Da Kine Star-Bulletin staff and wire services

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Movies opening Friday:

"An American Haunting": Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland star in this horror-chiller based on the legend of the Bell Witch, an unrelenting demon that has plagued a Tennessee family since the early 1800s. The family's descendants uncover the mystery and realize old ghost stories can come back to haunt them. (PG-13)

"Hoot": Carl Hiaasen's award-winning children's book is adapted for the big screen. It's the story of an eighth-grader and his campaign to save a family of endangered owls from a real-estate developer in South Florida. Luke Wilson and Logan Lerman co-star, along with co-producer Jimmy Buffett, who also did the music soundtrack. (PG)

"Mission: Impossible III": Tom Cruise's superspy series continues, this time helmed by "Lost" co-creator J.J. Abrams. The inner life of Cruise's character Ethan Hunt is emphasized, but the action is still nonstop, as Hunt goes against a dangerous international weapons and information dealer (Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman) who places Hunt's girlfriend (Michelle Monaghan) in peril. Ving Rhames and Billy Crudup co-star. (PG-13)

"The Promise": A box-office hit in China, Chen Kaige's ambitious fantasy is a tale of passion, love and honor. A beautiful princess becomes the object of affection for three very different men: a powerful duke, a brave general and a lowly slave. See cover feature. (PG-13)