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ADAPTATION (R) --
A Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), have done it again with this story of a blocked screenwriter (Nicolas Cage) trying to adapt The Orchid Thief, a nonfiction bestseller by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) about a renegade Florida botanist (Oscar winner Chris Cooper). (Barton) Canal Place
AGENT CODY BANKS (PG) --
The federal government turns to huggable teen Frankie Muniz for a secret spy
mission. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
ARAB CINEMA --
Zeitgeist's series continues with screenings of Brothers and Others and Introduction to the End of the Argument (7:30 p.m.) and Children of Fire and Children of Shatila (9:30 p.m.). 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Zeitgeist
BASIC (R) --
DEA agent John Travolta teams with babelicious military cop Connie Nielsen to
investigate the disappearance of Army Ranger cadets and drill instructor Samuel
L. Jackson. Supporting cast includes our own Harry Connick Jr. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (PG-13) --
An Indian teen growing up in England dreams of becoming a soccer star like her
idol, David Beckham, but clashes with her traditionally minded Sikh parents in
this blockbuster comedy from Great Britain. Canal Place
BLOODY SUNDAY (R) -- A
Writer-director Paul Greengrass' harrowing, documentary-style account of the
British army's 1972 massacre of 13 peaceful demonstrators in Northern Ireland
remains entirely relevant today. Sponsored by the New Orleans Film Festival.
(Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Prytania
BOAT TRIP (R) --
Manly men Cuba Gooding Jr. and Horatio Sanz try to score with the ladies by
booking a trip on a cruise, only to realize they've been booked on a gay cruise
liner! (Groan.) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE (PG-13) --
Attorney Steve Martin meets convicted felon Queen Latifah over the Internet in
another salt-and-pepper comedy. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BUGS! 3D (NR) --
This latest IMAX offering charts the progression of a praying mantis and a butterfly
through the rain forests of Southeast Asia. Entergy IMAX
CHICAGO (PG-13) --
A- A spectacular staging of the hit Broadway musical showcases a sizzling and Oscar-winning Catherine Zeta-Jones as the notorious Velma Kelley. (Winner of six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.) (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Prytania
THE CORE (R) --
NASA scientists travel to the center of the Earth to fix the planet's core by
setting off a nuclear device in this sci-fi thriller starring Aaron Eckhart
(Possession) and Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE (R) --
Romeo Must Die's DMX and Jet Li reunite as a gang leader (DMX) who recruits an agent (Li) to free the gangster's kidnapped daughter from a criminal. AMC Palace 20
DAREDEVIL (PG-13) --
Ben Affleck is a lawyer for the underdog by day and a man-in-tights superhero
at night, ably assisted by his girlfriend, Jennifer Garner. AMC Palace 12, Chalmette
DREAMCATCHER (R) --
Four longtime friends battle an alien force on a reunion hunting trip deep in
the woods of Maine in this effort by director Lawrence Kasdan and Oscar-winning
screenwriter William Goldman in adapting the Stephen King novel. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
HEAD OF STATE (PG-13) --
Chris Rock goes for the hat trick in writing, directing and starring as a Washington,
D.C., alderman who finds himself replacing the Democratic Party's dead presidential
candidate. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE HOURS (PG-13) -- B
Stephen Daldry and David Hare's adaptation of Michael Cunningham's book offers
a stellar cast including Oscar winner Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl
Streep and Ed Harris. (Barton) AMC Palace 20
HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (PG-13) -- C
Donald Petrie's lame romantic comedy stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey
in a contest of romantic gamesmanship. (Barton) AMC Palace 12
THE HUNTED (R) --
FBI agent Tommy Lee Jones captures, then loses, a killer who tracks deer hunters
in the woods, then must recapture him in the big city. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 (G) --
C Awash in jungle greens, this latest from the Disney sequel factory looks better than it sounds. (Tisserand). AMC Palace 20
A MAN APART (R) --
DEA agent Vin Diesel and partner Larenz Tate join forces with a jailed drug
lord to battle the boss' unwelcome successor after Vin's wife is murdered. Clear? AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
MARION BRIDGE (NR) -- B-
Wiebke von Carolsfeld's adaptation of the Daniel MacIvor play is the bleak story of three thirtysomething sisters caring for their dying mother and becoming mysteriously involved with a teenage girl from a nearby Nova Scotia town. The picture is slow and flawed but well-acted and stubbornly hopeful. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) 8:15 p.m. Friday through Monday at Zeitgeist
OLD SCHOOL (R) --
Thirtysomething buddies Will Farrell, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn decide to
relive their college days by opening their own frat house. AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 20
THE PIANIST (R) --
A Oscar winner Roman Polanski's true story of a Polish pianist (Oscar winner Adrien Brody) who survived the Holocaust but lost his entire family in the process. (Winner of three Oscars.) (Barton) Canal Place, Hollywood Cinemas 9
PHONE BOOTH (R) --
Cheesemaster Joel Schmacher directs this thriller about a New York yuppie (Colin Farrell) who answers a phone in a booth and is trapped by a sniper (Kiefer Sutherland). (Note: Alfred Hitchcock once said he'd love to direct a story just like this.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE (G) --
Winnie the Pooh's timid buddy must gather all his strength to save his friends
when they get into trouble in this animated film from Disney. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE QUIET AMERICAN (R) -- C
Only those unfamiliar with the lovely lethargy of Graham Greene's writing will
fail to be disappointed by Philip Noyce's lackluster incarnation of the 1950s
Vietnam tale. Oscar-nominated Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser portray characters
whose on-screen actions abrogate the power -- and the point -- of Greene's
prose. (Carlson) Canal Place
SPIRITED AWAY (PG) -- B
Hayao Miyazaki's film returns to town after winning the Oscar for Best Animated
Feature. A little girl must figure out a way to rescue her parents after they
are turned into pigs. The animation is unquestionably rich and textured, though
the story drags to the point of tedium. (Simmons) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
TALK TO HER (R) -- B
Director Pedro Almodovar won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his
acclaimed story of two men caring for women in comas. The film has much to
admire; it's arrestingly original, gentle and forgiving of spirit. (Barton) Canal Place
VIEW FROM THE TOP (PG-13) -- D
Bruno Barreto has mysteriously attracted the performer likes of Gwyneth Paltrow
and Mark Ruffalo to this lame jiggle comedy about a stewardess who has to choose
between a career in the sky and the guy on the ground who loves her. (Barton) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
WHAT A GIRL WANTS (PG) -- B+
Light as a feather and just the right amount of sweet, this Dennie Gordon-directed
modern fairy tale has the WB's Amanda Bynes hopping the pond to seek out the
extraordinarily British father (Colin Firth) she has never known. Not much new
in the way of storytelling here, but Firth's considerable charm and a script
that skirts the edges of the saccharine keep this one from becoming twee. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
| AMC Palace 12 734-2020; AMC Palace 16 734-2020; AMC Palace 20 734-2020; Canal Place 581-5400; Chalmette 277-9797; Downtown Joy 522-7575; Entergy IMAX 581-4629; Plaza 245-0102; Prytania 891-2787; Zeitgeist 525-2767
Compiled by David Lee Simmons
Contributors: Rick Barton, Shala Carlson, David Lee Simmons |
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