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December 12, 2008 - 10:00 pm

OPENING THIS WEEK

DARK STREETS

Back in Las Vegas following its June debut at the CineVegas film festival, this neo-noir focuses in a 1930s nightclub owner (Gabriel Mann) investigating his industrialist father's mysterious murder. Bijou Phillips, Izabella Miko and Elias Koteas co-star for director Rachel Samuels ("The Suicide Club"). At Village Square. (83 min.) R; sexual content, drug use, brief violent images.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

An extra-terrestrial (Keanu Reeves) comes down to Earth, accompanied by his faithful robot companion Gort, to warn heedless humans of impending environmental disaster in this remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic featuring Jennifer Connelly, John Cleese and Jaden Smith (who co-starred with his dad, Will Smith, in "Pursuit of Happyness"). At multiple locations; in Imax at Aliante, Palms and Red Rock. (103 min.) PG-13; sci-fi disaster images, violence.

DELGO

In this animated fantasy, the title teen (voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr.) rallies his group -- and some unlikely allies -- to protect themselves from a conflict between the terrestrial Lockni and the winged Nohrin. Chris Kattan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Louis Gossett Jr., Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds and the late Anne Bancroft lead the vocal cast. At multiple locations. (90 min.) PG; fantasy action violence.

JCVD

The title stands for Jean-Claude Van Damme, the erstwhile Muscles From Brussels, who plays himself in a satirical mockumentary that finds him low on cash, battling for custody of his daughter -- and back in Brussels, where he walks in on a bank robbery in progress and becomes embroiled in a tense hostage situation. At Village Square. (96 min.) R; profanity, violence.

NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS

Read the review.

ALREADY IN THEATERS

Movies are rated on a letter-grade scale, from A to F. Opinions by R-J movie critic Carol Cling (C.C.) are indicated by initials. Other opinions are from wire service critics.

(B-) Good on ya: Nicole Kidman reunites with visionary "Moulin Rouge!" director Baz Luhrmann for this sprawling saga, set on the eve of World War II, about a starchy British aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a remote cattle station and reluctantly teams up with a hard-riding drover (gruff charmer Hugh Jackman) to save it from a rival beef baron (Bryan Brown). Defiantly old-fashioned, this overlong, over-the-top Down Under Western-meets-war-movie scrambles romance, action, melodrama and historic revisionism into a crazy cinematic salad that's often utterly ridiculous -- and, even more often, ridiculously entertaining. (165 min.) PG-13; violence, sexual references, brief profanity. (C.C.)

BATTLE IN SEATTLE

(C) For five days in 1999, thousands of activists take to the Seattle streets to try and shut down a World Trade Organization meeting in protest of globalization and environmental damage by governments and multinational corporations. Actor-turned-writer/director Stuart Townsend recruits a big cast (led by his significant other, Charlize Theron, plus Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta and Connie Nielsen) and employs busy handheld camerawork, a tick-tock time structure, actual news footage, but Townsend's TV-movie characterizations and a very muddled message undercut the impact. (98 min.) R; profanity, violence.

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA

(C) To the dogs: Vacationing in Mexico, the pampered title pooch (voiced by Drew Barrymore) finds herself lost -- and needs the help of the local canine contingent to get home. Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Paul Rodriguez, Edward James Olmos, Luis Guzman, radio's Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo and (believe it or not) Placido Domingo round out the vocal cast of this Disney canine comedy. It's not the apocalypse-signaling cultural abomination its trailers make it out to be, but that's pretty much the best thing you can say about it. (91 min.) PG; mild thematic elements.

(C+) Russell Crowe reunites with "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott -- and "Quick and the Dead" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio -- for this timely yet tedious thriller about a CIA operative who's sent to Jordan to track a terrorist leader and forms an uneasy alliance with Jordan's covert operations chief (Mark Strong). It's all razzmatazz from expert razzle-dazzler Scott, meant to distract you from a script whose basic formula has seen more wear than an Abrams tank. (128 min.) R; strong violence including torture, profanity.

(B) A coddled canine TV star (voiced by John Travolta) discovers he's not quite the super-dog he plays on TV when he's forced to deal with the real world on an accidental New York-to-Hollywood trek. Disney's latest computer-animated romp (showing in both 2-D and 3-D versions) covers familiar territory and lacks the magic (and emotional impact) of "Wall-E" and other Pixar triumphs, but this charmer shows that the Disney folks still know how to bring a story to life. (96 min.) PG; mild action and peril.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

(B) Bruno, the 8-year-old son (Asa Butterfield) of a Nazi official (David Thewlis), is none too pleased when the family moves from Berlin to a rural area where his father's been stationed during World War II, but finds an unlikely friend in the title character, Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), who lives behind the fence that divides Bruno's home from Shmuel's: a concentration camp. This kid's-eye view of the Holocaust may suffer from lapses in logic, but writer-director Mark Herman adapts John Boyne's novel with admirable restraint, delivering a poignant and powerful tale. (98 min.) PG-13; mature themes, violence.

