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The early 2000s have seen a string of big-budget remakes of classic horror films. In addition to THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES, John Carpenter’s benchmark slasher flick HALLOWEEN has been given a new-millennial overhaul. At the helm of the project sits rocker Rob Zombie, whose previous films, HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES and THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, brought a fan’s touch and an auteur’s vision to the director’s chair. While Zombie’s HALLOWEEN is faithful to Carpenter’s vision, there are some obvious changes, the most pronounced of these being the substantial focus on Michael Myers’s childhood. The film posits Michael (played by a creepily vacant Daeg Faerch) as a troubled child made all the worse by a horrible home life–wonderfully illustrated via William Forsythe’s performance as Deborah Myers’s boyfriend–and constant abuse at school. Zombie paints Michael’s pain with palpable grit and sleaze, but he isn’t out to put our culture on the couch–he simply wants to show Michael killing his family. With the exception of Michael’s therapy sessions while incarcerated, the film, post-massacre, stays loyal to the original.

Zombie’s film is clearly the work of a filmmaker who knows and loves the genre. The director’s signature is stamped all over HALLOWEEN (most notably in the use of grainy home movie footage and a smokin’ classic rock soundtrack), although remnants of Carpenter’s brilliant original still remain. When it comes to remakes, it’s hard to ask for much more. (1 hr. 49 min.)

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Doctor Wu and his young son are ambushed on vacation and introduced to a new enemy - the Global Mafia.

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A beautiful princess born in a faraway kingdom is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep which can only be awakened by true love’s first kiss. This classic makes wondrous use of Tchaikovsky’s same-titled ballet score. Academy Award Nominations: Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. (1 hr. 15 min.)

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GUNDAM SEED DESTINY is a spinoff from the popular GUNDAM SEED anime series, which is one of the most popular franchises in the history of the genre. The events take place after an uneasy peace has broken out between the warring Earth Alliance and ZAFT organizations. The crew aboard the battleship Minerva arrives for talks with the ZAFT organization as this second TV movie in the series begins. But the heroic Shinn Asuka finds himself conflicted as the meeting progresses, and it’s not long before hostilities between the Alliance and ZAFT are simmering to the surface once again.

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Fans of actor-director Tom McCarthy’s highly praised debut, THE STATION AGENT, will not be disappointed by his second film, a gentle drama about illegal immigration. At 62, Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is sleepwalking through his quiet life as an economics professor in Connecticut. A conference for work forces him to return to New York City, where he finds something unexpected in his nearly forgotten Manhattan apartment: a pair of illegal immigrants is renting his place from a dishonest man, and they’re just as shocked by his presence as he is by theirs. But Walter’s kindness prevails, and he allows Syrian immigrant Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese love Zainab (Danai Gurira) to stay. Tarek and Walter form an unlikely bond over Tarek’s talent for playing the djembe drum, and soon Walter is spending his spare time with the couple. When Tarek is unjustly arrested, deportation hangs over the young man’s head and Walter is determined to help. The arrival of Tarek’s mother (Hiam Abbass) adds another element to the trouble, but she provides unexpected companionship for Walter as he crusades for her son’s freedom.

THE STATION AGENT was a pleasant surprise for everyone who saw it, and while THE VISITOR revisits some of the same themes (particularly loneliness), it doesn’t feel like a retread. In his first two films as writer and director, McCarthy has displayed an impressive touch with both quietly funny dialogue and complex characters. All the actors deserve credit for their emotional performances, but Jenkins adeptly carries the film on his shoulders. Until THE VISITOR, he has been a prolific character actor, perhaps most recognizable as the dearly departed dad on SIX FEET UNDER. But as magnetic as he has been in small roles, the depth of his talent becomes even more obvious in this remarkable lead performance. (1 hr. 48 min.)

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