American Dreamz (PG-13, 107 minutes) Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy, In Good Company) delivers this ripe parody of American politics and pop culture. Seems that an unpopular American President (Dennis Quaid) wants a bit of publicity, so he signs on to appear as guest judge for a mega-popular, “American Idol”-style singing contest. Little does he know that Muslim terrorists have seeded the show with a singing suicide bomber. The humor is broad and cartoonish, but Hugh Grant does strike a chord as the show’s mean-spirited host. (Devin O’Leary) Coming Friday; check local listings
ATL (PG-13, 105 minutes) Four friends prepare for life after high school, each taking a different life path in this rap-fueled inner city drama/comedy. Cast includes assorted rappers-turned-actors like Big Boi, Bone Crusher and Jazze Pha. ATL stands for Atlanta, by the way. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Benchwarmers (PG-13, 80 minutes) A trio of dorky dudes (David Spade, Rob Schneider and Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder) try to make up for their pathetic childhoods by forming a three-man baseball team to compete against standard Little League teams. This one’s only funny if you like the lamest of output from Adam Sandler’s drinking buddies. (It’s written by Alan Covert, who gave us the glory of Grandma’s Boy.) (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (PG, 140 minutes) C.S. Lewis’ Christian-Lite parable about four children who travel through a magical wardrobe cabinet to a fantasy land caught in a war between an evil witch and a messianic lion goes live-action (mostly). The film relies a bit heavily on the CG effects, not all of which are entirely convincing. (The film has a too clean, too manufactured look about it.) Director Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Shrek 2) doesn’t quite have Peter Jackson’s (Lord of the Rings) skill with this sort of material. As a result, the film reads like a juvenile version of Return of the King. Still, kids will probably surrender to the film’s seductive aura of magic and wonderment. (D.O.) Playing through Thursday at Jefferson Theater
Duma (PG, 100 minutes) A young South African boy befriends an orphaned cheetah cub in this harmless, live-action flick inspired by Disney’s old true-life adventure tales. The animals are more interesting than the people, ultimately. Think The Yearling, but with fangs. From the director of Fly Away Home. (D.O.) Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Failure to Launch (PG-13, 97 minutes) Matthew McConaughey plays a 30something slacker dude who refuses to move out of his parents’ house. Naturally, Mom and Dad hire a freelance relationship interventionist (a what?) played by Sarah Jessica Parker. See, she tricks men into falling in love with her, so they’ll grow up and move out of their parents’ houses. Then she dumps them. (Where exactly was this career field on high school job day?) Of course, since this is a romantic comedy, our girl actually falls for our guy. Now, all we have to do is wait around for the reveal of the Big Lie, followed by the inevitable Bad Breakup, trailed shortly by the Tearful Public Reunion. Too bad the film’s charismatic stars are wedded to such a generic romcom script. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Ice Age: The Meltdown (PG, 90 minutes) Gee, that was a pretty short ice age. Seems that the Earth is now warming back up again, and our heroes, the mastodon, the saber-toothed tiger, the sloth and the squirrel thing, must find a new home to live in. Queen Latifah, Jay Leno and Seann William Scott add their voices to the cast this time around. If your kids were entertained by the first one, they’ll be entertained by this one. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Inside Man (R, 129 minutes) Spike Lee tries his hand at a more mainstream thriller with this intermittently successful heist drama. A gang of bank robbers led by Clive Owen takes over a bank in Manhattan. Hostage negotiator Denzel Washington is called in to handle the situation. Naturally, there are lots of twists and turns along the way as the bank robbers scheme to get out with the dough. Do they have a secret plan? Will it be patently obvious to most viewers? Washington does good work (and Jodie Foster drops by for a short time), but Lee isn’t quite prepared for this sort of adrenaline-filled cinema. At least he avoids some of the more egregious genre clichés. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (PG-13, 90 minutes) So…um…I’m trying to work this out. He’s Larry the Cable Guy, but he’s a health inspector. Why didn’t they just make him a cable guy? O.K., clearly I’m overthinking this. Here we have redneck comedian (or “blue-collar comedian” if you prefer) Larry the Cable Guy in his first feature film. If you think Larry’s catchphrase “git-r-done” is hilarious, you’ll probably bust a gut at this film’s fine selection of fart and poop jokes. Still, it would be a lot funnier sitting at home on the couch with a six-pack of Stroh’s. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Lucky Number Slevin (R, 109 minutes) Scotsman Paul McGuigan (Gangster No. 1) contributes this crazed crime story about a case of mistaken identity that leaves a down-on-his luck slob (Josh Hartnett) stuck in the middle of a gang war between Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman (scary). To make matters worse, he’s being pursued by an infamous assassin (Bruce Willis). Our boy Slevin’s situation is slightly ameliorated by the attentions of Lucy Liu, but the body count continues to rise. At times the film becomes wrapped up in its own twisty cleverness—which is wedged somewhere between the filmy smartness of Hitchcock and the showy self-awareness of Tarantino. Still, it’s a hell of zippy ride. