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21 GRAMS (R) --
The lives of recovering drug addict Naomi Watts, dying math professor Sean Penn
and religious ex-con Benicio Del Toro intersect after a car crash in this film
from intersecting-lives/car crash director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Amores
Perros). AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
BAD SANTA (R) -- B Director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World) and
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. (Simmons) AMC
Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
BROTHER BEAR (G) --
B Visually, the stunning wilderness vistas in Disney's answer to Spirit
underscore the value of hand-drawn animation in a digitalized age. Narratively,
this buddy-bear flick doesn't break new ground, but plucky Koda (voiced by Jeremy
Suarez) offers a few new catch phrases ("Say it with me. Ko-DA.") for the sippy-cup
set. Musically, it's all Phil Collins, all the time. (Tisserand) AMC Palace
20
CALENDAR GIRLS (PG-13) --
Based on a true story about middle-aged English women who agree to pose nude performing
various homemaking chores to benefit a cancer hospital, starring Helen Mirren
and Julie Walters. Directed by Nigel Cole. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) --
C- Steve Martin grimaces his way through this updated remake of a 1950
adaptation of a memoir of a turn-of-the-century family. Here, the double-Brady-sized
clan moves to a snobby Chicago suburb while Dad pursues his dream of coaching
in the big leagues. The film finally jumps the shark when Martin calls the plays
while his team rushes a kiddy birthday party. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12,
AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
COLD MOUNTAIN (R) -- B
The Weinstein Brothers double-dog dare you to love Anthony Minghella's (The
English Patient) epic take on Charles Frazier's epic novel of a Confederate
soldier leaving battle for the woman he loves. But the Oscar-friendly trio of
Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renée "Puffy Face" Zellweger are no match for
John Seale's cinematography or the old-timey music. Brendan Gleeson is a huge
bright spot as the redemptive Stobrod. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, 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. Will Ferrell's
big, hilarious heart (and his mustard-color tights) makes the tissue-paper-thin
tale a real charmer. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace
20, 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. Grand
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. 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 decides to open up an inner-city dance studio. Co-stars Mekhi
Pfifer and New Orleans' own Li'l Romeo. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) --
Alcoholic widow Jennifer Connelly fights to regain the California house lost to
Iranian immigrant Ben Kingsley in this metaphorical struggle for home based on
Andre Dubus III's popular novel. Directed by first-timer Vadim Perelman. AMC
Palace 20, Canal Place
IN AMERICA (PG-13) -- B+
Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical story is about a family of Irish immigrants
trying to find refuge in New York from the crippling grief they feel over the
loss of a son and brother. Strong performances by Paddy Considine and Samantha
Morton as the parents, and particularly by Sarah and Emma Bolger as the grade-school
daughters, assist this picture in transcending an episodic and spottily connected
script. Greater than the sum of its narrative parts, this film is ultimately wise
and affecting. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
THE LAST SAMURAI (R) -- A
Tom Cruise's newfound dramatic dignity provides the steady center of this stunning
epic film directed by Edward Zwick. Cruise's physical transformation from an alcoholic
Civil War veteran to a formidable samurai warrior is Oscar-worthy. Co-star Ken
Watanabe's wise warlord Katsumoto represents a shattering English-speaking debut.
(Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Hollywood
Cinemas 9
LEWIS AND CLARK: GREAT JOURNEY WEST (NR) --
One way to celebrate the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase (remember that?)
would be to watch this IMAX film starring Kelly Boulware and Sonny Surowiec as
the famed explorers and their early 19th century trek westward. Entergy I
MAX
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (PG-13) -- A-
Director Peter Jackson provides a fitting ending to his groundbreaking trilogy.
Overly long and swimming in narrative and thematic deja vu, Return of the King
is nonetheless redeemed by the strength of the LOTR oeuvre as a whole and by its
own many moments of greatness -- the slow spiritual ascension of Aragorn (Viggo
Mortensen) to the throne of Gondor, the genderless courage of Eowyn (Miranda Otto),
the madness of Denethor the Steward (John Noble). (Carlson) AMC Palace 12,
AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
LOVE DON'T COST A THING (PG-13) --
Can't Buy Me Love gets the African-American treatment with nerdy Nick Cannon
(Drumline) offering to repair cheerleader Christina Milian's damaged car
if she'll briefly date him to make him look cool. AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, Chalmette, Grand
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 20
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) Entergy
IMAX
MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) --
Director Mike Newell (Donnie Brasco) offers an alternative to the testosterone
of Master and Commander and The Last Samurai with Julia Roberts
as a Wellesley teacher who in 1953 teaches other women -- including Julia Stiles,
Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal -- the importance of womanhood, with music
by women playing in the background. Co-stars Juliet Stevenson, Marcia Garden and
some men. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Hollywood
Cinemas 9
MYSTERIES OF EGYPT (NR) --
National Geographic meets IMAX in this film about this ancient civilization's
pyramids, tombs, mummies and monarchies, starring Mr. Egypt himself, Omar Sharif.
Entergy IMAX
OCEAN WONDERLAND (NR) --
IMAX takes its cameras to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the coral reef
of the Bahamas. Directed by Jean-Jacques Mantello. Entergy IMAX
PAYCHECK (R) --
Director John Woo (Face-Off) adapts a Philip K. Dick short story about
an engineer who loses his memory (don't all Dick characters?) and finds himself
framed by the company he was working with before his mind went blank. Stars Ben
Affleck, Uma Thurman, Aaron Eckhart and Paul Giamatti. AMC Palace 12, AMC
Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
PETER PAN (PG) --
James M. Barrie's much-visited book makes its way to big screen once more, with
P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding) directing and a cast that includes Jeremy
Sumpter, Jason Isaacs, Lynn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier and Olivia Williams. AMC
Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas
9
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) -- B-
Nancy Meyers (Baby Boom) reunites with Diane Keaton and tosses in Jack
Nicholson for a weak romantic comedy about a cradle-robbing womanizer (Nicholson)
falling in love with a middle-age playwright (Keaton). (Simmons) AMC Palace
12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
STUCK ON YOU (PG-13) -- B+
The Farrelly Brothers' latest comedy concerns conjoined twins (Matt Damon and
Greg Kinnear) who move to Hollywood when one of the brothers wants to break into
film and television acting. Eschewing their former fondness for gross-out humor,
the Farrellys have made a movie that would appear to be about deformity but is
really about brotherly love. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16,
AMC Palace 20, Chalmette
TRUCK STOP MOVIE TOUR -- Zeitgeist presents a collection of short films
by filmmaker Bill Brown, whose "essay films" provide quirky slices of Americana.
Confederate Park is a travel diary about English- and French-speaking Canadians.
Buffalo Common explores the elimination of an intercontinental ballistic
missile silo in a North Dakota community. Mountain State looks at the history
of westward expansion in the guise of 25 roadside historical markers in West Virginia.
8 p.m. Wednesday at Zeitgeist
| 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:
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