Scheduled to Open Friday
HEAD-ON (NR) -- Fatih Akin won for Best Director, Birol Unel and Sibel Kekilli won for Best Actor and Actress, respectively, at the 'Lolas' -- Germany's equivalent of the Academy Awards -- for this jagged love story between two Turkish-German patients at a psychiatric clinic. Winner of the Golden Bear (top prize) at the International Film Festival Berlin. Canal Place
THE LONGEST YARD (PG-13) -- Adam Sandler takes over for Burt Reynolds in this remake of the surprise 1974 hit about a high-living pro quarterback who winds up in a remote prison and is forced by the mean warden to put together a football team among the inmates to play (and lose) against the guards. Supporting cast includes Chris Rock, James Cromwell, Nelly, William Fichtner, Tracy Morgan, Cloris Leachman and Reynolds himself sliding into Michael Conrad's old role as the coach. Directed by Peter Segal ( 50 First Dates ).
MADAGASCAR (PG) -- Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett-Smith, David Schwimmer and others provide the voices for this latest CGI animation project from DreamWorks about a bunch of 'residents' of the Central Park Zoo who, through a series of misadventures, wind up on the shore of Madagascar and are forced to fend for themselves for the first time ever. Directed by Eric Darnell (co-director of Antz ) and Conrad Vernon.
OLDBOY (R) -- Chan-woo Park directed this thriller about a Seoul businessman who finds himself imprisoned for 15 years after being framed for his wife's murder, and then is unexpectedly released and ultimately confronted with the reason for his imprisonment. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival. Chalmette 9
Now Showing
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (R) -- The sleeper 1974 thriller hit (based on a true story) about a family who buys a severely haunted house gets the remake treatment with a script by the sudden prince of 1970s remakes, Scott Kosar (the recent remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the upcoming The Longest Yard ). Directed by Andrew Douglas and starring Ryan Reynolds, Jimmy Bennett, Melissa George and Philip Baker Hall. AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, North Shore Square
CALLAS FOREVER (NR) -- In this fictional swan song, Larry Kelly (Jeremy Irons) convinces Maria Callas (Fanny Ardent) to remount her opera career in an onscreen performance of Carmen , thereby restoring the legacy of a luminous opera star. Franco Zeffirelli directs. Chalmette 9
CRASH (R) -- The lives of Los Angelenos of almost every racial and ethnic stripe and class continually intersect with sometimes tragic results in this drama featuring the feature-directing debut of Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis. We've seen this type of narrative approach before in films like Short Cuts and particularly Magnolia , and while it wanders into portentousness more often than it should, Crash benefits from Haggis' desire to approach racism with a rare sense of intelligence and perspective. A fine ensemble cast includes Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Jennifer Esposito, Larenz Tate and a particularly amusing Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges. Haggis co-wrote the screenplay with Robert Moresco. (Simmons) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Canal Place, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, North Shore Square
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (NR) -- Proceeding from a book by business reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, writer/director Alex Gibney's documentary details the noxious rise and scandalous collapse of the energy conglomerate. This film about the largest white-collar crime in history will make you furious and will make you hope that top Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling get what they will no doubt escape -- life without parole -- when they go on trial in January 2006. (Barton) Canal Place
FEVER PITCH (PG-13) -- Directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly ( There's Something About Mary ) show their softer side, selecting this cotton-candy, fun-but-forgettable story of a sweet geometry teacher (Jimmy Fallon) trying to love his team (the Boston Red Sox) and his girl (Drew Barrymore) at the same time. The film, drawn from Nick Hornby's book of the same name, gets by largely on its leads' personal likeability (as opposed to their acting talent or the script), but scores points for treating Fallon's loony loyalty with respect. (Carlson) Causeway 4
FORCES OF NATURE (NR) -- George Casey's documentary about the study of such natural phenomena as earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. Narrated by Kevin Bacon. Kenner MegaDome
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 ). Causeway 4, Movies 8
THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (PG) -- Douglas Adams' 1979 classic British radio series and novel survives the adaptation to the big screen better than most expected. The sparseness of the radio show and the wittily methodical writing in Adams' books are too often replaced by special effects, but those charms still shine through on occasion. The movie has an unexpected note of political satire, as the bad guy aliens are the universe's ultimate bureaucrats, and Sam Rockwell plays galaxy president Zaphod Beeblebrox as a younger George W. Bush. Still, putting such a distinctly British book through the Hollywood process created a movie that's little more than a charming, odd distraction. Co-stars Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and the voice of Alan Rickman. (Rawls) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
