CAST: Jeremy Irons, Patricia Kaas, Thierry Lhermitte, Alessandra Martines, Jean-Marie Bigard, Ticky Holgado
SYNOPSIS: Irons plays a jewel thief with a brain disorder, wooing a cabaret singer (Kaas) in Morocco who wishes she could forget her failing love life. Shown with subtitles for frequent French and Italian dialogue.
WHAT WE SAID: Times film critic Steve Persall gave the movie a B+. "When the film isn't working as a love story, it crackles as a caper flick. As the noose tightens on Valentin (Irons), Lelouch adds a somber edge that makes his elusiveness easier to hope for. Even his cheats for our affections have enough class to be enjoyable. The time shuffling tricks, diversion into three stories and Valentin's fantasy sequences are elaborate touches for such a simple plot. But it's that extra attention to behavioral detail making And Now Ladies and Gentlemen always interesting to observe."
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language
RUNNING TIME: 133 minutes
Freddy vs. Jason
DIRECTOR: Ronny Yu
CAST: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Katherine Isabelle, Brendan Fletcher, Christopher George Marquette, Lochlyn Munro
SYNOPSIS: The undefeated king of carnage, Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th, takes on the undisputed master of disaster, Freddy Krueger.
WHAT WE SAID: Times reviewer Philip Booth gave this slashfest a D+. "Idiotic dialogue, nonsensical plotting, endless dream sequences, really bad acting - I'm having a vivid, seriously distressing nightmare, and I can't wake up. Help," he said.
MPAA RATING: R for graphic violence, nudity, sexual situations, profanity
RUNNING TIME: 92 minutes
Johnny English
DIRECTOR: Peter Howitt
CAST: Rowan Atkinson, Natalie Imbruglia, John Malkovich, Ben Miller, Henry Naylor
SYNOPSIS: British comedian Atkinson (Bean, Rat Race) jumps on the spy spoof bandwagon, playing a secret agent bungling an investigation into the theft of the crown jewels.
WHAT WE SAID: Teenager Billy Norris, who reviews movies for the St. Petersburg Times' Xpress page, said he couldn't decide if the film was a spoof or a tribute to James Bond. "It's extremely odd to view Atkinson, known for his bumbling off-the-wall Mr. Bean character, in a role that encompasses even the slightest amount of seriousness. The best way to describe the film is hot and cold. There is a fine line between hilarity and stupidity, and the plot wavers between the two. Malkovich's cheesy French accent didn't score this movie any points either." He gave it a C.
MPAA RATING: PG for comic nudity, some crude humor and language
RUNNING TIME: 88 minutes
Swimming Pool
DIRECTOR: Francois Ozon
CAST: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, Marc Fayolle, Jean-Marie Lamour
SYNOPSIS: Rampling and Sagnier play women of opposite styles forging a mysterious bond in a psychological cat-and-mouse game.
WHAT WE SAID: Times reviewer Brian Orloff gave the film an A-. "The French director is a master of subtlety and ambiguity. Swimming Pool contains a famous Ozon puzzler ending (one that will fuel discussion long after) and engages in critiques of cultural identity and latent sexual longings. But the film, Ozon's first in English, is accessible. Attribute that to sterling performances by Charlotte Rampling and French ingenue Ludivine Sagnier, as well as Swimming Pool's hypnotic cinematography."
MPAA RATING: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language, some violence and drug use
