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Mythic Archetypes Here STAR WARS EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH: Written and directed by George Lucas. Produced by Rick McCallum. Executive producer, George Lucas. Cinematography, David Tattersall. Production design, Gavin Bocquet. Editors Roger Barton, Ben Burtt. Costumes, Trisha Biggar. Sound, Ben Burtt. Music, John Williams. Starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson and Christopher Lee. With Jimmy Smits, Peter Mayhew, Ahmed Best, Oliver Ford Davies, Temuera Morrison, Anthony Daniels, Silas Carson, Kenny Baker. Twentieth Century Fix, 2005. PG-13. 143 minutes.
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but I was so bored by Episode III's senseless aerial battles, heartless and humorless humans, grotesque aliens, corrupt officials and unrelenting galactic warfare between faceless robots that I drummed my nails, glanced at my watch, shifted in my theater seat and dug around in my purse looking for chocolates long before the first hour was over. This can't be right, I thought. Didn't the highly respected Joseph Campbell praise George Lucas for making contemporary the ancient myth of the hero in his original Star Wars? Where's the myth here, I asked, mentally staggering from the overload of computer generated and special effects in the opening aerial battle scenes. The battle takes place in the outer atmosphere of the planet that's home to the Republic and the Jedi Knights. Filled with action, the screen shows clever Jedi out-maneuvering evil aliens; space craft blowing up; gigantic, burning ships falling apart in the sky, fierily plunging toward the planet. Processing overwhelming information and activity leaves the viewer no time to reflect and no empty space to fill in with her or his imagination. The filmmaker has done it all for us, like a video game or an arcade game. And if the carnage of war isn't your fantasy, you're SOL. Galactic in scope or close-up in repetitive, interminable light-saber fights, Revenge of the Siths is about fighting, killing, maiming. True mythology on the other hand offers guidance, shows consequences, honors conflict and leaves room for imagining a unique solution to an individual's dilemma. Heroes, such as those in Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces, are multifaceted and flawed, while villains are rarely metallic monsters or evil incarnate as pictured here. Despite its fairy tale beginning, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away … " Episode III is pure showbiz hokum. In Lucasland, all eyes are on the prize: money, and lots of it. The film will make obscene profits not only from the film's record-setting, four-day opening domestic weekend, but also from its lucrative foreign theatrical box office, eventual television, video and DVD sales, and myriad commercial spin-offs such as apparel, toys, dolls, fast-food franchise merchandise, cell phone rings, soft drinks, etc. As the press material gamely notes in a section modestly called The Force Will Be With You … Always: "Without doubt, Star Wars remains firmly entrenched in every aspect of our lives." Whoa there, Georgie. Rein in that hyperbole. "Every aspect" of my life is not affected by The Force of commercialism you have set in motion, and neither is that of any self-respecting adult in the country. Just say no, parents. Unfortunately, with howlers such as "Hold me as you did on Naboo," even a talented actor such as Natalie Portman (Padmé Amadala) can only smile and go on. For other actors, simply their names render them incapable of being taken seriously. Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) speaks his wooden lines as if every word pains him, while Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), General Grevious (voice, Matthew Wood) and Darth Sidius (Ian McDiarmid) are made fools before they speak. The good guys, Yoda (Frank Oz) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), are allowed their dignity, as much as can be mustered for a short, green creature with large ears and a manly, bearded man in a long skirt. John Williams' music soothes at its lyrical best, but it is also intrusive and annoying. I prefer emotion be carried by actors rather than by music that mediates and smothers all feelings. Only one scene expresses its own pathos, but I imagine the final clink which leaves Darth Vader to his fate will resonate for many as the repercussion earned from bad decisions. See it if you will; see it if you must. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith is now playing in multiple theaters at Cinemark and Cinema World. I give it one, begrudging star and apologize to all 11-year-old boys who love the film.
Childhood's
Fragility NOBODY KNOWS (Dare mo shiranai) (Japan, 2004): Written, directed, edited and produced by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Executive producer Yutaka Shigenobu. Cinematography Yutaka Yamasaki. Production design, Toshihiro Isomi, Keiko Mitsumatsu. Original music composed and performed by Titi Matsumura, Gonzalez Mikami. Sound, Yutaka Tsurumaki. Starring Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizi, Hanae Kan and You. IFC Films, 2005. PG-13. 141 minutes. 2004 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor for Yûya Yagira.
