Scheduled to Open Friday
ICE PRINCESS (G) -- High school bookworm Michelle Trachtenberg finds her groove as a champion figure skater. But first she has to convince her mother (Joan Cusack) that skating's better than Harvard in this teen romance comedy directed by Tim Fywell and co-starring Kim Cattrall with an appearance by Michelle Kwan.
THE RING TWO (PG-13) -- Naomi Watts returns and teams with Hideo Nakata, who directed the original, Japanese version (RINGU) that inspired Gore Verbinski's sleeper 2002 thriller in which investigative reporter Rachel Keller (Watts) discovers a videotape that leads to death for whoever views it. This time around, Rachel moves her son (David Dorfman) to a small town in Oregon only to find another deadly tape. Co-stars Sissy Spacek. (Note: This sequel isn't based on any of the other three RINGU films, a prequel and two sequels.)
Now Showing
ARE WE THERE YET? (PG) -- Ice Cube attempts to woo Nia Long by driving her kids to Vancouver, but Philip Daniel Bolden and Aleisha Allen believe that no one is good enough for their mom and plot to make the trip a nightmare in this family comedy. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
THE AVIATOR (R) -- A Martin Scorsese's biography of Howard Hughes offers Oscar-nominated lead performance by Leonardo DiCaprio in a tale perhaps less interested in factual accuracy than in seeing Hughes as an emblem of American individualism. Winner of five Academy Awards. (Barton) Causeway 4
BE COOL (PG-13) -- The adventures of Elmore Leonard's smooth-talking loan shark Chili Palmer (John Travolta) pick up where they left off from Get Shorty, with Chili switching from the film industry to the music industry to promote a promising young singer (Christina Milian) wanted by the Russian mob. Cast includes Travolta's Pulp Fiction co-star Uma Thurman, Get Shorty co-star Danny DeVito, as well as Cedric the Entertainer, Vince Vaughn, OutKast's Andre Benjamin, Harvey Keitel, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, and The Rock. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE (PG) -- Wayne Wang (Maid in Manhattan) directed this adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's popular children's novel about how a stray dog helps a young girl (AnnaSophia Robb) and her preacher father (Jeff Daniels) get over the death of her mother. Co-stars Eva-Marie Saint, Cicely Tyson and Dave Matthews, and shot in south Louisiana. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
BORN INTO BROTHELS (R) -- B+ Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman's Oscar-winning documentary looks at eight children of Calcutta, India, prostitutes. Eventually the filmmakers interject themselves into the story by trying to get the kids into boarding schools and away from their dead-end families. The picture is heartbreaking but not as successful as we'd like at distinguishing the children as separate individuals. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
BRIDE & PREJUDICE (PG-13) -- Bollywood goes all Jane Austen in this musical retelling of Pride and Prejudice directed by Gurinder Chadha about an iron-willed young Indian woman (Aishwarya Rai) and her encounters with an equally tenacious American (Martin Henderson). Hollywood Cinemas 9
CONSTANTINE (PG-13) -- C- Francis Lawrence's adaptation of the comic book Hellblazer stars Keanu Reeves as a superhero who identifies demi-demons and dispatches them back to Hades. A convoluted plot involving a twin (Rachel Weisz) trying to solve the mysterious death of her sister is close to incoherent. The film's occasional theological contemplations threaten to get interesting, but in the end, they are screwed up as everything else here. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
CURSED (PG-13) -- Horror master filmmaker Wes Craven and Scream collaborator Kevin Williamson reunite for this thriller about two siblings (Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg) who recently lost their parents and must join forces to fend off a werewolf attack in Los Angeles. Co-stars Portia de Rossi, Ileana Douglas, Shannon Elizabeth, Omar Epps, Joshua Jackson and James Brolin with cameos by Craven, Sheila E. and Freddie Prinze Jr. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN (PG-13) -- New Orleans native Tyler Perry brings his stage play to the big screen, with Darren Grant directing, and Perry playing several roles in the story of woman (Kimberly Elise) who tries to recover from a devastating divorce. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES (R) -- A- Michael Gramaglia and Jim Fields co-directed this fascinating look at the seminal punk band the Ramones, placing its influence in its proper historical perspective while providing a vivid portrait of each individual member. The disappointment of the Ramones' inability to crack the pop-music mainstream gives way to the greater tragedy: the deaths, before and after the making of this film, of its three key members. Second encore screening presented by the New Orleans Film Festival. (Simmons) 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Prytania
FILM LOUNGE -- ten18 continues its film series. This week: Jonas Akerlund's 2002 film Spun, about methamphetamine addicts. Stars Jason Schwartzmann, Brittany Murphy, Mena Suvari and John Leguizamo. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at TwiRoPa
FINDING NEVERLAND (PG) -- A- Marc Foster directs Oscar nominee Johnny Depp as author and playwright J.M. Barrie, in this lovely little movie which documents the origins of the Scotsman's most enduring work, Peter Pan. A bighearted, imaginative film from Foster, Neverland is sure to be a classic, especially among those who never want to grow up. (Carlson) Causeway 4
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
HITCH (PG-13) -- A matchmaker (Will Smith) believes he knows exactly what it takes for a man to woo a woman until he meets a journalist (Eva Mendes) who not only questions his validity but also challenges his normally suave demeanor. Directed by Andy Tennant and co-starring Kevin James and Michael Rappaport. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
HOSTAGE (R) -- A cop (Bruce Willis) finds his negotiation skills put to the test when he has to juggle freeing both a kidnapped mafia figure and his own family in this action thriller directed by Florent Emilio Siri (making his American debut) and co-starring Kevin Pollack. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, North Shore Square
