Scheduled to Open Friday
LADDER 49 (PG-13) -- Fireman Joaquin Phoenix (The Village) contemplates his life while waiting to be rescued from a nasty fire in this drama directed by Jay Russell (My Dog Skip) and co-starring John Travolta, Morris Chestnut and Jacinda Barrett of TV's The Real World (London) fame.
SHARK TALE (PG) -- The mafia goes truly underworld -- or more accurately, underwater -- in this animated story about a little fish (Will Smith) who is mistakenly blamed for the accidental death of the son of a shark mob boss (Robert De Niro). Other voices provided by Martin Scorsese, Jack Black, Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Peter Falk and Michael Imperioli.
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ALIEN VS. PREDATOR (PG-13) -- Not since Godzilla and Mothra tangled has there been such an anticipated match-up of very, very bad monsters in this film directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat) and starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen. Movies 8
ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID (PG-13) -- The cast is new but the snake is as big and menacing as ever in this sequel to the campy, so-bad-it's-good 1997 hit that starred Ice Cube, J-Lo and Jon Voight. This cast features Johnny Messner, Morris Chestnut, Peter Curtis and Eugene Byrd. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
BELLE DE JOUR (NR) -- The Bridge Lounge's film series returns, beginning with a focus on the work of Catherine Deneuve, this time portraying a bored Paris housewife who turns to prostitution. 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 4, at the Bridge Lounge
THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (PG-13) -- Matt Damon returns as David Webb/Jason Bourne in the second installment of the Robert Ludlum spy trilogy. Causeway Cinema
CELLULAR (PG-13) -- Kidnapped woman Kim Basinger places a panicky phone call to stranger Chris Evans in the hopes of saving herself and her family from kidnapper Jason Statham in this thriller directed by David R. Ellis. Co-stars Jessica Biel and William H. Macy. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
COLLATERAL (R) -- B+ Hitman Tom Cruise forces cab driver Jamie Foxx to drive him around as he does his 'errands' over the course of one night in this taut and surprisingly cheeky noir thriller from Michael Mann. Cruise is at his coolest, in a deadly way, in this film, while Foxx provides an almost perfect counterpart as his flummoxed, unwilling partner. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
COOKOUT (PG-13) -- NBA rookie Storm P finds himself a fish out of water when he throws a picnic for his family and old friends in a posh white neighborhood in this comedy directed by first-timer Lance Rivera and co-starring Eve, Queen Latifah, Danny Glover, Tim Meadows, Vincent Pastore, Ja Rule, Frankie Faison and Farrah Fawcett. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand
A DIRTY SHAME (NC-17) -- John Waters' latest raunch-fest features uptight, sexually repressed convenience store owner Tracey Ullman turning into a nymphomaniac after suffering a concussion first exciting and then exhausting husband Chris Isaak. Co-stars Selma Blair, Mink Stole, Patricia Hearst and Johnny Knoxville. Canal Place
DOLPHINS (NR) -- Fa love Pa! Actor Pierce Brosnan narrates Greg MacGillivray's documentary about the study of dolphins' communication skills. Featuring music by Sting. Entergy IMAX
FIRST DAUGHTER (PG) -- President's daughter Katie Holmes falls in love with fellow college student Marc Blucas, not realizing he's a Secret Service agent covertly assigned by her father (Michael Keaton). Haven't we been down this road before? Jenna, your thoughts? Directed by Forest Whitaker (Waiting to Exhale) and co-starring Michael Keaton as the president. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
THE FORGOTTEN (PG-13) -- C+ Director Joseph Ruben crafts what amounts to a just-average X-Files rip-off starring Julianne Moore and Dominic West. Moore plays a grieving mother whose sorrow is compounded when husband Anthony Edwards and psychiatrist Gary Sinise tell her that the child she mourns never existed. Convinced she's not crazy, she teams up with drunken ex-hockey player West to outrun the cops, outwit the NSA and seek the source of these maddening mind games. The script relies too heavily on strung-together car chases and foot races, but Moore's ongoing cinematic nervous breakdown and her uncomfortable chemistry with West provide a few interesting moments. The film achieves no sustainable mood and its much-publicized 'stunner' is interesting but hardly sophisticated. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
