UPCOMING RELEASES
THE DEPARTED (R) In South Boston, a young state police officer (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates the local organized crime group hoping to bust the mob and its leader (Jack Nicholson). At the same time, the gang has an infiltrator of their own (Matt Damon) rising into the high ranks of the Special Investigations Unit. Consumed by their double lives and with the police and mob wise to the fact that there is a mole, the two race against time and each other to save their own lives. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Also stars Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen. (Not Reviewed)
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH (PG-13) A slacker (Dane Cook) barely working at a Wal-Mart-like megastore has the hots for the cute new employee who looks a lot like Jessica Simpson (Jessica Simpson). The catch is that he's been told she'll only date guys who win the store's coveted "Employee of the Month" award, causing radical changes in slacker-boy's behavior. Also stars Andy Dick, Dax Shepard and Efren Ramirez. Opens Oct. 6 at local theaters. (Not Reviewed)
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING (R) The buzz was apparently getting so bad on this "prequel" to the Texas Chainsaw horror franchise that all advance screenings simply came to a halt — which means we didn't get to see it. As is often the case in situations like this, that's probably a blessing in disguise. Stars Jordana Brewster, Taylor Handley, Cyia Batten, Diora Baird and Matthew Bomer. Opens Oct. 6 at local theaters. (Not Reviewed)
RECENT RELEASES
ACCEPTED (PG-13) After being rejected by every college on the planet, a group of oddball high school graduates appease their parents by secretly creating a fake university, which conveniently accepts them all as students. Complications, as if you couldn't guess, arise. Stars Justin Long, Blake Lively, Mark Derwin and Columbus Short. (Not Reviewed)
ALL THE KING's MEN (PG-13) Sean Penn is phenomenal, but just about everything else is wrong in All the Kings Men. Penn stars as Willie Stark (a thinly veiled stand-in for legendary Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long), a well-meaning but shrewd populist who connects with his fellow "redneck hicks," largely through the power of passionate oratory, to the point where he achieves something approaching absolute power and is in turn corrupted absolutely. The film's problems begin and end with its actors, an ensemble that looks great on paper, but that is, almost to an individual, horribly miscast. Three of the movie's prime roles go to Brits (Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins) and their attempts at Southern American accents are dubious at best, abominable at worst (Hopkins doesn't even appear to be going through the motions). Stars Sean Penn, Jude Law, James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Patricia Clarkson and Mark Ruffalo. 2 stars
BARNYARD (PG) Can't get enough of those computer-generated animated movies about cute, talking animals? Here's this week's — although the writer-director here is Steve Oedekerk (Ace Ventura, Kung Pow), which might indicate something's going on just a tad bit more subversive than the norm, if you squint hard enough. Featuring the voices of Courteney Cox, Kevin James and Danny Glover. (Not Reviewed)
THE BLACK DAHLIA (R) A lush homage to all things noir, De Palma's film takes as its springboard James Ellroy's fictionalized account of one of L.A.'s most famous unsolved crimes — the grisly 1947 murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth "Betty" Short — and then proceeds to pump up the darkness to nearly operatic proportions. The Black Dahlia unfolds in an opulently decadent, morally cracked L.A. At the center of the movie is a triangle consisting of the two investigating homicide detectives — a pair of former boxers nicknamed "Fire" and "Ice" (Josh Hartnett and Aaron Eckhart) — and the beautiful hooker-turned-homemaker (Scarlett Johansson) who is their mutual object of desire. The movie practically disappears in its own frantic convolutions by the end, but it hardly matters. De Palma is in top form here, with several brilliantly choreographed set pieces establishing the tone, and a monochromatic palette (by master cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond) that's about as close as a color film can get to black-and-white. Stars Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner. 3.5 stars
