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Kam's Kapsules by Kam Williams

Alien vs. Predator (PG-13 for violence, profanity, horror images, slime, and gore). Showdown sci-fi prequel pits monsters from two popular film franchises against each other. Fun starts after scientists in Antarctica disturb the ruins of an ancient pyramid packed with predators training to take on aliens. Starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen.

Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (PG-13 for scary images, violence, and cursing). This high body-count sequel to the 1997 horror flick is set in Borneo where scientists searching for a rare flower which might contain the secret to the fountain of youth encounter a swarm of ferocious, man-eating snakes whose unusual strength comes from the same strain of orchid.

Benji: Off the Leash (PG for mature themes and mild epithets). Fourth film in the series started in 1974 and based on the adventures of an adorable mutt. This installment has the hound and his hirsute friend Shaggy joining forces to rescue Benji's mom from an unethical backyard breeder.

The Bourne Supremacy (PG-13 for violence, intense action and some profanity) Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles and Brian Cox return for a sequel to The Bourne Identity. This international espionage thriller, based on the 2nd installment in the best-selling Robert Ludlum trilogy, has hero Bourne (Damon) forced out of retirement to defuse a diplomatic crisis after he is implicated in an assassination.

Collateral (R for violence and profanity). Michael Mann directs this crime thriller about a cabbie (Jamie Foxx) who doesn't know that the customer (Tom Cruise) he's been driving around all day is a contract killer.

The Cookout (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and drug use). Comedy about a black pro basketball player (Quran Pender) who invites his ghetto friends and new neighbors to a barbecue in his upscale house in the suburban 'hood. With Queen Latifah, Ja Rule, Eve, Farah Fawcett, and Danny Glover.

De-Lovely (PG-13 for sex content) Kevin Kline stars in this musical biography of composer Cole Porter which examines both the professional and unorthodox private life of the celebrated gay songwriter, who barely hid his homosexuality by marrying a sympathetic socialite (Ashley Judd).

Exorcist: The Beginning (R for violence, gruesome images, profanity, and sexual dialogue). This prequel to the horror trilogy based on the William Peter Blatty best-seller stars Stellan Skarsgard as a missionary priest who encounters Satan incarnate in 1940s East Africa. Note that this production switched directors in mid-shoot.

Garden State (R for sex, expletives, and drug use). Semi-autobiographical romance drama, written by, directed by, and starring Zach Braff about a lithium-dependent TV star, back in his hometown for the first time in 9 years to attend his mother's funeral, who meets the Jersey girl (Natalie Portman) of his dreams.

Hero (PG-13 for martial arts violence and sensuality). Jet Li handles the title role in this remake of The Emperor and the Assassin, based on the true story of an assassin hired to stop a diabolical plot to assassinate the emperor of China.

Intimate Strangers (R for sexual dialogue). Relationship drama, directed by Patrice Leconte, about a woman (Sandrine Bonnaire) who mistakes a tax attorney (Fabrice Luchini) for her new pschiatrist (Michael Duchaussoy) and proceeds to share her deep, dark secrets with the accommodating stranger. In French with subtitles.

The Manchurian Candidate (R for violence and profanity). Denzel Washington stars in this remake of the 1962 political potboiler about a brainwashed former prisoner-of-war who returns to America unknowingly programmed by the enemy. With Meryl Streep, Jon Voight, Bill Irwin, BeBe Winans, Obba Babatunde, and Al Franken.

Maria, Full of Grace (R for drug use, graphic images, and profanity). Harrowing tale about a pregnant, 17 year-old, Colombian peasant who agrees to smuggle heroin into the U.S. for a vicious kingpin in return for a big payday. In Spanish with subtitles.

Open Water (R for nudity and profanity). Harrowing thriller based on the true tale of two vacationing scuba divers inadvertently left behind in the Caribbean Sea by their tour boat in shark-infested waters. Blanchard Ryan and Daniel Travis are the abandoned married couple.

Paparazzi (PG-13 for sex, expletives, and intensely violent sequences). Revenge thriller about a movie star (Cole Hauser) who hatches a plot against the four photographers who caused the car accident which injured his wife (Robin Tunney) and young son (Blake Bryan). With cameos by Mel Gibson, Chris Rock, Vince Vaughn, and Mathew McConaughey.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (G). Sequel to Disney's surprise hit of the summer of 2001 has San Francisco ugly duckling-turned-European royalty now in the mythical country of Genovia where she learns that she must marry in 30 days or lose the crown. Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews, Hector Elizondo, Heather Matarazzo, Larry Miller, and Katherine Marshall reprise their roles.

Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (PG for action violence and crude humor). This sequel to Baby Geniuses features an overhauled cast and a new set of intelligent toddlers banding together to foil the diabolical plot of a media mogul (Jon Voight) bent on world domination via mind control.

Suspect Zero (R for violence, profanity, and nudity). Gruesome crime thriller about an FBI agent (Aaron Eckhart) on the trail of a rogue ex-agent (Ben Kingsley) who may be hunting down and slaying serial killers vigilante-style.

Vanity Fair (PG-13 for sensuality, nudity, and brief violence). Reese Witherspoon stars in the seventh screen version of the William Makepeace Thackeray novel, set in London in the 1820s, about a poor girl's attempt to enter high society.

We Don't Live Here Anymore (R for sex and expletives). Provocative drama adapted from the Andre Dubus novella, about the effect of an affair on the close friendship of two married couples. With Naomi Watts, Laura Dern, Mark Ruffalo and Peter Krause.

Wicker Park (PG-13 for profanity and sexuality). Remake of L'Appartement (1996). This version of the Hitchcockian French thriller features Josh Hartnett as an investment banker who moves back to Chicago and dumps his fianceé (Jessica Pare) in order to track down the long-lost love (Diane Kruger) who broke his heart years ago.

Without a Paddle (PG-13 for sex, expletives, drug use, violence, and crude humor) City meets country comedy about the backwoods woes of three buddies from Philly in the Pacific Northwest for a canoeing camping trip which goes horribly wrong. Spoof even includes cameo by Burt Reynolds.

Yu-Gi-Oh! (PG for scary combat and monster images). This full-length animated sci-fi feature, based on the Japanese, kiddie TV-series, revolves around the exploits of a teenager boy who inadvertently awakens Anubis, an ancient, evil Egyptian spirit bent on world domination.