FRANTZ FANON: BLACK SKIN, WHITE MASK (NR) -- The African American Community Bookstore co-presents this film by Isaac Julien about the man many consider one of the most important theorists on this century's anti-colonial movements. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Zeitgeist
GARDEN STATE (R) -- B+ Zach Braff (TV's Scrubs) wrote, directed and stars in this self-consciously offbeat comedy-drama about a semi-successful actor who returns home to New Jersey for his mother's funeral and to confront both his past and his future. (Simmons) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Hollywood Cinemas 9
HERO (PG-13) -- B Zhang Yimou's (Raise the Red Lantern) film can be enjoyed as visual and kinetic art, appreciated for its bursts of color and grace of movement. But in the end, the picture takes an unsavory turn. Its final lesson is that when something as grand as the construction of a country is the goal, the cost in blood is never too high. That's a premise Slobodan Milosovic would embrace in a heartbeat. (Barton) AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, Chalmette, Grand, North Shore Square
INTO THE DEEP (NR) -- IMAX cameras take a journey through the undersea world. Entergy IMAX
THE LIVING SEA (NR) -- Entergy IMAX's premiere film returns, with a look at aquatic life, narrated by Meryl Streep. Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary Short. Entergy IMAX
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (R) -- A- Jonathan Demme's remake of the 1962 classic political thriller about a sinister attempt to control the American presidency stands on its own as worth seeing even by those thoroughly familiar with the original. Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber star. (Barton) AMC Palace 20
MARIA FULL OF GRACE (R) -- B+ First-time filmmaker Joshua Marston's tense drama about a young Colombian woman who agrees to transport pellets of latex-wrapped heroin from Bogota to New York in her stomach benefits from a galvanizing performance by Catalina Sandino Moreno. Another director might paint Maria as a victim without alternatives, but Marston's script renders her a compellingly complicated character who becomes a drug mule with eyes mostly wide open. (Barton) Causeway Cinema
MR. 3000 (PG-13) -- Hall of Fame baseball player Bernie Mac is forced out of retirement when he learns that three of his 3,000 hits don't count on his career stats total in this comedy directed by Charles Stone III (Drumline). Co-stars Angela Bassett, Chris Noth (Mr. Big!), Paul Sorvino and Michael Rispoli. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (PG) -- A- Co-writer and director Jared Hess has created one of the most blissfully abstract comedies in recent memory in his story about Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), a dorky high school student who might actually be a superhero. In what almost feels like a goof on John Hughes' '80s teen comedies, Hess has produced something thoroughly offbeat and surprisingly profound, displaying a love for people who aren't nearly as ordinary as we think. Plus it has one of the coolest opening title sequences of all time. (Simmons) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S GOLD DIGGERS (PG-13) -- Gary Priesler directed this comedy about down-and-out con men Chris Owen and Will Friedle, who see their plan of marrying older women Louise Lasser and Renee Taylor blow up in their faces. North Shore Square
THE NOTEBOOK (PG-13) -- Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams co-star in Nick Cassavetes' adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel about a romantic triangle recalled by an older man (James Garner) to his former love (Gena Rowlands), who is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Causeway Cinema
PAPARAZZI (PG-13) -- Movie star Cole Hauser has revenge on his mind when wife Robin Tunney and his son are injured in an automobile crash caused by celebrity-stalking photographers in this thriller co-starring Tom Sizemore and Dennis Farina with cameos by Chris Rock, Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn and Matthew McConaughey. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20
