The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • E9

AEON FLUX Charlize Theron. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Timber- lyne. Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong.

Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande.

North Hills. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace. Smithfield: Smithfield. APHARAN (Not reviewed.) (Not Rated.) Cary: Galaxy.

CAPOTE Philip Seymour Hoffman. (R.) Cary: Galaxy. Durham: Carolina. Raleigh: Colony. CHICKEN LITTLE (G.) Cary: Cross- roads.

Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek.

Carmike. Grande. North Hills. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace.

Smithfield: Smithfield. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE bid to create a type franchise is too long and too slow to captivate fans. (PG; some intense moments.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina. Timberlyne.

Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek.

Carmike. Grande. Mission Valley. North Hills. Six Forks.

Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace. Smithfield: Smithfield. THE CONSTANT GARDENER Ralph Fi- ennes and Rachel Weisz. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

CORAL REEF ADVENTURE (Not Rated.) Raleigh: IMAX Theatre at Ex- ploris. CORPSE BRIDE Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. (PG.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. DERAILED Jennifer Aniston. (R.) Cary: Crossroads.

Durham: Southpoint. Mor- risville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Grande. North Hills.

DOMINO (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. EK AJNABEE (Not reviewed.) Indian drama starring Amitabh Bachchan as a misfit who finds redemption in a little smile. (Not Rated.) Cary: Galaxy. ELIZABETHTOWN Orlando Bloom. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

FIRST DESCENT (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Durham: Southpoint. FLIGHTPLAN Jodie Foster. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. Raleighwood.

THE FOG (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. THE 40 YEAR-OLD VIRGIN Steve Carell. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. Raleigh- wood. FOUR BROTHERS Mark Wahlberg.

(R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. GET RICH OR DIE Curtis Jackson. (R.) Durham: Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Raleigh: Carmike.

Grande. GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK George Clooney. (PG.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Chelsea. Durham: Carolina.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike. Rialto. THE GOSPEL (Not reviewed.) Boris Kod- joe. (PG.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina. Timberlyne. Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong.

Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande.

Mission Valley. North Hills. Six Forks. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace.

Smithfield: Smithfield. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (IMAX VERSION) Raleigh: IMAX Theatre at Exploris. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE Viggo Mortensen. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. THE ICE HARVEST John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton.

(R.) Cary: Cross- roads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Durham: Wynnsong. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Rox- boro: Palace.

IN THE MIX (PG-13.) Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike.

North Hills. Smithfield: Smith- field. JARHEAD Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. (R.) Cary: Crossroads. Durham: Wynnsong.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Wakefield. JUST FRIENDS (PG-13.) Cary: Cross- roads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Durham: Southpoint.

Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike.

Grande. Mission Valley. North Hills. Six Forks. Wakefield.

Roxboro: Palace. Smithfield: Smithfield. MAGNIFICENT DESOLATION: WALKING ON THE MOON 3D Tom Hanks. (Not rated.) Raleigh: IMAX Theatre at Ex- ploris. MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (G.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

NEAL NIKKI (Not reviewed.) Indian com- edy-musical-romance starring Uday Chopra and Tanisha Mukherjee and di- rected by Arjun Sablok. (Not Rated.) Cary: Galaxy. PARADISE NOW (PG-13.) Cary: Galaxy. THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3-D EX- PERIENCE Tom Hanks. (G.) Raleigh: IMAX Theatre at Exploris.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Knight- ley. (PG.) Cary: Galaxy. Chapel Hill: Chelsea. Durham: Southpoint Wynnsong. Morrisville: Park Place.

Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande. North Hills. PULSE Japanese sci-horror-thriller from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa about a mysterious force depopulating the earth one person at a time.

(Not Rated; intense themes.) Cary: Galaxy. RENT (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Varsity. Durham: South- point. Wynnsong.

Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande.

Mission Valley. North Hills. Six Forks. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace.

Smithfield: Smithfield. ROLL BOUNCE Raleigh: Blue Ridge. SAW II This money-seeking sequel to last horror hit is absolutely not for the feint of heart. (W.) 1 hour, 30 minutes. (R; grisly violence, language, drugs.) Durham: Starlite.

Raleigh: Carmike. SHOPGIRL Steve Martin and Claire Danes. (R.) Raleigh: Colony. SKY HIGH (PG.) Raleigh: Raleighwood. THE SQUID AND THE WHALE Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney star in this un- comfortably funny drama that follows the collapse of a self-absorbed family in Brooklyn.

