At The Movies
Opening
Doogal
In this animated feature, a dog and his animal friends embark on a quest to find three magic diamonds in order to keep an evil sorcerer from deep-freezing their enchanted land forever. (G)
God's Army
Touted as the birth of Mormon cinema, this film, originally released in 2000, returns to the big screen. A 19-year-old missionary has his eyes opened when he shares a small apartment in Los Angeles with his prank-loving roommates, as well his dealing with a harsh mentor. (PG)
Imagine Me & You
It's a light, romantic comedy with a lesbian twist. Set in London, a bride-to-be is attracted to her wedding florist, and since her fiancé's friend has fallen for the florist, it allows the both of them to conveniently meet later. Piper Perabo, Lena Headley, and Matthew Goode star. Review on Page 22. (R)
Running Scared
Paul Walker plays a low-level mobster who's told to recover and dispose of a gun used in the fatal shooting of a corrupt cop during a bungled drug buy. But when he ignores his bosses' instructions, he unwittingly puts his entire family in immediate danger. Review on Thursday's Entertainment page. (R)
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Actor Tommy Lee Jones directs this moralistic and non-linear tale of a Texan taking the corpse of his Mexican best friend across the border south to bury him, accompanied by the patrolman that killed the man. Barry Pepper, January Jones and Melissa Leo co-star. Review on Page 22. (R)
Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion
The writer/director/actor reprises his grandmother character from last year's surprise hit "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." This time, Perry's Southern matriarch tries to organize a family reunion while caring for a runaway and counseling her nieces through their relationship troubles. (PG-13)
Wasabi Tuna
This movie's blurb reads "It's like an old gangster movie ... with drag queens." Five friends in Los Angeles, who annually join the outrageously costumed West Hollywood halloween parade, through a case of mistaken identity, find themselves caught up in the drug underworld. It stars Antonio Sabato Jr., Tim Meadows and, as herself, Anna Nicole Smith. (R)
Now Playing
G - General audiences.
Chicken Little
1/2
Disney's first totally computer-animated movie is a nice little trifle that's too chicken to do anything but play it safe.
Curious George
1/2
Based on the popular children's books, the animated film follows an inquisitive monkey as he travels to the big city to find his human friend. The movie remains very much within its own candy-colored universe and stays true to the light-hearted spirit of the books.
Nanny McPhee
1/2
Emma Thompson stars as a magical but tough nanny who shapes up a family with seven badly behaved children.
PG - Parental guidance suggested.
Cheaper by the Dozen 2
1/2
It's a battle between the Baker and Murtaugh clans, filled with bellyflops, pratfalls and sight gags, none of them remotely inspired. Steve Martin and Eugene Levy star.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Based on C.S. Lewis' classic fantasy novel, the story follows four siblings in World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe. (The film is nominated for three technical Oscars.)
Eight Below
Paul Walker is a researcher in Antarctica who takes his small scientific expedition to recover their pack of sled dogs they left behind more than six months ago after they were caught in a storm. Charting the struggle for survival of the dogs, this movie represents achievements in directing (Frank Marshall), editing, cinematography and, most of all, animal training. It will enthrall youngsters and warm the hearts of adult dog lovers.
Hoodwinked
1/2
Detectives try to unravel the mystery at Granny's house in a new satirical, animated take on "Little Red Riding Hood."
Howl's Moving Castle
Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated work is about a teenage girl whose life is thrown into turmoil when she meets a handsome-but-mysterious wizard and is transformed into an old woman by a vain and conniving witch.
The Pink Panther
1/2
Steve Martin plays Inspector Clouseau in this remake of the Peter Sellers 1960s original. The bumbling French detective takes on a mystery involving the death of a soccer coach, a missing diamond ring, and a femme fatale pop star (Beyoncé Knowles).
Yours, Mine & Ours
1/2
Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo gamely play a newly married couple with two completely different life philosophies -- and 18 children between them -- in this pedestrian family comedy.
PG-13 - Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate from children under age 13.
Big Momma's House 2
1/2
Martin Lawrence goes back undercover in his disguise as a grandmother built like a brick house, this time to be a nanny for the three kids of a suspected killer.
Date Movie
1/2
Alyson Hannigan stars in a parody of modern romantic comedies from a couple of the writers of the successful "Scary Movie" series. The jokes come so fast and furious that part of the entertainment is merely keeping score. The movie works on the philosophy that if you didn't think the last joke was funny, wait 30 seconds and it'll find you a movie you were dying to make fun of.
End of the Spear
Based on a true story, five Christian missionaries are killed by a primitive tribe of Ecuadorian Indians, but the church's work goes on to make its conversions. It's an earnest film made by true believers, and while faith is no impediment to vital filmmaking, it's the simple lack of talent that keeps this movie from being truly transformative in a religious sense.
Firewall
When his family is kidnapped by a ruthless criminal mastermind, a bank security specialist (Harrison Ford) is forced to find a flaw in his own system and steal $100 million.
Fun With Dick & Jane
1/2
Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni star as a materialistic couple who, when he loses his job in an Enron-like scandal, go on a crime spress to make ends meet. The movie's a light, likable distraction, and the two actors share a good comedic rapport.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
1/2
This action-packed sequel chronicles the teenaged Harry's participation in the TriWizard Tournament, while simultaneously unraveling a sinister conspiracy, discovering girls, and later confronting a grotesquely reborn Lord Voldemort.
King Kong
Peter Jackson's latest fantasy masterpiece is an eye-popping remake of the 1933 original. While the special effects and action sequences are first-rate, the film's greatest achievement is the tenderness with which it conveys the love and longing between the gorilla and the actress. (The film has four technical Oscar nominations.)
