originally published August 6, 2008

THE BIG LEBOWSKI

(R) 1998. The Dude (Jeff Bridges) abides, while seeking recompense for a pissed-on rug from a millionaire with whom he shares a name in a Coen Brothers’s comedy that keeps getting funnier every single time I see it. With John Goodman, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Sam Elliot as “The Stranger.”

BRICK LANE

(PG-13) Monica Ali’s debut novel was a bestseller and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize when it was released in 2003; now the immigrant drama is a feature film, fresh from the festival circuit. In the 1980s, Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) came to London from Bangladesh to participate in an arranged marriage with middle-aged businessman, Chanu Ahmed (Satish Kaushik). Years later, Nazneen, now a mother of two, is trapped in a loveless marriage until a Muslim radical (Christopher Simpson) comes knocking at her door.

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

(PG-13) The popular TV serial based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel finally gets some big screen competition. In his memoirs, Captain Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), who was stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII, recalls his dalliances with Oxford schoolmate Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, I’m Not There) and his sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell, Cassandra’s Dream). Becoming Jane director Julian Jarrold has solid writing help - The Last King of Scotland’s BAFTA-winning Jeremy Brock and Bridget Jones’s Diary’s Andrew Davies - for his next attempted escape from BBC TV movies. With Emma Thompson.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE OF CASPIAN

(PG) I liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but I’m not ready to crown Prince Caspian the King of May 2008. Director Andrew Adamson and almost the entire cast and crew are returning to Narnia along with the four Pevensie children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy - to help Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) wrest control of his native land from villainous King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto).

THE DARK KNIGHT

(PG-13) A comic book-based film has never been so dark, so real, so mystifying, and so deep, rich with characterization, nimble plotting, and intricate set pieces. Picking up soon after the events of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight finds Gotham City a changed environment. Batman (Christian Bale) has criminals afraid to go out after dark. Unfortunately, the Joker (Heath Ledger in a final performance that is every bit as career-defining as is being claimed) wishes to see Gotham - and its heroic, spotless, new D.A., Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), whose tragic fate is preordained by the comic gods - burn. I daresay The Dark Knight is the definitive comic book movie… until Nolan’s next Bat-film.

DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS

(NR) Based on the novel by Honoré de Balzac, this film follows a young general (Guillaume Depardieu) as he navigates the frivolous post-revolutionary French court. Directed by New Wave filmmaker Jacques Rivette, 1820s France is depicted with both historical accuracy and modern editorial finesse. [Cotter]

THE FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON

(NR) Inspired by Albert Lamorisse’s classic Oscar winner, The Red Balloon, six-time Palme d’Or nominee Hou Hsien Hsiao takes the fantastical idea of a red balloon following a young boy around the streets of Paris and grounds it in the plotlessness of real life. This Franco-Asian fusion may not please all palates, but it is a refreshing change of taste in the middle of summer’s all-you-can-eat blockbuster buffet.

FRIDA

(R) 2002. A chronicle of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s (Salma Hayek) revolutionary art and sexuality, as well as her tempestuous marriage to famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). Sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art.

GET SMART

(PG-13) Steve Carell comfortably steps into the shoephone of the late, irreplaceable Don Adams in an inoffensive, slightly boring big-screen adaptation, the series' second (1980's The Nude Bomb). The new Get Smart enjoys some of the best TV-to-big screen casting in some time. Get Smart isn't stupid, but it misses by that much.

HANCOCK

(PG-13) Hancock is made of Will Smith, Hollywood’s most bankable superstar. For Hancock, saving the day typically involves millions of dollars worth of property damage, some drunken curses, and ungrateful rescuees. Hancock is brisk and ultimately entertaining, but as send-ups of the superhero genre go, the flick just made me wistful for a big screen “Greatest American Hero.”

