 |
  |
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
A
Baby Ruth for Heroes HELLBOY: Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro. Based on the Dark Horse Comic created by Mike Mignola and a screen story by del Toro and Peter Briggs. Produced by Lawrence Gordon, Mike Richardson, Lloyd Levin. Executive producer, Patrick Palmer. Co-executive producer, Mike Mignola. Cinematography, Guillermo Navarro. Music, Marco Beltrami. Editor, Peter Amundson. Production design, Stephen Scott. Costumes, Wendy Partridge. Hellboy makeup consultant, Rick Baker. Starring Ron Perlman, with Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor, Karel Roden, John Hurt. Also Brian Steele, Doug Jones and Rupert Evans. Revolution Studios. Columbia Pictures, 2004. PG-13. 125 minutes.
The top-secret Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense has been called in to help with a delicate, late-WWII mission. BPRD's Professor Broom (John Hurt) is present when Allied soldiers break into a secret Nazi laboratory in the desert. Just as they enter the main cavern, Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden) completes his experiment to bring to Earth a supernatural being who can be turned into an agent for Hitler's Apocalypse. A firefight ensues, soldiers on both sides are killed, and Rasputin escapes. But as Professor Broom realizes, the mad Russian monk has left behind an immature but powerful, ruddy creature with both advanced paranormal gifts and a tail. Broom adopts him, and Hellboy (Ron Perlman) is raised to foster good and battle evil. If you are already a Hellboy fan, none of this is news to you. But for those who don't know this particular comic book super-hero, the opening sequence tells a great deal about what the rest of the film will reveal. First, there are good guys (Broom) and bad guys (Rasputin), with few crank characters in the middle. Second, Hellboy has potentially endearing characteristics that Perlman (City of Lost Children) can amplify without losing the resolve his tough exterior requires. Third, director Guillermo del Toro (The Devil's Backbone, Blade II) is an accomplished professional, who knows how to transform comic book fantasy into entertaining, lively, cinematic fare without losing its child-like charm. I was hooked. Although fantasy comics are not my preferred reading material, I have liked a few such genre films, notably Dick Tracy and Spider Man, because both pictures contained human frailties and humor. Likewise, City of Lost Children (1995), a dark, special-effects fantasy directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), had in its central story Perlman as a gentle giant and a young girl he teamed with to rescue a kidnapped child. Del Toro's Hellboy opens in the present day, where the otherworldly creature has grown up to be a red giant in love with another paranormal, Liz Sherman (Selma Blair). Liz is a young woman locked into an intimate relationship with fire. My favorite para is the gentle telepath Abe Sapien (Doug Jones), who lives in an aquatic tank at Broom's laboratory. Abe reads emotions, rather like the female character on "Star Trek," but with a more developed sense of humor. Anxiety rules when Abe goes up against the latest Rasputin evil, Sammael (Brian Steele). Sammael, a lizard lookalike that Rasputin and his cohort Ilsa (Bridget Hodson) have loosed on Earth, simply regenerates as two of himself whenever he's killed. It would be easy to get lost in the labyrinthine structure of the plot, yet del Toro has the magic touch with the story's demands. He maintains an even tone throughout while balancing the pace of the action with the needs of the characters to have some ordinary time. Hellboy gets beaten and bested but never loses his cool. He's confident that he will prevail, even against Sammael. Hellboy is more worried about an agent assigned to keeping him out of the daily newspapers, John Myers (Rupert Evans), who shows an interest in the enigmatic Liz. Hellboy keeps Myers in his sights, which is more effective than the other way around. It seems ridiculous to talk about performances in a comic-book movie, but the film's success depends in part on the actors playing Hellboy and Liz, because they are so instrumental in the unfolding story. Perlman's mixture of sweetness and sardonic humor work well to keep Hellboy from caricature, despite his appearance. Blair shows Liz's desire to be normal, which makes her a sympathetic heroine. Unlikely as it seems, I heartily recommend Hellboy for your viewing pleasure. It is an entertaining and surprisingly resonant, imaginative work. Now playing at Cinema World and Cineamark.
