Showtimes are through Thursday unless otherwise indicated. Openings and times are subject to change.

49 UP (B)

Michael Apted interviewed 14 people who were age 7 in 1963 for a British TV series and has checked in on them every seven years since. In a way, each film is better than the last, because the new one includes much of the most impressive material from the past films. On the other hand, the law of diminishing returns comes into play. Sweeping changes aren't as frequent in middle age, and the goals and dreams far less lofty. What jazzes this new one up a bit is the tendency among some of the subjects to lash out at Apted for painting them in an unflattering light. Apted retains his ability for catching candid interviews, getting subjects to open up about their family troubles, political views and social standing. Not rated; 135 min.

• GUILD 3, 5:45, 8:30

THE GRUDGE 2

Joan of Arcadia (Amber Tamblyn) takes the gauntlet from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and battles demons from a Tokyo curse. Should someone tell the Japanese horror-film community that the wet-head is dead? Directed by Takashi Shimizu. Rated PG-13 for terror, violence and sensuality; 95 min. (No reviews available.)

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 11:55, 1:15, 2:15, 3:45, 4:45, 6:15, 7:20, 8:45, 9:45

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 11:45, 12:25, 1:25, 2:15, 2:55, 3:50, 4:40, 5:25, 6:20, 7:10, 8, 8:50, 9:35, 10:30; F-Sa: 11:15 p.m., midnight

• COTTONWOOD 12:05, 1:10, 2:35, 4:10, 5:10, 7, 7:40, 9:35, 10:25

• FOUR HILLS 1:10, 3:50, 7:15, 10:05

• WINROCK 1, 4, 7:30, 10:05

HEROIN TOWN

Josh Goldbloom's film earned Best Documentary honors at the Philadelphia Film Festival, and Ain't It Cool News online calls it "very compelling." Two video clips are available at www.myspace.com/herointownmovie. No reviews were available, but here's what the Orlando Weekly said recently: " `Heroin Town' is a self-righteous apologia for the town of Willimantic, Conn., a place castigated by the Hartford Courant and TV's `60 Minutes II' as a cesspool of drug use. . . . This is really a story about civil liberties under fire, and it's never more convincing than in a scene in which talk-radio personalities Harry Carboni and Alan Giordano issue a thorough (and thoroughly brilliant) on-air denunciation of the . . . `renewal' effort. Unfortunately, first-time filmmaker Josh Goldbloom is less persuasive. Though his shot-on-DV movie has a crisp look and an economical 82-minute running time, it lacks variety of both the narrative and ideological types." Not rated; 82 min.

• GUILD Sa-Su: 1 p.m.

INFAMOUS (B+)

Regardless of its merits or its slightly different approach to the same material - the period when Truman Capote was researching his true crime masterpiece "In Cold Blood" - "Infamous" will always be thought of as that second Capote movie. It is virtually impossible to avoid comparing it to "Capote," with Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning performance. The diminutive Toby Jones looks and sounds more eerily like the author than Hoffman. And writer-director Douglas McGrath's film is livelier, funnier and - dare we say it? - gayer than its predecessor. What's missing is the chillingly bleak mood, the subtle insight of director Bennett Miller and writer Dan Futterman's original. Sandra Bullock is riveting in her reserved turn as Nelle Harper Lee. Rated R for language, violence and sexuality; 118 minutes. (Reviewed on Page C10 by Christy Lemire of the Associated Press.)

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 11:50, 2:25, 5:05, 7:40, 10:15

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:15, 3, 7:15; F-Su: 9:55 p.m.

JESUS CAMP (B)

In 2001, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady went out to the suburbs of Kansas City and followed three youngsters to Becky Fischer's camp, which, symbolically enough, takes place every year in Devil's Lake, N.D. What they find and present, with thinly veiled disdain, is Christian fundamentalism, unyielding and strange. Among their tactics for conveying that strangeness is to play scary electronic music over many of the scenes, a needlessly incriminating touch. To be fair, the camp does have its share of odd, even morbid, moments. Kids on Fire feels like a religious boot camp, and the filmmakers frame the documentary around the reality that these kids are being groomed for war. Because the film has no narration, Ewing and Grady rely on the left-leaning Christian talk-radio host Mike Papantonio to do all the worrying. His claims seem ponderous next to Fischer's politicized Christianity. Rated: PG-13 for mature subject matter; 84 min. (Reviewed on Page Cx by Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe.)

