Scheduled to Open Friday
JERSEY GIRL (PG-13) -- Kevin Smith's first PG-13 film concerns a PR executive (Ben Affleck) who loses his wife (Jennifer Lopez) and is forced to raise his young daughter with the help of his alcoholic dad (George Carlin). Liv Tyler plays a potential love interest.
THE LADYKILLERS (R) -- Ethan and Joel Cohen's latest film is a remake of the 1955 classic about a professor-turned-criminal (Tom Hanks) leading a gang of misfits hoping to rob a New Orleans riverboat casino. Co-stars Marlon Wayans and virtually none of the Coen Brothers regulars.
NEVER DIE ALONE (R) -- The life of a slain gang leader (DMX) is told in flashbacks as a reporter (David Arquette) reads the gangster's journal. Based on the 1974 novel by reformed gangster Donald Goines, who was gunned down four years after leaving prison.
SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (PG) -- Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Sarah Michelle Gellar and the rest of the gang reunite for this sequel to the popular 2002 film based on the TV cartoon. Co-stars Seth Green, Peter Boyle, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Blake Nelson and everyone's American Idol, Ruben Stoddard (as himself).
Now Showing
50 FIRST DATES (PG-13) -- Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore (The Wedding Singer) reunite as a young man and woman who fall in love despite her short-term memory loss in this romantic comedy directed by Peter Segal. Co-stars Rob Schneider. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
AGAINST THE ROPES (PG-13) -- Meg Ryan portrays boxing manager Jackie Kallen, who guided the careers of such noted fighters as Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns. In this fictional bio-pic, she manages Omar Epps, who plays a composite character of a handful of Kallen's proteges. Directed by and co-starring Charles S. Dutton and also featuring Tim Daley and Tony Shalhoub. Grand
AGENT CODY BANKS: DESTINATION LONDON (PG) -- That precocious Frankie Muniz is back as the precocious CIA agent, this time heading off to London for an assignment that does not include Hilary Duff but former S. Club sensation Hannah Spearritt. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BARBERSHOP 2: BACK IN BUSINESS (PG-13) -- Tim Story is out and Kevin Rodney Sullivan is in as director, but the cast returns and is joined by Queen Latifah (in anticipation of her spin-off movie Beauty Shop) in this film about haircutters discussing everything from race to relationships. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Movies 8
CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN (PG-13) -- Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday) plays a popular Greenwich Village high school student transferred to a Jersey suburb school where she immediately faces a rival (Sara Sugarman) in this film based on the popular young-adult novel by Dylan Sheldon. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
DAWN OF THE DEAD (R) -- Ving Rhames, Sarah Polley and Mekhi Phifer lead an ensemble cast working with first-time feature-film director Zack Snyder in remaking the first of George A. Romero's trilogy about zombies. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS (PG-13) -- American girl-next-door Romola Garia meets stud Cuban dancer Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama, Tambien) on the eve of the Communist revolution in this remake of the sleeper 1987 hit starring Patrick Swayze (who makes a cameo) and Jennifer Grey. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, North Shore Square
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (R) -- Screenwriter Charlie S. Kaufman, whose movies seem to exist only inside one's head, reunites with director Michael Gondry (Human Nature) in this story of a man (Jim Carrey) who undergoes the same memory-reducing surgery that his ex-girlfriend (Kate Winslet) did in order to forget about their relationship. Co-stars Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo and Tom Wilkinson. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
FASSBINDER FRIDAYS FILM SERIES -- The German-American Cultural Center presents a series of films by the legendary German avant-garde filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder shown weekly through April 23. This week: 1978's The Marriage of Maria Braun. 7:30 Friday at the German-American Cultural Center (519 Huey P. Long Ave., Gretna, 363-4202)
THE FOG OF WAR (PG-13) -- A Master documentarian Errol Morris won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for this typically arresting interview with Robert McNamara. It's an account of a brilliant man's stubborn (and not necessarily successful) search for redemption. As we find ourselves involved in another war not so easy to be done with, all Americans should watch and learn the lessons of this film. (Barton) Canal Place
HIDALGO (PG-13) -- Viggo Mortensen takes his testosterone act from LOTR land to 1890s Saudi Arabia in this fact-based story of a Pony Express rider who enters a dangerous desert race with a huge prize at stake. Omar Sharif, who knows a little something about the desert, co-stars. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) -- B First-time director Vadim Perelman loses his way in adapting Andre Dubus III's novel about a recovering alcoholic (Jennifer Connelly) who loses her house in a tax mix-up and tries to get it back from its new owner, a willful Iranian immigrant (Oscar-nominated Ben Kingsley). Rarely has real estate been used with such symbolism, but there's just not that much to appreciate once the fog clears, including Connelly's sleep-walking and Kingsley's death stares. Oscar-nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo, as Kingsley's baffled wife, is the one to watch here. (Simmons) Causeway Cinema
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 Oscar-nominated 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) Causeway Cinema
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). Winner of 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, North Shore Square
MIRACLE (PG) -- C- Gavin O'Connor's account of the U.S. hockey team's 1980 Olympic gold-medal run concentrates not on the players who scored the goals but on the bullying coach (Kurt Russell) who hectored them all along their road to improbable glory. In glorifying a jerk, this film tarnishes a treasured sports memory. (Barton) Causeway Cinema
