MOVIES
OPENING THIS WEEK
AN AMERICAN CAROL
"Airplane!" and "Naked Gun" co-conspirator David Zucker co-writes and directs this "Christmas Carol"-meets-Michael Moore spoof about a rabble-rousing filmmaker (Kevin P. Farley) who wants to abolish the Fourth of July -- until the ghosts of, among others, George Washington (Jon Voight) and George S. Patton (Kelsey Grammer) try to change his mind. At multiple locations. (83 min.) PG-13; rude and irreverent content, profanity, brief drug material.
APPALOOSA
Reviewed on page 25.
BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA
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 lead the vocal cast of this Disney comedy. At multiple locations. (91 min.) PG; mild thematic elements.
BLINDNESS
When strange, sudden blindness strikes everyone in town but a doctor's wife (Julianne Moore), she keeps her sight a secret so she can care for him -- and witness the chaos and disorder that envelops their world. Mark Ruffalo, Alice Braga, Danny Glover and Gabriel Garcia Bernal co-star in this adaptation of Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago's novel from director Fernando Meirelles. At multiple locations. (120 min.) R; violence (including sexual assaults), profanity, sexuality/nudity.
FLASH OF GENIUS
A college professor (Greg Kinnear) who comes up with a design for intermittent windshield wipers wages a quixotic legal battle against the Detroit automakers he claims stole his idea in this fact-based drama co-starring Alan Alda, Lauren Graham and Dermot Mulroney. At multiple locations. (119 min.) PG-13; brief profanity.
HEROES
Southern Nevada-based filmmaker Malcolm Brooks makes his feature debut with this made-in-Vegas action drama about an advertising executive (Tezz Yancey) trying to track down, and avenge, his nephew's death -- a quest that leads not only to the culprit, but to conspiracy and cover-up. Paul Campanella, Sean Newman and Richard "Shott" Brown round out the starring cast. At Neonopolis. (96 min.) R; profanity.
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
Recruited by a high-profile New York editor (Jeff Bridges), a Brit-wit celebrity journalist (Simon Pegg) struggles to fit in at a snooty Vanity Fair-style magazine in this comedy based on Toby Young's memoir. Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox and Gillian Anderson co-star for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" director Robert B. Weide. At multiple locations. (110 min.) R; profanity, graphic nudity, brief drug material.
NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST
When his ex shows up at his latest band gig with a new guy, high school musician Nick ("Juno's" Michael Cera) turns to the girl next to him, college-bound Norah ("The House Bunny's" Kat Dennings), and asks her to be his five-minute girlfriend, launching a wild Manhattan night in this romp from "Raising Victor Vargas" director Peter Sollett. At multiple locations. (90 min.) PG-13; mature thematic material including teen drinking, sexuality, profanity and crude behavior.
RELIGULOUS
In this political 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. "Borat's" Larry Charles directs. At The Orleans and Village Square. (101 min.) R; profanity, sexual material.
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.
BANGKOK DANGEROUS
(D) Dangerous? Ridiculous is more like it, as a lone-wolf hit man (a slumming Nicolas Cage), on assignment in Thailand, bonds with his errand boy (Shahkrit Yamnarm) -- and falls for a winsome deaf-mute shopgirl (Charlie Young). (100 min.) R; violence, profanity, sexuality.
BURN AFTER READING
(B-) After the towering achievement of last year's Oscar-winning "No Country for Old Men," filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen lower their expectations with this off-kilter black comedy about two dim-bulb gym employees (Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt) who find a computer disc belonging to a disgruntled, drunken CIA agent (John Malkovich) -- and launch a doomed-to-fail blackmail scheme. "Michael Clayton" teammates George Clooney and Tilda Swinton join the spyjinks (he's a goofball serial philanderer, she's an adulterous ice queen). (96 min.) R; violence, sexual situations, profanity. (C.C.)
CHOKE
(B-) This aggressively transgressive black comedy (based on a novel by punk-lit "Fight Club" author Chuck Palahniuk) focuses on a sex-addicted con artist (Sam Rockwell, oddly touching) who finances the care of his deranged mother (the terrific Anjelica Huston) by pretending to choke to death -- and playing on the sympathies of his rescuers. Kelly Macdonald, Bijou Phillips and director Clark Gregg co-star in an uneven, fitfully funny movie marked by nonstop weirdness. (89 min.) R; strong sexual content, nudity, profanity.
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. (152 min.) PG-13; intense violence and menace. (C.C.)
DEATH RACE
(C) In this supercharged remake of Roger Corman's 1975 cult fave "Death Race 2000," a ruthless prison warden (Joan Allen) taps an inmate (Jason Statham) for the title competition, the ultimate demolition derby in which combatants drive to kill -- or die. Ian McShane and Tyrese Gibson co-star. (89 min.) R; strong violence and profanity.
