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Scheduled to Open Friday
HELLBOY (PG-13) -- The Dark Horse comic superhero, a former child of Satan turned paranormal investigator, comes to the big screen in the form of veteran character actor Ron Perelman in this film directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
HOME ON THE RANGE (PG) -- A herd of cows joins forces to come to the rescue of a ranch in the Wild West in this latest animated flick from Disney (still reeling from losing Pixar a few months ago). Featuring the voices of Roseanne, Steve Buscemi, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly and Randy Quaid.
THE PRINCE AND ME (PG) -- College student Julia Stiles falls for classmate Luke Mably, who happens to be the prince of Denmark -- and who also happens to be hanging out on the down low until assuming his duties in this romantic comedy from Martha Coolidge of Valley Girl fame (a long, long time ago).
WALKING TALL (PG-13) -- Smalltown guy The Rock returns to his hometown to take over the family business only to find his town overrun by bad guys in what could politely be called a sort-of remake of the classic 1973 film starring Joe Don Baker. (That film was based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser; this one ain't.) Co-starring no one in particular.
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, Movies 8
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, Movies 8
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 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
THE COMPANY (PG-13) -- B- Robert Altman abandons some of his strengths in presenting this semi-documentary look at a season in the prestigious Joffrey Ballet. Plotless and almost completely devoid of character development, The Company makes some rather obvious observations (the life of a dancer is rough) and skirts around others (weight control, homosexuality, sexual politics). But the dance sequences are breathtaking in their simplicity, and some subtle details seep into the story. Stars Malcolm McDowell (as an Italian-American?) and Neve Campbell. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
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. Causeway Cinema
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, Hollywood 9, Holiday 12
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (R) -- A Michel Gondry directed this typically wild and brilliant Charlie Kaufman script about young lovers who become angry with each other and contract with a neuroscience firm to have all memories of each other erased from their minds. Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey are very fine in the leading roles. The picture is intriguing, wise, and emotionally satisfying. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood 9, Holiday 12
EYES WITHOUT A FACE (NR) -- B+ Georges Franju's 1959 horror film about a doctor trying to replace his daughter's mangled face is something of a poetic freak show, shot in dark shadows and displaying a sophistication that is almost never seen in the genre these days. The women steal the show here, Alida Valli as the almost zombified assistant and Edith Scob as the tortured daughter, with a haunting score by Maurice Jarre. Presented by the New Orleans Film Festival. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Prytania
A FACE IN THE CROWD (NR) -- Elia Kazan directed this story about a redneck (Andy Griffith) who becomes a media darling. Co-stars Patricia Neal. 5 p.m. Sunday, April 4, at the Bridge Lounge
FASSBINDER FRIDAYS FILM SERIES -- The German-American Cultural Center's series on director Rainer Werner Fassbinder continues. This week: 1982's Veronkia Voss. 7:30 p.m. 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 illustrated 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, 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 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
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
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
NASCAR 3-D: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE (PG) -- The IMAX cameras go deep inside the race cars and race tracks of NASCAR land. 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
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 the violence as a door, not a wall, creating a profound religious statement and startlingly well-made movie. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania
RIVERS AND TIDES: ANDY GOLDSWORTHY WORKING WITH TIME (NR) -- Thomas Riedelsheimer's critically acclaimed documentary of British environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy returns for an amazing fourth screening, moving over one day to accommodate the New Orleans Film Festival's other special screening, of Eyes Without a Face, on Tuesday. 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Prytania
SECRET WINDOW (R) -- B Once again making much more of material than the material truly deserves, Johnny Depp plays a recently divorced, newly reclusive writer confronted by a violent man (John Turturro) accusing him of plagiarism. The see-it-coming-a-mile-away plot benefits immensely from a few genuinely creepy scenes (thanks to director David Koepp) and Depp's divinely off-kilter sense of humor. It's not the best thing from the pen of Stephen King, but represents another installment in his messed-up fascination with the habits and psychology of the writer. And it's an interesting -- and twisted -- way to while away a few hours. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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, 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, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Holiday 12, Movies 8
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, Causeway Cinema
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. Chalmette, Grand
| 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:
Balc Seats
Unforgettable
Film Review
Eyes Without a Face
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