In case you hadn’t heard, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen soon turn 18. To prove that they’re all grown-up, the multimedia empire formerly known as the Olsen twins has put out “New York Minute,” in which the girls play suburban sisters on a big city adventure. It’s rated PG to appeal to the twins’ tweener fan base, but who are we kidding? This movie is really for a male audience, in a creepy way. One or both of the sisters – usually Ashley – appears naked or runs around Manhattan in nothing but a towel or a flimsy white shirt that’s been splashed with water. Then there’s Eugene Levy as a hapless truancy officer who’s obsessed with catching Mary-Kate’s character ditching school. PG for mild sensuality and thematic elements. 85 min. One and a half stars out of four.

– Christy Lemire, AP Entertainment Writer
‘Van Helsing’

In this action-adventure thriller, Hugh Jackman plays the supernatural vigilante who must stop Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) from hatching thousands of deadly beasts from his vampire brood, while battling the Wolf Man and Frankenstein in the meantime. Writer-director Stephen Sommers, who also rejuvenated “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” with Brendan Fraser, adds a similar dose of campiness and special-effects overkill to this tale, which swings breathlessly from action set-piece to set-piece on a bare thread of a story. It turns out to be a Frankenstein style of moviemaking: homage after homage patched together from other movies. Too often the thrills are undercut by attempts at modern humor that turn the movie into a bad sitcom. Kate Beckinsale co-stars. PG-13 for creature action violence, frightening images and sensuality. 145 min. Two and a half stars out of four.

– Anthony Breznican, AP Entertainment Writer


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