originally published June 20, 2007

1408

(PG-13) I’m not holding out much hope for this adaptation of a Stephen King short story. Spending the night in a reportedly haunted room of the Dolphin Hotel proves a bad idea for paranormal debunker Mike Enslin (John Cusack). Samuel L. Jackson shows up as the hotel manager. 1408 is the second English language film for Derailed director Mikael Håfström. Co-written by the Golden Globe-winning duo of Scott Alexander and Larry Karazewski (The People vs. Larry Flynt). Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

300

(R) 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. Stunning to behold, director Zack Snyder painstakingly renders Frank Miller’s graphic novel in three dimensions. (Georgia Square 5)

ARE WE DONE YET?

(PG) Kid-hater turned lovable thug Nick Persons (Ice Cube), his pregnant wife (Nia Long), and their two tweens decide to move to the country, into the fixer-upper from Hell. This sequel to Are We There Yet? has a slightly more solid construction than the 2005 surprise smash. (Georgia Square 5)

AWAY FROM HER

(PG-13) 2006. Acclaimed Canadian actress Sarah Polley's (The Sweet Hereafter) directorial debut: a husband (Gordon Pinsent) must cope with losing his institutionalized wife (Julie Christie) twice, as her mental health deteriorates and she falls in love with a fellow patient (Michael Murphy). With Olympia Dukakis. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES

(NR) 2006. Director Andrew Shapter crisscrosses the nation to tell the story of real American music. The music world’s biggest talents - Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt - look at the industry at a crossroads. Part of the AthFest Rock Docs series. Hope for AGoldenSummer presents the 7 p.m. screening on Friday, 6/22. Leslie "Serpent Fly" Helpert will play an intro set at the 9:45 p.m. show on Saturday, 6/23. Starts Friday (Ciné)

BLADES OF GLORY

(PG-13) After being exiled from male figure skating, Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) make history by defying conventions as pairs partners. Another flawless routine from Will Ferrell is the only reason this routine sports comedy medals. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

CADDYSHACK

(R) 1980. Bill Murray created a cultural icon in this wildly popular comedy about the lives of caddies and the golfers they work for. Imminently quotable. With Chevy Chase. Directed by Harold Ramis. Shows Wednesday, 6/27 (Georgia Theatre)

DANGEROUS HIGHWAY

(NR) 2006. Considered the greatest blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter-guitarist of all-time, Eddie Hinton played on albums by everyone from Elvis to Otis Redding and wrote hundreds of songs covered by artists as disparate as Aretha and UB40. Part of the AthFest Rock Docs series. Trucker Patterson Hood will host the Monday, 6/25, 10 p.m. screening. Shows Sunday, 6/24–Tuesday, 6/26 (Ciné)

DR. SEUSS' 5,000 FINGERS OF DR. T.

(NR) 1953. Dr. T. is Dr. Terwilliker, Bart Collins’ piano teacher who plans to force 500 imprisoned boys to practice at his giant piano, 24/7. Bart is the only hope they have of ever escaping. Featuring a screenplay and song lyrics by Dr. Seuss, this surrealistic children’s film is definitely deserving of a revival. Hosted by Mark Mobley at the 4:15 p.m. shows on Friday, 6/22 & Saturday, 6/23. Starts Friday (Ciné)

EVAN ALMIGHTY

(PG) In this sequel to Bruce Almighty, God (Morgan Freeman) asks Congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell, reprising his role from the first film) to go all Noah and build an ark. The rest of Evan’s world - personal and professional - thinks he’s gone crazy. With Lauren Graham, Wanda Sykes and John Goodman. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER

(PG) See Movie Pick and Flick Skinny. (Beechwood, Carmike)

FRACTURE

(R) A mature, twisty mystery, Fracture stars Anthony Hopkins as Ted Crawford, who murders his wife and toys with the system to get away with it. Hopkins seems to enjoy himself, and Ryan Gosling proves a worthy adversary. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

