Short Subjectives April 02 2008

Opening Friday

BILL (R) A doormat of a man, Bill (Aaron Eckhart) works an unsatisfying job and stays married to his cheating wife. But once he begins mentoring a rebellious and self-confident teen (Logan Lerman), his life starts to turn around.

THE GRAND Two stars (R) See review.

LEATHERHEADS Three stars (PG-13) See review.

NIM’S ISLAND (PG) When Nim’s father goes missing from the magical island they live on, Nim must find help from the author of her favorite books. Based on the book by Wendy Orr.

THE RUINS (R) Four young tourists wander away from American-friendly Cancun and into a terrifying bloodbath.

SHELTER Three stars (R) Writer/director Jonah Markowitz bathes this tale of love and surfing in luscious, “golden hour” light. Conflicted, artistic Zach (Trevor Wright) struggles to hold his family together by forfeiting his own dreams, until he unexpectedly finds strength in the arms of his best friend’s older brother. Shelter touches on themes of class and commitment, but the palpable chemistry between the film’s leads makes this otherwise sweet summer romance compelling. — Allison C. Keene

SHINE A LIGHT Three stars (PG-13) See review.

WATER LILLIES (NR) Written and directed by Céline Sciamma, this French film tells the story of three 15-year-old girls and their developing sexuality in a Paris suburb.

Duly Noted

CINEMAMA This new film series shows films every Thursday night and includes popcorn, pillows and drinks. This Thurs., April 3, 3 Women will be screened. Free. 8 p.m. New Street Gallery, 2800 Washington St., Avondale Estates. cinemama.org.

HIGH MUSEUM ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL This film festival features four days of Italian films presented in conjunction with the Italian Film Festival based in Miami. The festival kicks off Thurs., April 3, with The Days of Abandonment. $10 general admission; $8 students, seniors and Museum members. Through Sun., April 6. Times vary. High Museum, Rich Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. 404-733-4570. www.high.org.

SPORTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE FILM SERIES This Emory film series features mostly 35 mm films dealing with race in the context of athletics every Thursday night through April 3. Free. 8 p.m. Emory University, 480 Kilgo St., White Hall, Room 205. 404-727-6761. www.filmstudies.emory.edu.

THE WILD AND SCENIC ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL TOUR The largest environmental film festival in North America comes to Atlanta in the spirit of education and inspiration. The six to seven films of varying lengths follow the journey of kayakers from Alaska to Argentina or the life cycle of a paper cup. $10. Wed.-Thurs., April 2-3. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., films from 7-9. Tara Theater, 2345 Cheshire Bridge Road. 404-352-9828. www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) (R) The cult classic of cult classics, the musical horror spoof follows an all-American couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) to the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a drag queen/mad scientist from another galaxy. Midnight, Fri. at Plaza Theatre, and Sat. at Peachtree Cinema & Games, Norcross.

Continuing

21 (PG-13) Based on the best-selling, nonfiction book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, by Ben Mezrich, 21 tells the story of ambitious students who become card experts. Starring Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Bosworth.

27 DRESSES One star (PG-13) From the reprehensible subgenre of chick flicks that delight in the humiliation of a stereotypically girly heroine, this dim little comedy stars Knocked Up’s Katherine Heigl as Jane, a secretary who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride, and in love with her boss (Edward Burns). She attracts the attention of a newspaper reporter (James Marsden) who wants to blow the lid off of the wedding racket by writing an article about Jane. Not even a guilty pleasure. — Felicia Feaster

10,000 B.C. Two stars (PG-13) See review.http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS Three stars (PG) This fluffy film chronicles the Chipmunks’ rise to hyperpitched harmonizing fame and their narrow escape from the pitfalls of child stardom. On the human side, Jason Lee as Dave Seville looks uneasy living life in a partially CGI world, whereas David Cross, playing an exploitative record exec, basks in is screen time. Here, modernization and re-imagining turn out to be not such distasteful concepts, and even allow for a dash of satire most appreciated by fans of the earlier TV series. — Allison C. Keene

