Scheduled to Open Thursday
MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS (PG-13) -- Sandra Bullock continues to funnel money into her production company (apparently) by starring in this sequel to her popular hit comedy about a cop who goes undercover to snag bad guys. This time, the volatile cop is in Vegas to rescue kidnapping victims. Co-stars William Shatner, Ernie Hudson, Treat Williams and Regina King.
Scheduled to Open Friday
GUESS WHO (PG-13) -- Extremely loose remake (if at all) of the 1967 message film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, with gruff father Bernie Mac none too thrilled about his daughter (Zoe Saldana) marrying an impish white guy (Ashton Kutcher), who continually buries himself in a pile of lies in lame attempts to impress his future father-in-law. Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan (Barbershop 2).
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 an 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) -- B F. Gary Gray's sequel to Get Shorty (both penned by New Orleans-born writer Elmore Leonard) returns John Travolta to his role as Chili Palmer, former wise guy now in the entertainment business. Chili conquered the movies in the original; here he's invading the movie business. This outing lacks the freshness and snap of the first, but it's diverting and fun enough. Uma Thurman provides the sex appeal. Vince Vaughn and The Rock provide laughs as a couple of wannabe tough guys. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE (PG) -- B- A commanding performance by AnnaSophia Robb holds together an otherwise uneven adaptation of Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal-winning children's book. Kid-oriented weepers are admittedly tough to pull off, but unlike the far superior canine caper My Dog Skip, this film doesn't trust its source. The insertion of a couple of stock characters (including local John 'Spud' McConnell, who does his best with a dumb scene) attempts to lighten the mood with slapstick. Instead, it detracts from both the story and the nice performances by Eva-Marie Saint, Cicely Tyson, Jeff Daniels and the dog. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Holiday 12
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) 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 as screwed up as everything else here. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Causeway 4, 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 (TV's Arrested Development), Ileana Douglas, Shannon Elizabeth, Omar Epps, Joshua Jackson and James Brolin with cameos by Craven, Sheila E. and Freddie Prinze Jr. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Holiday 12
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, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
FILM LOUNGE -- ten18 continues its film series. This week: Grey Gardens, the uncomfortably funny and freakish documentary by David and Albert Maysles, Muffy Meyer, and Ellen Hovde about the eccentric mother-daughter team of Edith and 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale -- the reclusive relatives of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Also: short films by local filmmaker Aaron Walker. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at TwiRoPa
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
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, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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) Causeway 4, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9
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: Quilombo, Carlos Diegues' 1984 film based on the escaped African slaves in Brazil in the 17th century. 8 p.m. Wednesday at the 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 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 20
KINSEY (R) -- A- Bill Condon's (Gods and Monsters) biography of seminal sex researcher Alfred Kinsey offers deserved Golden Globe-nominated performances by Liam Neeson and Oscar nominee 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) AMC Palace 20
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, Chalmette 9, Holiday 12, 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, Holiday 12
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) -- A A picture-poem that shouts over the storm of its own controversy, re-released without five to six minutes of its more graphic material. 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. Gibson uses violence as a door, not a wall, creating a profound religious statement and startlingly well-made movie. In Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, North Shore Square
THE RING TWO (PG-13) -- B Naomi Watts returns as investigative reporter Rachel Kelly once again trying to protect her son (the sometimes creepy David Dorfman) from the little girl of the previous film. A vast improvement over the rather tepid 2002 original directed by Gore Verbinski, thanks to the direction of Hideo Nakata, who directed the original Japanese versions of this popular series. Despite the Swiss cheese plotholes, Nakata better appreciates the visual and ambient possibilities of fear in this version and even overcomes what has become routine over-acting on Ms. Watts' part. Two noteworthy cameos, which shall go nameless in this publication, brighten up the picture considerably. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8, Prytania
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
SCHULTZE GETS THE BLUES (PG) -- A In this meditative and bittersweet German film from first-time writer-director Michael Schorr, miner and accordionist Schultze (Horst Krause) finds himself forced into retirement -- and on the road to musical discovery as he takes up zydeco and travels to Louisiana. It's one of the most offbeat uses of south Louisiana landscape since Down By Law and the best use of zydeco in a film since John Sayles' Passion Fish. (Tisserand) Canal Place
THE SEA INSIDE (PG-13) -- B+ Javier Bardem was cheated out of an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Spanish writer Ramon Sampedro, who waged a three-decade battle with the Spanish government to end his life after becoming a quadriplegic following a tragic accident. However, this film by Alejandro Amenabar (The Others) did bring home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It can't help avoid the cliches of this genre but nevertheless shows not only the ripple effect of one person's life but thoughtfully ponders the very value of that life -- and death. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
SHARKS 3D (NR) -- Jean-Michel Cousteau presents this underwater, 3D look at such famous sharks as the Great White and 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, Causeway 4
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
