By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

Opening Friday

• X-Men — Mutants are everywhere and they can kick evil's butt. All of your favorite X-Men are here: Wolverine, Magneto, Cyclops, Storm and Professor X. This movie, directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil) looks really exciting. Check it out. Rated PG-13.

Now Playing

• Big Momma's House — Martin Lawrence looks to solidify his box office power with this comedy about a policeman who goes underocover to protect a damsel in distress. Rated PG-13.

• Chicken Run — The creators of Wallace and Gromitt bring their whimsical vision of chickens flying the coop to the screen. Mel Gibson stars as an American rooster that helps the chickens avoid being made into pie. This looks amazing. Rated G.

• Gladiator — Russell Crowe (The Insider) stars as Maximus, asoldier who is enslaved and must fight for honor and survival. The bad guy is named Commodus, get it ? Rated R.

• Gone in 60 Seconds — Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie star in this film about heisting 50 cars in one night to save a man's little brother. Who knew Grand Theft Auto would be so exciting. Rated PG-13.

• Me, Myself and Irene — This movie is hysterically funny. The audience laughed like little girls. And though Jim Carrey is the star, and he is terrific, this is not, repeat, NOT, for children. Rated R.

• Mission Impossible 2 — Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, the best secret agent since Sean Connery was James Bond. This time Cruise is directed by genius John Woo, who gave us Face Off and a ton of great Hong Kong action-thrillers. It was a lot of fun with amazing action and fight sequences. Rated PG-13.

• Scary Movie — The long-awaited spoof of the recent teen horror flicks finally hits the screen. Brought to by the Wayans Brothers, if you liked “I'm Gonna Git You Sucka” and “Don't Be A Menace”, this film is right up your alley. Rated R.

• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle — Moose and Squirrel hit the silver screen with a live action Boris and Natasha and Robert Deniro as Fearless leader. It could be funny. Rated PG.

• The Kid — Bruce Willis stars in this Disney movie about a middle aged man meeting himself as a little boy. This movie should be filled with warmth Rated PG.

• The Patriot — Mel Gibson defends his family and his country in the Revolutionary War. The Patriot is brought to you by the makers of another huge 4th of July movie, called...Independence Day. Rated R.

• The Perfect Storm — Based on Sebastian Junger's true-life tale of two ships stuck out in the worst storm in history. George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in this action movie from Wolfgang Petersen. Rated PG-13.

Also Playing

• Final Destination — A young man convinces his friends not to fly a plane after he gets a bad feeling about the flight. The flight crashes and they were supposed to be on it, now Death is stalking them. Rated R.

• High Fidelity — John Cusack stars as a record store owner who re-examines his mistakes with women in hopes of getting back together with his girlfriend. It has a great soundtrack and is pretty funny. Rated R.

• Love and Basketball — Omar Epps stars in this film about a boy and girl who play basketball and fall in love. Supposedly, it is a very good film. Rated PG-13.

• U-571 — An American submarine crew in WWII finds a German submarine and must battle to stay alive. Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel star. Rated PG-13.

• Rules of Engagement — Samuel L. Jackson is a soldier falsely accused of making a major mistake involving terroristic threats on the American embassy. It is up to Tommy Lee jones to help him. Rated R.

• 28 Days — Sandra bullock stars as an alcoholic in this movie about detox. There are more laughs than expected, so I'm told. Rated PG-13.

• Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas — The world didn't really want another Flintstones movie and I didn't really want to write anything about it. I guess at $1 a pop, it might be worth 90 minutes in an artically air conditioned environment. Rated PG.

• Erin Brockovich — Julia Roberts stars in this film based on a true story. I heard it was pretty good and that Roberts was as pretty as ever. Rated R.

• My Dog Skip — Frankie Muniz (Malcom in the Middle) stars as a boy who gets a dog.Hailed by critics as a truly great family film, check out My Dog Skip for a buck. Rated PG.

• The Big Kahuna — Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito star as salesman in this drama about the pros and the rookies in the sales force. Rated R.

• The Tigger Movie — Tigger and all of his friends from the Hundred Acre Forest are back in this tale about friendship and family. Rated G.

• Where The Heart Is — Natalie Portman's character has a baby in a Wal-Mart and the town either loves her or hates her. Ashley Judd also stars. rated PG-13.