originally published March 12, 2008

10,000 B.C.

(PG-13) See Movie Pick and Flick Skinny. 10,000 B.C. follows a young mammoth hunter, D’Leh (Steven Strait from last fall’s default hit, The Covenant), tracking a hostile civilization through uncharted territory to save his tribe and his girlfriend. Director Roland Emmerich, who has done sci-fi (Independence Day); and has politicized quasi-sci-fi (The Day After Tomorrow); and done American history (The Patriot). I guess prehistory is as good a new target as any. (Beechwood, Carmike)

27 DRESSES

(PG-13) If only the romantic comedy clichés here were more likable or dynamic, this flick, starring Katherine Heigl as an eternal bridesmaid in love with her boss (Edward Burns) who is engaged to her selfish little sister (Malin Ackerman), might have been more than cute. (Georgia Square 5)

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. (George Square 5)

ATONEMENT

(R) 2007. Ian McEwan’s 2002 novel of the fictions we create to hurt, to heal and to survive, arrives on the big screen with the fanfare expected of a splashy literary adaptation. The lives of the Tallis girls - older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and 13-year-old Briony (Saoirse Ronan) - are changed forever by the spiteful events of an interchangeable summer day in the English countryside. A false accusation sends her sister’s lower-class lover, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), first to prison, then to France, to fight the Nazis. Pride and Prejudice director Joe Wright again displays a talent that is surprisingly fully developed. He can claim the year’s most technically impressive feat; a massively staged Dunkirk unveiled in one ambitious five-and-a-half-minute single shot. Shows Friday, 3/14—Tuesday, 3/18 (Ciné)

THE BANK JOB

(R) See Movie Pick. The Bank Job dramatizes one of Britain’s biggest crimes. A group of unseasoned criminals are tricked into robbing safety deposit boxes; instead, they’re actually stealing naughty pictures of a Royal princess that will thrust the motley crew into the middle of a scandal encompassing the criminal underworld and the Royal Family. (Beechwood, Carmike)

BE KIND REWIND

(PG-13) I want to swede; that’s what Jack Black’s Jerry and Mos Def’s Mike call the process during which they “charmingly” and ineptly reshoot popular movies using only themselves, their friends and their own no budget ingenuity. Be Kind Rewind may be creative, but it’s also cloying and presumptive. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

CHARLIE BARTLETT

(R) Unable to fit in at his new high school, rich Charlie Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) becomes the resident therapist, listening and doling out advice and prescriptions to his emotionally needy, hormonally unstable teenage clientele. The talented, hip cast includes Robert Downey Jr. as the school principal and Hope Davis as Charlie’s mom. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

CLOVERFIELD

(PG-13) More experience than movie, Cloverfield immerses you in a fake attack on New York City. It's a lean, mean monster movie. Shot on handheld digital cameras, the entire film sustains the illusion that everything is happening right then and there to the small band of 20-somethings. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

COLLEGE ROAD TRIP

(G) Martin Lawrence returns to the big screen for the second time in a month. Lawrence is Chief James Porter, the overprotective policeman father who decides to accompany - and mortify - his daughter, high school senior Rachel (Raven-Symoné), on a cross-country trip to pick a college. (Beechwood, Carmike)

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

(PG-13) Director Julian Schnabel, screenwriter Ronald Harwood, and cinematography superstar Janusz Kaminski have made two hours trapped in someone else’s paralyzed body heartbreakingly painless. Most of Diving Bell is narrated from the perspective of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle who wrote his memoir by blinking his left eye, the only body part left unparalyzed by a stroke. Schnabel employs stylistic flourishes to transcend the pedestrian sentimentality associated with inspirational true stories about physically challenged protagonists. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was the best foreign language film of 2007. Ends Thursday, 3/13 (Ciné)