In 1988 Japanese newspapers ran a big story about four children abandoned by their mother in Tokyo. The oldest boy took care of his younger siblings, and they lived alone in their small apartment for six months before anyone noticed. The children each had different, absent fathers, who did not help them. The children had never attended school, and three had no birth records. One of Japan's most original filmmakers, Hirokazu Kore-eda (After Life, 1998), followed the story in the press and was moved to write a screenplay. He said he thought about the children for 15 years, then shot the film chronologically over the period of a year. He hired amateur actors for the children's roles. Employing documentary techniques, Kore-eda got lovely performances from all the children. But a star-turn by 12-year-old Yûya Yagira as Akira, the eldest son, is the glue that holds the whole enterprise in exquisite balance. Kore-eda wrote that he wanted to show the "richness" of the children's life "as seen from inside," which he accomplishes. The film is testament to the remarkable resilience of children to adapt to new circumstances and to their touching pleasure in small things. In the film, the mother is little more than a child herself. Upbeat and kind of silly, her darker side is that she parties and spends time with boyfriends who don't know she has kids. She gives the children "lessons," teaches them numbers and how to read. She tells them to stay inside the apartment, be quiet and mind Akira. And one night she leaves them with a little money, an empty promise to return, and a note to Akira, putting him in charge of everything. The other siblings include 10-year-old Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura), who secretly longs to live like other girls and go to school. Seven-year-old Shigeru (Hiei Kimura) is a boisterous boy who needs to be outside, running and playing. Five-year-old Yuki (Momoko Shimizu) is a sunny girl who makes art and plays all day. Akira's same-age school friend, Saki (Hanae Kan), also has family problems. She eventually quits school and visits the apartment. Although their mood grows more somber over time, the children find much to enjoy with each other. But when the money runs out, Akira is desperate. He knows that contacting the authorities is not the solution, because the family would be split up, and none of them want that. The suspense over what will happen next is as intense as in an action adventure film. My anxiety level was high. The film slows down as the hungry children become listless. There is such dignity in how they try to keep alive their expectations that their mother will return. One of the film's joyful moments comes when the youngest girl, Saki, who has never been outside the apartment, persuades Akira to take her to look for their mother. She wears little squeaky sandals that will break your heart. Another poignant moment involves Akira getting drafted to play baseball for a school team. He dresses in a uniform and looks like all the others. And while Kore-eda's cinematically beautiful film is almost unbearably sad, the worst feeling is knowing that children are left homeless and abandoned every day in this country and indeed in all the world's cities. Childhood poverty and hunger in our own community are no less urgent than Tokyo's. Do your part to help solve such societal neglect. Nobody Knows, tender and unforgettable, gets my highest recommendations. It opens at the Bijou Friday May 27. See it early or it may be gone.
OPENING
OR RETURNING: Cinderella Man: Russell Crowe stars as real-life, Depression Era boxer Jim Braddock; Renee Zellwegger plays his supportive wife, Mae. Directed by Ron Howard, picture also stars the great Paul Giamatti. Sneak at 7:30 pm on 5/29. Cinemark. End of Suburbia: Oil depletion and the collapse of the American Dream: At 7 pm on 5/26 at Hilyard Community Center. Free. Fever Pitch: The Farrelly brothers direct a Lowell Ganz screenplay based on a Nick Hornby novel about a fanatic Red Sox fan (Jimmy Fallon) who may have to choose between the team and a woman (Drew Barrymore) he loves. PG-13. Movies 12. Goonies: Written by Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus and directed by Richard Donner, this action fantasy tracks brothers who find a treasure map and try to get the goods before the goons get them. Stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Martha Plimpton. PG-13. LateNite Bijou. Hostage: Former LAPD hostage-negotiator Bruce Willis moves his family to a low-crime town in Ventura County where criminal teenagers hold them hostage, and he must take over the crime scene investigation. A film by Florent Siri. R. Movies 12. Joint Security Area (2000): At 7 pm on 6/1 in 180 PLC, UO campus. Free. Kung-Fu Hustle: In pre-revolutionary China, a small-time thief aspires to belong to an underworld gang. Stephen Chow's satiric send-up of kung-fu movies has garnered positive reviews. LA Weekly calls it a "slapstick martial-arts masterpiece." R. LateNite Bijou. Online archives. Longest Yard, The: Lots of world-class athletes from NFL players to kick-boxers and wrestlers star along with Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock in this comic tall tale of a group of diverse inmates who team up to play against their guards. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Looking Glass, The (USSR, 1974): Great Russian director Andrei Tarkovskii's memoir of three generations of a family through their memories, dreams, newsreels and poetry. In Russian with English subtitles. At 7 pm on 5/31 in 115 Pacific, UO. Free. Madagascar: Computer-animated comedy stars voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith as animals who escape from the Central Park Zoo for a big city adventure. But they are captured and put on a ship headed for Africa, where they must survive in the wild. Directed by Eric Darnell (Antz) and Tom McGrath ("The Ren and Stimpy Show"). PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous: Lucky FBI Agent Sandra Bullock has an outspoken partner (Regina King) who calls her "Barbie" and keeps her straight. Enrique Murciano, William Shatner, Heather Burns, Treat Williams co-star. Directed by John Pasquin. PG-13. Movies 12. Nobody Knows: Based on the true story of four Japanese youngsters abandoned by their mother in a Tokyo apartment, this film by Hirokazu Kore-eda (After Life ) is cinematically gorgeous, with outstanding performances. Almost unbearably sad but so