originally published March 21, 2007

300

(R) A rock and roll historical epic engaging to the modern teenage sensibility, the titular 300 are the hulked out citizen-soldiers led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), that smash and grab glory from defeat at the arrowheads of the million-man Persian army lorded over by god-king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Stunning to behold, 300 not only claims itself king of the stylistic mountain, it carves its own mountain from solid stone as director Zack Snyder painstakingly renders Frank Miller’s bold panels in three dimensions. 300 reminds me of why I go to the movies and don’t just stay home basking in the cathode rays of television’s finest hours. Such an imposing refinement of Sparta’s monumental sacrifice, one of history’s great last stands, could not be achieved anywhere save the big screen. If Leonidas and his Spartans wanted their sacrifice to be remembered, 300 makes them unforgettable. (Beechwood, Carmike)

BLOOD DIAMOND

(R) Blood Diamond, an action movie with a conscience directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), intervenes in the civil war fought between the government and the RUF in Sierra Leone. Diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and fisherman Solomon (Djimon Hounsou), journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) in tow, struggle across the war-torn country in search of a huge diamond. An engaging, topical action film reinvigorates the genre. (Georgia Square 5); Shows Friday, 3/23–Sunday, 3/25 (Tate)

BREACH

(PG-13) Based on the true story of the greatest security breach in U.S. history, the film traces the career of FBI agent-wannabe Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe) after he is handpicked to clerk for über-agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper). Strong performances here from the world-weary Cooper and Laura Linney. A competent, engaging character study-cum-spy movie, that nevertheless seems dated by its musty Cold War aroma. [Margaret Moore] (Beechwood)

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA

(PG) Real magic lies at the heart of Bridge to Terabithia. To combat the school bullies, Jess (Josh Hutcherson) and new girl Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb), forge an idyllic childhood friendship by creating a kingdom across the river running behind their homes. The land of Terabithia may only exist in Jess and Leslie’s minds, but the film brings their fantastical creatures to life with well-crafted CGI and the power of the audience’s own imagination. (Beechwood)

CHARLOTTE’S WEB

(G) E.B. White’s classic gets a live-action makeover. Fern (Dakota Fanning) still saves Wilbur (Dominic Scott Kay). Charlotte (Julia Roberts) and her erudite webs still enable Wilbur to see December’s snow. Charlotte’s Web, some terrific, radiant, humble family film, wins the blue ribbon. (Georgia Square 5)

DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS

(PG-13) Tyler Perry's latest, Daddy’s Little Girls, sorely misses his flagship character Madea. We could certainly use some of Madea’s broadly comic antics to relieve just an ounce of the tension from the ultra-dramatic struggles of single father Monty (Idris Elba, “The Wire”) to keep his three cute, non-actor kids out of the hands of his horrid ex-wife and her drug dealer boyfriend. The laughs are either forced or nonsensical. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

DEAD SILENCE

(R) See Flick Skinny. The writers (James Wan and Leigh Whannel) and director (Wan) of Saw have made the year’s most disappointing horror flick. These guys looked like geniuses when they helped create the new gorno industry along with Eli Roth - the maestro behind Hostel - and fashioned the best post-Scream slasher franchise. With this nonsensical, ludicrous ghost story about a slain ventriloquist who uses dolls to rip the tongues from her screaming victims, the pair cooked up a greasy, cheesy slice of horribly-written, worse-acted Z-grade horror (the best actor of the bunch is the lesser of the two acting Wahlbergs, Donnie). At least Whannel can boast of writing Saw II and III, two perfectly acceptable genre entries; Dead Silence, Wan’s first directorial effort since the original Saw, makes Darren Lynn Bousman’s work on Jiggy’s second and third outings look relatively Hitchcockian (it’s not). The idea of killer dummies might seem creepy in theory, but in practice, they make for silly plot devices unless you’re going for that tongue-in-cheek, Child’s Play vibe. Too bad the ghost of Mary Shaw ripped the tongue right out of Dead Silence. (Beechwood, Carmike)

EL ABUELO

(PG) 1998. The death of his son brings an elderly man back to Spain where he intends to discover which of his son’s two daughters is his real granddaughter. The film by José Luis Garci was a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Part of the Spanish Language Film Series: Childhood and Adolescence in Spain. Shows Wednesday, 3/28 (GMOA)

