ANYTHING ELSE (R) --
A- Woody Allen's latest romantic comedy turns the love troubles over to
writer Jason Biggs and his actress girlfriend Christina Ricci and frees Allen
to provide much of the humor as a curmudgeonly schoolteacher. For Allen fans,
this picture is like a fine meal in a favored restaurant: You've had the same
thing before, but that doesn't mean this time it isn't delicious. (Barton) AMC
Palace 12
CABIN FEVER (R) --
In this horror flick from Eli Roth, five friends are spooked by a mysterious
virus on a camping trip after graduation. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
COLD CREEK MANOR (R) --
Parents Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid move their city-bound family to the country
but run into major trouble when the previous owner of their new home gets out
of prison and tries to get his house back. Directed by Mike Figgis (Leaving
Las Vegas). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand,
Hollywood Cinemas 9
DICKIE ROBERTS: FORMER CHILD STAR (PG-13)
--
In order to win a regular adult role, former kid actor David Spade tries to
relive a childhood he never had because of early Hollywood fame. AMC Palace
12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS (R) -- B+
The latest from director Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity)
overcomes niggling plot missteps and clumsy symbolism to craft a thriller with
a heart about desperate immigrants struggling to survive (and ultimately leave)
contemporary London. Features great performances by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey
Tautou (Amelie) and Sergi Lopez (With a Friend Like Harry ... ).
(Simmons) Canal Place
DUPLEX (PG-13) --
Murder and mayhem surround yuppie couple Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore as they
try to land a sweet piece of New York City real estate in this latest film by
Danny DeVito, who loves to make semi-dark comedies (Throw Momma From the
Train, The War of the Roses). Co-stars Maya Rudolph, Wallace Shawn,
Swoosie Kurtz and Justin Theroux. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC
Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS (PG-13) --
New York ad exec Cuba Gooding Jr. must form a gospel choir in his former Georgia
hometown in order to collect on the inheritance left him by his dead aunt. (Happens
every day.) Co-stars a slew of music types including Beyonce Knowles, Montell
Jordan, Faith Evans and Melba Moore, as well as New Orleans' own Wendell Pierce
(Waiting to Exhale). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Chalmette, Grand, 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.
AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
FREDDY VS. JASON (R) --
Everyone's two favorite titans of terror face off in the grudge match of all
time. Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) slices and dices his way into the dreams
of Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger). Who will survive? Grand
HAUNTED CASTLE 3-D --
A young musician discovers spirits nesting inside his grand new home in this
Halloween-friendly IMAX film. Entergy IMAX
INTO THE DEEP: 3D --
IMAX dives deep underwater to explore sea life. Entergy IMAX
JEEPERS CREEPERS 2 (R) --
A basketball team along with its coach and cheerleaders are terrorized on the
road back from a game by a winged monster in this sequel to the surprisingly
successful (and good) 2001 thriller. AMC Palace 20, Grand
LEWIS & CLARK: GREAT JOURNEY WEST (NR)
--
The adventures of the famous 19th century explorers hit the very big screen.
Entergy IMAX
LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) -- A-
Writer-director Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) continues to establish
herself as a filmmaker with her own voice in this subtle tale of the relationship
between a fading movie star (Bill Murray in his best performance) and the young
wife (Scarlett Johansson) of an L.A. photographer while in Tokyo. Coppola's
ability to resist temptation on several levels and create space for her actors
to play to their strengths help make this the best film I've seen this year.
