by Inlander Staff


Abandon -- A college senior (Katie Holmes) is tormented by visions of the boyfriend who disappeared during her freshman year at an Ivy League school. Her mysterious inside knowledge of the case makes her a suspect, and she finds herself fielding interrogations by washed up detective and recovering alcoholic Benjamin Bratt. Rated: PG-13





Alaska -- A solid natural history documentary that explores the beauty and harsh realities of nature in an extreme environment. At the IMAX. (Randy Matin)





The Banger Sisters -- "Hippie-dippy" does not begin to insult this paean to groupie-dom as much as this unfortunately named fizzle of a comedy does to audiences. Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon are game as the mid-50s reprobates reminiscing over their long-past exploits, but the movie is sanctimonious and dull. (RP) Rated: R





Barbershop -- As a character study, this falls short. But as a peek inside the urban ghetto, it's a hip, goofy, slightly serious and rather sweet comedy that spins right along. (ES) Rated PG-13





Brown Sugar -- Dre (Taye Diggs) and Sidney (Sanaa Lathan) have been lifelong friends since the moment they first heard hip-hop. Now he's a record industry exec and she's a music critic and both are involved with other people. Dre and Sidney are meant to be together, but they don't know it yet. Rated: PG-13





Formula 51 -- The most fun in an action movie since XXX, and not far removed in sensibility. Samuel L. Jackson is a master chemist of designer drugs, trying to make a big-money deal. But everything, and more, goes wrong. Lightning-paced with lots of hip humor and plenty of violence. (ES) Rated: R





The Four Feathers -- Film buffs have seen this before, but the newest remake, with Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson, is as thrilling as ever. British troops in the late 1800s are sent to the Sudan to prevent a native takeover. Dashing Harry (Ledger) quits the army and is labeled a coward, leading him to prove to himself that he's not. (ES) Rated PG-13





Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie -- Okay, any cetacean researcher worth his sea salt is going to tell you that whales prefer krill and plankton over asparagus and carrots, but that's not stopping the folks who make Veggie Tales from using salad ingredients to tell the Biblical tale of Jonah. Rated: G





Knockaround Guys -- Young stars (Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Seth Green) join with vets (Dennis Hopper, John Malkovich, Tom Noonan) when some sons of the Brooklyn Mob go to retrieve a bag of money that's been lost in Montana. Lots of villains, idiots and would-be criminals. Watch closely for the Spokane reference.(ES) Rated R





My Big Fat Greek Wedding -- This is the slobbo American version of Four Weddings and a Funeral, getting no marks for subtlety but laughs from those of us who can laugh at the idea of an obnoxious ethnic family getting into the marital spirit. (RP) RATED: PG





One Hour Photo -- Lonely fellow (Robin Williams) who works as a photo tech at the mall, dreaming that he can be part of one local family, is downright creepy. But the film gives away too much in the beginning and leaves too much open at the end. (ES) Rated R





Red Dragon -- Hannibal Lecter stays behind bars -- where he's most scary -- for much of Red Dragon. Anthony Hopkins still dominates the film -- not an easy task when surrounded by the likes of Ed Norton (as a detective hunting a killer called "The Tooth Fairy") and Phillip Seymour Hoffman (as a sleazy reporter). Rated: R (Marty Demarest)





The Ring -- Naomi Watts' first feature since Mulholland Drive finds her in cute little boots, eager to scream at the complications in this remake of a Japanese smash hit that bore two sequels. Unfortunately, "supernatural" here is another word for "incomprehensible." Rated: PG-13 (RP)





Rules of Attraction -- A dizzying movie experience about what goes on inside and outside college dorms that are filled with drug- and alcohol-riddled folks. But substance abuse isn't why it's dizzying. That has more to do with over-the-top performances, especially from James Van Der Beek, playing Sean. Very funny in parts, unnerving in others. (ES) Rated R





Signs -- The newest outing from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable) focuses on what happens when crop signs -- the flattening of farm fields into huge, bizarre shapes -- start popping up all over the world. The focus is on a small, troubled family, headed by former reverend Mel Gibson. (ES) Rated: PG-13





Space Station -- The newest IMAX experience shoots its giant screen cameras up to the International Space Station to watch its assembly and visit with different crews during their long stays. It also generates amazing special effects, magnificently showing astronauts and cosmonauts out in the middle of spacewalks. (ES) Rated: G3





Spirited Away -- Spirited Away is the year's best film. When her parents are transformed into swine, Chihiro is trapped in a mystical bathhouse where the spirits of things like radishes and rivers come to cleanse themselves of their encounters with humans. The visuals may be the greatest ever committed to film, and Chihiro is heart-rendingly credible. This is not a children's film that adults will also enjoy -- everyone will be transported. In English. Rated: PG (Marty Demarest)





Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams -- The gadgets are every bit as entertaining as the casting in this sequel, which this time pits Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) against a pair of archrival spy kids (Emily Osment and Matt O'Leary). Steve Buscemi plays the mad scientist keeping them all on his island of genetic experiments. RATED: PG





Sweet Home Alabama -- Despite some terrific acting from Josh Lucas, as a nice redneck fella whose wife walked out on him years before, and competent acting from Reese Witherspoon, as the nasty wife who has since reinvented herself as a proper New Yorker, this story is just too flimsy. Some funny moments, but much too calculated. (ES) RATED: PG-13





The Transporter -- Jason Statham plays a former mercenary who now lives on the French Riviera and hires himself and his BMW out as a delivery service: any package, no questions asked. His latest package, however, turns out to be more than he can handle. Rated: PG-13





Tuck Everlasting -- The Natalie Babbitt novel for young adults comes vibrantly to life on the screen, telling of wealthy but unhappy Winnie, taking a walk in her family's woods one day and stumbling across Jesse, one of the sons in the mysterious and rustic Tuck family. A charming, philosophical fairy tale. (ES) Rated: PG





The Tuxedo -- Jackie Chan's newest is a film that should have been made with another actor. Not because he's bad in it, but it's about a guy with no fighting skills who puts on a secret agent's "special" tuxedo, thus giving him fighting skills. So he becomes a guy who can't fight, who can suddenly, against his will, fight. The problem is that Chan can fight, and nothing here is believable. (ES) Rated PG-13





Ultimate X -- ESPN's wildly popular Summer X Games 2001 in Philadelphia come to life on the five-story IMAX screen. RATED: PG





White Oleander -- The enormously popular Oprah book makes its transition to the big screen with Alison Lohman starring as Astrid, a troubled 14-year-old whose mother, Ingrid (Michelle Pfeiffer), has been sentenced to life in prison for poisoning her ex-boyfriend. As Astrid moves from foster home to foster home, she discovers that her mother still keeps a frightening degree of control over her. Rated: PG-13





& lt;i & Capsule reviews are written by Ed Symkus (ES) and Ray Pride (RP), unless otherwise noted. & lt;/i &





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