EDITOR'S NOTE: For showtimes, visit the movies section of our Web site at www.bestofneworleans.com.
Scheduled to open Friday
FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX (PG-13) -- A plane carrying laid-off oil workers back from a rig to Beijing crash-lands in the Gobi Desert, and the survivors struggle with the elements and themselves to rebuild the plane in this remake of a 1965 film based on Elleston Trevor's novel. Plane-happy John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) directs Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Giovanni Ribisi and Amanda Otto.
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (PG) -- The wildly popular children's book series comes to the big screen, with this film based on the first three novellas, about three young orphans who get bounced from household to household searching for a permanent home (including the devious Count Olaf, played by Jim Carrey). Daniel Handler adapts from his own material, while Brad Silberling (Moonlight Mile) directs a stellar ensemble cast featuring Jude Law, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Coolidge, Cedric the Entertainer, Catherine O'Hara, Timothy Spall, Emily Browning, Billy Connolly and Jane Adams.
SPANGLISH (PG-13) -- Writer-director James L. Brooks (As Good As It Gets) directs Adam Sandler in this comedy about the culture clash that occurs when a young Mexican woman (Paz Vega) and her daughter move in with a white-bread L.A. family that features Sandler, Téa Leoni and Cloris Leachman.
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AFTER THE SUNSET (PG-13) -- Suave thief Pierce Brosnan thinks he's pulled off his last heist and is set for retirement when his rival, an FBI agent, visits him on his remote island to keep tabs on him and winds up striking up the old rivalry. Brett Ratner (Red Dragon) directs; supporting cast includes Woody Harrelson, Salma Hayek and Don Cheadle. Movies 8
ALEXANDER (R) -- A- A fine movie with brilliant moments, Alexander makes you wonder if the way director Oliver Stone sees his title character is also the way he wants to see himself: great and greatly misunderstood. The film is the most conventionally coherent that Stone has made to date, and the staggering fight scenes of the battle at Gaugamela represent Stone's technical mastery at its finest. Good performances all around (especially Angelina Jolie as Alexander's mad mother, Olympias) complement a screenplay steeped in magic and mythology. (Carlson) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, Movies 8
BEYOND THE VEIL: NEW PERSPECTIVES FROM THE MUSLIM WORLD (NR) -- Zeitgeist brings this touring program from Women Make Movies, co-sponsored by Newcomb College Center for Research on Women, including films from Palestine, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This week: Divorce Iranian Style, directed by Kim Longinotto and Ziba Mir-Hosseini and exploring the challenges Iranian women face. For more info visit zeitgeistinc.org. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Zeitgeist
BLADE: TRINITY (R) -- Wesley Snipes returns once again as the part-human, part-vampire who battles full-fledged vampires in their quest for world domination. Co-stars Jessica Biel and Ryan Reynolds. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square
BRIDGET JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON (R) -- C- Beeban Kidron's sequel to Sharon Maguire's delightful hit 2001 comedy about a slightly overweight reporter?s romantic involvement with two different men begins a couple of months after she ended up with the right one at the end of the original. Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant are back as the romantic triangle, but the script is at once broadly predictable and narrowly so contrived as to elicit scoffs. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20, Hollywood 9, Movies 8
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS (PG) -- F Like Santa himself, Jamie Lee Curtis and Tim Allen -- as a couple deciding to opt for a Caribbean cruise over celebrating Christmas -- magically dropped off this lump of coal into multiplexes everywhere, all on a single night. Christmas is a season of iconic imagery: a jolly gift-giver, a lighted tree, a babe in a manger. To this list, now add Curtis and Allen overflowing from their teeny swimsuits as they prance in a shopping mall tanning salon. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square
CLOSER (R) -- A Adapted from Patrick Marber's play, Mike Nichols' film examines the emotional and sexual entanglements of four young people in contemporary London. Searingly brave performances by Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen make this picture particularly memorable. Its theme that many people use ³love² as a defense for self-indulgence rings sadly true. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 20
DESERTED STATION (NR) -- Ali Reza Raisian directed this film about a woman (Leila Hatami) who develops a close relationship with parentless children while she waits to get her car fixed in a small village. For more visit www.firstrunfeatures.com. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at Zeitgeist
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
