/  Features

AUGUST 1

• The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (D) Brendan Fraser returns for the third installment of the adventure franchise.
• American Teen (B+) (Read the full preview)
• Swing Vote (B) The presidential election comes down to one man's ballot.
• The Midnight Meat Train A photographer goes in search of a serial killer.
• The Last Mistress (B) Catherine Breillat directs Asia Argento in this period tale set in 19th century France.

AUGUST 6

• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (B) The four young women from the original return but go their separate ways when college beckons.
• Pineapple Express (B-) Richardson's David Gordon Green directs this Judd Apatow-produced stoner comedy about two potheads on the run from police. Seth Rogen and James Franco star.
• Bottle Shock(B) Alan Rickman stars in this story about the early days of California winemaking.

AUGUST 8

• Baghead (B+) A group of underemployed actors attempts to write a movie to jump-start their careers.
• Boy A(B+) A man is finally released from prison for a crime he committed as a child.
• Hell Ride (F) David Carradine, Dennis Hopper and Michael Madsen take to the open road in this biker movie.
• Love and Honor(B) Japanese film centers on a blind samurai and his devoted wife.
• Man on Wire(B-) Documentary looks at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring walk between New York's World Trade Center towers in 1974.

AUGUST 13

• Tropic Thunder (B) Ben Stiller directs this comedy surrounding actors in a war movie who suddenly find themselves involved in a real war.

AUGUST 15

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (C+) George Lucas goes the animated route with his space opera.
• Mirrors A mall security guard's reflections begin to have an effect on him.
• Fly Me to the Moon (B-) Three flies find themselves on a space shuttle to the moon in this animated tale.
• Henry Poole Is Here (B) Luke Wilson plays the title character, a man who decides to spend his last days of life in solitude.
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona (B+) Woody Allen's next romantic comedy gathers Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and his latest muse, Scarlett Johansson.

AUGUST 20

• The Rocker (D+) The Office's Rainn Wilson stars as a failed drummer who gets another shot at superstardom.

AUGUST 22

• Death Race (B+) Jason Statham stars as an inmate competing in a brutal road race. Inexplicably, Joan Allen and Ian McShane co-star.
• Elegy (B) Buzz is solid on this adaptation of a Philip Roth novella starring Ben Kingsley as a college professor who becomes possessive of a student played by Penélope Cruz.
• Frozen River (A-) A pair of single mothers are lured into the quick cash available in smuggling goods across the U.S.-Canadian border.
• The House Bunny (B-) A Playboy bunny seeks refuge in a sorority when she's thrown out of the mansion.
• The Longshots (C+) Fred Durst (yes, that Fred Durst) directs Keke Palmer in the story of the first girl to play Pop Warner football.
• I.O.U.S.A. (B) Documentary examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences.

AUGUST 27

• Hamlet 2 (Read the full preview)
• Traitor A special agent who infiltrates a terrorist cell is hunted by the CIA.

AUGUST 29

• Babylon A.D. Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh star in this sci-fi thriller about a man escorting a woman from Russia to China.
• Transsiberian A train trip from China to Moscow turns into an adventure when an American couple crosses some fellow passengers.
• A Man Named Pearl Documentary follows a self-taught topiary artist.
• In Search of a Midnight Kiss Dallas native Scoot McNairy stars as a man who answers a personal ad of a woman in search of a New Year's Eve date.
• The Edge of Heaven A man travels to Turkey in search of the daughter of his father's girlfriend in this acclaimed German film.
• College Three high school seniors visit a college campus for a wild weekend.

– Stephen Becker

Published in The Dallas Morning News: 05.04.08