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

(PG-13) Made by one of the biggest fanboys for even bigger fanboys, Hellboy II impressively improves upon the good not great 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola’s comic book hero. The supernatural exploits of Hellboy (Ron Perlman, who shoots off a never-ending clip of one-liners with sarcastic panache) and the B.P.R.D. feel fresh amidst a glut of science-based, rational superheroes. Del Toro’s career sans subtitles has been one of genre competence but not much more. In the creative surplus of Hellboy II, del Toro blends Jim Henson with the better parts of a young George Lucas to create a visual treat through tangible special effects and a fine sense of humor. Del Toro may have finally mastered the English-language film.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

(PG-13) The Incredible Hulk improves upon its predecessor, but not by the leaps and bounds one would expect from the proximity of the two films. Hulk (2003) definitively remains the better film, but The Incredible Hulk (2008) is the better Hulk movie. The Green Goliath looks more realistic (relatively), smashes more (and more frequently) and has an opponent - Abomination, worthy of the serious ass-kicking Ol’ Green Genes is capable of dishing out. Nonetheless, Marvel Studios’ second effort looks a little green next to the nearly perfect Iron Man, a superhero film to rival the genre’s masterpiece, Spider-Man 2. But you know what? The three X-Men movies and Spider-Man 1 and 3 look poorly next to Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk is easily on par with those solid Marvel movies.

IRON MAN

(PG-13) When Stan Lee created billionaire industrialist/playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in 1963, the comic book legend could not have imagined how relevant he would remain in 2008. One of Marvel’s greatest heroes, Iron Man lacks the celebrity quotient of Spider-Man, and Iron Man director Jon Favreau (Elf) takes shrewd advantage of that relative anonymity. Downey makes the most of a screenplay that never takes itself too seriously without ever making its metal-clad superhero a joke.

JESUS CAMP

(PG-13) 2006. International Documentary Association Award nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (The Boys of Baraka) catalog the bracing experience of Pastor Becky Fischer’s “Kids on Fire Summer Camp,” a breeding ground for tomorrow’s Christian soldiers, trained to take back America for Christ. The film is the first-ever look into this controversial, alien world. From the trailer, Jesus Camp seems fascinating. Amusingly, ousted New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard (he of the “sexually immoral conduct”) was reportedly unhappy with how he appeared in Ewing and Grady’s film. Part of the ACC Library’s iFilms series.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

(PG) The new, extra-dimensional Journey stars Brendan Fraser, who has hollowed out quite a career playing beefy, floppy-haired adventurers, and while he is no Mason, he's a better travel companion than pop crooner Boone. Fraser goofs around as tectonic physicist Trevor Anderson, who takes his 13-year-old nephew, Sean (the always welcome Josh Hutcherson, Zathura and Bridge to Terabithia), on a search for the mythical lost world underneath the earth's crust. 3D may not make Journey a better movie, but it does make the jovial action more entertaining.

MAMMA MIA!

(PG-13) Have you ever been to a wedding where your parents and aunts and uncles got blisteringly wasted, singing and dancing the night away in wild, fun (to them) abandon? Mamma Mia! is that embarrassing. That being said, my mother thought it was the feel good movie of the summer. Go figure.

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR

(PG-13) See Flick Skinny. In the underwhelming new installment, that whiny kid, Alex O’Connell, has grown up into a hot Australian actor, Luke Ford, and now raids tombs while his pops, Rick (Brendan Fraser), and mom, Evelyn (Maria Bello), live the quiet life in Jolly Old England. When a well-preserved Chinese emperor (Jet Li) is resurrected by the hapless O’Connell clan, they must band together to vanquish him. The Mummy 3 has its moments (the CG Yeti are totally rad), but this family action-adventure flick is ultimately doomed by the numerous little flaws. Bello’s accent makes Rachel Weisz’s absence far too conspicuous; Fraser and Ford are too close in age to be father and son; and the instinctless Rob Cohen (Stealth) may be the worst action director still getting hired for major studio work. It’s time to bury The Mummy for good.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

(R) With its popular redband trailer burning up the Internet, Pineapple Express seems like the film to get Judd Apatow and company out of their box office slump. Written by Superbad’s super funny duo, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and directed by indie fave David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls), Pineapple Express sounds like a high-concept buddy comedy left over from the 1980s. Stoner Dale Denton (Rogen) and his dealer, Saul Silver (James Franco), go on the run after Dale witnesses a murder. With hottie Amber Heard, Superbad’s other cop, Bill Hader, and Gary Cole.

