Movie Picks 

Akeelah and the Bee (PG)

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Ant Bully (PG)
In this animated children's comedy, a boy accidentally floods an ant colony only to be shrunken down to ant size to fix the damage. Celebrity voices include Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep. Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Cinemark 16 IMAX, Tinseltown

Barnyard (PG)
In this animated children's comedy, a farmer leaves his land in the care of the livestock. Celebrity voices include Steve Oedekerk, Sam Elliott and Danny Glover. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Break-Up (PG-13)

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Clerks 2 (R)
A disaster at Randall and Dante's store sends them off in search of brighter horizons, only to land them at Mooby's, a fictional Disney-McDonald's-corporate fast-food joint. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16

The Descent (R)
After a tragic accident, six friends reunite for a caving expedition that goes horribly awry. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Devil Wears Prada (PG-13)
A nave young woman lands a job as an assistant to one of New York City's biggest magazine editors in this comedic drama. Starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Fast and the Furious (PG-13)

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Garfield: The Tail of Two Kitties (PG)

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Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (PG)

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*An Inconvenient Truth (PG)
If Al Gore weren't so self-effacing throughout An Inconvenient Truth, vignettes from his personal and political life might come across as preachy or maudlin. But the former senator and vice president has acquired an ease and sense of humor since he lost the White House to George W. Bush, and his likeability factor infuses these segments with an amiable, even affectionate tinge. An Inconvenient Truth is, ultimately, not an apocalyptic horror show but a call to action, and a damn effective one. Kathryn Eastburn

Kimball's Twin Peak

John Tucker Must Die (PG-13)
In this teenage comedy, three ex-girlfriends take revenge on a former lover who is a serial cheater. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

*Lady in the Water (PG-13)
One of M. Night Shyamalan's great talents as a visual storyteller and why he is often likened to Steven Spielberg is that, even in his less-than-successful films, he finds spirit and mystery in the ordinary, and that is certainly the case here. Lady in the Water wants us to be sad and hopeful and in awe about a lot of things, but it didn't make me actually feel much of anything. It is, perhaps, too self-consciously about how a story is made real at the expense of actually making a story real. MaryAnn Johanson

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Lake House (PG)

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Little Man (PG-13)
Shawn and Marlon Wayans star in this comedy about a wannabe father who mistakes a vertically challenged fugitive for his newly adopted son. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10

Miami Vice (R)
Jamie Foxx and Colin Ferrell star as undercover cops that pose as drug traffickers to assist the FBI in uncovering a group responsible for three murders. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Mission Impossible 3 (PG-13)

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Monster House (PG)
Steve Buscemi lends his vocal talents to this animated children's film about a scary house that is actually a monster. Not reviewed

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (PG-13)
When an average guy (Luke Wilson) breaks up with his superhero girlfriend (Uma Thurman), she uses her superpowers to torment him in this romantic comedy. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16

The Night Listener (R)
A late night radio show host (Robin Williams) investigates a haunting memoir of childhood sexual abuse. Dull acting limits this otherwise tight and well-staged psychological drama. Scott Renshaw

Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown

Over the Hedge (PG)

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*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (PG-13)
The original Pirates was that rare blockbuster that connected with audiences not on the basis of a star or a concept, but on the basis of a performance. Dead Man's Chest is over-plotted. By all rights, the 150 minutes should feel like a slog and a half through its plot points, but instead it's actually a crackling piece of action filmmaking. Scott Renshaw

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Poseidon (PG-13)

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Roving Mars (NR)

Cinemark 16 IMAX

RV (PG)

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A Scanner Darkly (R)
A Scanner Darkly is kind of a blast when it's freestyling. The best moments find Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson hilariously riffing on everything from crooked bicycle salesmen to the niceties of assisting a choking victim. But Richard Linklater is trying so hard to make his film a relevant commentary on society that he doesn't even seem to notice that the guys who do the drugs are the ones you'd actually want to spend time with. A Scanner Darkly feels like a bad artistic fit a "just say no" lesson from a guy who still benefits from the entertainment value of saying yes. Scott Renshaw

Kimball's Twin Peak

Scoop (PG)
Scoop finds Woody Allen attempting to return to frothy comedy with a suspense twist. His comedic touch, however, has ossified to the point where nothing funny can grow organically out of the situations he creates. It's depressing watching a guy who made some of the funniest, most trenchant movies of the '70s, '80s and '90s become so utterly inconsequential. Scott Renshaw

Kimball's Twin Peak

Superman Returns (PG-13)
Director Bryan Singer has made a movie about our need for hope in a dark time, trying to cobble his Superman/Jesus metaphors to the necessary machinations of a Hollywood blockbuster. The result is something slightly aloof a hero only briefly allowing us to touch his cape before he's off to the Fortress of Solitude. It's not enough to believe a man can fly. We need to believe that the thing that's flying is actually a man. Scott Renshaw

Cinemark 16 IMAX, Tinseltown

*Talladega Nights (PG-13)
See page 24 for full review.

Carmike Stadium 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Wild (G)

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*X-Men: The Last Stand (PG-13)

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*You, Me and Dupree (PG-13)
Owen Wilson has a talent for turning loafing and mooching into something Zen and almost religious. But only in the movies is that kind of thing adorable and charming. In reality, you'd kick him out of your life if you didn't actually kill him first, especially if he behaved like Randy Dupree. MaryAnn Johanson

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown