originally published May 2, 2007

AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE

(R) Wow. What can be said about this movie? If you are a fan of the Adult Swim series about Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake, then you will love this movie. If you're not, then stay home. [Margaret Moore] Ends Thursday (Carmike)

ARE WE DONE YET?

(PG) This sequel to Are We There Yet? about house renovation has a slightly more solid construction than the 2005 surprise smash, no thanks to all-attitude, no-charisma star Ice Cube. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood, Highway 17 Theatres)

BLADES OF GLORY

(PG-13) After being exiled from male figure skating, Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder), make history, stunning the skating world by defying conventions as pairs partners. Another flawless routine from Will Ferrell. (Beechwood); Ends Thursday (Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

THE CONDEMNED

(R) See Flick Skinny. A WWE film starring WWE entertainer Stone Cold Steve Austin. The flick’s poorly shot, but it’s also violent, funny and muscular. Too bad The Condemned is filled with too much pesky exposition. Who cares that the FBI is investigating the Internet program pitting 10 death row inmates against one another in a deadly battle for freedom? (Carmike)

DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS

(PG-13) We could certainly use some of Madea’s broadly comic antics to relieve just an ounce of the tension from the dramatic struggles of single father Monty (Idris Elba) to keep his three cute kids out of the hands of his horrid ex-wife. With Gabrielle Union. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

DAYS OF GLORY

(R) 2006. Day of Glory, Algeria’s nominee this year for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, tells the true story of the Algerian men who fought alongside the Allied French to liberate their country from Nazi oppression and French discrimination. Also nominated for nine Césars (the film won for Best Original Screenplay) and three awards from the Cannes Film Festival, including the prestigious Palme d’Or (the film’s male ensemble won a collective Best Actor award). Starts Friday (Ciné)

DISTURBIA

(PG-13) Disturbia is far from a grade-A side of cinematic beef, but holding no high aspirations for itself, this teenybopper flick knocks off Rear Window with B-movie gusto. Under house arrest, underage antihero Kale (Shia LeBeouf) gets so bored he learns that the loner next-door (David Morse) is a serial killer. (Beechwood, Carmike); Ends Thursday (Highway 17 Theatres)

FAMILY LAW

(NR) 2006. Daniel Burman follows his 2003 feature ode to fatherhood, Lost Embrace, with Family Law, about Ariel Perelman (Daniel Hendler), whose newfound status as husband and father leads him to leaf through his own daddy issues. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

FIREHOUSE DOG

(PG) Firehouse Dog is actually two films rolled into one, and neither tale is as flea-bitten as one might imagine. When a stunt goes awry, animal superstar Rexxx finds himself walking the mean streets of Toronto until firefighter’s kid Shane (Josh Hutcherson), reluctantly takes him home. The boy and his dog are Firehouse Dog’s focus and reasons for existing. However, the plot involving a rundown firehouse could be the backbone of the best firefighting movie since Backdraft, were it not for the kiddie flick plot. Firehouse Dog is filled with silly, harmless homages, some over a kiddie audience’s head and some right up their alley. With television vet Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle”) behind the camera, Firehouse Dog is just a better breed of made-for-Disney Channel movie. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

FRACTURE

(R) A mature, twisty mystery, Fracture stars Anthony Hopkins as Ted Crawford, who murders his cheating wife and toys with the system to get away with it. Though Hopkins could deliver this kind of performance by phone, his eyes contain an impish light missing from some of his recent performances, and swaggering, gum-chomping Ryan Gosling proves an amazingly worthy adversary. (Beechwood, Carmike)

GHOST RIDER

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

GRBAVICA: THE LAND OF MY DREAMS

(NR) 2006. Filmmaker Jasmila
}bani
 wrote and directed Grbavica, or Esma’s Secret, about a mother and a daughter’s struggle for survival in post-war Bosnia. Growing up to believe her father died as a shaheed (hero), Sara (Luna Mijovi
) asks her mother Esma (Mirjana Karanovi
) for proof so Sara can get a discount on a school trip. Winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Berlin Bear and Peace Film Award, Grbavica was also nominated for a European Film Award and the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. Starts Friday (Ciné)

