Eugene Weekly : Movies : 04.20.06

.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.

Akeelah and the Bee: 11-year-old Akeelah (Keke Palmer) has a gift for words. Though her mother (Angela Bassett) isn't behind her, Akeelah (with the help of tutor Laurence Fishburne) enters spelling bees, eventually winning a chance to compete nationally. PG. Sneak peek at 7:30 pm April 22 at Cinemark.

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). PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.

Animation Show, The: A collection of the world's best short animated films, as selected by Mike Judge and Academy Award-nominated animator Don Hertzfeldt. Not rated. Bijou LateNite.

Banff Mountain Film Festival: Two nights of inspiring, thought-provoking environmental and adventure mountain films from around the world. Different line-ups play at 7 pm April 21 and 22 at the McDonald Theatre. $10 adv., $12 dos.

DisOrient Asian American Film Festival Best Of: The best short films from the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival, which highlights independent films by and/or about Asian-Americans. Plays at 7 pm April 22 in room 226 of LCC's Center for Meeting and Learning. Free.

Drum Corps International Classic Countdown Big Screen Concert: The top 12 drum corps performances of all time, selected from more than 4 decades of DCI finals performances. The last performance shown is the winning corps, as selected by fans voting online. Plays at 7 pm April 27 at Cinemark. $12.50.

Eight Below: Two men fighting for their lives in the stormy Arctic are air-rescued but must leave their loyal dogs behind. PG. Movies 12.

Friends with Money: Nicole Holofcener (Lovely & Amazing) directs a quartet of stellar actresses, three of which (Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and Frances McDormand) are worried about their single friend Olivia (Jennifer Aniston) — though all have troubles of their own. R. Bijou. Cinemark. See review this issue.

Hippies: Local filmmaker S. Michael Phillips premieres his comedic road trip, which follows five friends from Berkeley as they travel to Eugene for Preservation Week. Hijinks — of the hippie sort — ensue. Shot and edited in Eugene with local actors and crew. Plays at 8 pm April 20 at the McDonald Theatre and April 21-23 at Bijou LateNite.

Hollywood North: In this satirical look at the film industry, Matthew Modine stars as a director whose production is going to the dogs — and lucky for him, a documentary crew is along to capture the whole thing on film. R. Plays at 7 pm April 20 in 180 PLC, UO. Free.

Lilja 4-Ever: Director Lukas Moodysson shows the dark side of Russian teenhood as 16-year-old Lilja and 11-year-old Volodya, outcast and abandoned, struggle to survive in a derelict suburb. R. Plays at 7 pm April 26 in 111 Pacific, UO. Free.

Madea's Family Reunion: Writer-director Tyler Petty in drag again as the matriarch of an extended family. PG-13. Movies 12.

Munich: Steven Spielberg's already controversial film about the secret Mossad assassins who tracked down the masked Palestinian terrorists who murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. Screenplay by Tony Kushner (Angels in America), film stars Eric Bana, Geoffrey Rush, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz and Ciaran Hinds. Underrated film is seen as a vengeance flick, but it's really about what happens to a man (Eric Bana, who should have been nominated for an Academy Award), whose loyalty to Israel is without question but who holds disturbing doubts about his actions. Very highest recommendations. R. Movies 12. Online archives.

Pink Panther: Bumbling French Inspector Jacques Clousseau (Steve Martin) must solve the murder of a world-famous soccer coach and catch the thief who stole his priceless diamond ring in this prequel to the 1964 classic. Also stars Kevin Kline, Jean Reno & Beyonce. PG. Movies 12.

Revolution Will Not Be Televised, The: Documentary about the brief 2002 coup during which Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was forcibly removed from office — and reinstated just two days later. Not rated. Plays at 7 pm April 25 in the EMU's Walnut Room, UO. Free.

Sentinel, The: When TV stars attack! Uh, just kidding. But Keifer Sutherland ("24") and Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives") co-star with Michael Douglas, who plays a Secret Service agent who may or may not be trying to murder the president. Let's hope there's more suspense in the movie than the preview suggests. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.

Silent Hill: Sure, it's based on a video game, but it stars Radha Mitchell (High Art) and Sean Bean. Shouldn't that be good for something? Mitchell plays a mother whose quest to heal her terminally ill daughter takes a detour to the creepy titular town. R. Cinemark. Cinema World.

Ultraviolet: Sci-fi fantasy stars Milla Jovovich and Cameron Bright. PG-13. Movies 12.

CONTINUING:

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 Spade, 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.

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 14 shows at 9 pm April 26 in 111 Pacific, UO.

Chronicles of Narnia, The: 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. Movies 12. Online archives.

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. PG-13. Movies 12.

Firewall: As creator of a state-of-the-art security system for a Seattle-area bank, Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) has cemented his reputation as a man who's thought of everything. But when a criminal (Paul Bettany) finds a way into Jack's personal life by targeting his family, everything Jack holds dear is suddenly at stake. PG-13. Movies 12.

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.

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.

Hoodwinked: Animated comedy gives Little Red Riding Hood's adventures at Grandmother's house a real kick in the seat. Stars Xzibit, Anthony Anderson, Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Warburton and Jim Belushi. PG. Movies 12. See review this issue.

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 where 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.

Lucky Number Slevin: Josh Hartnett comes between two dapper crime lords (Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley) in a case of mistaken identity. Or is it? Lucy Liu also stars as the girl next door. R. Cinemark. Online archives.

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. Movies 12. Online archives.

Scary Movie 4: Director David Zucker (Airplane!) takes on the fourth entry in the seemingly endless series, which sends up War of the Worlds, The Grudge, The Village, Saw and more. Stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall with an outlandish array of celebrity cameos, including Shaq, Dr. Phil and Lil' John. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.

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.

Thank You for Smoking: Jason Reitman (the son of director Ivan Reitman) directs Aaron Eckhart and a strong supporting cast in this sharp-eyed, satirical look at the tobacco industry. R. Bijou. Online archives.

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.

Wild, The: Keifer Sutherland and Janeane Garofalo are among the actors voicing critters on a quest to rescue one of their own, who somehow got accidentally shipped off to the jungle. Madagascar, anyone? (William Shatner appears as a wicked wildebeest.) G. Cinemark. Cinema World.

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