Friendship MONSIEUR IBRAHIM: Written and directed by Francois Dupeyron. Based on the play by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. Produced by Michele and Laurent Petin. Cinematography, Remy Chevrin. Production design, Katia Wyszkop. Costumes, Catherine Bouchard. Starring Omar Sharif and Pierre Boulanger, with Gilbert Melki, Lola Naynmark, Anne Suarez, Mata Gavin, Celine Samie. Sony Pictures Classics, 2003. R. 95 minutes.
Unlike the serious cinephiles in Bertolucci's The Dreamers, the folks who live on the Rue Bleue in the Paris of the 1960s are agog when a movie is shot in their neighborhood. No matter that the director is Jean-Luc Godard, because he would not be recognized on this street. A crowd turns out to watch as a bright, new convertible appears, and a glamorous movie star (Isabelele Adjani in a blonde wig as Brigitte Bardot) deigns to get into the car with a darkly handsome man. Among the neighborhood spectators is the convenience store owner, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Sharif); a kid who's raising himself, Momo (Pierre Boulanger); a red-haired girl the boy's age, Myriam (Lola Naynmark); and the good-natured prostitutes who work the street — Sylvie (Anne Suarez), Fatou (Mata Gavin) and Eva (Celine Samie). One of the prostitutes observes that the film star also has to do what a man wants her to do, not unlike a woman in her profession. (The film being made is supposed to be Godard's Contempt.) Momo, called Moises by his father, has way too much time alone. His dad (Gilbert Melki) is so depressed he scarcely knows the boy is around. But the boy gets a new name and some much needed parenting from Monsieur Ibrahim, who overlooks his pilfering and mischievously suggests a special pate he can serve his worthless father for dinner. Sharif is still the great leading actor he was in his younger days. His performance is understated and unsentimental, and his demeanor sets the emotional tone of the film. For the picture, Sharif wears his hair short and gray, and he suffers a prosthetic that makes his teeth look less cared for than is true for the meticulous former bridge champion and international star. His character, Monsieur Ibrahim, has a kind soul, and he teaches the unhappy Momo how to smile and introduces happiness as a possibility the boy has never considered. Boulanger makes his screen debut as Momo, and he delivers a fine performance, showing his character mature under the guidance of the generous Ibrahim. The actor handles himself well in scenes with the various prostitutes who mother him and when he learns to dance and fall in love with Miryam. Monsieur Ibrahim makes a gentle, personal case for religious tolerance and for friendship across generations. It opens at the Bijou April 16 for a brief run.
Baseball: DAY OF INDEPENDENCE: Directed by Chris Tashima. Produced by Lisa Onodera. Executive producers, Tashima and Tim Toyama, based on his play. Executive producers, Toyama and Chris Donahue. Cinematography, Stacy Toyama. Costumes, Naomi Yoshida. Production design, Akeime Mitterlehner. Editor, Aaron I. Yamamoto. Composer, Scott Nagatani. Guitar solos, Timo Chen. Starring Derek Mio, Marcus Toji, Chris Tashima, Alan Muraoka, Keiko Kawashima and Gina Hiraizumi. Cedar Grove Productions, 2003. NR. 27 minutes.
This short feature film encompasses the important moments of a baseball game played more than 50 years ago in a Japanese A merican internment camp during WWII. The pitcher is a young man nicknamed Zip (Derek Mio), and the catcher is Hog (Marcus Toji). The pressure is on to win the game, but Hog knows Zip has more on his mind than baseball. Zip's ill father (Alan Muraoka) and caretaker mother (Keiko Kawashima) have left the camp for Japan. They will not return, but they want their son to have the advantages of growing up in the West, even under the circumstances of being interned. Zip lives with Hog's family. But these two are also boys, American boys, and their thoughts in spring turn to girls. And baseball. Some of the film's sweetest moments come during friendly flirtations between the boys and girls they like. Bring the whole family. The film is a fund-raiser for the Yujin Gakuen Elementary School 5th grader's trip to Japan. Day of Independence will play three times on April 10 at the Bijou Art Cinemas: noon, 1:15 and 2:30 pm. Admission $10 adults, $5 children, seniors, high school and middle-school students.
