originally published December 26, 2007

27 DRESSES

(PG-13) Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) stars in this romantic comedy about a woman who has been a bridesmaid no less that 27 times. On the latest go round, she also happens to be in love with the groom - her sister's fiance. With James Marsden, Edward Burns and Melora Hardin ("The Office"). Special sneak preview on Thursday, 12/27 (Beechwood)

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM

(R) Alien vs. Predator killed the artful science fiction franchise begun with Alien; here’s hoping Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem can jump-start a new, leaner, meaner franchise. Brothers and special effects whizzes Colin and Greg Strause (The Day After Tomorrow, 300) have the opportunity to do something really cool. I’m skeptical about that Alien-Predator hybrid though. (Beechwood, Carmike)

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS

(PG) My nostalgic love for the Chipmunks lowered my expectations for the their live-action/ CGI debut, which was a good thing. Alvin and the Chipmunks didn’t live down to my preconceived disappointment and pleased the parents and children in attendance, mostly due to the tiny stars ringing true despite contemporization. As right as the Chipmunks are, songwriter and guardian Dave Seville is disappointingly off as Jason Lee tries on an unhip persona for the umpteenth unsuccessful time. Nonetheless, this family flick is certainly better than those atrocious Garfield movies.(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. (Georgia Square 5)

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. (Georgia Square 5)

THE BUBBLE

(NR) 2006. Israeli director Eytan Fox's (Yossi & Jagger) latest film is set in Tel Aviv, with the ongoing war with the Palestinians as a backdrop. In spite of its airy title, the plot has been described more as Romeo and Juliet, with the caveat that both of them are men. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival and winner also at the Durban International Film Festival and the Toronto International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Shows Friday, 12/28–Thursday 1/3 (Ciné)

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

(R) Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) was a whiskey-swilling, playboy congressman from Texas; his war was fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets. Directed by Mike Nichols and adapted from George Criles’ bestseller by Aaron Sorkin, Charlie Wilson’s War humorously looks at some serious issues. With Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. (Beechwood, Carmike)

CRIMINALLY INSANE

(R) 1975. Cult film from director Nick Millard about a morbidly obese women who, after being released from an asylum, begins an eating/ murder rampage. Shows Tuesday, 1/8 (Flicker)

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)

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). While amusing, Fred Claus’ dramatic arc is awfully predictable. (Highway 17 Theatres)

THE GAME PLAN

(PG) Professional football player Joe Kingman (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) has only one thing in mind - winning a championship ring - until his daughter, sweet little Peyton (Madison Pettis), is left on his doorstep. Kids will love The Game Plan for two hours and promptly forget it; parents could do worse. (Georgia Square 5)

THE GOLDEN COMPASS

(PG-13) About a Boy writer-director Chris Weitz’s filmed adaptation of the first book of author Philip Pullman’s popular His Dark Materials trilogy blinds with $170 million worth of extravagant, potential block-bluster but lacks the scope, scale, depth or running time of fantasy flagship The Lord of the Rings. Pullman’s novel being a philosophical treatise on the authoritarian nature of religion cloaked in a propulsive narrative, the producers feared an intelligent film that doesn’t submissively kowtow to dogmatic doctrine would poison The Golden Compass at the box office. This anxiety forces Weitz to not so carefully introduce the series’ major players and allegorical ideas. Every scene is hurried; no relationship is given time to develop; how things come to happen matters little so long as they happen; and characters are all archetypically one-dimensional. (Carmike)

THE GREAT DEBATERS

(PG-13) Directed and starring Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey, The Great Debaters is positioning itself for an Oscar run. The true life story of Melvin Tolson (Washington), a professor at Texas’ Wiley College who coached his debate team to the national championship against Harvard, has already snagged a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama. With Forest Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett (Eve’s Bayou), John Heard, and Kimberly Elise. (Beechwood, Carmike)

I AM LEGEND

(PG-13) I Am Legend is another addition to one of my all-time favorite movie sub-genres: the post-apocalyptic survival story. The film begins three years after the apocalyptic near-extinction of mankind. We soon discover that nearly all of humanity has been killed by a mutating virus and most of the remaining humans have been turned into super-strong vampire-zombies. Smith plays Robert Neville, a military scientist haunted by his past and his failure to stop the virus. Neville has decided to stay in Manhattan and attempt to cure the virus using only his home laboratory and massive biceps. His only friend for much of the movie is his loyal dog, Sam. The story was adapted from a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson which has already been turned into two movies: The Last Man on Earth (1964), starring Vincent Price, and The Omega Man (1971), starring Charlton Heston. This adaptation wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good, either. Early suspense dwindles as, toward the end, the film devolves into a lame monster movie. I will offer one warning; this is not a feel-good movie. As if all of humanity dying wasn’t enough, the last half of the movie is just plain depressing. [Alex Moore] (Beechwood, Carmike)

I'M NOT THERE

(R) Oscar-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes’ high-concept Bob Dylan biopic casts six different actors in the role of the American musical bard. Christian Bale, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw and Cate Blanchett all embody a different aspect of the legendary musician. I’m Not There was nominated for the Golden Lion and won three other awards. (Ciné)

