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By The Tampa Tribune | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 7, 2008

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE

Cate Blanchett scored a surprise Oscar nomination for this sequel to 1998's "Elizabeth," again directed by Shekhar Kapur, which otherwise failed to wow either critics or audiences — a waste of some great costumes and an inspired supporting cast that includes Samantha Morton as Mary Queen of Scots, Clive Owen's dashing Sir Walter Raleigh and a returning Geoffrey Rush as the scheming Francis Walsingham.

PG-13; 114 minutes

2 DAYS IN PARIS

Actress Julie Delpy ("Before Sunrise") makes her feature-length writing and directing debut with this tense comedy about a bickering couple (Delpy and Adam Goldberg) whose relationship reveals its fraying edges during a visit to her hometown. Adding to the awkwardness are her parents (played by Delpy's real-life parental units, actors Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy) and culture clashes of the Franco-American variety.

R; 104 minutes

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Julie Taymor, whose previous directing credits include "Frida" and the stage version of "The Lion King," brings her dramatic visual style to bear on the Beatles songbook in this jukebox musical, in which the 1960s-era characters and situations are all either inspired by or allude to a song (or two or three). The mixed results range from inspired interpretation to unforgivably long psychedelic music video.

PG-13; 133 minutes

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD

This moody, revisionist Western aspires to be something more than your average shoot-'em-up, as evidenced by the extra long running time and title, as well as a general lack of on-screen action. Brad Pitt is well cast as the bad boy superstar of his era, but it's Casey Affleck who got the Oscar nod for his role as the obsessive sycophant who famously shoots his idol in the back.

R; 160 minutes

THE BRAVE ONE

In spite of its A-list pedigree — a cast led by Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard; direction by Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game") — and attempts at moral complexity, this drama is unable to fully escape its roots in the revenge-fantasy genre. Foster is an easygoing radio host who turns vigilante after losing her fiance to an act of violence; Howard is the cop who tries to save her soul.

R; 90 minutes

THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB

The latest Austen spinoff — adapted from the popular novel by Karen Joy Fowler — follows the members of a book club as they find answers to life's problems in the pages of "Pride and Prejudice," "Persuasion," etc. The movie, which stars Amy Brenneman, Maria Bello, Kathy Baker and a few other demographically diverse actresses, is more Lifetime than "Masterpiece Theatre," wrapping each narrative thread into an improbably neat little bow.

PG-13; 106 minutes

Synopses by Amanda Henry; ratings from The Associated Press

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