originally published April 4, 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), who 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. 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. (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

ARE WE DONE YET?

(PG) The sequel to last winter’s surprise smash, Are We There Yet?, remodels Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Ice Cube, Nia Long, Aleisha Allen and Philip Bolden reprise their roles. Not even the presence of John C. “Dr. Cox” McGinley can better prepare me for this needless schlock. (Carmike); Opens Friday (Beechwood)

THE ASTRONAUT FARMER

(PG) 2007 may be short on quality storytelling, filmmaking and acting, but Mark and Michael Polish (Northfork, Twin Falls Idaho) go 3-for-3 in their fourth feature film. The only way Charles Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton) will ever get his homemade rocket off the ground and into orbit is with the support of his wife (Virginia Madsen) and three kids. Nothing, not soul-crushing bureaucracy nor evil, foreclosing banks, can derail a dream shared by an entire family. It’s refreshing to be reminded how tender Thornton can be when he’s not playing a bad Santa. A sterling supporting cast that includes the young actors portraying the Farmer children, Bruce Dern, Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico), the lovable Tim Blake Nelson, and an uncredited Bruce Willis serve to highlight the brilliance of the Polish Brothers’ script that captures the cadence of Texas colloquialism without becoming caricaturish and the reality of family without going squishy. I still believe no audience exists for an anti-authoritarian, leftist family film, but I applaud the Polish twins for taking the chance nonetheless. They prove their own adage. With the support of family, dreams do come true. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

BECAUSE I SAID SO

(PG-13) Diane Keaton is 60-year-old single mom Daphne, who wants so badly to see her youngest, Milly (Mandy Moore), find happiness. Because I Said So’s wasting of Keaton’s immense talents is more than disappointing; it’s heartbreaking. Ends Thursday(Georgia Square 5)

BLADES OF GLORY

(PG-13) See Movie Pick. (Beechwood, Carmike)

BLOOD DIAMOND

(R) This action movie with a conscience directed by Edward Zwick takes place during the civil war 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 that reinvigorates the genre. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

BORAT

(R) 2006. Armed to the teeth with uncomfortable malapropisms and anti-Semitism, Kazakhstan television personality Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) travels across the United States, unmasking inner bigotry wherever he goes. With Borat, Cohen isn’t laughing with the U.S. He’s laughing at the U.S, a distinction too fine for an America as stupid as the one he exposes to make. Shows Thursday, 4/5 (Georgia Theatre)

BREACH

(PG-13) Based on the true story of the greatest security breach in U.S. history, the film traces the career of young FBI agent-wannabe Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe) after he is handpicked to clerk for über-agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper). Breach is a competent, engaging (only because it is a true story) character study-cum-spy movie, that nevertheless seems dated by its musty Cold War-aroma. [Margaret Moore] Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

DEAD POETS SOCIETY

(PG) 1989. The best film ever made about a prep school poetry class was also Robin Williams’ dramatic coming out party, as rebellious teacher John Keating. His young charges - including Ethan Hawke - acquit themselves nicely, all looking and acting like actual high school students. Nominated for five Academy Awards and winner of Best Original Screenplay. Shows Thursday, 4/5 (Tate)

DREAMGIRLS

(PG-13) Glitzy and glamorous, the Golden Globe-winning Dreamgirls, chronicling the Supremes-like rise of Deena (Beyoncé Knowles), Effie (Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson), and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose), never shies away from its Broadway roots. Writer-director Bill Condon’s script is near perfect, but no one would notice were it not for the cast. Jamie Foxx and Knowles are good, but it's Eddie Murphy and Hudson who earned their accolades. The former Beverly Hills Cop delivers a showy performance from a diminished star, and though newcomer Hudson’s acting may be a bit rough, her booming voice drums out such thoughts. Dreamgirls has both the rhythm and the blues. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

FIREHOUSE DOG

(PG) Hollywood’s top canine, Rexxx, gets lost and winds up in the care of a firehouse run by Connor Fahey (Bruce Greenwood) and his son, Shane (Josh Hutcherson, Bridge to Terabithia). Hopefully, successful television vet Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle,” “Wonderfalls,” “My So-Called Life”) can do something with this cringe-inducing material. (Carmike); Opens Friday (Beechwood)

GHOST RIDER

(PG-13) Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) sells his soul to Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) and becomes a flaming, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding skeleton supernaturally powerful enough to punish evil. 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. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

