New Movies

"An American Carol" (PG-13). Not reviewed. David Zucker directs this satire about a Liberal filmmaker out to abolish the Fourth of July as a holiday. Kelsey Grammer stars. Opens Friday, Oct. 3.

"Appaloosa" (R). Director Ed Harris oversees a straightforward western about a sheriff (Harris) in a rough New Mexico town who tangles with a ruthless businessman (Jeremy Irons) and also embarks on a romance with a newly arrived widow (Renee Zellweger). Grade: B Opens Friday, Oct. 3.

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (PG). Not reviewed. Director Raja Gosnell's live-action comedy tells of a pampered pooch lost in the mean streets of Mexico. Drew Barrymore and George Lopez provide voices. Opens Friday, Oct. 3.

"Blindness" (R). Not reviewed. Julianne Moore stars in this suspense thriller about a plague of blindness that overtakes a city, leaving citizens to band together to overcome the conditions. Opens Friday, Oct. 3.

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (PG-13). Not reviewed. Michael Cera, Kat Dennings star in this romantic comedy as two teens who go on an all-night quest to find their favorite band's secret show. Pete Sollett directs. Opens Friday, Oct. 3.

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"Burn After Reading" (R). This complexly plotted espionage comedy is silly without being very funny. The writer-director Coen brothers treat it as a live-action cartoon. Helping animate it in a more enjoyable way are Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovitch, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins and J.K. Simmons. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Choke" (R). Sam Rockwell plays a troubled guy whose scam is to fake choking nearly to death in restaurants so that good samaritans will come to his rescue and even financially help him out. His pathetic life owes a lot to his upbringing by a criminal mother (Anjelica Huston). The film is marred by forced humor and murky biographical details. Grade: C AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"The Dark Knight" (PG-13). Dark, violent and seemingly endless, this latest "Batman" movie takes awhile to build any narrative momentum. Also, the late Heath Ledger as the volatile Joker basically steals the movie from its star, Christian Bale as a brooding Bruce Wayne/Batman. Grade: B- Muvico Egyptian 24

"Eagle Eye" (PG-13). The relentless chases, hyperkinetic editing and explosive score amount to noisy bells and whistles masking the fact that this political thriller is skimpy when it comes to characterization and motive. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Fireproof" (PG). Earnest drama about a firefighter trying to rekindle his stale marriage. Mediocre acting and filmmaking detract from its worthwhile message. Grade: C Snowden Square 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Fly Me to the Moon" (G). This summer we've already had "Space Chimps" blasting into orbit, and now here's an animated 3-D movie about three juvenile, Florida-dwelling flies that sneak aboard the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Small kids will like the ride. Grade: B- Muvico Egyptian 24

"Forever Strong" (PG-13). Unless you already know the rules of rugby, the game action will leave you mystified in this inspirational drama about a troubled high school player trying to get his act together. It's competently made, but totally predictable. Grade: C Snowden Square 14

"Igor" (PG). This animated comedy riffs on the "Frankenstein" story. Although it has a busy plot, it lacks much identity. Voices include John Cusack, Steve Buscemi and Eddie Izzard. Grade: C Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" (PG). Owing more to theme park rides than to its source in a Jules Verne novel, this thrill-a-minute 3-D adventure stars Brendan Fraser as a geologist fighting carnivorous plants and dinosaurs underground. Grade: B- Muvico Egyptian 24

"Lakeview Terrace" (PG-13). Samuel L. Jackson's intense performance as a Los Angeles cop isn't quite enough to carry this thriller about the cop's hostile response to the interracial couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) who buy the house next to his. Although the script has inconsistent character development, it also provides plenty of diverting jolts. Grade: B- Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Miracle at St. Anna" (R). As overstated as it is ambitious, director Spike Lee's lengthy drama about black soldiers in Italy during World War II qualifies as an honorable failure. The film's thematic clubbing is epitomized by composer Terence Blanchard's insistent score, which never trusts you to respond to the material on your own. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"My Best Friend's Girl" (R). Alleged comedy about a scam artist (Dane Cook) whose best friend (Jason Biggs) has been dumped by a girlfriend (Kate Hudson). These guys scheme to have Cook take Hudson on such a dreadful date that she'll run back to Biggs. The crude humor is relentless. Grade: C- Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Nights in Rodanthe" (PG-13). Sudsy melodrama with Richard Gere as an anxious surgeon staying in a North Carolina coastal bed-and-breakfast, where he falls in love with Diane Lane as an equally anxious woman who is temporarily running the inn as a favor to its owner. The cliched dialogue is a chore to sit through, but Gere and Lane make middle-aged romance seem pretty nice. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Righteous Kill" (R). Paired for the first time since "Heat" (1995), Robert De Niro and Al Pacino play New York cops who bend the rules in going after bad guys. The stars mostly coast on their trademark moves, and director Jon Avnet indulges in overly familiar cop movie material. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Traitor" (R). Terrorism is the nervously topical subject of a political thriller about a Sudanese-born, American-raised Muslim (Don Cheadle) whose loyalty is questioned by both the American government and Islamic terrorists. Unfortunately, this munition expert's motives seem to baffle the filmmakers as much as their characters. Insight is lacking just when it's needed most. Grade: B- AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys" (PG-13). Another comic melodrama from Tyler Perry in which the lapses in script logic are matched by crowd-pleasing elements that can't be denied. Grade: C+ Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

"The Women" (PG-13). This glossy remake of the 1939 movie has such a starry cast that it's fun getting immersed in its light-hearted feminist update of a melodramatic story. Grade: B Snowden Square 14, AMC Columbia Mall 14, Muvico Egyptian 24

All capsule reviews and grades are by Mike Giuliano unless otherwise noted. Bookings change on Friday. For showtimes and to confirm listings, call the phone-in number in Screen Scene.

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