28 Weeks Later (R, 99 minutes) 2002’s apocalyptic zombie flick 28 Days Later was a shot in the arm to a stagnant horror film industry. Unfortunately, director Danny Boyle isn’t back for this follow-up. Substitute Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto) can’t quite replicate Boyle’s kinetic camerawork; but he does O.K., adding a few honest jump scares to a fairly standard script. It’s six months after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus, and
the U.S. Army has arrived in England, helping to secure a small section of London
for repopulation. Naturally, everything goes wrong and those American boys start getting a tad trigger-happy. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
300 (R, 117 minutes) Much like his previous work, Sin City, Frank Miller’s stylish comic book 300 comes to life on the big screen. This faithful (nearly panel-for-panel) adaptation arrives courtesy of up-and-comer Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead). This violent, highly visual adventure tale tells the story of the battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. where 300 bedraggled Spartans beat back the entire Persian army. Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera) and Dominic West (“The Wire”) star. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Bug (R, 101 minutes) Ashley Judd headlines this somewhat misleading horror thriller directed by Exorcist helmer William Friedkin. Judd plays a lonely woman trapped in a spooky Oklahoma motel room with a paranoid, possibly unhinged Gulf War vet who believes he is being persecuted by invisible insects. It’s based on the claustrophobic stageplay by Tracy Letts and features far more psychological drama than cinematic horror. Opening Friday; check local listings
Delta Farce (PG-13, 90 minutes) Two out of three members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour star in this slapstick silly Iraq war sitcom. (Seriously, how bad does a movie have to be for Jeff Foxworthy to bow out?) Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and Road Trip’s DJ Qualls (subbing for Foxworthy) star as a trio of redneck National Guardsmen who get recruited to fight in the Gulf War. When they are accidentally parachuted out over the Mexican desert, these three screwups mistakenly believe they’ve arrived in Iraq and end up trying to “liberate” a small village. This is just the thing for you, if you still think the phrase “git-r-done” is hilarious. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Disturbia (PG-13, 104 minutes) It’s a blatant steal of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, but the film is fairly honest about it. Shia LaBeouf (Holes, Constantine) stars as a teen stuck at home under house arrest. Bored out of his skull, he takes to spying on the neighbors. Before long, he spots one who might just be a serial killer, bumping off victims in his garage. Is this observation real, or just the product of an overactive imagination? Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Fracture (R, 112 minutes) Anthony Hopkins as a manipulative killer behind stuck bars? Haven’t we seen this somewhere before? Ryan Gosling plays the young D.A. caught up in a game of cat-and-mouse with Hopkins’ could-be killer. TV producer Gregory Hoblit (“NYPD Blue,” “L.A. Law”) directs. The film misses a lot of opportunity for suspense, but the absorbing script and quality acting make this a good bet for legal drama fans. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Georgia Rule (R, 113 minutes) Garry Marshall (The Princess Diaries, Runaway Bride, Pretty Woman, Beaches) adds another chick flick to his resumé. This one follows a rebellious, uncontrollable teenager (Lindsay Lohan, who surely was not typecast) who is hauled off by her dysfunctional mother (Felicity Huffman) to spend the summer on an Idaho farm with her tough-talking, no-nonsense granny (Jane Fonda). Lessons are learned, motherly bonds are strengthened and hankies are moistened. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Hot Fuzz (R, 121 minutes) Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the team behind the 2004 gem Sean of the Dead, reunite to tweak another movie genre. This time around, Pegg stars as a top London cop who is sent to a sleepy English hamlet and teamed with a dimwit partner (Sean’s Nick Frost) by jealous colleagues. Eventually, the mismatched duo are prevailed upon to solve a series of bloody murders. The film has a blast making fun of classic ’80s buddy cop movies, and the laughs are—more often than not—explosive. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Invisible (PG-13, 97 minutes) This remake of a recent Swedish thriller has an apparently dead teen (Justin Chatwin, War of the Worlds) wandering the halls of his high school looking for help in nailing his killer. He finds it in the form of a depressed girl (Margarita Levieva), who is suffering her own slightly more symbolic form of “invisibility.” Can Ghost Boy and Gloomy Girl solve the murder before, you know, some other bad stuff happens? Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