THE BANK JOB Two stars (R) In 1971 London, a dodgy car dealer (Jason Statham, aka The Transporter) and his gang of amateurs plan to rob a bank vault of safety deposit boxes, unaware that their caper is camouflage for a government plot to pilfer some Royal blackmail material. Some crisply edited scenes of safe cracking and escaping fail to rescue The Bank Job’s convoluted screenplay, which lunges in too many directions for director Roger Donaldson to control. The poor British man’s Bruce Willis, Statham steals the movie, but The Bank Job doesn’t get away clean.— Curt Holman

BE KIND REWIND (PG-13) A lovable loser (Jack Black) accidentally erases all the videos at the rental store where his best friend (Mos Def) works. The duo decides to recreate any movie that the loyal customers ask for, filming their own versions of classic films. Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directs.

BLONDE AMBITION (PG-13) Jessica Simpson, Luke Wilson, Rachael Leigh Cook, Andy Dick, and Willie Nelson star in this remake of Working Girl (1988), the story of two businessmen who use an unsuspecting young woman as a pawn in their plans to get rid of the head of a megaconglomerate.

THE BUCKET LIST Three stars (PG-13) A high-maintenance zillionaire (Jack Nicholson) and a dignified mechanic (Morgan Freeman) become mismatched buddies as roommates on a cancer ward, then decide to live their last months crossing items off “the bucket list” of things to do before death. Despite both actors’ penchant for self-parody, here they play off each other like old pros, and director Rob Reiner, improving significantly from flops such as Rumor Has It..., makes the predictable humor and platitudes go down easy. — Holman

CHAPTER 27 (R) Written and directed by J.P. Schaefer, Chapter 27 is based on Mark David Chapman’s days leading up to his assassination of John Lennon.

CHARLIE BARTLETT (R) Anton Yelchin stars as Charlie Bartlett, a rich kid joining the ranks in public school after being kicked out of multiple private schools. Using the advice, and prescription medication, given to him by his own shrink, Charlie becomes the self-appointed school psychiatrist, setting up shop in the boys’ bathroom.

CHICAGO 10 Four stars (R) Part documentary, part animated re-enactment, Brett Morgen’s film resembles a fragmented but illuminating mosaic of the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the subsequent trial of anti-war dissidents. Morgen cuts between archival footage of the Vietnam War protests and animated trial sequences (with such actors as Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo and the late Roy Scheider reading from the official court transcript) and offers an urgent, compelling account of public dissent and the perils of speaking truth to power. — Holman

CJ7 Two stars (PG) Kung Fu Hustle director/star Stephen Chow puts aside his delirious chop-sockey slapstick for a more sentimental tale of a lonely boy (child actor Xu Jiao), his penniless father and the alien robot dog that becomes their unconventional pet. Although it avoids magic solutions to real-world problems, CJ7 offers an unbalanced blend of kooky fantasy, kitchen-sink realism, sweet innocence and coarse, poop-joke humor.

CLOVERFIELD Four stars (PG-13) A Manhattan yuppie’s going-away party gets an inconvenient interruption when a giant monster lays waste to New York City. Once the bad stuff starts going down, no one in the theater takes a breath for an hour, and Cloverfield easily lives up to months of online hype and even offers a fairly touching story of callow Manhattanites who find love and meaning in the teeth of disaster. The single-camera POV gimmick works brilliantly at generating terror and immediacy, but if you’re prone to motion sickness, sit in the back row. — Holman

COLLEGE ROAD TRIP (G) Melanie (Raven Symone) is excited to spread her wings and travel to prospective universities on a girls-only road trip. But her plans are shattered when her overprotective police-chief father (Martin Lawrence) insists on accompanying her instead.

THE COOL SCHOOL (NR) Morgan Neville directs this documentary that chronicles the birth of an art scene in L.A. and the journey from apathy to love of modern art.

