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HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS Julia Roberts had her Pretty Woman, Sandra Bullock had her While You Were Sleeping, and, if it becomes a box office hit, Kate Hudson will have her How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days to turn her into America's latest A-list sweetheart. Yes, she received an Oscar nomination for Almost Famous, but there's always been something a little unformed about Hudson, who has failed to locate the same sort of sparkle that propelled mom Goldie Hawn to stardom back in the late 60s. But this one marks the first time that Hudson has been able to command the screen: She's utterly winning as a women's magazine columnist who, for the sake of a story on what females shouldn't do when dating, hooks up with a guy with the intent of driving him away within... well, check the film's title. She settles on a slick ad man (Matthew McConaughey, easier to take than usual), unaware that he's made a bet that he can get any woman to fall in love with him within the same time period. For a film that wallows in the usual male-female stereotypes, this one's light on its feet, thanks in no small part to its well-matched leads. Alas, the third act follows the exact pattern as almost every other romantic comedy made today: The deceptions become unearthed, the pair breaks up, some soul searching takes place, and bliss arrives after a madcap chase. Leave before this excruciating finale and you should have an OK time. 1/2

THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE An anti-death penalty screed disguised as a thriller, this one's a complete mess, a movie so inept that it will doubtless anger viewers on both sides of the debate. It's the sort of sanctimonious, holier-than-thou claptrap that gives liberalism (especially Hollywood liberalism) a bad name, yet what's astounding is that the movie shoots itself not only in the foot but in the bleeding heart as well, offering a series of predictable plot twists that completely undermine every point that director Alan Parker and debuting screenwriter Charles Randolph were trying to make. Kevin Spacey stars as the title character, a former college professor and capital punishment opponent in Texas who's now on Death Row, set to be executed for the rape and murder of a fellow advocate (Laura Linney). Gale summons a news magazine reporter (Kate Winslet) to hear his story, maintaining his innocence and hoping that she'll be able to unearth the real culprit. The incessant proselytizing is wearying enough, but, as stated above, what's especially dumbfounding about this film is the manner in which Parker and Randolph weaken their own arguments by ultimately painting their heroes as irrational zealots who just might have deserved what was coming to them. With friends like these, who needs George W. Bush?

OLD SCHOOL Laugh-out-loud moments have become such a scarce commodity in most comedies these days -- usually, filmgoers have to settle for a steady succession of smiles, with maybe a couple of chortles thrown in -- that it's almost tempting to recommend a whole movie on the basis of one such instance of pure unbridled seat-shaking. Old School offers such a moment: It involves a concrete block, a long rope, and a part of the male anatomy that should in no way be involved with a concrete block and a long rope. It's a wickedly funny bit in the best There's Something About Mary tradition, and it's just too bad that this otherwise lackluster picture doesn't offer more sequences like this one. Not that it doesn't try. It's been a full quarter-century since National Lampoon's Animal House set the standard for a certain brand of anarchic, T&A-fueled "slob" comedy, and here's yet another challenger to the throne, casting Luke Wilson, Will Farrell and Vince Vaughn as three 30somethings who end up starting their own fraternity in an effort to tap back into the party-hardy attitude of their youth. This is a formless mishmash of Animal House, Back to School, PCU and other like-minded works, and it's tolerable enough to just skate by with a "C" average.