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2 FAST AND 2 FURIOUS (PG-13) --
Actor Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen are out and actor Tyrese Gibson and
director John Singleton are in for this sequel to the 2001 action hit that returns
only co-star Paul Walker. Grand
28 DAYS LATER (R) -- B
Director Danny Boyle brings chaos back to the big screen with this apocalyptic
thriller starring Cillian Murphy and Christopher Eccleston. A London lab experiment
unleashed causes the infected population to turn into red-eyed, rage-filled
zombies. (Carlson) (Editor's note: The version currently in theaters now features
an alternate ending.) AMC Palace 20
AMERICAN WEDDING (R) --
The American Pie series (hopefully) concludes as dorks Jason Biggs and
Alyson Hannigan tie the knot. Several key alumni are skipping this one, including
Chris Klein and Mena Suvari. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BAD BOYS II (R) --
Actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunite with the filmmaking team of director
Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer in this slam-bang sequel to the 1995
hit about a couple of action-crazy Miami detectives. Co-stars Gabrielle Union,
Joe Pantoliano and Henry Rollins. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC
Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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 has a big, open heart. (Barton)
AMC Palace 20, Grand
CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE (PG-13) --
Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu return in this sequel to the action
movie based on the cheesy T&A detective series. AMC Palace 20
FINDING NEMO (G) -- A
This Disney/Pixar collaboration about a little fish separated from his father
floats fantastically on the voice talents of Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres
and a winning script penned by director Andrew Stanton. Technologically, Nemo
is stunning, but -- more importantly -- this fish tale has heart and humor akin
to its older sibling Toy Story. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Hollywood Cinemas 9
FREAKY FRIDAY (PG) --
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan assume the roles previously played by Barbara
Harris and Jodie Foster, respectively, in Disney's remake of its own 1976 comedy.
Directed by Mark S. Waters (The House of Yes) and co-starring Mark Harmon,
Steven Tobolowsky and Harold Gould. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16,
AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
GIGLI (R) --
The film that brought Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez together finally hits the
big screen after a slew of release-date shuffling (never a good sign). Affleck
plays a hit man kidnapping a district attorney's brother and striking up an
uneasy alliance with J-Lo. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
JOHNNY ENGLISH (PG) --
British comic genius Rowan Atkinson is a bumbling secret agent matching wits
with French thief John Malkovich, who wants to steal the queen's jewels and
throne in this comedy by director Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors). Co-stars
Natalia Imbruglia. AMC Palace 12
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE (PG-13) --
Angelina Jolie returns as the butt-kicking adventurer, this time battling a
Chinese crime boss over the hunt for Pandora's Box. Directed by Jan de Bont
of Speed fame. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20,
Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (PG-13) --
Stephen Norrington directs this film version of Alan Moore's popular comic-book
mini-series featuring such literary favorites as Allen Quartermain (Sean Connery),
Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah) and The Invisible Man (Tony Curran). AMC
Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE & BLONDE (PG-13) --
Reese Witherspoon returns as the fashion-savvy and surprisingly intelligent
legal eagle, this time having graduated from law school and taking up the animal-testing
cause in D.C. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16
THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST (PG-13) -- Aki Kaurismaki's "Finland" trilogy
continues with this Oscar-nominated film about a man (Markku Peltola) who survives
a brutal beating and subsequent unconsciousness only to lose his memory and
start his life all over again. In Finnish with English subtitles. Canal Place
MYSTERIES OF EGYPT (NR) --
Omar Sharif narrates this IMAX look at the ancient history and culture of Egypt,
sponsored by National Geographic. Entergy IMAX
O.T.: OUR TOWN (NR) A Scott Hamilton Kennedy's documentary details
a production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town at a rough urban high school
in L.A. that hasn't staged a play in a quarter century. The students have no
experience. The teachers have no budget. The documentary sustains considerable
suspense over whether or not the show will actually come off. When it does,
you'll be among those yelling, "Bravo!" (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) 8
p.m. Friday through Aug. 20 at Zeitgeist
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (PG-13) --
B+ Gore Verbinski's action/comedy employs Hollywood convention from the
ultimate victory of the heroes to the benedictory kiss of the star-crossed lovers.
The picture is quality summer popcorn fun, however, due to a witty script and
the performances of Geoffey Rush as the villain and the fascinating Johnny Depp
as the film's eccentric pirate hero. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace
16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
PRISONER OF PARADISE (PG) -- The New Orleans Jewish Film Festival kicks
off with Malcolm Clarke's Oscar-nominated documentary about Kurt Gerron, a German-Jewish
cabaret star forced to make a Nazi propoganda film while interned at a concenctration
camp. 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, at the Contemporary Arts Center
SEABISCUIT (PG-13) -- B+
Gary Ross capably adapts Laura Hillenbrand's surpise best-selling book about
the legendary thoroughbred race horse. Though there's not enough horse in this
horse movie, the action is well-shot, and leads Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper and
Tobey Maguire all do what's asked of them (especially Maguire as jockey Red
Pollard). (Virgets) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand,
Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER (PG-13) --
Robert Rodriguez closes out the Spy Game series with this update of the
Cortez siblings, in which brother Juni must rescue sister Carmen after she is
kidnapped by a virtual-reality game. Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino return
as the parents. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette,
Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
S.W.A.T. (R) -- The fascist '70s TV show gets the big-screen treatment
with Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell and others doing battle with evil drug
lord Olivier Martinez. Let's just hope the theme song is as cool as the one
for the TV show. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette,
Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
SWIMMING POOL (R) --
B- Francois Ozon (8 Women) directs this erotically charged but
ultimately contrived tale of a mystery novelist (Charlotte Rampling) searching
for her muse in the south of France and unexpectedly finding it in her publisher's
daughter (Ludivine Sagnier). Too bad Ozon loses in the third act whatever tension
he's built before. (Simmons) Canal Place
TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES (R) --
C Jonathan Mostow's stab at the second sequel about the killing machines
from the future who try to kill and/or protect a future savior of humanity is
fundamentally a remake of the first sequel. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to
speak in three-word sentences and smash the living daylights out of anything
he sees. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
THE TRIP (NR) -- A journalist and gay-rights advocate bond over the '70s
and '80s in this film by Miles Swain. Co-stars Steve Braum and Alan Oakley.
Canal Place
WHALE RIDER (PG-13) -- A
Niki Caro's story of a 12-year-old New Zealand Maori girl's desire to become
her native village's chief is less like a conventional work of fiction and more
like a poem written in light. Young star Keisha Castle-Huges exhibits the luminescence
and prepossession that Natalie Portman showed at the same age. (Barton) Canal
Place
| 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 |
Other Stories This Week in Movies:
Balcony Seats
O.T.: Our Town
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