The Lives of Others (R, 137 minutes) This Academy Award winner from Germany takes us back to the days of the Berlin Wall. In East Germany, a by-the-books secret police officer named Captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mohe, the GDR’s answer to Stanley Tucci) is ordered to spy on a seemingly loyal Communist Party playwright and his actress girlfriend. The good captain fills the couple’s apartment with listening devices and starts prying into their private lives. As the investigation wears on, Wiesler becomes increasingly absorbed in the happy couple’s daily drama—which only serves to highlight how empty the policeman’s life really is. Ultimately, the quiet, observational film transcends its thriller-like setting and finds a universal message about the purely human need to connect with one another. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Meet the Robinsons (G, 102 minutes) Disney presents this colorful but convoluted non-Pixar-based CGI film. In it, a kid inventor is whisked away to the future by a mysterious stranger in a time machine. The plot—something about multiple generations of good and evil, a talking dinosaur and a hat with a mind of its own—seems unnecessarily complicated. Kids with ADD will probably be fine with all the frantic action, but adults are likely to find it a loud and unfocussed mix of Back to the Future and “The Jetsons.” Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
The Namesake (PG-13, 122 minutes) Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair) directs this multigenerational drama/comedy about an American-born son of East Indian immigrants who tries to shake off his parents’ too-traditional ways. Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) stars as our sullen protagonist, stuck between two worlds. Like the novel it’s based on (by Jhumpa Lahiri), the film wisely paints its pictures in small, intimate strokes. In English, Bengali and Hindi with English subtitles. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Next (PG-13, 9
6 minutes) Nicolas Cage, his hair still not recovered from Ghost Rider, is Cris Johnson, a Las Vegas magician blessed with the power of precognition. Even though he’s tried his whole life to hide his ability to see into the future, he ends up recruited by a government agent (Julianne Moore) to help find a nuclear device hidden in Los Angeles by evil terrorists. From the writer of The Punisher and the director of Die Another Day. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (PG-13, 168 minutes) After the two-and-a-half-hour cliffhanger that was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest comes the nearly three-hour conclusion. This time, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Keira Knightley have sailed to the ends of the Earth to rescue Johnny Depp. They’re also required to gather a massive pirate army to fight the forces of nastiness and villainy (still embodied by squid-faced Bill Nighy and uptight Tom Hollander). Opening Friday; check local listings
Shrek the Third (PG, 93 minutes) Kids and fart-loving adults are welcome for this third gathering of the CGI Shrek cast. Seems that our titular ogre’s father-in-law has fallen ill. Now it’s up to Shrek to assume the throne of the fairy tale-filled kingdom—a job he’d rather not take. The voice cast is getting crowded, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle and Justin Timberlake on board for this go-around. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Spider-Man 3 (PG-13, 140 minutes) The third time is supposed to be a charm, but poor Spider-Man is having an awfully bad time of it in this second sequel to the smash hit superhero flick. Seems that Spidey’s best friend (James Franco) has gone insane and is now trying to kill him. He’s also been possessed by a malevolent alien life force and is trying to bring a sand-powered supervillain (Thomas Hayden Church) to justice. Oh, and he’s thinking of getting married. The film’s a bit long, but there’s plenty of action and the special effects should please hardcore comic book fans. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Year of the Dog (PG-13, 98 minutes) Mike White, writer of Chuck&Buck, The Good Girl and The School of Rock, tries his hand at directing with this sullen, low-key drama/comedy about a lonely secretary (Molly Shannon, late of “Saturday Night Live”) who is obsessively attached to her pet beagle. When the dog up and dies, our protagonist is at a loss and tries to fill her life by doting on other people’s children, dating a string of losers and otherwise trying (though mostly failing) to make an impression on the outside world. White has always been a bit of an oddball, and this film certainly reflects that, giving viewers far more uncomfortable irony than recognizable humor. There’s something perceptive and poignant going on here, but most folks will hate it. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