HOUSE OF WAX (R) -- A bunch of friends gets trapped in a small town's wax museum only to find two murderous brothers have made wax figures out of visitors -- and are looking for more victims! A perfect vehicle for the queen of 'That's hot!' Paris Hilton. Also stars real actors Elisha Cuthbert, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams and Chad Michael Murray, with Jaume Collet-Serra making his feature-film directing debut. Loose remake of André de Toth's 1953 horror classic starring Vincent Price. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
THE INTERPRETER (PG-13) -- Sidney Pollack's ( Random Hearts ) first film in six years stars Nicole Kidman as a U.N. translator and Sean Penn as the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her when she reports overhearing a death threat made against an African leader. Fine performances and a compassionate heart make this well worth seeing, even though the picture could use an extra trick or two. And the core material is so powerful, we keep wanting the picture to move us in a way it never quite does. (Barton) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8
INTO THE DEEP (NR) -- IMAX cameras take a journey through the undersea world. Entergy IMAX
KICKING AND SCREAMING (PG-13) -- No pair of actors this side of Harvey Korman and Tim Conway have had as much obvious fun as Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka, who liven up this family comedy as a pair of ex-jock feuding neighbors blowing smoke and leaves at each other. Meanwhile, Will Ferrell defies all laws of comedy by continuing to find yuks doing pretty much the same loveable-overgrown-kid-with-serious-issues bit that he did in Elf and countless SNL s. Here, a combination of macho pride and too much cappuccino render Gentle Dad into Coach Hyde, willing to sacrifice all for a big win for his kid's soccer team. (Tisserand) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
KING'S RANSOM (PG-13) -- Rich businessman Anthony Anderson decides that faking his own kidnapping is the best way to thwart his wife's plan to take half his money through a divorce, only to find out he's not the only one planning a kidnapping. Directed by Jeff Byrd and co-starring Loretta Devine, Donald Faison, Jay Mohr and Charlie Murphy. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (R) -- - Director Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven attempts to embrace the bloody birthright that is the struggle for Jerusalem, his crusader's tale a lovely lamentation of the weary fight of faith against fanaticism and of ideals free of ideologies. As a young widower driven to the Holy Land in search of God's forgiveness, Orlando Bloom ably steps into a leading role, supported by the exotic Eva Green, as Sibylla, sister to Jerusalem's king; the elegant Jeremy Irons, as the war-weary counselor Tiberias; and the Syrian actor and director Ghassan Massoud as the enigmatic Saracen general Saladin. The film is beautifully shot, from the wind coming off the desert dunes to the churning legs of a line of cavalry horses charging into battle. Massive battle sequences, with all the accoutrements of medieval war, punctuate the film with their chaotic choreography, a particular specialty of Scott's. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
KUNG FU HUSTLE (R) -- Writer, director and star Stephen Chow has created a love letter to the Hong Kong martial-arts movies of his youth by taking it to the next level, with a comedic and cartoon-like spin. Working with veterans from the 1960s and 70s, as well as Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, Chow spins an exhilarating tale about a wannabe gangster (Chow) who finds himself trapped in a battle between the gang he wants to join and a tenement he tries to dominate. Causeway 4
LOOK AT ME (PG) -- This romantic comedy from writer-director Agnes Jaoui and writer/co-star Jean-Pierre Bacri traces the love life of seven characters who circulate in and around Paris' book-publishing industry. In French with English subtitles. Canal Place
MINDHUNTERS (R) -- A group of FBI agents receiving training on psychological profiling on a remote island learn that one of them is a serial killer ready to do a little Ten Little Indians number on the rest of the gang in this thriller directed by Renny Harlin ( Deep Blue Sea ) and starring Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, LL Cool J and Patricia Velasquez. AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand
MONSTER-IN-LAW (PG-13) -- Professional dog walker Jennifer Lopez (insert joke here) finally finds the perfect man in boyfriend Michael Vartan but runs into a brick wall in his mother Jane Fonda in this comedy directed by Robert Luketic ( Legally Blonde ). Marks the first movie role for Jane Fonda since 1990's Stanley and Iris . Co-stars Wanda Sykes, presumably as someone sassy. A MC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
