Scheduled to Open Friday
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (PG-13) -- Global warming gets the royal action/special effects treatment from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich, as scientist Dennis Quaid tries to save the world (and son Jake Gyllenhaal) from every known natural disaster (floods, hurricanes, yada yada yada) caused by the greenhouse effect. Co-stars Sela Ward, Emmy Rossum and Jared Harris.
RAISING HELEN (PG-13) -- On-the-go model agency exec/self-absorbed yuppy Kate Hudson gets stuck with three kids when her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident in this comedy from warhorse director Garry Marshall (Runaway Bride). Co-stars John Corbett, Helen Mirren and Paris Hilton for the obligatory model jokes. Script alert: one revision and one polish. Beware!
SOUL PLANE (R) -- An African-American man wins a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against an airliner and decides to start up his own, um, demographically correct airline service that caters to the unique traveling needs of the black community in this farce directed by first-timer Jessy Terrero. Co-stars Kevin Hart, D.L. Hughley, Method Man, Snoop Dogg and Tom Arnold.
Now Showing
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, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BOBBY JONES, STROKE OF GENIUS (PG) -- Jim Caviezel moves from historical icon (The Passion of the Christ), 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 (PG-13) -- A Jean-Paul Rappeneau's film would likely become one of the biggest commercial hits of the year if it weren't a subtitled foreign film. It is clever, funny, suspenseful and thoroughly entertaining in just the way American movie fans like. Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu star. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
BREAKIN' 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, 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) Causeway Cinema, Chalmette, 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
GIRL WRESTLER (NR) -- Diane Zander's documentary about 13-year-old Tara Neal, who dealt with more than her fair share of sexism while trying to compete as a high school wrestler, mainly because boys presented her only available opponents. Zander will introduce the film. Monday, May 31, at Zeitgeist
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, Chalmette
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 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 16, 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 20, Grand, Movies 8
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) 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 20, Holiday 12
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
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
METROPOLIS (NR) -- A+ Fritz Lang's German expressionist classic from 1926 has been almost completely restored and continues the Summer German Film Festival at Deutsches Haus. 7 p.m. Thursday at Deutsches Haus
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. daily through Thursday 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
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) Causeway Cinema
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. daily 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, Movies 8
THE RULES OF THE GAME (LA REGLE DU JEU) (NR) -- A+ Jean Renoir's masterpiece about the rivalries and jealousies among the upper and lower classes at a pre-World War II French countryside manor continues the Classic Film Series curated by Henri Schindler. 6:30 p.m. Thursday at NOMA's Stern Auditorium
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, Holiday 12, Movies 8
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
SUPER SIZE ME (NR) -- B+ Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock provides a one-man show as he does the unthinkable: live for one month on McDonald's fat, cholesterol-amping offerings. Spurlock, who is sort of a poor man's Michael Moore but with better research, is likeable enough as he balances the dueling narrative elements of his descent into ill health, personal observations of same, and a nicely paced series of interviews with all the proper talking heads. The rhythm starts to falter toward its rather predictable conclusion, but Super Size Me remains personal filmmaking at its most entertaining and informative. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
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
