costar. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE GOOD GIRL (R) -- A-
This black comedy by director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White (Chuck and Buck) exposes the thin veneer of morality to reveal the bedrock selfishness in humor behavior. Jennifer Aniston does Oscar-worthy work as a retail clerk cheating with a co-worker (Jake Gyllenhaal) on her doofus husband of seven years (John C. Reilly). (Barton) AMC Palace 20
HAUNTED CASTLE (PG) -- NOT RATED
Combination of live-action characters and computer-generated scenes fill this 3-D version of the Faustian tale. Entergy IMAX
THE LADY AND THE DUKE (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Eric Rohmer (Claire's Knee) directed this fact-based story of Grace Dalrymple Elliot's memoir of her turbulent life during the French Revolution. Elliot is also famous for being painted by the master artist Thomas Gainsborough. Canal Place
LIKE MIKE (PG) -- NOT RATED
Everyone's favorite li'l scamp of a rapper, Lil' Bow Wow, plays a little kid who, through a freak accident, becomes an NBA star. Features cameos by NBA stars including Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd and Chris Webber. Downtown Joy
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING (PG) --
B+ Nia Vardalos wrote and stars in this romantic comedy about a Greek-American woman from a traditional family who falls in love with a WASPy school teacher (a charming John Corbett) and has to navigate the stormy seas of her family's disapproval. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
MY WIFE IS AN ACTRESS (R) -- NOT RATED
Yvan Attal wrote, directed and stars opposite his real-life actress wife Charlotte Gainsbourg as a sportswriter married to a famous actress in this curiously autobiographical romantic French comedy. Terence Stamp (The Limey) is a move co-star who gets between the two. Canal Place
ONE HOUR PHOTO (R) --
B Mark Romanek's thriller concerns a lonely store clerk's obsession with a young a family. Avoiding chronic excesses, Robin Williams gives one of the best performances of his career. Certain narrative contrivances are largely overcome with artful visual symbolism, complex character development and a conclusion that doesn't quite go where you expect. (Barton) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Hollywood Cinemas 9
POSSESSION (PG-13) -- A-
Neil LaBute artfully 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 a luminous Jennifer Ehle). (Carlson) AMC Palace 20
PUNK ROCK/HEAVY METAL KARAOKE: THE MOVIE (NR) -- NOT RATED
Sonny J.L. Aronson chronicles the Monday night scene at a club in New York City in which a band plays covers of songs not found in traditional karaoke machines. Movie precedes the Shim Sham's new similarly themed karaoke night. 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Shim Sham Club
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. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
THE SON OF THE BRIDE (R) -- NOT RATED
The life of a workaholic is turned upside down when his father announces he plans to remarry his wife, currently in a rest home suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, because the two never had a proper wedding. This Argentinian comedy from Juan Jose Campanella was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Stars Ricardo Darin, Hector Alterio, Norma Aleandro and Eduardo Blanco. Canal Place
SPACE STATION (NR) -- NOT RATED --
A 3-D look at the International Space Station. Entergy IMAX
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
STEALING HARVARD (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Slackers Jason Lee and Tom Green turn to crime to help finance the Harvard education of Lee's sister in this comedy from former Kid in the Hall Bruce McCulloch (1999's hilarious Dick). Co-stars Dennis Farina, Seymour Cassel and Will & Grace's Meg Mullally. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
SWEET HOME ALABAMA (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Reese Witherspoon must return to her small Alabama hometown and obtain a divorce from her socioeconomically challenged husband in order to marry her New York City beau in this romantic comedy directed by Andy Tennant. Co-stars Candice Bergen, Patrick Dempsey, Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place and Josh Lucas. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
SWIMFAN (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Fatal Attraction goes to high school when new girl Erika Christensen seduces stud swimmer Jesse Bradford then gets rabbit-boiling mad when he blows her off. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
TRAPPED (R) --
Mom-and-pop Charlize Theron and Stuart Townshend try to save their diabetic daughter from kidnappers Kevin Bacon and Courtney Love within 24 hours. (Williams) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE TUXEDO (PG-13) -- NOT RATED
Through a series of wacky mishaps, Jackie Chan goes from cab driver to chauffeur to U.S. governmental spy who kicks much ass after putting on a gizmo-filled tuxedo. Co-stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Debi Mazar and the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Commercials director Kevin Donovan gets his first big directing break here. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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 16
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 extreme-sports wild man (Diesel) recruited by the government's Samuel L. Jackson to bust up a Russian crime gang. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
