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Underdogs MILLION DOLLAR BABY: Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Paul Haggis, from stories by F.X. Toole in Rope Burns. Produced by Clint Eastwood, Paul Haggis, Tom Rosenberg, Albert S. Ruddy. Executive producers Robert Lorenz, Gary Lucchesi. Original music, Clint Eastwood. Cinematography, Tom Stern. Editor, Joel Cox. Production design, Henry Bumstead. Costumes, Deborah Hopper. (Uncredited) Hilary Swank's trainer, Grant Roberts. Starring Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman. With Brian F. O'Byrne, Margo Martindale, Riki Lindhome and Bruce MacVittie. Warner Bros., 2004. PG-13. 137 minutes.
Fight movies' action trajectory springs from hope to rejection, winning to losing, while moving toward resolution. But like most genre offerings, boxing movies often fail to connect with film art. Among the exceptions over time are some of my favorite films: Robert Rossen's 1947 Body and Soul, Elia Kazan's 1954 On the Waterfront, Martin Scorsese's 1980 Raging Bull, Jim Sheridan's 1997 The Boxer and Karyn Kusama's 1999 Girlfight. As a consummate actor's director, Clint Eastwood takes
on Million Dollar Baby, based on Rope Burns, a collection
of stories by F.X Toole, aka fight trainer Jerry Boyd. Co-starring as
well as directing, producing and composing the score, Eastwood forges
an intimate portrait of a trainer, a fledgling boxer and a former boxer
locked in-step by circumstance and fate. As the three protagonists move
toward the elusive goal of a title championship, the action shifts from
the desires and perseverance of the characters in the closed environment
of Frankie The trainer, Frankie, knows everything a boxer needs to know to win, but he doesn't know how to let his fighters go. The boxer, Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), is focused and determined but green. The ex-boxer, Eddie Dupris (Morgan Freeman), watches the initial testy interchanges between Maggie and Frankie and manipulates events to go in what he sees as the right direction. A short way into the film, the viewer realizes the characters are caught up in a drama that must run its course. The dark corners of the gym where Maggie practices and begs Frankie to train her contrast sharply with the atmospheric, bright lights of the ring where the gym regulars work out on each other. Always on the sidelines but never missing a beat, Eddie keeps his one good eye on Maggie, while nudging his crusty ex-manager and boss to give the girl a chance. Set up like a true tragedy, and in that way similar to Eastwood's 2003 triumph, Mystic River, the film follows a natural dramatic arc that brings tension from without into the relationships. Maggie visits her family in Missouri, where her mother Earline (Margo Martindale) and sister Mardell (Riki Lindhome) are eaten up with resentment toward her. They take no pains to hide their jealousy, suspicion and ridicule. At a gas station on her way out of town, Maggie spots a little girl (Morgan Eastwood) in a truck with her dog. The child looks as I imagine Maggie looked at that age: beautiful, intelligent and spirited. A transcendent glance passes between the girl and the woman, which Maggie hugs to herself. The moment is pure Eastwood: silent, evocative, emotionally complete. Unlike three other contenders for best picture, Million Dollar Baby builds from the human interactions of the main characters. Ray, The Aviator and Finding Neverland include elaborate, entertaining spectacles, while the only showy events here take place in the boxing ring between an empowered Maggie and her opponents. While both are smaller films made up of ordinary moments, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways have little else in common. The settings — the rolling hills of Southern California vineyards vs. a rundown gym on the seedy side of LA — speak to their differences. Eastwood gives the best performance of his long screen career, still making acting look easy. His laconic but sinewy presence sounds a depth no other actor could have brought to the role. Swank stretches her abilities in this physically demanding performance, yet she hits all the emotionally vulnerable notes. Certainly her best work since Boys Don't Cry, Swank is luminous. With Freeman's reassuring voice and tender gazes, he reaches way inside his character to bring up the toughness of a former boxer when it's needed. All three actors are nominated for Academy Awards. Now playing at Cinemark and Cinema World, Million Dollar Baby gets my very highest recommendations.
Roundelay BEING JULIA: Directed by István Szabó. Written by Ronny Harwood, based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1937 novel, Theatre. Produced by Robert Lantos. Cinematography, Lajos Koltai. Editor, Susan Shipton Production design, Luciana Arrighi. Composer, Mychael Danna. Costumes, John Bloomfield. Starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons, with Shaun Evans, Bruce Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes, Juliet Stevenson, Lucy Punch, Maury Chaykin, Rosemary Harris, Rita Tushingham, Tom Sturridge and Michael Gambon. Sony Pictures Classics, 2004. R. 105 minutes.