DOOMSDAY

(R) A virus has decimated the population of Europe; years later, a team of specialists infiltrate the latest hot zone, but their dream to manufacture a cure quickly turns into a nightmare. I loved writer-director Neil Marshall’s last film, the underrated, over-frightening Descent, but his new movie looks very similar to the 28 Days Later & and Resident Evil franchises. Despite that musty whiff of familiar horror/sci-fi themes, I’m still pumped for any new product from Marshall. Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

ENCHANTED

(PG) Disney's Enchanted is a sometimes clever, other times irritating mix of live-action and animation. A lollypop of a movie, this airy fairy-tale is set in contemporary New York. Although it has the makings of a sugarcoated hit, and Amy Adams is utterly adorable, you may feel your sweet tooth begin to ache. [Cotter] (Georgia Square 5)

FOOL'S GOLD

(PG-13) Fool’s Gold is as lazy and dumb as its cartoonish main character, treasure salvager Finn (Matthew McConaughey). Kate Hudson does what little she can to tone down Finn’s ex-wife Tess’ shrill unlikability, but the rest of the cast are shackled by unnecessary accents. A dud in every way. (Beechwood) Ends Thursday (Carmike)

GRACE IS GONE

(PG-13) Writer-director James C. Strouse’s debut won wide acclaim, and a huge distribution deal from the Weinsteins, at Sundance. However, this depressing little film about the Iraq war has little chance of box office success even with producer-star John Cusack, who portrays Stanley Philipps, a father who takes his two daughters on a road trip in the hopes of discovering a kinder, gentler way to tell them mom isn’t coming back from Iraq. With Alessandro Nivola. Shows Tuesday, 3/18 (Tate)

HORTON HEARS A WHO!

(G) Dr. Seuss’s popular children’s book gets CGI-ed by the creators of Ice Age. An elephant, Horton (Jim Carrey), begins conversing with a speck of dust that houses the tiny civilization of the Whos. Soon Horton must battle the judgmental Animal Kingdom if he plans to protect the Whos from danger. Dr. Seuss hasn’t fared well in live action adaptations; why not give computer animation a go? Opens Friday (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. Will Smith plays Robert Neville, a military scientist haunted by his past and his failure to stop a mutating virus. The story was adapted from a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson which has already been turned into two movies. This adaptation wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good, either. [Alex Moore] (Georgia Square 5)

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. I’m Not There was nominated for the Golden Lion and won three other awards. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

JUMPER

(PG-13) The good aspects of Jumper are few and include Hayden Christensen’s hotness (or so I’ve been told) and a neat idea about teleportation powers. The rest of the movie was pure two-dimensional fluff. [Alex Moore] Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

JUNO

(PG-13) A frank, funny discussion of family, teenage sexuality and parenting without a hint of the cool irony that typically detaches independent comedies, Juno lives up to all its hype, most of which has deservedly swirled around screenwriter Diablo Cody and actress Ellen Page (Hard Candy). Juno’s teenage pregnancy may be the least complicated - and funniest - of all time, yet that youthful optimism is something of which we could use a lot more. Unlike so many independent comedies, Juno isn’t too cool to care. Ends Thursday (Beechwood)

KAMP KATRINA

(NR) The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, a sextet of independent films to be shown at the Georgia Museum of Art in 2007 and 2008, returns with its fifth film, Kamp Katrina, directed by Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. Kamp Katrina is located in the backyard of New Orleans Upper 9th Ward resident, Ms. Pearl, whose generous attempt to help people following the tragic storm devolved into violence. Redmon will be present to introduce and discuss his film. Sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art and the UGA Parents and Families Association. Shows Wednesday, 3/12 (GMOA)

THE KITE RUNNER

(PG-13) Never fear, lovers of Khaled Hosseini’s powerful novel. The Kite Runner does cinematic justice to your beloved book. The Kite Runner follows the book’s recipe to the letter, tossing massive concepts of friendship, disloyalty, forgiveness and, ultimately, redemption. Kites soar through the skies over Kabul; blood drips onto the pure, driven snow; the beatific smile of young Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) stunningly differs from the modern Afghan zombies stumbling through the waking nightmare of Taliban rule. The film is remarkably well-adapted, doing right by its source without resorting to slavish devotion. Starts Friday (Georgia Square 5)

