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AGENT CODY BANKS (PG) --
The federal government turns to huggable teen Frankie Muniz for a secret spy
mission. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
ALL ACCESS: FRONT ROW. BACKSTAGE. LIVE! (NR) -- B-
Martyn Atkins directs this 2001 IMAX take on popular music, with
concert footage of Sting, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (with Mary J.
Blige), Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, B.B. King and Trey Anastasio with The Roots, Macy
Gray, Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas, Al Green and the Dave Matthews Band, and
Moby. A fairly sterile affair, ALL ACCESS feels like a coffee-table book of rock 'n' roll portraiture come to life. Atkins' camera work is at its best up close and personal or with panning overhead shots, but cliched with tossed-in time-lapse sequences or mirror-image moments. Surprisingly, the highlights come watching Kid Rock making his entrance, and King and Anastasio playfully trading guitar leads with The Roots serving as laid-back middlemen. Consider it a kinder, gentler and cooler way to celebrate Jazz Fest. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue; for an extended review, visit the Movies section of www.bestofneworleans.com) Monday, April 21, through Sunday, May 4, at Entergy IMAX
ANGER MANAGEMENT (PG-13) -- C
Adam Sandler does the dumbed-down version of his character from Punch-Drunk Love, in this tale of an essentially likable guy suffering from an implosive anger problem. Sentenced to anger management counseling (and a series of most improbable plot twists), Sandler must contend with therapist Jack Nicholson and his highly unorthodox techniques. Poop and penis jokes abound in this not-always-unfunny film, leavened significantly by the realization that the crazy Jack is winning. Watch for cameos from John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Rudy Giuliani and more. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
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 20
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (PG-13) --
B+ Gurinder Chadha's story of an English girl whose traditional Sikh parents want her to learn to cook and find a good Indian boy to marry rather than follow her talent and passion for soccer fails to break new narrative ground. But it has a big, open heart and well-developed characters and introduces in Parminder Nagra a luminous new star. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
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, Grand, 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
BULLETPROOF MONK (PG-13) --
Martial arts action comedy features kung fu master Chow Yun-Fat trying to mentor
and tolerate brash young American Seann William Scott. Jaime King co-stars. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
CHASING PAPI (PG) --
Handsome young L.A. Latino Eduardo Verastegui triple-times three women (Roselyn
Sanchez, Jaci Velasquez and Sofia Vergara) in three cities but gets his comeuppance
in one weekend in this comedy co-starring D.L. Hughley, Paul Rodriguez and Maria
Conchita Alonso. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
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. Richard Gere and Renée Zellweger, although less comfortable
with the physicality of their roles, both give more than able performances as
huckster lawyer Billy Flynn and his new leading lady Roxie Hart, respectively.
(Winner of six Oscars, including Best Picture.) (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
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 16, AMC Palace 20
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. Grand
DIVINE INTERVENTION (NR) -- A-
Palestinian writer/director Elia Suleiman's metaphorical drama looks at the
contemporary situation in the Middle East through the lens of magical realism.
The picture provides only the barest narrative about lovers who live on either
side of an Israeli checkpoint and so sometimes are barred from getting together.
Many scenes have nothing to do with this core story. Most are elusive. All
are provocative. The whole of the film is more easily discussed and debated
than automatically understood. (Barton) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Zeitgeist
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, who adapted the Stephen King novel. AMC Palace 20, Grand
DYSFUNKTIONAL FAMILY (R) --
Comedian Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) hits the stage for a raucous recap of his quirky family members. AMC Palace 16, Chalmette, Grand
FINAL DESTINATION 2 (R) --
David Ellis takes over for James Wong in directing the sequel to the surprise
thriller hit of 2000 about a person who can see future dead people. Grand
THE GOOD THIEF (R) -- B+
Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview With the Vampire) teams up with Nick Nolte in this delightful homage to Jean-Pierre Melville's 1955 French New Wave classic Bob Le Flambeur (horribly translated as Bob the Gambler). Jordan updates and relocates, using Monte Carlo as the setting and a polygot for a cast, but the hipster cool set against existential remains delightfully intact. Nolte's ragged glory continues to shine, aided and abetted by a wonderful supporting cast that features Tcheky Karyo, personal favorite Said Taghmaoui and sexy newcomer Nutsa Kikhianidze, with a cameo by Ralph Fiennes. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue; for an extended review, visit the Movies section of www.bestofneworleans.com) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
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, Grand
HOLES (PG) --
Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) directs Louis Sachar's adaptation of his own National Book Award-winning 1998 bestseller interweaving three stories suffused with fantasy and legend. Jon Voight, Sigourney Weaver, Patricia Arquette and Tim Blake Nelson support a leadingcast of child actors. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES (R) --
Hard rocker Rob Zombie puts his ghoulish name to the cinematic test with this
writing and directing debut about two couples who get lost on the road and wind
up in a whole mess o' trouble. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
LOVE LIZA (R) -- B-
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives an affecting performance as a widower paralyzed
by his wife's suicide and unable to open the letter she left behind in this
film directed by Todd Louiso (the nerdy record-store clerk in High Fidelity) and written by Hoffman's brother Gordy. The beauty of this film lies in its bumpy rhythms and (relative) avoidance of Big Scenes, though the script almost pushes the vibe over to the other end. Countless Jim O'Rourke songs, though welcome in almost any other setting, feel overloaded here, but it's still fun to watch Hoffman, one of the best in the biz, grow as an actor. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue; for an extended review, visit the Movies section of www.bestofneworleans.com) Canal Place
MALIBU'S MOST WANTED (PG-13) --
Jamie Kennedy tries to make it as a white rapper, much to the chagrin of his
dad (Ryan O'Neal), who's running for governor. Co-stars Taye Diggs. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
OPEN HEARTS (R) --
The latest from the Dogme 95 clique follows two couples whose lives are forever
changed by one car accident. The doctor in charge of caring for the crash victim
winds up falling in love with the man's wife, threatening his own marriage to
the woman responsible for the crash in the first place. Whew! Directed by Susanne Bier, Open Hearts won several Danish Film Academy Awards. Canal Place
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) Hollywood Cinemas 9
PHONE BOOTH (R) -- B+
Colin Farrell holds this Joel Schumacher-helmed film together as a fast-talking PR man trapped in a phone booth by an unknown sniper. A weak script and restricted set make this one a challenge, but Farrell rivets the audience with his considerable screen prowess. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
PIGLET'S BIG MOVIE (G) --
Winnie the Pooh's more timid buddy must gather all his strength to save his friends
when they get into trouble in this animation film from Disney. Note: Piglet's
voice will once again be provided by Piglet veteran John Fiedler, one of the
all-time great mousey TV and film character actors (12 Angry Men, True Grit). AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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
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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