Show 2004 23 April Gf Cache disarming in her perky obses- sion with becoming an assassin p5 sweetness and charm as a sto-heroine who’s mystically bound to do whatever anyone tells her to do thanks to an “gift” of obedi- - : ence from her fairy godmother when she was an infant Without Hathaway famous for another fairy tale “The Princess Diaries” this jokey revisioning of such bedtime stories would col- lapse under the weight of its overwhelming attempts at paro-dyTmovie's mixture of storybook mythology with modem and pop references becomes too much as the story progresses drawing attention to its own derivativeness Young girts will be enchanted by “Ella" and will Hathaway but grown-up- s groan as the film tries too hard In nearly every area except special-effects PG for some crude humor and language 95 min Two and a half stars out of four — The Associated Press All d 9 Page PG-1- 3 for sexual content some violence and language 97 min One star out of four — The Associated Press “Hellboy” Rated PG-1- 3 ‘ Despite Ron Perlman's merry ' presence as the title demon this latest comic- book adaptation gradually flames out amid the usual chaos d of explosions and too- too-lou- d numerous beasties Adapted from computer-animate- Mike Mignola's comics by writer-directGuillermo del Toro “Hellboy” is the story of a demon infant unleashed by lunatic Rasputin (Karel Roden) but intercepted ' and raised by a kindly occultist (John Hurt): Perlman's Hellboy grows into a wisecracking blue-collar monster fighter who leads the battle against Rasputin's plot to bring about Armageddon Selma Blair as Hell- boy's sort-o- f girlfriend a human firebug and John Myers plays an FBI ally PG-1- 3 for sci-- fi action violence and frightening images 122 min Two starsout of four —The Associated Press or “The Girl Next Door" Rated R Essentially “Risky Business" ' with pom stars instead of prostilikg tutes starring ' in Tom Hirsch Emile able the g Cruise role and likable Elisha Cuthbert (from ?4") in the Rebecca De Momay role She helps him loosen up he helps her live her past down And in true teen film fashion everything ends up at the prom The two leads are sweet and charming together but the film seriously drags in the middle even though Timothy Olyphant ' (in the Joe Pantoliano Guido- role) livens things up as a volatile pornpro-duce- r Prominent eclectic soundtrack features songs from The Who Echo and the Bunny- men and NERD Rfor strong sexual content language and some drugalcdho use 102 min ' Two stars out of four — The Associated Press good-lookin- “The Whole Ten Yards”': Rated PG-1- 3 ' It's only three feet frorh '“The Whole Nine Yards "but the jokes get stretched so thin in this sequel- it feels more like a mile’ The 2000 original wasn’t exactly begging for a fptlow up — it seemed to wrap itself up in a rather tidy satisfactory fashion ' but It wassurprisingly funny' film-noin an low-ke- y way' Bruce Willis as a retired hit man was supremely cool and Confident Matthew Perry as a dentist who's hjs nervous next- : door neighbor allowed the laughs to flow from his often deadpan delivery And Amanda Peet as a denfal hygienist was Pass the salt - co-sta- rs good-lookin- ' that has been scrapped here and in favor of broad slapstick loud shrill repetitiveness he The ttlaalctaeaus 6sfc Continued from rybook-wort- Friday aurttmtag on the Range” “Home Rated PG Ordinarily an animated movie about talking singing cows which contains the tag line “Bust a moo” might ba udderfy (sorry ' ' g Couldn't help it) But “Home on the Range" is so dam cute' and features such an impressive array of vocal talent ' it’s hard not to be lassoed in As Disney movies go ii's not extra- ordinary enough to be deemed ' an instant classic the story from g the duo of Will Finn and John Sanford is weak and the pacing drags a bit in the middle: But kids will enjoy the cringe-inducin- writing-directin- ' characters and grown- - ' chuckle at many of the ups jokes Featuring the voices of Roseanne Barr Judi Dench Jennifer Tilly Randy Quaid and colorful will: Steve Buscdmi PG for brief mild rude humor 76 min Two and a half stars out of four ' ' '— The Associated Press ’The Prince fated ' ir ' & Me” PG-1- 3 This fluffy