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. AMC Palace 20
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
GOOD BOY! (PG) --
Man's best friend apparently is actually a spy sent from another planet to scout out the turf for an invasion in this combination of live action and computer-generated imagery and featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally and Brittany Murphy. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
HOUSE OF THE DEAD (R) --
A promising rave becomes a huge downer when zombies and monsters invade in this film adaptation of Sega's popular video game and starring Jurgen Prochnow, Clint Howard and others. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
I WILL WALK LIKE A CRAZY HORSE (NR) --
One of two films by surrealist director and playwright Fernando Arrabal, this one follows the story of a young boy (Mahdi Chaouch) dealing with life after the imprisonment of his father for treason. 9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday at Zeitgeist
INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (PG-13) --
Man-eater Catherine Zeta-Jones tries to get back at divorce lawyer George Clooney when he wins a case involving her ex-husband in this romantic comedy from the Coen Brothers, Ethan and Joel. Co-stars Billy Bob Thornton, Geoffrey Rush and Cedric the Entertainer. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Hollywood Cinemas 9
KILL BILL VOL. 1 (R) --
Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited combination Asian action/spaghetti Western homage features revenge-seeking Uma Thurman and fellow Tarantino alumni Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Madsen, as well as Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Darryl Hannah and David Carradine. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
LONG LIVE DEATH (NR) --
Spanish surrealist Fernando Arrabal's second film discusses faith and organized religlion in exploring the life of a man who, with the help of a dwarf, learns to appreciate nature after his domineering mother dies. 9:30 p.m. Sunday-Monday, Oct. 26-27, at Zeitgeist
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) and the young wife (Scarlett Johansson) of an L.A. photographer while in Tokyo. (Simmons) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Hollywood Cinemas 9
LUTHER (PG-13) -- B-
Director Eric Till helms this interesting little film about the medieval German monk who fathered the Reformation. 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. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20
MYSTERIES OF EGYPT (NR) --
Omar Sharif narrates this IMAX look at the ancient history and culture of Egypt, sponsored by National Geographic. Entergy IMAX
MYSTIC RIVER (R) -- B+
Not quite the modern masterpiece it has been christened by critics starved for decent dramatic fare, Mystic River is still an intelligent, powerful film. Three south Boston friends (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) find themselves struggling with loss and revenge in this adaptation of the Dennis Lehane bestseller. As a grieving father and vengeful excon, Penn delivers an amazing performance that outweighs other minor missteps. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
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), co-starring Sanaa Lathan. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE PARTY'S OVER (NR) --
Also known as Last Party 2000, this film by Donovan Leitch and Rebecca Chaiklin allows actor Philip Seymour Hoffman to take a look at Democracy in America. 7:30 p.m. Friday through Oct. 30 at Zeitgeist
RUNAWAY JURY (PG-13) -- B
Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz are joined by a fine supporting cast (including local favorites such as Fahnlohnee Harris, Michael Arata and Carol Sutton) in this sometimes fun but ultimately tepid John Grisham story set in New Orleans. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
SCHOOL OF ROCK (PG-13) -- B+
With a script by offbeat writer Mike White, Richard Linklater's mainstream comedy gives wild man Jack Black his best role yet as substitute teacher who turns a bunch of uptight 12-year-olds into a rock 'n' roll band. This material isn't original in concept but it's well executed and fun. (Barton) 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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS (R) --
Straight from the New Orleans Film Festival comes Alan Rudolph's film about a married couple (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis) on the outs and receiving not much help from Denis Leary. Canal Place
THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (R) --
Remake of Tobe Hooper's 1974 horror classic, produced by Michael Bay, with debuts by director Marcus Nispel and screenwriter Scott Kosar, and starring Jessica Biel, R. Lee Ermey and New Orleanian John Larroquette (providing the narration. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (R) --
C+ Audrey Wells' drama about an American woman (Diane Lane) recovering in Italy from an ugly divorce offers worthy themes about friendship, family and later-life romance, but a clumsy script keeps nudging us to feel emotions that the picture doesn't earn. (Barton) 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
VERONICA GUERIN (R) --
Joel Schumacher (Phone Booth) directs Cate Blanchett in the title role about the Irish journalist who was killed while profiling drug dealers. Co-stars Brenda Fricker and includes a cameo by frequent Schumacher star Colin Farrell (Tigerland, Phone Booth). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND (R) -- A-
Sam Green and Bill Siegel's award-winning documentary 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.(Simmons) 8 p.m. daily through Thursday at Zeitgeist
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AMC Palace 12 734-2020; AMC Palace 16 734-2020; AMC Palace 20 734-2020; Canal Place 363-1117; Chalmette 277-9766; Entergy IMAX 581-4629; The Grand 240-4100; Hollywood Cinemas 9 464-0990; Prytania 891-2787; Zeitgeist 525-2767
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Editor's Note: For showtimes, visit our Web site at www.bestofneworleans.com.
Contributors: Rick Barton, Shala Carlson, David Lee Simmons
Compiled by David Lee Simmons