DEFINITELY, MAYBE Two stars (PG-13) If you’re into men as bland as a mayonnaise sandwich, then this limp rom-com piffle starring the strapping slab of white bread Ryan Reynolds might be supertasty. Essentially a chick flick for dicks, Reynolds is a sweetly bland about-to-be-divorced dad recounting the highs and lows of his romantic life to his adorable 11-year-old daughter (Abigail Breslin). Once this was called a lack of boundaries. Now it’s called cute. — Feaster

DIARY OF THE DEAD Two stars (R) George Romero’s zombie franchise (which began in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead) attempts to make a cutting commentary on video voyeurism when a film student obsessively records his friends’ efforts to survive the undead. Cloverfield’s scarier use of the camera-as-narrator device beat Diary to the punch, while Romero’s leaded speeches and cartoonish characters undermine his serious intentions and the film’s fitfully exciting bits. It’s the Redacted of horror movies, and that’s not a compliment. — Holman

DOOMSDAY (R) Authorities are forced to quarantine an entire country after a deadly virus breaks out and kills hundred of thousands of citizens. Three decades later, however, the virus resurfaces in a major city and an elite team of specialists is dispatched to find a cure. Neil Marshall writes and directs.

DR. SEUSS’ HORTON HEARS A WHO! Four stars (G) In this CGI adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic, a kindly elephant (voiced by Jim Carrey) protects microscopic Whoville from hostile nay-sayers led by Carol Burnett’s Sour Kangaroo. Horton cleverly doubles the narrative by making the Whoville mayor (Steve Carell) another lonely believer, and generally retains the heart of the book and slapstick worthy of old Bugs Bunny cartoons. It’s as if the filmmakers knew exactly how big a desecration was Carrey’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and did exactly the opposite. — Holman

DRILLBIT TAYLOR (PG-13) Persecuted by a psycho bully (Alex Frost), three meek high schoolers (Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile and David Dorfman) hire supersoldier Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) to be their bodyguard, unaware that he’s actually a nonconfrontational homeless panhandler. Overlong and underfunny, Drillbit Taylor wastes the charms of Wilson and his young co-stars. Co-writer Seth Rogen also co-wrote Superbad, which has a similar dynamic between the three kids, but Drillbit is no Superbad. It’s just plain bad. — Holman

ENCHANTED Two stars (PG) The certifiably adorable Amy Adams is cartoon princess Giselle who is plunged into the ugly reality of New York City and ends up with a prince. There are some great comic moments, like the swarm of roaches and pigeons that help Giselle clean up an untidy apartment a la Disney’s Snow White, but for the most part the film isn’t smart enough to deserve the knowing, meta-Disney approach it cops. — Feaster

THE EYE (PG-13) In this adaptation from a Japanese supernatural thriller, Sydney (Jessica Alba) is a blind violinist who undergoes a double corneal transplant to restore her sight. The surgery opens her eyes to a world of bone-chilling, haunting images depicting death taking his victims, and Sydney searches to discover whose eyes she has been given. David Moreau and Xavier Palud (Them) direct.

FIRST SUNDAY (PG-13) Ice Cube, Katt Williams and Tracy Morgan star in this caper story about two petty criminals who rob their local church. David E. Talber (Love on Layaway) directs.

FLAWLESS (PG-13) Demi Moore and Michael Caine star, respectively, as a frustrated executive hitting her head on the glass ceiling and a nighttime janitor. The duo plans a heist to steal diamonds from the London Diamond Corporation where they are both employed.

FOOL’S GOLD Three stars (PG-13) Whimsical, tropical farce where a divorcing couple (Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, with great chemistry) are brought back together by the promise of buried treasure. Not many twists in this tale, but you don’t need them — pretty people in pretty places makes the piece fit perfectly with the surroundings — it’s breezy, shallow fun. — Allison C. Keene

FUNNY GAMES Five stars (R) Film fans who saw director Michael Haneke’s 1997 Austrian metahorror film about a pair of aristocratic sociopaths who torture and terrorize a family of vacationing yuppies may not get as much of a charge on this second go-around. But there’s no denying Haneke’s Hollywood, virtually shot-for-shot remake (starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth as the terrorized couple) brings his squirm-inducing commentary on the American thirst for violence-as-entertainment á la Saw, Hostel and Grindhouse to the audience who needs his cautionary tale the most. — Feaster