CARS (G) As animated opuses go, this one doesn't quite scale the heights of the Toy Story movies, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles or Nemo, but — and of course you knew this was coming — even the least of Pixar's efforts is better than 99 percent of the competition. The story here — of an ambitious, self-centered racecar who learns to slow down and smell the diesel — hits all the right emotional notes, but feels a bit scattered and long-winded in the telling, and there are lengthy stretches where not much of anything seems to be happening. The animation is up to Pixar's exalted standards and then some, but the film's style doesn't leap out at you like the company's other efforts, and the anthropomorphic autos, while readymade for marketing tie-ins, seem a touch or two less endearing and enduring than what we've come to expect from the guys who gave us Toy Story. Pound for pound, there's still some solid family entertainment to be had in Cars, but the movie's nearly two-hour running time may have you checking your watch more than once. Features the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy and Cheech Marin. 3 stars
CLERKS II (R) While it doesn't pack the fresh creative punch Kevin Smith's original low-budget classic, Clerks II is still a reasonably funny follow-up to a movie that was pretty darn good standing all on its own. Picking up more than a decade after Clerks, the movie opens with sardonic store clerk Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) discovering that the Quick Stop where he works has met a most unfortunate end. All this is punctuated by the wall-leaning antics of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), who are still dealing drugs but loving Jesus and practicing sobriety in the midst of various entertaining dance sequences, the best being a Silence of the Lambs homage that you really have to see to appreciate. Also stars Rosario Dawson and Trever Fehrmann. 3.5 stars —Leilani Polk
CLICK (PG-13) Another cosmic comedy from the creators of Bruce Almighty, that movie where Jim Carrey acquired divine power. Some similar magic is worked here with Adam Sandler, who gets his hands on a remote control that can manipulate the fabric of reality itself. Why wade through those arguments with your significant other, goes the movie's big joke, when you can fast forward straight to the make-up sex? A few major life lessons are certain to be in store at one point or another. Also stars Kate Beckinsale and Christopher Walken. (Not Reviewed)
THE COVENANT (PG-13) It's The Craft meets The Lost Boys as action-flick hack-for-hire Renny Harlin adapts a graphic novel about a quartet of supernaturally powered teens facing off against evil entities. Stars Steven Stait, Sebastian Stan, Toby Hemingway and Chace Crawford. (Not Reviewed)
CRANK (R) Not sure if anyone's formally acknowledged the debt to the old noir standby D.O.A., but this sounds suspiciously like a pumped-up remake. Jason Statham stars as a guy who's been poisoned and, with only an hour to live, begins tearing up the joint in an effort to locate his killers. Also stars Amy Smart. (Not Reviewed)
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (PG-13) Much like the HBO sit-coms for which its director, David Frankel, is best known (Entourage and Sex and the City), The Devil Wears Prada zips along at a bright, busy clip, is competently crafted, mildly amusing and ultimately disposable. It's surprisingly easy to overlook the lack of substance and originality, however, when you've got Meryl Streep, in one of her most fully realized and thoroughly entertaining performances, holding court at the center of your movie. Technically speaking, our main character is a schlumpy, aspiring journalist named Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) who lucks into a job as assistant to the notorious Miranda Priestly (Streep), the powerful and ultra-sophisticated editor of a fictitious, Vogue-like fashion magazine called Runway. Tastemaker, queen bitch and snob extraordinaire, Streep's Priestly is an icy dragon lady who speaks softly and carries a big thermonuclear device, and every moment she's on screen is something to see. Just about everything else in The Devil Wears Prada, however, is negligible. Doe-eyed Andy transforms from fashion victim to couture-conscious swan and, as her career takes off, her personal life predictably disintegrates. Several bland romantic interests hover at the edges of the story, various minor characters deliver periodic speeches moralizing about Andy's impending loss of integrity, and Stanley Tucci pops up as the obligatory gay co-worker with whom our heroine bonds. Stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt and Adrian Grenier. 2.5 stars
FLYBOYS (PG-13) Intrepid young American James Franco and a handful of his fellow countrymen join the beleaguered French flying forces struggling to stave off the Germans during World War I. This is being billed as the first WWI aviation film in over 40 years. Also stars Jean Reno, Martin Henderson and David Ellison. (Not Reviewed)