CADILLAC RECORDS

(B+) Don't let the title fool you -- this is the rockin', raucous story of Chess Records, the house that Muddy Waters (the terrific Jeffrey Wright), Howlin' Wolf (a feral Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def, a duck-walking hoot) and Etta James (Beyoncé Knowles, demonstrating marked improvement since "Dreamgirls") built. As history, it's downright suspect, and writer-director Darnell Martin ("I Like It Like That") stocks this ensemble (melo)drama with enough conflict and characters for five movies. That makes it merely adequate as drama -- but, as a jukebox musical, you can't stop (or resist) the beat. (109 min.) R; profanity, sexuality. (C.C.)

(B-) Director Clint Eastwood's fact-based 1920s melodrama focuses on a single mother (Angelina Jolie, in another look-at-me Oscar bid) whose son vanishes -- and takes on Los Angeles' corrupt police department when they try to convince her that the little boy they've found isn't really her son. It's a fascinating true story, but its sprawling structure -- It's a mystery! Wait, it's a corrupt-cop thriller! No, it's a miscarriage-of-justice melodrama! Oh, it's a courtroom drama! -- means "Changeling" wrestles with even more questions of identity than its embattled heroine. (140 min.) R; violent and disturbing content, profanity. (C.C.)

THE DARK KNIGHT

(B) The Joker (an indelible Heath Ledger) wreaks havoc in Gotham City, prompting the interest of not only the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) but crusading new D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins" that wants desperately to be taken seriously. Mostly, it deserves to be -- except when it takes itself too seriously for its own good. It's so overstuffed with characters, plots and counterplots that Batman sometimes seems like a supporting character, but Ledger's Joker is one for the ages. (152 min.) PG-13; intense violence and menace. (C.C.)

(B-) The toast of 18th-century London, the aristocratic Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) turns heads with her outrageous fashions, her political activism -- and a loveless marriage that prompts her to turn to a rising politician (Dominic Cooper of "Mamma Mia!"). Any similarities to the duchess' descendant, Princess Diana, are hardly coincidental in this handsome, if superficial, drama; only the dependably subtle Ralph Fiennes (as the duchess' dour duke, a prisoner of his own exalted station) manages to suggest the emotional eddies churning beneath the stiff exterior. (110 min.) PG-13; sexual content, brief nudity, thematic material. (C.C.)

(C+) Thrown together by a phone call from a mystery woman, two strangers (Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan) run for their lives -- and try to figure out why they've been targeted as the country's most wanted fugitives -- in another wrong man (and wrong woman) on-the-run action thriller with a political message and a warehouse worth of high-tech gadgetry. Even with Billy Bob Thornton and Rosario Dawson on the case, this is still one overstuffed, yet relatively empty, chase. (118 min.) PG-13; intense sequences of action and violence, profanity.

FOUR CHRISTMASES

(C) Ho, ho, ho? So, so, so. Leisure-obsessed San Franciscans (Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn) find themselves fogbound and unable to take their annual exotic holiday vacation, forcing them to endure multiple Yuletide celebrations with multiple divorced (and remarried) parents (played by Oscar-winning pros Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen and Jon Voight). The jokes may be old, but they hit as often as they miss in what turns out to be the cinematic equivalent of a gift card: utterly generic, but still deserving of a little gratitude. (88 min.) PG-13; sexual humor, profanity.

(A-) Being happy doesn't always have to be serious business. Just ask Poppy (the wonderful Sally Hawkins), the irrepressible life force of this deceptively low-key character study from "Vera Drake" director Mike Leigh. A plucky primary-school teacher, Poppy responds to life's challenges -- a stolen bike, a troubled student, a dour driving teacher (Eddie Marsan) -- with the same breezy optimism, challenging others to share her hopeful outlook. As usual, Leigh draws complex, compelling performances from the cast members who help him shape his down-to-earth human comedy; also as usual, the result is rueful, resonant and wise. (118 min.) R; profanity. (C.C.)

LAKEVIEW TERRACE

(C+) There goes the neighborhood: In this latest variation on the venerable wacko-from-hell subgenre, a law-unto-himself cop (Samuel L. Jackson, gleefully chomping the scenery) makes life hellish for his unsuspecting new neighbors, the nice interracial couple (Kerry Washington, Patrick Wilson) next door. Despite its provocative edge, "Lakeview Terrace" degenerates from a potentially thoughtful exploration of such hot-button issues as race and power, surrendering to its basest instincts. (110 min.) R; intense thematic material, violence, sexual situations, profanity, drug references. (C.C.)