(C.D.L.) 1 hour, 21 minutes. (R; sexual content, language.) Chapel Hill: Chelsea. Durham: Carolina. Raleigh: Colony. SYRIANA George Clooney and Matt Damon star in this densely woven thriller about oil and the treachery that invariably surrounds it.

(R; violence, language.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Varsity. Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong. Morrisville: Park Place.

Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande. North Hills. Wakefield.

THUMBSUCKER Keanu Reeves. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. TONY TAKITANI (Not Rated.) Cary: Galaxy. WALK THE LINE Joaquin Phoenix. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads.

Chapel Hill: Lumina. Timberlyne. Durham: South- point. Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek. Carmike. Grande. Mission Valley.

North Hills. Six Forks. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace. Smithfield: Smithfield.

WALLACE GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (G.) Raleigh: Raleighwood. THE WEDDING CRASHERS Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. Raleighwood. THE WORLD (Not reviewed.) Chinese drama, in its original title, about effects of globalization on traditional vil- lage life.

(Not Rated.) Cary: Galaxy. YOURS, MINE AND OURS Dennis Quaid. (PG.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina. Timberlyne.

Durham: Southpoint. Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Brier Creek.

Carmike. Grande. North Hills. Wakefield. Roxboro: Palace.

Smith- field: Smithfield. ZATHURA (PG-13.) Cary: Cross- roads. Durham: Wynnsong. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike.

Grande. Wakefield. BY DERRIK J. LANG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK get this party started.Dress code? Definitely.Roller dancers and drag queen hostess? Hired. Neon lights? Lit.

Full spread of gourmet food? Got it. Dance floor full of movers and bootyshakers? Invited. Two top-shelf open bars? Absolutely. This is not a hot new dance club or a launch party for some hot new designer vodka. This is 13-year- old Annabel bat mitz- vah.

And the entire celebration all $250,000 of it is being doc- umented for Each episode of the new docu-re- ality show (premiering Tuesday) follows two families as they plot and plan the biggest, bestest blowout in the whole Su- pervising producer Todd Radnitz, who previously worked on Moms and Moms insists the mot iva ion beh ind is cultural observa- thought this was a terrific way to understand who we are by looking at the milestones in our life and holding up a mirror to our own Radnitz says. can identify with what see- ing in the show because every fam- ily has put on a wedding or a grad- uation or a birthday party. really a window into how other families do the events that are re- ally relevant to all of Lust for lavishness On these televised affairs, and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey have been replaced by grand entrances and high-tech toys. At the Schwartz bat mitzvah inside the Grand Ball- room at Manhattan Center Stu- dios, tween attendees were treated to an inflatable bungee run, air- brushed T-shirts, karaoke, per- sonalized souvenir DVDs and a spread of burgers, fries and chicken fingers. party and her parents will spend six figures if they want to.

Why do children and parents alike have a lust for lavishness? has a different rea- Radnitz says. some cases, parents giving their kids some- thing they have when they were growing up. In other cases, keeping up with the Nowadays, the Joneses might have their event featured on na- tional TV. From the how-to help on Discovery Home to over-the-top coming- of-age affairs on Super Sweet the trend of watching gi- ant galas from start to has become TV. Next month, This Party will follow a pro- fessional team of surprise party throwers.

And a third Sweet season is in production. in a time of says Nina Diaz, vice president of MTV News and Documentaries. is big and over-the- top in pop culture. Some of it has to do with celebrity culture. Every- body wants to have that star-mak- ing moment.

Everyone wants to experience what like to pull up in a limo and get off on the red carpet and have everyone waiting for The indulgent throwdowns are going down outside TV, too. Al- though not one figure on how much Americans splurge on big-time bashes each year, Fairchild Bridal Groups calculates weddings are a $125 billion industry while Meeting Professionals Interna- tional says professional get-to- gethers are worth $83 billion. not taking birthdays, baby showers, holiday sprees or the stress they induce into account. Justine graduation celebration, captured in the first episode of includes some underage drinking, lots of screaming and one parental smackdown. Despite the drama, outspoken 13-year-old brother Brandon says the ju- bilee together really really like he said.

year, two of my friends had parties the same day and I went to Now decadent. The party is over there, right on your TV nowplaying and wire ser vice critics rate movies from one to four stars. Entertainment 9ETHE NEWS OBSERVERSATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2005 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 9E, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2005 a Japanese sci-horror-thriller, stars Kumiko Aso and Haruhiko Kato..