THE GREAT DEBATERS (PG-13) Denzel Washington stars and directs in the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College in Texas. In 1935 Tolson created the school’s first debate team, leading it to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

I AM LEGEND Four stars (PG-13) Will Smith plays the sole human inhabitant of New York City after a genetically engineered virus wipes out most of mankind and turns the rest into blood-crazed mutants. The film offers nearly unbearable suspense scenes and stunning images of postapocalyptic Manhattan, overrun with wild animals with grass growing up through the streets. Despite some heavy-handed, ineffectual philosophizing in the last act, Smith delivers one of his best performances and I Am Legend turns out to be the best “summer movie” of 2007. — Holman

IN BRUGES Three stars (R) Two Irish hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) lay low in Belgium’s preserved medieval town of Bruges in this hipster thriller from brash young playwright Martin McDonagh. McDonagh proves that his knack for compelling, profanely funny dialogue can transfer from stage to screen, although at times he traffics in disposable themes that don’t quite justify the savage behavior on screen. In a good way, In Bruges suggests the “Royale with Cheese” scene from Pulp Fiction, if we’d followed John Travolta to Europe. — Holman

JUMPER (PG-13) Backed by director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), and screenwriters David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), Jim Uhls (Fight Club) and Simon Kinberg (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Jumper is a science-fiction thriller about a man (Hayden Christensen) who can teleport anywhere, anytime. Co-stars Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Samuel L. Jackson and Diane Lane.

JUNO Four stars (PG-13) An insanely funny script by Diablo Cody and bone-dry comic timing provided by Ellen Page make Juno feel like the breakout indie of the year. Page is a knocked-up 16-year-old who decides to hand over her child to a couple (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) she thinks are desperate for a baby. Things turn out to be more complicated, and much sweeter than this attitudinal comedy initially suggests. — Feaster

MAD MONEY (PG-13) Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah star in this comedy about three working-class women who plan to rob the Federal Reserve Bank. Callie Khouri (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) directs.

MEET THE BROWNS (PG-13) Writer/director/actor Tyler Perry (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion) returns with his latest film, based on the stage production of the same name. Brenda (Angela Bassett), a single mother in need of support, moves her family to Georgia to attend the funeral of the father whom she never met and ends up becoming a part of his fun-loving family.

MEET THE SPARTANS (PG-13) From screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer who cranked out Scary Movie, Date Movie and Epic Movie comes another mockery: today’s film industry. Meet the Spartans is a spoof of 300 but takes hits at other popular flicks and movie icons, as the invading Persian army includes Paris Hilton, Transformers and Rocky Balboa.

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY (PG-13) Set in the late 1930s, this romantic film focuses on Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand), a laid-off governess who decides to seize the day and apply for a position as a social secretary for an actress and singer, Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). Also staring Lee Pace, Ciarán Hinds, Shirley Henderson, Mark Strong and Tom Payne.

NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS (PG) In the sequel to National Treasure, treasure-hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) follows clues in a mystery involving John Wilkes Booth and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Jon Turteltaub directs.

NEVER BACK DOWN (PG-13) A rebellious new kid in school channels his fist-fighting energy into mastering the art of mixed martial arts with the help of a mentor and an underground fight club.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN Four stars (R) The Coen brothers make a rousing return to form in this Texas crime drama that strips away their trademark irony for brilliant, suspenseful set pieces. Josh Brolin’s Vietnam vet, Tommy Lee Jones’ aging sheriff and Javier Bardem’s ruthless hitman engage in a three-way chase on either side of the Rio Grande. Don’t let the anticlimactic ending sour you on the superb filmmaking. ­— Holman

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (PG-13) Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson star as the Boleyn sisters, whose ambitious family drives them to compete for King Henry VIII’s affections as a pathway to the throne. The Other Boleyn Girl is based on the novel by Philippa Gregory.

