Opening Films

by Inlander Staff


Kicking & amp; Screaming -- Well, if you're a Will Ferrell fan, here's the next doozy for ya. He's no Ron Burgundy or Mugatu here; in Kicking & amp; Screaming he's just a normal family guy who will never live up to his pop's competitive nature. When his kid gets traded from his soccer team, Will's fed up. Actually, he's a "tornado of anger." Next thing you know, he's coaching the B team with his usual hilarious delivery and antics. Add Robert Duvall and Mike Ditka to the mix, and we're pretty sure we'll be holding our sides, just as Ferrell expects of us. Rated: PG





Mindhunters --This updating of Ten Little Indians strands a group of FBI trainees on an island for some innovative maneuvers. Then they start falling, one by one -- quite possibly by one of the group. The story's been told often, but this version -- with Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, Jonny Lee Miller and more -- deals out some innovative murders and adds some new touches to an overdone genre. Plenty of violence and a little bit of gore, but much of it is off-screen. (ES) Rated R





Monster-in-Law -- The only reason this doesn't get a "turkey" is because of Jane Fonda's truly funny performance as the title character. She disapproves of her surgeon son (Michael Vartan) falling for his multi-careered new girlfriend (Jennifer Lopez), and she will go to any devious lengths to split them up. That's where the funny stuff comes in. But Fonda acts insanely large circles around ever-smiling Lopez (a very limited actress), and Vartan is stuck with a badly written part that makes his character look incredibly na & iuml;ve and uncaring. Bad moviemaking, filled with cliches. (ES) Rated PG-13





Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith -- We're not even sure what a "Sith" is, and that may be part of the reason the last two episodes (the first two, really) in the Star Wars saga have left more people scratching their heads than cheering. Another problem for mastermind George Lucas is that everyone walks into this one knowing how it ends -- with young Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader (and getting a much deeper voice). Still, the promise of a planet full of Wookies and the final answers to some of those enduring Star Wars mysteries may just make this the best of the first three (which are really the last three -- got that?). Rated: PG-13 (Opens Wednesday night at midnight, which, we realize, is technically Thursday, May 19, and the scheduled release date.)





Unleashed -- Irish gang boss Bart (Bob Hoskins) has what no other Mafioso does -- a human pit bull. Raised like an animal and trained to kill any enemy of Bart's with his bare hands, Danny (Jet Li) even wears a high-tech dog collar. The collar keeps him from going ape-sh** and killing Bart and all his cronies; it also keeps him from having any hope of a normal life -- until the day he escapes and meets a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman) and his saucy stepdaughter. Already released in France as Danny the Dog, the movie's getting big buzz for Li's considerable acting (as well as karate) chops. Rated R





Publication date: 05/12/05