EPIC MOVIE

(PG-13) Epic Movie is a pile of poo that stinks of everything but the sweat of actual hard, creative labor. A game cast can’t find a single laugh in these blunt stabs at The Chronicles of Narnia, Snakes on a Plane and Harry Potter. (Georgia Square); Ends Thursday (Highway 17 Theatres)

GHOST RIDER

(PG-13) The idea is simple: guy - Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) - sells soul to Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) and becomes a flaming, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding skeleton supernaturally powerful enough to punish evil. The entire cast, save for Sam Elliott, woodenly shuffles from scene to scene, star Cage transgresses most. Cage is that worst kind of actor, a “consummate professional” and “gifted thespian” who believes adding quirks builds character. In spite of Cage’s every misstep, when Blaze transforms into the Rider, Ghost Rider changes into the hokey, B-list superhero fun it was meant to be. (Beechwood, Carmike); Ends Thursday (Highway 17 Theatres)

GIRLHOOD: GROWING UP ON THE INSIDE

(NR) 2003. This heart-wrenching documentary follows the stories of two young women, themselves victims, who are inmates at a Maryland juvenile detention center. Directed by Liz Garbus and a prizewinner at the Atlanta and SXSW Film Festivals. Part of the ifilms series. Shows Thursday, 2/22 (ACC Library)

HAPPY FEET

(PG) Mumble the penguin (voiced by Elijah Wood) takes an eye-popping, breathtaking journey from dropped egg to societal savior. Happy Feet taps out a fresh rhythm to which you can dance when it’s not delivering pat lessons on religious intolerance and environmental destruction. (Georgia Square 5)

THE HILLS HAVE EYES II

(R) My hopes are not as high for the sequel to Alexandre Aja’s bloody good remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 exploitation flick. New director Martin Weisz’s credit, Rohtenburg, about Armin Meiwes, Germany’s Internet soliciting cannibal, is no Haute Tension. Still, big daddy Wes, along with son Jonathan, returned to script the mutants’ ruthless, politically charged attack on a group of National Guardsmen training in the New Mexico desert. That being said, Craven’s original 1985 sequel was tres awful. Opens Friday (Carmike)

I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT

(PG-13) 1993. Argentina’s María Luisa Bemberg won two Havana Film Festival awards for her feature, De eso no se habla. Three-time Academy Award nominee and screen legend Marcello Mastroianni stars as Ludovico, who falls in love with Charlotte, a young woman whose mother doesn’t want to talk about her dwarfism. Part of the Latin American film series. Shows Tuesday, 3/27 (UGA SLC 171)

I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE

(R) See Movie Pick. (Beechwood, Carmike)

IN AMERICA

(PG-13) 2002. Acclaimed director Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father), and his two daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, won worldwide accolades and an Academy Award nomination for their script about an Irish immigrant family adjusting to life in the United States after the death of their young son. Real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger steal the movie almost completely. Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou also received Oscar noms. Shows Thursday, 3/22 (Tate)

LA LENGUA DE LAS MARIPOSAS

(R) 1999. Moncho’s coming of age is marred by the Fascist rebellion against the Spanish Republic, to which both his father and beloved teacher, Don Gregorio (Fernando Fernán Gómez), belong. Director José Luis Cuerda’s film won one Goya for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for 12 others. Part of the Spanish Language Film Series. Shows Wednesday, 3/21 (GMOA)

LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

(R) I wish I were reviewing The Last King of Scotland in December when my assessment of Forrest Whitaker’s aping of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin as powerful, charismatic, and award-worthy would seem more prophetic and less plagiaristic. Whitaker’s Best Actor coronation is most decidedly deserved. Whitaker channels every bit of the crazed megalomaniacal paranoia most certainly not coursing through the veins of Hollywood’s universally accepted “good guy.” I just wish Last King had even one more reason for commendation. I spent most of the film sorting the acidic fact from the fictional base. With enough true horror stories from which to choose your adventure, why focus on made-up melodrama? (Beechwood)

THE LAST MIMZY

(PG) New Line honcho Bob Shaye makes his directorial debut with this truly puzzling family film. Based on the acclaimed sci-fi short story by Lewis Padgett, The Last Mimzy concerns two kids who develop special powers after discovering a strange box of toys. Shaye is unproven, and the screenwriting team of Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) and Toby Emmerich (Frequency) is hardly surefire. Your guess on this one is as good as mine. With Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson and Rainn Wilson. Opens Friday (Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

MUSIC & LYRICS

(PG-13) Music and Lyrics had me at Hugh Grant. Alex Fletcher (Grant), once a member of popular '80s band Pop, has a week to write a hit song if he wants another shot at stardom. Fletcher hires failed poet Sophie (Drew Barrymore) to help him craft “Way Back Into Love,” which is a route the songwriting duo discover for themselves. (Beechwood)

A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

(PG) A barely amusing romp due in large part to everyone but its star (Ben Stiller), showcases the comedian in all his childish unlikability. After taking a job as a night guard at the Museum of Natural History, he discovers the displays come to life when the sun goes down. (Georgia Square 5)

NORBIT

(PG-13) Nice guy Norbit (Eddie Murphy) is married to Rasputia (Murphy again), a large woman as hideous on the outside as she is within. When Norbit’s soulmate, Kate (Thandie Newton), returns, the mild-mannered nebbish must find a backbone and fight for his and Kate’s happiness. It’s sad to see Murphy slumming again. (Beechwood, Highway 17 Theatres); Ends Thursday (Carmike)

THE NUMBER 23

(R) A numerologist’s wet dream, The Number 23 relies heavily on clichéd familial interactions to set up its Everyman, Walter Sparrow (the rubber-faced Jim Carrey), and his Everyfamily. By establishing the Sparrows as a perfect family, their degeneration after Walter loses his mind over the number 23 holds no emotional charge. Watching Carrey battle the number 23 is like watching Tom Cruise play a divorced dockworker in War of the Worlds. Both men have far too much star power to be mistaken for me or everyone else like me. (Beechwood); Ends Thursday (Carmike)

OLD JOY

(NR) A picturesque postcard from the Pacific Northwest, Old Joy slowly meanders through a camping trip two old friends take to get reacquainted with each other. Mark (Daniel London) is soon to be a father; Kurt (Will Oldham) is a carefree layabout. Those facts are all we learn about Mark and Kurt in director Kelly Reichardt’s beautifully repetitive compilation of nature photography. Not much happens in Old Joy, and by much, I mean anything. Based on a short story by Jonathan Raymond, the minimalist picture glides by on its looks and the charms of Oldham, who imbues Kurt with contented sorrow - what the film calls “worn out joy.” It’s rare that I choose to uncomfortably camp with my own friends on our way to a cleansing, healing (metaphorically and literally) hot spring. It’s even more rare for me to spend 70 minutes watching two guys of whom I know nothing do the same, no matter how scenic the vistas. Opens Friday (Carmike)

PREMONITION

(PG-13) A much better, more intriguing film than its “Medium” channeling trailer lets on, Premonition really nails the whole “is she crazy or isn’t she?” ethos with surprising gravitas, thanks to its talented, easily overlooked star, Sandra Bullock. When the world of Linda Hanson (Bullock) collapses in on itself upon the accidental death of her husband, Jim (Julian McMahon of “Nip/Tuck”), the housewife breaks from reality and starts experiencing that fateful week out of order. Structured on the skeleton of Memento, where causes are elucidated from effects, Premonition doesn’t quite put all the puzzle pieces back in the proper places. Several pieces are missing entirely as Linda’s actions would have consequences we are never privileged to see. Still, I’m buying everything Bullock’s selling, be it crazy, tough, or just flat-out heartbroken, and neither the obligatory, inscrutably pseudo-revelatory ending nor the out-of-left-field detour into Christianity can douse Bullock’s surefire performance. (Beechwood, Carmike)

PRIDE

(PG) A new year means a slew of new inspirational sports flicks. In Pride, 2007’s first piece of reality-based sports memorabilia, Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) starts a swim team for the troubled teens of Philadelphia that floats to the top of the national pool. I’d see the mesmerizing Howard act in anything, and Bernie Mac’s support can be golden. But four credited screenwriters is not a good sign. With Kimberly Elise and Diana Ross’ son, Evan. Opens Friday (Carmike)

