The Grudge ***
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr, Clea DuVall, William Mapother, KaDee Strickland, Bill Pullman, Grace Zabriskie
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Running Length: 1:36
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Karen (Gellar), an American exchange student in Japan, is asked to fill in for a caretaker that did not show up for work. Arriving at the house, she begins to take care of the lady that lives there only to find that they might not be the only ones in the house. Footsteps can be heard running around upstairs, a cat can be heard meowing, and something does not seem right. It seems that the house may be haunted. A discovery in the attic sends Karen on an investigation to discover the story behind the mysterious goings on.

This movie was creepier than I anticipated when I saw the PG-13 rating. With no blood or gore, director Takashi Shimizu has crafted a eerie movie that will be scary for most. Shimizu should know what he is doing here though, having directed the Japanese version of "The Grudge" right before starting up on this American version. Sarah Michelle Gellar does nothing remarkable in a role that could have been played by anyone. The biggest surprise for me was Bill Pullman, who at first glance seems to have a very minor part. The "ghosts" are also effective, appearing from nowhere and looking suitably creepy (the actors are also holdovers from the Japanese version).

This is not a great horror movie, but it is a solidly good one. If you are looking for a few scares this Halloween, go and check out "The Grudge".

Friday Night Lights ***1/2
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Lucas Black, Garrett Hedlund, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lee Jackson, Lee Thomspson Young, Tim McGraw
Director: Peter Berg
Running Length: 1:57
MPAA Classification: PG-13

"Friday Night Lights" is the true story of the 1988 Odessa-Permian high school football team and their quest for the state championship. They are one of the best teams in West Texas, and Friday nights are for high school football. Everything in town stops so that all can go to the game. Tremendous pressure is put on the kids and the coaches to win. The star of the team is James "Boobie" Miles (Luke), a cocky kid who definately believes all the hype about him until a early season knee injury turns his world on end. Stepping up to fill the void are quarterback Mike Winchell (Black) and running backs Don Billingsley (Hedlund) and Chris Comer (Young). But will they have what it takes to fill that void? Coach Gary Gaines (Thornton) thinks so, and as the season moves on, he finds himself receiving both the love and the hatred of the town depending on whether they are winning or losing.

There is a lot going on in this movie, both on and off the field, and the story flows smoothly back and forth. After all, everything going on off the field is still football related, and plays into the story quite prominently. Running through it all is the immense pressure to win. This is not your typical sports movie, and the final game drives home the point of the whole movie. This is a very good movie, with solid performances all around, expecially by the mostly unknow actors playing the kids. This movie is for anyone who has ever been involved in the phenomenon of high school football. For those people, it will strike a real chord. For everyone else, it will still be an enjoyable, emotional experience that should not be missed.

Wimbledon ***
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Paul Bettany, Sam Neill, Jon Favreau, Bernard Hill, Eleanor Bron, Austin Nichols
Director: Richard Loncraine
Running Length: 1:38
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Peter Colt (Bettany) is a professional tennis player whose career is winding down. He is ranked #119 in the world, but that is nowhere near the #11 he was ranked in 1996. He has decided to announce he will retire after Wimbledon, in which he is a wild card. While at Wimbledon, he meets Lizzy Bradbury (Dunst), an up and coming tennis star, and a whirlwind romance begins. Of course, she has to hide this from the watchful eye of her father (Neill), who wants her focused on the task at hand. Of course, the romance lifts him up, and soon he is advancing through the tournament. But, Lizzy begins to be distracted, and her game suffers. Will things work out for the couple? What do you think? This a romantic comedy after all.

Bettany and Dunst have good chemistry together, and you do root for things to work out between them. Neill does a credible job as the father who is just looking out for his daughter's interests. The tennis matches are well crafted, employing some really cool point-of-view shots from the ball's perspective as it soars across the net. All in all, this is a really likeable movie, wheather you are looking for romance, comedy, or even a little sports.

Shark Tale **1/2
Cast (voices): Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black, Angelena Jolie, Martin Scorsese
Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, Rob Letterman
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: PG

Oscar (Smith) the fish leads a normal life. He is just an average guy working at the Whale Wash. One day, he wanders into shark territory and is chased by Frankie. Unfortunately for Frankie, the chase ends in his death, not at Oscar's hands, but by pure accident. Oscar sees as an opportunity to "be someone", and quickly takes the credit. The fish world begins to call him the "Shark Slayer", two female fish begin to show their interest, and the shark godfather (DeNiro) makes it his business to find the murderer of Frankie...his son.

"Shark Tale" is yet another animated movie that will appeal to both children and adults. The difference is, this time it almost seems made for adults first and kids second. The most obvious references are to "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas", two movies that no kids should have seen. Also, advertising placement has run amok in this movie. Every way you turn in the city, there are obvious "fake ads" for real products that is very distracting. Most everything in this movie is overkill, in fact.

The voice talents are credible and the animation is good, although I found Oscar to look kind of creepy with his near human-looking face. "Shark Tale" also is nothing like "Finding Nemo", which is both good and bad. Good, because it is not retreading material that is not too old yet. Bad, because "Finding Nemo" was so much better. "Shark Tale" is a decent movie that will be enjoyed by most, and I did laugh a number of times while viewing it, but my advice is to wait for DVD.

Napoleon Dynamite ***
Cast: Jon Heder, Efren Ramirez, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff
Director: Jared Hess
Running Length: 1:26
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Napoleon Dynamite (Heder) is a nerdy, antisocial teenager who lives with his brother Kip (Ruell) and his grandma. That is, until grandma gets hurt and Uncle Rico (Gries) steps up to take care of them. They are a bunch of weirdos...Uncle Rico is living in the past, vidoetaping himself playing football; Kip spends most of his time in internet chat rooms. Napoleon himself is on the bottom rung of the food chain at school. His only friend is Pedro (Ramirez), a student that just moved to town.

There is no real plot to this movie. It is more of a slice of Napoleon's life, jumping right in at the beginning of the movie, and jumping right out at the end. A lot of things happen in the movie, a school dance and a class election chief among them, but it is all just part of his life and not really the focus of the film.

Jon Heder plays Napoleon with a low-key nerdiness. He is both funny and sad at the same time, and Napoleon isn't always the most likeable. That's ok though, because you still want to root for him. "Napoleon Dynamite" is a very interesting and hilarious (at times) movie. If you are looking for something a little different, something a little off-center, this is definately the movie for you.