DISASTER MOVIE
(D) The folks behind "Scary Movie," "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie" continue their downward spiral with this virtually laugh-free romp in which unsuspecting 20-somethings (led by Matt Lanter and Vanessa Minnillo) find themselves bombarded by a variety of natural catastrophes -- and takeoffs of movies from "Cloverfield" to "The Dark Knight." (90 min.) PG-13; crude and sexual content throughout, language, drug references and comic violence.
EAGLE EYE
(C+) Thrown together by a phone call from a mystery woman they don't know, 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. This wants to be "Marathon Man," or "Enemy of the State," only with a post-9/11 overlay and a plot device lifted straight from "2001: A Space Odyssey." 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.
ELEGY
(B+) Philip Roth's novella "The Dying Animal" inspires this drama of a renowned, skirt-chasing academic (Ben Kingsley), whose affair with a Cuban-American graduate student (Penélope Cruz) awakens his sense of sexual possessiveness, throwing his life into emotional disarray. Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper and Peter Sarsgaard co-star for director Isabel Coixet ("My Life Without Me," "The Secret Life of Words") in this touching, wonderfully acted examination of doubt's corrosive effects on love. (108 min.) R; sexuality, nudity, profanity.
THE FAMILY THAT PREYS
(B-) Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard star as the matriarchs of two very different Atlanta families -- one wealthy, the other working class -- who find their long friendship threatened by scandal in this undeniably entertaining melodrama from writer-director Tyler Perry, which features Sanaa Lathan, Cole Hauser, Taraji P. Henson, Robin Givens -- and Perry himself, this time out of drag as a true-blue hard hat. Defiantly old-school, this shiny, two-timing throwback to 1950s melodramas (and prime-time TV soaps) proves Perry can whip up the suds with the best of 'em. (111 min.) PG-13; thematic material, sexual references, brief violence.
FIREPROOF
(B-) A firefighter (a genuinely compelling Kirk Cameron) and his publicist wife (Erin Bethea) are on the verge of divorce, until his father challenges him to "The Love Dare" -- 40 days of spiritual effort to work his way back into his wife's heart. This religious drama from writer-director Alex Kendrick ("Facing the Giants") may be a bit gimmicky, with dramatic firefighter rescues that have little to do with the plot, but it also features the rarest of cinematic creatures: characters with a strong, conservative Christian faith who don't sound crazy. (122 min.) PG; thematic material, peril.
FLY ME TO THE MOON 3-D
(D) Buzz kill: In the first animated feature created for 3-D, a trio of houseflies stow away aboard Apollo 11 and try to stop a conniving Soviet spy fly from sabotaging the moon shot. Alas, this animated kiddie cartoon is as tedious and irritating as a real fly. (89 min.) G; all ages.
FOREVER STRONG
(D) A hot-shot rugby player ("Never Back Down's" Sean Faris) winds up behind bars -- and gets a second chance by playing for a rival team -- forcing him to choose between playing for his tough new coach (Gary Cole) or his overbearing father (Neal McDonough) after he's released from prison. (112 min.) PG-13; thematic material involving teen drug and alcohol use, disturbing images.
FROZEN RIVER
(A) When her husband leaves her with two kids and a mountain of unpaid bills, a beleaguered dollar-store cashier (Melissa Leo, already generating Oscar buzz) forms an uneasy alliance with an equally desperate single mother (Misty Upham), a Mohawk Indian, in a scheme to smuggle immigrants across the frozen river separating Quebec from upstate New York. Writer-director Courtney Hunt's debut feature has the crackling pace of an action movie, the racking suspense of a thriller, the unexpected resolution of an O. Henry tale -- and, like its heroines, a homespun poetry that makes it urgent and incomparably moving. (97 min.) R; profanity.
GHOST TOWN
(B+) He sees dead people -- and doesn't like it one bit -- when his unexpected death, and even more unexpected return from the dead seven minutes later, enable anti-social dentist Bertram Pincus ("The Office's" Ricky Gervais) to see ghosts, one of whom (Greg Kinnear) hopes he'll break up the impending marriage of his widow (Téa Leoni). This always amusing, occasionally hilarious "Topper"-style charmer proves that Ricky Gervais is to comedy what the dry martini is to alcoholism -- and that Leoni is one of our best comediennes. (102 min.) PG-13; profanity, sexual humor, drug references.
THE HOUSE BUNNY
(C) A Playboy Bunny (Anna Faris) gets booted from the mansion -- and finds refuge with clueless sorority sisters who are about to lose their house -- in a campus comedy featuring Colin Hanks (yes, his dad's named Tom), Rumer Willis (yes, her dad's named Bruce), "American Idol's" Katharine McPhee -- and, inevitably, Mr. Playboy himself, Hugh Hefner. (97 min.) PG-13; sex-related humor, partial nudity, brief profanity.