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:30, 2:45, 4:50, 7:10, 9:15

MAN OF THE YEAR (B)

In free-flowing, subversive form, Robin Williams plays TV funnyman Tom Dobbs, whose campaign tests whether Nielsen ratings translate to votes. Written and directed by Barry Levinson, the comedy mixes sharp "West Wing"-level observations with blunt farce and an out-of-place thriller subplot that derides the concept of electronic voting. Williams delivers the comic thunder, proving with a vengeance that he hasn't lost his flair. The movie is at its best when Williams is ripping our humble democracy to shreds with sardonic quips. Trouble is, only the first half is wholly concerned with the campaign, in which Dobbs cracks up crowds, singes his opponents in debates and banters with his campaign leaders (Lewis Black and Christopher Walken). The film falls flat in a parallel story featuring Eleanor (Laura Linney), an electronic-voting-system programmer who learns that the system is flawed. Still, there's enough comic verve to make the movie worth a look, especially to fans of subversive political laughs. Rated PG-13 for crude sexual references, drug-related material and violence; 109 minutes. (Reviewed on Page C10 by Phil Villarreal of the Arizona Daily Star.)

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 11:45, 2:20, 5, 7:35, 10:10

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 12, 1:20, 2:35, 3:55, 5:15, 6:35, 7:50, 9:15, 10:25; F-Sa: 11:50 p.m.

• COTTONWOOD 1:15, 4:15, 7:35, 10:20

• FOUR HILLS 1:35, 4:15, 7:15, 10:05

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45; F-Su: 10:15 p.m.

• WINROCK 12:25, 3:30, 7:20, 9:55

THE MARINE

Beefy John Cena is a marine who returns from battle and must rescue his kidnapped wife. Rated PG-13 for violence, language and sensuality; 93 min. (No reviews available.)

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:15, 2:40, 4:55, 7:15, 9:30

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 11:40, 12:45, 1:50, 3:05, 4:10, 5:20, 6:25, 7:35, 8:40, 9:50; 10:55 p.m.

• COTTONWOOD 12:15, 2:30, 4:55, 7:15, 9:40

• FOUR HILLS 1:20, 4:05, 7, 9:30

ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING

The story of Hadassah, the young Jewish girl who becomes the biblical Esther and saves the Jewish nation. With Tiffany Dupont (TV's "Bedford Diaries"), Luke Goss and Peter O'Toole. Rated PG; 123 min. (No reviews available.)

• CENTURY RIO 11:35, 2:20, 5:05, 7:50, 10:35

• COTTONWOOD 12:15, 3:30, 7:15, 9:55

Opens Thursday

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• COTTONWOOD Th: 8

DRAWING RESTRAINT 9

Near the end of Matthew Barney's visually spellbinding film "Drawing Restraint 9," the voice of his co-star, Bjork, repeats a life-affirming motto in broken musical phrases: "From the moment of commitment, nature conspires to help you." Those are some of the few words heard in this stately, ritualistic film, which takes place mostly on the Nisshin Maru, a Japanese whaling ship afloat in Nagasaki Bay. A good part of the film follows Barney and Bjork, who are welcomed aboard the ship as Occidental guests and undergo elaborate preparations for a traditional Shinto wedding ceremony. These scenes infuse "Drawing Restraint 9" with an overt spiritual dimension that is a new element in Barney's work. And as a mostly nonverbal series of interconnected images with a soundtrack composed by Bjork, "Drawing Restraint 9" represents a significant advance from "The Cremaster Cycle." The uninitiated viewer can admire it simply for the majesty of its visual poetry. Its rhythms are solemn but never static; the color glowing; the largely ambient score evocative. Even the most enigmatic images, shot from many different angles, are arresting. Not rated; 135 min. (Reviewed by Stephen Holden of the New York Times.)

