Scheduled to Open Friday
13 GOING ON 30 (PG-13) -- Unpopular dork Jennifer Garner (hang on) makes a wish and winds up as a hot 30-year-old ad exec (there you go) in this comedy from Tadpole director Gary Winick and co-starring Mark Ruffalo, Kathy Baker, Andy Serkis and Samuel Ball. Yes, we&185;re all thinking Big about this one.
MAN ON FIRE (R) -- Family bodyguard Denzel Washington goes after the bad guy who kidnapped the daughter of the family he&185;s protecting in Mexico City in this second film adaptation of A.J. Quinnell&185;s novel. Directed by Tony Scott and adapted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland. (The 1987 version starred Scott Glenn, Danny Aiello and Joe Pesci.)
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
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 Debbie Reynolds. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
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&185;s trilogy about zombies. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
A DAY IN THE HYPE OF AMERICA (NR) -- Filmmakers Brian Quist and T.J. Martin chronicle the last day of 1999 by following around people living in New York City, New Orleans, South Dakota and Arizona. 7:30 p.m. Friday at Zeitgeist
ELLA ENCHANTED (PG) -- B A teen is more cursed than blessed with the gift of obedience in this film directed by Tommy O&185;Haver. Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) is girl-next-door cute but theatrically challenged in this promising but scattered goof on fairy tales. Sound uneven? Yup. To its credit, though, Ella Enchanted serves as a charming parable about finding your inner strength. The supporting cast is equally mixed, thanks in part to an almost complete lack of writing for them, particularly Minnie Driver as a supportive but completely unhelpful relative. And one doesn&185;t cast Joanna Lumley without giving her good material. The &185;70s-inspired soundtrack includes the Leo Sayer classic &179;You Make Feel Like Dancing.&178; (Simmons) 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 GIRL NEXT DOOR (R) -- C Luke Greenfield&185;s teen sex comedy is the story of a nerdy high school senior whose new girlfriend is a porn star. A few jokes work and bathroom humor is avoided. But the plotting is contrived and threadbare. In the end, even the promised sex is pretty tepid. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) 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. Causeway Cinema
HOME ON THE RANGE (PG) -- C- While the kids take in this one, you can go ahead and close your eyes. The best thing about Disney&185;s latest half-effort isn&185;t its bland animation, but the Alan Menken score and songs by Tim McGraw, K.D. Lang and Bonnie Raitt. Otherwise, it&185;s a muddled, meandering tale of cows and rustlers and friendships and courage, with the best humor being the burping animals -- and you can hear all those with your eyes closed, too. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
INTERMISSION (R) -- The lives of several Dubliners looking love intersect in this film directed by John Crowley and co-starring Colin Farrell, Kelley Macdonald, Cillian Murphy and Colm Meaney. Canal Place
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 20, Causeway Cinema
JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION (PG-13) -- Cedric the Entertainer tries to lead his family on 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
KATZELMACHER (NR) -- The Fassbinder Fridays Film Series concludes with the screening of this 1969 film, with Fassbinder starring as a Greek immigrant who upsets the drab lives of residents in a Munich apartment complex. 7:30 p.m. Friday at the German-American Cultural Center
KILL BILL VOL. 2 (R) -- Those not killed in the first film return for the sequel to Quentin Tarantino&185;s homage to Hong Kong action movies. Stars Uma Thurman. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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, Causeway Cinema, Movies 8
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (R) -- B+ Francois Dupeyron&185;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&185;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&185;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 apart by the violence he helped create. Directed by Ernest Dickerson. 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&185;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&185; 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, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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&185;s divinely off-kilter sense of humor. It&185;s not the best thing from the pen of Stephen King, it but represents another installment in his messed-up fascination with the habits and psychology of the writer. And it&185;s an interesting -- and twisted -- way to while away a few hours. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20
TAKING LIVES (R) -- Salton Sea director D.J. Caruso adapts Michael Pye&185;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 20
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, Causeway Cinema, Grand, 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&185;s kidnapped wife (Natasha Henstridge), Jimmy&185;s ex-wife. Co-stars Amanda Peet. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Causeway Cinema, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
WILD REEDS (NR) -- Andre Techine directed this 1994 film about three teens grappling with politics and sexuality at a French boarding school in 1962, during the French war in Algeria. 5 p.m. Sunday, April 25, at the Bridge Lounge