INTO THE WILD

(R) Whether you are a fan (or not) of humorless leftist Sean Penn’s politics or his deep method acting, you can’t deny the Oscar winner’s gift as a director. His fourth feature, Into the Wild, adapted by Penn from Jon Krakauer’s bestseller, may be overindulgent, but it is stylishly confident. A true iconoclast, Penn identifies with kindred spirit Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch, Alpha Dog), the Emory graduate who gave up everything to travel to Alaska, where he eventually died of starvation and exposure. As McCandless traverses the continent, his life is episodically changed thanks to Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook. Still, the young man’s belief that there is more to life than a career and a family is never shaken. With a haunting folk rock soundscape provided by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Into the Wild walks and talks with the free-spirited, countercultural vigor of the 1960s. Starts Friday, 1/4 (Ciné)

METROPOLIS

(NR) 1927. Fritz Lang's ground-breaking silent spectacle in a newly restored version! Each frame was digitally scanned and cleaned, so that minute details and subtle shading can be seen for the first time in decades. This epic tale of an industrial society where the working class is exploited is one of the hallmarks of early filmmaking. Don't miss this! Ends Tuesday, 1/1 (Ciné)

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)

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS

(PG) 2004’s surprise blockbuster gets sequelized. Treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is on the hunt for John Wilkes Booth’s diary in an attempt to clear his great-grandfather of suspicion in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. (Beechwood, Carmike)

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)

ONE MISSED CALL

(PG-13) This horror flick might be the only Takashi Miike film that isn’t too extreme to be remade by Hollywood. Ed Burns stars as a detective investigating the strange phone calls received by several people detailing the date, time and details of their deaths. Judging from the trailer, the English-language debut of director Eric Valette (Maléfique), possesses at least a flash or two of creepiness. Opens Friday, 1/4 (Call Theaters)

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY

(PG) Though harmless, The Perfect Holiday has no business clogging up the theaters this holiday season. Divorced mom Nancy (Gabrielle Union) just wants a nice man for Christmas. Her little girl, Emily, tells an outlet mall Santa, struggling songwriter Benjamin (Morris Chestnut), and you can guess the rest of the film. Complications with a fat elf (Faizon Love) and a fathead ex-hubby/ rap mogul (Charlie Murphy) dull the holiday spirit, but the brief appearances by squeaky-voiced comedian Katt Williams are like rum spiking this bland eggnog. (Carmike)

P.S. I LOVE YOU

(PG-13) After her Irish hubby, Gerry (Gerard Butler, 300), succumbs to illness, Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) begins receiving messages from him telling her how to move on with her life. Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King), who recently directed Swank in the surprisingly affecting Freedom Writers, steps behind the camera again. With Lisa Kudrow, James Marsters, Gina Gershon, Harry Connick, Jr., Kathy Bates and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. (Beechwood, Carmike)

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

(R) After returning from a stint in prison, Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp, and yes, he sings!) becomes Sweeney Todd, the proprietor of a barbershop located above Mrs. Lovett’s Meat Pies. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter, in the role immortalized on the stage by Angela Lansbury), Todd gets his revenge while trying to reclaim his daughter from evil Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). Director Tim Burton has already picked up a National Board of Review award for Best Director for his adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim horror musical. I am more excited about Sweeney Todd than any other film opening this Christmas season. Nominated for four Golden Globes. (Beechwood, Carmike)

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY

(R) Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) cowrote but did not direct this sure-to-be raunchy spoof of music biopics like Walk the Line and Ray. In this mockumentary, fictional singer-songwriter Dewey Cox (Golden Globe nominee John C. Reilly) overcomes various adversities to become a music legend. How can I not be excited about a film that casts Jack White as Elvis and Paul Rudd, Jason Schwartzman, Justin Long and Jack Black as the Beatles? Directed by cowriter Jake Kasdan (Orange County). (Beechwood, Carmike)

THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP

(PG) Based on a book by Babe author Dick King-Smith, The Water Horse is the tale of a lonely boy (Alex Etel, Millions) who finds a mysterious egg that hatches into the legendary Scottish sea creature, the Loch Ness Monster. Director Jay Russell had some early success with another animal movie, but this flick looks silly. Also starring Emily Watson, Ben Chaplin, David Morrissey, and Brian Cox. (Beechwood, Carmike)

WE OWN THE NIGHT

(R) We Own the Night tells a very familiar gangland tale rife with familial tensions and an über-serious striving for honor. The Grusinskys - daddy Burt (Robert Duvall), older brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) and baby bro Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) - are like any family made up of two career cops and a screw-up club owner. Writer-director James Gray (Little Odessa, The Yards) is going for something a lot more operatically grand than his film accomplishes. (Georgia Square 5)

WHY DID I GET MARRIED?

(PG-13) Tyler Perry’s latest film furthers the multi-hyphenate’s brand of over-dramatized pap I’ve come to expect. The marital dirty laundry of four couples is aired during a week-long sojourn in the mountains. Like all of Perry’s dynamically melodramatic films, Why Did I Get Married? is humanly engaging despite any number of cinematic flaws. (Georgia Square 5)

Drew Wheeler