Movie Reviews: In local theaters

Saturday, August 26, 2006 "ACCEPTED" (C+): So maybe this isn't the most original movie in the world. A bunch of slackers and weirdos form their own college, where "liberal" doesn't even begin to describe the liberal arts education. Doesn't matter. "Accepted" is a lot more fun than you'd expect from a comedy coming out in the dead of summer. The film has a certain subversive elan that keeps it light on its feet — until the very end, that is, when it turns self-righteous and takes itself way too seriously. PG-13 for language, sexual material and drug content. 92 min. "BEERFEST" (C): The comedy troupe Broken Lizard's tale of extreme beer drinking plays out like a college kegger that gets off to a bad start but picks up steam as the suds flow. The thin plot centers on two brothers (Stolhanske and Soter) who stumble on a secret beer-consumption competition in Munich and enlist three pals (Chandrasekhar, Heffernan and Lemme) for a team to challenge their hated German cousins. R for pervasive crude and sexual content, language, nudity and substance abuse. 112 min. "THE DESCENT" (B): Horror fans will thank Neil Marshall for giving this unrelenting shocker a genuine, deep-crimson, gory heart of darkness. The Brit director's dead-serious follow-up to his gruesomely funny debut, "Dog Soldiers," is about six comely spelunkers, led by superwoman Juno and the recently-widowed Sarah, who tango with a horde of human-flesh-lusting hominoids in a cave system under the Appalachians. 99 mins. Rated R for violence, gore, profanity. "HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS" (B): An engaging, lighthearted family film that's a lot tastier than its title implies. It's got a parent-approved message of tolerance and understanding that's not too sappy for children to appreciate. A new kid at school has an encounter with a bully that lands him in a bet over whether he can eat 10 worms in a single day. PG for mild bullying and some crude humor. 84 min. "IDLEWILD" (C-): Let us now praise the men of OutKast for their ambition, if not their aim. The duo has tried to do something unique with this musical drama set in the 1930s. It wildly blends genres and eras and features a high-class cast and heavy visual tricks. The film is extraordinarily imaginative, often stylish and fun and at times it can even be magical. Ultimately, though, the pervading anachronism is just too jarring. R for violence, sexuality, nudity and language. 120 min. "INVINCIBLE" (B): It's a great story. And it has the added benefit of being (mostly) true. In 1976, at the start of his first year as the Philadelphia Eagles' head coach, Dick Vermeil issued an open call to anyone who wanted to try out for the team. Hundreds showed up. One guy made it: Vince Papale, a lifelong Eagles fan who happened to be at a crossroads at age 30. PG for sports action and some mild language. 108 min. "LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE" (B): A stormy quasi-comedy destined to polarize audiences, this is a specimen of the "Family — can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em" credo. The superlative Alan Arkin and Toni Collette lead a cast in the sometimes cartoonish film about a fractured clan unified during the course of a road trip to a junior beauty pageant. 101 mins. Rated R for drugs, sexual candor, profanity. "MATERIAL GIRLS" (D-): At least the clothes are fun. Then again, with a title like that, they'd better be. This shrill comedy stars real-life sisters Hilary and Haylie Duff as heiresses Tanzie and Ava Marchetta, who take over the family's cosmetics empire after their father dies. No one in this movie is likable. No one merits our affection or our sympathy. PG for language and rude humor. 99 min. "MONSTER HOUSE" (A-): Easily the best computer-animated feature to come from Hollywood in a long while, "Monster House" is also one of the weirdest. A creepy-crawly, freak-show Halloween yarn, it is about a house that swallows passers-by. 91 mins. Rated PG for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor. "THE NIGHT LISTENER" (C): Robin Williams stars as a late-night radio personality who begins a correspondence with a troubled teen in this dark, Hitchcock-y thriller. Although the filmmakers pull off a big, unsatisfying cheat, Williams is excellent. Toni Colette and Rory Culkin costar. 91 mins. Rated R for sexual content, violence, adult themes. "SNAKES ON A PLANE" (B+): This is the kind of movie that's ideally suited for the rowdy, crowded communal experience, the likes of which we haven't seen since "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." It's a rare example of a film not just living up to the hype, but surpassing it. And it's the best time you'll have at the movies all summer, if not all year. It's intense and suspenseful, scary and gory, darkly funny and sometimes giddily hysterical. R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence. 90 min. "WORLD TRADE CENTER" (A): Anguished and heartfelt, Oliver Stone's film about real-life Port Authority cops trapped in the rubble on 9/11 is a hushed prayer of deliverance — for the cops, for their wives and families, and for the nation. 129 mins. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of devastation and grief. "YOU, ME AND DUPREE" (C): Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson star in this amiable if ragtag comedy about a down-on-his-luck houseguest (Wilson) upending the newly wedded bliss of his best friend and best friend's wife. Michael Douglas isn't as amusing as he should be as the imperious father-in-law boss, but then the whole movie's not as amusing as it should be. 108 mins. Rated PG-13 for sex, profanity, drugs, comic mayhem, adult themes. — Wire services