"Babylon A.D." (PG-13). Not reviewed. Vin Diesel stars in this sci-fi drama as a mercenary hired to protect a woman with a secret that could doom humanity. Opens Aug. 29.

"College" (R). Not reviewed. Clarksville actor Ryan Pinkston is featured in director Deb Hagan's comedy about high school seniors at a college orientation who end up in a wild fraternity. Opens Friday, Aug. 29.

"Disaster Movie" (R). Not reviewed. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer direct this satire of disaster films. Opens Friday, Aug. 29.

"Traitor" (R). Terrorism is the nervously topical subject of this political thriller about a Sudanese-born, American-raised Muslim (Don Cheadle) whose loyalty is questioned by both the American government and Islamic terrorists. Unfortunately, this munition expert's motives seem to baffle the filmmakers as much as their characters. Grade: B- Opens Wednesday, Aug. 27.

NOW PLAYING

"The Dark Knight" (PG-13). This latest "Batman" movie takes a while to build any narrative momentum. Grade: B- Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12, AMC White Marsh, Rotunda Cinemateque

"Death Race" (R). Jason Statham is a prisoner who becomes a race car driver in the corporate-run facility's pay-per-view races. Fast wheels and rough behavior are the norm here. As the prison warden, Joan Allen is the queen of mean. Grade: C Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"Elegy" (R). Based on a Philip Roth novel, this claustrophobic drama suffers from Ben Kingsley's overly detached performance as a New York literary celebrity who falls in love with a much younger woman (Penelope Cruz). Grade: B- Charles Theatre

"Hamlet 2" (R). Steve Coogan plays a failed actor who becomes a high school drama teacher and then decides to write a sequel to "Hamlet" for his students to perform. There isn't much Shakespeare in this spoof, which assumes that profanity is automatically amusing. Grade: C+ Owings Mills 17, Hunt Valley 12

"The House Bunny" (PG-13). Thrown out of the Playboy Mansion, bunny Anna Faris takes a new job as house mother for a sorority. Grade: C+ Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"The Longshots" (PG). No sports movie cliche goes unexplored in this well-intentioned story about a socially ostracized middle school girl (Keke Palmer) who comes out of her shell when her uncle (Ice Cube) persuades her to try out for the boys' football team. Grade: C+ Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, AMC White Marsh

"Mamma Mia!" (PG-13). You'd better love the silly pop songs by the '70s group ABBA if you attend this entertaining adaptation of the Broadway musical about a young woman's search for the identity of her father. Grade: B+ Owings Mills 17, Hunt Valley 12, AMC White Marsh

"Man on Wire" (PG-13). Absorbing documentary about French aerialist Philippe Petit's illegal 1974 walk on a wire stretched between the World Trade Center's twin towers. Grade: B Charles Theatre

"Mirrors" (R). A security guard in a burned-out department store starts seeing more than his own reflection in its mirrors. More unintentionally silly than scary. Grade: C Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Hunt Valley 12

"The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" (PG-13). This sequel about a Chinese ruler coming back from the dead is mostly just an excuse for computer-generated skeleton armies to fight in modern times. Grade: C+ Hunt Valley 12, AMC White Marsh

"Pineapple Express" (R). This drug-obsessed comedy with Seth Rogen and James Franco gets high on all its low jokes. The loosely scripted and relentless pot humor would be easier to take if the action movie-spoofing plot weren't so repulsively violent. Grade: C Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"The Rocker" (PG-13). Rainn Wilson is a washed up drummer from an '80s heavy metal band who tries to give his career a second act by playing in his nephew's rock band. This slacker comedy is as predictable as his drumming. Grade: C Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" (PG-13). The good luck-delivering pants that are periodically exchanged between gal pals Blake Lively, Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel seem thematically threadbare in a sequel that awkwardly cuts between their summer adventures around the world. Grade: C+ Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars" (PG). George Lucas cashes in with this so-so animated feature. Grade: B- Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Senator Theatre

"Tell No One" (NR). Densely plotted French murder mystery in which a doctor (Francois Cluzet) tries to solve a crime and clear his own name in the process.. Grade: B- Charles Theatre

"Tropic Thunder" (R). A jungle shoot goes way out of control in this boisterous movie industry satire directed by Ben Stiller. Grade: B Valley Center 9, Owings Mills 17, Towson Commons 8, Hunt Valley 12

"Transsiberian" (R). Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer play Americans whose train ride across Siberia becomes a nightmarish adventure involving drug smuggling and related illegal activity. Ben Kingsley co-stars in this effectively constructed thriller. Grade: B Rotunda Cinemateque

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (PG-13). Woody Allen returns with a charming romantic comedy about American tourists Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall becoming involved with Spanish painter Javier Bardem's volatile ex-wife. Grade: B+ Owings Mills 17, Hunt Valley 12

All capsule reviews and grades are by Mike Giuliano. Bookings change on Friday. To confirm listings, call the phone-in number in Screen Scene.

SCREEN SCENE

Charles Theatre
1711 N. Charles St.,
410-727-FILM

Hunt Valley Cinema 12
Shawan Road,
410-329-9800

Maryland Science Center IMAX Theater
410-685-5225

Muvico Egyptian 24
Arundel Mills Boulevard at Route 100,
443-755-8992

Owings Mills 17
Mill Run Circle,
443-394-0081

Rotunda Cinematheque
711 W. 40th St.,
410-235-4800

R/C's Eastpoint Movies 10
7938 Eastern Blvd.,
410-284-3100

Senator Theatre
5904 York Road,
410-435-8338

Towson Commons 8
York Road at Pennsylvania Avenue,
410-825-5233

Valley Center 9
9616 Reisterstown Road,
410-363-4194

West Nursery 14
Linthicum,
410-850-8999

White Marsh Theatre
White Marsh Boulevard,
410-933-9428

user comments (0)