GRIDIRON GANG (PG-13) While it's basically just another spin on Remember the Titans and The Longest Yard, Gridiron Gang, against all odds, turns out to be a somewhat meatier variation on your standard inspirational sports movie. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as Sean Porter, the manager of a juvenile correctional facility, who takes a bunch of aimless, angry inmates and gives them something to live for by turning them into a first-rate football team. Most of the requisite clichés are on board here, encapsulated by The Rock's periodic pep talks extolling the virtues of self-esteem, teamwork and "heart," and you can be sure that every one of the movie's scruffy underdogs will eventually get his day — but director Phil Joanou instills Gridiron Gang with some smart touches and an unexpected toughness that make it a lot easier to believe in the film. The movie's grittier, more aggressive grace notes don't completely redeem its warm and fuzzy tendencies, but there's still plenty to like here, and The Rock holds down the center nicely. The guy's no Brando, sure, but as slabs of action-hero beefcake go, his acting chops could make Vin Diesel weep. Also stars Xzibit, Vanessa Ferlito, L. Scott Caldwell and Leon Rippy. 3 stars
HALF NELSON (R) On the surface, Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) seems to be the best sort of teacher — smart, funny, personable, engaged, a professional who actually manages to keep more than his fair share of inner-city eighth-graders interested in the study of history. But Teacher Dan leads what can only be described as a double life, and when the school day is over, he can be found out on the street, copping hard drugs (smack and crack appear to be his fix of choice), and self-medicating until the wee hours of the morning. When one of Dan's students, 13-year old Drey (Shareeka Epps), discovers his secret, Half Nelson has the good sense to avoid rushing right into the expected teacher-student bond that a conventional Hollywood movie would immediately begin milking. Instead, Half Nelson has Dan and Drey spending most of the film circling each other like wary animals forced to share the same unclean cage. A bond does eventually develop, relatively late in the film, but even then Half Nelson generally avoids clichés or excessive sentiment, focusing instead on the tension created by its two main characters' mutual awareness that things aren't what they seem. Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden take an unpretentious and refreshingly low-key approach to their story (think a slightly edgier, more urbanized Victor Nunez), with key plot points never shoved down our throats, and performances — specifically from seasoned pro Gosling and newcomer Epps — are admirably naturalistic, fueled by an understated intensity that allows even some of the film's more predictable elements to go down easier. Half Nelson is a morality tale, but one we can live with. Also stars Anthony Mackie, Monique Gabriela Curnen and Karen Chilton. Held over at Tampa Theatre. Call theater to confirm. 3.5 stars
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS (PG) An 11-year-old boy is threatened by a bully and winds up having to prove himself by scarfing down a fully-stocked buffet of fat, wriggling worms. The title might just say it all, as the movie is basically being publicized as a bunch of kids trying not puke as they consume a series of gross-out recipes including "worm a la mud," "the green slusher," and the always popular "peanut butter and worm sandwich." Fans of MAD magazine and Fear Factor get in line. Stars James Rebhorn, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Tom Cavanagh. (Not Reviewed)
THE ILLUSIONIST (R) Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is a master magician in 19th century Vienna, summoning ghosts from mirrors and commanding orange trees to grow from seeds in seconds. Exploiting the power of art and of the supernatural, the charismatic Eisenheim's cosmic parlor tricks soon gain him a rabid following among the local hoi polloi — putting the magician on a direct collision course with their sadistic, egomaniacal ruler, Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). There's also a beautiful woman (Jessica Biel) in the mix, natch, desired by both men, and so making this royal pissing match all the more personal and vicious. For most of its running time, The Illusionist has the good sense to keep its mysteries exactly as they should be: mysterious. It's a handsomely crafted, pleasant enough diversion, but the film nearly squanders its accumulated good will in a cheap-shot ending that attempts to "surprise" us by tying up every loose end in an elaborate M. Night Shyamalan meets The Usual Suspects bow. Also stars Paul Giamatti. 3 stars