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

(B+) Bloody good show: Suffering "Twilight" withdrawal? This spooky import -- winner of the best narrative feature award at this year's Tribeca Film Festival -- focuses on a 12-year-old outcast (K?re Hedebrant) who finds a friend in a strange new neighbor (Lina Leandersson), who happens to be a vampire. Yes, there's an inevitable Hollywood remake, but it's unlikely to be as elegant (or haunting) as this exceptional movie, which warms your heart even as it chills your blood. In Swedish with English subtitles. (114 min.) R; violence.

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA

(B) The zany former denizens of the Central Park Zoo (voiced by Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith and David Schwimmer), accompanied by wacky lemur king Julian ("Borat's" Sacha Baron Cohen) -- all of whom we met in 2005's "Madagascar" -- return to their roots, when their plane crash-lands on the African savanna. It's a typical tale of self-discovery, but at least it's punctuated by genuine hilarity and top-flight animation. (89 min.) PG; mild crude humor.

(C) What a Payne: Yet another video game hits the big screen as Mark Wahlberg takes on the title role, a DEA agent (who lost his family to conspiracy killers) who teams up with an assassin (Mila Kunis) out to avenge her sister's death -- assuming the cops, the mob and a ruthless corporation don't get them first. Stylish but derivative, this is one vacuous and bullet-riddled misfire -- with a Wahlberg performance that makes you wonder whatever happened to that Oscar-nominated actor from "The Departed." (100 min.) PG-13; violence, including intense shooting sequences, drug content, sexuality, brief profanity.

(B+) If you've seen the Oscar-winning 1984 documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk," you've already seen the definitive cinematic account of the first openly gay man elected to a major political office -- until Dan White, his former colleague on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, gunned him down, along with his political ally, Mayor George Moscone, in 1978. For those who haven't seen the documentary, however, this not only showcases a standout title-role performance by Sean Penn (along with sterling support from Josh Brolin, James Franco and Emile Hirsch) but offers a timely introduction to a pivotal public figure who still inspires, three decades after his death. (128 min.) R; profanity, sexual content, brief violence. (C.C.)

(B-) The disgruntled son ("One Tree Hill's" Bryan Greenburg) of a newly minted Nobel laureate (Alan Rickman) is abducted -- by a kidnapper (Shawn Hatosy) claiming to be his illegitimate half-brother -- in a comic thriller that also reunites Rickman and co-star Bill Pullman with their "Bottle Shock" director Randall Miller. Their collaboration this time doesn't really make sense (hey, neither did "The Big Sleep"), but at least it's not boring. Too bad it's also too gimmicky for its own good. (110 min.) R; violent gruesome images, profanity, sexuality.

PUNISHER: WAR ZONE

(C+) Comic-book avenger Frank Castle ("Rome's" Ray Stevenson, taking over from Thomas Jane) returns to take on a vengeance-minded mobster (Dominic West) in this sequel to the 2004 actioner. Marvel's latest chunk of comic-book pulp strikes the usual brooding poses, but the film is so bloody ridiculous -- literally -- that its self-induced giggle fits become downright hilarious. (107 min.) R; pervasive strong brutal violence, profanity, drug use.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE

(C) Bland, James, bland: After a slam-bang reboot in 2006's "Casino Royale," the James Bond franchise suffers definite sophomore slump as a vengeful Bond (Daniel Craig, icy as ever) globe-trots from Europe to South America in pursuit of an enigmatic eco-entrepreneur ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's Mathieu Amalric) -- and his own inner demons. We get bullets flying, stuff blowing up real good and slice-and-dice editing that renders all that action all but impossible to follow. And while Bond's always movie, he's never moved. Neither are we. Or, as 007 himself might summarize it, not shaken -- and definitely not stirred. PG-13; intense action violence, sexual content. (C.C.)

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

(B) Sprung from rehab to attend her sister's wedding, a troubled young woman (Anne Hathaway) demonstrates her insatiable need to steal the spotlight, even from the bride (Rosemarie DeWitt). Yet another portrait of yet another dysfunctional family, but the acutely observed screenplay (by Jenny Lumet), slice-of-life direction (by "Silence of the Lambs" Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme) and standout performances (including Oscar-worthy support from Bill Irwin and Debra Winger as the bride's divorced parents) put us in the midst of the jittery gathering -- and the jittery people trying desperately to ignore their jitters. (113 min.) R; profanity, brief sexuality. (C.C.)

(C+) In this political quasi-documentary, comedian Bill Maher travels from the Vatican to Jerusalem -- and points in between -- to take on world religions, and the people who believe in them. A skilled debater, jolly jester and devout skeptic, Maher makes an irreverent host for this pageant from "Borat" director Larry Charles. It's frequently very funny, but there's something unsportsmanlike in the glee that Maher takes in baiting the fish in his barrel. (101 min.) R; profanity, sexual material.