THE HILLS HAVE EYES II

(R) Wes Craven’s HHEII about mutants in the desert 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. (Georgia Square 5)

HOT FUZZ

(R) Whereas Shaun of the Dead lovingly riffed on zombie movies, Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s newest feature takes aim at another slow-moving target, buddy cop/ renegade cop flicks. The best cop in London, Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is transferred to the quiet, crimeless, accident-prone hamlet of Sandford. The joy of Fuzz is watching writers/ admitted (some would say committed) movie fans Wright and Pegg poke loving fun at genres whose tropes they know by heart. Wright, Pegg and Frost never let us see them sweat as they laboriously craft gags so deep you’d think they were serious filmmakers. And they are when it comes to making an audience laugh. They’re serious as a proverbial heart attack. (Beechwood)

IN THE LAND OF WOMEN

(PG-13) The son of Lawrence Kasdan tries really hard to out-Garden State Zach Braff but ends up with an “unlovable, self-destructive” dramedy. After being dumped, Carter Webb (Adam Brody, "The O.C.") heads to Michigan to care for his dying grandma (Olympia Dukakis) and mess with the lives of the Hardwicke women - cancer-stricken mom Sarah (a radiant Meg Ryan); sullen teen Lucy (Kristen Stewart); and precocious Paige (Makenzie Vega). (Beechwood); Ends Thursday (Carmike)

THE INVISIBLE

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

KICKIN’ IT OLD SKOOL

(PG-13) I can sum up Jamie Kennedy in two words: depressing and needy. As mentally 12-year-old, physically 30-year-old breakdancer Justin a sickly pale Kennedy trots around in a bandanna and parachute pants, making me disturbingly long for the dog days of Pauly Shore. A feature version of VH1’s “I Love the 80s,” Kickin’ It Old Skool wistfully recalls the bygone era of Rubik’s Cubes, “Webster,” and breakdancing. Did the three credited writers not notice the expiration date for this carton of nostalgic humor? All I got were rancid jokes and a clumpy 1980s' competition movie plot complete with jerky guy (the quirkily bad Michael Rosenbaum, Lex Luthor in “Smallville”) inexplicably loved by the nerdy protagonist’s dream girl (Maria Menounos). I hated seeing Rosenbaum, Christopher McDonald (dear sir, being in Breakin’ does not require you to act in all subsequent breakdancing films. You skipped out on Breakin’ 2: Electric Bugaloo; Ice-T wasn’t so lucky), and Debra Jo Rupp schlepping through this mess, but Kickin’ It isn’t the first time those three have waded through crap up to their knees. Funky Fresh, these boys and their moves are not. (Beechwood, Carmike)

KILLER OF SHEEP

(NR) 1977. Charles Burnett (To Sleep With Anger, The Glass Shield) reacted to blaxploitation with this raw, black-and-white, independent feature, one of the first 50 films entered into the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. This print has been lovingly cleaned, restored and transferred to 35mm. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

KNOCKING

(NR) 2006. Prior to its national broadcast on PBS’s “Independent Lens,” the acclaimed documentary, Knocking, makes it premier here in Athens. Knocking sheds new light on Jehovah’s Witnesses - the much derided Christian sect known for their door-to-door proselytizing and aversions to war, the pledge of allegiance, blood transfusions and birthdays - as their legal travails protect the civil liberties of all Americans. A discussion will follow the screening. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Non-Fiction Film at the Indianapolis International Film Festival. Shows Thursday, 5/3 (ACC Library)

THE LAST MIMZY

(PG) The Last Mimzy left me more clueless than enthralled, though the sci fi flick directed by Robert Shaye is better than its woeful ad campaign would lead you to believe. 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. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

THE LIVES OF OTHERS

(R) 2006. When East German agent Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) begins spying on playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his actress lover, Wiesler becomes so enthralled with the two that he threatens his own career - and life - to keep Dreyman’s subversive acts a secret from his superiors. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck displays more humanism in his feature debut than most filmmakers will in a career. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

