Movie picks 

The Ant Bully (PG)

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Barnyard (PG)

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Cars (G)

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Catch a Fire (PG-13)
In Philip Noyce's apartheid drama, two wrongs do make a right, and therein lies the rub. While Patrick Chamusso, a model South African citizen, knows the apartheid regime is an evil one, he must overcome his doubts about using violence to combat it. And the movie, in proposing that violence is not the answer, must find a way to celebrate a man who thought, at least at one time, it was the only answer. Despite confident direction and some explosive performances, the movie fails to ignite because of its melodramatic, moralistic screenplay. Jeff Sneider

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Kimball's Twin Peak, Tinseltown

*The Departed (R)
Screenwriter William Monahan and Director Martin Scorsese have taken a good movie the 2002 thriller Internal Affairs and remade it into something even deeper and more resonant. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has risen through the police ranks, though secretly his loyalty lies with a local crime boss (Jack Nicholson). Frustrated by their failures, the police install an undercover man (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the crime boss's operation. Scott Renshaw

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

*Employee of the Month (PG-13)
Zack Bradley (Dane Cook) is an ambitionless bagboy at Super Club when a beautiful cashier (Jessica Simpson) arrives with a reputation for falling for Employee of the Month. In his first lead role, Cook won't win any acting statues, but his zany charm goes a long way in elevating the material from generic to above-average romantic comedy. Jeff Sneider

Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown

Facing the Giants (PG)
When a high school football coach faces a series of failures and difficulties, he calls on God for help. After an unexpected messenger appears, he and his team test their courage in a fight between faith and fear. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16

Flags of Our Fathers (R)
The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is a patriotic look at America's need for heroes and villains when perhaps none exist. It follows three World War II servicemen during a public relations campaign designed to exploit their heroism and sell war bonds. However, Eastwood and the film editor toy too much with the movie's structure, and coupled with poorly defined characters, keep the movie from becoming the genre classic that it could have become. Jeff Sneider

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Flicka (PG)
A rebellious young girl tames a wild mustang in an attempt to show her father that she is capable of someday running the family's ranch. Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

The Gridiron Gang (PG-13)

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The Grudge 2 (PG-13)
A young woman in Tokyo is exposed to the same supernatural force that cursed her sister and infects each victim with rage before moving on to the next target. A group of the victims band together to learn the curse's secret and save their lives. Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Tinseltown

The Guardian (PG-13)
A young man (Ashton Kutcher) enlists in the Coast Guard to escape his problems and is mentored by an experienced rescuer (Kevin Costner) who has been hardened by a tragic accident in his past. Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

How To Eat Fried Worms (PG)

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Invincible (PG-13)

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Jackass: Number Two (R)
The original creators and cast of the MTV series return, unleashing even more outrageous and over-the-top stunts. Not reviewed

Carmike 10

Kidtoons: A Christmas Carol (G)

Chapel Hills 15

*Little Miss Sunshine (R)
Even with Little Miss Sunshine's occasional notes of wackiness, the cast is uniformly excellent, and its script so deftly captures the emotion of a dysfunctional family road trip that it's less like a sitcom than like a clan's real day-to-day life squashed into 101 minutes. " Tricia Olszewski

Kimball's Twin Peak

Man of the Year (PG-13)
In a sharp-tongued political satire with a lame cable TV subplot, Robin Williams plays a Jon Stewart-style talk show host who is urged by an audience member to announce his candidacy for president. He takes off with the idea and actually gets on the ballot. The uneven movie wants to empower its voting audience, but mostly is just serves to further disillusion us with the shortcomings of our government. Jeff Sneider

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Marie Antoinette (PG-13)
The movie, directed by Sophia Coppola, tells the story of France's Marie Antoinette. It traces her life from her engagement to King Louis XVI at age 15 through her days as queen to her eventual beheading at age 38. Not reviewed

Tinseltown

The Marine (PG-13)
A Marine returns home from war to discover that his wife is entangled in a kidnapping plot. Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Tinseltown

Monster House (PG)

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Nightmare Before Christmas (PG-13)

Cinemark 16

One Night with the King (PG)
The story of a Jewish girl who becomes the Queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction while winning the love of King Xerxes. Not reviewed

Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16

Open Season (PG)
A grizzly bear named Boog and a mule deer named Elliot form an unlikely alliance and lead the forest creatures in a battle against the hunters. This animated adventure features the voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise and Debra Messing. Not reviewed

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

The Prestige (PG-13)
In turn-of-the century England, one man stands accused of murdering another with motives that only become evident in flashback. The two were both stage illusionists with a rivalry so intense it leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy at all costs. The filmmakers pull off some impressive tricks with their adaptation of Christopher Priest's novel, but ultimately the movie disappoints by clumsily revealing its big secret. Scott Renshaw

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

Running with Scissors (R)
Based on a personal memoir written by Augusten Burroughs, the movie tells the tale of an adolescent boy whose alcoholic father and troubled mother send him off to a therapist, who takes him in as a member of her own large and bizarre family. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16

Saw III (R)
Madman "Jigsaw" and his apprentice kidnap Lynn, a hospital employee, and take her to an abandoned warehouse where she must keep the dying madman alive while another victim, Jeff, completes a series of vicious tests to save them. Not reviewed

Carmike 10, Chapel Hills 15, Cinemark 16, Tinseltown

*Shortbus (NR)

Kimball's Twin Peak

Step Up (PG-13)

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Superman Returns (PG-13)

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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (R)

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The Wicker Man (PG-13)

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Wired To Win (NR)
A documentary about the Tour de France that combines live-action footage with computer and medical imagery to demonstrate how the human brain responds to physical challenge. Not reviewed

Cinemark 16 IMAX