Scheduled to Open Wednesday
WHITE CHICKS (PG-13) -- FBI agents Shawn and Marlon Wayans assume the identity of the white heiresses they&185;ve been assigned to protect in this comedy directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans and co-written by every Wayans brother not named Damon, and others. We&185;ve come a long way from Imitation of Life, eh?
Scheduled to Open Friday
THE NOTEBOOK (PG-13) -- Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams co-star in Nick Cassavetes adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks romance novel about a romantic triangle recalled by an older man (James Garner) to his former love (Gena Rowlands), who is now suffering from Alzheimer&185;s disease. (Gosling and McAdams play two of the younger lovers.) Rowlands, it should be noted, is the mother of Cassavetes and widow of John Cassavetes.
TWO BROTHERS (PG) -- Two tigers who were separated as cubs reunite under difficult circumstances in Cambodia in this film by Jean-Jacques Annaud, who scored a wild-kingdom blockbuster with 1998&185;s The Bear. Co-stars Guy Pearce and Christian Clavier.
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&185;re all thinking Big about this one. Causeway Cinema
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (PG) -- Jackie Chan and Steve Coogan co-star in this remake of the 1956 movie based on the Jules Verne classic about an eccentric London inventor (Coogan) who takes a bet on a world trip, with a thief (Chan) along for the ride. Directed by Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) and co-starring Kathy Bates, Jim Broadbent, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wim Wenders and Macy Gray. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
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. Grand
THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (R) -- Vin Diesel returns in the title role in this sequel to 2000&185;s Pitch Black, as a futuristic superhero who can see in the dark, who gets ensnared in a galactic battle between two worlds. Co-stars Dame Judi Dench, Keith David, Colm Feore and Thandie Newton. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
CONTROL ROOM (NR) -- Jehane Noujaim (Startup.com) directed this documentary about the controversial Arab-world news agency Al Jazeera. Canal Place
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (PG-13) -- C- Roland Emmerich&185;s special effects-driven, apocalyptic take on global warming feels all wrong, from the weird science and clunky narrative to the poorly sketched characters and even the eye candy. The cast of Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm, Sela Ward and others are given very little to do but ride the storm out. In trying to keep a more somber tone than the one he provided in the 1996 guilty pleasure, Independence Day, Emmerich doesn&185;t know what movie he wants to make. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (PG-13) -- Vince Vaughn and the rest of his dorky friends try to save their local gym from a corporate-chain takeover led by Ben Stiller in a dodgeball challenge in Las Vegas in this comedy from first-time writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Co-stars Gary Cole, Jason Bateman, Stephen Root, Justin Long, Missi Pyle and Christine Taylor. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL -- The New Orleans Film Festival&185;s annual salute to French cinema features four compelling works: Intimate Strangers (7 p.m. Friday) by Patrice Leconte (Man on a Train); a survey of contemporary French Animation (1 p.m. Saturday); Demonlover (3:30 p.m. Saturday), directed by Olivier Assayas and starring Chloe Sevigny and Gina Gershon; To Be and to Have (1:30 p.m. Sunday), directed by Nicolas Philibert; and A Woman Is a Woman (3:30 p.m. Sunday), directed by Jean-Luc Godard. (To Be and to Have is reviewed in this issue.) Friday-Sunday at the Prytania
GARFIELD (PG) -- After all these years, the fat, lazy house cat gets the CGI animation treatment, with Bill Murray supplying the voice. Feels about as relevant as, say, a movie version of Bloom County, but we&185;re game. Co-stars Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt and the voices of Debra Messing, Brad Garrett and Alan Cumming. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (PG) -- A- Finally a film that matches the gorgeous imagination of author J.K. Rowling. Harry and friends return for a third year at Hogwarts, shadowed by prison escapee Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). Michael Gambon dutifully steps into the role of Dumbledore, but predictably, the late Richard Harris is sorely missed. Thankfully, director Alfonso Cuarón steps in, and no one misses Chris Columbus one bit. With his artist&185;s eye and Gothic-tinged sensibility, Cuarón provides the texture, dimension and thrill that has been missing from this superbly cast film series all along. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Entergy IMAX, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8, Prytania
LEWIS & CLARK: GREAT JOURNEY WEST (NR) -- The famed explorers, here portrayed by Kelly Boulware and Sonny Surowiec, set out West commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in this IMAX version of their story. Entergy IMAX
LOVE ME IF YOU DARE (R) -- Yann Samuels directed this romantic comedy about two friends who grew up together and start to fall in love as adults but for their long-standing game &179;Dare.&178; Stars Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard. Canal Place
MAN ON FIRE (R) -- 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.) Causeway Cinema
MEAN GIRLS (PG-13) -- B Saturday Night Live&185;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&185;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&185;s own Lacey Chabert, Mean Girls has been overly praised for its portrayal of the Darwinian world of high school, and Lohan has yet to find the role that truly works for her. But at least it&185;s a game attempt. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12, Movies 8
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