Three things to note here at the beginning: theater, theater, theater. If you're a regular fan who goes to movies with expectations of naturalistic performances, don't look here. But if you're a fixture at theatrical openings around town, come to baby. This one's for you. London stage actress Julia Lambert (Annette Bening) is bored with her life. Onstage, she's a ham. Offstage, she's hammy. Julia's husband, Michael Gosselyn (Jeremy Irons), the producer who runs the West End theater company, doesn't get it. But Julia's discontent has to do with being 40something and sexually starved, which her loyal dresser, Evie (Juliet Stevenson), picks up. Early in Act One comes an American lad in England, Tom Fennel (Shaun Evans), a fan in love with Julia. You can guess what that means. But, there is still the marriage and the theater, and the show, in both cases, must go on. Chief among Michael's admirers is a young divorcée, Ms. Crichton (Lucy Punch), who also catches Tom's eye. Both Julia's longtime fancier, Lord Charles (Bruce Greenwood), and her persistent female devotee, Dolly de Vries (Miriam Margolyes), notice Julia's a bit distracted these days, but each chalks it up to her being high-strung. Now there's the problem in a nut-shell. I found it really hard to care about Julia because she was fidgety, neurotic. Julia didn't ever strike me as a real person. The persona she projects is always in control, even with her beloved son, Roger (Thomas Sturridge), who has one of the best parts in the show. But as the film progresses and the complications pile up, it's possible to catch the impish grin behind Julia's façade as she accepts the young actress, Ms. Crichton, into the new production. Julia tolerates her husband making a fool of himself over the girl, while fashioning her own sweet revenge for Act Three, which almost saves the film. Veteran Hungarian film director István Szabó may have thought he was making a satirical stab at backstage melodrama, but this viewer was bored, bored, bored. If you haven't been reading carefully, let me point out the clichés I've laced throughout this review so far: come to baby, doesn't get it, catches [his] eye, the show must go on, [his] admirer, a young divorcée, chalks it up, high-strung, the problem in a nut-shell, complications pile up, impish grin, making a fool of himself, and sweet revenge. When reviewing a contrived — no, clichéd — film, language follows. Being Julia opens at the Bijou on Friday, Feb. 4.
OPENING
OR RETURNING: Art 21: Nationally acclaimed PBS series, followed by panel discussion. At 11 am on 2/5 in JSMA Lecture Room, UO. Being Julia: London stage darling (Annette Bening) is bored with theater, her husband (Jeremy Irons), and even her fans. Along comes a young American (Shaun Evans) to brighten her world. Academy Award nomination for Bening as best actress. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Beyond These Narrow Borders: Documentary on Seedlings of Peace camp in the Balkans. At 7 pm on 2/4 at World Café, UO. Donation. Boogeyman: Horror, terror and violence await you as Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel and others confront the boogeyman. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Cold Fever: Road trip through Iceland with yuppie Japanese fish broker whose parents died there. Stars Masatoshi Nagase, Lily Taylor, Fisher Stevens. Directed by Fridrik Thór Fridriksson. Monumental northern landscape, droll characters, funny bits. At 7 pm on 2/8 in EMU International Resource Center, UO. Free. DiG: A documentary on the once-promising American rock bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship and rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor. LateNite Bijou. Edward Said: On Orientalism, Gaza Strip. 7:15 pm on 2/7 at Cozmic Pizza. Free. Great Dictator, The (1940): Charlie Chaplin's subversive film about the rise of fascism in Germany. At 7 pm on 2/9 in 180 PLC, UO. Free. Hotel Rwanda: During the Rwandan massacres of 1994, a hotel manager named Paul Rusesabagina offered refuge to more than 1,000 Tutsis fleeing rampaging Hutus. Directed by Terry George, film stars Don Cheadle, with co-stars Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Nick Nolte. 3 Academy Award nominations: Cheadle, best actor; Okendo, supporting actress; original screenplay. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Never Name the River: "The story of the founding of the McKenzie Flyfishers and the Federation of Flyfishers, along with a few fish tales," this 45-minute film follows Bill Nelson's efforts to establish a local club, and the club's work to organize an internatioally recognized federation. Filmmakers on hand at 7 pm 2/4 at Mallard Banquet Hall, 725 W. 1st. Free. Pressure Point (1962): Based on a true story. Prison psychiatrist (Sydney Poitier) treats racist Nazi inmate (Bobby Darin). At 6 pm on 2/6 at DIVA. Seed of Chucky: Deathless demon doll ready to procreate in the fifth chapter of horror series. Chucky is voiced by Brad Dourif, while Jennifer Tilley and others act for Don Mancini. R. Movies 12. Wedding Date: Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney and Jeremy Sheffield star in a romantic comedy direted by Clare Kilner. PG-13. Cinemark. When Robots Attack: With short videos, music from LaunchPad. At 8 pm on 2/5. $5/$2 with robot costume. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: Alone in the Dark: Based on the videogame, this horror flick with lots of action stars Christian Slater, Tara Reid and Stephen Dorff. R. Cinemark. Are We There Yet?: In Brian Levant's new movie, Ice Cube takes his recently divorced girlfriend Nia Long's two kids on a road trip from Portland to Vancouver, BC, on New Year's Eve. Jay Mohr plays his best friend. PG. Cinemark. Assault on Precinct 13: Re-make of John Carpenter's 1976 low-budget classic about a remote police station under siege stars Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Maria Bello. French director Jean-François Richet works the urban thriller genre. R. Cinemark. Aviator, The: Martin Scorsese's 169-minute film about lover, aviation pioneer and eccentric billionaire industrialist Howard Hughes stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes, with Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Alan Alda, Frances Conroy and Ian Holm. DiCaprio is brilliant in the role, and Scorsese makes the film his own. One of the best films of the year. Very highest recommendations. 11 Academy Åward noms for picture, director, Di Caprio actor, Alan Alda supporting actor, Cate Blanchett supporting actress, John Logan original screenplay, Dante Ferretti art direction, Robert Richardson cinematography, Sandy Powell costumes, sound mixing, Thelma Schoonmaker film editing. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Blade: Trinity: Vampire hunter Blade (Wesley Snipes) goes after vampire leaders bringing back the rejuvenated Dracula, their progenitor, who's now called Drake.(Dominic Based on the Marvel Comics character. Co-stars Kris Kristofferson, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Biel, Parker Posey, Natasha Lyonne. R. Movies 12. Christmas With the Kranks: Based on John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, comedy stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Gonzalo, Tim Allen. Directed by Joe Roth. Also stars Dan Aykroyd, Cheech Marin and M. Emmet Walsh. PG. Movies 12. Coach Carter: Based on a true story. Samuel L. Jackson stars as a basketball coach in a Richmond, CA high school. His tough-love ethic requires players to keep up their grades and dress right. He makes national news when he benches the whole team for poor academic performance. Directed by Thomas Carter. PG-13. Cinemark. Elektra: Jennifer Garner plays Elektra, a killing machine, based on the Marvel comic book character. Co-stars Goran Visnjic ("ER"), Terence Stamp, and Abby Miller. PG-13. Movies 12. End of the Century, The Story of the Ramones: From their beginnings in a seedy Bowery bar, this band from Queens played a "violently new and raw sound," which "resonated with two generations of outcasts across the globe." LateNite Bijou. Fat Albert: Bill Cosby character debuts in a live-action and animated film based on Cosby's stand-up routines about growing up in Philly. Directed by Joel Zwick. PG. Movies 12. Finding Neverland: Johnny Depp stars as British playwright J.M. Barrie, based on Allan Knee's play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan. Directed by Marc Foster, it co-stars Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell and Dustin Hoffman. Winslet and Depp's performances are radiant, but the real star of the show is 12 year-old Freddie Highmore, playing Peter Llewelyn Davies, who inspired Barrie's play. Heartbreaking, gorgeous and probably too complicated for young children. 7 Academy Award noms for best picture, Depp actor, David Magee adapted screenplay, original score, Gemma Jackson art direction, Alexandra Byrne costumes, Matt Chesse film editing. PG. Cinema World. Online archives. Flight of the Phoenix: Using Robert Aldrich's 1965 adventure film as his base, John Moore updates the main story, in which crash survivors in the vast, remote Gobi Desert attempt to put their fractured plane together and fly out. Stars include Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Quaid and Jacob Vargas. PG-13. Movies 12. 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. Movies 12. Hide and Seek: Robert DeNiro plays a recently widowed father desperate to break through to his daughter (Dakota Fanning), who has an imaginary friend with a terrifying agenda. Directed by John Polson. Co-stars Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue, Amy Irving, Dylan Baker. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. House of Flying Daggers, The: Zhang Yimou's martial arts film about a secret society that destroys an evil Tang Dynasty regional government. Stars Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Exciting, beautiful. Highest reommendations. Academy Award nomination to Zhao Xiaoding for cinematography. PG-13. Cinema World. Online archives. In Good Company: Comedy written, directed by Paul Weitz is about the relationship between an older man (Dennis Quaid) and his much younger boss (Topher Grace). Scarlett Johansson co-stars. Sweet comio insights on workplace changes and what really matters: career or home? PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Ladder 49: Stars John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix) as Baltimore firemen. PG. Movies 12. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events: The misadventures of three orphans who fall into the hands of an evil count are popular with children and adults. Jim Carrey stars, with many co-stars. Directed by Brad Silberling. PG. Cinemark. Meet the Fockers: Jay Roach directs Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Dustin Hoffman, Barbara Streisand. Culture clash. Surprisingly funny and heart-warming, with a lovable performance by Hoffman. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Million Dollar Baby: Clint Eastwood, who directed, produced and composed the music for this film, co-stars with Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman in this story of a spunky fighter, a reluctant trainer and an ex-boxer who looks after the gym. One of 2004's best films. Very highest recommendations. 7 Academy Award nominations for best picture, Eastwood director, Eastwood actor, Hilary Swank actress, Morgan Freeman supporting actor, Paul Haggis adapted screenplay and Joel Cox film editing. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue. Phantom of the Opera, The: The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is brought to the screen by Joel Schumacher, starring Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson. Under Schumacher's insipid direction, kitsch dominates. If you already love the work, you may enjoy the film, but its way too-sweet for me. 3 Academy Award nominations for original song, art direction and John Mathieson cinematography. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Racing Stripes: A farmer (Bruce Greenwood) and his daughter (Hayden Panettiere raise a baby zebra to become a champion racer. Live action, computer animation. Voices by Frankie Muniz, Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Snoop Dogg. PG. Cinemark. Ray: Jamie Foxx plays late, great Ray Charles in this musical, biographical drama directed by Taylor Hackford. Co-stars Kerry Washington, Regina King. Outstanding performance by Foxx. One of the year's finest films. 6 Academy Award nominations for best picture, Taylor Hackford director, Jamie Foxx actor, Sharen Davis costumes, sound mixing and Paul Hirsch film editing. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Shall We Dance: American remake of the sublime Japanese film of the same title. Jennifer Lopez plays the dance teacher; Richard Gere is the shy man who learns to dance. See the original. PG-13. Movies 12. Shark Tale: Computer-animated feature. Lovable tropical fish (Will Smith) takes on the underwater Mafia when he assumes responsibility for killing the godfather of the Great White Sharks. Voices include Jack Black, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Martin Scorsese; Eric Bergeron. 2 Academy Award nomination for animated feature, original song. PG. Movies 12. Sideways: Alexander Payne's social comedy 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. Academy Award nominations for best picture, director, Church supporting actor, Madsen supporting actress, Payne and Jim Taylor adapted screenplay. R. Bijou. Cinemark. Online archives. SpongeBob SquarePants: Animated feature starring one of Nickelodeon's most absorbing characters. Voices: Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson. PG. Movies 12. Very Long Engagement, A: Jean-Pierre Jeunet's WWI film stars Audrey Tatou who refuses to believe her lover is dead and persists in unravelling the mystery of what happened to him during the war. Golden scenes from peacetime France contrast boldly with the tortured earth and death-drenched trenches of this horrific war. Free of whimsey and sentiment. Very highest recommendations. 2 Academy Award noms: for Aline Bonetto art direction and Bruno Delbonnel cinematography. Bijou. Online archives. White Noise: Stars Michael Keaton as an architect who thinks his dead wife (Chandra West) is talking to him through electronic devices in their home. Geoffrey Sax directs; Deborah Kara Unger, Ian McNeice co-star. PG-13. Cinemark.
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
Theaters
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