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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 2, 2007

OPENING
American Gangster ***

Two of Hollywood's biggest stars go head-to-head in this tale about a New York cop (Russell Crowe) on the trail of a Harlem drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) in the 1970s. Review, Page 4. 157 minutes (R; violence, pervasive drug content and profanity, nudity and sexuality)

Bee Movie **

Jerry Seinfeld and Renee Zellweger provide voices in this animated tale about a busy bee who sets off to sue the human race for stealing honey. Review, Page 5. 90 minutes (PG; mild suggestive humor)
Martian Child **

John Cusack stars as a widowed sci-fi writer who forms an unlikely family with a close friend (Amanda Peet) and a troubled boy who's in need of a home. Review, Page 5. 108 minutes (PG; mild profanity)

Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (not reviewed)

The DNA of a 3,000-year-old mummy may help researchers gain insight into human genetics and new medical treatments. 40 minutes (not rated)

TAMPA THEATRE

A historic film house at 711 Franklin St. in downtown Tampa; (813) 274-8981. Tickets for regular screenings: $8.50 adults; $6.50 seniors age 55 and older, military, students, children 12 and younger. Weekend matinees: $6.50. Admission includes pre-show Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ mini-concert.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (not reviewed)

A heartbroken man (Patrick Fugit) slits his wrists and then finds himself in a purgatory occupied by other suicide victims. 88 minutes (R; profanity and disturbing content involving suicide)

Show times: 7:30 p.m. today; 3, 5:15, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday; 3, 5:15 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

STILL IN TOWN

Across the Universe **½

Inspired by the music of the Beatles, director Julie Taymor's sprawling musical starring Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess is visually imaginative but frequently plays like a bad night at a karaoke bar. 134 minutes (PG-13; drug content, nudity, sexuality and violence)

The Alps (not reviewed)

A mountain climber attempts to scale the Swiss mountain where his father died in this adventure-documentary, filmed in glorious Imax. 45 minutes. (Not rated)

Bella (not reviewed)

An ex-professional soccer player (Eduardo Verastegui) goes to work in a restaurant and finds himself drawn to a waitress (Tammy Blanchard), who recently learned she is pregnant. 100 minutes (PG-13; disturbing images)

The Bourne Ultimatum ***½

Amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) gets closer to answering some burning questions about his murky past in this third installment of the series based on Robert Ludlum's novels. Despite the requisite car chases and fistfights, this is the rare action movie with a brain. 110 minutes. (PG-13; violence and intense action)

The Brave One **½

Jodie Foster channels Travis Bickle in this vigilante story of a woman who goes on a killing spree after thugs attack and kill her fiance (Naveen Andrews of 'Lost'). 108 minutes (R violence, profanity, sexuality)

The Comebacks (not reviewed)

A comedy that spoofs the best inspirational sports movies including 'Rocky,' 'Remember the Titans,' and 'Field of Dreams.' 84 minutes (PG-13; sexual content, some drug use)

Dan in Real Life **

A widowed advice columnist (Steve Carell), struggling to raise his three daughters, complicates his life by falling for a woman (Juliette Binoche) who turns out to be his brother's girlfriend. 95 minutes (PG-13; innuendo)

The Darjeeling Limited **

Three disgruntled brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrian Brody and Jason Schwartzman) set off on a train trip across India to find themselves, renew their bond and make peace with their self-involved parents. 91 minutes (R; profanity)

Death at a Funeral **

Matthew Macfadyen ('Pride & Prejudice') tries to keep his sanity when chaos reigns and secrets are threatened to be revealed at his father's funeral. Frank Oz directs this British farce. 90 minutes (R; profanity, drug content)

El Cantante **

Real-life lovebirds Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez star in a biopic about the King of Salsa, Hector Lavoe. The Puerto Rican singer enjoyed huge success in the United States during the 1970's, despite a tumultuous personal life and drug addiction. 116 minutes. (R; drug use, pervasive profanity and sexuality)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age *½

Cate Blanchett reprises her regal role as Queen Elizabeth I for this lavish mixture of historical fact, romance-novel melodrama and ornate costumery. 115 minutes (PG-13; violence, sexuality and nudity)

Feel the Noise (not reviewed)

A South Bronx man (Omarion Grandberry) dreams of making it big as a rapper, until a run-in with thugs forces him to hide in Puerto Rico with his estranged father. 87 minutes (PG-13; sensuality and innuendo, violence, drug use and profanity)

