originally published December 12, 2007

3:10 TO YUMA

(R) A remake of the 1957 classic, the film meanders a bit on its way to the appointed train but ultimately arrives at a conclusion as stunning as it is graceful. Outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and desperate rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) bond on the way to meeting that fateful train. (Georgia Square 5)

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS

(PG) I hope this fails miserably so I won’t have to suffer through any more desecrations of beloved childhood characters. Jason Lee is Dave Seville, the human guardian of those three furry, musical prodigies. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

AMERICAN GANGSTER

(R) American Gangster is as imperfect as the anti-villain at its heart. No amount of positive acts can purify Frank Lucas, the third-rate thug who builds a drug empire, and no amount of Oscar winners - director (Ridley Scott), leads (Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe), screenwriter (Steven Zaillian), producer (Brian Grazer) - can fully redeem the leaden American Gangster. (Carmike)

AUGUST RUSH

(PG) Anyone even thinking about seeing this had best be sure they believe that music (and love) can conquer all. If not, the tired plot devices that prop up this modern fable about an orphaned musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore) seeking his parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) through music will have one wishing to change the sentimental station. (Beechwood); Ends Thursday (Carmike)

AWAKE

(R) Unlucky boy billionaire Clayton Beresford, Jr. (Hayden Christensen) experiences “anesthetic awareness” during surgery. Paralyzed, he is unable to alert his surgeons (Terrence Howard and Fisher Stevens). With a terrifying and intriguing premise, Awake could have been a swell little chiller. Unfortunately, first-time writer-director Joby Harold loses this cool idea in a third-rate deception/ murder plot. With Jessica Alba. (Carmike)

BEE MOVIE

(PG) Steadily buzzing with amusement, Bee Movie shouldn’t disappoint fans of Jerry Seinfeld. He particularizes the minutiae of bee life in a way that can only be described as “Seinfeldian” as Barry B. Benson (v. Seinfeld) leaves the hive for the human world where he sues the honey industry on behalf of bees everywhere. Bee Movie is less a laugh riot than a steady peppering of chuckles. The film also enlists its share of famous voices, but each is endemic to the plot. Bee Movie also sports some jaw-dropping flight sequences, but the film’s quiet, ceaseless humor is its biggest draw. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD

(R) Two brothers, Andy and Hank Hanson (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke), decide to resolve their money troubles by robbing a mom and pop jewelry operation. The hitch is that the mom and pop (Rosemary Harris and Albert Finney) in question are theirs. Before the Devil isn’t much of a heist movie; the film primarily focuses on the aftermath of a robbery that goes awry in the first few minutes. Director Sidney Lumet and first-time screenwriter Kelly Masterson tell and retell the events leading up to and following the botched burglary from the P.O.V. of all the major players. I understand why everyone’s gotten a little overexcited about Lumet’s film. Lumet’s artistic rejuvenation might have a simple explanation: great actors. Before the Devil’s Hoffman, Hawke and Finney prove all Lumet needs are the right tools. (Ciné)

BELLA

(PG-13) Bella, handsomely directed by Mexico’s newest up-and-coming filmmaker, Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, is as beautiful as its title suggests. When pregnant waitress Nina (Tammy Blanchard) is fired, the restaurant’s chef and former millionaire soccer star, Jose (Eduardo Verástegui), takes the day off to wander around the city and convince Nina to keep the baby. Bella’s message may be genuine, but its delivery is unconvincing. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

BEOWULF

(PG-13) Robert Zemeckis’ eye-popping cinematic spectacle revels in all the beauty - and every blemish - of motion capture animation. While outwardly resembling the Old English epic about the hero who defeats Grendel (creepily given vocal life by Crispin Glover) and his mother (Angelina Jolie), Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction) inwardly question the entire mythic proposition of hubristic heroism. Who cares? Beowulf is a blast. (Carmike); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

BLOW-UP

(NR) 1966. Ciné is celebrating the life and times of the late great Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni with a screening of his first English-language film, the Palme d’Or-winning Blow Up. David Hemmings stars as the mod photographer who believes he has snapped a picture of murder; Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave stars as the mysterious young woman who will do anything to retrieve the unexposed roll of film. Special event on Saturday only includes a tribute to Antonioni by Dr. Steven Grossvogel, with an introduction of the film at 6:30 p.m., and a Q&A after the 7 p.m. screening. Starts Friday (Ciné)