• SOUTHWEST FILM CENTER Th: 6, 9

Continuing

THE DEPARTED (B+)

While this is an Americanized version of the 2002 Hong Kong hit "Infernal Affairs," it's vintage Martin Scorsese - for a while at least. The veteran director has made two-thirds of a great film about Boston cops and mobsters, with dazzlingly rich performances from a dizzyingly stellar cast and an ambience that screams Scorsese's typical cultural authenticity. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Billy Costigan, a Massachusetts State Police detective who's gone undercover to take down crime boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson, in a devilish tour de force). Matt Damon, meanwhile, stars as the crime boss' prot‚g‚. It's a clever premise and it can be thrilling, but "The Departed" tends to drag just when it should be at its most intense point. Mark Wahlberg, as an eloquently surly sergeant in the detective unit, steals every scene he's in. Rated R; 150 minutes.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:10, 1:05, 3:35, 4:25, 6:55, 7:55, 10:05

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 11:40, 12:40, 3, 3:55, 4:55, 6:15, 7:20, 8:20, 9:30, 10:35; F-Sa: 11:35 p.m.

• COTTONWOOD 12, 1, 3:40, 4:40, 7:10, 8, 10:30

• FOUR HILLS 1:55, 6:10, 9:25

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:05, 3:30, 6:50; F-Su: 10:05 p.m.

• WINROCK 12:30, 3:45, 7, 10:10

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH (D)

In a perfect workaday world, this miserably idiotic movie would put an end to Jessica Simpson's alleged acting career. She utters her dialogue with all the personality of a 10-pound can of cling peaches. The movie, filmed in New Mexico, is set at a SuperClub warehouse bargain store. Vince (Dax Shepard), an arrogant, malicious little toad, has risen through the ranks to become head cashier and employee of the month 17 straight times. Slacker Zack (Dane Cook) is lazy and easygoing, a guy who's never risen above lowly box-boy status. When gorgeous cashier Amy (Simpson) transfers in from another store, the rumor goes around that she dates only employees of the month. What follows is a succession of empty-headed jokes and pranks, with a lot of repetitive pratfalls where people take nasty bumps to the head. Rated PG-13; 108 minutes.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 11:40, 2, 4:30, 7:05, 9:35

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 11:30, 1:40, 1:55, 4:05, 4:20, 6:45, 9:10; F-Sa: 11:40 p.m.

• COTTONWOOD 12:05, 2:35, 5:10, 7:40, 10:25

• FOUR HILLS 1:15, 3:45, 7:20, 9:50

FLYBOYS (B)

There's an old-fashioned aura to "Flyboys," and not just because it's set during World War I. This is a film that mirrors the psyche of its era. Honor, integrity, duty, courage, idealism, loyalty and esprit de corps are key. The men who join the Lafayette Escadrille, a squadron in the French air force created before the U.S. entry into the war, don't necessarily have all those qualities at the beginning of the film. But there's no doubt they will have attained them by the end. The combination of aerial photography and CGI results in visceral dogfights and flights that will have many hearts in throats. Sure, "Flyboys" is on the corny side, but basically this is just an excuse to put some exciting flying in vintage aircraft on the big screen. Rated PG-13; 139 min.

• CENTURY RIO 12:55, 7:05 (no 7:05 show on Tu)

GRIDIRON GANG (D+)

Former TV and music video director Phil Joanou is relentless in his attempts to inspire us with this drama about a football team at a Los Angeles juvenile detention center, but the result is just overbearing and redundant. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson exudes his usual natural magnetism as the probation officer turned coach. PG-13; 120 min.

• CENTURY RIO 4, 10:05

• COTTONWOOD 12:10, 3, 6:55, 9:45

• FOUR HILLS 1, 3:55, 6:50, 9:45

THE GUARDIAN (C-)

This is the kind of film that family audiences are going to eat up and cynics are going to spit out. It's an action comeback of sorts for Kevin Costner and a rite-of-passage for Ashton Kutcher. Ben Randall (Costner) is a veteran Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Alaska. His wife is leaving him. As if that weren't enough of a blow, Ben's crew runs into problems during a mission, and he's left, psychologically and physically battered, as the sole survivor. Ben's commander sends him to teach would-be rescue swimmers at the Coast Guard's training facility back in the Lower 48. We could have used more of them and less ersatz character development. Rated PG-13; 136 min.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:55, 4, 7, 10

• CENTURY RIO 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:15

• COTTONWOOD 12:20, 12:50, 3:20, 4, 7, 7:30, 10, 10:30 (no 12:50 show F; no 12:20 show Tu)

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:10, 3:10, 7:10; F-Su: 10:10 p.m.