romantic comedy in which Julia Stiles plays an American college student who falls in love with the prince of Denmark is just begging for '' “Hamlet” puns Despite its djqh- es which spiral wildly out of control as the film finally approaches its overdue conclii-- ’ : ' " iv sion The Prince & Me” doesn’t really deserve to suffer such critical slings and arrows That's mainly because of Stiles' intelli- - gence and presence and the chemistry she shares with her charismatic co-stLuke Mably The two meet cute at the Univer- sity of Wisconsin wtjere she’s a ar d student and serious he's posing as a party boy named Eddie PG for some sex- related material and language Ill min Two stars out of four — The ASsodatedPress pre-me- “Secret Window” Rated PG-1- 3 From the paranoid circle of king's infernal imagination comes “Secret Window” writer-direct- or David Koepp's adapto- tion of a story in which a novelist (Johnny Depp) is accused of plagiarism by a murderous Mis-sissippian (John Turturro) If you are casting a role that consists mostly Of taking long naps in a : ratty bathrobe and muttering to oneself Johnny Depp is your man His (ightlyeccentric performance lifts the film just aboveits gaping plot holes keeping it aloft until the air of suspense leaks away Unfortunately the screenwriter's last gasp is clearmark ly audible at the leaving just over an hour to won- der only whethef Depp is wear- ing his own bathrobe PG-1- 3 for violenceterror sexual content and language 97 min One star ' te outoffour ' Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry don't always agree but are stuck together for The Whole Ten Yards1! ' — Brian McCuskey for The Herald Journal “Jersey Girl” fated PG-1-3 If Kevin Smith was trying to make his minions feel like they with “Jay were in on the and Silent Bob Strike Back" he must be trying to alienate them entirely with this treacly movie about a single dad (Ben Affleck) raising his daughter (Raquel Castro) after his wife’s death ' Such sentimentality would have been totally acceptable if the film had any emotional resonance instead ifs all over the place: The artist formerly known as Bennifer isn’t even a factor in ' the film's failure “Jersey Giri” features the famous final on- screen pairing of Affleck arid Jennifer Lopez as husband and es wife but they’re not together long enough to cause any “GiglT-size- d damage George Carlin though adds surprising gravifas as Affleck's father PQ- -' 1 3 for language and sexual content including frank dialogue 1 02 mjn One and a half stars outoffour ' “The Ladykillefs” Rated R Press ' : No wonder that Joel and Ethan Coen chose' to remake 1955’s The Ladykillers 50 years' later since it practically invented world of black the genre-bendiand botched crime in comedy which the brothers first set up shop with 1984's “Blood Simple” As reinvented by the Coens The Ladykillers” picjcs up a glori- ous gospel soundtrack on its way south to Mississippi where ng African-America- old-wor- ld outoffour — Brian McCuskey for The Herald Journal “Hidalgo” fated PG-1-3 t Viggo Mortenlsen ruling Middle-eart-h goes from to racing across the Middle East in a movie that’s so retro ifs alrnost quaint — especially compared to d the nouveau of "Lord the of the spectacle computer-generate- 'j ' — The Associated Professor G H Dorr (Tom Hanks) rents a room from Marva Munson (Irma P Hall) an elderty n widow courcharmed by his tesy Little does the landlady know that the professor is a criminal mastermind little does he know that she will unwittingly foil his perfect plan Two stars Rings trilogy You’d think Mortensen would be tired of riding a horse by how — and sore — but he’s back iri the saddle again this time playing a real guy cowboy Frank T Hopkins A famed rider Hop-kins competed with his mustang race Hidalgo in a 3000-mil- e across the Arabian desert in 1890' His story has resulted jri a big beautiful film that could have come out 40 years ago Mortensen has the nigged good looks and the quiet intensity for the role but it’s hard not to be distracted by how derivative the film is PG-1-3 for adventure violence arid Some mild innuendo 136 min Two and a half stars out cif four: —The Associated Press' long-distan- ce : |