‘ATL’
After turning his own life into a feature film, Antwone Fisher helps composer/producer Dallas Austin and musician Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (that’s right, Ms. “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” herself) do the same thing. Loosely based on their experiences growing up in the “ATL” – that’s Atlanta for all you Yankees – this coming-of-age drama follows an aspiring artist named Rashad as he faces his post-high school existence. Will he be able to keep his wanna-be gangsta brother on the straight and narrow? And what about his girlfriend, who is harboring a secret of her own? Maybe Rashad should leave the “ATL” behind for the OC. They never seem to have these problems out there. 1 hour, 40 minutes
‘Basic Instinct 2′
It’s time to party like it’s … 1992? That’s the last time Sharon Stone graced the silver screen as novelist, sex enthusiast and expert ice-pick wielder Catherine Tramell. Now, 14 looong years later, she’s back even though no one (apart from Stone’s agent) demanded it. This time around, Catherine has crossed the pond to England, where she once again runs afoul of the law and becomes involved with the man (in this case, psychiatrist Michael Glass) assigned to evaluate her mental state. Stone hasn’t been shy about revealing to the press that she’s frequently nude onscreen. She has, however, been shy about revealing whether the film is actually any good. 1 hour, 54 minutes
‘Ice Age: The Meltdown’
Here’s a CGI-animated comedy that will probably keep kids entertained until the next Pixar feature comes along. A sequel to the successful 2002 film, “The Meltdown” reunites Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary as a trio of Ice Age-era mammals who happen to be best buds despite their constant bickering. The good times appear to be coming to an end, however, as the weather has recently turned unseasonably warm. It’s up to these goofballs to get their friends and family to safety before their home becomes an ocean. But who cares about that storyline? The real star of the Ice Age series is that tenacious squirrel featured in all the trailers, who refuses to let little obstacles like a school of deadly piranhas keep him from his prized acorn. Of course, since there don’t appear to be any trees during this time period, you’ve got to wonder where that acorn comes from. Then again, maybe some things are better left unexplained. 1 hour, 30 minutes
‘Slither’
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a really good horror comedy, like “Evil Dead 2” or “Dead Alive.” Hopefully, writer/director James Gunn, who cut his teeth working on low-budget flicks like “The Toxic Avenger IV,” can change all that. When an alien plague sweeps through a small town in the middle of nowhere, the residents mutate into all manner of weird creatures. The only people standing between these monsters and total anarchy are a brave sheriff (geek favorite Nathan Fillion) and the trophy wife of one of the town’s wealthiest men. Advanced reports indicate that this film may give “Ghostbusters” and “You Can’t Do that on Television” a run for their money in the slime department. 1 hour, 40 minutes
‘Inside Man’
After two decades directing films that critics (mostly) praise and audiences ignore, you can’t blame Spike Lee for wanting to helm a picture that’s guaranteed to top the box office charts its opening weekend. This cops ‘n’ robbers thriller, finds Denzel Washington (reuniting with Lee for the first time since 1998’s “He Got Game”) playing a by-the-book police officer who finds himself overseeing a bank robbery-turned-hostage situation. As he matches wits with the lead gangster (Clive Owen), he realizes that one of the bad guys might be masquerading as a good guy. Could this “inside man” be top cop Jodie Foster? Well, she does have those shifty eyes … 2 hours, 9 minutes
‘Stay Alive’
It was only a matter of time before some visionary filmmaker connected two favorite teen pastimes: watching horror movies and playing video games. The result is “Stay Alive,” in which a group of nubile teens (played by nubile twentysomethings) are systematically slaughtered after playing a mysterious online video game. Thrill as such semi-famous faces as Frankie Muniz (aka that guy from “Malcolm in the Middle”) and Sophia Bush (aka that girl from “One Tree Hill”) are carved up before your eyes! Laugh at the hilariously bad dialogue! Shake your head that you spent $10 on this piece of junk when you could have rented a real video game for half that price. 1 hour, 25 minutes
‘Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector’
If you manage to convince a Hollywood studio to fund an entire feature based on your one-joke standup routine, you might be a redneck. Blue Collar comedian Larry the Cable Guy – the dude with the most annoying catchphrase since Emeril (all together now: “Git-R-Done!”) – headlines his own film, playing a restaurant health inspector named, creatively enough, Larry. He’s perfectly happy working the greasy-spoon beat, but when the city’s expensive restaurants experience a food-poisoning epidemic, it’s up to him the solve the case. Odds are we’ll see cameos from Larry’s fellow redneck comedy buddies Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Ron White. It’s not like they have anything else to do. 1 hour, 29 minutes
‘V for Vendetta’
Comic-book geeks everywhere can breath a sigh of relief: Hollywood has finally produced an adaptation of an Alan Moore comic that doesn’t suck. Based on Moore’s popular graphic novel, “V for Vendetta” is set in a war-torn future where England is controlled by a Dubya-like dictator. Enter a terrorist named V (Hugo Weaving) who wants to return power to the people, with the help of his prisoner-turned-accomplice Evey (Natalie Portman). While the plot departs significantly from the comic, it still captures the spirit of Moore’s work. 2 hours, 11 minutes
Ethan Alter writes for Merge, an edition of The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call. Find Merge online at: www.mergedigital.com
Comments are no longer available on this story