PRICELESS

(PG-13) Priceless (Hors de Prix) stars the fantastic Audrey Tautou, who so charmed the world in Amélie, as young gold digger Irène. After bedding old man after old man, Irène finally thinks she’s met Mr. Right, Jean (Gad Elmaleh), who is young, handsome, but not so rich. When the poor bartender follows Irène to the Côte d’Azur, he finds himself a sugar mama. Soon Irène’s giving Jean advice on how to keep being kept and falling in love while she’s at it. Priceless is being hailed as this generation’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s; we’ll see about that.

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2

(PG-13) The sisters in denim are back in an adaptation of the fourth, not the second, novel in author Ann Brashares’ bestselling series. Once, present, and future TV stars Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”), America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”), Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl”) and Amber Tamblyn (“Joan of Arcadia”) all return as best friends Lena, Carmen, Bridget and Tibby, who reunite in a Grecian village to find those magical pants. I liked the first film, thought it felt more small screen than big; maybe new director Sanaa Hamri (the undervalued Something New), a step up from the first film’s Ken Kwapis (License to Wed), can make the sequel seem larger.

SPACE CHIMPS

(G) The grandson of the first chimp astronaut (chimponaut?), Ham III (the voice of Andy Samberg), and his two buddies, Lt. Luna (v. Cheryl Hines) and Titan (v. Patrick Warburton), are sent into space where they must rid a faraway planet of its nefarious ruler, Zartog (v. Jeff Daniels). Produced by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), Space Chimps also features the voices of Stanley Tucci, Kristin Chenoweth, Kenan Thompson, Carlos Alazraqui (“Reno 911!”) and Jane Lynch (The 40-Year-Old Virgin).

SPEED RACER

(PG) The mix of low octane plot movement and high octane racing never clicks. No, Speed Racer, no.

STEP BROTHERS

(R) Step Brothers is really, really funny, but it's not as good as either Anchorman or Talladega Nights, the previous comedies written by star Will Ferrell and director Adam McKay. Ferrell's Brennan Huff, a super-spoiled 40-year-old virgin with the mind of a 15-year-old and the mouth of a 60-year-old grizzled sailor, hates his new step brother, the equally regressed Dale Doback (John C. Reilly). The jokes are as scattershot here as in any Ferrell comedy, but you'll find yourself laughing more often than not despite the flick's potty mouth syndrome.

SWING VOTE

(PG-13) See Movie Pick.

TOPPER 1937. After dying in an automobile accident, the fun-loving Kerbys, Marion and George (Constance Bennett and the sublime Cary Grant), try to reform stuffy buddy Cosmo Topper (Academy Award nominee Roland Young), whose new ways cause strife with his wife.

WALL•E

(G) WALL•E is the most human, inhuman character Disney has animated since Pinocchio. He says little, and that minimal vocalization - provided by Ben Burtt - singularly strengthens the film’s Jacques Tati-an, silent-era playfulness. Then one day, a ship lands and launches EVE, a temperamental robotic beauty that captures WALL•E’s heart. With WALL•E, a deeply human story with only minimal human interaction and maximum entertainment value, Pixar again pulls off their most stunning feat, making the rare creation of an animated masterpiece look so easy.

WANTED

(R) The trailers may play up Jolie, McAvoy and Freeman, but the real star of Wanted is director Timur Bekmambetov. All the promise of over-the-top violence and playful subversion of physics showcased in his Russian films, Night Watch and Day Watch (star Konstantin Khabensky makes a brief appearance), is present. Bekmambetov is a foreign filmmaking rock star waiting to explode in America, and his breakthrough picture possesses all the loud, brash theatrics to ensure his success.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS...

(PG-13) How funny you find Vegas will depend greatly on how well you tolerate selfishness in others and how entertaining/cute you find the two mismatched stars. Kutcher spends much of the film being nauseatingly obnoxious (and this after he’d started to grow on me). Diaz shows little of her own comic spark. Corddry supplies a few insufficient, idiotic laughs. Like the ads say, What Happens in Vegas... should stay in Vegas.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE

(PG-13) While diehard fans of the series should initially be happy just to see their beloved Mulder and Scully back together (and shockingly chemistyless), disappointment should set in as soon as the screenwriters, series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, split the investigative duo's assignments. Mulder gets a new Scully, Amanda Peet's Agent Whitney, while Dr. Scully plays "House M.D." It's not as if fans will open another new X-File anytime soon. Why fail to give them the nearly two hours of uninterrupted Mulder and Scully time they want and deserve?

Drew Wheeler