CINEMA
At The Movies
Opening
The 11th Hour 
Leonardo DiCaprio hosts this thorough documentary that examines the state of the global environment that includes solutions to help restore the planet's ecosystems. (PG)
Eye of the Dolphin
In this family film, a teenager travels to the Bahamas to live with her estranged father, a dolphin researcher. She finds she shares her father's gift for communicating with the sea creatures, leading to a friendship with a wild dolphin. (PG-13)
Illegal Tender 1/2
After years of life on the run with his mother from dangerous thugs, a Latino college student (Rick Gonzalez) returns to Puerto Rico to unveil the dark secrets of his family's past. (R)
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Rowan Atkinson reprises his popular comic character, this time on vacation in the south of France during the Cannes Film Festival. Through a series of mishaps and coincidences, Mr. Bean is wrongly thought to be both a kidnapper and an acclaimed filmmaker. Review on Page 27. (G)
The Nanny Diaries
Based on the best-selling book, Scarlett Johansson stars as a New York University graduate from a working-class New Jersey family who chooses to work as a nanny for a wealthy and difficult family. Review on Page 26. (PG-13)
Resurrecting the Champ 1/2
A struggling sports writer (Josh Hartnett) encounters a homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) who might be a once-great boxing champ. Review on Page 26. (PG-13)
September Dawn 1/2
A love story set against the 19th-century massacre of a wagon train of settlers in Utah at the hands of a renegade Mormon group. (R)
War
Action stars Jet Li and Jason Statham face off as an infamous assassin sets off a crime war between rival Asian bosses, only to battle an obsessed FBI agent determined to bring him down after his partner is murdered. (R)
Opening Wednesday
Balls of Fury
A washed-up table tennis champion must reclaim his skills after being recruited by the FBI to go undercover and bust a crime lord, who hosts an annual underground tournament in which all the losers are executed. (PG-13)
Now Playing
G
Arctic Tale 1/2
Queen Latifah narrates this kid-friendly mash-up of a production that veers between "March of the Penguins" and "An Inconvenient Truth." The beautifully-photographed stories of a polar bear cub and walrus serves as a warning about global warming.
Meet the Robinsons 1/2
In this Disney animated movie, a boy genius creates a machine to recover the past and embarks on an amazing adventure with his future family. While the script is strictly two-dimensional, the digital 3-D effects are pretty spectacular. The movie has a beautifully retro art deco aesthetic, a sci-fi vision of the future as it might have been imagined during the 1950s.
Ratatouille
The latest Pixar film directed by Brad Bird ("The Incredibles") is a visual feast for the eyes. Children will enjoy watching the adventures of a plucky Parisian rat who pursues his dream of becoming a gourmet chef. But the animation is so lush that it seems to have been tailored more to grown-up tastes.
PG
Becoming Jane
Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen as a feisty 20-year-old who, as an emerging writer, already sees a world beyond class and commerce. She dreams of doing what was nearly unthinkable in the latter 1700s in Britain -- marrying for love. Hathaway is marvelous as a character both period perfect and recognizably human -- romantic, imperious and proud.
Bratz 1/2
Four teenage girls empower themselves by rejecting their respective high school cliques. Based on the popular doll series, this movie plays out like an extended commercial.
Evan Almighty 1/2
Steve Carell stars in the tale of a workaholic politician chosen by God (a returning Morgan Freeman from "Bruce Almighty") to build a floodproof ark. Despite the shoddy special effects, the movie is surprisingly likable.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The sequel finds the lovably dysfunctional quartet battling an alien foe who assists a planet-eating entity. Compared to its predecessor, this latest installment, while not as silly, isn't particularly thrilling.
Hairspray 1/2
The hit Broadway musical based on John Waters' 1988 romp of a movie gets its own screen adaptation. A plus-size girl with a big heart and a passion for dancing dreams of appearing on a TV dance party during the early 1960s. Director and choreographer Adam Shankman keeps the tone light, the hair high and the pacing snappy.
Nancy Drew
The plucky girl sleuth from the Midwest visits La-La Land to try to solve the mystery surrounding a long-dead Hollywood actress. It's a clever updating of the classic character, and Emma Roberts is delightful in the title role.
No Reservations
The perfectionist nature of a master chef (Catherine Zeta-Jones) at a trendy Manhattan eatery is put to the test when she "inherits" her 9-year-old niece (Abigail Breslin) while contending with a brash new sous-chef (Aaron Eckhart). This romantic comedy offers up strictly comfort fare.
Shrek the Third
Everybody's favorite green ogre is back, this time embarking on a quest to find a suitable replacement king (besides himself) to rule Far Far Away. This final installment still subverts the fairy tales we grew up with, but it's smothered in a suffocating sense of been there, done that.
