Eugene Weekly : Movies : 06.08.06

.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.

Basquiat: The story of gifted artist Jean Michel Basquiat, who crashed the New York art scene in the 1980s and was dead before the decade was out. Fellow painter and rival Julian Schnapel wrote and directed. Jeffrey Wright as Basquiat, David Bowie as Andy Warhol, with Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Benicio Del Toro and Claire Forlani. Gorgeous, bittersweet movie with odd, gawky moments. R. Plays at 7 pm June 14 at Maude Kerns Art Center.

Cars: The animation wizards at Pixar (Toy Story, Finding Nemo) team up with Disney for the story of a rookie race car (voiced by Owen Wilson) taking an unexpected detour on his way to a big race. Bonnie Hunt and Paul Newman also voice characters. G. Cinemark. Cinema World.

Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The: Luis Buñuel's 1972 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner is a political comedy about a group of friends prevented, in stranger and stranger ways, from starting their dinner together. PG. Movie and discussion at 7 pm June 9 at Unity of the Valley Church. Free.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands: Based on Jorge Amado's novel, Bruno Barreto's much loved 1978 film stars Sonia Braga as a widow who remarries but fantasizes the return of her dead husband. Is he real or is she just imagining things? R. Plays at 7 pm June 9 at the International Resource Center, EMU, UO. Free.

In Defense of the Biscuit: A grassroots documentary on the controversy and activism surrounding the Biscuit Logging Project. Plays at 7 pm June 13 in 110 Willamette, 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. Movies 12, June 13 at 10 am only.

Power of Community, The: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil: Faith Morgan's film, inspired by a trip she and Pat Murphy took to Cuba in 2003, explores how the island nation survived the loss of more than half of its oil imports following the fall of the Soviet Union, its main trading partner. Plays at 7 pm June 13 at Harris Hall, 8th & Oak. Free.

Prairie Home Companion, A: Director Robert Altman and writer Garrison Keillor present a winning story about the imagined death of Keillor's radio classic, "A Prairie Home Companion" (still going strong in real life). A first-rate ensemble cast, including Keillor, Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones, makes the film sparkle. PG-13. Bijou. See review this issue.

Proposition, The: Musician Nick Cave wrote (and did the score for) this tale of revenge and family in the Australian outback. Three brothers are wanted for murder, but a cop catches two of them and offers them a horrible choice. The film stars Guy Pearce, Danny Huston and Richard Wilson and is directed by John Hillcoat. R. Cinema World.

Rocky Horror Picture Show, The: Dress up, sing along, shout the words — you know the drill with this cult classic. And if you don't, what are you waiting for? Get to the theater already! And be sure to tell them you've never been before. R. Bijou LateNite.

Small Favor, A: In Boris Konunov's 1984 film, a disillusioned musician changes his outlook on life by delivering a package for a fellow train passenger. Not rated. Plays at 7 pm June 14 in 111 Pacific, UO. Free.

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days: Julia Jentsch stars as the title character in Mark Rothemund's critically acclaimed film, which takes place during the last six days of the anti-Nazi activist's life as she worked as the only female member of the young White Rose resistance movement. Not rated. Bijou.

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.

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.

Break-Up, The: Ah, celebrity couples working together. Last summer we had Brangelina in Mr. and Mrs. Smith; this year we get Jence Vincifer — oh, that just doesn't work. Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn star in the latest from director Peyton Reed (Bring It On) as a Chicago couple who apparently aren't very good at breaking up. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue.

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. Online archives.

Devil and Daniel Johnston, The: Director Jeff Feuerzeig (who won Best Director at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival for this film) explores the life and mental illness of little known but critically acclaimed musician Daniel Johnston. PG-13. Bijou LateNite. Online archives.

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.

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 (Lindsay 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. Movies 12.

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. Online archives.

Notorious Bettie Page, The: In a star-making role, Gretchen Mol (Rounders) plays the 1950s pinup queen. Director Mary Harron's (American Psycho) new film is an engaging and stylish visualization of Page's life and times. R. Bijou. Online archives.

Omen, The: The evil child returns for a remake with an ominous release date (a rare Tuesday opening to hit 6/6/06). Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber play the nice parents who don't know their adopted son Damien is actually the spawn of Satan. With Mia Farrow, the classic mom-of-evil, as the nanny. R. Cinemark. Cinema World.

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Tsotsi: This year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner, based on the only novel of South African playwright Athol Fugard. Presley Chweneyagae stars as the title character, whose life of crime takes a strange new direction when he steals a car and discovers a baby in the backseat. R. Bijou.

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.

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). Don't leave before the end of the credits or you might miss something! PG-13. 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