Paramount Pictures

You want chutzpah? Recently the producers of Eddie Murphy's new movie, "Boomerang," asked permission to shoot some scenes in the New York law offices of Kaye Scholer Fierman Hays & Handler. That's the outfit that's been representing Art Buchwald in his suit against Paramount Pictures over Murphy's flick "Coming to America," which the columnist charges was an idea stolen from his script. The firm said no.

Bandslam: (Summit Entertainment) A new kid in town assembles a fledgling rock band to play in a huge battle of the bands competition. With Gaelan Connell and Vanessa Hudgens. The Cove : (Roadside Attractions) In this real-life expose, activists and documentary-makers uncover the merciless slaughter of dolphins outside a Japanese town. District 9: (TriStar) A government agent comes to the aid of an alien race forced to live in slumlike conditions on Earth. The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: (Paramount Pictures)

If it weren't for our willingness to laugh at egocentric doofuses, Will Ferrell might not have a career at all. The man whose George W. Bush imitation turned our 43rd president into a smirking frat boy, who skewered preening TV news readers in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and pompous NASCAR blowhards in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ... that Will Ferrell is back onscreen, this time as a cocksure men's figure skater in Blades of...

Food, Inc. **** ( 4 STARS) Documentary maker Robert Kenner rarely sacrifices humanity for horror or humor for sarcasm in this vivid, even playful expose of American supermarket food and fast food. He stimulates our eyes and engages our sympathies as agricultural heroes as well as journalists Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan lay out the reasons for buying healthy food. A perfect dinner-date movie - if you eat at a place that uses local and organic food. Opening next Friday A Perfect Getaway: (Rogue)

Next may be the silliest movie of 2007. How silly? Hard to focus on just one example of its unceasing inanity, but try this: The film's plot centers on a guy who can see two minutes into his future, and efforts by the FBI to enlist his aid in the search for an atomic bomb buried somewhere near L.A. The idea is that he'll see it do something two minutes before it actually does, giving the FBI time to ... Next (Paramount Pictures) Starring Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel. Directed by Lee Tamahori.

INTO THE WILD -- (Paramount Vantage) Sean Penn directs a story about a young man (Emile Hirsch) who leaves behind his life for the Alaska wilderness. FEEL THE NOISE -- (Tri-Star) A Harlem rapper (Omarion Grandberry) finds a new beat in the Reggaeton sound. THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB -- (Sony Classics) Contemporary Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships begin to match her novels. THE HEARTBREAK KID -- (Paramount Pictures) Ben Stiller rejoins the Farrelly brothers in the tale of a new hubby who meets his soulmate on his honeymoon.

TELEVISION 1.Academy Awards, ABC 2.American Idol (Tuesday), Fox 3.American Idol (Wednesday), Fox 4.American Idol (Thursday), Fox 5.Oscar's Red Carpet, ABC FILMS 1.Vantage Point, Columbia Pictures 2.Jumper, 20th Century Fox 3.The Spiderwick Chronicles, Paramount Pictures 4.Step Up 2 the Streets, Walt Disney Studios 5.Fool's Gold, Warner Bros. SINGLES 1.Low, Flo Rida featuring T-Pain 2.With You, Chris Brown 3.Don't Stop the Music, Rihanna 4.No One, Alicia Keys 5.Love Song, Sara Bareilles ALBUMS 1.Sleep Through the Static, Jack Johnson 2.Back to Black, Amy Winehouse 3.As I Am, Alicia Keys 4.2008 Grammy Nominees, various artists 5.River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock DVDS (SALES)

Barnyard stars a bunch of farm animals that look like those cheap plastic toys you can buy for a buck at any neighborhood convenience store, trinkets that will at least keep the kids amused for a few minutes. How appropriate, for that's about the best that can be said about this movie. It includes a few moments that might make the kids chuckle, but, for the most part, it's uninspired, not much to look at and laugh-free - as though the creators dreamed up the film's tagline, "The original party animals," and figured that was enough.

Matthew McConaughey is handsome and easygoing. Sarah Jessica Parker is adorable and hard-to-resist. Failure to Launch, a romantic comedy that, in spite of its title, has nothing to do with rockets, uses those personas to full advantage. There's comfort in seeing actors we know doing what we've come to expect them to do. But more important, the film surrounds them with supporting characters who are less familiar to us, who act in ways we don't expect. The result is a satisfying blend that goes down nice and easy.

As a romantic comedy, Nacho Libre is cute. As an introduction to Mexican wrestling (known south of the border as Lucha Libre), Nacho Libre promises more than it delivers. As a mix of the two, Nacho Libre never seems to find its footing, so uncertain are its makers of what their audience expects. That uncertainty is understandable. Fans of star Jack Black are going to expect a gonzo romp, a no-holds-barred celebration of all things manic. Fans of writer-director Jared Hess are going to expect a reprise of his Napoleon Dynamite, with its deadpan humor and calculatedly detached point of view.

Star Trek. *** ( 3 STARS) Before the rest of the summer-franchise blockbusters crowd it out of theaters, see this one on the big screen - not because the filmmaker, J.J. Abrams, is a great visual artist (far from it), but because, as a storyteller, he gives all the characters on the Starship Enterprise room to interact and breathe. This movie has team spirit - though, for my money, Simon Pegg's Scotty steals the show. Opening next Friday Easy Virtue: (Sony Pictures Classics) A stuffy English family is perturbed when the favorite son brings home his enlightened American bride.

May 1 Battle for Terra : (Roadside Attractions) A peaceful alien planet is invaded by the last survivors of Earth. With the voices of Evan Rachel Wood and Brian Cox. Ghost of Girlfriends Past: (Warner Bros.) In a romantic comedy twist on A Christmas Carol, a smooth womanizer revisits his troubled love life through supernatural means. With Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Is Anybody There? : (BBC Films) A retired magician befriends a young boy who lives in a British nursing home.

wednesday Earth: (Walt Disney Pictures) Feature-length version of the documentary TV series Planet Earth, following the migration paths of four animal families. next friday Fados : (New Yorker Films) The third film in Carlos Saura's music-and-dance trilogy explores fado, a melancholy genre popular in Portugal. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Fighting : (Rogue Pictures) A seasoned scam artist introduces a young brawler to the violent world of underground street fighting. With Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard.

Next Friday CHILDREN OF MEN -- (Universal Pictures) Alfonso Cuaron directs this sci-fi drama about the lone pregnant woman on an Earth gone sterile, circa 2027. Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine star. CODE NAME: THE CLEANER -- (New Line Cinema) Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu and Nicollette Sheridan star in this action-comedy spoof of The Bourne Identity. FREEDOM WRITERS -- (Paramount Pictures) Hilary Swank stars as a teacher who helps her troubled charges confront the violence around them through the written word.

NEW YORK - Negotiators for a consortium of Hollywood producers and two New York unions reached a tentative settlement yesterday that would end a bitter 19-week stalemate that had all but shut down moviemaking in New York City, a vital part of the city's economy.The unions, representing production crafts workers and cinematographers, agreed to the studios' demands for money-saving work-rule changes that would reduce overtime and weekend pay.In return, the unions won substantial increases in health and pension benefits.