February 16, 2006

MOVIES: now playing

Firewall

Trusted bank executive Jack Stanfield has built his career and reputation on designing effective anti-theft computer systems. When a thief takes his family hostage, Jack is forced to find a flaw in his own impenetrable system as well as the thief's plan. Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Robert Patrick, Robert Forster, Alan Arkin, Mary Lynn Rajskub. PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence/105 min.

Curious George

The animated adventures of the inquisitive little monkey with an insatiable taste for adventure. Voice talents of Will Farrell, Drew Barrymore, Eugene Levy, Dick Van Dyke. G/87 min.

Pink Panther

Bumbling Inspector Clousseau is a man whose deductive powers are limited, whose command of the language is frightening, and whose investigative approach is downright dangerous, but he's assigned to solve a murder and recover a legendary ring. Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyonce, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Henry Czerny. PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language/93 min.

Final Destination 3

A teenager has a premonition of a rollercoaster accident. When it happens, those who “cheated death” must deal with the repercussions — namely other awful ways of dying. Ryan Merriman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. R for strong horror violence/gore, language and some nudity/92 min.

White Countess

Sofia is a White Russian countess in her thirties who fled the Bolshevik Revolution as a child. Her immediate family has perished. She now lives in a Shanghai slum with members of her late husband’s aristocratic but impoverished family and her 10-year-old daughter. Jackson, a disillusioned former U.S. diplomat who lost his sight, his wife and his children in the political turmoil of 1930s China, encounters Sofia working at her taxi-dance hall, and asks her to become the centerpiece of his bar. Thus begins a relationship that coaxes Jackson out of his enclosed world, and into the intrigues within Sofia’s family to separate her from her child.

Directed by James Ivory and Produced by Ismail Merchant (their last film before Merchant's death last year) Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lynn Redgrave, Hiroyuki Sanada, John Wood. PG-13 for some violent images and thematic elements/138 min.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

In a bold move to gain a better understanding of the Muslim world, the U.S. government sends comedian Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to find out what makes Muslims laugh. The journey takes him from a concert stage in New Delhi, to the Taj Mahal, to a secret location in the mountains of Pakistan, to a business meeting with Al Jazeera. A comedic view of America's approach towards other cultures. Written and directed by Albert Brooks ("Defending Your Life", "Modern Romance") Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, John Carroll Lynch, Jon Tenney, Fred Dalton Thompson. PG-13 for drug content and brief strong language/98 min.

Nanny McPhee

A woman of unsettling appearance and magical powers enters the employ of the recently widowed Mr. Brown and attempts to tame his exceedingly ill-behaved children. They have already driven away 17 previous nannies, but their vile behavior now leads to swift and rather startling consequences. Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury. PG for mild thematic elements, some rude humor and brief language/ 98 min.

Mrs. Henderson Presents

Based on a true story, a widowed society woman in the 1930s purchases an abandoned West End theater as a means to help her pass the time. She enlists an experienced producer to help create Paris-inspired vaudeville revues which break taboos in the staid English society of the times by featuring artfully posed nude women amidst the musical shenanigans. Directed by Stephen Frears ("High Fidelity", "My Beautiful Launderette"); Starring Bob Hoskins, Judi Dench, Christopher Guest. R for nudity and brief language/114 min.

Brokeback Mountain

Golden Globe Winner Best Drama, Director, Screenplay, Song. The story about a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys, and their lives over the years. Directed by Ang Lee (“Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Ice Storm”) Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Randy Quaid. R for sexuality, nudity, language and some violence/134 min.

Walk the Line

Golden Globe Winner Best Musical or Comedy, Actor Joaquin Phoenix, Actress Reese Witherspoon A chronicle of the life of Johnny Cash, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, and his romance with June Carter.

Directed by James Mangold ("Girl, Interrupted,” "Identity,” "Kate & Leopold") Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick. PG-13 for some language, thematic material and depiction of drug dependency/136 min.

Match Point

Academy Award Nominee min.Best Original Screenplay. A former tennis pro is used to falling just short in his life. But when he befriends an aristocrat, he realizes he may be in reach of a life to which he never could have aspired. But his attraction to a femme fatale could end that dream. Written and Directed by Woody Allen. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton. R for some sexuality/124 min.

Freedomland

A white woman claims a black man carjacked her car with her four year old son in the backseat. This ignites long-simmering tensions between two communties in a blue collar town and the nearby projects. Julianne Moore, Samuel L. Jackson, Edie Falco, William Forsythe. R for language and some violent content/113 min.

Eight Below

A scientific expedition is forced to leave behind their team of beloved sled dogs due to an unexpected accident and perilous weather conditions in Antarctica. The dogs struggle to survive alone in the intense frozen wilderness until a rescue is attempted. Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood. PG for some peril and brief mild language/120 min.

Date Movie

Before a couple can have their "Big Fat Greek Wedding," they'll have to "Meet the Parents;" hook-up with the "The Wedding Planner," and contend with the groom's friend — a spectacularly beautiful woman who wants to put an end to her "Best Friend's Wedding." Alyson Hannigan, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Adam Campbell. PG-13 for continuous crude and sexual humor including language/80 min.