Howard cracks 'Da Vinci' mumbo-jumbo code

 

"Angels & Demons," opening today (May 15), has a much higher entertainment quotient than "The Da Vinci Code" of 2006.

That's because director Ron Howard and his gifted screenwriting duo have cracked their own "Da Vinci Code" in turning another Dan Brown bestseller into a fast-paced religious-themed thriller.

And it's strangely important that star Tom Hanks has a much better haircut this time around.  Click here for the full "Angels & Demons" review, or click on the Movie Reviews link at the top of this page.

Also this week:

"Rudo y Cursi,"a darkly comic buddy pic re-teaming Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, hits screens today.  In Spanish with subtitles, it's directed by gifted screenwriter and first-time feature-film director Carlos Cuaron, brother of Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron.

Click here for the review or here to read my interview with the younger Cuaron.  Just don't expect any sibling rivalry.

(Photo:  Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer, left, try to figure out who's fighting to bring down the Catholic Church in "Angels & Demons."/Zade Rosenthal/Sony Pictures)