At the theaters 5/5/06

New at the theaters

'An American Haunting'

Starring Donald Sutherland, Sissy Sp and Rachel Hurd-Wood. Two hundred years ago in Tennessee, a demon called Old Kate takes up residence with the family of John Bell. It torments them, and even causes a man's death. A local schoolteacher, Richard Powell, witnesses the events and writes them down for his daughter. Rated PG-13 for intense terror sequences and thematic material, running time 90 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

'Hoot'

Starring Luke Wilson, Logan Lerman and Brie Larson. A Montana boy moves to Florida, where he uncovers a developer's plans to wipe out the habitat of endangered owls. The boy and his buddies hatch a crazy scheme to teach the greedy grownups a lesson and save their precious birds. Rated PG for mild bullying and brief language, running time 90 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

'Mission Impossible III'

Starring Tom Cruise, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Michelle Monaghan. Retired from active duty, former spy Ethan Hunt now spends his time training IMF agents. But when a lunatic arms dealer threatens the life of Hunt's girlfriend, the superspy gathers his crew to bring her back to safety. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of frenetic violence & menace, disturbing images and some sensuality, running time 126 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

STILL PLAYING

'Akeelah and the Bee'

Starring Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. Akeelah Anderson (Palmer), an 11-year-old girl from south Los Angeles, shows a knack for spelling. Akeelah is tutored for the upcoming spelling bee season by Dr. Larabee (Fishburne); her principal, Mr. Welch (Armstrong); and the residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah's aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Rated PG for some language, running time 112 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Friends With Money'

Starring Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand and Joan Cusack. Olivia quit her teaching job and now cleans houses for a living while continuing her seemingly endless quest to find a decent guy. Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief drug use, running time 88 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Ice Age: The Meltdown'

Starring Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary. Manny the wooly mammoth, Sid the sloth, Diego the saber-tooth tiger and silly squirrel Skrat find themselves at the end of the ice age, and everyone is happy that the deep freeze is over. That is, until they learn a huge glacial dam is about to break, which will flood their entire valley. The only chance for survival: get the heck outta there, and fast! Rated PG for some mild language and innuendo, running time 90 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Inside Man'

Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster. Tough cop Detective Frazier matches wits with clever bank robber Dalton as a dangerous cat-and-mouse game unfolds. Unexpectedly, Madaline, a power broker with a hidden agenda, emerges to inject even more instability into an already volatile situation. Rated R for language and some violent images, running time 129 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Lucky Number Slevin'

Starring Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu. In a case of mistaken identity, Slevin finds himself in the middle of a crime war between the Rabbi and the Boss. He's trailed by a detective and an assassin, played by Willis. Slevin must clear his name, and quick, if he wants to keep living. Rated R for strong violence, sexuality and language, running time 109 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'RV'

Starring Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, JoJo, Josh Hutcherson and Jeff Daniels. An overworked executive, Bob, persuades his wife and children to give up their Hawaiian vacation for a cross-country RV trip, including a detour in the Rocky Mountains. The real reason for Bob's change of plans: saving his career. But when he has a run-in with a crew of full-time motorhome weirdos, Bob learns to appreciate his family. Rated PG crude humor, innuendo and language, running time 100 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Scary Movie 4'

Starring Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Carmen Electra and Leslie Nielsen. Sending up such blockbusters as Saw, Million Dollar Baby, War of the Worlds, The Village and The Grudge, the fourth installment of the spoof franchise finds dim-witted Cindy Campbell and her sex-crazed pal Brenda joined by the cute and clueless Tom Ryan in a fight to save the world from an alien invasion. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor throughout, some comic violence and language, running time 83 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

'Sentinel'

Starring Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria. Secret Service agent Pete Garrison finds himself a suspect in a murder investigation when a mysterious person blackmails him -- Garrison's been sleeping with the first lady. Stripped of his duties and reduced to fugitive status, he's convinced that someone is going to kill the president. Rated PG-13 for some intense action violence and a scene of sensuality, running time 105 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

'Silent Hill'

Starring Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean and Laurie Holden. Rose travels to an abandoned town that has been appearing in her daughter's nightmares. The town is covered in fog, and every now and then, the creepy mist transforms everything it touches. Rose quickly realizes that her child's dreams could be the key to the history of the haunting haze. Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, disturbing images, and some language, running time 120 minutes. (Town Plaza Cinema)

'Stick It'

Starring Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym and Vanessa Lengies. Haley Graham is a rebellious 17-year-old who, after a run-in with the law, is assigned to an elite gymnastics academy run by hardnosed coach Burt Vickerman. Haley immediately makes enemies at the school with her rebellious behavior but is surprised when the coach takes her under his wing. The elite athletes band together to compete for a major championship and prove that Graham isn't just a bad seed. Rated PG-13 for some crude remarks, running time 105 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'Take the Lead'

Starring Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown and Alfre Woodard. Pierre Dulane, a one-time professional ballroom dancer, decides to teach at a public school in New York City. His hip-hop-obsessed students don't dig his stiff ballroom style, so he develops a new hybrid dance with their help. Rated PG-13 for thematic material, language and some violence, running time 108 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'United 93'

Starring JJ Johnson, Polly Adams and Cheyenne Jackson. This docudrama tells the story of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, which became the fourth hijacked plane on Sept. 11, 2001. Told in real time, the film re-creates the doomed trip from the flight's takeoff to the hijacking to the realization by those onboard that their plane was part of a coordinated attack against the United States. Rated R for some intense sequences of terror and violence, running time 110 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

'The Wild'

Starring Kiefer Sutherland, Greg Cipes and Jim Belushi. A crew of animals from the New York Zoo -- including a lion, a giraffe, an anaconda, a koala and a squirrel -- discover what a jungle the city can be when one of their own is mistakenly shipped to the wild and they embark on a dangerous mission to rescue him. Rated G, running time 94 minutes. (Cape West Cine)

-- From staff reports