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Enigmatic
Bore ALEXANDER: Written and directed by Oliver Stone. Co-written by Christopher Kyle, Laeta Kalogridis. Produced by Thomas Schuhly, Jon Kilik, Iain Smith, Moritz Borman. Executive producers Matthias Deyle, Gianni Nunnari, Fernando Sulichin. Cinematography, Rodrigo Prieto. Production design, Jan Roelfs. Editors, Tom Nordberg, Yann Herve. Costume design, Jenny Beavan. Composer, Vangelis. Stunt coordinator, Gay Powell. Historical advisor, Robin Lane Fox. Starring Colin Farrell. With Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins. And Rosario Dawson, Jared Leto, Christopher Plummer. Warner Bros., 2004. R. 175 minutes.
A film that runs nearly three hours and spans the bloodier years of the early fourth century B.C., Alexander is a cinematic enigma. It's possible that writer/director Oliver Stone's long interest in the youthful, ambitious Alexander the Great blinded him. Because Stone forgot what he has always known — that a hero is one whose human flaws bring him down to earth. Dark and light; light and dark. Otherwise, the audience gets bored, restless. And the hero has a long fall into obscurity. Woefully miscast as a boy who became a warrior without growing up first, Colin Farrell's Alexander leads a mighty army that captures most of the known world in a whirlwind campaign. Strangely though, Farrell's eyes aren't those of a battle-seasoned military commander and king. Even near his death at age 32, he still seems a petulant lad who wants everything his way — a charming boy, a puer. Stone's decision to out Alexander's historically accurate bisexuality may discourage Farrell's limited expression of emotional depth. Perhaps the actor was uncomfortable acting loving with Alexander's lifelong friend and lover, Hephaistion (Jared Leto). But I can imagine an experienced actor with greater self-confidence such as Billy Crudup (Jesus's Son, Almost Famous) simply rejoicing in the part of the ancient king who loved a boy but married women. Farrell holds back, and his embarrassed tentativeness in the love scenes with Leto makes me feel as if I'm seeing something I shouldn't. Where is the Oliver Stone of JFK or Platoon? The risk-taker, the creative intelligence behind telling a story in images you couldn't stop watching? Salvador and Born on the Fourth of July's principled, passionate rebel? Much more entertaining, the gaudy glamour of The Doors caught the feeling of an era, while the historically accurate details in Alexander fail to make us care. Ridley Scott's Gladiator was fabulous. Russell Crowe reflected the soul of the lead character, and he never looked silly in his short tunic. But these guys in Alexander do. Their short, pleated tunics are costumes, and don't you forget it. This matter of clothing points out what unconscious obstacles such a toga-and-sandals movie has to overcome, not only with the audience but also with the actors. Farrell's face looks pinched in almost all of the film's publicity shots. He scowls, and he squints his eyes, not in a Clint Eastwood-like, measuring sort of way, but as an angry, out of place, 21st century, creature-comfort guy. Spoiled? Maybe. Miserable, for sure. As Alexander's mother, Olympias, Angelina Jolie represents another casting problem. Jolie energizes the snake-charmer, evil mother Queen because she can act, but she's too recently a girl herself (in Gia and Girl, Interrupted) to have a grown son. The movie math doesn't work. Further, the poorly written role she is required to play can only be operatic, a caricature. His fiery, possessive mother is only half of Alexander's problem. The other half is his father, Philip of Macedonia (Val Kilmer), a brutish king and former military leader with one good eye. Philip takes Alexander to a grotto where cultural icons such as Achilles adorn the cave walls. He gives the boy a history lesson wrapped as a cautionary tale about those who have been touched by the gods. But Alexander's budding ambition knows no limits. Some critics have taken Stone to task for his own ambition here. His earlier films were all "ambitious," and they were frequently about flawed, ambitious men, such as Nixon. But Alexander seems to be aiming for a different glory. LA Weekly's Scott Foundas says Stone wants respectability now, while The New York Times' Manhola Dargis says this character fulfills Stone's self-serving revisionism as a "psychologically addled but fundamentally decent despot." Regardless, this is not the Alexander of text books nor of romantic historical novels but a hybrid character, born of a great writer and director whose aim is only temporarily, I hope, off-target. Alexander is now playing at Cinemark and Cinema World. Not hopelessly bad, the movie is for the stalwart only.
