Eugene Weekly : Movies : 03.30.06
.MOVIE LISTINGS | MOVIE REVIEW ARCHIVE | THEATER INFO
OPENING OR RETURNING:
Films open the Friday following date of EW publication unless otherwise noted. See archived movie reviews.
American Dreamz Satirical spin on American Idol stars Hugh Grant as the bitter judge of a singing contest, Mandy Moore as a determined contestant and Sam Golzari as a show tune-loving terrorist. Directed by Paul Weitz (yes, he of American Pie). Free sneak peek at 8 pm April 11 at the Bijou. R.
Ask the Dust Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek star in writer-director Robert Towne's adaptation of a John Fante novel about a novelist in L.A. and the waitress he falls in love with. R. Bijou.
Aquamarine: Mermaid Aquamarine washes ashore and into the lives of two teenaged girls. Based on Alice Hoffman's popular book and directed by Elizabeth Allen, movie stars Emma Roberts, Joanna Levesque, Sarah Paxton and Jake McDorman. PG. Movies 12.
Benchwarmers, The Got picked last for kickball? So did these guys. David Space, Jon Heder (aka Napoleon Dynamite) and Rob Schneider play grown-up geeks who start a baseball tournament to get revenge on nasty Little League teams. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Caché Writer-director Michael Haneke's creepy and fascinating film mixes the personal and the political as it follows a family that's been receiving mysterious, unlabeled videotapes of their own lives. R. Bijou. See review this issue.
Cars — Live! Filmed at Radio Bremen Studios in Germany, this is the record of The Cars' only European tour. Not rated. Bijou LateNite.
Country of the Deaf A deaf nightclub dancer, Yaya, hides a friend from those seeking retribution for her boyfriend's gambling debts. Yaya dreams of the "country of the deaf," a land of kindness and justice, in this 1998 film by director Valerii Todorovskii. Plays at 7 pm April 12 in 111 Pacific, UO.
Freedomland: A single mother (Julianne Moore) reports a car-jacking with her son still in the car. Based on Richard Price's best-selling novel, this racially charged thriller is directed by Joe Roth and also stars Samuel Jackson. R. Movies 12.
Glory Road: Directed by James Gartner and based on a true story, the film follows Coach Dan Haskins (Josh Lucas) lead his 1966 Texas Western all-black starting line-up college basketball team to the NCAA national championship title. PG. Movies 12.
Grizzly Man: Werner Herzog's documentary about grizzly activist Timothy Treadwell who lived among the wild bears of Kodiak, Alaska for 17 summers, including 2003, the year of his death and that of his companion, Amie Hugunard. Part footage shot by Treadwell, part interviews and locations Herzog shot, this is a brilliant but disturbing work. Plays at 6:30 pm April 6 in 110 Willamette, UO. R. Online archives.
Lucky Number Slevin Josh Hartnett comes between two dapper crime lords (Bruce Willis and Ben Kingsley) in a case of mistaken identity. Or is it? Lucy Liu also stars as the girl next door. R. Cinemark. Cinema World.
New World, The: Terrence Malick's new adventure drama re-imagines the first meeting between explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and his shipmates with the Native Americans who inhabited the land they intended to claim. The Algonquian Chief's favorite daughter (Q'Orianka Kilcher) saves Smith's life. Ecstatic and beautiful, it's a great film, not to be missed. One of 2005's very best films. PG-13. Online archives. Movies 12.
Take the Lead: Stars Antonio Banderas as Pierre Dulane, a New York City ballroom dance teacher who taught inner-city kids to move their feet. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
CONTINUING:
ATL: Loosely based on filmmakers Dallas Austin and Tionne Watkins' experience growing up on the south side of Atlanta. Tip Harris stars as a frustrated artist whose life is changed by the appearance of New-New, a girl with secrets of her own. Directed by music video vet Chris Robinson. PG-13. Cinemark. See review this issue.
Basic Instinct 2: Sharon Stone is back as Catherine Trammell, now a best-selling crime novelist. To no one's surprise, she winds up on the wrong side of the law. Also stars David Morrissey, David Thewlis and Charlotte Rampling. Directed by Michael Caton-Jones. R. Cinemark.
Brigade, The: Aleksei Sidorov's 2002 critical and popular tale of the Russian "Mafia." The story follows four best friends as they choose a life of crime. Episode 12 shows at 9 pm April 12 in 111 Pacific, UO.
Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Four siblings walk into a magic land and meet astonishing creatures who change their lives forever. Based on C.S. Lewis' timeless stories, the film is directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson. It stars Tilda Swinton, Rupert Everett, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone and children: Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley and William Moseley. 2005 Academy Award for makeup. PG. Online archives. Movies 12.
