CINEMA
At The Movies
Opening
The Guardian
Kevin Costner plays a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who's struggling with life on the water after losing his squad in an accident. He ends up being the mentor of a hotshot swimmer (Ashton Kutcher) training for his elite military unit. Review on Page 18. (PG-13)
Open Season
An animated feature about a domesticated girzzly (voiced by Martin Lawrence) who gets deposited in the woods during hunting season. The bear and his pal, a one-antlered mule deer (Ashton Kutcher), rally all the other forest animals to turn the tables on an evil poacher (Gary Sinise). (PG)
School for Scoundrels 1/2
A beleaguered New York City meter maid tries to overcome his feeling of inadequacy by enrolling in a top-secret confidence-building class. Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder, Jacinda Barrett, Michael Clarke Duncan and Horatio Sanz star. Review on Page 27. (PG-13)
The Science of Sleep
A romantic fantasy from the mind of Michel Gondry ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). A shy man caught in a mundane job at a Parisian calendar publisher has his dreams constantly invade his waking life. Gael Garcia Bernal and Charlotte Gainsbourg star. Review on Page 17. (R)
You Are the One
A Filipino romance about a woman, while trying to emigrate to the U.S. to join the rest of her family, falls in love with a handsome embassy vice-consul in Manila. (NR)
Now Playing
G | General audiences.
Cars 1/2
Director John Lasseter and his Pixar animation team's latest is about a hotshot rookie race car (voiced by Owen Wilson) who learns about life in the slow lane when he finds himself unexpectedly detoured.
Everyone's Hero
A CGI-animated story about a boy who crosses the country to return a very special baseball bat to his hero, Babe Ruth, on the eve of the 1932 World Series. It's a sweet, inspirational kids' movie tailormade for family viewing.
PG | Parental guidance suggested.
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals 1/2
A CGI-animated movie about a free-wheeling cow named Otis and his misfit farm cohorts who live the high life when humans aren't looking. But when tragedy strikes, Otis must step up to the grown-up role he's been avoiding. This movie handles such sensitive topics as birth and death with unexpected grace.
An Inconvenient Truth
A documentary about former Vice President Al Gore's touring multimedia talk about the moral challenge of global warming. The film's not so much about Gore as it is about his presentation on the effect of carbon-dioxide emissions on the world's climate. For that, it's a necessary film.
Invincible
Mark Wahlberg plays real-life zero-to-hero Vince Papale, a substitute teacher who was plucked out of obscurity at an open tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles and won a spot on the team in 1976. Performances are solid all around.
Step Up
A troubled rebel becomes the dance partner of a beautiful ballet student at a prestigious performing arts school. Formulaic but mildly enjoyable.
Zoom 1/2
A retired superhero (Tim Allen) is called back to work to transform a group of ragtag kids into heroes at a private academy. It's a dull, laugh-free affair.
PG-13 | Parents strongly cautioned.
Accepted 1/2
Justin Long plays a guy rejected from every college he's applied to, so he and his pal start their own fake university. The movie has a subversive élan that keeps it light on its feet -- until the very end when it turns self-righteous.
All the King's Men 1/2
Sean Penn plays a corrupt Southern politician in this adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, loosely based on the life of Louisiana Gov. Huey Long. Despite the use of a classic novel and Penn's powerful acting, director-writer Steve Zillian's adaptation is uninspiring.
Click
Adam Sandler's latest comedy overflows with the juvenile hijinks that made him a star and ventures into the adult territory of his later films. He stars as an architect who stumbles upon a remote that allows him to perform TiVo-like functions on his life.
The Covenant
Studly teenage warlocks try to destroy each other at an elite New England boarding school. Hack director Renny Harlin's dreary film lacks genuine thrills.
The Devil Wears Prada 1/2
More college drab than haute couture, a hapless woman (Anne Hathaway) becomes the assistant to a demanding editor (Meryl Streep) who oversees the fashion bible of New York. At first, the film's fun and flirty. But then it drags with a plotline that turns heavy.
Flyboys
A tribute to the Lafayette Escadrille, American volunteers who flew for the French during World War I. While the high-altitude combat should satisfy aviation buffs, the characters are corny and the situations clichéd. The planes are the real stars here.
Gridiron Gang
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as a true-life probation officer who coaches a football team made up of gangbangers in a youth detention camp. Director Phil Joanou relentlessly tries to inspire, but the result is just overbearing.
