Alpha Dog (R, 117 minutes) Mr. Sexy Back himself, Justin Timberlake, stars in this controversial crime drama based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a notorious drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. Hollywood is still on trial, so prosecutors wanted the film pulled from release. Guess they didn’t get their wish. Hot young cast includes Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Lukas Hass and Emile Hirsch (who despite the Timberlake publicity actually headlines as our Jesse James Hollywood substitute). Hot older cast includes Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone. There’s plenty of energy on display, but the film isn’t very insightful. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Arthur and the Invisibles (NR, 102 minutes) Frenchy Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element) ditches gun-toting females for a sec to bring us this kiddie fantasy about a 10-year-old boy (Freddie Highmore, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) who goes on a treasure hunt to save his grandfather’s house from demolition. The film is a unique mixture of live-action and CGI as Arthur is shrunk to micro-size and enters the land of the Minimoys, tiny people living in harmony with nature. Madonna, David Bowie and Snoop Dogg are among the voice cast. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Blood and Chocolate (PG-13, 98 minutes) Slightly classier-looking than your average teen horror movie, this flick (from German director Katja von Garnier) tells the story of a teenage werewolf (Agnes Bruckner, Blue Car) torn between honoring her family’s secret and her love for a hunky young dude (Hugh Dancy, King Arthur). Based on the book by teen lit writer Annette Curtis Klause. 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. Coming Friday; check local listings
Charlotte’s Web (G, 96 minutes) This live-action adaptation of E.B. White’s much-beloved book stars adorable Dakota Fanning as plucky farm gal Fern whose pet pig Wilbur conspires with a wise spider to avoid a one-way trip to the dinner table. The requisite all-star cast (Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Kathy Bates, Cedric the Entertainer, Reba McEntire, André Benjamin, Robert Redford) is on hand to provide cute animal voices. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Children of Men (R, 109 minutes) Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, who’s given us everything from Y Tu Mamá También to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, helms this low-tech sci-fi film set in the year 2027. Seems that in this polluted, dystopic future, mankind has lost the ability to procreate. Clive Owen (Inside Man, Sin City) is a reformed activist who agrees to help transport a mysteriously pregnant woman (multiple Oscar nominee Julianne Moore) to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save mankind. Based on the novel by P.D. James. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Curse of the Golden Flower (R, 114 minutes) Director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) sticks with the epic historical action films. This one takes place in 10th century China where the Emperor (Chow Yun-Fat, The Killer) and the Empress (Gong Li, Memoirs of a Geisha) are involved in a vicious power struggle, highlighted by betrayals, affairs and all-out assassination attempts. There’s a bit more Shakespearean drama in this film, making it a sometimes uneven combo of Yimou’s recent action flicks and his emotional early efforts (Raise the Red Lantern, To Live). Even if the complex melodrama is hard to follow at times, it looks ravishing from start to finish. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
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. Coming Friday; check local listings
Eragon (PG, 103 minutes) Based on the juvenile fantasy series by Christopher Paolini, this epic fantasy follows the adventures of an orphaned farm boy (newbie Edward Speleers) who finds a rare dragon’s egg, and uses his magical new friend to overthrow your basic evil king (John Malkovich). Jeremy Irons is in there too, bringing back uncomfortable memories of Dungeons & Dragons. Expect multiple sequels. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Freedom Writers (P6-13, 123 minutes) Veteran screenwriter Richard LaGravenese takes a stab at directing in this latest instalment in the miracle-worker-teacher genre. Hilary Swank stars as a teacher who brings her disadvantaged and racially divided students together. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
The Good Shepherd (R, 160 minutes) Robert De Niro finally gets around to directing another film (after 1993’s A Bronx Tale). This one’s a detailed drama about the formation of the Central Intelligence Agency. Matt Damon plays an idealistic young man recruited to become the prototypical superspy. Angelina Jolie is his unsuspecting wife who watches her husband grow more paranoid and jaded as the Cold War wears on. The tone is grave and the pacing measured, but De Niro has created a Godfather-like saga about the Powers That Be. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
The Hitcher (R, 90 minutes) For teenagers and people with very short memories comes a remake of the 1986 thriller starring Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell. The original, about a serial killing hitchhiker, was fairly preposterous to begin with. That didn’t stop music video director Dave Meyers from recasting it with Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) as the bad guy and Sophia Bush ("One Tree Hill") as the (now female) victim. 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
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
The Painted Veil (PG-13, 125 minutes) In this adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novel, an unhappy wife (Naomi Watts) is dragged to a cholera-afflicted Chinese province in the ’20s by her husband (Edward Norton) after becoming embroiled in a life-changing affair. This visually lush, emotionally bitter drama was shot once before in 1934 with Greta Garbo as the lead. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
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 kid’s film. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Primeval (R, 94 minutes) The incredibly misleading commercials would have you believe this is a based-on-a-true-story horror flick about the “most prolific serial killer in history.” It is based on a true story, but what the commercials fail to mention is that the killer in question is an African crocodile. Yup, it’s a chintzy Sci-Fi Channel-style movie about a big crocodile. But, if you’re a major fan of Alligator, Eaten Alive, The Great Alligator, Crocodile, Krocodylus, Lake Placid, Killer Crocodile and other such Crocodilia-based monster movies, you may find something to sink your teeth into. Playing at Carmike Cinema 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 Seminole Square Cinema 4
The Queen (PG-13, 118 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. An absorbing appeal for governmental sympathy in an era when many leaders seem content to simply fiddle while Rome burns (Hurricane? What hurricane?). 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 satisfying in a mid-’90s “wish I was John Woo” kind of way. Coming Friday; check local listings
Stomp the Yard (PG-13, 114 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. Unless you went to a primarily African-American college in the southern U.S. you’ve probably never heard of step-dancing. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
We are Marshall (PG, 127 minutes) This inspirational sports drama is based on the true, tragic story of a 1970 plane crash that wiped out nearly all of the Marshall University football team. Despite some emotional oposition, the team’s new coach (Matthew McConaughey) tries to revive the team as well as the spirits of his traumatized community. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6