GREEN HAND/ CORDELE/ SWAINSBORO

(NR) From the UGA Libraries’ Media Archives comes three local gems from the 1930s and 1940s. The Green Hand, filmed in Athens in 1939, attempts to up the membership of the FFA with “this tale of a juvenile delinquent mentored into joining the FFA where he makes a success of himself, saves his mother’s farm from foreclosure and gets the girl.” Made by itinerant filmmakers, the 1936 Cordele film and the 1947 Swainsboro film provide a moving picture glimpse into Georgia’s past. Shows Saturday, 4/7 (ACC Library)

GRINDHOUSE

(R) A lot of swell films are coming out in the soon-to-be summer months ahead, but Grindhouse, Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s double feature about zombies and killer cars, might just be tops on my list. Starring Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, and more, the two Grindhouse features are connected by fake trailers by the likes of genre faves Rob Zombie and Eli Roth. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

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) See Flick Skinny. Wes Craven’s done this before, stepping in to write a sequel to one of his creations, but all he’s done with HHEII is muck it up worse than the first time. HHEII starts out nasty enough, but within 15 minutes of the arrival of a squad of whiny National Guard trainees, I was already praying for their gory deaths. HHEII is all about boring death selection and rote plotting. The Hills may have eyes, but I do, too. And mine don’t appreciate what they saw one bit. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

INLAND EMPIRE

(NR) 2006. David Lynch's latest trip into the dark recesses of his own mind stars Laura Dern. See feature story. Starts Friday (Ciné)

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS

(NR) 2006. Shot over two years in Iraq with a handheld Panasonic HD camcorder, Iraq in Fragments is a three-part opus documenting the varying responses of ordinary Iraqis to the American invasion and occupation. Narrated in part by the very people it depicts, the film presents such a vivid portrait of the successes and monumental failures of Iraqi society under the constant threat of American and insurgent guns that it was nominated for an Oscar in 2006. Senain Kheshgi will introduce the film at both screenings and guide discussion of the film after the early showing. [Brandon Waddell] Shows Thursday, 4/5 (Ciné)

LAND IN ANGUISH

(NR) 1967. This Brazilian film from Glauber Rocha, an explosive political work of art, traces an election in the fictional country of Eldorado, where poet/ journalist Paulo lives to oppose both corrupt candidates. Part of the Latin American film series sponsored by the UGA Libraries Media Department. Visit www.titletk.com/latinamericanfilm for more information. Shows Tuesday, 4/10 (UGA SLC 171)

THE LAST MIMZY

(PG) The Last Mimzy left me more clueless than enthralled, though the sci fi flick directed by New Line honcho Robert Shaye is better than its woeful ad campaign would lead you to believe. Two kids, Noah and Emma Wilder (Chris O’Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn), become geniuses after discovering a box of toys, including stuffed rabbit Mimzy. Shaye’s smartest move may have been casting Rainn Wilson of “The Office,” a rising comedic star if ever there were one whose presence entertains no matter what he is called on to do. (Beechwood, Highway 17 Theatres)

THE LOOKOUT

(R) See Movie Pick. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

LOST HIGHWAY

(R) 1997. Replete with porn-peddling gangsters, vicious knife-play, sudden plunges into hellish netherworlds, and not-quite-dead bodies in car trunks, Lost Highway is akin to classic B-movie noir - written, filmed, and viewed on a dirty speedball. Director David Lynch spins out a deliriously incantatory story of a jazz sax player caught in a web of erotic obsession with a pair of interconnected but equally seedy identities Renee/ Alice (Patricia Arquette). [Brandon Waddell] Shows Friday, 4/6 & Saturday, 4/7 (Ciné)

MEET THE ROBINSONS

(G) After Chicken Little, Disney may not be in need of a box office hit, but they could sure use a creative shot in the arm. When orphan Lewis’ newest experiment blows up in his face, he runs to his rooftop hideaway where he is whisked to the future by Wilbur Robinson, eldest son of the future’s first family, extended to include every oddball nutjob and his uncle. Unfortunately, Lewis is being sought by the Bowler Hat Guy, a melodramatic Snidely Whiplash-type of surprising incompetence. Despite its visual wow factor (especially the 3-D version), Robinsons is obnoxiously madcap, hyperactively zany and quite tedious. With Angela Bassett and Laurie Metcalf heading the voice cast, I was hoping Robinsons would prove that the size of the talent, not the size of the name, matters. Unfortunately, I might have had more fun if I could at least have played "name that voice actor." Meet the Robinsons needs to go back to the future and stay there. (Beechwood, Carmike)