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

(PG-13) Devoted father and salesman Chris Gardner (Will Smith) finds himself homeless due to bad investments and stupid decisions. But with pluck, moxie and a little luck, he lands on his feet after the greedy rich men of Dean Witter graciously offer Chris a job after he makes them oodles of money during an unpaid internship. The problem with the well-made Happyness is, if you’re not careful, you’ll swallow the shit it’s shoveling. (Georgia Square 5)

REIGN OVER ME

(R) Adam Sandler looks again for critical success in the new film from Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger). Sandler is Charlie Fineman, who lost his family in 9/11; Don Cheadle is Charlie’s college roommate, Alan Johnson, a successful dentist, father and husband who randomly runs into his desperately disconnected old friend on a New York street corner. The two rekindle a friendship they both badly need. With Jada Pinkett Smith and Liv Tyler. Opens Friday (Call Theaters)

RENO 911!: MIAMI

(R) I am pleased to announce Reno 911!: Miami is Police Academy for a new millennium, and every thousand years, we need a new Police Academy. Plus, Paul Rudd’s hideous Scarface impersonation is almost as good as Michael Winslow’s mouth effects. Sketch comedy is always hit-or-miss, but these cops are sharpshooters. Starts Friday (Highway 17 Theatres)

SHOOTER

(R) Shooter owns some of the spring’s hottest buzz. Directed by Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua, Shooter stars Mark Wahlberg as exiled marksman Bob Lee Swagger, who is framed for the attempted assassination of the president. Expect lots of double crosses, explosions and costar Danny Glover seen through crosshairs. Opens Friday (Carmike)

SCREAMING QUEENS: THE RIOTS AT COMPTON'S CAFETERIA

(NR) 2005. Screaming Queens documents the 1966 struggle of gay street hustlers and transgender women against police harassment in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. At Compton’s, a cup of coffee tossed at a police officer sparked the modern militant movement for transgender rights. Sponsored by the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center. Shows Wednesday, 3/28 (UGA SLC 150)

STOMP THE YARD

(PG-13) Stomp the Yard isn’t half-bad. It follows DJ (Columbus Short) from underground street dancing in L.A. to the beautiful campuses of the Atlanta University Center. A good old competition movie, but the choreography’s fly and the surrounding melodrama not out of step. (Georgia Square 5)

STRANGER INSIDE

(NR) 2001. Some mother-daughter reunions are harder than others, but one that takes place within the confines of a correctional facility might take the cake for toughest. As Treasure and Brownie, Yolonda Ross and Davenia McFadden give this realistic look into a women’s prison its grit. Stranger Inside received numerous accolades from film festivals, gay and straight, across the nation. Followed by a discussion led by Dr. Chris Cuomo. Part of Women’s History Month. Shows Tuesday, 3/27 (UGA SLC 248)

TMNT

(PG) The PG rating doused any hopes this cool-looking CGI adventure would be a return to the Turtles’ Eastman & Laird origins, and word is writer-director Kevin Munroe simply forgets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III ever existed. Featuring the voices of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart and Laurence Fishburne. Opens Friday (Carmike)

THE ULTIMATE GIFT

(PG) No one should have to pay to watch something you should get gratis on PAX. A trust fund baby (Drew Fuller) inherits 12 Herculean tasks, or “gifts” from his wealthy grandfather (James Garner). Luckily for Jason, these “gifts” enable him to discover whether or not money will truly make him happy. With Abigail Breslin. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

WILD HOGS

(PG-13) Wild Hogs is more premise than movie. Four middle-aged suburban eunuchs played by John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy try to regain their masculinity by hitting the open road on their bikes. Warning: Most of the jokes are less funny than they may appear. After the movie, you’ll be picking sexual innuendoes - hetero and homo - out of your teeth like so many bugs. Travolta slathers on his enchanting old musk, but mustering up any sympathy for this not-so-wild bunch of grown men was impossible. This flick’s just coasting on the fumes of its stars’ fading charms. (Beechwood, Carmike)

ZODIAC

(R) Talented filmmaker David Fincher finally releases his sixth feature, an overdue, overlong thriller about the Zodiac, a serial killer who threatened San Francisco in the 1960s and 1970s. Zodiac pursues the parallel investigations of political cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) and the police, led by Inspector David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo). A refreshing take on the serial killer thriller. (Beechwood); Ends Thursday (Carmike)

Drew Wheeler