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (PG-13) This is the Al Gore Movie in much the same way that Brokeback Mountain was for the longest time the Gay Cowboy Movie. The movie is gussied up with lots of slick visual aids, but it is essentially a filmed lecture delivered by Gore to a polite, well-groomed audience. Gore comes off as authoritative (in his crisp blue blazer) but friendly and approachable (note the lack of tie) — but although the messenger is friendly, the message is anything but. An Inconvenient Truth is designed to scare the hell out of us, and that's just what it does. Gore provides ample but concise evidence of global warming, debunks the phenomenon's would-be debunkers, then gets down-and-dirty with an extended cataloging of the effects of unrestricted fossil fuel burning. Unfortunately, the movie is flawed by periodic interludes that look a lot like campaign ads for Gore's 2008 Presidential run (complete with endless shots of Al as government's last honest man, staring pensively out of doorways and windows, the weight of the world on his broad shoulders). Even more troubling, however, is that after nearly an hour and a half of ecological doom and gloom, we get barely a few minutes of suggestions as to how global warming might be fixed. The "solutions" scroll simultaneously with the closing credits almost as an afterthought, as if the filmmakers hope we won't notice how pathetic it is to believe recycling a few cans is going to stave off the next tsunami. That might just be the scariest thing of all in the scariest disaster film of the summer. 3.5 stars
INVINCIBLE (PG) Fans of Remember the Titans and The Rookie are the intended audience of this rags-to-riches sports story from the same studio that brought you those aforementioned flicks. Mark Wahlberg stars as a down-on-his-luck 30-year-old bartender who tries out for the Philadelphia Eagles and, against all odds, winds up becoming a star player. Also stars Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rispoli and Kevin Conway. (Not Reviewed)
JACKASS: NUMBER 2 (R) More painful, senseless self-mutilation, crude, public displays of base humiliation, spewing and splattering of bodily fluids and other signposts of the impending demise of Western Civilization. That's entertainment, and it's all in a day's work for our hosts, Johnny Knoxville, Bam Margera and Steve-O. (Not Reviewed)
JET LI'S FEARLESS (PG-13) Directed by Ronny Yu (Bride with White Hair) and choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix, Kill Bill), this Jet Li martial arts vehicle (reportedly his last) arrives with some fairly serious credentials. The film, which has already set box office records in Asia, features Li as a legendary kung fu fighter in turn-of-the-century China. Also stars Masato Harada, Shido Nakamura and Anthony De Longis. (Not Reviewed)
THE LAST KISS (R) Connection-crazed Crash scripter Paul Haggis and starry-eyed Tony Goldwyn (director of sapfests such as A Walk on the Moon and Someone Like You) put a sprawling ensemble cast through their paces in a dramedy about a group of characters dealing with the slings and arrows of turning 30. The source material here is Italian director Gabriele Muccino's L'Ultimo Baccio — which, believe it or not, is a pretty good movie — so try to keep an open mind. Stars Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson, Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson and Michael Weston. (Not Reviewed)
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (R) The current darling of the Sundance crowd and the feel-good bummer of the summer, Little Miss Sunshine is all about gawking at the geeks. The family members in this bittersweet comedy are all hugely dysfunctional and the movie turns them into such ridiculous figures of fun that it often feels condescending, but Little Miss Sunshine is ultimately much more interested in being endearing than offensive. Or, heaven forbid, edgy. Everything here is fair game for comedy (the more embarrassing the better), but husband and wife co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris diligently avoid letting comic exaggeration slide into cruelty, supplying a comforting squeeze of the hand of a full-blown group hug whenever possible, so that we walk away from even the most potentially unpleasant scenes feeling uplifted rather than dirty. The result is a movie that, although often very amusing, also feels more than a little forced as it struggles to balance its quirkiness with the big, fat heart it wears so proudly on its sleeve. The excellent ensemble cast includes Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin. 3 stars
MIAMI VICE (R) About the only thing this movie supposedly has in common with the popular '80s TV show is the name and director Michael Mann. Forget the '80s and those dopey blazers with the rolled-up sleeves — this big screen, R-rated Miami Vice takes place in a gritty, decidedly contemporary Miami with nary a pastel color or stubbly Don Johnston in sight. Also stars Gong Li. (Not Reviewed)
