Scheduled to Open Wednesday
SHREK 2 (PG) -- The ogre Shrek and his new wife, Fiona, return to Fiona's home to meet the parents in this sequel to the wildly popular animated hit from 2001. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow return, joined this time by Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett and Jennifer Saunders.
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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're all thinking Big about this one. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU (NR) -- Japanese director Shunji Iwai's portrait of disaffected teens explores peer pressure and bullying (think a more artistic rendering of Mean Girls). 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at Zeitgeist
BOBBY JONES, STROKE OF GENIUS (PG) -- Jim Caviezel, fresh off taking on one historical icon (The Passion of the Christ), moves to another one in this bio-pic of the legendary golfer who walked away from the game at the peak of his career. Co-stars Jeremy Northam, Malcolm McDowell and Claire Forlani. Movies 8
BON VOYAGE -- A group of people struggle to escape Paris in advance of the Nazi arrival in this film directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and starring Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu, Virginie Loyen and Peter Coyote. Canal Place
BREAKIN&185; ALL THE RULES (PG-13) -- Dumped bachelor Jamie Foxx writes a book about getting dumped, and it turns into a bestseller in this comedy co-starring Gabrielle Union, Morris Chestnut and Jennifer Esposito. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
ELLA ENCHANTED (PG) -- B A teen is more cursed than blessed with the gift of obedience in this film directed by Tommy O'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. (Simmons) Causeway Cinema, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
ENVY (PG-13) -- C Working with a mess of a script and tepid direction from Barry Levinson, Ben Stiller and Jack Black fumble their way through this comedy about best friends who are torn apart by success. Levinson, whose glory days (Diner, Rain Man) have long since passed, ruins whatever chemistry could have developed between Stiller and Black. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Movies 8
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) Canal Place
GODSEND (PG-13) -- Grieving parents Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (soon to be just plain old Romijn, apparently) turn to stem-cell research doctor Robert De Niro (!) to help bring their dead son back to life. When the operation is a success, all hell breaks loose! AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Causeway Cinema, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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's latest half-effort isn't its bland animation, but the Alan Menken score and songs by Tim McGraw, K.D. Lang and Bonnie Raitt. Otherwise, it'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. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12
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
KILL BILL VOL. 2 (R) -- B Those not killed in the fantastic first film return for the too-talky sequel. Quentin Tarantino's homage to Hong Kong action movies slows down considerably in Vol 2, remaining interesting and original but lacking Vol. 1's electricity. Stars Uma Thurman. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Movies 8
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (R) -- A Peter Bogdonavich's farewell to innocence, a look at the lost lives in a desolate Texas town (and based on Larry McMurtry's novel) earned eight Academy Award nominations -- Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won for their supporting roles. The film also helped launch the careers of Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Randy Quaid and Timothy Bottoms. 5 p.m. Sunday, May 23, at the Bridge Lounge
LATTER DAYS (NR) -- C C. Jay Cox's romantic drama about a gay stud and the Mormon missionary he falls in love with eschews subtlety at every turn. As in mediocre heterosexual stories, the leads are destined for each other because they are the leads not because the story makes their attraction understandable and convincing. An attack on Mormon prejudice against homosexuals is fair enough on the surface but lacks needed complication. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
LAWS OF ATTRACTION (PG-13) -- Competing divorce attorneys Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore put down their briefs just long enough to get married and then fret over committing the same mistakes as their clients in this romantic comedy. (Adam's Rib, anyone?) Directed by Peter Howitt of Sliding Doors fame, and co-starring Parker Posey, Nora Dunn and Frances Fisher. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
MAN ON FIRE (R) -- Bodyguard Denzel Washington goes after the bad guy who kidnapped the daughter of the family he's protecting in Mexico City in this second film adaptation of A.J. Quinnell'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.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
MEAN GIRLS (PG-13) -- Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey adapted the screenplay and co-stars in this story about a teen (Lindsay Lohan) trying to survive the cliques in her high school. (Fey adapts Margaret Talbot's New York Times article about a high school counselor who works with teens and cliques.) Directed by Mark S. Waters (Freaky Friday) and co-starring Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler and Louisiana's own Lacey Chabert. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square
THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD (NR) -- Brazilian director Vincente Amarim's fact-based story about a Rio de Janeiro man who travels 2,000 miles with his family on bicycle in search of a better life. Screens with the short film The Ecology of Love by Brin Hill. Presented by Film Movement. 7:30 p.m. Friday through May 27 at Zeitgeist
MY ARCHITECT (NR) -- B+ Nathaniel Kahn's Oscar-nominated documentary about his father, renowned architect Louis I. Kahn, is a penetrating examination of a great artist and a deeply flawed, self-absorbed human being. The film establishes both that the work is great and that the man should nonetheless be ashamed of himself. (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. Grand
NEW YORK MINUTE (PG) -- Twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen get caught up in a series of madcap misadventures in the big city in this comedy directed by Dennis Gordon (Joe Dirt) and co-starring Eugene Levy, Darrell Hammond, Jared Padalecki and Andy Richter. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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) Holiday 12
RAGE IN PLACID LAKE (NR) -- An anguished, outsider teen (Ben Lee) begins to conform to society after a graduation-night accident and appears headed for success -- or does he? Directed by Tony McNamara and presented by Film Movement, the film will screen along with the short film At Dawning by Martin Jones. 9:45 p.m. Friday through May 27 at Zeitgeist
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. Causeway Cinema, Grand, Movies 8
SCOOBY-DOO 2: MONSTERS UNLEASHED (PG) -- Freddie Prinze Jr., 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 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
TROY (R) -- The legendary Trojan War (all over a chick, mind you), gets the Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm) treatment with a loaded cast featuring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson, Saffron Burrows and Julie Christie. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Prytania, North Shore Square
VAN HELSING (PG-13) -- Legendary monster hunter Abraham Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) takes on the greatest hits of monsterdom: Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), Frankenstein (Schuler Hensley) and the Wolf Man (Will Kemp) in this potential franchise-starter from Mummy franchise director Stephen Sommers. Co-stars Kate Beckinsale. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