LUCKY YOU

(PG-13) The long-delayed poker film about cardsharp Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) and his lady luck (Drew Barrymore) should have come out during the card game’s recent renaissance. Instead, Lucky You is about two hands too late for writer-director Curtis Hanson to break even. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

MEET THE ROBINSONS

(G) When orphan Lewis’ newest experiment blows up in his face, he runs to his rooftop hideaway where he is whisked to the future. Despite its visual wow factor (especially the 3-D version), Robinsons is obnoxiously madcap, hyperactively zany and quite tedious. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

MULHOLLAND DRIVE

(R) 2001. David Lynch's bizarre Oscar-nominated Hollywood tale involving an amnesiac involved in an auto accident (Laura Harring) and an innocent Midwestern girl (Naomi Watts). When the plot slows down (and boy does it ever), lesbian sex and an eccentric cowboy are thrown in to kickstart it. Shows Monday, 5/7 (Flicker)

NEXT

(PG-13) The latest Philip K. Dick adaptation, Next, starring Nicolas Cage, marks another notch in Dick’s cinematic bedpost but little more. A Vegas magician, Cris Johnson (Cage), must use his ability to see two minutes into the future to save America from some leftover “24” plot about a missing Russian nuclear device. Julianne Moore is the age-appropriate FBI agent trying to appeal to Johnson’s inner patriot; Jessica Biel is the young hottie appealing to some other Johnson. Director Lee Tamahori (Die Another Day) greases the production with Hollywood action slickness, but Next is worse than forgettable. It’s boring. (Beechwood, Carmike)

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. It’s sad to see Murphy slumming again. (Georgia Square 5)

PERFECT STRANGER

(R) Say what you will about Basic Instinct 2, at least that slutty flick put out; Perfect Stranger is a tease. Investigative journalist Rowena Price (Halle Berry) runs into her next story when her old friend, Grace, ends up murdered, and Rowena believes married advertising executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis) is the prime suspect. Ends Thursday (Beechwood, Carmike)

SPIDER-MAN 3

(PG-13) Everybody’s back for Spidey’s third outing, where he must face not one, not two, but three supervillains: Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), a revamped Green Goblin (James Franco), and fan favorite Venom (Topher Grace). Directed by Sam Raimi. Special midnight screening on Thursday night, 5/3 (Highway 17 Theatres); Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER

(NR) 2000. Tears of the Black Tiger is a fast-talking, Hollywood-infused look back at Thai genre cinema with a kick of modern storytelling. Class-crossed young lovers, Dum and Rumpoey, vow to be together one day, but the murder of Dum’s father by outlaws and Rumpoey’s betrothal to a policeman make that promise a bit hard to keep. Writer-director Wisit Sasanatieng fashions a culty, parodical homage to the films with which he grew up. Starts Friday (Ciné)

VACANCY

(R) Even with its crackerjack, scary-as-hell premise - visitors to a remote motel are forced to star in cheapo snuff films - Vacancy was not the flick I thought would right the horror’s sinking ship. Despite the presence of known stars, it is a cheapo, thrills-only slasher flick not so different than the snuff films-within-the-film. From the moment our yuppie victims (Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson) make the fateful decision to stay at the Pinewood Motel, the flick, directed by Kontroll’s Nimród Antal, doesn’t do anything to lessen the terror. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

WHO IS BOZO TEXINO?

(NR) 2005. Freight rider and van tramp Bill Daniel brings his 16-years-in-the-making Who is Bozo Texino?, chronicling the secret history of hobo graffiti, to the Classic City for a third go-round. This “gritty black and white travelogue tells the mostly-factual account of the epic quest and unlikely discovery of railroading’s most mysterious artist.” For more information, visit www.billdaniel.net. Britton S. Dakota, created by Vanessa Renwick from found footage of Depression-era children mesmerized by the camera, is also screening. Shows Wednesday, 5/2 (Ciné)

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. Always a vibrant stylist, Fincher knows not to skimp on the chills. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

Drew Wheeler