MY MAN GODFREY

(NR) 1936. William Powell stars as the title vagrant, hired by a dizzy socialite (Carole Lombard) to play the family butler. Based on the book by Eric Hatch, My Man Godfrey was nominated for six Academy Awards, including all four acting Oscars. Part of the ACC Library’s Cinema Classics series, this film includes a narration track for the visually impaired. Shows Thursday, 4/5 (ACC Library)

THE NAMESAKE

(PG-13) Mira Nair follows up the glossy, underwhelming Vanity Fair with this personal account of a young man, the son of immigrants, and his search for his place in life’s puzzle. American-born Gogol (Kal Penn, taking a break from Van Wild-ing it to do some real acting) discovers the family story behind his name while struggling to balance his Indian heritage and his New York lifestyle. Based on a novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake boasts a powerful trailer. With Jacinda Barrett. Opens Friday (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. (Highway 17 Theatres)

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

(R) The scandal involves new art teacher Sheba Hart (Oscar nominee Cate Blanchett), whose affair with a 15-year-old student is meticulously detailed in the notes kept by ancient history teacher Barbara Covett (Oscar nominee Judi Dench). Barbara, whose obsession is at once Sapphic, platonic and dangerous, is like a desiccated Tom Ripley. So, Notes provides us with no one to pull for. With an Oscar-nominated score by Philip Glass (The Hours), Notes is a mesmerizing, creepy thriller. Shows Friday, 4/6–Sunday, 4/8 (Tate)

OPEN SEASON

(PG) 2006. Movies By Moonlight returns to Athens with the screening of Open Season, a wild animal romp featuring Martin Lawrence as a grizzly bear and Ashton Kutcher as an obnoxious, exiled mule deer. Open Season, with its paranoid nutter of a hunter (v. Gary Sinise) and anthropomorphically emotive animals, is rabidly anti-hunting. Shows Saturday, 4/7 (Southeast Clarke Park)

OUR DAILY BREAD

(NR) 2005. In this eerily stunning film, director Nikolas Geryhalter allows the stark dramaturgy of deviously efficient killing machines’ lurching rhythms; sterile, fluorescent production laboratories where lesser beings shuttle around like spare parts; and oddly detached monotony of the workers who spend their shifts in the slaughterhouses and packaging plants of European agro-business to convey the story. Rendered in a coolly astonishing, scientifically methodical cinematic technique that many critics have likened to Kubrick at his most disturbing, the film is, above all else, a portrait of the awful, stupefying technology that keeps the world’s tables crowned with relatively cheap and plentiful food. Yet the political implications of the film are never nagging or overt and the depictions are deliberately devoid of inherent bias; audiences can only watch in troubled fascination and draw their own conclusions. [Brandon Waddell] Starts Friday (Ciné)

PEACEFUL WARRIOR

(PG-13) The film of the inspirational bestseller, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman, is a mystical, esoteric, self-important waste of time. After suffering a horrific motorcycle accident, a college gymnast (Scott Mechlowicz, EuroTrip) rehabs, mentally and physically, with a maybe real-maybe not mechanic, Socrates (Nick Nolte), who expounds like Yoda with better grammar. Try as I might, I cannot separate director Victor Salva’s professional work (Powder, Jeepers Creepers) from his personal life. Convicted of child molestation after an incident on the set of his first feature Clownhouse, Salva’s fascination with young men overwhelms every aspect of his pictures. Throughout Peaceful Warrior, the shirtless shots of his twentysomething leads add up to a subtext that becomes text. Even without Salva’s past, Peaceful Warrior is vague, opaque, New Agey bull that cannot even be clarified by another solid mentorship from Nolte. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