OPENING
OR RETURNING: Closer: Director Mike Nichols (Angels in America) looks at the relationships of four strangers, played by Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. As A.O. Scott (NY Times) notes: "Taste, fashion and social arrangements may mutate and evolve, but in Mr. Nichols's movies, the comedy and cruelty of human relations - at work, at home, at parties, in bed - remain pretty much constant." R. Cinemark. Enduring Love: Directed by Roger Michell and starring Daniel Craig (Sylvia), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill) and Samantha Morton, film is based on Ian McEwan's novel about obsessive, unrequited love. Set in England. In a harrowing scene, bystanders attempt to hold down a hot-air balloon but are unable to do so, and one is killed. R. Bijou. Mr. 3000: Baseball player (Bernie Mac) makes a comeback when he's in danger of losing his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. With Angela Bassett and Michael Rispoli. Lots of music. PG-13. Movies 12. Night of the Hunter (1955): The only film actor Charles Laughton directed, this black and white thriller is a masterpiece of suspense and strange beauty. In a brilliant turn, Robert Mitchum plays a psychotic preacher man, who is dead set on killing his stepchildren. Also stars Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish. Script by James Agee, based on Davis Grubb's novel. At 6pm on 12/5 at DIVA. Other Side of Sunday, The (Norway, 1996): Coming of age comedy about the daughter of a conservative priest who just wants to have fun but learns instead to think for herself. Plays at 7 pm on 12/7 in International Resource Center, UO campus. Free. Team America: World Police: With animated wooden marionettes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) create an action adventure film about an international police force devoted to global stability and battling bad guys. Not for kids. R. Cinemark. Online archives. Three Seasons (Vietnam): Double prize winner at '99 Sundance, Tony Bui's beautifully rendered, sweet look at Vietnam today follows the stories of four major characters in Saigon. One is a cyclo driver who connects all the others — a young woman who picks and sells lotuses, a prostitute he falls in love with, a street boy who sells trinkets, and a returned American vet who's looking for his daughter. Lovely, human film. PG-13. Plays at 6:30 pm on 12/3 in International Lounge, UO campus above the EMU Post Office. Free. We Are Going to America: Efim Gribov's 1992 film is told through the eyes of an 11year-old, whose family moves from Russia to America, in a journey filled with wonder and dramatic adventure. At 7 pm on 12/7 in 115 Pacific. In Russian with English subtitles. Free. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: After the Sunset: Just one more heist and he'll retire, master thief Pierce Brosnan promises his girlfriend (Salma Hayek). But a pesky FBI agent (Woody Harrelson) comes to his island paradise. Bret Ratner directs; also stars the great Don Cheadle. R. Cinemark. Alexander: Oliver Stone's action adventure epic stars Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great, with Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson and Anthony Hopkins. Tedious at three hours, this epic by Oliver Stone misses the mark. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue. Bourne Supremacy, The: Paul Greengrass (writer, director of Bloody Sunday) directs Matt Damon as assassin Jason Bourne in the second installment of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers Also stars Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Kurt Urban and Franka Potente. One of the summer's best films. Highly recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason: Lackluster Bridget Jones sequel stars Renee Zellwegger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant again. Directed by Beeban Kidron, romantic comedy also stars Jacinda Barrett, Jemma Jones and Jim Broadbent. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Christmas With the Kranks: Based on John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, this comedy stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Gonzalo and Tim Allen and is directed by Joe Roth. Also stars Dan Aykroyd, Cheech Marin and M. Emmet Walsh. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. Grudge, The: The curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage kills and is passed like a virus from victim to victim. PG-13. Cinemark. Friday Night Lights: High-school football is a big deal in 1988 Odessa, Texas, and director Peter Berg has fun with the fictional locals played by Tim McGraw, Billy Bob Thornton and Jay Hernandez. PG-13. Movies 12. Hero: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen star in this rousing martial arts epic. Set in a war-torn China at the violent dawn of the Qin dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, three opponents plan to assassinate the king, but one loyal subject stands in their way. PG-13. Movies 12. I Heart Huckabees: The delirious, new laugh-out-loud comedy from David O. Russell (Three Kings, Flirting with Disaster) stars Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts and Jude Law. One of 2004's top films, it gets my very highest recommendations. R. Bijou. Online archives. Incredibles, The: Writer, director Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios create an action-adventure story set in suburbia where a former top crime fighter, Mr. Incredible, gets the call to jump back into actions. