JANUARY 2004

SECRET THINGS: Corallie Revel, Sabrina Seyvecou, Roger Mirmont, Fabrice Deville, Blandine Bury, Olivier Soler, Viviane Theophildes (Directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau; First Run Features) Finding themselves suddenly among the unemployed, a down-and-dirty dancer and a curvaceous bartender scheme to get top jobs—and top bedmates—at a thriving business firm. Naturally, this all takes place in France. Now Playing

AILEEN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield (Directed by Nick Broomfield; Lantern Lane Entertainment) Just how good a job did Charlize Theron do in capturing the essence of Aileen Wuornos in the recently released "Monster"? We’ll find out when we see this documentary by Nick Broomfield, who interviewed the serial-killing prostitute many times in prison, including a memorable session immediately prior to her execution. Now Playing

CHASING LIBERTY: Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode, Mark Harmon, Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra, Caroline Goodall, Stark Sands, Tony Jayawardena (Directed by Andy Cadiff; Warner Bros.) Mandy Moore may be U.S. President Mark Harmon’s precious baby, but—at 18—she feels she’s a big girl. That’s why she shakes her secret service protectors and takes off on a European lark with groovy boyfriend Matthew Goode. Will Mandy and Matt make us forget Audrey and Greg in "Roman Holiday"? Now Playing

DISTANT: Muzaffer Ozdemir, Mehmet Emin Toprak, Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Eru Ceylan, Fatma Ceylan, Nazan Kirilmis, Feridun Koc, Ebru Yapici (Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan; New Yorker Films) It’s a harsh winter in Istanbul, and a successful but stressed photographer whose wife has walked out on him is paid what turns out to be a prolonged visit from a country cousin. The Turkish film, which has been a favorite on the festival circuit, is said to deliver a strong emotional punch. Now Playing

MY BABY’S DADDY: Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli, Method Man, Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr., Amy Sedaris, Joanna Bacalso, Naomi Gaskin, Ling Bai, Dee Freeman, Paula Jai Parker (Directed by Cheryl Dunye; Miramax) If your girlfriend surprised you with the news that she is pregnant, how would you respond? You probably don’t have to bother yourself with such questions, but three of the formerly carefree lotharios in this comedy do. Is that The Wedding March I hear? Now Playing

ALONG CAME POLLY: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown, Jsu Garcia, Michele Lee, Bob Dishy, Missi Pyle (Directed by John Hamburg; Universal) There’s something about Jennifer that Ben can’t resist and that’s why he doesn’t hesitate to slip into bed with her, even though he’s just wed Debra. How can this hilarious premise possibly hit—oops, I mean miss? It’s sure to be the funniest flick since Stiller’s kill-an-old-lady comedy, "Duplex." The guy’s on a roll. Now Playing

DISNEY'S TEACHER’S PET: The voices of Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Shaun Fleming, Debra Jo Rupp, Jerry Stiller, Paul Reubens, Wallace Shawn (Animated feature directed by Timothy Bjorklund; Disney) Just because he can talk and read a bit, a canine named Spot (Nathan Lane) decides it’s time to become the classmate of his young master (Shaun Fleming). Principal Strickler (Wallace Shawn) worries that his school is going to the dogs. Now Playing

TORQUE: Martin Henderson, Ice Cube, Monet Mazur, Jay Hernandez, Faizon Love, Will Yun Lee, Justina Machado, Christina Milian (Directed by Joseph Kahn; Warner Bros.) Ice Cube plays a bad-boy biker who’s determined to bring the rival biker (Martin Henderson) who murdered his brother to swift justice. Trouble is, he’s chasing down the wrong guy. Now Playing

CRIMSON GOLD: Hossain Emadeddin, Pourang Nakhael, Azita Rayeji, Kamyar Sheisi, Shahram Vaziri ( Directed by Jafar Panahi; Wellspring Media) This drama about a desperate man who attempts to rob a jewelry store and ends up committing murder and then suicide was written by the great Iranian director, Abbas Kiarostami. It was a winner in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival and could well get an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Language Film. Now Playing

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Kevin Schmidt, Melora Walters, Elden Henson, Eric Stoltz, John Patrick Amedori, Cameron Bright, William Lee Scott, Brandy Heidrick, Ethan Suplee, Jesse James (Directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber; New Line) Thomas Wolfe said it: You can’t go home again. But Evan Treborn, played by Ashton Kutcher, begs to differ. Evan is so troubled by memories of his messed-up childhood that he discovers a way of traveling back in time so that he can make himself into the man he always wanted to be. As Demi Moore might say, this could be the start of something big. Now Playing