MAD MONEY

(PG-13) Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes star as three women who rob the Federal Reserve. The leads are game, and interweaving a heist movie with themes of female empowerment gone awry, and the corporate downsizing of white upper-middle class America is intriguing. Too bad the direction stinks. (Highway 17 Theatres) Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY

(PG-13) London governess Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) takes a job with lively American singer and actress Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Soon Miss Pettigrew is plunged into the dizzying glamour of high society. Based on a popular novel of the 1930s written by Winifred Watson. (Beechwood, Carmike)

NEVER BACK DOWN

(PG-13) Mixed Martial Arts film Never Back Down is the story of Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), the new kid in town with a troubled past. A recent relocation to Orlando, FL, makes the former star athlete an outsider. In an attempt to hold his own, he learns Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) from his mentor, Jean Roqua, played by Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America). Opens Friday (Beechwood, Carmike)

OSCAR NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORTS

(PG-13) The most underwhelming of the Oscar nominated animated shorts, I Am the Walrus, supplies 2-D visuals to a taped interview with John Lennon. The most beautiful of the longer nominees, My Love, is an impressionist painting come to life, but requires a PhD in Russian language or literature. My favorite then is the actual award winner, Peter and the Wolf. Suzie Templeton reimagines Prokofiev’s classical music for kids with a postmodern twist. This childhood classic has found its latest, greatest form. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

OSCAR NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORTS

(PG-13) All five of the live action shorts nominated for Oscar could have easily won the award. Two Euro-comedy entries, Il Supplente (The Substitute) and Tanghi Argentini, bubble with effortless effervescence. In writer-director Christian E. Christiansen’s At Night, three beautiful young women seek one another’s comfort through the long holiday season on a cancer ward. As charming, touching, and perfect as the other four nominees were, Le Mozart des Pickpockets deserved to win the Oscar. Writer-director-star Philippe Pollet-Villard’s enchanting crime comedy about two dimwitted thieves, Philippe and Richard (Pollet-Villard and Richard MorgiËve), and the deaf boy (Matteo Razzouki-Safardi) they adopt, could have been transitioned into a feature. Ends Thursday (Ciné)

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

(PG-13) The Other Boleyn Girl watches like a TV network’s World Premiere Movie Event, yet Showtime’s “The Tudors” easily out-acts, out-sexes and outclasses this boring bodice-ripper based on Philippa Gregory’s bestseller. The film is devoid of chemistry, be it between Henry (Eric Bana) and Mary (Scarlett Johannsson), Henry and Anne (Natalie Portman), or Mary and Anne. A late rebound occurs when Anne starts losing her mind before she loses her head, but that upsurge cannot wash away the passionless humdrum that preceded it. (Beechwood, Carmike)

PENELOPE

(PG) This modern fairy tale suffers from the over-conceptualization of all Tim Burton wannabes. Most egregiously, Penelope lacks the magic that might make its misfit tale of a pretty pig-snouted princess (Christina Ricci) looking for a Prince Charming (Atonement’s James McAvoy) to pay for enchanted rhinoplasty with the currency of love, semi-believable. Director Mark Palansky’s feature debut, produced by costar Reese Witherspoon, is cynically sweet, but Ricci looks too radiant to sell the extremity of her suitors’ defenestration and fear. Ends Thursday (Beechwood, Carmike)

SEMI-PRO

(R) Where Blades of Glory was simply an amusing ice skating flick, Semi-Pro steals from the annals of sports films to be the closest we may get to a new Slap Shot. In Semi-Pro, the ABA and the NBA are preparing to merge, and Tropics owner Moon will stop at nothing to see his team hit the big-time. Semi-Pro may be a rank amateur when it comes to originality (Major League totally got here first), but a seasoned pro when it comes to laughs. (Beechwood, Carmike)