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Phat Girlz (PG-13, 100 minutes) It’s got a “ph” and a “z” in the title, so you know you’re in for some wacky fun. Mo’Nique (“Moesha”) stars as an aspiring plus-size fashion designer struggling to find love and acceptance. Her dreams get a bit closer when she meets a handsome African gentleman who comes from a culture that reveres women of size. Come prepared for lots and lots of “full-bodied lady” jokes. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Scary Movie 4 (PG-13) David Zucker (who pioneered this sort of spoofy genre back in 1980 with Airplane!) returns for yet another outing in the Scary Movie franchise. Anna Faris returns as well as the intrepid reporter trying to find out why so many wacky things are happening. There are send-ups of Saw, The Grudge, War of the Worlds, and others too numerous to count. Expect plenty of cameos as well, including a fairly clever sequence involving Shaquille O’Neal and Dr. Phil. The rest revolves around the usual lowbrow sex and potty humor that the kids so dearly love. (D.O.) Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
The Sentinel (PG-13) Kiefer Sutherland, taking time off from his TV gig as a government agent in a frantic race to save the president from assassination, signs on for this theatrical thriller as a government agent in a frantic race to save the president from assassination. Michael Douglas is Sutherland’s foil and former mentor, a disgraced special agent to the White House, who is being framed in the murderous conspiracy (or is he?). Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”) tags along for eye candy. (D.O.) Coming Friday; check local listings
She’s the Man (PG-13, 105 minutes) Although it’s based loosely on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, this teen romcom probably owes more to the immortal ’80s comedy Just One of the Guys (what, you didn’t have Showtime in 1986?). Amanda Bynes (from Nickelodeon’s “The Amanda Show”) stars as a teen who dreams of plaing soccer. Naturally, when her brother heads off to London for a couple of weeks, she disguises herself as him and starts attending his elite prep school dressed in drag. Over the course of this preposterous charade, she falls in love with one of her teammates, setting off a series of hopelessly tangled love affairs. (Seriously, rent Just One of the Guys from Netflix. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Silent Hill (R) For those of you who already have BloodRayne and Doom on DVD (or, more likely, PSP), here’s the latest videogame to make the leap to the silver screen. Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black) stars as a woman searching for her sick daughter in the creepy, fog-enshrouded environs of a mysteriously deserted town. (Deserted, of course, except for all the demons, monsters, ghosts and what-have-you.) At least Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead, BloodRayne) is not involved. French director Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) lends some polish to the rather predictable goings on. (D.O.) Coming Friday; check local listings
Stick It (PG-13, 105 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.) Coming Friday; check local listings
Take the Lead (PG-13, 108 minutes) Reviewed on page 48. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Thank You For Smoking (R, 92 minutes) Reviewed on page 48. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
V for Vendetta (R, 132 minutes) This adaptation of the cult comic book by Alan Moore and David Lloyd comes to us courtesy of writers/producers the Wachowski brothers. Don’t let the lingering funk of The Matrix Revolutions scare you off, though. This tight, dystopian thriller is a must-see for comic book fans. Hugo Weaving (The Lord of the Rings) plays a mysterious masked figure named V, who seeks to overthrow a totalitarian government in near-future London. Natalie Portman plays the poor waif who gets caught in our anti-hero’s complex plot. The dialogue is, of course, sluggish and ultraphilosophical (it comes courtesy of the Wachowskis, after all), but the plot is timely and the action is adrenalized. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Walk the Line (PG-13, 136 minutes) Joaquin Phoenix gives everything he can to the role of country music legend Johnny Cash, even going so far as to sing his own tunes. Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon follows close behind as Cash’s longtime love June Carter. The romantic/contentious relationship between Cash and Carter is effectively the highlight of the film and plays off some good chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon. At the end of the day, though, the film is a conventional biopic that takes a bit too much mystery out of one of music’s darkest outlaws. (D.O.) Playing through Thursday at Jefferson Theater
The Wild (G, 94 minutes) Despite the fact that this computer-animated toon features a group of animals (including a lion and a giraffe) escaping from the New York City Zoo and making a madcap trek to the wilds of Africa, Disney would like to inform you that this is nothing like last year’s Madagascar. Which, of course, it is. The voice cast (including Kiefer Sutherland, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard and William Shatner) has fun at least, and there are enough fart jokes to keep the kids laughing. (D.O.) Playing at Regal Semionole Square Cinema 4