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Kam's Kapsules by Kam Williams

A Lot Like Love (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and nudity). Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet star in this romantic comedy as a couple who meet and mate on a flight from L.A. to N.Y. only to spend the next seven years trying to decide whether their relationship really ought to be platonic or intimate. With Kal Penn and Ali Larter.

Crash (R for sex, expletives, and violence). This slices-of-lives melodrama revolves around an assortment of social issues faced by an ethnically-diverse set of strangers who cross paths by chance in the wake of a car accident. Cast includes Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, Tony Danza, Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Terence Howard, Ryan Phillippe, Ludacris, Keith David, Larenz Tate, Loretta Devine, and Nona Gaye.

Downfall: (Unrated). Set in 1945, this World War II drama humanizes Hitler to present a sympathetic portrait of the Führer and his Nazi minions as the Allies closed in during the Third Reich's final days. In German and Russian with subtitles.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Unrated). Comic documentary takes a close look at CEO Ken Lay and explores the story behind the collapse of his once high-flying company's stock.

Fever Pitch (PG-13 for crude humor, sexual humor, and sensuality). The Farrelly Brothers adapted this romantic comedy from the Nick Hornby novel of the same name about a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan (Jimmy Fallon) whose girlfriend (Drew Barrymore) has no idea what she's in for.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (PG for adult themes, action sequences, and mild epithets). Sci-fi adventure, adapted from the first in a popular series of five novels by the late Douglas Adams. Initial installment revolves around a guy (Martin Freeman) who stows away aboard a spaceship seconds before the Earth is blown to bits. Cast includes Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, and John Malkovich.

House of Wax (R for sex, expletives, and horror violence). This remake of the Vincent Price 3-D, 1953, B&W classic stars Elisha Cuthbert and Paris Hilton as college coeds headed with friends to a football game who find trouble instead of help when their car breaks down in an abandoned, backwoods town with a creepy wax museum.

The Interpreter (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and violence). Academy Award-winner Sydney Pollack directs a couple of other Oscar-winners in a political potboiler about an FBI Agent (Sean Penn) assigned to protect a United Nations interpreter (Nicole Kidman) who overheard a death threat against the head of an African nation (Earl Cameron) only to become the target of the assassins as well.

Kicking & Screaming (PG for mature themes, mild epithets, and crude humor). Will Ferrell stars in this kiddie comedy as a dysfunctional soccer dad who coaches his 10 year-old son's team all the way to a showdown against the league favorites trained by his own overly competitive father (Robert Duvall).

Kingdom of Heaven (R for graphic scenes of epic warfare). Ridley Scott (Gladiator) directs this 12th century tale about the heroic exploits of a young peasant-turned-knight (Orlando Bloom), who joins the Crusades to defend Jerusalem from Muslim marauders, while also finding time to charm the besieged city's princess (Eva Green). With Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson. and Eriq Ebouaney

Ladies in Lavender (PG-13 for brief profanity). Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith share the title role in this costume drama, set in England in 1936, about a couple of spinster sisters living in seclusion in a seaside Cornish cottage whose peace and quiet is disturbed when a wounded Polish violinist floats in with the tide and triggers a round of sibling rivalry.

Look at Me (PG-13 for brief profanity and sexuality). This French farce, set in Paris' publishing industry, features an ensemble cast of seven characters whose love lives intersect in a curious fashion. In French with subtitles.

Mindhunters (R for sex, expletives, and graphic violence). Horror film about the ordeal of seven FBI psychological profile trainees forced to put their new skills to work prematurely because of a serial killer in their midst..

Monster-in-Law (PG-13 for expletives and sexual references). Jane Fonda makes a comeback in the title role of this romantic comedy as a snobby, shrewish socialite who tries to come between her son (Michael Vartan) and his dog-walker fiancée (Jennifer Lopez). Typecast J-Lo reprises same sort of underdog-after-rich-guy role she's played in The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, etcetera.

Robots (PG for mild epithets and suggestive humor). The filmmakers who brought us Ice Age fast-forward to the future for this computer generated animated adventure about the attempt of a diabolical corporation to frustrate the efforts of a boy genius (Ewan McGregor) to program all robots for good. Voicework includes Mel Brooks, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Drew Carey, D. L. Hughley, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Coolidge, Carson Daly, Conan O'Brien, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Jamie Kennedy, and Paul Giamatti.

Sahara (PG-13 for violence). Matthew McConaughey stars in this buried treasure adventure, based on the Clive Cussler novel of the same name, as an explorer who sets out for Africa in search of a long-lost Civil War battleship said to have sunk with a booty of priceless coins.

Unleashed (R for graphic violence, sexuality, profanity, and nudity). Jet Li stars in this martial arts adventure, set in Scotland, as a slave, raised by his master (Bob Hoskins) as a lethal fighting machine, who gets in touch with his sensitive side through music lessons from a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman).

The Upside of Anger (R for profanity, drug use, violence, and sexual situations). Joan Allen stars in this family drama as a just-dumped suburban housewife whose husband has abandoned her and his four daughters for his secretary. Lucky for mom, along comes a handsome, retired baseball star (Kevin Costner) offering a shoulder to lean on.

Walk on Water (Unrated). Espionage thriller, set in Berlin, about a homophobic Israeli spy on the trail of an 80 year-old Nazi who has second thoughts about assassinating the war criminal after befriending his gay grandson. (In German, Hebrew, and English with subtitles)

Winter Solstice (R for profanity). Anthony LaPaglia stars in this dysfunctional family drama, set in New Jersey, about a grieving widower trying to deal with one son's (Mark Webber) self-destructive behavior and his other one's (Aaron Stanford) decision to move to Miami.

xXx: State of the Union (PG-13 for profanity and intense violence). Ice Cube replaces Vin Diesel as the 007-style hero of this action-oriented sequel about a renegade secret agent assigned to thwart a conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. With Samuel L. Jackson as his apoplectic boss and Willem Dafoe as the diabolical villain.

 
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