The Forgotten **1/2
Cast: Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards, Linus Roache, Gary Sinise, Dominic West, Alfre Woodard, Christopher Kovaleski
Director: Joseph Ruben
Running Length: 1:29
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Telly Paretta (Moore) has been mourning the death of her son for over a year. She has a supportive husband (Edwards) and a capable psychologist (Sinise), and is making progress towards acceptance. Then, suddenly, little things start to happen. Her car is parked in a different space than where she left it. A cup of coffee she is drinking disappears. These events concern her, but it isn't until her son's things start to disappear that she really freaks out. All of a sudden no one seems to remember her son, although the memories are quite clear to her. Teaming up with the father of a girl who was killed in the same accident as her son, Telly sets out to figure out just what is going on. And that is as far as I will go story-wise, because I don't want to give too much away.

Moore does a good job as the grieving mother who is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery. In fact, she gives the stand out performance in this movie. The special effects, when used are very effective, especially the "snatching" effect seen in the previews. The story is interesting, but fails somewhere along the way to really make sense. When everything is revealed, it does not entirely support what has gone before, and the "happy ending" that is tacked onto the end really makes no sense at all...it just serves as a giant "reset button" that seems cheap. The point of the story is nice though, and that gives it some points in my book. All in all, I would recommend waiting for DVD on this one.

Vanity Fair **1/2
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Romola Garai, James Purefoy, Rhys Ifans, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Bob Hoskins, Eileen Atkins, Jim Broadbent
Director: Mira Nair
Running Length: 2:20
MPAA Classification: PG-13

""Vanity Fair" is the story of Becky Sharp (Witherspoon), a social climber, who attempts to rise from poverty to the British high society. This is done through a marriage to Rawdon Crawley (Purefoy). And once his gambling problem threatens their status in society, Becky quickly seeks to maintain here newfound stature.

Based on the classic novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, "Vanity Fair" is definately not my type of movie. That being said, fans of period pieces and classic novels will probably be satidfied. I found it difficult to get into and even more difficult to care for any of the characters. Finally, at 160 minutes, this movie runs far too long. This is not a movie for everyone, but a small few will find it highly entertaining.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow ***
Cast: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Bai Ling, Omid Djalili, Sir Laurence Olivier
Director: Kerry Conran
Running Length: 1:47
MPAA Classification: PG

When giant robots invade Manhattan, Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan (Law) is called in to save the day. After stopping those robots, he is reunited with Polly Perkins (Paltrow), an old love and reporter. Apparently, the robot attack is tied to the disappearance of prominent scientists. Some research by Polly points to the mysterious Dr. Totenkoph (Laurence Olivier, in a computer-aided performance - he has been dead for a while now). Sky Captain embarks on a quest to find Totenkoph, and Polly will not be left behind.

To some extent "Sky Captain" is an exercise in style over substance. That's not to say that there is no story, it is just that the story serves to give the audience all those glorious visuals. The effects are amazing, and provide the movie with a look that I have never seen before. "Sky Captain" plays like a movie from the early twentieth century made with the effects technology of today. It is an original idea, and it is flawlessly executed. The effects are so great to look at that you do not realize the story is not the greatest. Perhaps it just seems a bit hokey in today's movie age...I am not a huge fan of old movies.

Law and Paltrow do good jobs in the lead roles. Angeline Jolie makes an appearance later in the film, but is by no means one of the leads. The most memorable role is Dex Dearborn, Sky Captain's sidekick played with a bit of quirkiness by Giovanni Ribisi. "Sky Captain" is a good "escape" movie, worth checking out, especially on the big screen.

Cellular ***
Cast: Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Christian Olsen, William H. Macy, Jason Statham, Adam Taylor Gordon, Rick Hoffman, Richard Burgi, Eddie Driscoll, Jessica Biel
Director: David R. Ellis
Running Length: 1:34
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Like "Phone Booth", "Cellular" was written by Larry Cohen. But, while "Phone Booth" kept the main character trapped in a phone booth for the entire movie, "Cellular" allows the good guy freedom to rove all over the city as long as he has his cell phone with him. Ryan (Evans) receives a phone call on his cellular phone from Jessica (Basinger). She tells him that she has been kidnapped and has managed to get the smashed phone that she has working. She needs his help. She has no idea why she has been kidnapped, bur is worried about her son and husband. When Ryan finally comes to believe her, he sets out to save her and her family.

"Cellular" keeps the tension at a high level throughout its running time, and that is its saving grace. It is not until later, looking back, that you realize that some of what has gone before stretches credibility. And that is ok. Basinger and Evans are very good in the lead roles, and William H. Macy is his usual excellent best in a supporting role as a cop who does not believe Ryan at first. They work well together, and the bond that they form is believeable. The reasons for the kidnapping are also plausible.