THE PLAYER

(R) 1992. Though he was nominated for five Academy Awards, the only award Robert Altman ever received from the Academy was the honorary Oscar he took home shortly before his death in 2006. One of those nominations was for The Player, a needling but wickedly funny satire of the Hollywood movie business. Adapted by Edgar Award-winner Michael Tolkin from his novel of the same name, The Player tells the story of a somehow not entirely repugnant movie executive by the name of Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) who, in addition to trying to unload an unsuitable lover, save his notoriously high-turnover job from a grippy upstart, and avoid being killed by a writer who he “never got back to," finds himself at the center of a murder investigation and hopelessly infatuated with the dead man’s probably Icelandic girl. Charles Eidsvik will introduce the film before the early and late show and guide the discussion that follows the first screening. Shows Wednesday, 4/4 (Ciné)

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. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

PRIDE

(PG) Pride, the newest sports inspiration film, this time about an African-American swim team that succeeds against all odds, holds tight to the genre formula. First, a young idealist, college graduate Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard), takes a job at a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. Next, he teaches the neighborhoods kids to swim. Of course, they must fail miserably against their privileged white competition - coached by a douchier-than-usual Tom Arnold - before learning a lesson needed to overcome the great challenge/ complication/ tragedy en route to victory at the Big Meet. Knock formulas all you want, but Coke, 409 and Grecian are all classic formulas that work pretty darn well, too. Ends Wednesday (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. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

THE QUEEN

(PG-13) The Queen is a royal “West Wing,” allowing a glimpse behind the throne. Oscar winner Helen Mirren brings all her graceful control and ice-cold radiance to a Royal Majesty bungling the sudden death of constant thorn in her crown, Diana. Peter Morgan’s screenplay posits what transpired in the private chambers of the monarchy with a deftly light comic touch that detracts nothing from its dark gravity. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

THE REAPING

(R) On the shelf for quite a while, this religio-thriller starring two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank is finally seeing the light of day. Swank plays Katherine Winter, a former Christian missionary whose job it now is to debunk religious happenings. When Katherine investigates a small town in the middle of 10 biblical plagues, she must reconsider her faithless actions. Never fear, this film from director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space) should be more horrific action than dogmatic tract. Opens Thursday (Carmike); Opens Friday (Beechwood)

REIGN OVER ME

(R) Reign Over Me, written and directed by Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger), is paced like Heinz ketchup - thick and slow but richly worth the wait. Alan Johnson (Don Cheadle) is a successful dentist bored with a beautiful, micro-managing wife (a superb Jada Pinkett Smith). Rather than seeking solace in the arms of another woman, the mild-mannered D.D.S. runs into his old college roommate, Charlie Fineman (Adam Sandler), who has been unreachable - figuratively and literally - since the death of his family on 9/11. This vehicle provides Cheadle with exactly the breakout comedic-dramatic performance this undersold star needs. Reign Over Me may be slow going, but it proves the reign of Don Cheadle will not be ending anytime soon. (Beechwood)

SENTENCED HOME

(NR) 2006. Three Cambodian men, raised as Americans in Seattle, are deported after making poor decisions as teenagers. Produced by David Grabias and Nicole Newnham (an International Documentary Association Award nominee for They Drew Fire). Part of the ACC Library’s iFilms series. Shows Thursday, 4/5 (ACC Library)

SHOOTER

(R) It’s high time a good old-fashioned literary hero like Stephen Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger got his shot. Director Antoine Fuqua keeps the two-hour Shooter moving at a quick clip as Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), falsely implicated in an attempt on the president’s life, uses bullets and bombs to clear his name. On the run from freelance, neo-con mercs (led by Danny Glover), Swagger gets an assist from a green FBI agent (Crash’s Michael Peña) and his dead spotter’s hottie (We Are Marshall’s Kate Mara). I’ve never been one to question an action film’s serendipitous plotting, but Shooter spreads my disbelief pretty thin. (Beechwood, Carmike)

SLEEPER

(PG) 1973. Woody Allen's futuristic, sci-fi love story about Totalitarianism, Orgasmatrons and robots. Shows Monday, Apr. 9 (Flicker)

TMNT

(PG) After a 14-year absence from the big screen, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have returned. As perfectly as writer-director Kevin Munroe captures the four distinct personalities of the titular turtles, why does he prove such a bad judge of villainy? Fighting some immortal, thousand-year-old Kurgan wannabe (v. Patrick Stewart) rather than Shredder is a half-shelled idea that makes the Turtles’ latest adventure instantly forgettable. (Beechwood, Carmike)

WILD HOGS

(PG-13) Four middle-aged suburban eunuchs - 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. This flick’s just coasting on the fumes of its stars’ fading charms. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

Drew Wheeler