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BAD SANTA (R) -- B Director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost
World) and actor
Billy Bob Thornton hammer away at this one-note song of a movie about the world's
most morally corrupt Santa and his larcenous, diminutive partner. There's not
much story here behind the amazingly grossed-out humor, yet Thornton's performance
makes that humor work in some curious way. But for a cop-out sweet ending, the
ultimate anti-holiday film. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace
12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BROTHER BEAR (G) --
Animated film about a Native American who is transformed into a bear. Directed
by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker and starring the voices of Jonathan Winters,
Victoria Jackson and Ben Stein. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Grand
DR. SEUSS' CAT IN THE HAT (PG) --
Mike Myers stars as the mischievous children's-book character in this directing
debut from Bo Welch, featuring makeup by Rick Baker and co-starring Alec Baldwin,
Sean Hayes and model/heiress/videophile Paris Hilton. AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
ELF (PG) -- B-
Jon Favreau directs this silly story of a human orphan raised by Santa's elves
who must now find his way (and his biological father) in the big city. Oh, and
he has to save Christmas, too, of course. Will Ferrell's big, hilarious heart
(and his mustard-color tights) makes the tissue-paper-thin tale a real charmer.
Costars James Caan, Bob Newhart as Papa Elf and Ed Asner as Santa himself. (Carlson)
AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood
Cinemas 9
GOTHIKA (R) --
Halle Berry gets her first solo star billing as a criminal psychologist who suddenly
finds herself the primary suspect in the death of husband Charles S. Dutton (can
you really see them together?). Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and co-starring
Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC
Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
THE HAUNTED MANSION (PG) --
First, there was Pirates of the Caribbean; now comes another film based
on a Disney theme-park ride with Eddie Murphy as a man protecting his family from
ghosts. Directed by Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little series) and co-stars Terence
Stamp, Wallace Shawn and Jennifer Tilly. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16,
AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
HONEY (PG-13) --
When her career as a music video choreographer is compromised by her lascivious
mentor, Jessica Alba (TV's defunct Dark Angel) decides to open up an inner-city
dance studio. Co-star Mekhi Pfifer and New Orleans' own Li'l Romeo with cameos
by Missy Elliott and Jay-Z. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
IMAX NUTCRACKER (NR) --
Tchaikovsky's holiday-friendly masterpiece told in 3-D splendor. Entergy IMAX
INTO THE DEEP: 3-D (NR) --
Howard Hall takes a 3-D look at the undersea world. Entergy IMAX
THE LAST SAMURAI (R) -- A
Tom Cruise's newfound dramatic dignity provides the steady center of this stunning
epic film directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall).
Cruise's physical transformation from an alcoholic Civil War veteran to a formidable
samurai warrior is Oscar-worthy. Costar Ken Watanabe's wise warlord Katsumoto
represents a shattering English-speaking debut. Strongly scripted and gorgeously
filmed, The Last Samurai is a movie for the ages. (Carlson) AMC Palace
12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood
Cinemas 9
LEWIS AND CLARK (NR) --
The famous explorers' trek West is chronicled in this IMAX film presented by National
Geographic. Entergy IMAX
LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (PG) --
Joe Dante (of Gremlins fame) directed this mix of live action and animation
featuring a who's-who of classic Warner Brothers cartoon characters. Stars Brendan
Fraser, Timothy Dalton and Joan Cusack. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (PG-13) -- A
This first Lord of the Rings movie, here presented in an extended version,
is better than fans of the books possibly could have imagined. Peter Jackson's
masterful direction and devotion to Tolkien's tale create an epic of the highest
order. Stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen. (Carlson) AMC Palace
20
LOVE ACTUALLY (R) --
B Richard Curtis' multi-character romantic comedy gets off to a terrific
start but fades in an overblown conclusion. Still, the picture has several affecting
passages. And the acting is memorably fine. Billy Nighy as an aging rocker is
a hoot. And Liam Neeson as a grieving husband who has just buried his wife and
Emma Thompson as a wife worried that her husband has fallen in love with someone
else stir us to the core. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (PG-13) -- B+
Lucky Jack leaps to the big screen in this Peter Weir adaptation of the Patrick
