Shorter film reviews

Akeelah and the Bee (PG, 112 minutes) In case you hadn’t noticed, Hollywood is in the midst of a red-hot spelling bee craze. In the wake of Spellbound and… um, Bee Season, comes this drama about an 11-year-old girl from South Los Angeles who tries to make it to the National Spelling Bee. The story is, as expected, cute and inspirational. It’s also predictable, emotionally simplified and filled with clichés. Think The Karate Kid with a little girl taking over for Ralph Macchio, Laurence Fishburn doing the Mr. Miyagi thing, and words instead of crane kicks to the head. (Devin O’Leary) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
An American Haunting (PG-13, 90 minutes) Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek star in this historical horror film about the Bell Witch, the very same rural legend that gave birth to The Blair Witch Project. Sutherland and Spacek are a pair of landowning parents in 1817 Tennessee who find themselves besieged by a nasty poltergeist. The film looks classy and has a few lightweight scares, but director Courtney Soloman (Dungeons & Dragons) doesn’t know quite how to take full advantage of his fine cast. Like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, this one feels more like a made-for-TV drama than a full-on horror story. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
Art School Confidential (R, 102 minutes) Reviewed on this page. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
 
Brick (R, 110 minutes) Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Third Rock from the Sun”) continues his transformation into a fascinating indie actor. (Check out Mysterious Skin for further proof.) In this clever and intricately plotted crime film, Gordon-Levitt plays a teenage loner who investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend in the dark underworld known as high school. The film plays out like a straight-faced ‘40s film noir, complete with hard-boiled dialogue, dangerous dames and double-crossing villains—except that its set among modern-day teenagers. Think of it as Pretty in Pink as written by Raymond Chandler. Gimmicky as hell, but it works thanks to the great cast and the mad filmmaking skills of newcomer-to-watch Rian Johnson. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
The Da Vinci Code (PG-13) What do you want from me? Dan Brown’s book has sold slightly less than the Bible. This is the most eagerly awaited film of the year. Nothing I say is gonna make dollar one difference. Personally, I think the book is silly and director Ron Howard (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Edtv, Willow) is often a mediocre filmmaker. That said, the film does make Brown’s talky book quite a bit more action-filled. Plus, the cast (Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Paul Bettany) is worth watching. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
 
Hoot (PG) Hollywood finally gets around to following up Carl Hiassen’s infamous novel-to-movie Striptease with, oddly enough, this adaptation of the writer’s award-winning kids’ book. A young boy (Logan Lerman from “Jack & Bobby”) moves from Montana to Florida where he joins forces with a few other kids to stop an evil land developer (Tim Blake Nelson) from destroying the habitat of some endangered owls. Luke Wilson shows up as the clueless but good-natured sheriff. Sun-damaged crooner Jimmy Buffet (who produced this film) also makes an appearance. The film has a good ecological message, but isn’t much fun for the adults. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
 
An Inconvenient Truth (PG, 100 minutes) This documentary examines former Vice President Al Gore’s campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem nationwide. The film recasts Gore as a lone crusader out to save the world, all the while delivering sobering, easily accessible facts about our world’s crumbling environment. It’s a persuasive argument, but one not likely to be heard by Hummer-driving Republicans. (D.O.) Coming Friday; check local listings
 
Just My Luck (PG-13) Lindsay Lohan, backsliding to her lame Disney days, stars in this juvenile romantic comedy about a Manhattan girl with the greatest luck in the world. After a chance encounter with a cute but down-and-out young man (Chris Pine, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement), she realizes that she’s swapped her fortune for his. From the director of Mystic Pizza, Miss Congeniality and My Favorite Martian. If you’re 14 and female, this will be a very profound movie experience. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
King Kong (PG-13, 187 minutes) Both stupendous and a little boring, Peter Jackson’s three-hour remake of the classic jungle flick gets bogged down in storylines that most of us don’t really care about, but it also contains moments of rare, delicate beauty and some of the finest action sequences of recent years. Naomi Watts gives a rich performance as the victim/love interest, yet it’s Kong who nearly breaks your heart. (Kent Williams) Playing through Thursday at Jeffeson Theater
 