The Game Plan **

The Rock stars as a quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle until he discovers he has a 7-year-old daughter from a one-night stand. 110 minutes (PG)

Gone Baby Gone ****

Two Boston private investigators get drawn into a complex child kidnapping case in actor Ben Affleck's directorial debut. 114 minutes (R; violence, drug content, profanity)

Good Luck Chuck (not reviewed)

Dane Cook plays a dentist under a curse - every woman he sleeps with will marry the next man she dates. When he falls for accident-prone Cam (Jessica Alba), he must find a way to break the curse. 96 minutes (R; strong sexuality, nudity, profanity and drug use)

Hairspray **½

John Travolta (in drag) and newcomer Nikki Blonsky star in the latest adaptation of a 1988 movie that went on to become a Broadway hit. Blonsky stars as Tracy Turnblad, a pleasantly plump teen who challenges stereotypes when she is chosen to dance on a popular 1960's television show. Christopher Walken, Zack Efron, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer and Brittany Snow also star. 107 minutes. (PG; profanity, suggestive content and teen smoking)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ***

Nobody believes Harry or Dumbledore when they say Lord Voldemort has returned to Hogwarts, so it's up to Harry and his pals to go to battle. In addition to main characters Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, the movie stars Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter. (Reviewed by Kevin Walker.) 138 minutes. (PG-13; fantasy violence and frightening images)

The Heartbreak Kid **

Days into his honeymoon, a man (Ben Stiller) discovers his new bride is a nightmare and begins wooing another - the girl of his dreams. 115 minutes (R; strong sexual content, crude humor, profanity and drug use)

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry *

Two straight firefighters from Brooklyn (Adam Sandler and Kevin James) pretend to be gay in order to receive domestic partner benefits. When their relationship is challenged, the duo hires an attractive (maybe too attractive) lawyer played by Jessica Biel. 140 minutes. (PG-13; crude sexual content, nudity, profanity and drug references)

In the Valley of Elah **½

Vietnam vet Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) joins forces with a police detective (Charlize Theron) to discover what happened to his son, a soldier who goes AWOL after returning from Iraq and is later found dead. 120 minutes (R; violent and disturbing content, profanity, sexuality and nudity)

Into the Wild ***½

Actor Sean Penn wrote and directed this film about the true story of Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a young man who leaves his middle class existence for an adventure in Alaskan wilderness. 150 minutes (R; profanity and nudity)

The Kingdom **½

A team of FBI agents (Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper) travel to Saudi Arabia to determine who was behind a massive, deadly bombing at an American oil-company compound in Riyadh. 110 minutes (R; intense sequences of graphic brutal violence and profanity)

Lars and the Real Girl ***

His family is appalled but accommodating when an awkward, delusional man (Ryan Gosling) brings home the woman of his dreams - a sex doll he purchased on the Internet. 106 minutes (PG-13; profanity, adult themes)

Lust, Caution **½

A young woman gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure in this thriller directed by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. In Mandarin with English subtitles. 157 minutes (NC-17; sex, nudity, violence, profanity)

Michael Clayton ***

George Clooney shows range as a 'fixer' at a prestigious New York law firm who copes with mounting professional and personal complications in this smart, cynical thriller. 118 minutes (R; profanity and sexual dialogue)

Mr. Bean's Holiday **

The bumbling Brit (Rowan Atkinson) tours France in his second big-screen adventure, leaving comic devastation in his wake. 90 minutes (G)

Mr. Woodcock (not reviewed)

A self-help author (Seann William Scott) returns to his hometown to find his mom has fallen for his arch enemy - a junior high school gym teacher (Billy Bob Thornton) who tormented him mercilessly. 87 minutes. (PG-13; crude humor, sexual content, profanity, drug references)

The Nanny Diaries **

Scarlett Johansson, astonishingly credible as an ordinary human being, stumbles into a nanny gig for a well-heeled Manhattan couple whose son is a real brat. To absolutely no one's surprise, capricious demands and embarrassing pratfalls ensue. Strong cast includes Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti. 105 minutes (PG-13; profanity)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (not reviewed)

Director Tim Burton's popular 1993 animated musical film about the inhabitants of Halloween Town taking over Christmas has become a holiday favorite. Features music by Danny Elfman. 86 minutes (PG)