HOTEL RWANDA (PG-13) -- A- Don Cheadle delivers a well-deserved Academy Award-nominated performance in one of the year's best films, a fact-based story about how a Hutu hotel manager (Cheadle) helped save 1,200 lives during the Hutus' genocidal massacre of 700,000 Tutsis and their Hutu sympathizers in a short period of time in 1994. Director Terry George conveys the violence and horror with deceptively subtle camera work; Cheadle's face does much of the heavy lifting. Co-stars Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo. (Simmons)AMC Palace 20, Causeway 4, Movies 8
INTO THE DEEP (NR) -- IMAX cameras take a journey through the undersea world. Entergy IMAX
IRON RAIL COLLECTIVE -- Iron Rail's Movie Night film series continues. This week: Jonathan Kaplan's 1979 teen-angst film Over the Edge, starring Matt Dillon and Vincent Spano. 8 p.m. Wednesday at Iron Rail
THE JACKET (R) -- C- Adrien Brody's daring choices in film roles stumbles a bit with this one, playing a Gulf War veteran whose suffering of memory loss is just the beginning of his troubles. Director John Maybury does a decent enough job creating the claustrophobia of a life gone horribly wrong, but ultimately we're left wondering what this story is all about, and not even Brody can save the material. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG (R) B- Adapted from Ronald Everett Capps' novel Off Magazine Street, Shainee Gabel's story of two New Orleans drunks (John Travolta, Gabriel Macht) and the young woman (Scarlett Johansson) who offers them a chance for redemption is thin and overlong. The three lead performances make the film worth seeing, however. Johansson's landed her a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination. (Barton) Chalmette 9
MAN OF THE HOUSE (PG-13) -- Tommy Lee Jones plays a Texas Ranger assigned to guard a bunch of University of Texas cheerleaders who are witnesses to a murder. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (PG-13) -- A Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning film about the relationship between an aging fight trainer and a female boxer is hampered by a script that lacks subtlety and occasionally strains credulity. The film overcomes these obstacles, however, with the majesty of its performances by Eastwood and Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Holiday 12, North Shore Square, Prytania
NEW ORLEANS INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS FESTIVAL -- Second annual presentation of films examining the exploitation of human rights around the world, presented at multiple venues: Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center, Iron Rail Bookstore, UNO Liberal Arts Building, room 140; Neighborhood Gallery, Chez Vodun, Chalmette 9, Prytania and Loyola's Miller Hall, room 114. Visit www.nolahumanrights.org for more information. Featured screenings include Mardi Gras: Made in China, which traces Mardi Gras beads from their manufacturing in China to New Orleans (7 p.m. Friday at Zeitgeist), and Shake Hands With the Devil, the Sundance and Toronto film festival audience award winner about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda (7 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at Zeitgeist). Through Sunday, March 20, at various locations citywide
OCEAN WONDERLAND 3D (NR) -- The Great Barrier Reef and the Bahamas are explored, with a focus on the diversity of marine and coral life, in this film using new HD digital 3D 1570 cameras. Entergy IMAX
THE PACIFIER (PG) -- Now that Gov. Schwarzenneger is a little long in the tooth for this kind of thing, Vin Diesel draws the short straw in portraying a Navy SEAL who takes on his toughest assignment: baby-sitting! (Amen, brother.) Directed by Adam Shankman and co-starring Lauren Graham (TV's Gilmore Girls), Faith Ford, Brad Garrett, Tate Donovan and Carol Kane. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
THE PASSION RECUT (NR) -- Mel Gibson's Academy Award-nominated The Passion of the Christ has been reedited, trimming five minutes of some of the more graphic footage. Jim Caviezel stars as Jesus Christ in his final hours before his crucifixion. Co-stars Monica Bellucci. In Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, North Shore Square
POOH'S HEFFALUMP MOVIE (G) -- Winnie the Pooh and his Hundred Acre Wood buddies Tigger and Piglet stalk the elusive Heffalump monster this animated film featuring the characters of A.A. Milne and directed by Frank Nissen. Stars the voices of John Fiedler, Jim Cummings and Brenda Blethyn. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20
ROBOTS (PG) -- Ice Age director Chris Wedge returns with this CGI tale about a young 'bot (voice of Ewan McGregor) whose idea of creating fellow robots who serve only a higher purpose is thwarted by corporate type Mel Brooks. Co-stars the voices of Halle Berry, Robin Williams, D.L. Hughley, Paul Giamatti, Jim Broadbent, Drew Carrey, Amanda Bynes, Dan Hedaya, Jennifer Coolidge, Dianne Wiest and Stanley Tucci. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8
RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE (R) -- A young man suffering from muscular dystrophy (James McAvoy) brings a breath of fresh, positive air into the assisted living facility to which he's been consigned in this drama directed by Damien O'Donnell. Chalmette 9
SHARKS 3D (NR) -- Jean-Michel Cousteau presents this underwater, 3D look at such famous sharks as the Great White and the Hammerhead. Entergy IMAX
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 (Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee 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. Co-stars Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. Payne's and Jim Taylor's script won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. (Simmons) AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Causeway 4
SON OF THE MASK (PG) -- Sort-of sequel to the popular 1994 film based on the comic strip that starred Jim Carrey, this time around featuring Jamie Kennedy as a cartoonist who learns the baby he's taking care of has found the power of the Mask of Loki. Directed by Larry Guterman (Cats & Dogs) and co-starring Traylor Howard, Bob Hoskins and Alan Cumming. Holiday 12
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
WHITE NOISE (PG-13) -- Widower Michael Keaton sees dead people -- namely, his wife -- in this thriller directed by Geoffrey Sax. Chalmette 9
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (R) -- Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino co-star in Michael Radford's reinterpretation of Shakespeare's classic tale about the merchant (Irons) and the Jewish loan shark Shylock (Pacino) with whom he does business to help a friend (Joseph Fiennes). Canal Place