GEORGIA RULE

(R) Out-of-control teen Rachel (Lindsay Lohan) is taken by her mother (Felicity Huffman) to spend the summer with her strict grandmother (Jane Fonda) in Mormon country. Though not a black comedy, Georgia Rule tries to milk laughs from child molestation. Sick. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

THE GREAT MATCH

(NR) 2006. As Germany and Brazil battle for the 2002 World Cup, fans from Mongolia, Niger and Brazil must combat poor TV reception to see the action. Gerardo Olivares’ global comedy won the Grand Prix from the Alpe d’Huez International Comedy Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Biznaga handed out at the Málaga Spanish Film Festival. Part of the ACC Library’s iFilms series. Shows Thursday, 6/21 (ACC Library)

HEADSPACE

(NR) 2006. Headspace attempts to document the world’s electronic music culture by capturing the beats rather than lecturing on the origins of this DJ or that style. Director Jethro Senger partied for over three years in 10 different countries, filming everything. Featuring interviews with some of the world's preeminent DJs. Part of the AthFest Rock Docs series. Presented by Senger at the 7:30 p.m. shows each night. Shows Friday, 6/22 & Saturday, 6/23 (Ciné)

HOSTEL: PART II

(R) Jovial, self-gratifying but ultimately cowardly, Hostel Part II breaks no new gorno ground. Like to see pretty girls tortured? Beth, Whitney and Lorna (Lauren German, Bijou Phillips and Heather Matarazzo) receive at least a bit more compassion than Hostel’s all-male revue. Still, if Eli Roth treated his characters more humanely in the first act, I’d end up caring more in the second and third. (Carmike)

KNOCKED UP

(R) When Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl, radiant in a star-making turn) decides to keep the result of a one-night stand with smooshy, man-boy Ben (Seth Rogen), she sets in motion a riotous two-hour journey that mocks the ups and downs of pregnancy, courtship and marriage on the way to a heartfelt happily ever after. Our greatest synthesist of bawdy sex comedy and sincere romantic comedy, Jude Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) has delivered a healthy, funny movie. (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

LUCKY YOU

(PG-13) This may have sounded like a good idea a few years back when television poker was all the rage. Huck Cheever (Eric Bana), a compulsive gambler and commitophobe, falls for wannabe lounge singer Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore). The romance in director Curtis Hanson and Eric Roth’s script doesn’t fly very far. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

MEET THE ROBINSONS

(G) When orphan Lewis’ newest experiment blows up, he is whisked to the future by Wilbur Robinson, eldest son of the future’s first family. Despite its visual wow factor, Robinsons is obnoxiously madcap, hyperactively zany, and quite tedious. Shows Wednesday, 6/20 (Tate)

MEETING PEOPLE IS EASY

(NR) 1998. In this rockumentary about Radiohead, director Grant Gee and the band reveal what being a rock star is really like. It’s not all glamour and glitz, ladies and gentlemen. Starts Wednesday, 6/27 (Ciné)

A MIGHTY HEART

(R) Guerrilla filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People) drags Angelina Jolie through Pakistan and India without filming permits to tell the story of Mariane Pearl (her book, A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl, supplied the film’s framework) as she frantically searches for her journalist husband Daniel (Dan Futterman). Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

MR. BROOKS

(R) Not as bad as its decades-old premise (a brilliant serial killer is being hunted by a determined cop) or its decade-past-their prime stars, Kevin Costner and Demi Moore, portend, Mr. Brooks niftily riffs on Costner’s image with a violently supportive look at a regretful killer. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

NANCY DREW

(PG) Bringing a property like Nancy Drew (i.e. a popular teenage mystery series created in the 1930s) to the big screen in 2007 is a tough task. Stick too faithfully to the original themes and social mores, and you’ve fashioned an irrelevant dinosaur; ride the present cultural zeitgeist to capture today’s fickle audience, and your flick will be dated very quickly. Nancy’s latest incarnation, played by Emma Roberts, is removed from the 1950s time capsule called River Heights and plopped smack dab in modern Los Angeles, a feeble solution that fails to completely stave off either concern. Naturally, the incorrigible sleuth and overachiever cannot keep her promise to her dad (Tate Donovan) and begins investigating the murder of an old movie star. Meanwhile, Nancy must face the danger and intrigue of a new high school. Cute if you’re nostalgic or a teenage girl - boring if you’re anyone else. (Beechwood, Carmike)