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Napoleon Dynamite: Jared Hess' indie comedy stars Jon Heder as a high schooler, who lives in Idaho with his grandmother. The Village Voice says, "the film is an epic, magisterially observed pastiche on all-American geekhood, flooring the competition with a petulant shove." PG. Movies 12. National Treasure: Directed by Jon Turteltub and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, adventure stars Nicolas Cage searching for treasure George Washington hid during the Revolutionary War. Sean Bean plays his British rival who's anxious to score the treasure first. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. Polar Express, The: Robert Zemeckis (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) directs a wholly CG animation adventure, starring Tom Hanks in multiple roles in this adaptation of children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. Called "performance capture," the technique uses actors' live-action performances to drive the emotions and movements of the digital characters. G. Cinemark. Cinema World. Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement: Anne Hathaway is being groomed to be queen of Genovia, but she has to land a husband before she can be crowned. Garry Marshall directs. Julie Andrews costars. G. Movies 12. Ray: Jamie Foxx plays late, great Ray Charles in this musical, biographical drama, directed by Taylor Hackford. Co-stars Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Dashon Howard, Richard Schiff, Aunjanue Ellis and Sharon Warren. Outstanding performance by Foxx. One of the year's finest films. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives. Resident Evil: Apocalypse: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Sandrine Holt, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps and Zack Ward must survive and escape near certain death by the ravenous undead and bioengineered weapons. R. Movies 12. Saw: James Wan's bloodthirsty horror tale about a serial killer who commits suicide, leaving would-be victims chained up, stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and Leigh Whannell. R. Cinemark. Sideways: Fresh social comedy by Alexander Payne follows two guys on a bachelor week in California wine country. Great performances by Paul Giamatti (American Splendor) and Thomas Haden Church ("Wings") sweetens the tale, as do Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. One of the best films of the year. Don't miss. R. Bijou. Online archives. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: Starring Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, this digital special effects sci-fi action film was shot without sets and locations. Brainchild: writer/director Kerry Conran in collaboration with producer Jon Avnet. Other stars include Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon and Bai Ling. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Spider Man 2: Peter Parker aka Spidey (Tobey Maguire) returns as a college student by day who still loves Kirsten Dunst and a superhero when needed against his new nemesis, Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Sam Raimi directs. Excellent film! See it. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. SpongeBob SquarePants: Animated feature starring one of Nickelodeon's most absorbing characters. Voices by Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson and others. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Surviving Christmas: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara star in this holiday comedy, in which Ben wants so badly to spend Christmas with a family, he goes to his boyhood home, meets the people now living in the house, and buys Christmas with them. PG-13. Movies 12. Taxi: If you've seen the trailer for Tim Story's movie, you'll recognize the inept police detective (Jimmy Fallon) who takes a taxi to work on his cases. Of course, with Queen Latifah behind the wheel, anything can happen. PG-13. Movies 12. Without a Paddle: High-speed comedy adventure stars Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard as clueless adventurers who go into the Oregon wilderness in search of lost treasure. PG-13. Movies 12.
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THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
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NEW
RELEASES ON VIDEO 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992): Ridley Scott's take on the Columbus Quincentennial aims "to portray Christopher Columbus not as a legend but as an extraordinary though flawed person," according to the Los Angeles Times. French mega-star Gerard Depardieu has the title role. With Sigourney Weaver, Armand Assante, Frank Langella, Tcheky Karyo. PG-13. Before Sunset: Richard Linklater takes Before Sunrise's Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) on a walking tour of Paris nine years later. They've grown but have not forgotten their time together. Special love stays in your heart. A satisfying sequel, the film rates my very highest recommendations. One of the best films of 2004.R. Online archives. Bridget Jones' Diary: Renée Zellwegger plays the neurotic but witty Londoner on the prowl for a man. Hugh Grant's her boss, and Colin Firth is an old friend. All three give excellent performances, especially Zellwegger. Sharon Maguire's directorial debut. Script by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. Funnier on second viewing, this smart, good-hearted romp is highly recommended. R. Chronicles of Riddick, The: Riddick (Vin Diesel) ends up on a multicultural planet invaded by a despot planning to subjugate everyone with his non-human warriors, the Necromongers. (Named for a bad rock band?) Also stars Thandie Newton, Alexa Davalos, Colm Feore, Linus Roache and Judi Dench. PG-13. Elf: Jon Favreau directs. Accidentally transported to the North Pole when he