Film clips

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Contact)

Taking sides — Don Cheadle stars as Samir Horn in Traitor.

LITTLE ROCK — At area theaters

78

AMERICAN TEEN, PG-13 Director Nanette Burstein’s documentary follows four Indiana high schoolers through their senior year. (95 minutes)

70

BABY MAMA, PG-13 Tina Fey plays a successful executive who, when she finds out she’s unlikely to get pregnant, hires a rowdy surrogate mother (Amy Poehler). (96 minutes) 60 BABYLON A.D.

, PG-13

A soldier for hire (Vin Diesel) escorts a woman whose body contains a unique organism that a radical cult intends to harvest. With Gerard Depardieu, Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling. (90 minutes)

70

BOTTLE SHOCK, PG-13 A novice vintner (Bill Pullman) in 1976 stuns the wine industry when his small California winery bests exalted French wines in a blind tasting. (110 minutes)

83

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, PG-13 An Oxford University student (Matthew Goode) becomes enamored of an aristocratic British family including a fellow scholar (Ben Whishaw) and his sister (Hayley Atwell) in the years preceding World War II. (135minutes) 60 COLLEGE

, R

Three high school seniors (Drake Bell, Andrew Caldwell, Kevin Covais) visit a college campus where a lawless fraternity targets them as possible pledges. With Gary Owens, Ryan Pinkston. (94 minutes)

90

THE DARK KNIGHT, PG-13 Batman (Christian Bale) intends to end organized crime in Gotham for good. Then he encounters a new criminal known as the Joker (Heath Ledger). With Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman; directed by Christopher Nolan. (152 minutes)

73

DEATH RACE, R A post-industrial action thriller in which convicts drive armed cars through gantlets of vicious criminals in the world’s most popular spectator sport. (89 minutes) 60 DISASTER MOVIE

, PG-13

A spoof of disaster and other recent movies.With Matt Lanter, Carmen Electra; directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. (90 minutes)

76

FLY ME TO THE MOON, G Three flies stow away on the Apollo 11 space flight headed for the moon in this 3-D animated adventure. (80 minutes)

83

HAMLET 2, R A none-too-successful drama teacher (Steve Coogan) decides to produce a politically incorrect sequel to Hamlet with help from his Tucson, Ariz., high school students. (92 minutes)

83

HANCOCK, PG-13 An ill-tempered superhero (Will Smith), occupied with saving the world, leaves plenty of collateral damage in his wake. (92 minutes)

71

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY,

PG-13

The hero from hell (Ron Perlman) returns, accompanied by his favorite director, Guillermo del Toro (who directed 2004’s Hellboy), to save the earth from a seemingly unstoppable army of evil creatures and their ruthless leader. (130 minutes)

74

THE HOUSE BUNNY, PG-13 A Playboy bunny (Anna Faris), evicted from the Playboy Mansion, ends up in a sorority house coaching a bunch of socially clueless co-eds. (98 minutes)

78

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

, PG-13

Adventurous archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) heads to Peru with young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) in search of the legendary and feared Crystal Skullof Akator. (123 minutes)

90

IRON MAN, PG-13 Billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), injured by one of his own weapons, builds himself a high-tech suit of armor and becomes Iron Man to combat evil on a global scale. (126 minutes)

82

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

, PG

A geology professor (Brendan Fraser) embarks on a unique excursion to a hidden world. (92 minutes)

88

KUNG FU PANDA, PG A panda who works as a waiter in a noodle eatery dreams of becoming a kung fu master. Animated. (95 minutes)

80

THE LONGSHOTS, PG An Illinois town unites in support of an 11-yearold female quarterback, the first girl in Pop Warner football history. Based on a true story. (94 minutes)

80

MAMMA MIA!, PG-13 A film adaptation of the popular musical that celebrates a mother, a daughter and three possible fathers. (108 minutes)

70

MEET DAVE, PG Dave Ming Chang (Eddie Murphy) seems out of place in New York, where he has recently arrived, mainly because he’s only aquarter of an inch tall and from another planet. (90 minutes) 69 MIRRORS

, R

Reflective surfaces become gateways for evil to enter the home of an ex-cop (Kiefer Sutherland) and his family. (110 minutes)

79

THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR

, PG-13

Explorer Rick O’Connell (Brendan Fraser) returns, with son Alex (Luke Ford) and wife Evelyn (Maria Bello), to square off against the resurrected Emperor Han (Jet Li). (114 minutes)

88

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, R A drug deal that involves a rare type of marijuana spells big trouble for a stoner (Seth Rogen), who has witnessed a murder, and his dealer (James Franco). (105 minutes)

72

THE ROCKER, PG-13 An unsuccessful aging drummer (Rainn Wilson) gets a second chance to become a renowned rock ’n’ roller. (102 minutes)

83

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2

, PG-13

Four lifelong girlfriends, introduced in the 2005 original, split up when they head to college. (117 minutes)

80

SPACE CHIMPS, G The laid-back grandson of the first chimpanzee in space blasts off in search of a route through a black hole to an inhabited planet. Animated. (81 minutes)

72

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS,

PG

The Jedi knights take charge of the fate of the Star Wars universe. Animated. (98 minutes)

75

STEP BROTHERS, R Two self-centered no-accounts (Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly) find themselves living under the same roof when one’s mother (Mary Steenburgen) marries the other’s father (Richard Jenkins). (95 minutes)

85

TRAITOR, PG-13 A former U.S.Special Forces operative is suspected of being a terrorist. With Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce; directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff. (112 minutes)

88

TROPIC THUNDER, R Five actors making a war movie on location must draw on personal experience to survive a confrontation that isn’t part of a movie plot. (107 minutes)

89

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA,

PG-13

Two Americans (Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson) vacationing in Barcelona get involved with an intriguing artist (Javier Bardem) who isn’t quite done with his fiery former wife (Penelope Cruz). (97 minutes)

90

WALL-E, G A determined but underused robot finds his true purpose. Animated. (92 minutes)

83

WANTED, R An apathetic loser transforms into a fervent enforcer of justice when he follows in his father’s footsteps and joins a centuries-old league of assassins. (108 minutes)

80

YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN

, PG-13

An Israeli commando (Adam Sandler) goes to extraordinary lengths to escape his responsibilities and become a New York hairdresser. (113 minutes)

Movie-rating

point system

Movies are rated on a

scale from 50 to 100.

Guidelines for moviegoers:

96-100 Transcendent

90-95 Exceptional

80-89 Better than most to remarkable

70-79 Average

60-69 Awful to mediocre

50-59 Irredeemable

This article was published Friday, September 5, 2008.

MovieStyle, Pages 37 on 09/05/2008