DOON SCHOOL CHRONICLES (NR) -- Zeitgeist concludes this five-part documentary series by director David MacDougall profiling India's Doon School, which some have dubbed ³the Eton of India² for its prestigious academic reputation in grooming the future leaders of the country in a post-colonial atmosphere. This week: The Age of Reason. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Zeitgeist
EULOGY (R) -- A fractured, multi-generational family gathers to pay respects to the deceased patriarch in an ensemble comedy featuring Ray Romano, Debra Winger, Zooey Deschanel and Hank Azaria. Written and directed by Michael Clancy. Chalmette
FINDING NEVERLAND (PG) -- Marc Foster directs Johnny Depp as Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, who was inspired by his relationship with single mother Kate Winslet and her sons. Co-stars Dustin Hoffman, Julie Christie and Radha Mitchell. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
FORCES OF NATURE (NR) -- George Casey's documentary about the study of such natural phenomena as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Directed by Kevin Bacon. Kenner MegaDome
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 confront both his past and his future. Admittedly inspired by Harold and Maude, Braff sometimes relies too heavily on character quirks as character development, but his honesty and earnestness shine through in an effort to explore the painful confrontation with adulthood. Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Jean Smart and Method Man form an impressive supporting cast, and Braff in particularly is delightfully subdued. (Simmons) Causeway Cinema
THE GRUDGE (PG-13) -- Japanese director Takashi Shimizu takes the trend of American directors adapting Japanese thrillers one step further by remaking his own film into English, with Sarah Michelle Gellar trapped in a haunted house. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12
I &127; HUCKABEES (R) -- A- David O. Russell fulfills the promise of earlier works Spanking the Monkey, Flirting With Disaster and Three Kings with the most novel film of the year so far: a slapstick existential comedy with noir tendencies. Rare is the director who can work a film on such seemingly disparate intellectual levels, which Russell does here in exploring the psyche of an environmentalist (Jason Schwartzman), a corporate drone (Jude Law) and an embittered firefighter (Mark Wahlberg), with a little help from ³existentialist detectives² Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin. A pitch-perfect ensemble cast (which also features Naomi Watts and Isabelle Huppert) and a breezy pace balances the heady themes explored by Russell, who co-wrote the script. (Simmons) Canal Place, Causeway Cinema, Chalmette
THE INCREDIBLES (PG) -- A- Director Brad Bird follows up his animated mini-masterpiece Iron Giant with a CGI mini-masterpiece that depicts a family of superheroes trying to conceal their powers in a witness protection program. Like the best old Marvel comics (especially The Fantastic Four), the film succeeds by combining clever action sequences with fresh humor and honest character development. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square, Prytania
INTO THE DEEP (NR) -- IMAX cameras take a journey through the undersea world. Entergy IMAX
JAY-Z: FADE TO BLACK (R) -- Concert documentary about the soon-to-retire rapper (and Beyonce squeeze) on his farewell tour stop at Madison Square Garden, directed by Patrick Paulson and Michael John Warren. AMC Palace 20
KINSEY (R) -- A- Bill Condon's (Gods and Monsters) biography of seminal sex researcher Alfred Kinsey offers terrific lead performances by Liam Neeson and Laura Linney as Kinsey's wife. The film appropriately views Kinsey as a hero who shined light where darkness had hitherto reigned but also as a complicated and flawed human being sometimes as blind to the spirit as his opponents were to the body. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
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
MEAN CREEK (R) -- Writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes' drama about a bunch of teens who unite to fend off a bully stars Josh Peck, Rory Culkin and Trevor Morgan. Chalmette
METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER (R) -- B+ Joe Berlinger and Brude Sinofsky (Brother's Keeper) chronicle two years in the life of Metallica as the band struggled to produce its latest album, St. Anger, through artistic differences, rehab and personnel changes. Hopefully this will earn heavy metal musicians the respect they may have lost two decades ago with the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, with singer-guitarist James Hetfield coming off wholly sympathetic in his struggles with alcohol abuse, clashes with drummer Lars Ulrich, and the middle age trappings of marriage and fatherhood. (Simmons) Chalmette
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) Causeway Cinema
NATIONAL TREASURE (PG) -- C+ Action-flick producer Jerry Bruckheimer's latest stars Nicolas Cage as a man who believes the Founding Fathers hid a vast treasure from the British and planted clues to its whereabouts on our currency and in invisible ink on The Declaration of Independence. Filled with stock chases, the picture is preposterously but cleverly enough plotted for brainless diversion, but it doesn?t send you because Cage doesn't dare to take his character to the lunatic fringe. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, Movies 8