MONSTER HOUSE (PG) The night before Halloween, sleuthing middle-schoolers DJ (Mitchell Musso), Chowder (Sam Lerner) and Jenny (Spencer Locke) suspect that the spooky house across the street possesses supernatural powers and a ravenous appetite for trick-or-treaters. Though way too loud and intense for small kids, Monster House at least proves less nightmarish than The Polar Express' attempts at holiday cheer. It also feels like a deliberate throwback to the 1980s' shrill, silly suburban adventures like The Goonies, so take that either as an endorsement or a warning. 2 stars —Curt Holman
OPEN SEASON (PG) On the heels of Madagascar and The Wild, here's yet another kid-friendly take on the whacky high jinx ensuing when city-bred beasties get thrust into the great outdoors. Martin Lawrence lends his voice to the character of Boog, an overly domesticated grizzly bear who finds it tough going when his owner leaves him to fend for himself in the great outdoors. Lack of creature comforts and an abundance of annoying fellow animals are bad enough (nut-wielding squirrels with Scottish accents, skunks and beavers with attitudes, a needy deer voiced by Aston Kutcher), but the worst threat of all is gun-toting humankind, natch, providing the movie with its obligatory message. The humor here encompasses a familiar mix of the heartwarming, slapstick and poop jokes, and the animation looks much like every other CGI kiddie flick you've seen over the past few years (not a bad thing, but not exactly good, either), but the movie's no better or worse than most of its recent inspirations. If you can get past the disturbing concept of a buddy movie starring four-legged versions of Lawrence and Kutcher, you may even have find yourself having a fairly good time. Also featuring the voices of Debra Mesing, Gary Sinise and Billy Connolly. 3 stars
OVER THE HEDGE (PG-13) Bruce Willis has his most convincing action hero role in some time, supplying the voice for a wily raccoon on a mission. The raccoon hooks up with a community of woodland creatures, leads them to the promised land of suburbia, introduces them to the glories of junk food, and shows them how to snatch the stuff in a series of daring heists. The catch here is that the raccoon has a hidden agenda — to eventually snag all the food for himself (specifically, for a intimidating bear he owes big time) — but, this being DreamWorks' latest PG-rated animation, the proper life lessons kick in just in time to ensure happy endings all around. Over the Hedge won't change anyone's life — the movie lacks the rafters-raising wit of a Shrek or the emotional richness of Pixar's best stuff — but this is solid, second-tier kiddie fare, and an awful lot of fun. Features the voices of Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell and Nick Nolte. 3.5 stars
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (PG-13) Most of the elements that turned the original Pirates of the Caribbean into a surprise hit are in place here, retooled in a more lavish, frenetic Indiana Jones-ish manner that invites us to slam-gaze through an array of exotic locations, head-hunting cannibals, voodoo priestesses, swordfights, bad teeth, brawls, lots of swashbuckling pirates and, of course, zombies, zombies, zombies. This sequel achieves an admirable fusion of adventure, romance and horror that's similar to but not quite as effortless as the brew cooked up by the first film, with fabulous special effects but a story that comes off less like a crisply shaped narrative and more like an assortment of North by Northwest-inspired wild, wild goose chases in which various friends and foes collide while scurrying after a series of red herrings and holy grails. As with the summer's other recent blockbuster, Superman Returns, Pirates is too long by at least a half-hour and takes its sweet time getting going, but once that final hour kicks in, the movie takes off and doesn't look back. The stunts and battles of Pirates get bigger and better, finally achieving serious forward momentum, and the movie's impact finally catches up with its inflated budget. Stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hollander and Jonathan Price. 3.5 stars
A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (PG-13) The off-kilter yet pleasantly homespun America on display in this good-natured collaboration between Robert Altman and Garrison Keillor isn't really a story so much as a series of riffs, routines and odd ends that add up to considerably more than the sum of their parts. Then again, you might also say that the film's collection of small moments, tall tales and off-the-cuff anecdotes is nothing but story. Like so many Altman movies, this one is a wash of detail without concrete beginnings or ends, covering everything from love and death to sugar rushes and shoplifting. A Prairie Home Companion takes place on the set and behind the scenes of a long-running radio variety show in the