NEXT

(PG-13) Boring! A Vegas magician (Cage) must use his ability to see two minutes into the future to save America from some leftover “24” plot device. With Jessica Biel. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

OCEAN’S THIRTEEN

(PG-13) Ocean’s Thirteen rebottles the effervescent, effortless charms of 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven. Revenge is the name of the game as Danny (George Clooney) and the boys (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle and Elliot Gould) plot to pay back casino owner Willie Bank (Al Pacino) for hurting one of their own. As always, the scheme gets more tangled than is necessary, but the gentlemanly interplay between Clooney, Pitt and Damon goes down easier than 20-year-old scotch. (Beechwood, Carmike)

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

(PG-13) At World’s End rediscovers Black Pearl’s quirky sense of humor. Captain Jack (Johnny Depp) has never seemed more addled and more fey than when he is rescued by Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) on their way to Shipwreck Cove, where the Brethren Court is meeting to discuss the East India Trading Company’s assault on pirates. A three-hour behemoth, At World’s End is one clever swashbuckler fueled by Depp’s slapstick coconut rummy and some banging FX. (Beechwood, Carmike)

SEARCHING FOR THE WRONG-EYED JESUS

(NR) 2005. Alt-country singer Jim White tours the South, exploring the vitality of one-road towns, roadside diners, bars, prisons and churches while illuminating what the region, its people and its very human foibles mean to him. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

SHREK THE THIRD

(PG) After the death of King Harold (voiced by John Cleese), Shrek (v. Mike Myers), Donkey (v. Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (v. Antonio Banderas) strike out in search of the youthful Artie (v. Justin Timberlake). Meanwhile, Fiona (v. Cameron Diaz) must deal with Prince Charming. Shrek the Third is far, far away the weakest of the franchise’s three films. (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

SPIDER-MAN 3

(PG-13) Spidey (Tobey Maguire) must out-duel Venom (Topher Grace), the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and himself. The bloated Spider-Man 3 packs on far too many pounds of fatty story. Still, it sprints where most comic book adaptations limp. Ends Thursday (Beechwood, Carmike)

STROKES OF GENIUS

(NR) 1984. On June 20: “Jackson Pollock: Portrait” offers rare footage of the provocative American artist in all his energetic, canvas-splashing glory. On June 27: “David Smith: Steel Into Sculpture,” looks at the three major phases of the sculptor’s career. Shows Wednesday, 6/20 & 6/27 (GMOA)

SURF’S UP

(PG) A mockumentary of up-and-coming surfer and penguin Cody Maverick (voiced by Shia LeBeouf), the mildly amusing Surf’s Up has a hard time finding its wave, but once it does, settles into a nice comedic rhythm, thanks to some multi-generational gags and a great voicework by Jeff Bridges as old surf bum Geek. (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

THIS IS SPINAL TAP

(PG) 1984. The is the groundbreaking, hilarious “mockumentary” about the fictitious British heavy-metal band Spinal Tap. Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer basically improvised their way through profiling the band’s meandering career. Shows Wednesday, 6/27 (Georgia Theatre)

VACANCY

(R) A crackerjack, scary-as-hell premise - visitors to a remote motel are forced to star in cheapo snuff films - makes this cheapo, thrills-only slasher flick scary fun. With Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

WAITRESS

(PG-13) Unhappily married and pregnant, Jenna (Keri Russell) creates fabulously delicious pies. When she begins an affair with the town’s new ob-gyn (Nathan Fillion), she rediscovers herself. This indie romcom might turn a few off with its pro-infidelity, but I prefer to think of it as anti-lovelessness. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

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. This flick’s just coasting on the fumes of its stars’ fading charms. (Georgia Square 5)

Drew Wheeler