falls in Santa's bag, a human child grows up to be Will Ferrell, and a little disturbed that he doesn't resemble the other elves. With the help of Mr. Claus (Ed Asner) and his chief assistant (Bob Newhart), he sets out for New York in search of his biological father (James Caan). With Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen; Jon Favreau directs. PG. Fanny and Alexander (1983) Directed by Ingmar Bergman, this autobiographical film is about a year (1907) in the lives of a family, as seen by the young children, Fanny and Alexander. Videohound says, "Magic and religion, love and death, reconciliation and estrangement are skillfully captured in the carefully observed, lovingly photographed film." Stars Permillia Allwin, Bertil Guve and Gunn Wallgren. DVD 5-disc set includes the original 5-hour Swedish television version as well as the movie released in U.S. Extras: Bergman's feature-length making-of documentary, interviews with the director and actors. Gone With the Wind Collector's Edition (1939) Directed by Victor Fleming and an uncredited George Cukor, the screen version of Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, stars Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in excellent performances, also Olivia de Havilland. Others include Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel, Butterfly McQueen, Victor Jory. Best Picture Academy Award, plus a raft of others. DVD 4-disc set, digitally restored print and remastered soundtrack includes five hours of extra features as well as a full-color reproduction of the original 22-page souvenir program. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban: Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), now teenagers, return for their third year at Hogwarts. There, they are forced to face their darkest fears as they confront an escaped prisoner, Sirius Black (Gary Oldham), who poses a great threat to Harry. The three friends must also contend with the Dementors, who are sent to protect them from Black. Lots of extras on DVD 2-disc set. PG. Jesus of Montreal (1989): R. Canadian director Denys Arcand's film took Special Jury Prize at Cannes '89. Stars Lothaire Bluteau as a vagrant actor picked to play Jesus in an Easter passion play. Also stars Gilles Pelletier, Remy Girard, Catherine Wilkening, Johanne-Marie Tremblay. Haunting, beautiful and brilliantly directed. R. Ju-On The Grudge (2004, Japan: Takashi Shimizu's original 2003 horror film on which the Hollywood remake, Grudge, is based. DVD extras include commentary by Sam Raimi, interview with Shimizu, behind-the-scenes and making-of featurette, outtakes, alternate ending. R. Official Story (1985): Based on real events, this fictionalized but important film directed by Luis Puenzo is the story of an Argentine woman, unforgettably played by Norma Aleandro, who realizes her beloved, adopted daughter was probably born to parents murdered by the regime her husband supports. 1985 Academy Award for best foreign language film. Also stars Hector Alterio, Chunchua Villafane and Hugo Arana. Ragtime (1981) Milos Forman's influential screen adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's groundbreaking novel about racism stars James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Mary Steenburgen, Brad Dourif, James Olson, Kenneth McMillan. Set in 1906, it's the story of a middle-class American family and one man's determination to stand up to racial attacks. PG. Saddest Music in the World, The (2004): L.A. Weekly columnist and author John Powers says filmmaker Guy Maddin "takes our unruliest passions, douses them in irony and antique film style, then gives the whole thing an acid-house twirl. His enjoyably loopy new movie, The Saddest Music in the World …begins with a hand job and a talking tapeworm, then ends in fiery apocalypse." Film stars Maddin, Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney. DVD extras three Maddin short films as well as cast and making-of featurettes. Short Cuts (1993): Robert Altman directs a three-hour collage of nine stories about domestic discord in Southern California, starring Jack Lemmon, Andie MacDowell, Lily Tomlin, Tom Waits, Tim Robbins, Buck Henry, Anne Archer and many others. Highlights of DVD extras is a 50-minute audio interview with the late Raymond Carver, writer of the nine stories and prose poem on which the film is based, and Vintage Books companion volume of Carver's short stories. R. Stepford Wives, The: Frank Oz directs Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill and Glenn Close in this updated comedy-thriller about a perfect, 1950s-era community in Stepford, Connecticut. DVD extras include Oz's commentary, six deleted or extended scenes, numerous featurettes and a gag reel. PG-13. Online archives. Tanner on Tanner (2004): Sequel to director Robert Altman and cartoonist Gary Truedeau's "Tanner '88" stars Michael Murphy as former candidate Tanner, his documentary filmmaker daughter, Cynthia Nixon ("Sex and the City") and Pamela Reed. Four-part series follows Tanner's new adventures and ends up at the Democratic National Convention. DVD extras include interviews with Altman, Trudeau, Nixon and Murphy. Made for cable. Terminal: Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks as a tourist who has to live at Kennedy airport because his homeland disappeared in a civil war, so his passport is no good. He falls in love with Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose comic talent is wasted in a dumb-dame role, while Hanks only works part-time. Too long and too cute. PG-13. Online archives. Next Week: Hero (2004), It's All True (1993), The Keep (1983), Luther (2003), and Spider Man 2 (2004).
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