I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND
(B) This tragedy-tinged farce from legendary Czech director Jiri Menzel ("Closely Watched Trains"), the Czech Republic's official Oscar entry, follows the through-the-years fortunes of a clown-like Prague waiter (Ivan Barnev) with an uncanny knack for survival, even after the Nazis take over before World War II -- and the Communists take over afterward. Menzel's delicious confection tastes like a bittersweet chocolate souffle, but it's much more substantial than dessert. In Czech and German with English subtitles. (120 min.) R; sexual content, nudity.
IGOR
(C) In this animated monster bash, a lowly lab assistant who dreams of becoming a scientist gets his chance when his cruel master dies a week before the annual Evil Science Fair, enabling Igor to build his own creature -- and battle an even more evil plot to destroy his world. A potentially original premise and an eager voice cast led by John Cusack and Molly Shannon are left to decay amid a clunky story vaguely reminiscent of "Monsters Inc." (87 min.) PG; thematic elements, scary images, action, mild profanity.
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
(A) Whip-crackin' good: Indiana Jones (inimitable, irreplaceable Harrison Ford) returns to derring-duty, reuniting with director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas for an exhilarating, thrill-a-minute romp that recaptures "Raiders of the Lost Ark's" gleeful spirit. . (124 min.) PG-13; adventure violence, scary images. (C.C.)
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
(B-) In your face, in more ways than one: The first live-action feature shot in digital 3-D is an update of Jules Verne's durable 1864 fantasy, about an absent-minded professor (Brendan Fraser), his surly teenage nephew (Josh Hutcherson) and an Icelandic guide (Anita Briem) on a fantastical, and possibly fatal, journey to the title realm. Without 3-D, it's just another empty-calories cinematic thrill ride; with 3-D, it's a relatively fun thrill ride. (92 min.) PG; intense adventure action, scary moments. (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 (that gleeful scenery-chomper Samuel L. Jackson) makes life hellish for his unsuspecting new neighbors, the nice interracial couple (Kerry Washington, Patrick Wilson) that just moved in 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 -- and emerging as just another over-the-top thriller. (110 min.) R; intense thematic material, violence, sexual situations, profanity, drug references. (C.C.)
THE LONGSHOTS
(B) A Pop Warner football coach (Ice Cube) finds a secret weapon: an 11-year-old quarterback ("Akeelah and the Bee's" Keke Palmer) who happens to be a girl. Ex-Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst directs this fact-based heart-tugger, and it's a rough but heartfelt diamond. (94 min.) PG; thematic elements, mild profanity, brief rude humor.
THE LUCKY ONES
(B) All roads lead to Vegas for an endearing trio of U.S. soldiers (Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, Michael Peña), home from Iraq on leave, who wind up on an unlikely cross-country trek. This bittersweet odyssey (from "Illusionist" writer-director Neil Burger) may serve up a few too many coincidences for its own good, but even when the action's predictable, it's handled in offbeat fashion -- and the standout performances from all three stars give "The Lucky Ones" a refreshingly low-key feel. (115 min.) R; sexual content, profanity. (C.C.)
MAMMA MIA!
(C) S.O.S.: Meryl Streep (having a blast, even when we're not) turns singing-and-dancing queen in this adaptation of the hit ABBA musical about a former rock singer, now living on a Greek island, whose three ex-flames (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsg?rd) show up at her daughter's wedding. Occasionally entertaining, often excruciating, this boasts a stellar cast (augmented by "Big Love's" Amanda Seyfried and scene-stealers Christine Baranski and Julie Walters), but the narrative thread's flimsier than dental floss. (108 min.) PG-13; sexual references. (C.C.)
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
(B) Director Spike Lee's World War II epic focuses on four members of the Army's all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division (Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller), who become trapped behind enemy lines and must fight their way back to neutral territory. If it were a symphony, you'd think, three sublime movements, a fourth that's turgid, and what's with the wacky coda? But even at its most indulgent, it powerfully summons the courage of black soldiers in the face of discouraging racism. (160 min.) R; strong combat violence, profanity, sexual content/nudity.
THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
(C-) The third time's definitely not the charm for this poor man's Indiana Jones franchise, which reaches new depths of absurdity as intrepid Rick O'Connell (a game Brendan Fraser) and his archaeologist wife Evelyn (miscast Maria Bello, replacing Rachel Weisz), retired from globe-trotting, head to China when their rebellious son (a charmless Luke Ford) unearths the remains of a cursed, shape-shifting emperor (martial arts whiz Jet Li). (112 min.) PG-13; adventure action, violence. (C.C.)
MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL
(D+) A professional cad who gets paid to mistreat women (who else but Dane Cook?) unexpectedly falls in love when his lovelorn best friend (Jason Biggs) enlists him to take his ex-girlfriend (Kate Hudson) on a rotten date so she'll realize her mistake. Typically clunky and jarringly vulgar, this alleged romantic comedy repeatedly squashes the few signs of life in its appealing cast. (101 min.) R; strong profanity and sexual content, including graphic dialogue and nudity.
NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
(D+) Richard Gere and Diane Lane (who previously teamed in "Unfaithful" and "The Cotton Club") reunite for this adaptation of "The Notebook" author Nicholas Sparks' romance about an abandoned wife overseeing a friend's beachfront inn -- and the inn's sole guest, a doctor nursing both personal and professional wounds. Paralytic direction by George C. Wolfe and a script that might have come with a box of crayons provide the always attractive Lane and Gere nothing much to do. (97 min.) PG-13; sexual references.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
(B-) In the latest romp from producer Judd Apatow's comedy factory, a hapless stoner ("Knocked Up's" Seth Rogen, who also co-wrote the script) witnesses a murder -- and runs for his life, his even more hapless pot dealer (a delightful James Franco) in tow. Powered by their pricelessly dopey repartee, "Pineapple Express" proves uproarious in fits and starts, but eventually falls victim to its own randomness. (111 min.) R; pervasive profanity, drug use, sexual references, violence. (C.C.)
RIGHTEOUS KILL
(C) After sharing one scene in 1995's "Heat," Robert De Niro and Al Pacino share a whole movie; too bad it's this often turgid thriller about veteran New York City detectives trying to figure out the connection between a current murder and a case they thought they had solved years ago. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy and "Frozen River's" Melissa Leo co-star in what's essentially a "Law & Order" episode stretched beyond recognition. (110 min.) R; violence, pervasive profanity, sexual situations, brief drug use.
SPACE CHIMPS
(D) The wrong stuff: Astronaut chimps, led by the slacker grandson of the first chimp in space (voiced by "Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg), go ape during a mission to a distant planet. The plot couldn't be more boring, the unattractive animation evokes the Teletubbies (not a good thing) and young kids won't get some of the jokes -- not that they're funny. (81 min.) G; all ages.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
(C) The "Star Wars" saga explores a new cinematic galaxy -- animation -- as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the Jedi knights struggling to save the Galactic Republic. Harmless and mostly charmless, this truly cartoonish animated adventure is to "Star Wars" what karaoke is to pop music, making the special magic of that long-ago galaxy seem far, far away indeed. (98 minutes.) PG; sci-fi action violence, brief profanity and smoking.
TELL NO ONE
(A-) A pediatrician (François Cluzet) suspected of his wife's murder eight years ago becomes a suspect once again when police reopen the case -- and the doctor receives an e-mail from his presumed-dead wife. Kristin Scott-Thomas and "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's" Marie-Josée Croze and Marina Hands co-star in a terrific mystery in any language, equal parts haunting love story and nimble thriller. In French with English subtitles. (125 min.) NR; violence, profanity, nudity, adult themes.
TROPIC THUNDER
(B+) When the studio pulls the plug on their bloated Vietnam War epic, the self-absorbed stars (Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black and Ben Stiller, who also directs) bungle into the jungle -- and wind up battling real-life bad guys. Gory, vulgar and wickedly funny, this equal-opportunity offender gleefully bites the Hollywood hand that feeds it before licking the very same hand and hoping the folks who finance big-budget movies like "Tropic Thunder" won't take it too personally. (107 min.) R; pervasive profanity, sexual references, violence, drug use. (C.C.)
WALL-E
(A) Play it again, Pixar: "Finding Nemo" writer-director Andrew Stanton strikes again with a wonderful, full-of-wonder tale about a lonely garbage-compactor robot, stranded on an abandoned 29th-century Earth, who follows an alluring probe droid back to her mother ship -- and discovers what happened to the humans who used to occupy the planet. (97 min.) G; all ages. (C.C.)
THE WOMEN
(C) They just don't remake 'em like they used to, as this remake of the all-distaff 1939 classic (from "Murphy Brown" creator Diane English) demonstrates, focusing on has-it-all Meg Ryan -- wife, mother, fashion designer, saint -- who discovers her Wall Street tycoon husband has taken up with a sultry shopgirl (Eva Mendes), throwing her life, and her best pals (career gal Annette Bening, earth mama Debra Messing, lesbian writer Jada Pinkett Smith) into a collective tizzy. The original's a catty blast; this is a declawed, defanged exercise in smug self-entitlement, full of you-go-girl sisterly bonding and lots (and lots) of yupscale fashion frenzy. And they call this progress? (114 min.) PG-13; sexual references, profanity, drug use, brief smoking. (C.C.)