Curious George: The Man in the Yellow Hat (Will Ferrell) tries his best to tame Curious George in this animated version of the beloved children's series. The inquisitive chimp passes the time by sipping lattes, ruining a woman's bubble bath and getting carried away by a bunch of balloons. Other voices include Drew Barrymore, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright and Dick Van Dyke. G. Movies 12.
Date Movie: This spoof of the prolific romantic comedy genre that stars Alyson Hannigan, Jennifer Coolidge and Fred Willard is rated PG-13 for "continuous crude and sexual humor." Continuous. How can you go wrong? It's bound to be another laugh-until-you-pee movie from the writers of Scary Movie, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. PG13. Movies 12.
Failure to Launch: Sarah Jessica Parker is a professional who aims to move Matthew McConaughey out of his parent's home. Also stars Zooey Deschanel, Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Fun With Dick and Jane: Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni star as middle-class thieves in Dean Parisot's remake of the limp 1977 comedy starring Jane Fonda and George Segal. Also stars Alec Baldwin and Angie Harmon. PG-13. Movies 12.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown: Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo) and Diego (Denis Leary) are back for another adventure. The animals are excited that the ice is melting — it's a paradise of water parks! But whre is all that new water going to go? PG. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Inside Man: Spike Lee's new film is a hostage drama in which a tough cop (Denzel Washington) matches wits with a bank robber (Clive Owen), with Jodie Foster the situation's wild card. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.
King Kong: Peter Jackson's highly anticipated re-imagining of the original film stars Naomi Watts as an actress, Jack Black as an adventurous filmmaker, and Adrien Brody as a playwright. Their troubles begin when they capture a giant ape and bring him to the city. Love this movie! Very highest recommendations. 2005 Academy Awards: visual effects, sound editing and sound mixing. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.
Larry The Cable Guy, Health Inspector: Larry investigates a rash of food poisoning cases at swanky big-city restaurants. But will his unorthodox methods cost him his job? Do you care? PG-13. Cinemark.
Memoirs of a Geisha: Rob Marshall (Chicago) directs the screen version of the 1997 Arthur Golden novel, which is about a poor girl who becomes the most celebrated geisha of her time. The film stars the beautiful and talented Ziyi Zhang, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh, with Ken Watanabe as the leading man. 2005 Academy Awards: art direction, set decoration; cinematography, Doion Beebe; costume design, Colleen Atwood. PG-13. Movies 12.
Nanny McPhee: Emma Thompson plays a frightful looking nanny with magical powers who enters the household of a recently widowed Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) to help control his seven ill-behaved children. Directed by Kirk Jones, film also stars Celia Imrie, Thomas Sangster, Angela Lansbury, Derek Jacobi, Imelda Staunton. PG. Movies 12.
Neil Young: Heart of Gold: Jonathan Demme directs this concert film, shot over two nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. PG. Bijou.
Real Dirt on Farmer John, The: Third-generation Midwest farmer John Peterson works to combine his artistic ways and his on-again, off-again desire to keep working his family's farm. Bijou. Online archives.
Shaggy Dog: Tim Allen and a big shaggy dog star in this Disney flick. PG. Cinemark.
She's the Man: Start with Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night," add in adolescent love and soccer-mania and you get this romantic comedy starring Amanda Bynes (What a Girl Wants) in which mistaken identities and cross-gender relationships abound. PG-13. Cinemark.
Slither: James Gunn's (Dawn of the Dead) creepy horror film finds strange critters appearing in a small American town. Stars Michael Rooker, Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion, who was last seen aboard Serenity. R. Cinemark.
Stay Alive: A group of friends find themselves in possession of a violent video game called Stay Alive. One of them has already died brutally, but the rest still play the game, even though they know they shouldn't. And you know what happens to them next. PG-13. Cinemark.
V for Vendetta: From the pages of David Lloyd & Alan Moore's graphic novel springs "V" (Hugo Weaving), a masked freedom fighter who's taken up arms against the totalitarian government in a furutistic Britain. Finding an unlikely ally in a young woman, Evey (Natalie Portman), V urges the citizenry to fight the oppression of the state. Andy & Larry Wachowski (The Matrix) wrote the screenplay. R. Cinemark. Online archives.
When a Stranger Calls: Teen horror flick directed by Simon West, stars Camilla Belle as the babysitter who receives terrifying phone calls from inside the house! Also stars Brian Geraghty, Katie Cassidy and Clark Gregg. PG-13. Movies 12.
World's Fastest Indian: The life story of New Zealander Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins), who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle—a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record in 1967. Sweet movie is very strongly recommended. PG13. Cinema World. Online archives.
MOVIE THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.
Bijou Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th
Regal Cinemas
Cinema World 342-6536 | Valley River Center
Springfield Quad 726-9073 |
Cinemark Theaters
Movies 12 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
Cinemark 17 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
