BY JASON LYNCH
CRITIC'S CHOICE
ROMANTIC COMEDY
In most movies, falling in love is the hard part, but Gary (Vaughn) and Brooke (Aniston) know staying together is even tougher. Suffocating after two years of squabbles (Her: "We don't go anywhere together." Him: "All you do is nag me"), they decide to split. But since neither one will vacate their cozy Chicago condo, they become battling roommates. She parades around new suitors to make him jealous. He wins them over with his video games. Each waits in vain for the other to come to his or her senses.
Vaughn and Aniston—both engaging, whether sparring or smooching—start with their familiar personas (his chatty Swingers charmer; her Friendly, enviably coiffed romantic). But as the film unexpectedly morphs into a bittersweet drama, Vaughn (who cowrote) breaks out dramatic chops he hasn't displayed in years. You'll laugh, you'll cry and, for the first romantic comedy in a long while, you'll relate. (PG-13)
[STARS 3]
David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli
ACTION
In Paris, an independent undercover cop (Raffaelli) reluctantly teams up with fiery inmate Leito (Belle) to infiltrate an anarchic ghetto, defuse a hijacked bomb and rescue Leito's kidnapped sister. It's typical buddy-movie stuff, but just wait for Belle and Raffaelli to leap into their breathtakingly athletic fight scenes. Showing off the moves of Parkour (a climbing-centric sport invented by stuntman Belle), the elastic duo gracefully glide up buildings, catapult off walls and soar through open windows like renegades from Cirque du Soleil. It's this year's most potent adrenaline rush. In French. (R)
[STARS 3]
Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow
HORROR
When a shifty priest offers to replace your stillborn baby with a conveniently orphaned newborn, it's okay to say no. But Robert Thorn (Schreiber) agrees, and presents his unknowing wife (Stiles) with their "son" Damien. Five years later, as bodies pile up and Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) demonstrates an allergy to houses of worship, Thorn learns the boy is the Anti-Christ, whose "666" birthmark heralds Armageddon.
As well as yet another mediocre remake of a hit '70s horror film. With its script barely changed from the 1976 original (David Seltzer, who wrote both films, mistakenly saw no need for improvement), The Omen adds little beyond its clever 6-6-06 release date. Schreiber, usually riveting, remains poker-faced, reacting to loved ones' gruesome deaths with the mild annoyance of someone whose TV is on the fritz. As Damien's creepy nanny, Farrow, who knows from devil children after Rosemary's Baby, adds sinister sparkle. (R)
[STARS 2]
Real-life couples sometimes fizzle onscreen, but Vaughn and Aniston generate plenty of sparks. Here's how they compare to other matchups, from lukewarm (left) to smoking (right).
Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez GIGLI
Matthew McConaughey & Penélope Cruz SAHARA
Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman EYES WIDE SHUT
Vince Vaughn & Jennifer Aniston THE BREAK-UP
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie MR. & MRS. SMITH
Peaceful Warrior
After a brooding gymnast (Scott Mecholwicz, right) shatters his leg, a Mr. Miyagi-like mentor (Nick Nolte) helps him rehab with fortune-cookie wisdom like "You can live a whole lifetime without ever being awake." Based on the 1980 self-help bestseller, it's featherlight. (PG-13) [STARS 2]
The War Tapes
"Today was the first time I shook a man's hand that wasn't attached to his arm." It's one of many eye-opening moments in this compelling documentary shot by three National Guard soldiers during their yearlong tour of duty in Iraq. After returning to the U.S., one laments of his indifferent coworkers, "They don't understand." Now they should. (Not rated) [STARS 3]
Typhoon
Still sore at South Korea for denying his family asylum 20 years ago, a North Korean baddie actually named Sin (Jang Dong-gun, far left) seeks his revenge, with a Naval lieutenant (Lee Jung-jae, left) in hot pursuit. There's nothing new here (lots of slow motion, and people melodramatically dying with their eyes open), but a climactic sea battle, held during a raging typhoon, holds interest. In Korean. (R) [STARS 2]
HOW I'M SAVING THE PLANET
His film An Inconvenient Truth warns about global warming. So what is Gore doing about it?
1. I turn off lights in my house [to conserve energy]. We're getting sensor switches that automatically turn them off when the room is empty.
2. We got a hybrid car recently.
3. We try to live a carbon neutral life. On climatecrisis.org, you'll find a calculator which can add up the carbon dioxide you produce and give you options for neutralizing that.
4. This movie saves carbon dioxide because I don't have to fly and drive places to get my message across.
The Nanny Diaries
Yes, she can tell a mean bedtime story. No, she doesn't wield a flying umbrella—except in a fantasy sequence. But as Annie in the film adaptation of the '02 novel The Nanny Diaries—now shooting in New York and set for release next year—Scarlett Johansson (with costar Nicholas Reese Art, 7) has cast a Poppins-like spell over her costars. Says executive producer Dany Wolf: "All the kids [on-set] gravitate toward her."
The French still have it in for Marie Antoinette. Polite applause lost out to scornful boos, mostly Gallic, after the first press screening at the Cannes Film Festival of Marie Antoinette, director-writer Sofia Coppola's take on the deposed 18th-century French queen. Coppola eschews politics, settling for lovely pictures, and depicts the queen (played by Kirsten Dunst) as a teenage flibbertigibbet living in a bubble, popping bonbons and ordering opulent gowns. She hasn't a thought in the head she'll soon lose. Due Oct. 13.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