• WINROCK 12:30, 4, 7:10, 10

HALF NELSON (A-)

Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is the high school teacher you always wish you'd had. But he has a secret - he goes home every night and zonks himself into a coma with booze and crack. It isn't until Dan is busted by one of his pupils, a tough, lollipop-sucking girl named Drey (Shareeka Epps), that the two jagged halves of his life come together. In addition to being a heartbreaking personal drama, "Half Nelson" is, surprisingly, a withering allegory of the failure of the American left to change the world. What makes Gosling's performance so startling is that the character rarely erupts; instead, he implodes softly and dangerously. "Half Nelson" literally brings it home, though, in its finest sequence, a dinner party hosted by Dan's ex-hippie parents, where complacency and bourgeois racism flow as thick as the wine. Rated R; 107 min.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:40, 3:10

HOLLYWOODLAND (C)

The film starts on the night of the apparent suicide of George "Superman" Reeves (Ben Affleck). Struggling private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) learns that Reeves' mother doesn't believe her son killed himself, so he offers to look into the matter. Paul Bernbaum's script promises a juicy scandal but doesn't deliver. With Bob Hoskins and Diane Lane. Rated R; 126 minutes.

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:35, 3:25, 7; F-Su: 9:50 p.m.

THE ILLUSIONIST (B-)

This period piece about the power of magic lacks just that. The magic of romance, drama, longing and faith is generally missing in director Neil Burger's tale of a love triangle involving a magician, a noblewoman and the heir to the Austrian throne. It's no surprise that an inscrutable poker-face such as Edward Norton plays the title role as such a closed-book. It's quite a sleight of hand, though, for a film to thoroughly constrain a co-star as expressive as Paul Giamatti into a character so aloof he barely registers emotionally. Rated PG-13; 109 min.

• CENTURY RIO 11:55, 2:25, 5, 7:30, 10

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:30, 3:15, 7:20; F-Su: 9:45 p.m.

INVINCIBLE (B+)

"Invincible" is part "The Rookie," part "Rocky" and all heart. This superb football film is based on the tale of Vince Papale, a Philadelphia bartender who excelled in a tryout to make the Philadelphia Eagles' roster. Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale, a broken-down lug who loses his day job and his wife at the beginning of the film. You can see every beat of the film huffing along 50 yards away, but the drama is so well executed that predictability doesn't dampen the thrills. Rated PG; 104 min.

• COTTONWOOD 12:25, 6:50

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:25, 2:50, 5:15, 7:40; F-Su: 10 p.m.

JACKASS: NUMBER TWO (B-)

As in the first film and the turn-of-the-millennium MTV show that launched it, excrement, stupidity and an obsession with torturing the male member abound in "Two." In one scene, Johnny Knoxville re-creates a "Tom & Jerry" moment by blindfolding himself and subjecting himself to a yak's caresses. What makes all this watchable is the gleeful attitude and friendship of the men, and the fact that even the most disgusting antics are amusing, whether in a "laughing with them" or "laughing at them" spirit. For fans of the brand, this will hit the spot. Rated R; 95 min.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 1, 3:15, 5:30, 7:45, 9:55

• CENTURY RIO 12:35, 2:50, 5:05, 7:25, 9:40

• COTTONWOOD 1, 4, 7:45, 10:15 (no evening shows Th)

• FOUR HILLS 12:55, 3:20, 6:45, 9:10

JET LI'S FEARLESS (C)

Jet Li's career might have been better served with the glorious "Hero" as his martial-arts swan song. "Hero" had it all: masterful action, rich characters, a riveting story structure and the grandest of drama. "Fearless" is merely adequate by comparison, a tale propelled almost entirely by its action, with a passable but predictable story of disgrace and redemption stuffed between its combat scenes. This casts Li as the brash Huo, whose father is a martial-arts master. Initially a sickly, asthmatic child, Huo studies his father's moves in secret, gradually improving his health and stamina and becoming a ferocious competitive fighter. When Li is not fighting, "Fearless" lumbers through its dramatic scenes. Rated PG-13; 104 min.