THE DARJEELING LIMITED

(R) Wes Anderson has never met a situation he couldn’t mock a teensy bit more, but in The Darjeeling Limited, he encounters the genuine emotion he’s avoided in his twee masterpieces. Anderson tones down the irony during the “spiritual journey” taken by the damaged Whitman brothers - Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (co-writer Jason Schwartzman) - to deal with their father’s death, as well as each other. (Ciné)

ENCHANTED

(PG) I could just go with one of those blurby, exclamatory reviews you see in all the television and print ads. “Enchanting!” or “Enchanted is enchanting!” Such hyperbole befits Giselle (Amy Adams), Disney’s winning poke at its popular Princess brand. Tossed into the real world by the wicked stepmother (Susan Sarandon) of her dutifully dense prince (James Marsden), Giselle overwhelms the cynicism of McDreamy divorce attorney and single father, Robert (Patrick Dempsey), with her nourishing naïveté and sincere belief in True Love’s Kiss. (Beechwood, Carmike)

FRAULEIN

(NR) 2006. Having lived an orderly existence ever since leaving Belgrade over 25 years before, Zurich resident, Reza (Mirjana Karanovic), is upset by but ultimately befriends Ana (Marija Skaricic), a young refugee from Sarajevo. Director Andrea Staka’s film won the Golden Leopard from the Locarno International Film Festival. Part of the ACC Library’s iFilms series. Shows Thursday, 12/13 (ACC Library)

FRED CLAUS

(PG) Mucking with the right jolly old elf’s mythology, Fred Claus introduces Saint Nick’s (Paul Giamatti) estranged older brother, Fred (Vince Vaughn). Embittered against his generous younger sibling, Fred has grown up to be a fast-talking huckster who must travel to the North Pole to earn the money he needs for a new business venture. While amusing, Fred Claus’ dramatic arc is awfully predictable. (Beechwood, Carmike, Highway 17 Theatres)

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

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

GOOD LUCK CHUCK

(R) More soft-core porn than actual comedy, Good Luck Chuck fails in everything it attempts. Chuck (Dane Cook) is cursed: every girl he sleeps with falls in love with the next man she dates. This is all well and good until he meets the clumsy-yet-gorgeous Cam (Jessica Alba), the girl of his dreams, and thus, must find a way to break the curse. [Maggie Summers] Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

THE HEARTBREAK KID

(R) Confirmed bachelor Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) thinks he’s met his soulmate (Malin Ackerman), until a honeymoon in Cabo reveals the real girl of his dreams, Miranda (Michelle Monaghan). The Heartbreak Kid reacquaints the Farrelly brothers with the raunchy romance that made There’s Something About Mary so wonderful. Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

HITMAN

(R) Hitman was a surprisingly decent movie for a video game adaptation. Of all the video game-based movies I have ever seen (and I have seen all of them), Hitman is easily in the top three. All around, it is a pretty good action thriller with a mediocre and slightly convoluted plot about Russian conspiracies. Director Xavier Gens has made a really fun action movie complete with a hot prostitute (Olga Kurylenko), nudity, and a great deal of blood spatter. However, nothing was too overdone for the genre. Even the geeky video game references were subtle and kept to a bare minimum. The ladies might even enjoy this one, because, as my girlfriend said, "Timothy Olyphant (lately of "Deadwood," as bald hitman Agent 47) was totally hot." [Alex Moore] (Beechwood, Carmike)

I AM LEGEND

(PG-13) I Am Legend by science fiction legend Richard Matheson gets its third shot at cinematic success. Will Smith is Robert Neville, the only survivor of a biological attack. I Am Legend, directed by Constantine’s Francis Lawrence and co-written by Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman, should be one of winter’s biggest hits. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

THE LIST

(PG) Based on the debut novel by Robert Whitlow, a UGA law school grad whose novels are located somewhere between those by John Grisham and Frank Peretti, The List mixes supernatural chills with legal thrills and Christian spiels. Young lawyer Renny Jacobsen (“J.A.G.”’s Chuck Carrington) is stunned by his father’s death and mysterious bequest, interest in an unknown company. Soon Renny is meeting in back rooms with a group of good old boys led by Malcolm McDowell and wondering if the enticing supernatural power of the 140-year-old covenant is worth the trouble. I don’t get it. Did the filmmakers desire to trick some crappy thriller-loving non-believers into a cinematic sermon that looks like it was shot using soft core porn cinematography? (Beechwood)

