Creepy, hypnotic 'Candidate'

***

Rated:

R for violence and some language

Cast:

Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Family call:

The R rating is deserved, with a couple of moments of shocking violence.

Running time:

130 minutes

Playing at:

Park Place, El Con, Century Park, Foothills, Desert Sky, Cinemark

To load up on information on the new film "The Manchurian Candidate,"

you can visit www.manchuriancandidate.com

online. Production notes, still shots and an interactive game are all available for your Web access pleasure.

Meryl Streep has Oscar on speed-dial. The 55-year-old actress has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards for acting and has taken home the prize twice.

Her first win came in a supporting role in "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), as a divorced woman who struggles to gain custody of her child. Streep won the best-actress Oscar for "Sophie's Choice" (1982), as a concentration-camp survivor who struggles with troubling secrets.

Now Streep plays a controlling mother figure, Eleanor Shaw, in the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate," which opens today. Given Streep's nomination history, it's a decent bet that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciencs will take a long look at her acting in the movie, and possibly add the performance to the list of Streep's Oscar-nominated roles:

"The Deer Hunter" (1978)

- Linda. Nominated for best supporting actress.

"Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

- Joanna Kramer. Won for best supporting actress.

"The French Lieutenant's Woman" (1981)

-

Dual roles as Sarah and Anna. Nominated for best actress.

"Sophie's Choice" (1982)

- Sophie. Won for best actress.

"Silkwood" (1983)

- Karen Silkwood. Nominated for best actress.

"Out of Africa" (1985)

- Karen Christence Dinesen Blixen-Finecke. Nominated for best actress.

"Ironweed" (1987)

- Helen Archer. Nominated for best actress.

"A Cry in the Dark" (1988)

- Lindy Chamberlain. Nominated for best actress.

"Postcards From the Edge" (1990)

- Suzanne Vale. Nominated for best actress.

"The Bridges of Madison County" (1995)

- Francesca Johnson. Nominated for best actress.

"One True Thing" (1998)

- Kate Gulden. Nominated for best actress.

"Music of the Heart" (1999)

- Roberta Guaspari. Nominated for best actress.

"Adaptation" (2002)

- Susan Orlean. Nominated for best supporting actress.