Movie Guide

New in theaters

Directors: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech. With the voices of Anne Hathaway, James Belushi, Glenn Close. (80 min.)

When it comes to computer animation, Pixar has raised the bar so high that even a perfectly OK specimen like "Hoodwinked" seems drab by comparison. The Red Riding Hood fairy tale goes in for a makeover as Chief Grizzly is called in to investigate a domestic disturbance over at Granny's (Close). Multiple plot lines are played out as investigator Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), a frog, tries to piece together what happened to Red (Hathaway), the Wolf (Patrick Warburton), and the Woodsman (Belushi). It's a moderately enjoyable escapade that isn't quite clever enough for adults and not quite imaginative enough for children. Grade: C+
- Peter Rainer

Director: Wayne Wang. With Queen Latifah, L.L. Cool J, Timothy Hutton. (112 min.)

Store clerk Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) loves to cook. When she learns that she has only three weeks to live, she cashes in her retirement fund for a fantasy vacation at a Czech spa where her idol, Chef Didier (Gérard Depardieu), rules the kitchen. As Georgia begins living life to the fullest, her joie de vivre changes the lives of nearly everyone she meets. This remake of a 1950 Alec Guinness vehicle isn't a great flick, but Latifah's exuberant performance and a "live your dream" message compensate greatly. Grade: C+
- M. K. Terrell

Director: Kevin Reynolds. With James Franco, Sophia Myles. (125 min.)

"Before 'Romeo & Juliet,' " says the tagline, "there was 'Tristan & Isolde.' " That's true: Director Kevin Reynolds joins the eminent company of composer Richard Wagner in portraying an Arthurian love story as old as the previous millennium. "Tristan & Isolde" maintains a veneer of dramatic gravitas, but you'll feel more romantic intensity from the teenage couples sitting in the theater than from the two leads, James Franco and Sophia Myles. In this small-scale effort, even the battle scenes lack passion. Grade: C
- Matt Bradley

Director: Nicholaus Goossen. With Kevin Nealon, Doris Roberts, Alan Cover. (94 min.)

Evicted after his roommate wastes months of rent money on massage parlors, 36-year-old Alex (Allen Covert) moves in with his grandmother and her flaky housemates. After quickly introducing them to TV addiction and marijuana, the former accountant becomes a video-game tester because it's a job he can perform while he smokes pot. The filmmakers have crafted a drug and sex comedy that lacks two things: plot and humor. Grade: D
- M.K.T.