1408 (PG-13, 94 minutes) Somebody found another unadapted Stephen King short story. By law they’ve all got to be made into movies before his death, so here we go again. John Cusack plays an author who specializes in debunking claims of the paranormal. To those ends, he checks into the infamously haunted Dolphin Hotel, whose titular room is supposed to be the site of uncounted deaths. Naturally, this being a horror story and all, our protagonist is beset by assorted physical and psychological terrors. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
A Mighty Heart (R, 100 minutes) Angelina Jolie has gotten a lot of attention for her brave, unglamorous portrayal of Mariane Pearl’s real-life account of searching for her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in Pakistan. The low-key docudrama (directed by 24 Hour Party People’s Michael Winterbottom) thrives on gritty detail, though audiences not already interested in the subject matter may find it a demanding and depressing film. In English, French, Urdu and Arabic with English subtitles. Playing at Vinegar Hill Theatre
Evan Almighty (PG, 90 minutes) The makers of Bruce Almighty give Jim Carrey the boot in order to promote second-string standout Steve Carell. Seems newscaster Evan Baxter (now a U.S. congressman) has been tapped by God himself (Morgan Freeman again) to build an ark in preparation for another great flood. Filmed in our area, this is reportedly the most expensive comedy ever made (at something north of $175 million). Try to ignore that and just enjoy it as a nice, light family comedy with lots of cute animals and a tidy moral message. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Evening (PG-13, 117 minutes) How can you argue with a cast that includes Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close? Based on the novel by Susan Minot, this multigenerational drama explores the romantic past of a dying woman. As her daughters gather around to witness her final moments, she recounts how she met the long-lost love of her life back in the 1950s. This one’s definitely aimed at women in the mood to weep, but the Oscar-filled cast should attract serious attention. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (PG, 89 minutes) The super-powered gang returns, this time squaring off against the cosmic being known as Silver Surfer (sympathetically voiced by Laurence Fishburne), herald to the planet-eating entity Galactus. The Surfer is one of the most interesting character’s in Marvel’s canon, and it’s nice to see him on screen; but director Tim Story (Taxi) still insists on injecting lots of wacky sitcom moments amid the CGI-driven action. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Knocked Up (R, 129 minutes) From the team behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin comes another witty sex comedy. Seth Rogen (“Freaks and Geeks”) is a fun-loving party animal whose life gets turned upside down when a one-night stand (Katherine Heigl from “Grey’s Anatomy”) shows up on his doorstep with the info that she’s pregnant. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
**NEW**License to Wed (PG-13, 90 minutes) Robin Williams is at his most annoying as a wacky priest who subjects an engaged couple (John Krasinski and Mandy Moore) to a series of “relationship challenges” during a grueling marriage preparation course. Krasinski is great in “The Office,” but he’s little more than the straight man for Williams’ over-the-top shenanigans here. Opening Tuesday; check local listings
Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13, 130 minutes) You’d think poor, bedraggled cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) would be tired of saving the world by now, but no. NYC’s favorite supercop returns for the fourth time. For this outing, he’s teamed up with the kid from the Mac/PC commercials (Justin Long) to defeat a cabal of Internet-based terrorists who are systematically shutting down the United States. Realistically, you could probably stop cyber-criminals with a case of Bawls energy drink and a beta test version of Halo 3. McClane, however, goes the heavy caliber weapons and huge explosions route. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Nancy Drew (PG, 99 minutes) Carolyn Keene’s teen sleuth, star of a whole lot of books I never read as a kid (I was really more of an Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators type), gets updated to the 21st century. Emma Roberts (niece to Julia) stars as the famed nosey parker, who accompanies her father on a business trip to Los Angeles, where she happens upon clues to a murder involving a movie star. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Ocean’s Thirteen (PG-13, 113 minutes) George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and crew add one to the guest list and go out pranking for money once again. In this third heist-heavy go-around, the boys are getting even with evil casino owner Al Pacino. Expect plenty of breezy hijinks, a wealth of celebrity in-jokes and a script that is slightly more sensical than the second ridiculous outing. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (PG-13, 168 minutes) After the two-and-a-half-hour cliffhanger that was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest comes the nearly three-hour conclusion. This time, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Keira Knightley have sailed to the ends of the Earth to rescue Johnny Depp. They’re also required to gather a massive pirate army to fight the forces of nastiness and villainy (still embodied by squid-faced Bill Nighy and uptight Tom Hollander). Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Ratatouille (G, 110 minutes) Animation lovers can breathe a sigh of relief. Pixar, the team behind The Incredibles, Toy Story and so much more, returns with another CGI comedy for the whole family. The star is a food-loving rodent living inside a famous Paris bistro who dreams of becoming a world-class chef—not a career path open to most rats. To realize his gastronomic potential, he teams up with a hapless young kitchen helper to wow the cooking world. Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brian Dennehy, Peter O’Toole and Janeane Garofalo are among the voice cast. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Shrek the Third (PG, 93 minutes) Kids and fart-loving adults are welcome for this third gathering of the CGI Shrek cast. Seems that our titular ogre’s father-in-law has fallen ill. Now it’s up to Shrek to assume the throne of the fairy tale-filled kingdom—a job he’d rather not take. The voice cast is getting crowded, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Eric Idle and Justin Timberlake on board for this go-around. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
Sicko (PG-13, 113 minutes) Michael Moore (he of Fahrenheit 9/11 infamy) returns with another rabble-rousing documentary. This one trains its eye on the American health care system (currently ranked 37th in the world by the World Health Organization). Moore contrasts our corporate-controlled, HMO-dominated, pharmaceutical company-backed lack of universal health care with other countries (England, Canada, France and, you heard it right, Cuba), who actually care for their sick and injured. Surprisingly, this is one of Moore’s more apolitical films, offering plenty of health care horror stories with hardly an ambush interview in site. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
Surf’s Up (PG, 85 minutes) If you found the tap-dancing penguins of Happy Feet odd, then the surfing penguins of Surf’s Up will prove equally confusing. This subpar CGI toon (by Sony Pictures) is a basically a remake of old surf documentries like Endless Summer, only with penguins instead of people. The voice cast is fresh. (Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder and James Woods head it up.) But unless you’ve got a burning desire to see what surf legends Kelly Slater and Rob Machado look like as penguins, the film has only minor appeal. Playing at Regal Seminole Square Cinema 4
**NEW**Transformers (PG-13, 144 minutes) The wildly popular toy-line-turned-cartoon-series from the ‘80s returns as a big-budget, big-screen film directed by the man who gave us Bad Boys, The Rock and Armageddon. (At least he knows how to make things blow up real good.) Seems that Earth has been invaded by space robots—some of whom are good, some of whom are bad, all of which can transform into cars and trucks and planes and stuff. Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Jon Voight and Bernie Mac are among the humans caught in the middle of this frenetic, far-fetched but ultimately action-packed war. Opening Tuesday; check local listings
Waitress (PG-13, 107 minutes) In this guilt-free Southern-fried treat, Keri Russell (“Felicity”) stars as an unhappy waitress in a small-town cafe. She’s blessed with an unearthly ability to bake pies, but cursed with an emotionally abusive lout of a hubby (Jeremy Sisto from “Six Feet Under”) and a sudden, unwanted pregnancy. Her life turns around when she meets her obstetrician, though, an awkwardly charming new hunk in town (played by Nathan Fillion of “Firefly” fame). The film occasionally surrenders to its more sitcom-esque moments, but it’s mostly a good-natured, emotionally complex dramedy about pregnancy, infidelity and delicious desserts. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6