worth seeing for its exquisite picture of the fragility of childhood. Very highest recommendations. PG-13. Bijou. See review this issue. Pacifier, The: Disgraced Navy SEAL Shane Wolf (Vin Diesel) is given a new assignment to protect 5 kids from enemies of their recently deceased father – a government scientist whose top secret experiment is still in the house. Thriller? Drama? Tear-jerker? Nope, it's a comedy. PG. Movies 12. Pollock: Ed Harris makes his directorial debut in this biopic about the great American abstract expressionist painter, Jackson Pollock, played to near perfection by Harris. Marcia Gay Harden plays his wife, painter Lee Krasner. Explosive, excellent film. Harden won 2000 Academy Award for supporting role. R. At 7:30 pm on 5/31 in 177 Lawrence, UO campus. Online archives. Up and Down: Film by director Jan Hrebejk (Divided We Fall) is set in contemporary Czech Republic. Two smugglers near the border discover their cargo of illegal Indian immigrants have left behind a baby. Sounds like a great premise. Catch this one soon. R. Bijou. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: Amityville Horror, The: Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George star in this psychological horror about a family's dream home turned nightmare. A remake of the 1979 blockbuster and based on a true story, this suspenseful film directed by Andrew Douglas is sure to chill you. R. Movies 12. 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. Movies 12. Crash: Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) wrote, directed and produced this urban drama set in Los Angeles, which looks at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. Stars Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and Lorenz Tate. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room: Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney wades into the Enron debacle and tracks the primary culprits — Andrew Fastow, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling — as they orchestrate the spectacular demise of a once-respectable natural gas pipe-line company into the greediest kid on the block. Based on Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind best-seller. Very highest recommendations. Bijou. Online archives. Hitch: Will Smith stars in this romantic comedy as a New York "date doctor" who helps hapless men woo the women of the their dreams. Costars Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Eva Mendes, Michael Rappaport and Adam Arkin. Directed by Andy Tennant. PG-13. Movies 12. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Irreverent sci-fi comedy based on the late Douglas Adams' cult novel follows the adventures in space of the most ordinary man in the world, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman). Dent and his best friend (Mos Def) barely make it off the planet before it is demolished to make way for a hyperspace freeway. Directed by Garth Jennings, film also stars Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, John Malkovich, Warwick Davis, Helen Mirren, Thomas Lennon, Anna Chancellor, Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy; with Stephen Fry as the narrator. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Ice Princess: Fantasy about a smart high-school student who must choose between a career in physics (and a chance to go to Harvard) and a career as an ice skater. Hmm. Stars Michelle Trachtenberg as Casey, Joan Cusack as her mother, and Kim Cattrall ("Sex and the City") as a former ice skater. G. Movies 12. Interpreter, The: Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, and Catherine Keener star in Sydney Pollack's assassination-threat film set inside the actual United Nations building in New York. Kidman is a UN interpreter; Penn's a Secret Service agent. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Kicking and Screaming: Will Ferrell and Robert Duvall as rival youth soccer team coaches. Directed by Jesse Dylan, it also stars Mike Ditka and Kate Walsh. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. Kingdom of Heaven: Set in the 12th Century, this epic Crusades film is directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator). It stars Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and Eva Green. Highly recommended. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives. Millions: Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, this enjoyable fantasy about two brothers who discover a satchel full of money, then find different ways of spending it. Recommended. PG-13. Bijou. Online archives. Monster-in-Law: Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez duke it out verbally in this comedy directed by Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde). Also stars Michael Vartan and Wanda Sykes. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Off the Map: An unusual family lives in the high-desert sagebrush near Taos, New Mexico, in the mid-1970s, when an IRS man comes to audit their taxes but stays and becomes part of the family. Directed by Scott Campbell (The Secret Lives of Dentists) from a play by Joan Ackerman, this offbeat drama stars Joan Allen, Sam Elliot, Valentina de Angelis and Jim True-Frost. Let the film cast its spell. Highly recommended. Bijou. Online archives. Robots: Chris Wedge's amusing tale of a robot lad who dreams of being an inventor. This creative world of mechanical beings is never dull because these endearing, pieced-together, talking tin cans convey comfort and safety. Voices by Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Greg Kinnear. Not preachy, but a good teaching tale about differences. Warmly recommended. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: The long-awaited final episode in George Lucas's series stars Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman. From Village Voice reviewer Ed Halter: "Lucas packs his latest with physics-defying deep-space dogfights and zhoozhing lightsaber battles, frequently cutting back and forth between two simultaneous melees on separate planets, deploying his signature Flash Gordon wipes." PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue. Unleashed: Jet Li stars as a "human pit bull" raised by a Scottish guardian (Bob Hoskins), who runs underground matches. Morgan Freeman is a blind piano teacher who changes Li's life. R. Cinemark.
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
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