process of broadcasting its final program. The show's musical guests, comedians and commentators compose a sort of family, both on stage and off, and Altman flits between observing their public performances and the backstage feuds, flings and foibles. The comparisons to Nashville are unavoidable, with A Prairie Home Companion playing like a scaled-down, less ambitious version of that 1975 Altman masterpiece crossed with the more recent and frivolous The Company. The ensemble cast seems to be having a great time together (the chemistry between Harrelson and Reilly is particularly inspired), the overlapping dialogue is quintessential Altman, and most of it plays out in a way that's as effortlessly natural as it is enjoyable. Stars Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Virginia Madsen, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly and Lindsay Lohan. 4 stars
THE PROTECTOR (R) There's a tremendous amount of hype floating around about Thai martial arts artist Tony Jaa being the "New Jackie Chan," or perhaps even the "New Bruce Lee," and most of that hype turns out to be well-deserved. Jaa may not have Lee's raw charisma or Chan's self-deprecating comedic chops but, just on the strength of 2004's Ong Bak and now this quaint little bone-crusher (alternately known as The Warrior King, Tom Yum Goong and Ong Bak 2), there's nobody in contemporary action films that can touch him. The plot of The Protector is pretty simple (even silly) stuff — Jaa plays a simple country lad who travels to Sydney Australia when his prized elephant is stolen by evil thugs — but the energy level is unflagging and the action is frequently spectacular. Jaa faces off against a seemingly endless stream of increasingly lethal opponents in a variety of unusual settings, the highlight of which is an uninterrupted 10-minute tracking shot of our hero fighting his way floor by floor through the bad guys' lair. Also stars Johnny Nguyen, Mum Jokmok and Petchtahi Wongkamlao. 3.5 stars
PULSE (PG-13) Japanese horror movies are still hot, so here's the latest Hollywood remake. Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder suspect they may have stumbled upon a supernatural website in this remake of a 1991 film by Asian auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure). Also stars Christina Milian. (Not Reviewed)
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP (R) Working for the first time from a self-penned script, director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) has created a film that is in almost every way an extension of his daring, ridiculous, and unabashedly cerebral collaborations with acclaimed screenwriter Charlie Kaufman. Gondry's new movie may lack the high-concept hook and metaphysical subtleties of many of Kaufman's projects, but The Science of Sleep's delirious jumbling of fantasy and reality is its own reward — ingenious, provocative and, for much of its running time, a thing of pure beauty. Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Stephane, a graphic designer given to mixing up dreams with reality, and whose hyperactive imagination eventually takes over the movie. The film's lack of a linear structure may sometimes appear to lack cohesiveness, but it's a well-thought-out randomness that mirrors not only the mess of the protagonist's mind ("Fuck organization," he declares at one point), but the way that dreams work in general. Gondry trades here in Bunuel-ian non-sequiturs and communicates some very sophisticated ideas in ways that are extremely clever, yet executed with a certain deliberate primitiveness. (Cameras and cars are likely to be constructed from cardboard, water from sheets of cellophane, and those omnipresent dreams are concocted in a ridiculously lo-fi TV studio, out of a witch's brew of booze, spaghetti and old vinyl records.) There's a love story here as well that doesn't engage us quite as much as it should, but the movie succeeds, sometimes spectacularly, in almost every other way. Also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou-Miou and Pierre Vaneck. 4 stars
SNAKES ON A PLANE (PG-13) The title tells it all (mobsters sneak hundreds of deadly snakes aboard a plane to keep a witness from testifying), but Snakes on a Plane is a genuine phenomenon that's been snowballing for months. Largely thanks to an Internet feeding frenzy, Snakes on a Plane arrives with plenty of hype to live up to — but, luckily for the film, it's the sort of hype that's not particularly demanding. Stars Samuel L. Jackson, Byron Lawson, Kenan Thompson, Rachel Blanchard and Flex Alexander. (Not Reviewed)
STEP-UP (PG-13) A poor, tough Baltimore boy (Channing Tatum) hooks up with a rich ballet dancer (Jenna Dewan) and sparks, as if you couldn't guess, fly. Also stars Rachel Griffiths and Heavy D. (Not Reviewed)
This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2006.