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 Diamond (R, 138 minutes) Leonardo DiCaprio stars as an opportunistic South African smuggler who teams up with an enslaved farmer (Djimon Hounsou) to hunt down a fabulous pink diamond. With the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), the two men embark on a quest that could return one man to his family and offer great wealth to the other. Amid the adventure and thrills are some pointed comments about Africa’s unscrupulous diamond industry. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 6
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
Code Name: The Cleaner (PG-13, 91 minutes) Lucy Liu and Nicollette Sheridan join Cedric The Entertainer in a story about an amnesiac janitor who believes he is an undercover agent. Don’t expect this film to clean up at the Oscars. Playing at Regal Downtown Mall 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
The Departed (R, 149 minutes) Martin Scorsese seriously reworks the 2002 Hong Kong hit Infernal Affairs, transferring the intense cops-and-robbers action from the Far East to the East Coast. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a fresh recruit from the Boston Police Academy who is put deep undercover in an Irish mob run by flamboyant gangster Jack Nicholson. At the same time, Nicholson has got his own undercover agent (Matt Damon) operating inside the police department. Much bloodshed erupts when our two moles are dispatched to find out each other’s identities. 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
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
Happily N’Ever After (PG) No, that’s not a typo in the title, and yes, this is the latest animated flick with celebrity voices. This one’s about a gang of evil-doers who wish to capture Fairy Tale Land, and Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar and, um, Gerge Carlin are just a few of the bodiless stars. Playing at Carmike Cinema 6
Happy Feet (G, 87 minutes) Wouldn’t March of the Penguins have been so much more interesting if the birds could sing and tap-dance? Well, that’s the premise of this CGI musical featuring the voices of Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Brittany Murphy, Hugo Weaving and Robin Williams. (Couldn’t rehab have kept Robin out of at least a few movies this year?) 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. Coming Friday; check local listings
The Holiday (PG-13, 138 minutes) Two romance-hungry ladies (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) engage in a cross-continent home swap for the holidays. In America, Winslet meets Jack Black, while in England, Diaz hooks up with Jude Law. Another star-driven RomCom from writer/director by Nancy Meyers (What Women Want, Something’s Gotta Give). Playing at Carmike Cinema 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
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
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