Last Holiday
Queen Latifah stars as a shy woman diagnosed with a fatal illness who decides to let loose on a European vacation.
The New World
Director Terrence Malick settles in and takes his time telling the story of the settlement of Jamestown, Va., in particular his interpretation of the classic tale of Pocahontas and her relationships with adventurer John Smith and aristocrat John Rolfe.
Tristan & Isolde
A love affair between a knight and a princess threatens to break the peace between medieval England and Ireland. With James Franco and Sophia Myles as the young lovers.
Walk the Line
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are deservedly up for Oscars for their portrayals of the late country music star Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash. The movie follows the iconic figure's rise to fame, drug addiction and romance with his future wife.
When a Stranger Calls
This slick remake of the 1979 horror-thriller is about a teenage baby sitter who is terrorized by a stranger's phone calls. The modern mansion's spacious design is so breathtaking that it's actually a distraction to the not-scary-at-all plot.
The White Countess
An epic love story between a blind American expatriate and a fallen Russian countess, set in Shanghai in the late 1930s. The final offering of the hugely successful Ismail Merchant-James Ivory film team, it's an immaculately produced period piece, set in an exotic location, with a cast full of classy actors led by Ralph Fiennes and Natasha Richardson.
The World's Fastest Indian
Anthony Hopkins in the true story of a New Zealand man who, at age 68, took his classic 1920 motorcycle to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah to try to break the world speed record. Hopkins has a ball with the role, playing a complete ingenious joy of a man with nothing left to lose.
R - Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
Brokeback Mountain
1/2
Ang Lee's epic love story between a ranch hand and a rodeo cowboy should be seen not for its hot-button topicality or its cultural cachet but simply that it's a very good movie, with a staggeringly fine performance by Heath Ledger. (The film has garnered eight Oscar nominations.)
Final Destination 3
A high school student who failed to stop a roller-coaster ride that killed several of her friends, teams up with a schoolmate in a race against time to prevent the Grim Reaper from revisiting survivors of the first tragedy.
Freedomland
1/2
A working-class woman blames a black man for kidnapping her child, but a police detective doubts the truth of her story. The impending investigation ignites long-simmering racial tensions. Despite director Joe Roth being over his head, his cast handle their characters well, particularly Julianne Moore, who gives a full and realized portrait of the downtrodden single mother.
The Matador
Pierce Brosnan stars as a cynical, washed-up, irresistible cad of a hit man, who befriends an optimistic, straight-laced businessman (Greg Kinnear) in a Mexico City hotel bar while on a job.
Match Point
Woody Allen's latest film (a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominee) is the story of a former tennis pro who climbs into the world of the British upper class through his engagement to one of his wealthy tennis students. But then he falls for a sexy American actress who is dating his future brother-in-law.
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Oscar nominee Dame Judi Dench is the title character who buys a theater during wartime London and, with the help of her showman partner (Bob Hoskins), puts on a popular -- and scandalous -- revue with nude women in tableau settings.
Munich
1/2
Steven Spielberg directs the true story of a secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and kill the Palestinians behind the '72 Olympic attacks. It's a morally complex story about morally agonizing matters, with both sides' characters evoking both compassion and repugnance. (The movie is nominated for five Oscars.)
The Squid and the Whale
1/2
Oscar-nominated writer-director Noah Baumbach reworks his own memories as a child of divorce into a small, sharply observed period piece, set in an upscale, intellectual area of Brooklyn in 1986.
Transamerica
Felicity Huffman received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual who takes a cross-country road trip with her estranged teenage son.
Underworld: Evolution
This sequel starring Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman continues the centuries-old feud between vampires and lycans. It features the same green-gray color scheme, the same metallic tinge, the same self-serious characters over-emoting while running around in black leather dusters, trying to destroy each other.
Wolf Creek
With brutality that rivals "Saw" on the sadism scale, the Australian shocker follows a group of hikers who encounter a menacing stranger while exploring the Outback. First-time writer-director Greg McLean gets a lot of mileage out of a standard stalker scenario.
NR - No Motion Picture of America Association rating.
Shoujyo: An Adolescent
This twisted Japanese love story seems to be several movies at once: a hard-boiled detective story, a "Lolita"-style intergenrational romance and a family psychodrama complete with pat Freudian flashbacks. It mixes tattoos, eroticism and comedy through the eyes of a teenage girl's infatuation with a local, middle-aged policeman.
Art House | Revival
THE DORIS DUKE THEATRE, HONOLULU ACADEMY OF ARTS
900 S. Beretania St.; $7 general; $6 seniors, students and military; $5 Academy members (532-8768):
Life in the Pacific Film Series:
Reel Paradise
At 7:30 p.m. Friday through Feb. 28, with an additional 1 p.m. screening Feb. 28.
New Oceania / Velvet Dreams
At 1 7:30 p.m. March 1.
The Land Has Eyes / Tama Tu / Haka-Rongo
At 1 and 7:30 p.m. March 2.
MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
North Country
With Oscar nominees Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand. At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday and Feb. 27.
The Mission
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
The General Died at Dawn
At 12:30, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The 39 Steps
At 2:15, 5:45 and 9:15 p.m. Sunday.
The Case of the Cold Fish
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. March 2.
"THE HEALING WORLD" FILM SERIES
Spalding Hall Auditorium, University of Hawaii-Manoa,; $5 general and $3 for UH students, faculty and staff (223-0130):
Ayurveda: The Art of Being
At 5 p.m. Sunday.
Qigong: Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century
At 7 p.m. March 2.