• CENTURY RIO 11:50, 2:20, 4:45, 7:55, 10:20

• COTTONWOOD 3:15, 9:20

• FOUR HILLS 1:25, 4:10, 6:55, 9:40

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (A-)

To describe the Hoovers - the Albuquerque family at the center of this Sundance favorite - one must be thoroughly versed in the vocabulary of despair. The film revolves around wonderful performances by Greg Kinnear as the positive-thinking dad, Toni Collette as his loyal wife, Steve Carell as her depressed brother, and the amazing Alan Arkin as a gleefully debauched grandfather. Little Olive (Abigail Breslin from Lodge Kerrigan's "Keane") is delightful as the family's entrant in the Little Miss Sunshine contest. The movie amazingly manages to dodge the bullet of formula, probably because the directors are attuned to the dispiriting lives of their characters. Rated R; 101 min.

• CENTURY RIO 12:05, 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:05

• HIGH RIDGE Daily: 12:20, 2:45, 5:05, 7:30; F-Su: 9:55 p.m.

OPEN SEASON (B)

Martin Lawrence lends his voice to this amusing movie about what happens when forest critters turn the tables on hunters. Lawrence's stand-in is Boog, a grizzly bear living the good life with his forest ranger friend, Beth (Debra Messing). Boog is the definition of domesticated - until he meets a mule deer named Elliot (Ashton Kutcher). Beth reluctantly arranges to have Boog airlifted to a remote mountain location. Hunting season is about to begin, and she wants Boog to have a fighting chance to survive. Directed by Roger Allers ("The Lion King") and Jill Culton, "Open Season" is a likable romp for kids and adults. Like the best animated family films, "Open Season" offers a few lessons. The most important is that wild animals need to live in the wild. This aims for a good time and hits its target. Rated PG; 87 min.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:20, 2:30, 4:35, 6:45, 8:55

• CENTURY RIO 11:30, 12:35, 1:40, 2:45, 3:50, 6, 8:10, 10:20

• COTTONWOOD 12, 2:15, 4:30, 6:45, 9; (no evening shows Th)

F• OUR HILLS 12:50, 3:10, 6:30, 9:20

• WINROCK 1:15, 4:15, 6:45, 9:40

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST (D+)

Even more cartoonish than the original film from 2003 - a difficult feat to achieve - this second installment in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise often feels like a live-action version of a Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote extravaganza. The rest is just bloated - and, like its predecessor, numbingly overlong. Rated PG-13; 153 min.

• CENTURY RIO 12:20, 3:45, 7, 10:10

SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS (B-)

Billy Bob Thornton trots out the nasty-guy act he developed in "Bad Santa" and "The Bad News Bears," leveling verbal drop-kicks at the poor dweeb played by Jon Heder, who was the ultimate dork in "Napoleon Dynamite." Director Todd Phillips ("Road Trip," "Old School") never disguises this all-concept movie as anything more than a setup for Thornton to bully Heder. And it's a one-joke pony. Amanda, the lone significant female character, is nothing more than an easily manipulated cardboard cutout, and the men get off even worse. Rated PG-13; 100 min.

• CENTURY RIO 12:50, 3:15, 5:40, 8:05, 10:30

• COTTONWOOD 1:15, 3:30, 7:20, 9:55

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING (D)

This prequel aims to shed a little light on the tormented past and fragile psyche of film's most famous chain-saw-wielding madman. It isn't so much about Leatherface as it is about Uncle Hoyt, who becomes Sheriff Hoyt when he kills a law enforcement officer, steals his uniform and assumes his identity. Then again, with R. Lee Ermey in the role, doing his eloquently abusive drill-sergeant shtick, the movie couldn't possibly belong to anyone else. The victims are a couple of brothers (Matt Bomer and Taylor Handley) who are about to fight in Vietnam and the women who love them (Jordana Brewster and Diora Baird). But the killings are more grotesque than frightening. R; 84 min.

• CENTURY DOWNTOWN 12:25, 2:35, 4:40, 5:45, 6:50, 7:50, 9, 9:50

• CENTURY RIO Daily: 12:30, 1:20, 2:40, 3:25, 4:50, 5:30, 6:30, 7, 7:45, 8:35, 9:05, 9:55; F-Sa: 10:45 p.m., 11:20 p.m., midnight

• COTTONWOOD 12:10, 2:25, 4:50, 7:25, 9:50

• FOUR HILLS 1:30, 4, 7:10, 9:35

• WINROCK 12:45, 3, 7:20, 9:50