Movie guide
KEY: Four stars means superior; three stars means good; two stars means average; one star means poor. D for drug use, L for language, N for nudity, S for sexual situations or references, V for violence. Ratings by Dann Gire, Daily Herald film critic, unless otherwise noted.
Picks
"Becoming Jane" -- How Jane (Anne Hathaway) became an Austen-tacious novelist. With James McAvoy. (PG) 113 minutes. 3 stars
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- Matt Damon's slick action sequel delivers the goods. Reviewed by Matt Arado. (PG-13) V. 111 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Death at a Funeral" -- Stiff Brits bury a stiff -- with comic results. (R) D, L. 90 minutes. 3 stars
"Eastern Promises" -- David Cronenberg's thriller about the Russian mob and a nurse with an incriminating diary. At the River East 21, Chicago. (R) L, N, S, V. 100 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Hairspray" -- Plump Baltimore girl (Nikki Blonsky) sings for tolerance of blacks and plus-sizes in this joyful musical with John Travolta in drag. (PG) 115 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" -- Harry leads rebel wizards to stop You-Know-Who. The darkest and most confusing in the Potter series. Still entertaining. (PG-13) V. 139 minutes. 3 stars
"In the Valley of Elah" -- Retired Tommy Lee Jones investigates his son's disappearance on an Army base. At the Webster Place Theaters, Chicago. (R) L, N, S, V. 121 minutes. 3 stars
"Knocked Up" -- A funny, crass comedy with belly laughs about a newly pregnant TV personality (Katherine Heigl) and the doofus slacker (Seth Rogan) who impregnated her. (R) D, L, S. 129 minutes. 4 stars
"Live Free or Die Hard" -- A computer geek (Justin Long) and a cowboy cop (Bruce Willis) save America from computerized terrorism. (PG-13) L, V. 130 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Mr. Bean's Holiday" -- Rowan Atkinson wins a trip to France! What fun! (G) 88 minutes.3 stars
"No Reservations" -- Chefs Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart cook up a tasty and tasteful romance. (PG) 105 minutes. 3 stars
"Ocean's Thirteen" -- George, Brad and the gang target Al Pacino's casino. Lots of fun if you don't take it too seriously. (PG-13) S. 122 minutes. 3 stars
"Once" -- Two Dublin denizens make beautiful music together. (R) L. 85 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Ratatouille" -- An animated rat cooks up a cinematic dessert in this delightful Pixar production. (G) 110 minutes. 4 stars
"The Simpsons Movie" -- D'oh! It's really good! Reviewed by Ted Cox. (PG-13) L, N. 86 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"Superbad" -- Supergood raunchy teen comedy. (R) D, L, S, V. 112 minutes. 3 1/2 stars
"3:10 to Yuma" -- Farmer Christian Bale brings Wild West outlaw Russell Crowe to justice. (R) L, V. 117 minutes.3 stars
"Waitress" -- A woman tries to escape her trapped, small-town life. (PG-13) L, S. 107 minutes. 4 stars
Passables
"Across the Universe" -- A visually audacious but unsatisfying musical using Beatles songs. (PG-13) D, L, N. S. 129 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"The Brave One" -- Jodie Foster goes Charles Bronson on us in Neil Jordan's pro-vigilante drama. (R) L, S, V. 122 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"Death Sentence" -- Dad Kevin Bacon turns vigilante with tragic consequences. (R) L, V. 99 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"Evan Almighty" -- God appoints a congressman as his new Noah. (PG) 90 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"Halloween" -- Rob Zombie's remake of the John Carpenter classic horror tale reveals why Michael Myers became such a bad boy. Reviewed by Jeff Pizek. (R) D, L, N, S, V. 109 minutes. 2 stars
"Hatchet" -- New Orleans tourists become shish-kebabs. A tribute to 1980s maniac movies. (R) L, N, V. 93 minutes. 2 stars
"Mr. Woodcock" -- Seann William Scott tries to stop Billy Bob Thornton's sadistic coach from dating Mom. (PG-13) D, L, S. 87 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"The Nanny Diaries" -- Sexy Scarlett Johansson raises dysfunctional Laura Linney's son on the Upper East Side. (PG-13) L. 105 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" -- Captain Jack is back! (PG-13) V. 168 minutes. 2 1/2 stars
"Shoot 'em Up" -- Clive Owen saves a baby from evil Paul Giamatti. Action eye candy for sadists. (R) L, N, S, V. 87 minutes. 2 stars
"Stardust" -- Screwy fantasy inhabited by cannibalistic witches, a cross-dressing pirate and a drab young hero. Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro ham it up. (PG-13) V. 125 minutes. 2 stars
"Transformers" -- The 1980s toys become action stars. Reviewed by Matt Arado. (PG-13) L, S, V. 144 minutes. 2 stars
Pits
"Balls of Fury" -- A dingy ping-pong martial-arts cliché parody. (PG-13) L, S. 90 minutes. 1 1/2 stars
"The Brothers Solomon" -- Will Arnett and Will Forte want to impregnate a girl for their comatose dad, Lee Majors. (R) L, S. 91 minutes. 1 stars
"The Invasion" -- Alien virus turns humans into emotionless peaceniks. (PG-13) V. 95 minutes. 1 1/2 stars
"Rush Hour 3" -- Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return as cops in this Tuckered-out action sequel. (PG-13) L, V. 91 minutes. 1 1/2 stars
"Silk" -- Michael Pitt travels to 19th-century Japan for silkworm eggs in an overwritten historical drama for dummies. (R) N, S. 116 minutes. 1 1/2 stars
"Underdog" -- The 1960s cartoon super mutt can't survive this lackluster, simple-minded CGI/live-action update. (PG) 84 minutes. 1 star
Unpreviewed
"Dragon Wars" -- Reincarnated lovers must stop dragons from destroying Los Angeles. Not screened for critics. (PG-13) V. 107 minutes.
"The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" -- Doc follows video game fans as they compete in Donkey Kong. (PG-13) S. 79 minutes.
"Ladron Que Roba a Ladron" -- Two former thieves team up to rob a TV infomercial guru. (PG-13)
"La Vie En Rose -- Edith Piaf's story. (PG-13)
"Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" -- A doc on the legendary singer. At Renaissance Place, Highland Park. (NR) 93 minutes.
"War" -- A killer (Jet Li) and cop (Jason Statham) square off in a martial-arts epic. Not screened for critics, and we all know what that means. (R) L, N, S, V. 103 minutes.
Preview
"The Kingdom" -- Four FBI agents investigate a massacre in Saudi Arabia. (R) L, V. 100 minutes. Previews Saturday night; see ads for locations and show times. Opens Sept. 28.