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Kam's Kapsules by Kam Williams

Are We There Yet? (PG for language and crude humor). Road comedy about the nightmarish ordeal of a playboy (Ice Cube) who agrees to drive his workaholic girlfriend's (Nia Long) disobedient kids from Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, British Columbia for a New Year's Eve reunion with their mom.

Assault on Precinct 13 (R for drug use, graphic violence and profanity). This overhaul of the grisly 1976 crime thriller of the same name stars Ethan Hawke as an embattled veteran desk sergeant dealing with an attack by an armed gang of mobsters intent on freeing a drug kingpin (Laurence Fishburne) being held in an understaffed Detroit jail. With Ja Rule, Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, and Gabriel Byrne.

The Aviator (PG-13 for nudity, sexual content, mature themes, profanity, and a crash sequence). Martin Scorsese tapped Leonardo DiCaprio to play Howard Hughes in this biopic about the enterprising, eccentric playboy who parlayed a modest inheritance into a massive fortune. With Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, Jude Law as Errol Flynn, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Jane Lynch as Amelia Earhart, Stanley DeSantis as Louis B. Mayer, and Michael-John Wolf as Cary Grant.

Bad Education (Unrated). Oscar-winner Pedro Almodovar (Talk to Her) wrote and directed this semi-autobiographical film which examines the effect of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest on the friendship of two boys, one of whom grows up to be a filmmaker. In Spanish with subtitles.

Bogeyman (PG-13 for nudity, terror, and horror). Horror film from New Zealand about a man (Barry Watson) traumatized by a recurring childhood nightmare who moves back to the home he grew up in to find out whether the mysterious figure in his bedroom was all a figment of his imagination.

Coach Carter (PG-13 for sex, expletives, violence, drug use and underage partying). Samuel L. Jackson handles the title role in this true story of an inner-city, high school basketball coach who cared enough about his players to bench the entire team for academic underperformance, even though they were undefeated at the time. With Ashanti and Debbi Morgan.

Finding Neverland (PG for adult themes and mild epithets). Johnny Depp stars as Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie in this family drama which speculates about what might have been the inspiration behind Peter Pan, his revered children's classic. With Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Julie Christie.

Hide and Seek (R for violence and frightening sequences). Robert De Niro stars in this horror film as a widower whose nine-year-old daughter (Dakota Fanning) creates an imaginary friend, Charlie, to deal with her mother's suicide. Famke Janssen co-stars as the little girl's shrink who determines that Charlie might be more real than imagined.

Hitch (PG-13 for profanity and sexual references). Unlikely-buddy comedy with Will Smith as a date doctor doling out advice to a geek (Kevin James) going after the glamorus girl (Amber Valletta) of his dreams. Cast includes Eva Mendes, Michael Rapaport, and Adam Arkin.

Hotel Rwanda (PG-13 for violence, profanity, and disturbing images). Don Cheadle landed a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in this true story about a hotel manager who saved over 1,000 refugees from ethnic cleansing during the Rwandan civil war. With Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, and Cara Seymour.

In Good Company (PG-13 for sex and drug references). Dennis Quaid stars in this comedy of errors as a demoted corporate middle manager whose new young boss (Topher Grace) starts dating his 18 year-old daughter (Scarlett Johansson).

Inside Deep Throat (NC-17). Documentary revisits Deep Throat, the X-rated, sexual liberation-era film made for $25,000 in 1972 which went on to gross over $600 million. Pro-porn pic violates the late Linda Lovelace again by including explicit scenes despite the star's well-publicized protestations that she was forced to perform at gunpoint and only paid a pittance for demonstrating her amazing oral feat.

Meet the Fockers (PG-13 for off-color humor, profanity, and a drug reference). Sequel to Meet the Parents introduces Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman as the very ethnic parents of Ben Stiller. Plot has Robert DeNiro and Blythe Danner, returning as protective parents of the bride (Teri Polo), now venturing to Florida to size-up their daughter's soon to be in-laws.

The Merchant of Venice (R for nudity). Tenth big screen adaptation of the William Shakespeare classic about a man expected to pay off a loan he took for a friend with a pound of his own flesh. Starring Al Pacino as Shylock, Jeremy Irons as Antonio, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio, and Lynn Collins as Portia.

Million Dollar Baby (PG-13 for violence, profanity, and adult themes). Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this fight film about an ex-boxer who, with the help of a wise, one-eyed janitor (Morgan Freeman), grudgingly trains a woman (Hilary Swank) who wants to be a contender. Landed Best Picture, Director, and a trio of acting Oscar nominations, one for each of the above thespians.

Pooh's Heffalump Movie (G). Disney kiddie cartoon adventure has Winnie the Pooh and pals in the forest where they learn some very valuable life lessons while searching for a mysterious creature.

Racing Stripes (PG for crude humor and language). Frankie Munoz lends his voice to the title character in this live action/animation comedy about a baby zebra accidentally abandoned by a traveling circus in Kentucky where he is adopted by a teenage girl (Hayden Panettiere) who helps him overcome ostracism and self doubts while training him on her father's horse farm to run with the thoroughbreds. Additional voicework supplied by Steve Harvey, Joe Pantoliano, David Spade, Snoop Dogg, Mandy Moore, Jeff Foxworthy, Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Sideways (R for sex, expletives, and nudity). Mid-life crisis comedy with Paul Giamatti as an unpublished writer who embarks on an exploration of women and relationships in the California wine country with his old college roommate, a washed-up actor (Thomas Haden Church), who is going to be married in one week.

A Very Long Engagement (R for violence and sexuality). Audrey Tautou stars in a World War I romance drama, adapted from the novel of the same name by Sebastien Japrisot, as a woman desperately searching everywhere from the city of Paris to the trenches on the front lines for her missing fiancé, a soldier who had been court-martialed. In French with subtitles.

The Wedding Date (PG-13 for sexual content). Debra Messing stars in this romantic comedy, set in London, as an old maid who hires a male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to dupe the fiancé, who dumped her, into believing she has a hot new beau.