(B) As punishment for their wild behavior, a pair of energy drink reps (Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott) become Big Brother-type mentors to a pair of misfit kids (Bobb'e J. Thompson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, alias "Superbad's" McLovin). The premise is completely formulaic and potentially cheesy, but it's the wildly, hilariously crude way that director David Wain and Co. approach the concept that makes "Role Models" so disarming -- and consistently, laugh-out-loud funny. (99 min.) R; crude and sexual content, profanity, nudity.

(D+) The sinister Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) might be dead, but his traps live on, as forensics expert Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) tries to protect a dark and deadly secret. The fifth entry in the hit horror franchise marks the directorial debut of David Hackl, who served as production designer for "Saw's" second, third and fourth installments. If you enjoy watching torture and suffering, you'll be glad you paid money to see this -- but you must sacrifice the pleasures of a decent script, capable acting and skillful directing. (88 min.) R; grisly bloody violence and torture, profanity, brief nudity.

(C) Two estranged soul music legends (Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac) reunite for an Apollo Theater tribute to a fallen bandmate in a comedy that will be remembered, if at all, as the untimely swan song of Mac, who died in August at 50. When it's about Mac and Samuel L. Jackson bickering over decades of pent-up resentments, this stale buddy road-trip has a fiercely raunchy, buoyant energy about it. Trouble is, it crams in myriad needless subplots -- ostensibly to provide padding, which only draws attention to how thin the original story really is. (103 min.) R; pervasive profanity, sexual content, nudity.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

(B-) Art irritates life: All the world's a stage for a small-time director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in Schenectady, N.Y., who wins a MacArthur "genius" grant and spends the windfall on a vast avant-garde theater piece -- in which he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse. Welcome to the wild world of Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman ("Adaptation," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Being John Malkovich"), who extends his mind-bending to create a surreal alternate universe in an epically ambitious directorial debut populated by the likes of Catherine Keener, Hope Davis, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Samantha Morton, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest and Michelle Williams. The result is bewildering -- if intermittently bewitching. (124 min.) R; profanity, sexual content, nudity.

(B-) This adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling tale of the ultimate star-crossed romance (OK, except maybe for "Romeo and Juliet" "Wuthering Heights" and ...) emerges as a fanciful, if fitfully engaging, amalgam of teen angst and vampire lore, as high school junior Bella Swan (appealingly direct Kristen Stewart) falls under the spell of dreamy biology lab partner Edward Cullen (brooding Robert Pattinson) -- who's been undead since the Spanish flu epidemic of 1917. "Thirteen" director Catherine Hardwicke's affinity for everyday teen traumas keep the movie grounded in emotional reality, even during its most far-fetched flights of fantasy. (120 min.) PG-13; violence, sensuality. (C.C.)

(D+) The third time's the bomb (and not in a good way) as unstoppable Jason Statham returns as human FedEx Frank Martin, who speaks softly and carries a big stickshift; this time around, he's shackled (literally) to the kidnapped daughter (Natalya Rudakova) of a Ukrainian environmental official (Jeroen Krabbe) targeted by shady eco-villains (led by "Prison Break's" Rob Knepper). A poorly paced, paint-by-numbers reproduction, but probably not quite bad enough to stop "Transporter 4." (105 min.) PG-13; intense action and violence, sexual content, drug material.

(B-) What a long, strange trip it's been: Oliver Stone's intermittently interesting ramble through the unlikely life of George W. Bush (a knockout Josh Brolin), from Yale to the White House, as he tries to overcome the disapproval of his ex-President father (James Cromwell) and ride herd on cabinet members from Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) to Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright). "W." has its moments, but Stone never figures out whether he's making a scathing satire, gripping docudrama or an insightful psychological study. As a result, "W." seems as flawed as its title character. (131 min.) PG-13; profanity, sexual references, alcohol abuse, smoking, brief disturbing war images. (C.C.)

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO

(C+) Writer-director Kevin Smith ("Clerks," "Dogma") returns to sex and controversy (not necessarily in that order) for this bawdy comedy about two impoverished roomies (raunch king Seth Rogen, endearing Elizabeth Banks) who become porn entrepreneurs to flesh out their bottom line. Smith regulars Jason Mewes and Jeff Anderson join "The Office's" Craig Robinson, Traci Lords, Justin Long and Brandon Routh in the supporting cast, but it's Rogen and Banks, as the unlikely but inevitable romantic couple, who provide a welcome sweetness that helps compensate for the sour gross-out humor. (101 min.) R; strong crude sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, pervasive profanity. (C.C.)