Plus, it makes karaoke cool again. (Simmons) Canal Place
LUTHER (PG-13) -- B-
Director Eric Till helms this interesting little film about the medieval German
monk who fathered the Reformation. Camille Thomasson and Bart Gavigan's script
cleaves admirably to historical accuracy, incorporating verbatim excerpts from
many of Luther's speeches, including his memorable refusal to recant before
the Imperial Diet of Worms in 1521. The strong cast includes a dazzling Sir
Peter Ustinov as the impishly political Friedrich the Wise, as well as compelling
bit players Alfred Molina and Jonathan Firth. Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare
in Love) captures Luther's volcanic mix of intellect, madness and righteous
indignation, but his is a performance searching for a richer film. Sadly, much
of the structure of Luther is surprisingly flat; the nailing of the 95
Theses (whether it actually happened that way or not) comes and goes in an instant,
and the ending seems rather abrupt. A not wholly unworthy effort, Luther
succeeds best not as a narrative, but as a portrait of a complicated man at
a historical crossroads. (Carlson) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
THE MAGDALENE SISTERS (R) --
The Catholic Church takes another shot in the gut in writer-director Peter Mullan's
fictionalized '60s account of the Irish order of Catholic nuns and their sometimes
brutal treatment of the supposedly troubled girls in their care. Stars Geraldine
McEwan, Dorothy Duffy and Anne-Marie Duff. Canal Place, Hollywood Cinemas
9
MATCHSTICK MEN (PG-13) --
A- Ridley Scott's often humorous drama about a neurotic flim-flam man's
relationship with the 14-year-old daughter he just met offers terrific performances
by Nicolas Cage and Alison Lohman and a story that takes you places you don't
expect. It's not perfect, but it's close. See it before you let anyone tell
you much about it. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Prytania
THE MATRIX RELOADED (R) --
A The badass Wachowski brothers are back with a sequel that's equal,
as Matrix Reloaded rejoins Neo (Keanu Reeves) on his quest for digital
self-fulfillment. Amazing choreography by Yuen Wo Ping and the ever-ingenious
imaginations of the Wachowskis fuel a film packed with unbelievable action and
that now-familiar mystic sensibility. (Carlson) Entergy IMAX
MYSTERIES OF EGYPT (NR) --
Omar Sharif narrates this IMAX look at the ancient history and culture of Egypt,
sponsored by National Geographic. Entergy IMAX
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (R) --
Director Robert Rodriguez apparently lays to rest yet another trilogy (Spy
Kids being the other) in this third installment of his El Mariachi
series, reuniting Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek and adding Johnny Depp and
Eva Mendes. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette,
Grand
OUT OF TIME (PG-13) --
A chief of police in a Florida town (Denzel Washington) finds himself a suspect
in a murder in this thriller from Carl Franklin (One False Move, One
True Thing), co-starring Sanaa Lathan. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace
16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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 lip-smacking villain and the fascinating
Johnny Depp as the film's eccentric pirate hero. (Barton) AMC Palace 12,
AMC Palace 20
THE RUNDOWN (PG-13) --
Can you smell what the bounty hunter is cookin'? Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and
Seann William Scott team up to hunt for gold in the Amazon and battle evil-doers
like Christopher Walken in this film by Peter Berg (Very Bad Things).
Co-stars Ewen Bremner and Rosario Dawson. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace
16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
SCHOOL OF ROCK (PG-13) --
Consummate ham Jack Black (Shallow Hal) this time plays a rock 'n' roller
who winds up getting booted from his band and recruiting middle-schoolers for
a "battle of the bands" contest in the latest from Richard Linklater (Dazed
and Confused). Co-stars Joan Cusack and Sarah Silverman. AMC Palace 12,
AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas
9
SECONDHAND LIONS (PG) --
Shy teen Haley Joel Osment (yes, he's growing up) bonds with great-uncles Michael
Caine and Robert Duvall while he's visiting with troubled mom Kyra Sedgwick
in this film set in 1960s-era Texas. Directed by Tim McCanlies (Dancer, Texas)
and co-starring Nicky Katt and Josh Lucas. 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 16
THIRTEEN (R) -- B
Writer-director Catherine Hardwicke and co-screenwriter/co-star Nikki Reed are
at their best when picking over the harrowing details of growing up as a teen
girl in L.A., but not so much when it comes to developing an actual story arc.
Evan Rachel Wood's Tracy and her seductive, dangerous pal Evie (Reed) are sexually
charged but scattered, using every weapon at their disposal to survive the horrors
of teen life. Thirteen succeeds with the little picture while sacrificing
a bigger picture that never comes into focus. (Simmons) Canal Place
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (R) --
Diane Lane (Unfaithful) continues to mine the fields of mid-life crisis,
this time as an attorney who tries to "get away from it all" and buy a little
house in Italy so that she can find herself and a hunky younger Euro (Raoul
Bova). (What, Olivier Martinez wasn't available?) Very, very loosely based on
Frances Mayes' best-selling 1996 memoir. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace
16, AMC Palace 20
UNDERWORLD (R) --
In one of the more bizarre updates of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,
vampire tough-chick Kate Beckinsale falls for human dude Scott Speedman, whose
blood the werewolves covet mightily. Feature-film directing debut by music-video
director Len Wiseman. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20,
Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND (R) -- A-
Sam Green and Bill Siegel's award-winning documentary (edited by New
Orleanian Dawn Logdson) deftly examines the '60s radical group that split from
the Students for a Democratic Society and turned to terrorist acts to protest
the Vietnam War and social injustice. Far from an apology for the group's activities,
this film places the events in their proper historical and sociopolitical context,
ultimately showing how frustration with injustice can create unjust acts. Reception
for Green and Logdson before Wednesday screening. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this
issue.) 8 p.m. Wednesday and Oct. 17-23 at Zeitgeist