Dream Factory, The: Chinese film directed by Feng Xiaogang. At 4 pm on 04/07 in 115 Pacific Hall, UO campus. Free. Dreamers, The: Bernardo Bertolucci's film, set during the Paris uprising of 1968, stars Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis Garrel as three young cineastes who hole up in their apartment and play sex and movie games. It's a beautiful reminder that youthful dreams may not change the ways of the world, but they may forever alter the dreamers. Very highest recommendations. NC-17. Bijou. See review this issue. Emerald Forest, The (1985): Young boy is taken by Amazon natives. Directed by John Boorman, it stars his son, Charley, as the boy. Based on a true story, film is beautifully shot in the jungles of Brazil. Stirring portrait of vanishing tribes. R. At 7 pm on 04/07 in 100 Willamette Hall, UO campus. Free. Faust Faustus in Deptford: This 15-minute digital video, which has been shown at international independent film festivals, will be shown as part of a lecture by UO art professor Leon Johnson. Free. At 8 pm on 04/08 in 115 Lawrence Hall, UO campus. Hellboy: Based on Mike Mignola's Dark Horse Comics series, this supernatural action adventure stars Ron Perlman, John Hut, Selma Blain and Doug Jones and is directed by Guillermo del Toro. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Home on the Range: Disney animated feature features voices by Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding Jr., Randy Quaid, Steve Buscemi, Carole Cook and Governor Ann Richards., while singing comes from k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tim McGraw and The Beau Sisters. PG. Cinemark. Miracle: The: 1980 US Ice Hockey team beat the greatest team in the world, the Russians, at the Olympics. Stars Kurt Russell as the coach of this inspiring tale of a sports-world miracle. PG. Movies 12. Prince and Me, The: Stars Julia Stiles, Luke Mably. She's a pre-med student. He's the Crown Prince of Denmark. Also stars James Fox and Miranda Richardson. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Road to Life: At 8:45 pm on 04/06 in 115 Pacific Hall, UO campus. In Russian with English subtitles. Free. Statement, The: Brian Moore's novel about a WWII war crime, directed by Norman Jewison, stars Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Northam, and the late Alan Bates. The New York Times says: "As much as these wonderful actors invest their performances with psychological nuance, their efforts go mostly for naught in a movie that gives character development a distant back seat to the grinding mechanics of its formulaic plot." R. Bijou. Walking Tall: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returns home after military career to find his hometown overrun with crime, drugs and violence. He's elected sheriff to shut down his former rival's criminal biz. Directed by Kevin Bray. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Weather Underground: To be shown as part of "Social Movements Then and Now" program, documentary directed by Sam Green and Bill Siegel looks back at the 1960s and '70s when young activists such as Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Mark Rudd and others tried to bring the Vietnam War home to the streets of this country. Learn what these people discovered about the use of violence and what they have to say today. Highly recommended. NR. At 7 pm on 04/02 in 180 PLC, UO campus. Free. Online archives. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: Agent Cody Banks 2 Destination London: Frankie Muniz returns as spy Cody Banks, this time he's undercover in London as a student at an elite boarding school. PG. Cinemark. Along Came Polly: Ben Stiller plays Reuben, a hapless husband whose bride dumps him. Then he meets up with a childhood friend, Polly (Jennifer Aniston). Also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown and Alec Baldwin. John Hamburg directs. PG-13. Movies 12. Butterfly Effect: The trailer is about a young man (Ashton Kutcher) who time travels back to the past to fix the broken lives of a childhood girlfriend (Amy Smart) and his friends, Lenny (Eldoen Henson) and Tommy (William Lee Scott). R. Movies 12. Calendar Girls: Spunky members of a woman's club in Yorkshire, England poses naked to raise money for medical research after one's husband gets leukemia. Stars Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and John Alderton. Based on a true story. Nigel Cole directs. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Cheaper by the Dozen: Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt play the parents of 12 children, including Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff and Tom Welling. Directed by Shawn Levy. PG. Movies 12. Company, The: Robert Altman's dream of a dance movie stars the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Neve Campbell, Malcolm MacDowell. One of Altman's most relaxed yet highly observant films. He "gets" dance, and The Company shows it. Highly recommended. PG-13. Bijou. Online archives. Dawn of the Dead: Remake of George Romero's 1978 cult classic about a shopping mall taken over by those trying to survive a zombie plague. Unlikely stars: the excellent Sarah Polley (My Life Without Me) and Ving Rhames. R. Cinemark. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Highly acclaimed film directed by Michel Gondry from screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation). Stars Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, with Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst. Carrey discovers Winslet had memories of their relationship erased. Now he wants to do the same. Or does he? The best new film of '04. Very highest recommendations. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives. Haunted Mansion: Eddie Murphy stars in Rob Minkoff's (Stuart Little) ghost comedy, with Jennifer Tilly, Don Knotts, Terence Stamp PG. Movies 12. Hidalgo: Based on autobiography of distance rider Frank T. Hopkins, played by Viggo Mortensen, this epic action-adventure takes place during a 3,000 mile survival race across the Arabian Desert in 1890. PG-13. Cinemark. House of Sand and Fog: Vadim Perelman's adaptation of Andre Dubus III's novel loses something essential in the process. Jennifer Connelly stars. 2004 Academy Award contender for actor, Ben Kingsley; supporting actress, Iranian star Shohreh Aghdashloo; original score, James Horner. Despite its flaws, the film is worth seeing. R. Movies 12. Online archives. Jersey Girl: Written and directed by Kevin Smith, film's about a music publicist (Ben Affleck) trying to balance work and fatherhood as a single parent. Also stars Jennifer Lopes, George Carlin, Liv Tyler, Jason Biggs. Raquel Castro is his independent daughter. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Ladykillers, The: Based on the 1955 British comedy starring Peter Sellers and Alec Guiness, Ethan and Joel Coen's adaptation stars Tom Hanks and Marlon Wayons. When these bank robbers move into "no hip-hop" house of a Southern church-going woman, anything goes. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Last Samurai, The: Edward Zwick directs this action-adventure starring Tom Cruise as a bitter Civil War vet in China to train emperor's troops to defeat samurais. Captured by warrior Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), he learns Samurai traditions and code of honor.2003 Academy Award noms: Watanabe, Supporting Actor; art direction; sound mixing; costume design. R. Movies 12. Online archives. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Peter Jackson's stunning work stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett. Frodo and Sam make it to Mount Doom as Aragorn leads the warriors of Middle Earth in the final battle against Sauron. 2003 Academy Award sweeps for Best Picture; Director, Peter Jackson; adapted screenplay; art direction; sound mixing; original score; original song; costume design; film editing; makeup; and visual effects. Very highest recommendations. Movies 12. Online archives. Master and Commander The Far side of the World: Peter Weir brings Patrick O'Brian's best-selling nautical adventures during the Napoleonic era to the screen, with Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, ship surgeon and naturalist. Very highest recommendations. Academy Awards for cinematography, sound editing; nominated for picture; director; art direction; sound mixing; costume design; film editing; makeup; visual effects. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Never Die Alone: Ernest Dickerson's new film stars DMX as King David, a criminal seeking redemption who finds death, and David Arquette as the journalist who learns his whole story. Also stars Michael Ealy, Reagan Preston-Gomez. R. Cinemark. See review this issue. Nirvana: Concert 1994: LateNite Bijou. Passion of Christ, The (2004): Mel Gibson film opens amid charges (denied) of anti-Semitism. A..O. Scott of The New York Times writes, "'The Passion of the Christ' is so relentlessly focused on the savagery of Jesus' final hours that this film seems to arise less from love than from wrath, and to succeed more in assaulting the spirit than in uplifting it." Others call the graphic torture unwatchable. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Peter Pan: Directed by P.J. Hogan, movie stars Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Lyn Redgrave, Ludivine Sagnier and Rachel Hurd-Wood. PG. Movies 12. Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed: Some scary action, rude humor and language. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Secret Window: Psychotic (John Turturro) stalks writer (Johnny Depp), accusing him of stealing the ending to his story. David Koepp directs, story by Stephen King. Also stars Maria Bello, timothy Hutton, Charles S. Dutton. PG-13. Cinemark. Something's Gotta Give: Directed by Nancy Meyers. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a New York music mogul with a young libido, while Diane Keaton is a writer with more on her mind than sex. With Amanda Peet, Frances McDormand and Keanu Reeves. 2003 Academy Award nomination for Keaton. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Starsky and Hutch: Ben Stiller is uptight Starsky, while Owen Wilson is laid back Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson in this remake of TV's undercover crime-fighters. With Vince Vaughn, Snoop Dogg, Juliette Lewis. PG-13. Cinemark. Taking Lives: All-star cast includes Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, Keifer Sutherland, Olivier Martinez and Jean-Hughes Anglade. Directed by D.J. Caruso, this thriller is about a serial killer who steals his victims' identities. R. Cinemark. Two Thousand One 2001: A Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick's classic futuristic film from 1968 follows astronauts on a space voyage to Jupiter that's been taken over by a computer, HAL 9000, which they must stop. Beautiful special effects and Kubrick's choice of music add to film's mystical appeal. Not rated. LateNite Bijou. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton: Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel star in this teen romance comedy directed by Robert Luketic. PG-13. Movies 12..
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
Theaters
NEW
RELEASES ON VIDEO Cheaper by the Dozen: Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt play the parents of 12 children, including Piper Perabo, Hilary Duff and Tom Welling. Directed by Shawn Levy. PG. Movies 12. Grapes of Wrath (1940): John Ford's Depression Era classic based on John Steinbeck's novel stars Henry Fonda, John Carradine Jane Darwell as members of the Joad family, who leave their Dust Bowl farm for California. Digitally enhanced and restored. DVD extras: Restoration comparison and commentary by film scholar and Steinbeck scholar; original theatrical trailer, still gallery, Movie Tone News footage. (Fox Studio Classics). Hope Springs (2003) Stars Colin Firth, Minnie Driver, Mary Steenburgen, Heather Graham, Oliver Platt. Kristin Lavransdatter (Norway, 1995): Based on best-selling trilogy about life in medieval Norway, film is directed by Liv Ulmann. Norwegian, with English subtitles. DVD interview with Ulmann. Matrix Revolutions (2003): Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss are back for the third (and final?) Matrix episode. Written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Produced by Joel Silver. R. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944): Part of DVD release of Vincente Minnelli films, this beauty stars Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor in a great musical celebration of the 1903 World's Fair. National Film Registry, 1994, NR, My Family (1994): Gregory Nava directs Jimmy Smits, Esai Morales, Eduardo Lopez Vargas, Lupe Ontiveros, Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Michael De Lorenzo, Mary Steenburgen in this multigenerational saga of an LA family over 60 years. R. Passionada: Set in the Portuguese-American community of New Dedford, Mass., film stars Sophia Milos, Emmy Rossum, Lupe Ontiveros, Teresa Russell, Seymour Cassel. Happy ending. PG-13. Room with a View (1986): Merhant-Ivory-Jhbvala adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel star Daniel Day Lewis, Julian Sands, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Denhold Elliot, Simon Callow, Rupert Graves. Very highest recommendations. DVD extras include commentary by Ivory, Callow, Merchant, cinematographer; interviews with Day-Lewis and Callow; 30th anniversary Merchant-Ivory tribute. Sherman's March (1986): Documentary of Ross McElwee's unintentionally autobiographical film follows what Videohound calls "his disastrous quest for love." His family meddles, the women he meets are melodramatic, and he's unflinchingly neurotic. Wonderful. Next week: Booty Call, Casa de los Babys, Kill Bill I, Tokyo Godfathers and The Velocity of Gary. |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
