Scheduled to Open Friday
CONNIE AND CARLA (PG-13) --
Two struggling dinner-theater performers (Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette) stumble onto a mob hit and wind up going on the lam as drag queens in Los Angeles. Hmmm, did someone say Some Like It Hot? Michael Lembeck directs the script by Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) with a supporting cast including David Duchovny and a cameo not by Tony Curtis but by Debbie Reynolds.
KILL BILL VOL. 2 (R) --
Those not killed in the first film return for the sequel to Quentin Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong action movies. Stars Uma Thurman.
THE PUNISHER (R) --
Undercover FBI agent Thomas Jane turns into a revenge-seeking wild man in this film adaptation of the popular Marvel comic-book character. Co-stars John Travolta, Samantha Mathis, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Roy Scheider and the freakish Will Patton.
Now Showing
THE ALAMO (PG-13) --
The legendary siege of the San Antonio, Texas, mission (immortalized in the 1960 film directed by and starring John Wayne) returns to the big screen. Directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, Billy Bob Thornton and Marc Blucas. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8, Prytania
CATCH THAT KID (PG) --
Kids plan a heist to help out the ill father of one of their gang in this action-comedy directed by Bart Freundlich and co-starring Jennifer Beals and Sam Robards. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
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 second of George A. Romero's trilogy about zombies. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, Chalmette, Grand
ELEPHANT (R) -- B+
Gus Van Sant's nuanced response to the 1999 Columbine High School shootings won the Palme d'Or (best picture) and Best Director prizes at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and deservedly so. Using an objective camera, Van Sant presents a film that is both elliptical and telling all at once, a mood piece on how abnormal behavior (youth violence in this case) can spring from such apparently normal surroundings. Sponsored by the New Orleans Film Festival. (Simmons) Encore screening 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Prytania
ELLA ENCHANTING (PG) --
Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) learns that a gift from a fairy feels more like a curse in this fantasy film directed by Tommy O'Haver and co-starring Cary Elwes, Hugh Dancy, Minnie Driver, Joanna Lumley and Patrick Bergin. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, North Shore Square
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) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
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 is 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
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (R) --
High school senior Emile Hirsch falls in love with his slightly older next-door neighbor (Elisha Cuthbert), who just happens to be a former porn star. Not to be confused with a 1999 documentary of the same title about real-life porn star Stacy Valentine. Co-stars Timothy Olyphant. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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 20, Causeway Cinema, Movies 8
HIGH ABOVE THIS WALL --
The Cinematexas International Short Film Festival presents this touring program of war-themed shorts and videos. 9:15 p.m. Thursday at Zeitgeist
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
JERSEY GIRL (R) --
Widower Ben Affleck tries to juggle raising precocious daughter Raquel Castro and a possible romance with Liv Tyler in this romantic comedy from Kevin Smith. Co-stars Jennifer Lopez and Jason Biggs. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION (PG-13) --
Cedric the Entertainer tries to lead his family in a trip to a family reunion in this comedy co-starring Vanessa Williams, Steve Harvey and Shannon Elizabeth. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
THE LADYKILLERS (R) --
The Coen Brothers return with this remake of the 1955 British comedy, this time starring Tom Hanks as the ringleader of a gang bent on using a boarding house as the springboard for an upcoming heist. Co-stars Marlon Wayans and J.K. Simmons. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
LOLA (NR) --
Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1981 film about a cabaret singer (Barbara Sukowa) who seduces her way up the ladder of German society in the 1950s. 7:30 p.m. Friday at the German-American Cultural Center
LOST BOYS OF SUDAN (NR) --
Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk co-directed this critically acclaimed documentary about two refugees from Sudan's civil war who try to build a new life in Houston, Texas. Co-sponsored by NOLA Palestine Solidarity and ASHE Cultural Arts Center. 7:30 p.m. daily through Thursday at Zeitgeist
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (R) -- B+
Francois Dupeyron's gentle story about a 14-year-old Jewish boy (Pierre Boulanger) and the aged Muslim grocer (Omar Sharif) who becomes his surrogate father and friend exudes such a compelling sweetness of spirit we can't help but reflect on how our world has gone so wrong in the four decades since its setting. (Barton) Canal Place
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
NEVER DIE ALONE (R) --
Rapper DMX stars as a hoodlum who tries to go straight in his hometown, which has been ripped by the violence he helped create. Directed by Ernest Dickerson. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
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
OPEN SCREENING/POT LUCK --
Zeitgeist sponsors this screening of films, including Slamdance entry Employee Dang by Corey Fortune and Geoff Douville and The Circumcision of the Christ by Zeitgeist's own Ren&233; Broussard. 7:30 p.m. Friday at Zeitgeist
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, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
THE PRINCE AND ME (PG) --
College student Julia Stiles falls for classmate Luke Mably -- who also happens to be the prince of Denmark 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). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
RAJA (NR) --
Jacques Doillon directed this story of a teen orphan who meets a conniving Westerner and falls into a complex relationship of manipulation. Presented by Film Movement. 9:15 p.m. daily through Wednesday at Zeitgeist
REBECCA (NR) -- A+
Alfred Hitchcock's first big film for David O. Selznick (in 1940) was a home run, winning for Best Picture and (black-and-white) cinematography. Naïve Joan Fontaine struggles to replace the late wife of haunted Laurence Olivier, with dubious peripheral characters (including a very jealous maid) lurking. Thank God Olivier's squeeze, Vivien Leigh, didn't get the role; Fontaine is perfectly perplexed. (Simmons) 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, at the Bridge Lounge
SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (PG) --
Freddie Prinze, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and the computer-generated dog of the title return in this sequel to the 2002 hit. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
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. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema
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 20
THE STATEMENT (R) -- C
Based on a true story, Norman Jewison's film about a French policeman who murdered Jews during World War II and was protected by high governmental officials and right-wing clerics in the Catholic church thereafter has assembled an excellent cast to perform in a mess. Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates and Charlotte Rampling do their best, but they can't take their characters where the script won't let them. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
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 20
TROUBLE IN PARADISE (NR) --
Master director Ernst Lubitsch shows exactly what is meant by &179;the Lubitsch touch&178; in this sublime 1932 comedy about how one con artist's (Herbert Marshall) romance with another (Miriam Hopkins) is compromised when he falls for their target, a rich, savvy heiress (Kay Francis). Set against the lush backdrop of Art Deco, the film positively shimmers in its black-and-white splendor (and witty script), and serves as one of Lubitsch's early templates for the screwball comedy genre. First part of Henri Schindler's Classic Film Series. 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at the NOMA's Stern Auditorium
WALKING TALL (PG-13) --
Small-town 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 not so much.) Co-starring no one in particular. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
THE WHOLE TEN YARDS (PG-13) --
Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry reunite in this sequel to the modest 2000 hit, The Whole Nine Yards. This time, Oz (Perry) tries to coax hitman Jimmy (Willis) out of retirement to rescue Oz's kidnapped wife (Natasha Henstridge), Jimmy's ex-wife. Co-stars Amanda Peet. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
