Babel (R, 142 minutes) Alejandro González Iñárritu (director of 21 Grams and Amores Perros) contributes another weighty ensemble piece. This complex, occasionally sluggish rumination on communication (or the lack thereof) in modern-day society takes place in three places at once. In Morocco, a couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) gets involved in a shooting crisis. In California, a housekeeper tries to get to her son’s wedding down Mexico way. In Japan, a deaf-mute girls tries desperately to shed her virginity. The film is relentlessly grim, and the message may be lost on some; but as always, Iñárritu deserves credit for making a film that is actually about something. In English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Berber and Arabic with English subtitles. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Because I Said So (PG-13, 101 minutes) A meddling, overprotective mother (Diane Keaton) keeps trying to set her youngest daughter (Mandy Moore) up with the right man so the kid won’t follow in her footsteps. Keaton and Moore make a nice duo, but the mild, middle-of-the-road humor makes this a rather ordinary romcom. Playing at Regal Seminole Square 4
Bridge to Terabithia (PG, 95 minutes) Katherine Paterson’s Newberry Award-winning children’s book (filmed once before in 1985) comes to life as a big budget feature film. Thankfully, the smart script remains faithful to Paterson’s original story. Josh Hutcherson (Zathura) plays Jesse, a poor middle school kid who’s ignored at home and bullied at school. He finds his one true friend in fellow outsider Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). He’s an aspiring artist, she loves telling stories. Together, they retreat into their own little fantasy world. Although the commercials make this look like a third-rate Chronicles of Narnia, it isn’t. The fantasies these kids have are never real (they take up barely 10 minutes of screen time), and the film’s only major misstep is rendering them in such detailed CGI. This is no whimsical fantasy, but a well-thought-out coming-of-age tale, not so far removed from Stand By Me or My Girl. Coming Friday; check local listings
Breach (PG-13, 110 minutes) Based on a true story, this real-life espionage thriller finds a young FBI recruit (Ryan Phillippe) drafted to spy on his boss (Chris Cooper), a longtime agent who seems to be selling secrets to the Soviet Union. Director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) resists the temptation to turn this into too much of a Hollywood action thriller, instead relying on his solid cast (also including Laura Linney, Kathleen Quinlan, Dennis Haysbert and Bruce Davidson) for acting fireworks. Coming Friday; check local listings
Catch and Release (PG-13, 124 minutes) Jennifer Garner (“Alias”) jumps into the comedy/drama/romance stewpot as a woman struggling to accept the sudden death of her husband-to-be and the secrets he kept from her. After attending a funeral on what was supposed to be her wedding day, our heroine moves in with two male pals (Kevin Smith and Sam Jaeger, providing comic relief). What follows is your typical romantic comedy complete with syrup-filled ending. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Dreamgirls (PG-13, 125 minutes) It takes a little while to get into the mood of this lengthy showbiz musical. Once it’s fully up to speed, however, the film sings along at an absorbing clip. Like the Broadway musical that inspired it, the tune-filled tale follows the rise and fall of a Diana Ross and the Supremes-like musical group from the late ’50s through the turbulent ’60s and on into the disco era of the ’70s. Of course, there’s plenty of backstage backstabbing as the group’s beautiful lead singer (Beyoncé Knowles) gets groomed for superstardom by her husband/manager (Jamie Foxx). Former “American Idol” contestant Jennifer Hudson is the real showstopper here, commanding the spotlight as the group’s bitchy but supremely talented backup singer. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Epic Movie (PG-13, 86 minutes) From the people who brought you Scary Movie and Date Movie comes yet another crude parody of assorted movie genres. This one sticks more or less to recent Hollywood blockbusters like The Chronicles of Narnia, X-Men: The Last Stand, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Snakes on a Plane. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Ghost Rider (PG-13, 114 minutes) Nicolas Cage finally gets around to starring in a full-fledged superhero movie. Here, he plays minor Marvel character Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt man who makes a deal with the devil and is transformed into a hellblazing vigilante. Don’t get too excited, fanboys; it’s from the same writer/director who gave us Elektra, Daredevil and Grumpier Old Men. Coming Friday; check local listings
Hannibal Rising (R, 117 minutes) Cannibal/pop culture icon Hannibal Lecter has been involved in two good books (Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs) and two bad books (Hannibal and Hannibal Rising). He’s also given birth to two good movies (Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs) and two bad movies (Hannibal and Red Dragon). Here comes the tiebreaker. Frenchman Gaspard Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) stars in this grisly but unnecessary prequel as the young Lecter hunting down and killing the men responsible for his parents’ deaths during World War II. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Happy Feet (PG, 87 minutes) Wouldn’t March of the Penguins have been so much more interesting if the birds could sing and tap-dance? That’s the premise of this odd CGI musical featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy and Robin Williams. (Couldn’t rehab have kept Robin out of at least a couple movies this year?) The film hijacks so many random pop tunes (Prince, The Beach Boys, Grandmaster Flash, Queen) that it starts to sound like a broken iPod Shuffle—at least until the music is dropped in favor of a very confused ecological message. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