PARANOID PARK Three stars (R) Director Gus Van Sant’s relentless focus on the point of view on teenagers continues in Paranoid Park, a drama about a teenage boy whose foggy equilibrium turns into a nightmare after a stranger at the underground skate park invites him to the freight yard to hop a train. Devastating complications arise and the slo-mo idyll becomes a nightmare. Van Sant aims to capture the floating, random, free-associative pitch of teenage life. In his rhythms he has succeeded, even if the overall impression feels frustratingly unfocused, even inconsequential.

PENELOPE One star (PG) Christina Ricci is Penelope, a rich girl saddled with a family curse that has endowed her with a pig snout in this badly mangled attempt at fairy-tale whimsy. Her mother’s (Catherine O’Hara) efforts to find Penelope a blue-blood husband despite the piggy mug unearth sensitive hunk James McAvoy, but this film’s tween-directed message that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a joyless washout in the end. — Feaster

PERSEPOLIS Four stars (PG-13) Marjane Satrapi co-directs the animated adaptation of her graphic-novel memoir about growing up in Iran and witnessing the Shah’s tyranny, the war with Iraq and life under Islamic fundamentalists. The simplicity of the primarily black-and-white animation superbly captures her childlike perspective, although the film’s second half, chronicling her battles with depression as a young woman, loses some of its political sweep. — Holman

THE PIRATES WHO DON’T DO ANYTHING: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE (G) In the latest VeggieTales film, three lazy misfits dream of putting on a show about pirates, but their timidity, lack of confidence and laziness relegate them to waiting tables at a pirate-themed restaurant. The plot twists when they travel back in time on a quest and learn about being pirates.

RAMBO Two stars (R) Vietnam vet/killing machine John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) journeys to genocide-ravaged Burma to rescue some American missionaries — especially the blonde one (Julie Benz) — and blow a bunch of ethnic-cleansing bad guys to smithereens. At 61, Stallone directs his seventh film (and first in the Rambo franchise) like he’s trying to prove he’s got the chops for today’s violent torture-porn franchises such as Hostel. Implicitly homophobic and xenophobic, Rambo offers an astonishingly violent revenge fantasy for audiences who want their kills in quantity more than quality. — Holman

RUN, FAT BOY, RUN Two stars (PG-13) Five years after leaving his pregnant fiancée (Thandie Newton) at the altar, lovable “unfit” loser Dennis (Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead) vows to run a London marathon to win her back from her rich American boyfriend Whit (Hank Azaria). Pegg affirms his skills as a humorous, ingratiating lead, but the directorial debut of “Friends’” David Schwimmer looks more like a heavy-handed English rom-com like Bridget Jones’ Diary than Pegg’s ingenious efforts like Hot Fuzz. — Holman

THE SAVAGES Four stars (R) Two self-absorbed intellectual siblings (superbly played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman) find themselves forced to care for the ailing, demented father (Philip Bosco) who abandoned them years ago. Writer/director Tamara Jenkins’ razor-sharp sophomore film (after Slums of Beverly Hills) manages to be at once gentle and merciless, encouraging us to laugh at the characters’ childishness while empathizing with their unhappiness. The Savages’ mix of comedy, insight and fear of mortality play almost like a subplot to Jonathan Franzen’s novel The Corrections. — Holman

SEMI-PRO Three stars (R) Just how many times can Will Ferrell make the same comedy about a flailing, pasty, self-deluded athlete and/or broadcaster? Following Anchorman et al, this spoof of the 1970s American Basketball Association is Farrell’s laziest and most predictable yuck fest. I’m not proud to admit that it provided me with the bare minimum of laughs to be enjoyable, but if the name “Flint Michigan Tropics” or the idea of a team striving for fourth place fail to amuse you, don’t even give Semi-Pro a shot. — Holman

SHUTTER (PG-13) After a tragic car accident, photographer Ben (Joshua Jackson) and his new wife, Jane (Rachael Taylor), find disturbing humanlike figures blurring Ben’s photos. Jane thinks it could be the spirit of the girl murdered in the car crash, seeking vengeance. From the executive producers of The Grudge and The Ring.