THE PRINCESS DIARIES 2: ROYAL ENGAGEMENT (G) -- Now that American teen Anne Hathaway is firmly set as the princess of Genovia, she must find her prince in this sequel to the 2001 hit. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE (R) -- The sequel to the popular 2002 horror film (directed once again by Paul Anderson) features Milla Jovovich as a military type who joins other survivors of a virus outbreak to battle the zombified victims. Co-stars Sienna Guillory, Mike Epps, Oded Fehr and Jared Harris. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
SHAUN OF THE DEAD (R) -- London pub crawler Simon Pegg tries to rescue his friends from zombies, with disastrous results, in director Edgar Wright's spoof of the classic horror flick, Dawn of the Dead. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
SEPTEMBER SONGS: THE MUSIC OF KURT WEILL (NR) -- Larry Weinstein's award-winning tribute to the famed composer features contributions by P.J. Harvey, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello and the Brodsky String Quartet, Lou Reed, and more. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Zeitgeist
SILVER CITY (R) -- A- John Sayles' multi-character drama about a corrupt politician's campaign to become governor of Colorado offers strong performances by Chris Cooper as the candidate and Danny Huston as the investigator looking into his past business deals. The picture is more complicated than necessary and not as tight as we might want, but its theme about corporate control of the media is well worth contemplating. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (PG) -- Sky Captain Jude Law teams with ex-girlfriend and reporter Gwyneth Paltrow to prevent a mad scientist from destroying the world in 1930s New York City in this sci-fi film written and directed by first-timer Kerry Conran, a CGI whiz. Co-stars Michael Gambon, Giovanni Ribisi and Angelina Jolie. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square, Prytania
STALINGRAD (NR) -- The Deutsches Haus' German Film Series continues with Joseph Vilsmaier's 1993 film about a German officer's trials and tribulations during World War II. Stars Thomas Kretschmann. 7 p.m. Thursday at the Deutsches Haus
SUPERBABIES 2: BABY GENIUSES (PG) -- Talking babies assume superpowers and fight evil in the form of Jon Voight. Stars Scott Baio and Vanessa Angel. Bob Clark directed. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
VANITY FAIR (PG-13) -- Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding) directed Reese Witherspoon in yet another (seventh?) theatrically released adaptation of the William Makepeace Thackeray novel about a working girl in 1820s London who cunningly works her way up the social ladder. The higher she climbs, the more complicated life becomes. Co-stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Broadbent, Eileen Atkins and Rhys Ifans. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, North Shore Square
VOLCANOES OF THE DEEP SEA -- Actor Ed Harris narrates this look at life 12,000 feet below sea level, including the strange creatures that thrive near underwater volcanoes. Entergy IMAX
WHAT THE #$*! DO WE KNOW? (NR) -- C This 'documentary' is one part primer about quantum physics, one part rumination about how God perhaps works through sub-atomic particles (which are certainly curious stuff) and one-part narrative about an unhappy photographer (Marlee Matlin) who needs an attitude adjustment. Too much talk; too little light.(Barton) Canal Place
WICKER PARK (PG-13) -- Heartbroken investment banker Josh Hartnett can't move on with his life, including an upcoming wedding, when he thinks he sees his previous flame in a restaurant and becomes obsessed in this thriller remake of the 1996 French film, L'Appartement. Directed by Brandon Boyce (Apt Pupil) and co-stars Matthew Lillard, Jessica Pare, Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12
WIMBLEDON (PG-13) -- Fading tennis player Paul Bettany (Master and Commander) romances promising but rebellious newcomer Kirsten Dunsten during his last shot at the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships in this romance directed by Richard Loncraine (Richard III). Co-stars Jon Favreau and Sam Neill. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
WITHOUT A PADDLE (PG-13) -- City slickers Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Abraham Benrubi decide to pick up on their dead friend's quest for stolen loot on a canoe trip in this film billed by more than one source as City Slickers meets Deliverance (insert Ned Beatty joke here). AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Movies 8