The Last King of Scotland (R, 123 minutes) This gritty biopic recounts the life of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as seen by his personal physician. (Yes, Amin did at one point declare himself King of Scotland.) Forest Whitaker (fresh off “The Shield”) gives a major performance, making Amin both monstrous and pitiful. The film’s jarring camerawork adds to the thrilling nature of this ugly but absorbing tale. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Letters from Iwo Jima (R, 141 minutes) Clint Eastwood shot this back-to-back with his film Flags of Our Fathers. This one tells more or less the same story, but from the Japanese perspective. Whereas Flags bogged down a bit in post-war preachiness and cliché characters, Letters is an uncompromising look at the painful defeat of the Japanese. Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) gives a powerful performance. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Messengers (PG-13, 84 minutes) Hip-hot Asian filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang (The Eye, Bangkok Dangerous—both of which are being remade stateside) offer up their first American film, a haunted house thriller wedged firmly in the Far East mold. Kristen Stewart (Zathura) moves to an isolated farm in the middle of North Dakota with parents Penelope Ann Miller (Adventures in Babysitting) and Dylan McDermott (he of “The Practice” hunkitude). In short order, our gal’s baby bro is spying creepy ghosts in every corner. There are a few atmospheric scares, but it’s slow going, and borrows quite a bit from films like The Grudge. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Music and Lyrics (PG-13, 96 minutes) Cute without being cloying, this genial romantic comedy features Hugh Grant as a washed-up ’80s pop star who hooks up with a daffy amateur writer (Drew Barrymore) to pen a new tune for the world’s most popular teen starlet. Eventually, the two find time to fall in love; but the film is mostly about artistic integrity, selling out and the fickle world of the music biz. Grant and Barrymore are both adorable in their own way, the music is quite catchy and the script never drowns itself in sap. Coming Wednesday; check local listings
Night at the Museum (PG, 108 minutes) Ben Stiller stars in this fantasy-filled adaptation of the best-selling children’s book of the same name. In it, he plays a bumbling new security guard at the Museum of Natural History who accidentally lets loose an ancient curse causing all of the displays to come to life. Hijinks ensue. Cameos include Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Mickey Rooney and Owen Wilson. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Norbit (PG-13) Yes, it’s another excuse to put Eddie Murphy in a fat suit. But Murphy at least gives it his acting all in this very broad comedy/romance about a mild-mannered dork (the titular Norbit) who is engaged to a monstrous (in more ways than one) woman (also played by Murphy). When our submissive hero meets the girl of his dreams (Thandie Newton), he schemes to lose his gigantic girlfriend. Hijinks ensue. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Notes on a Scandal (R, 92 minutes) Cate Blanchett is a pottery teacher who gets involved with a student. Judi Dench is her mentor. The film explores the dangerous psychological territory between the two women as their friendship develops and reaches a crisis point. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Pan’s Labyrinth (R, 117 minutes) From Mexican director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II, The Devil’s Backbone, Cronos) comes this intelligent, phantasmagorical fantasy about a young girl who travels with her pregnant mother to post-war Spain. Hoping to avoid the grim reality of Franco’s fascist repression, our heroine escapes into a fantasy world of her own creation. In time, the two worlds—one stylized and beautiful, one bloody and brutal—begin to meld. Despite certain Alice in Wonderland connections, this dark, disturbing fantasy is not a kids’ film. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Pursuit of Happyness (PG-13, 117 minutes) Will Smith stars in this tear-jerking can-do drama as a struggling, largely homeless single father who takes custody of his young son (real-life offspring Jaden Smith). Unable to support himself, Dad makes a life-changing decison—to get a job as an unpaid intern on Wall Street. This “inspired by a true story” tale is just as schmaltzy as you would expect, but Smith the Elder does give a emotional, award-hungry performance. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Queen (PG-13, 97 minutes) U.K. director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Grifters, Dangerous Liaisons) takes the death of Princess Diana and spins it into a pop culture biopic about Queen Elizabeth II. Expect Oscar attention for star Helen Mirren, whose portrait of QEII is both imperious and impartial. The script speculates on the week after Diana’s death, during which the royal family was conspicuously silent and unseen. Michael Sheen (Underworld) matches Mirren note-for-note as the surprisingly sympathetic Prime Minister Tony Blair, who tries to talk the Queen out of her stiff upper-lip resolve. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Smokin’ Aces (R, 108 minutes) It’s been a while since we’ve had to dust off the adjective “Tarantinoesque,” but here we are again. Joe Carnahan (Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane) writes and directs this action thriller about a whole collection of hyper-colorful hitmen who descend on a Reno hotel to bump off a cheesy-magicial-turned-Mob-informant (Jeremy Piven). Among the cast are Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Wayne Newton, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman and Matthew Fox. The violence is over the top and completely gratuitous, but it is kind of satifying in a mid-’90s “wish I was John Woo” kind of way. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Stomp the Yard (PG-13, 115 minutes) If you can’t get enough of urban dance movies like You Got Served and Step Up, then you might have some use for this formulaic pic about a troubled teen from L.A. who winds up at a black university in Atlanta, where he tries to win over a girl while being courted by two fraternities who desire his near mystical abilities in the realm of free-style step dancing. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls (PG-13, 95 minutes) Tyler Perry (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion) finally ditches the unconvincing drag act to direct this melodramatic romance about a financially strapped single father (Idris Elba) who falls in love with a successful attorney (Gabrielle Union) who’s helping him protect his three kids from a vengeful ex-wife. Coming Wednesday; check local listings
Volver (R, 120 minutes) Pedro Almodóvar returns with another delicious comedy/drama. Here, a freshly deceased woman (Carmen Maura) returns to her hometown in order to fix the situations she couldn’t resolve in life. Penélope Cruz plays one of the woman’s daughters, a troubled cleaner. Typical of Almodóvar, the films spins off in a multitude of directions, mixing sincere melodrama and sly humor. Occasionally, you might miss the campy filmmaker of yesteryear, but it’s hard to deny this guy’s talent for placing women on the silver screen. In Spanish with English subtitles. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
