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Landmark Cinemas: Hillcrest - La Jolla - Kensington

-FILM-

“Batman” The Dark Knight”

returns the comic book hero to the screen with Christian Bale as the lead. But rumors have it that the late Heath Ledger steals the picture with his scenery-chewing part as The Joker. With Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman. Warner Bros

“Elsa & Fred”

is about two people who discover it’s never too late to dream or be in love. China Zorrilla (Elsa) and Manuel Alexandre (Fred) enjoy life to its fullest and learn how to live. Distrimax / Mitropoulos Films.

“Get Smart”

is a funny remake of the old TV series starring Don Adams. This time Steve Carell is Agent 86 and Anne Hathaway is agent 99. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson spreads his wings as Agent 23 who answers to The Chief, Alan Arkin. Warner Bros.

“Gonzo: The Life Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” 

is from Oscar © winning director Alex Gibney (“Enron”) and producer Graydon Carter (“The Kid Stays In The Picture”). This documentary takes a look at the life of journalism inventor Thompson. Narrated by Johnny Depp.

Magnolia Pictures/ HDNet Films.

IMAX Theater: “Grand Canyon Adventure,” 

Now thru Oct. 2008. Robert F. Kennedy takes an exciting river-rafting adventure down the Colorado. Dave Matthews Band provides the music. “The Living Sea” celebrates the beauty and diversity of the ocean. Nominated for an Oscar ®. Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park. (619) 238-1233.

“Incredible Hulk” 

is a show-stopper with Ed Norton bringing humanity to his character Dr. Bruce Banner. He is the victim of the secret potion that turns him into the green monster of unending strength. Tim Roth plays his rival The Abomination. Liv Tyler is a scientist who believes in Banner. William Hurt is a knuckleheaded military man. Marvel Studios/Universal.

“Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull” 

brings Harrison Ford back to the screen after a 19-year absence of this world-favorite character. Shia La Beouf allegedly gets his big break playing Indie’s son. Karen Allen returns in this globe-trotting adventure and is joined by Oscar® winners Cate Blanchett and Jim Broadbent along with Ray Winstone and John Hurt. It’s a crowd pleaser.

LucasFilm / Paramount Pictures.

“Hancock” 

is Will Smith’s annual breath-taking hit. He takes on another unusual character in one of the summer’s most enjoyable action pictures. Oscar® winner Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Edie Marsan. Columbia Pictures.

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”:

Ron Perlman seems to be making a career out of this character. With two painful knots on his head and a face only a mother could love, Perlman plays a good guy despite his fierce looks and clunky manner. Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt and Doug Jones star in this spectacular action movie. A Universal Picture.

“Journey to the Center of the Earth- 3D”

has some of the best three dimensional effects ever seen. Shot in new process called Real D, the film follows Brendan Fraser and nephew Josh Hutcherson on an adventure never before attempted.

It’s rousing good fun and a perfect Saturday matinee kid’s film. New Line Cinema

“Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” 

stars Oscar ® nominee Abigail Breslin as a determined and resourceful young girl who is anxious to save her family home during the Depression of the 1930s. Chris O’Donnell plays her car dealer dad and Julia Ormond is her mother.

NewLine Cinema/ HBO Films.

“Kung Fu Panda” 

is a world-wide smash hit. Po (Jack Black) works in a noodle shop and dreams of becoming a kung fu expert. He studies kung fu alongside experts like Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Crane (David Cross), Mantis (Seth Rogan), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Monkey (Jackie Chan) to defeat a threat from a snow leopard (Ian McShane) under the leadership of their guru Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman). With James Hong, Dan Fogler, Randall Duk Kim, and Michael Clarke Duncan. DreamWorks.

 “Mamma Mia” 

is the new screen version of the smash stage musical. Starring Meryl Strep as the mom and Amanda Seyfried as the daughter. Three men may be her dad-- Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard. Young Dominic Cooper provides the muscles on the beach. Christine Baranski and Julie Walters provide the sidekick Eve Arden laughs. Universal.

“Meet Dave”

is a family comedy sure to please all ages. Starring Eddie Murphy in this heart-felt, witty comedy that is lots of fun. Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Scott Caan, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart. 20th Century Fox.

“Mongol” 

is the untold story of warrior Genghis Kahn. Nominated for an Oscar® as Best Foreign Language Film, the picture is a stunning historical epic with lots of action and eye-popping scenes. Young Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano (“Zatoichi”) plays the legendary conqueror. Picturehouse.

“Savage Grace” 

puts Julianne Moore in the picture as a bitter, rich wife to Stephen Dillane. She has a gay son (Eddie Redmayne) that she doesn’t agree with. The boy’s life is a nightmare with a missing father and no sympathy. Based on a true story of a woman who married a Bakelite plastics heir. IFC Films.

“Tell No One” 

is a murder mystery from France. Alex (Francoise Cluset) receives an e-mail which intimates his wife’s murder of 8 years previously may not be true. Winner of 2007 Cesar Awards for Best Actor (Cluzet) and Best Director (Guillame Canet).

Music Box Films.

“The Wackness” 

is a coming of age story set in New York in the 1990s. Josh Peck plays a young man who sells dope to his shrink (Ben Kingsley) for therapy. Olivia Thirlby is the girl he’s after. Audience Award winner at 2008 Sundance Festival. With Famke Janssen, Mary Kate Olsen, Method Man. Sony Classics.

“Wall*E”

is another triumph of computer animation from the Pixar folks in combination with the Disney Studios. It’s not really a kiddie cartoon at all. It’s a sophisticated look at a space romance between a trashy earth robot and a creature from outer space. Sometimes amusing and always clever. Voice cast includes Kathy Najimy, Sigourney Weaver and Fred Willard.

Walt Disney Studios/ Pixar.

“Wanted” 

turns a mild accountant ( 25 year-old James McAvoy) into a reluctant enforcer of justice. Angelina Jolie recruits McAvoy to avenge his father’s murder by joining the Fraternity, a secret society. Mayhem and action dominate the film with a good turn by Morgan Freeman as the Fraternity’s leader. Universal Pictures.

 “X-Files: I Want To Believe”

is the supernatural thriller everybody has been waiting for. It’s coming in late summer with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson I their famous TV roles. Their complicated relationship is taken in new directions.

Chris Carter directs. 20th Century Fox.

“You Don’t Mess With The Zohan” 

is anther zany comedy from Adam Sandler  and Judd Apatow (“Knocked Up”) and Robert Smigel (“Triumph the Insult Comic Dog”). As an Israeli commando, Sandler fakes his own death to become a hairstylist in New York. John Turturro, Nick Swardson, Rob Schneider, Emmanuell Chiriqui. Directed by comic Dennis Dugan. Columbia Pictures.

“Chris and Don: A Love Story” 

is the true-life saga of famed writer Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy. It’s a joyful celebration of two extraordinary people. Isherwood wrote “The Berlin Stories” from which”Cabaret” was written. Zeitgeist Films.

Viejas Movies in the Park: 

Free movies at Viejas Outlet Center hosted by Diana Saenger. “Shrek the Third,” Aug. 5; Spongebob Squarepants Movie,” Aug. 12. No alcohol or coolers.