DIRT: Tracy Fraim, Michael Covert, Jennifer Tilly, Luke Perry, Tara Chocol, Patrick Warburton (Directed by Michael Covert, Tracy Fraim; MAC Releasing) A couple of Texans named Scooter and Junior (played by Tracy Fraim and Michael Covert, who also happen to be the directors of this film) miss having a woman around the house when their mom dies. So they kidnap a grocery clerk who, as it turns out, likes housekeeping for the boys. Her husband says nix to the idea, however, and burns the place down. Naturally, Scooter and Junior go out and rob a bank. Now Playing

MADE-UP: Brooke Adams, Tony Shalhoub, Gary Sinise, Eva Amurri, Lynne Adams, Kalen Conover (Directed by Tony Shalhoub; Sister Films LLC) Brooke Adams, best remembered as the breathtaking beauty torn between Richard Gere and Sam Shepard in Terrence Malick’s 1978 masterpiece, "Days of Heaven," plays a drab woman whose daughter decides to give her the makeover she so desperately needs. Tony Shalhoub—Adams’ real-life husband—definitely notices the difference. Shalhoub also directed the film, which was written by Lynne Adams. Who’s she? Brooke’s sister, of course. Now Playing

TOUCHING THE VOID: Joe Simpson, Simon Yates (Directed by Kevin Macdonald; IFC Films) Courageous mountain climbers Simpson and Yates return to the scene of a heroic struggle. Thirteen years ago, they nearly perished on the Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes and in this documentary—a favorite at the Telluride and Toronto festivals—they recall the harrowing details of their ordeal. Now Playing

WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON!: Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Topher Grace, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nathan Lane, Paris Hilton, Gary Cole, Sam Pancake (Directed by Robert Kuketic; DreamWorks) A Little Miss Nobody wins a date with a handsome, sexy celebrity. So how does it go? The big lug falls hard for her, thereby infuriating a Little Mister Nobody who figures he has a prior claim. Love is never simple, is it? Now Playing

THE BIG BOUNCE: Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Gary Sinise, Sara Foster, Scott Caan, Vinnie Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Willlie Nelson, Bebe Neuwirth, Charlie Sheen, Gregory Sporleder, Harry Dean Stanton, Wendy Thorlakson (Directed by George Armitage; Warner Bros.) Owen Wilson plays the role—that of a trouble-plagued roamer who gets mixed up with a bad girl and badder guys—that Ryan O’Neal played in a 1969 version of this Elmore Leonard thriller. Director George Armitage proved he knows how to have fun with nasty tales in "Miami Blues" and "Grosse Pointe Blank," so this might turn out to be a sleeper. Now Playing

ON THE RUN: TRILOGY 1: Catherine Frot, Lucas Belvaux, Dominique Blanc, Ornella Muti, Gilbert Melki, Yves Claessens, Olivier Darimont, Patrick Descamps, Christine Henkart, Herve Livet, Alexis Tomassian (Directed by Lucas Belvaux; Magnolia Pictures) This one’s tricky. Lucas Belvaux, who wrote and directed this French thriller, also plays the major role of a revolutionary who escapes from prison and returns to his old stomping ground of Grenoble in the hope of settling some scores. Belvaux and other members of the "On the Run" cast also appear in the other parts of this trilogy—"An Amazing Couple," a wacky comedy, and "After the Life," a heavy drama. They play the same roles in all three films, but the story-lines are quite different in each case. Are you still with me? At any rate, the trilogy is a huge hit in France and won the Prix Louis Delluc award as Best French Film of 2003. Now Playing

THE PERFECT SCORE: Scarlett Johansson, Erika Christensen, Chris Evans, Darius Miles, Leonardo Nam, Sonja Bennett, Bill Mackenzie (Directed by Brian Robbins; Paramount) A band of high-achieving teenagers decides to slip into the Princeton Testing Center and steal the answers to the SAT tests, thereby becoming the highest achievers ever. In the old days, that was called cheating. Now Playing

YOU GOT SERVED: Marques Houston, Omarion, J-Boog, Lil Fizz, Raz-B, SteveHarvey, Jennifer Nicole Freeman, Meagan Good (Directed by Christopher B. Stokes; Screen Gems/Sony) Houston and Omarion just gotta street dance and then they gotta start their very own hip-hop dance and recording studio. But first they’ve gotta win an all-important street-dance competition. Now Playing