THE SHAPE OF WATER

(NR) 2006. Narrated by Susan Sarandon, The Shape of Water takes the viewer to Senegal, Israel, Brazil and India to meet visionary third-world women abandoning their culture’s traditional gender roles. Dr. Patricia Richards, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, will lead a discussion after the film. Sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Studies and the Libraries Media Department as part of the Women’s History Month Film Festival. Shows Monday, 3/17 (SLC)

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

(PG) The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of bestselling books by Terry DiTerlizzi and Holly Black about the Grace siblings, twins Jared and Simon (Freddie Highmore) and sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger), who discover a fantastical world existing unseen within our own after they move into the creepy old house that belonged to their great granduncle, Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn). The Spiderwick Chronicles is exhaustingly, not excitingly, filled with dumb complications that keep the plot moving. (Carmike)

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS

(PG-13) The sequel to 2006’s surprise dance smash, Step Up 2 the Streets is a step down in almost every way. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

(R) A dream marriage of material (Stephen Sondheim’s musical in which a serial-killing barber and his landlady sing about meat pies made of man) and artists (Tim Burton and Johnny Depp), Sweeney Todd is bloody perfect. Shows Tuesday, 3/18 (Tate) Ends Thursday (Georgia Square 5)

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

(R) The latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love) solidifies the writer-director’s position as the most challenging auteur birthed by the 1990s. Daniel Plainview (Academy Award nominee Daniel Day-Lewis) could be any self-made, bastard, millionaire man-monster determined to make a fortune, sanity be damned. This demanding film leaves an impression as deep as the Grand Canyon. Shows Friday, 3/14—Wednesday, 3/19 (Ciné)

THE UGLY AMERICAN

(NR) 1963. Nominated for two Golden Globes (Best Actor - Marlon Brando, Best Director - George Englun), The Ugly American is remembered more fondly now than when it was released in 1963. The political film called into question American policy in Southeast Asia, as Harrison Carter MacWhite (Brando) adjusts to life as the new ambassador to Sarkan, where the threat of civil war looms large. Director Englund will be present between the 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. screenings to discuss the making of his film. Sponsored by the UGA Department of Theatre and Film Studies, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Shows Wednesday, 3/19 (Ciné)

VANTAGE POINT

(PG-13) In the ever-expanding genre of action movies for old people, Dennis Quaid is like Arnold Schwarzeneggar in his ‘80s heyday. Too bad the slam-bang premise of Quaid’s latest action film for your parents, Vantage Point, gives out short of the climax. (Beechwood, Carmike)

WANDA

(NR) 1970. Writer-director-star Barbara Loden’s first and only film, shot verité style on grainy film stock, recounts the desperate life of Wanda, the wife of a coal miner who has left her family to struggle through life in rust-belt Pennsylvania. The UGA Library continues its Women’s Vision Film Series, a celebration of women filmmakers for Women’s History Month. Leanne Finnigan, Media Desk Supervisor at the UGA Libraries Media Department, will briefly introduce the film. Refreshments will be provided. Shows Tuesday, 3/18 (UGA Library)

WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS

(PG-13) Welcome home patently offensive, incorrect and insulting visions of the South, particularly Georgia. TV personality Dr. R.J. Stevens (Martin Lawrence) returns home for the first time in years - lessons are learned, bonds are reforged, Lawrence gets sprayed by a skunk. Ends Thursday (Carmike)

WHALE RIDER

(PG-13) 2002. Keisha Castle-Hughes received an Oscar nomination at the age of 13 for her portrayal of Pai, a young Maori girl who must fight her beloved grandfather, Koro, if she is to fulfill her destiny as the leader of her patriarchal New Zealand tribe. Director Niki Caro’s film won nine New Zealand Film and TV Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress. Part of the ACC Library’s iFilms series. Shows Thursday, 3/13 (ACC Library)

WWE: THE GREATEST SUPERSTARS OF WRESTLEMANIA

(TV-14) Newly released DVD that highlights more than 10 WWE matches. Starts Friday (Carmike)

Drew Wheeler