NO MORE JOY (NR) -- Director David D'Entremont and producer A.J. Roquevert's melancholy documentary tells the story of the local film exhibition industry from Vitascope Hall in 1896 through the dominance of the grand movie palaces on Canal Street to the advent of the mall cinemas in the 1960s and their replacement by today's stadium-seating megaplexes. For New Orleanians of a certain age, this is a rose-tinted journey into an altered universe, one, as the film's segment on segregated seating and single-race theaters acknowledges, that wasn't really as sweet as we would choose to recall it. (Barton) Chalmette 9
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. Schwarzenegger 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, Faith Ford, Brad Garrett, Tate Donovan and Carol Kane. Holiday 12
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 Carey, Amanda Bynes, Dan Hedaya, Jennifer Coolidge, Dianne Wiest and Stanley Tucci. Causeway 4, Grand
SAHARA (PG-13) -- Hunky explorer Matthew McConaughey and witty sidekick Steve Zahn explore the fabled desert looking for a lost battleship and run into comely doctor Penelope Cruz in this adventure film directed by Breck Eisner. AMC Palace 16, Holiday 12, Movies 8
SHARKS 3D (NR) -- Jean-Michel Cousteau presents this underwater, 3D look at such famous sharks as the Great White and the Hammerhead. Entergy IMAX
STAR WARS: EPISODE III -- THE REVENGE OF THE SITH (PG-13) -- The darker Sith benefits from the best of what has come before. In this last act, director and writer George Lucas has recaptured the series' swagger and vitality, mostly by pumping up the action quotient and undoubtedly by bringing Darth Vader back to the big screen. Lucas trusts the still-vibrant outlines of his original threads and themes and brings us back to the beginning quite nicely, showing the death of the Republic and the birth of Lord Vader. (Carlson) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Holiday 12, Hollywood Cinemas 9, Movies 8, Prytania
UNLEASHED (R) -- Jet Li ( Hero ) tries to balance his acting chops with his karate chops as a man raised as a pet-like killer by mid-level loan shark Bob Hoskins until he is befriended by blind piano tuner Morgan Freeman and his loveable teen stepdaughter Kerry Condon. It feels inappropriate to harsh all over this extremely well-meaning film that reunites Li with Luc Besson, who helped Li produce and write 2001's Kiss of the Dragon . But it doesn't get much more obvious and clumsy than this, and Li's noble attempts at pet-dog mimicry and likeability grates by the end. Hoskins is at his scene-gnashing best, while Freeman is merely along for the ride here. Louis Leterrier ( The Transporter ) directed. (Simmons) (Reviewed in this issue.) AMC Palace 12, AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Chalmette 9, Grand, Hollywood Cinemas 9, North Shore Square
VOLCANOES OF THE DEEP SEA (G) -- Actor Ed Harris narrates this look at life 12,000 feet below sea level, including the strange creatures that thrive near underwater volcanoes. Through Thursday at Entergy IMAX
THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL (NR) -- At only 83 minutes, Judy Irving's documentary about a self-taught naturalist studying a flock of parrots in San Francisco imperfectly fails to address all the pertinent questions that arise. Nonetheless, Wild Parrots provides a memorable portrait of a fascinating man and offers arresting details about wild creatures that are far more complicated than most of us ever realized. The picture affects you the way a good movie should: it stimulates your mind; it touches your heart. (Barton) (Reviewed in this issue.) Canal Place
XXX: STATE OF THE UNION (PG-13) -- Ice Cube takes over for Vin Diesel (a dubious distinction, but an upgrade nevertheless) in this sequel to the 2002 film, with the Cube playing a master criminal hired by the government to take on a renegade general (Willem Dafoe) who plans a coup. Lee Tamahori ( Die Another Day ) replaced Rob Cohen as the director. Co-stars Samuel L. Jackson. AMC Palace 16, AMC Palace 20, Grand, Holiday 12, Movies 8 Special Screenings CLASSIC FILM SERIES -- Henri Schindler's series of Pre-Code Hollywood films continues. This week: Lowell Sherman's 1933 classic, She Done Him Wrong , featuring a young Mae West in her first starring vehicle, cracking wise and co-starring with Cary Grant, Owen Moore and Gilbert Roland. (Don't miss Raffaela Ottiano as Russian Rita.) 6:30 p.m. Thursday at NOMA's Stern Auditorium
FUNERAL PROCESSION OF ROSES -- Toshio Matsumoto's 1969 avante-garde film follows the life of Eddie, a gay cross-dresser living in Tokyo. 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Zeitgeist
GERMAN FILM SERIES -- The Deutsches Haus film series continues. This week: Gernot Roll's 2002 'corset buster' Trenck , about a German version of the Count of Monte Cristo, Friederich Freiharr von der Trenck (Ben Becker). 7 p.m. Thursday at Deutsches Haus
IRON RAIL COLLECTIVE -- Screening series continues. This week: J.T.S. Moore's 2002 documentary Revolution O.S. , about how computer hackers and programmers rebelled against Microsoft to create GNU, Linux and the Open Source Movement. 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Iron Rail collective
LO-FI LANDSCAPES: PICTURES FROM THE NEW WORLD (NR) -- Visiting filmmakers Thomas Comerford and Bill Brown present this series of short films that play with the notions of time, space and memory. 8 p.m. Friday at Zeitgeist
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CINEMA -- Classic film series continues. This week: The Graduate . 9 p.m. Monday, May 30, at the Hi-Ho Lounge