Surf's Up
A documentary crew follows Cody Maverick, a young penguin with a passion for surfing, as he enters his first competition. The faux-documentary angle and animation are both nifty, and the voice acting is more nuanced than in most animated films.
Underdog 1/2
A lab accident gives a bumbling watchdog amazing superpowers to protect the good citizens of Capital City against the evil Simon Barsinister. While the little hero isn't going to replace Lassie any time soon, the movie is a purely inoffensive bit of children's entertainment.
PG-13
Away from Her 1/2
The comfortable life of an aging couple is disrupted by the wife's onset of Alzheimer's, and she insists on going to a full-time care facility. The film is far from depressing because actress Julie Christie goes down like a luminous ship at sea.
The Bourne Ultimatum 1/2
Matt Damon returns as an amnesiac secret agent in this kinetic action sequel filled with political resonance. In a story that is dark and cynical, Jason Bourne confronts the truth about who he was before the government brainwashed him into being an assassin.
Evening
A highly esteemed group of actresses come together for a pretentious, maudlin pile of goo in this adaptation of Susan Minot's bestseller. The story revolves around a woman on her deathbed, recalling the one who got away 50 years before.
Harry Potter andthe Order of the Phoenix
The many fans of the series can take some satisfaction in a sleek, swift and exciting adaptation of J.K. Rowling's longest novel to date, playing like a tense and twisty political thriller. The movie depicts a wizard world riven by factionalism and threatened by inflexible authoritarianism.
The Invasion 1/2
The latest version of the sci-fi classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" feels truncated, rushed, unfocused and -- worst of all -- not the slightest bit scary. A top notch cast led by Nicole Kidman goes to waste as the last citizens who manage to remain uninfected when a gloopy substance from outer space takes over the population.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Adam Sandler and Kevin James star as firefighters who pose as a newlywed couple in order to receive pension benefits. Although the duo makes the movie bearable, it grows offensive for its double standard towards homosexuality.
The Last Legion
An action spectacle with bloodless swordplay and pedantic speeches, this movie is like "300" minus the visual panache. It follows a group of soldiers still loyal to Rome after the empire has fallen.
Ocean's Thirteen
The third roll of the dice for George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and their merry band of casino crooks is a break-even deal. The movie tries to give all of its players something meaningful to do. But that waters down the pot.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End 1/2
With Jack Sparrow trapped in Davy Jones' locker, Will and Elizabeth ally with Capt. Barbossa on a quest to free him. But first, the trio must forge their way to Singapore and confront a cunning pirate.
Rush Hour 3 1/2
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reteam for more hi-jinks, this time in Paris. Third time's not the charm, however, in this lazy and formulaic action comedy.
The Simpsons Movie 1/2
The anticipated movie about America's favorite cartoon dysfunctional family works hard and hilariously to include all things that the TV series has come to mean -- celebrity guest stars, jabs at corporate parent Fox, and the continued foolishness of Homer Simpson.
Stardust
Based on Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel, a young man tries to win the heart of the beautiful but cold object of his desire by embarking on a quest. He encounters kings, pirates and evil witches, all of whom seek to retrieve a fallen star transformed into a striking girl.
Transformers
Michael Bay's feature about the popular line of 1980s action-toy figures is a screeching-metal, smash-and-crash, extreme-action movie lover's dream come true.The morphing robots are grandeur in motion.
R
Death at a Funeral
A comedy about dying, especially a British farce about a supposedly proper funeral at a country estate, requires a specifically light, deft touch, which director Frank Oz achieves only half the time.
Knocked Up
A goofball of a slacker-stoner (Seth Rogen) enjoys a drunken romp with an up-and-coming TV reporter (Katherine Heigl) who's way out of his league. When she realizes she's pregnant, she decides to keep the baby, and forces major life changes on the both of them.
Once
A modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin, Ireland. It tells the story of a busker and an immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story.
Superbad
Co-stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are irresistible as high school best friends on a quest for alcohol, which they hope will help them hook up with girls at a party before they graduate. The sweet awkwardness of their relationship is true to life, and their personalities and comic styles complement each other beautifully.
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):
Caravaggio
At 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Monday; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Aug. 30.
Movie Museum
3566 Harding Ave.; $5, $4 members; reservations recommended due to limited seating (735-8771):
The Lives of Others
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Friday and Monday.
The Big Steal / The Narrow Margin
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
Don Camillo ... Monseigneur!
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Sunday.
36 Quai des Orfèvres
At 12:30, 3, 5:30 and 8 p.m. Aug. 30.