SLEEPWALKING Two stars (R) Blue-collar America has rarely looked as grease-smeared and horrific as it does in Sleepwalking, a drama about the aftermath of abuse, starring Charlize Theron and Nick Stahl. Viewers may respect Theron’s and Stahl’s desire to show how childhood trauma can create ruined, failed adults. But this marginal film, with its wildly mismatched parts, is probably not the place to drive that message home.

SNOW ANGELS (R) Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell star in this drama based on Stewart O’Nan’s novel of the same name. Snow Angels shows the convergence of small-town lives and the juxtaposition between love, loss and tragedy surrounding a teenage boy, his old babysitter, and her husband and daughter.

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES Three stars (PG) The Grace kids (Sarah Bolger, and Freddie Highmore playing twins) stop worrying about their parents’ separation when one of them discovers an ancestor’s field guide to magical creatures. Too intense and violent for pretweens, The Spiderwick Chronicles’ fast-paced adventure scenes evoke 1980s family adventures such as Gremlins and The Goonies without being quite so obnoxious, and retains the books’ more serious themes of broken homes. — Holman

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (PG-13) In this sequel to Step Up, street dancer Andie (Briana Evigan) finds herself at an elite school of the arts. While trying to bridge the gap between her two lives, Andie creates a team of dancers to compete in an underground dance-off. Jamal Sims, Step Up’s original choreographer, returns with help from Hi-Hat (How She Move) and Dave Scott (Stomp the Yard).

STOP-LOSS Three stars (R) Kimerberly Peirce’s film takes its name from the military loophole that orders soldiers back into battle after they’ve completed their service. Ryan Phillippe stars as a patriotic Texas boy who tries to convince a senator to reverse his stop-loss order. The film cautiously addresses the war, telling its story mostly from the soldier’s point of view. It’s a film of conciliation that strives to unite its audience in the unquestionable mission of supporting our troops. In that sense, it reflects fairly accurately the neurosis of our times.

SUPERHERO MOVIE (PG-13) Writer Craig Mazin (Scary Movie) is back with another spoof on recent films. Superhero Movie pokes fun at flicks such as Spider-Man, X-Men, and a multitude of others.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD Five stars (R) Drawing from Upton Sinclair’s 1927 oil-man opus Oil!, Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) has created a film of stunning sweep and grandeur. In an Oscar-winning performance, Daniel Day-Lewis plays a dementedly ambitious petroleum titan whose quest for riches comes at the cost of his humanity. A troubling and still-relevant examination of the consuming American dream for wealth turned cancerous, this glorious epic could be the apogee of Anderson’s career. — Feaster

UNDER THE SAME MOON (PG-13) Rosario (Kate del Castillo) works illegally in the United States to provide a better life for her 9-year-old son Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), who lives in Mexico with his grandmother. Both mother and son must journey to find each other again.

VANTAGE POINT Two stars (PG-13) An assassination attempt on the U.S. president (William Hurt) unfolds from multiple points of view, including a veteran secret service agent (Dennis Quaid), an American tourist with a camcorder (Forest Whitaker) and a cable news producer (Sigourney Weaver). Vantage Point’s multiple-eyewitness shtick takes too long to pay off and its minidramas play as painfully hackneyed, including Whitaker protecting a young bystander and the use of improbably identical “doubles.” So why did so many Oscar winners and nominees sign on for such a clunky thriller? Maybe it’s some kind of conspiracy. — Holman

WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS (PG-13) Martin Lawrence stars as Roscoe Jenkins, a big-shot talk-show host who has all but forgotten his humble beginnings growing up in the Deep South. When he returns for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, Roscoe starts to rethink his current situation.

WITLESS PROTECTION (PG-13) Larry the Cable Guy stars as a small-town sheriff who stumbles upon what he believes to be the kidnapping of a beautiful woman (Ivana Milicevic). After he rescues her, he learns that her “kidnappers” are really FBI agents sworn to protect her until she can testify in a Chicago crime case, and he must drive her to Chicago himself to keep her safe and solve the case.