"Cellular" is a pleasant find in the doldrums of September cinema. It is 94 minutes well spent, and most people will find something to like in it.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse **1/2
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann, Jared Harris, Sandrine Holt, Raz Adoti, Mike Epps
Director: Alexander Witt
Running Length: 1:33
MPAA Classification: R

"Apocalypse" picks up right where this first "Resident Evil" left off. In fact, it backtracks a bit to explain how the ending of the first came about. And then, we are off, as Alice (Jovovich) hooks up with some others (Guillory, Holt, Fehr) trapped in the city. The city has been locked down because the virus from the first movie has gotten out of the Hive. The group is offered assistance in getting out if they can find and rescue the daughter of an Umbrella Corp. employee. Added incentive comes in the form of a nuclear cleansing of the city that is on its way. Along the way, they will deal with zombies, more of the creatures from the first movie, and the Nemesis (a really big, ugly mutant with a creepy smile).

"Apocalypse" falls short of the confined terror of the first film. The underground nature of the original added to the rising tension, while here the players have the run of the city. Plus, to some extent, there is not much new here. The Nemesis is a creepy adversary, but he introduced fairly early on, and his eventual end is no surprise, given the events of the first film. There is also another cliffhanger of sorts at the end to set up another sequel.

Chances are, if you liked the first film, you will like this one as well. If you did not like the first one or avoided it completely, you would be better off looking elsewhere for entertainment. What you think you will get out of this film is exactly what you will get. I liked it, but only enough to recommend on DVD.

Hero ***
Cast: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen, Chen Daoming
Director: Zhang Yimou
Running Length: 1:36
MPAA Classification: PG-13

"Hero" is the apocryphal story of the uniting of warring kingdoms in Asia into the country of China. Three assassins who have sought to murder the king have themselves been murdered by the Nameless warrior (Li). Now, Nameless is brought before that king (Daoming) to be rewarded for his heroic deeds. While there, he recounts the tales of his battles with these assassins, and then the king offers another perspective on things that turns everything that has gone before on its head.

"Hero" is an interesting movie that will not appeal to everyone. It is in many ways reminicent of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but also very different. Filled with vibrancy and color, every frame of this movie is amazing to look at. It is very easy to get lost in the images presented by director Zhang Yimou. The fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and surreal. Utilizing the "Wire-fu" first seen be American audiences in "Crouching Tiger", the characters leap and spin with no regard for gravity or any laws of physics. The story itself seems straightforward, until the king offers a possible alternative for the way things actually happened. Then, the movie takes a number of twists and turns that are mostly satisfying.

"Hero" is not your typical action movie, and I cannot recommend this movie for everyone. That being said, I think that this movie could be a pleasant surprise for some people looking for something a little different.

Suspect Zero **1/2
Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Anne Moss, Harry J. Lennix, Kevin Chamberlin
Director: E. Elias Merhige
Running Length: 0:99
MPAA Classification: R

FBI agent Thomas Mackelway (Eckhart) is called to New Mexico to investigate a murder that left the dead body in a car on the Arizona-New Mexico border. As the investigation begins, Mackelway soon finds himself being taunted by someone via faxes of drawings of the victim. Soon, there is another murder, seemingly at random. But, the second victim is a serial killer, and it turns out that the killer might be one as well. Could there be a serial murderer going around killing serial murderers? Well, that is where the movie falters a bit. There is no real mystery here, and if you have seen the trailer you know that. Ben Kingsley plays Benjamin O'Ryan, an ex-FBI remote viewer who is plagued by horrible images that are compelling him to act. Kingsley does the best he can with what is given him, and the movie is interesting enough, but one cannot help but wonder if this movie would have been better if the killer's identity had been more of a mystery. Of course, then you would have less screen time for Kingsley, and he carries the movie to some extent. Good movie, but not as good as it could have been.

Exorcist: The Beginning ***
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Izabella Scorupco, James D'Arcy, Remy Sweeney, Julian Wadham
Director: Renny Harlin
Running Length: 114 min
MPAA Classification: R

The classic movie, "The Exorcist" established a backstory for the older priest, Father Merrin. Now, "Exorcist: The Beginning" looks to provide the full story of Merrin's first exorcism. As the story opens, Merrin (Skarsgård) is a archeologist and has quit the priesthood after World War II. He is tormented by the War and it has caused his faith to falter. Merrin is summoned to Africa by the Catholic Church to investigate the discovery of a church buried in the sand. When it is unearthed, strange things start happening, and Merrin must find his faith to exorcise the demons that threaten to consume himself and the whole excavation team.

This movie does not live up to the original, but there really is no way that it could. Considered a classic by many, "The Exorcist" sets a high bar that the two previous sequels could not surpass. This is better than 3, and I have not seen 2. A lot of the problems with this movie are external to some extent. The original director was fired after he did not give the studio the blood and gore that it wanted, and Renny Harlin came on board to do reshoots and piece together a "scarier" version. Of course, blood and gore are not necessary to make a movie scary, and at times it seems like overkill.

Skarsgård fills the role of Merrin well, and brings to him a haunted quality that is necessary to his character for reasons that become apparent quickly. All in all, this is a good movie that could have been great, but is still highly entertaining and enjoyable for horror fans. I would recommend it, and also recommend looking for it on DVD when it comes out, because the rumor is that both versions will be included on it.