Eugene Weekly : Movies : 05.25.06

.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.

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. 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. Movies 12.

L'Enfant (The Child): A young couple, Sonia and Bruno, live in a Belgian steel town, scraping by on panhandling, petty theft and unemployment benefits. Everything changes — and not for the better — when their son is born and Bruno makes a horrifying choice. The latest film from directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne has earned raves from critics and won the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. R. Bijou.

Mudflow: Yaropolk Lapshin's 2003 film follows the life of Akhmed, who searches out his only remaining relative after his home is destroyed and family killed by a mudslide. Plays at 7pm May 31 in 111 Pacific, UO. Free.

Promise, The: The latest film from award-winning Chinese director Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) is a lavish but muddled epic fantasy of cursed love, fate and mistaken identity. And, of course, some reasonably cool fights. PG-13. Bijou. See review this issue.

Queer Movie Night Under the Stars: Three evenings of queer film, including Margaret Cho's Assassin! (7pm) and Solider's Girl (10pm) on May 31; Beautiful Boxer (7pm) and But I'm a Cheerleader (10pm) on June 1; Transamerica (7pm) and Bettie Page: Dark Angel (10pm) on June 2. East Lawn, EMU, UO. Free.

Rockers: Classic reggae film about the lives of musicians in Jamaica. Starring Leroy Wallace and Richard Hall with appearances by Gregory Isaacs and Burning Spear and music by a host of reggae superstars. Not rated. Bijou LateNite.

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. Movies 12.

Trouble in Paradise: The Disappearing of Tuvalu: Documentary explores the devastating effects of global warming on the tiny South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. Plays at 7 pm May 30 in 110 Willamette, UO. Online archives (3/9/06).

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 futuristic 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. Movies 12. Online archives.

Woman in the Dunes: A Japanese entomologist trapped in a large hole in the desert finds he's not alone. Hiroshi Teshigahara's 1964 film has drawn comparisons to the existentialist work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Samuel Beckett. Not rated. Plays at 7pm May 26 in the International Resource Center, EMU, UO. Free.

X-Men: The Last Stand: The third X-Men movie combines the loved-by-fans "Dark Phoenix" storyline with the discovery of a "cure" for mutancy. Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen and the rest of the core cast return (sans Nightcrawler, oddly), for a film that may or may not draw the series to a close. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.

CONTINUING:

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. Cinema World.

Art School Confidential: Ghost World director Terry Zwigoff and comic artist/screenwriter Daniel Clowes reteam for another adaptation of Clowes' work, this one a sour portrait of several young, pretentious artists looking for love and fame at the fictional Strathmore Institute. Bijou. Online archives.

Da Vinci Code, The: Dan Brown's gazillion-selling book about a centuries-old religious mystery arrives in cinematic form with a glowing pedigree. As if the book isn't popular enough, the adaptation is directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks. And you probably know this. You're actually on the way to the theater already, aren't you? PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue.

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.

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. Movies 12.

Just My Luck: Ashley (Linsday Lohan) is the luckiest girl in Manhattan. She can always get a cab! Which isn't really that hard, but whatever. When Ashley kisses the wrong guy, her good luck magically gets swapped for his bad juju. Guess it's the subway for you, Lohan. PG-13. 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. Movies 12. Online archives.

Mission Impossible 3: Can Tom Cruise dodge the mountains of press about his personal life — er, many guys with guns and explosives in his way — and save the woman he loves from an impressively creepy Philip Seymour Hoffman? R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives.

Over the Hedge: A gang of woodland creatures wakes up from their winter hibernation to find a big green thing has appeared in their world. On the other side, they hear, wacky creatures called "humans" exist. Bruce Willis, William Shatner and Steve Carrell are among those voicing the critters that venture forth for an antic-filled exploration of suburbia. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Poseidon: When a huge wave capsizes a luxury liner on New Year's Eve, a small group of passengers must fight for their lives. Josh Lucas, Jacinda Barrett, Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss star in Wolfgang Petersen's (Das Boot) remake of The Poseidon Adventure. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives.

RV: In Barry Sonnenfeld's latest film, Robin Williams tells his family they're going on vacation to Hawaii — but instead packs his wife and kids into an RV and heads to Colorado. Jeff Daniels heads up a wacky bunch of full-time campers. It's a sure bet there are hijinks involved. PG-13. Cinemark.

See No Evil: As if having to do community service isn't bad enough! A group of petty criminals, sent to clean up a rundown hotel, get terrorized by its lone resident: WWE wrestler Kane, sporting a really nasty meathook and a creepy sneer. R. Cinemark.

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. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.

Shaggy Dog: Tim Allen and a big shaggy dog star in this Disney flick. PG. Movies 12.

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. 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. Movies 12.

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.

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