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! AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, North Shore Square
RUN LOLA RUN (R) -- B+ Tom Tykwer&185;s novel 1998 film about a young Berlin woman (Franka Potente) who has only 20 minutes to help her boyfriend retrieve a lost bag of stolen money before he&185;s killed -- and has only a finite number of attempts to find the correct path. Potente is an engaging study in ingenuity and determination, and Tykwer&185;s rewind narrative style is a breath of fresh air even if the idea begins to tire toward the end. (Simmons) 7 p.m. Thursday at the Deutsches Haus
SAVED! (PG-13) -- B+ This sweet and funny look at life in the halls of a Christian high school is written with all the affection of the proximate. Saved! is definitely an inside job, its satire knowing and notable, from the altar-call school assemblies of wannabe hipster Pastor Skip (Martin Donovan) to the holier-than-thou head trips of cheerleadery church girl Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore). Brian Dannelly and Michael Urban&185;s story focuses on Jena Malone (Stepmom, Cold Mountain), who makes good use of her permanently protruding lower lip as Mary, a confused high school senior who sleeps with her gay boyfriend because she has a vision of Jesus telling her to help him. She gets pregnant, and Christ-filled chaos ensues. Urban and Dannelly, who also directs, take a page from Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman) and actually seem to like the people they make the most fun of. Saved! isn&185;t a searing (or particularly subversive) indictment of religion; its believers are simply human with all the attendant absurdities of trying to do good and be good in a world where very few of us can do either on our own. Look for Mary-Louise Parker, Macaulay Culkin, the ever-charming Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous) and Eva Amurri. (Carlson) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
SHREK 2 (PG) -- A- Mike Myers is certainly seeing the green, as everyone&185;s favorite ogre returns with his new wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz), for this record-breaking sequel. The animation is twice as sophisticated, Myers is just as lovable, and the script is, at times, almost as crazily clever as the 2001 original. Aided considerably by Ab Fab&185;s Jennifer Saunders as a scheming fairy godmother and the purrfect addition of Antonio Banderas as a positively feline Puss in Boots, the story turns Fiona&185;s homeland of Far, Far Away -- and every accepted fairy tale convention -- on its ear. Nothing could match the come-from-nowhere charm of the original, but Shrek 2 is undeniably a very close second. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
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. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
THE STEPFORD WIVES (PG-13) -- C+ As rejiggered as the idealized suburban wives of novelist Ira Levin&185;s imagination, director Frank Oz&185;s new version of the 1975 classic sports a decidedly different vibe, creepy suspense giving way to hopped-up hilarity. The cast -- Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close -- is immensely enjoyable, and Paul Rudnick&185;s script is chock full of dialogic smarts, if a bit lacking in logic of any other kind. The Stepford Wives is a mess, but it&185;s fun, and it&185;s probably the best bad movie you will see this summer. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
SUMMER CLASSIC MOVIES -- The Saenger Theatre presents classics from Hollywood&185;s golden era: Alfred Hitchcock&185;s Rear Window (7:30 p.m. Friday), Michael Curtiz&185;s Casablanca (3 p.m. Saturday) and David Lean&185;s Doctor Zhivago (7 p.m. Saturday). Friday-Saturday at the Saenger
SUPER SIZE ME (NR) -- B+ Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Best Director, Sundance Film Festival) provides a one-man show as he does the unthinkable: live for one month on McDonald&185;s fat-laden, cholesterol-amping offerings. Spurlock, who is sort of a poor man&185;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) Canal Place
THE TERMINAL (PG-13) -- C+ In a film that feels trapped in a Bermuda Triangle of E.T. , Cast Away and the inverse of Catch Me If You Can, Steven Spielberg reunites with Tom Hanks in this loosely fact-based story of an eastern European immigrant (Hanks) who becomes trapped inside JFK Airport with an invalid visa when his country is dissolved in a civil war. This is Spielberg at his most constructed, sentimental and obvious; every character and situation feels two-dimensional and calculated. Hanks gamely tries to rise above the material with some of his best physical comedy in years, but Stanley Tucci, Catherine Zeta-Jones and others are all but wasted here. Kudos to Spielberg and a crew that included cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Schindler&185;s List) and production designer Alex McDowell (Minority Report), who indeed create an airport that feels like a world unto itself. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
TROY (R) -- C+ Wolfgang Petersen&185;s account of the Trojan War turns Homer&185;s The Iliad on its head. The Greeks are brutes. Achilles (Brad Pitt) is his century&185;s Terminator. And the Trojans are the noble doomed. At least this film bothers to denounce arrogant religious presumption. Had the Trojan king (Peter O&185;Toole) listened to his wise son, Troy would have endured, but instead he listened to his high priest who was wrong and wrong again. Take note, George W. Bush. Wary should be the leader who chooses courses because he thinks God is on his side. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, 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, Holiday 12
VERONIKA VOSS (NR) -- Henri Schindler&185;s NOMA Classic Film Series concludes with Rainer Werner Fassbinder&185;s 1982 film about a fading actress (Rosel Zech), with exquisite black-and-white cinematography by Saver Schwarzenberger. 6:30 p.m. Thursday at NOMA&185;s Stern Auditorium