OCEAN'S TWELVE (PG-13) -- With Las Vegas all tapped out, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and the rest of Steven Soderbergh's New Millennium Rat Pack head to Europe for more heists in this sequel to the 2001 hit, itself a remake of the 1960 film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al. Co-stars Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Don Cheadle. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, Movies 8
THE POLAR EXPRESS (PG) -- B A young boy who is losing his belief in Santa Claus is whisked away to the North Pole by train conductor Tom Hanks in this Robert Zemeckis film. The strangeness of computer-generated images based on live-action, motion-capture images is a constant reminder that while this film will certainly entertain older children and train enthusiasts, it will never be the Christmas classic the book has become. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square
RAY (PG-13) -- B+ Taylor Hackford's vibrant if sometimes cliched biopic of American music icon Ray Charles (here portrayed admirably by Jamie Foxx) features a strong ensemble cast, wonderful recreations of Charles performing his greatest hits, and deft use of New Orleans scenery and musicians and actors. Hackford's films have almost always been affairs of the heart, one way or another, and it's a shame the original title, Unchain My Heart, wasn't kept, because this film has plenty of it. Co-stars Kerry Washington, Regina King, Aunjanue Ellis, Richard Schiff, Larenz Tate and New Orleans' own Chris Thomas King. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Causeway Cinema, Grand
SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN (NR) -- The holiday season warms up with this story about a jealous snowman who decides to battle Santa and the North Pole. Entergy IMAX
SAW (R) -- Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) and Leigh Whannell are stalked by a serial killer in this thriller directed by James Wan. Movies 8
SEED OF CHUCKY (R) -- The fifth installment in the killer-doll series features Chucky facing fatherhood. (Shudder the thought). Features the voices of Brad Dourif as Chucky, Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany, and John Waters doing God knows what. Directed by first-timer Don Mancini, who wrote Bride of Chucky and the Child's Play series. AMC Palace 16, Chalmette, Grand
SHALL WE DANCE? (PG-13) -- C Richard Gere is rich and in love with his wife (Susan Sarandon) and two kids, but he's nonetheless having a midlife crisis. He might undertake civic service, but instead he takes dancing lessons without informing his family. This film has laudable values and some wisdom to share about marriage, but the script is very weak and the tone entirely uneven. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, Chalmette, Movies 8
SHARK TALE (PG) -- The mafia goes truly underworld, or more accurately, underwater, in this animated story about a little fish (voice of Will Smith) who is mistakenly blamed for the accidental death of the son of a shark mob boss (Robert De Niro). Movies 8
SIDEWAYS (R) -- B+ Sideways, like Alexander Payne's earlier works Election and About Schmidt, is a witty and delightful comedy with more than its share of drama. The loserly Miles (Paul Giamatti) and his aging TV star friend Jack (Thomas Haden Church) take a bachelor-party tour through wine country, in which the fruit of the grape serves as a not-always-subtle metaphor for life. Giamatti does his work well (he just might garner an overdue Oscar nod), and his chemistry with Church is a pure comic delight. (Simmons) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place
THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE (PG) -- B Nickelodeon maintains its fairly impressive track record of stretching its half-hour kiddy shows into decent full-length movie fare. While efforts such as The Wild Thornberrys went for the heartstrings, SpongeBob stays true to the TV show?s frenetic slapstick as it follows our everysponge on his journey from Bikini Bottom to rescue a stolen crown. Just when things threaten to slow down, a still-buff David Hasselhoff appears to save the day (and the movie). (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood 9, North Shore Square
TARNATION (NR) -- B Jonathan Caouette directed this experimental art film of a documentary chronicling his often-fractured relationship with his mentally ill mother. Many will be absorbed with the artfulness of this film, while others will be frustrated with what feels like Caouette's catharsis through narcissism -- think Andy Warhol meets Capturing the Friedmans. Thoroughly unique and frustrating all at once. (Simmons) Canal Place
TICKET TO JERUSALEM (NR) -- New Orleans Palestine Solidarity sponsors this film about a Palestinian man who stirs up controversy by trying to show movies in the West Bank territory. Directed by Rashid Masharawi. 9:15 p.m. Thursday-Sunday at Zeitgeist
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