Look Both Ways (PG-13, 100 minutes) From Australia comes this strong indie drama. Spread amongst the film’s ensemble cast are a group of middle-aged characters, all undergoing assorted interwoven crises over the course of one long weekend. The narrative cops a bit from Mag-nolia, but some animated sequences and a few musical interludes add to the film’s stylistic appeal. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
Mission: Impossible III (PG-13, 126 minutes) J.J. Abrams (the guy behind “Alias” and “Lost”) takes over as director for this third outing. Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell, Billy Crudup and Philip Seymour Hoffman (doing bad guy duty) make up the impressive cast list. Unfortunately, it’s scripted by the guys who wrote The Island. As in previous Impossible outings, the plot is baroque to the point of nonsensical. The explosions look pretty, though. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
 
Over the Hedge (NR, 96 minutes) An all-star voice cast (Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes, William Shatner, Nick Nolte) lends its talents to this CGI toon adaptation of the popular newspaper comic strip. Willis plays a mischievous raccoon who helps his forest buddies adapt to the encroaching sprawl of suburbia. The animation is fluid and the writing has a bit more spark than most of the recent computer toons we’ve been subjected to (The Wild). From the director of Antz. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
 
Poseidon (PG-13) Reviewed on page 53. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
 
RV (PG) Steve Martin must have been busy, because it’s fallen to Robin Williams to star in this pathetic, plotless excuse for a “family” comedy. Williams stars as a hapless dad who tries to pass off a business trip to Colorado as a family vacation. Along the way, the annoying clan has lots of wacky misadventures in a rented RV. That’s it, folks. Williams was starting to get annoying on screen, now he’s just sad. Go rent National Lampoon’s Vacation instead. It’s pretty much the same movie, only 20 times funnier. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
Stick It (PG-13, 103 minutes) The rather rude title is meant to lead a certain air of attitude to this film’s subject, the world of competitive gymnastics. Seems we’ve got a rebellious teen (“Life As We Know It”’s Missy Peregrym) who gets herself enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by legendary trainer Jeff Bridges. Naturally, our gal brings some of her street-smart ‘tude to the balance beam, making this the Bring It On of gymnastics movies. Unfortunately, it’s already been brought. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
 
Thank You for Smoking (R, 92 minutes) Based on Christopher Buckley’s satiric novel about a tobacco
-industry lobbyist (Aaron Eckhart) who seems to feel good about what he does for a living, Jason Reitman’s refreshingly un-PC film lets both sides of the smoking/anti-smoking debate have it with both barrels. Encompassing a trip to Hollywood as well as a kidnapping, the movie gives off a caffeinated buzz, capturing the book’s slightly giddy tone. (K.W.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
 
Thumbsucker (R, 96 minutes) This hip, satirical indie traffics in some mighty familiar coming-of-age angst. (Heathers, Donnie Darko and Garden State are just a few distant relatives.) Still, newcomer Lou Taylor Pucci does give a star-making turn as an underachieving suburban teen saddled with a bratty brother, a disappointed dad (Vincent D’Onofrio), a distant mother (Tilda Swinton) and an unfortunate habit of sucking his thumb. When a New Age orthodontist (a surprisingly good Keanu Reeves) breaks him of the habit, our boy descends into Ritalin addiction and scary perfectionism. Freshman filmmaker Mike Mills wants to be Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry, right down to the Polyphonic Spree-filled soundtrack, but he does show potential. (D.O.) Playing through Thursday at Jefferson Theater
 
United 93 (R, 90 minutes) Whether people are actually ready to watch dramas about the events of 9/11 remains to be seen. Director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) keeps it pretty close to the vest with this film about the doomed passengers of United flight No. 93 (the ones who provided Bush with his “Let’s roll!” catchphrase). A cast of unknowns dutifully acts out the events of that tragic day in real time, providing not so much dramatic insight as unflinching recreation. You witnessed it on the news, you relived it in the TV movie “Flight 93”. Now, you can see it some more. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
 
Why We Fight (PG-13, 98 minutes) Fifty years after President Eisenhower brought up something called the military-industrial complex in his Farewell Address, we’ve become the military state he warned us about. Or so Eugene Jarecki would have us believe in this collage-barrage of images and ideas, a history lesson that doubles as a damning indictment of our plowshares-into-swords orientation. (K.W.) Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
 
X-Men: The Last Stand (NR, 104 minutes) Bryan Singer,  ( defected to the DC Universe to direct this summer’s Superman Returns, hands the reins over to Brett Ratner (Rush Hour) for this third mutant-minded offering. Seems that a “cure” has been found to treat mutantkind. Naturally, that news doesn’t sit too well with good-guy mutant leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) or bad-guy mutant leader Magneto (Ian McKellan). You can also add Beast (Kelsey Grammer) and Angel (Ben Foster) to the mutant mix this time around. (D.O.) Coming Friday; check local listings