MARTIAN CHILD

(PG) Having lost his wife, science fiction author David Gordon (John Cusack) adopts a young boy, Dennis (Bobby Coleman), who believes he’s from Mars. Cusack is as genuine as ever, but he’ll never be strong enough to overpower the sickly sweet aroma wafting off a film like this. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

THE MIST

(R) The day after a massive storm rocks a small Maine community, a strange mist engulfs the town, trapping artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) inside the local supermarket with a mixed bag of locals and out-of-towners. Soon, otherworldly monsters appear from the impenetrable shroud. As hope dims, a mad prophetess (Marcia Gay Harden), whips the majority of the survivors into a bloodthirsty congregation seeking expiation. An atmospheric film about the terror that resides within mankind, The Mist is a misanthropic new horror landmark. (Highway 17 Theatres); Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

MONIKA

(NR) 1953. Legendary Swedish filmmaker and nine-time Oscar nominee, Ingmar Bergman, who died this past July, created quite a stir with this 1953 film starring a discreetly nude, 20-year-old actress named Harriett Andersson in her first major film role. (This versatile actress went on to star in several of Bergman’s pictures including his final feature, Fanny and Alexander.) To escape harassment, Monika (Andersson) and her slightly older lover, Harry (Lars Ekborg), take his small boat to live and love the summer away in solitude. Special event on Friday only includes a tribute to Bergman by Dr. Charles Eidsvick, with an introduction of the film at 6:45 p.m., and a Q&A after the 7:15 p.m. screening. Starts Friday (Ciné)

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

(R) After finding two million dollars, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is hunted by ruthless killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem, who plays the milk-chugging sociopath as more bogeyman than hitman), with only a weary lawman (Tommy Lee Jones), to protect him. With No Country, the Coen Bros. defeat irrelevance with the sharpness of their moviemaking tools, the adroitness of their writing and the perfectly complementary acting troupe. The film is funny, cynical, scary, yet ultimately meaningful. I loved it. (Beechwood)

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

(PG) The Perfect Holiday sounds like the generic, Hallmark holiday movie. Nancy (Gabrielle Union), a divorced mother of three, and Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), a department store Santa AND a struggling songwriter, find romance after Nancy’s youngest daughter tells the jolly old elf’s mall proxy what her mother really wants for Christmas. Directed by The Cookout’s Lance Rivera. (Carmike)

RATATOUILLE

(G) Remy the rat (Patton Oswalt) dreams of being a top chef. Garbage boy Linguine (Lou Romano) doesn’t want to lose another job. Together they become the gastronomic sensation of Paris. Ratatouille again proves Pixar is king. Directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles). (Georgia Square 5)

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION

(R) Milla Jovovich returns as the ass-kicking, DNA-modified Alice in the third installment of the Resident Evil franchise. Chaos, of course, ensues. At least the franchise has something going for it: no wimpy PG-13 rating! [Margaret Moore] Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

RUSH HOUR 3

(PG-13) Rush Hour 3 is a pleasant enough diversion that never achieves the giddy fun of the first two installments. RH3 displaces Chris Tucker’s Detective James Carter and Jackie Chan’s Chief Inspector Lee in the City of Lights, where they must bring the Chinese Triad to its knees. (Georgia Square 5)

SUPERBAD

(R) The super-raunchy all-night adventures of best buds and lovable losers Seth (Michael Cera) and Evan (Jonah Hill) as they seek beer and sex was waiting for the ribald, heartfelt guidance of producer Judd Apatow, the writer-director of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Superbad captures the life and travails of the geeky - read normal - high-school male. (Georgia Square 5)

THIS CHRISTMAS

(PG-13) This Christmas is just a less drama-stuffed version of the charming turkey Tyler Perry’s been serving for years, but the new family dramedy tastes better than most of the sentimental dreck spooned up during the holiday season. The Whitfields have not all been together for the holidays in years, so you can imagine how excited matriarch Ma’ Dere (Loretta Devine) gets when they all come together. (Beechwood, Carmike)

VANAJA

(NR) 2006. Writer-director Rajnesh Domalpalli’s first film concerns the 15-year-old daughter (Mamatha Bhukya) of a financially strapped fisherman, whose dream to learn the Kuchipudi dance turns to a nightmare of sexual abuse after the son of her teacher returns from the United States. Vanaja has received worldwide acclaim. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

Drew Wheeler