O'Brian novels. A spare script leaves plenty of time for stunning visuals and
fascinating evocations of life aboard a 19th-century British warship. Weir's nearly
flawless directorial eye is aided by the intelligent casting of Russell Crowe
and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind) as friends Jack Aubrey and Stephen
Maturin. A first-rate action-adventure. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS (R) --
D Disappointing. Dull. Depressing. The utter mediocrity of the final installment
in what was going to be the greatest sci-fi trilogy ever undercuts the brilliance
of all that has come before. The Wachowski brothers' inventiveness and originality
peters out, as they largely forsake both Neo and the Matrix in favor of a narrative
focused almost singularly on the City of Zion. It's like we took the red pill,
and all the good stuff -- even if it wasn't real -- is gone. (Carlson) AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Entergy IMAX, Grand
THE MISSING (R) --
C- Ron Howard's Western about a mother (Cate Blanchett) and her estranged
father (Tommy Lee Jones) trying to rescue her teenaged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood)
who has been kidnapped by a band of renegade Apaches is long, badly plotted and
not remotely worthy of the talents of the people involved in the project. (Barton)
(Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20,
Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
MORLANG (NR) --
Tjebbo Penning directed this film based on a true story about the compromised
relationship between an artist and his wife tested by infidelity and illness.
Presented by Film Movement. 7:30 p.m. Friday through Dec. 18 at Zeitgeist
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+
Three south Boston friends (Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon) find themselves
struggling with loss and revenge in this flawed adaptation of the Dennis Lehane
bestseller. The power and intelligence of this film reside almost solely in Penn's
raw performance as a grieving father. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20, Grand
PIECES OF APRIL (PG-13) -- A
Writer/director Peter Hedges' subtly funny and ultimately touching family comedy
about a rebellious daughter trying to reconcile with her judgmental mother offers
note-perfect performances by Katie Holmes and Patricia Clarkson and a spectacularly
affecting celebration of the spirit of Thanksgiving. (Barton) Canal Place
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) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC
Palace 20
SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN (NR) --
Santa Claus squares off against a jealous snowman in a battle for the North Pole
and, by extension, Christmas itself. Entergy IMAX
SCARY MOVIE 3 (PG-13) --
Spoofmeister David Zucker replaces the Wayans brothers in keeping up the yucks
with an ensemble cast featuring Eddie Griffin, Leslie Nielsen, Darrell Hammond,
Charlie Sheen and Queen Latifah. AMC Palace 16, Grand
SHATTERED GLASS (PG-13) -- B
Screenwriter Billy Ray's directing debut aptly chronicles the exposure of The
New Republic reporter Stephen Glass as a fraud who fabricated nearly half
of his articles for the magazine, but offers little beyond that. Hayden Christiansen
does a fine job as Glass, though he seems to make him creepier than he appeared
to be to Glass' smitten co-workers. Peter Sarsgaard is better as the editor who
realizes Glass' fakery. Still, there's a desire for a juicier story here, something
Glass ironically enough could have provided himself (and probably did in his novelized
version of his own story, The Fabulist). Interesting in a Journalism 101
kind of way, but by no means the New Millennium's All the President's Men.
(Simmons) Canal Place
THE STATION AGENT (R) -- B+
Writer-director Tom McCarthy's endearing drama features a loner dwarf (Peter Dinklage)
who seems to attract equally isolated people (Patricia Clarkson, Bobby Cannavale)
in a small town. Co-stars Michelle Williams. McCarthy, who apparently wrote the
roles for his lead actors, does a great job of creating space for his characters
to fill in amusing and endearing details about themselves without pandering to
the audience. Though Dinklage and Clarkson do fine work, Cannavale is the surprise
here as a lost puppy of a roadside vendor who befriends Dinklage's Fin whether
he likes it or not. (Simmons)
TIMELINE (PG-13) --
Richard Donner (Superman, Conspiracy Theory) directed this time-travelling
thriller about Yale students trying to rescue their history professor after he's
swept away to 12th-century France. Stars Paul Walker, Billy Connolly and Frances
O'Connor. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand,
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 |
Other Stories This Week in Movies:
Film Review
The Missing
Bad Santa
Tokyo Story
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