No Reservations **½

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a hotshot New York chef, has her carefully scheduled life thrown into disarray when a young niece, played by Abigail Breslin ('Little Miss Sunshine'), comes to stay. Things only go more askew when Kate falls for a hunky sous chef, played by Aaron Eckhart. 103 minutes. (PG; sexuality and profanity)

Ratatouille ***

A young rat with culinary aspirations and a cook desperate to keep his job team up to create the best ratatouille in Paris in this animated family film by Disney Pixar. Cast of voices includes Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Peter O'Toole and Janeane Garofalo. 110 minutes. (G)

Rendition **

A woman (Reese Witherspoon) desperately tries to track down her Egyptian-born husband after he becomes a terrorism suspect, while a CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaall) questions his assignment to assist in the man's unorthodox interrogation. 122 minutes (R; violence, torture, profanity)

Resident Evil: Extinction (not reviewed)

The third movie based on the popular video game has survivors of Raccoon City trying to get to Alaska when Alice (Mila Jovovich) joins their fight to stop the evil zombie virus. 95 minutes (R; strong horror violence and nudity)

Saw IV (not reviewed)

Demented killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) returns to inflict more pain and also target the last police officer to touch his case, SWAT commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent). 108 minutes (R; grisly violence, torture and profanity)

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (not reviewed)

Stunning photo-realistic computer-generated animation transports audiences back to the Late Cretaceous period, when a great inland ocean divided North America in two. 40 minutes (Not rated)

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (not reviewed)

Based on the Susan M. Cooper novels, a child living in a British village learns he's the last of a line of immortal warriors and must confront The Rider, a black knight whose goal is to spread evil throughout the universe. 94 minutes (PG; fantasy action and scary images)

Stardust ***

This fairy tale for grown-ups follows the adventures of a star that falls from the sky in the form of an ethereal blond named Yvaine (Claire Danes), whose magical abilities make her the target of various people with nefarious plans. Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Charlie Cox also star. 125 minutes. (PG-13; fantasy violence and some risque humor)

The Ten Commandments (not reviewed)

Elliot Gould is the voice of God and Christian Slater is Moses in this animated telling of a story about an ordinary man with an extraordinary calling. 88 minutes (PG; mild peril)

Things We Lost in the Fire ***

A recent widow (Halle Berry) invites her husband's troubled friend (Benicio Del Toro) to live with her and her two children. As he turns his life around, he helps them cope with and confront their loss. 113 minutes (R; drug content and profanity)

30 Days of Night (not reviewed)

Josh Hartnett stars in this gory horror movie about vampires who get smart and attack a town above the Arctic Circle in the dead of winter, knowing that the sun won't rise again for a month. 113 minutes (R; extreme violence, profanity and gore)

3:10 to Yuma ***½

A rancher (Christian Bale) and an outlaw (Russell Crowe) form an unlikely alliance in this remake of the 1957 cult classic from director James Mangold ('Walk the Line'). 117 minutes (R; violence and profanity)

Transformers **

In this live-action film based on the popular 1980s cartoon, rival robotic clans the Autobots (good guys) and the Decepticons (bad guys) engage in a war that threatens all of mankind. Earth's only chance for survival lies in the hands of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBoeuf), a young man whose first car turns out to be an Autobot in disguise. 144 minutes. (PG-13; intense action violence, brief sexual humor and profanity)

Underdog (not reviewed)

A laboratory mishap gives a beagle superpowers. Jason Lee ('My Name is Earl') voices the floppy-eared pooch who fights crime and sniffs butts. Kids and grownups are sure to find big laughs in this live-action Disney flick. 84 minutes. (PG; rude humor, mild profanity and action)

We Own the Night **

Joaquin Phoenix plays a black-sheep brother from a family of policemen who runs a nightspot from which Russians operate their drug business in 1980s New York. His cop-brother (Mark Wahlberg) and cop-dad (Robert Duvall) try to enlist him to spy on his clientele, forcing Phoenix's prodigal son to choose between crime and justice. 117 minutes (R; strong violence, drug material, profanity, sexual content and brief nudity)

Why Did I Get Married? (not reviewed)

Big-screen adaptation of Tyler Perry's stage play about a marriage that's put to the test when a sexy young temptress enters the mix. 113 minutes (PG-13; mature themes, sexual references and profanity)

Listing compiled from Tribune wires and staff reports; Associated Press critics' ratings are out of four stars.

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