MONSTER (R) -- B+ Charlize Theron, the golden goddess of 2 Days in the Valley and The Italian Job, slides under the skin of convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos in this surprising effort from first-time writer-director Patty Jenkins. Theron gives a powerhouse, Oscar-winning performance, full of wounded rage and malevolence. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20
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
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 (Oscar winners Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon) find themselves struggling with loss and revenge in this adaptation of the Dennis Lehane bestseller. As a grieving father and vengeful ex-con, Penn delivers an amazing performance that outweighs other minor missteps. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20
NASCAR 3-D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (PG) -- The IMAX cameras go deep inside the race cars and race tracks of NASCAR land. Entergy IMAX
NEW ORLEANS HUMAN RIGHTS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL -- Zeitgeist presents this film festival exploring human rights issues around the world, including Rana's Wedding (reviewed this week). Also includes Breaking the Silence: Truth and LIes in the War on Terror, Dispatches: The Killing Zone, The Fourth World War and Lost Boys of Sudan. (For more info visit www.zeitgeistinc.org.) Thursday through April 15 at various locations
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
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (R) -- A A picture-poem that shouts over the storm of its own controversy. Director Mel Gibson brilliantly retells the greatest story ever told, focusing on the violent final hours of Jesus' life on earth. A well-structured script and searing performances from leads Jim Caviezel and Maia Morgenstern power this unforgettable film. While a high level of blood and gore is sustained for nearly the entire film, Gibson uses violence as a door, not a wall, creating a profound religious statement and a startlingly well-made movie. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square, Prytania
RANA'S WEDDING (NR) -- A The New Orleans Human Rights International Film Festival features Hany Abu-Assad's story about a young Palestinian woman trying to marry against her father's wishes. The film employs its unlikely plot to illustrate the indignities and dangers even the secular and non-political Arab must endure in the age of the suicide bomber. The film also transforms the story of a single individual into a metaphor for an entire people. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) 7:30 p.m. Friday through April 1 at Zeitgeist
RIVERS AND TIDES: ANDY GOLDSWORTHY WORKING WITH TIME (NR) -- Thomas Riedelsheimer's critically acclaimed documentary of British environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy returns for another encore screening. Sponsored by the New Orleans Film Festival. 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Prytania
SECRET WINDOW (R) -- Johnny Depp is a recently divorced writer being stalked by psycho John Turturro, who believes the writer has completely stolen his book idea in this thriller directed by David Koepp (The Trigger Effect). Co-stars Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton and Charles S. Dutton. Based on Stephen King's novella Secret Window, Secret Garden. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
SPARTAN (R) -- Secret agent Val Kilmer is assigned to search out and rescue the kidnapped daughter of the president in this latest thriller from David Mamet, co-starring (of course!) William H. Macy. What, no Rebecca Pidgeon or Ricky Jay? AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
STARSKY AND HUTCH (PG-13) -- Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (Zoolander) reunite, this time as the popular '70s TV cop duo in this comedy co-starring Mr. Shizzle himself, Snoop Dogg. Bad news: Stiller and Wilson didn't co-write the script, which appears to have had more than a few hands placed on it. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
TAKING LIVES (R) -- Salton Sea director D.J. Caruso adapts Michael Pye's novel about an FBI agent (Angelina Jolie) sent to Canada to investigate a serial killer who assumes the identity of his victims. Co-stars Ethan Hawke, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Olivier Martinez, Gena Rowlands and Kiefer Sutherland. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
TOUCHING THE VOID (NR) -- Kevin Macdonald adapts Joe Simpson's 1985 non-fiction bestseller about the climb by Simpson and Simon Yates of the Siula Grande in the Andes mountains. Canal Place
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (PG-13) -- B Sylvain Chomet's French animated feature tells the story of a bicycle racer who is kidnapped by the Mafia and dragged off to a New York clone where everyone is apple-shaped and gigantic and the Statue of Liberty holds a hamburger rather than a torch. Hallucinogenic and arresting as this Oscar-nominated film sometimes is, it defies any attempt to assess it as a satisfying whole. (Canal Place also screens Destino, an animated short project started by Salvador Dali for Walt Disney.) (Barton) Canal Place
TWISTED (R) -- Thriller-friendly actress Ashley Judd (Kiss the Girls, Double Jeopardy) trades in Morgan Freeman for Samuel L. Jackson in this tale of a female cop who becomes a suspect in the murders of her former lovers while working on a murder case of her own. Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff) directs. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12
VAMPYR (NR) -- Carl Theodore Dryer's 1931 classic about a man's dream-like world infested with vampires is based on the horror stories of Sheridan Le Fanu. 5 p.m. Sunday, March 28, at the Bridge Lounge
YOU GOT SERVED (PG-3) -- Two street dancers experience a personal rift just as they're about to enjoy huge success in this comedy starring Marques Houston and Omarion and directed by Chris Stokes. AMC Palace 16, Chalmette, Grand, North Shore Square