The Illusionist
While fine technical wizardry went into this period film set in the early 20th-century, it lacks the magic of romance and drama you'd think would be generated in a tale about a love triangle involving a magician (Edward Norton), a noblewoman (Jessica Biel) and the heir to the throne (Rufus Sewell).
Jet Li's Fearless
Billed as Li's final martial arts movie, it's an underwhelming farewell. While filled with impressive fighting, it's still a pretentious biopic about fighting legend Huo Yuanjia, who emerged as a populist hero challenging foreign rivals during the early 20th century.
Little Man
Marlon and Shawn Wayans' latest screwball comedy is about a short-statured criminal who poses as a baby to recover a diamond. Big on gross-out humor, small on clever laughs.
Pulse
A computer hacker unleashes a signal that's pure evil, in this English remake of a hit Japanese movie. Despite being co-written by horror master Wes Craven, the version bypasses the emotional and conceptual substance of the original.
Superman Returns 1/2
The Man of Steel returns to Metropolis after a five-year absence and begins his life on Earth again as Clark Kent, all the while trying to restart his romance with Lois Lane and doing battle with Lex Luthor.
R | Restricted.
The Black Dahlia
Crime novelist James Ellroy and director Brian De Palma present a classic noir about an actress who winds up a murder victim, her frozen grin mocking the detectives on the case. The film begins as an intriguing character study and unravels into a turgid mess. Of the all-star cast, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner come off best.
Confetti
A British mockumentary charts the journey of three couples as they battle it out to win the title of Most Original Wedding of the Year. A pallid imitation of Christopher Guest's work.
The Descent 1/2
A group of women encounter carnivorous humanoids during a trek into an Appalachian cave. Something of a low-budget retread of the "Alien" films, this fright flick is still far better than most horror movies these days.
Jackass: Number Two 1/2
Johnny Knoxville and his crew of reprobates return for another round of pointlessly dangerous and disgusting stunts. But because of the gleeful attitude of the guys, the puerile humor is shamelessly entertaining.
The Last Kiss
Zach Braff plays a man struggling with commitment. He knows his pregnant girlfriend is "the one," yet he's tempted by a younger beauty. Though well-acted and filmed, depending on where you're at in life, this film will either seem deep and illuminating, or petty, indulgent and annoying.
Little Miss Sunshine
A hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, the film follows an oddball clan as they race across three states to get their youngster to a beauty pageant. It's a sunny charmer of a comedy, looking at the American obsession with winning.
Miami Vice
Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx star in director Michael Mann's updated version of his popular action-crime TV series of the '80s. While the film looks fantastic, the story -- the duo infiltrates a drug cartel -- is simultaneously convoluted and forgettable.
The Protector
Martial arts superstar Tony Jaa plays a Thai fighter who must battle his way across Australia to recover stolen elephants, and in doing so protect a traditional way of life that has been ruined by outsiders.
Quinceañera
A couple of disaffected Mexican American teenagers -- a pregnant girl and her gay cousin -- come of age in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. It's a modest but remarkably poignant comedy, and authentic in all its small details.
Snakes on a Plane 1/2
Samuel L. Jackson cusses up a storm as an FBI agent trying to protect a mob murder witness from hundreds of nasty serpents while trapped on a plane.
NR | No Motion Picture Association of America rating.
Another Gay Movie
Four gay high school friends, on their way to college, make a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the summer. The movie spoofs its way knowingly through teen sex comedies and equally formulaic gay coming-of-age flicks.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Dame Joan Plowright and newcomer Rupert Friend star in the story of a lonely London retiree who befriends a struggling young writer. He conspires with her to act as her grandson.
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):
Cinema Italiano in Hawaii: After Midnight (Dopo Mezzanotte)
At 7:30 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Don't Tell(La Bestia Nel Cuore)
Review on Page 26. (R) At 4 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Singing Behind Screens (Cantando Dietro I Paraventi)
At 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
House of Sand
At 7:30 p.m. Oct. 2, and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 to 5.
MOVIE MUSEUM
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
Green for Danger
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Friday and Oct. 2.
The Innocents
At 2, 4, 6 and and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Brick
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday.
Infernal Affairs
At 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Oct. 5.
UH CINEMA SERIES
BEYOND OIL: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOLUTIONS
Spalding Hall Auditorium, University of Hawaii at Manoa; $5 general and $3 UH students/faculry:
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil / French Fries to Go
At 7 p.m. Oct. 4.