1408 (PG-13, 94 minutes) Somebody found another unadapted Stephen King short story. By law they’ve all got to be made into movies before his death, so here we go again. John Cusack plays an author who specializes in debunking claims of the paranormal. To those ends, he checks into the infamously haunted Dolphin Hotel, whose titular room is supposed to be the site of uncounted deaths. Naturally, this being a horror story and all, our protagonist is beset by assorted physical and psychological terrors. Opening Friday; check local listings
A Mighty Heart (R, 100 minutes) Angelina Jolie has gotten a lot of attention for her brave, unglamorous portrayal of Mariane Pearl’s real-life account of searching for her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in Pakistan. The low-key docudrama (directed by 24 Hour Party People’s Michael Winterbottom) thrives on gritty detail, though audiences not already interested in the subject matter may find it a demanding and depressing film. In English, French, Urdu and Arabic with English subtitles. Opening Friday at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Black Book (R, 145 minutes) Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct) delivers this surprising mix of art house drama and popcorn-fueled exploitation. Carice van Houten stars as a Jew who finds herself stuck in Holland when the Nazis overrun the country round about 1944. She offers her services to the underground resistance and is soon doing Mata Hari duty, pumping (so to speak) a Nazi commander for information. The Nazi extermination of Jewish people in Northern Europe would seem like poor backdrop for an erotic thriller, but Verhoeven and his cast handle it with supreme confidence, delivering Hitchcock-style thrills and plenty of naked bodies. Playing through Thursday, June 21, at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Evan Almighty (PG) The makers of Bruce Almighty give Jim Carrey the boot in order to promote second-string standout Steve Carell. Seems newscaster Evan Baxter (now a U.S. congressman) has been tapped by God himself (Morgan Freeman again) to build an ark in preparation for another great flood. Filmed in our area, this is reportedly the most expensive comedy ever made (at something north of $175). Try to ignore that and just enjoy it as a nice, light family comedy with lots of cute animals and a tidy moral message. Opening Friday; check local listings
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (PG, 89 minutes) The super-powered gang returns, this time squaring off against the cosmic being known as Silver Surfer (sympathetically voiced by Laurence Fishburne), herald to the planet-eating entity Galactus. The Surfer is one of the most interesting character’s in Marvel’s canon, and it’s nice to see him on screen; but director Tim Story (Taxi) still insists on injecting lots of wacky sitcom moments amid the CGI-driven action. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Hostel: Part II (R, 94 minutes) Eli Roth follows up his horror roughie Hostel with this inevitable sequel. This time around, it’s three female college students backpacking through Eastern Europe who are tortured and killed. …Ah, progress. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6.
Knocked Up (R, 129 minutes) From the team behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin comes another witty sex comedy. Seth Rogen (“Freaks and Geeks”) is a fun-loving party animal whose life gets turned upside down when a one-night stand (Katherine Heigl from “Grey’s Anatomy”) shows up on his doorstep with the info that she’s pregnant. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Mr. Brooks (R, 120 minutes) Kevin Costner is cast severely against type as a mild-mannered suburban hubby who is occasionally controlled by his alter ego, a vicious serial killer embodied by William Hurt. A sleazy amateur photographer (Dane Cook, also playing against type) finds out about our hero’s little split personality problem and tries to blackmail him. (Is it too much to hope that Cook gets slaughtered?) The film nearly chokes to death on subplots (including one with Demi Moore as a soon-to-be-divorced detective), but the story is clever and Costner does a commendable job. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Nancy Drew (PG, 99 minutes) Carolyn Keene’s teen sleuth, star of a whole lot of books I never read as a kid (I was really more of an Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators type), gets updated to the 21st century. Emma Roberts (niece to Julia) stars as the famed nosey parker, who accompanies her father on a business trip to Los Angeles, where she happens upon clues to a murder involving a movie star. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Ocean’s Thirteen (PG-13, 113 minutes) George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and crew add one to the guest list and go out pranking for money once again. In this third heist-heavy go-around, the boys are getting even with evil casino owner Al Pacino. Expect plenty of breezy hijinks, a wealth of celebrity in-jokes and a script that is slightly more sensical than the second ridiculous outing. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Paris Je T’Amie (R, 120 minutes) This anthology film about life and love in the City of Lights boasts one hell of a director list—including Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy), Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run), Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries), Alexander Payne (Election), Wes Craven (Scream), Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También), Joel & Ethan Coen (Raising Arizona) and roughly a dozen others. Like any anthology, there are some stories you’ll love and some you won’t—but the sheer variety in this charming volume of vignettes makes it a must-see for film lovers. In English and French with English subtitles. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
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). Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
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) T
he 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
Surf’s Up (PG, 85 minutes) If you found the tap-dancing penguins of Happy Feet odd, then the surfing penguins of Surf’s Up will prove equally confusing. This subpar CGI toon (by Sony Pictures) is a basically a remake of old surf documentries like Endless Summer, only with penguins instead of people. The voice cast is fresh. (Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder and James Woods head it up.) But unless you’ve got a burning desire to see what surf legends Kelly Slater and Rob Machado look like as penguins, the film has only minor appeal. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Waitress (PG-13, 107 minutes) In this guilt-free Southern-fried treat, Keri Russell (“Felicity”) stars as an unhappy waitress in a small-town cafe. She’s blessed with an unearthly ability to bake pies, but cursed with an emotionally abusive lout of a hubby (Jeremy Sisto from “Six Feet Under”) and a sudden, unwanted pregnancy. Her life turns around when she meets her obstetrician, though, an awkwardly charming new hunk in town (played by Nathan Fillion of “Firefly” fame). The film occasionally surrenders to its more sitcom-esque moments, but it’s mostly a good-natured, emotionally complex dramedy about pregnancy, infidelity and delicious desserts. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
You Kill Me (R, 92 minutes) Neo-noir B-movie kingpin John Dahl (director of Kill Me Again, Red Rock West and The Last Seduction) teams Sir Ben Kingsley and Téa Leoni in this comedy thriller about an alcoholic hitman (Kingsley) sent by his Polish Mob family to San Francisco to dry out. There, he goes to AA, gets a part-time job at a mortuary and falls in love with a tough-talking sales executive (Leoni). Dahl brazenly mixes his romance and murder with a dose of deadpan humor, resulting in an unexpected, off-kilter gem. Opening Friday; check local listings
