Eugene Weekly : Movies : 08.24.06

.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.

ArchaeologyFest Film Series: Best of 2006: Selected films from the 2006 Archaeology Film Festival screen as a benefit for The Archaeology Channel. Blood of the Vikings, Episode I: First Blood and The Kingdom of the Nabateans: From Petra to Medain Saleh show at 7:30 pm Aug. 25; In the Land of the Black Pharaohs, and King Solomon's Tablet of Stone show at 7:30 pm Aug. 26, all at DIVA. $6.

Beerfest: The Broken Lizard comedy group (Super Troopers) offers this tale of American brothers who discover an underground beer games competition at Oktoberfest. Jay Chandrasekhar (who directed), Kevin Heffernan, Jürgen Prochnow and M.C. Gainey ("Lost") appear. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.

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. Movies 12. Online archives.

Click: Christopher Walken gives Adam Sandler a truly universal remote: it lets him put the wife on fast forward, put the boss on pause, help the kid get even … until the remote goes all TiVo on him and starts making decisions on its own. PG-13. Movies 12.

Conversation, The: Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 film is about an electronic snoop (Gene Hackman) who thinks he might have unwittingly taped a conversation about a murder. Highest recommendations. PG. Plays at 7 pm Aug. 25 at Unity of the Valley. Free.

De Regreso a Casa (Homeward Bound): The family movie about pets trying to make their way back home shows in Spanish with subtitles for the hearing impaired at 9 pm Aug. 25 at Monroe Park. G. Free.

How to Eat Fried Worms: The classic children's book by Thomas Rockwell comes squirmingly alive on the screen as, on a dare, an 11-year-old comes up with creative ways to eat 10 worms in one long day. PG. Cinemark.

Invincible: Mark Wahlberg stars in the based-on-a-true-story tale of Vince Papale, an ordinary guy who made the team at an open tryout for the Philadelphia Eagles. With Greg Kinnear and Elizabeth Banks. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Little Miss Sunshine: Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton guide a stellar cast (particularly Paul Dano, Steve Carell and Abigail Breslin) through a quirky family trip on the road to the titular beauty pageant. Sweet, smart and funny, though you can see the bumps coming a mile off. R. Bijou. Cinemark. See review this issue.

Undergroundfilm.org: A collection of films from undergroundfilm.org, which uses digital distribution to put films in front of audiences around the world. This collection includes various combinations of murders and cars. Bijou LateNite.

CONTINUING:

Accepted: Putting the liberal in liberal arts, "B" Gaines (Justin Long) and friends open their own university. It's just to impress a girl, of course, but the "college" is way more popular than B anticipated. And, like, totally illegal, too. What's a fellow to do? PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Barnyard: When the farmer's away, the cows will … order pizzas and throw a party? Don't think too much about this animated feature from the creators of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, or you might begin to wonder why the carefree lead cow, Otis (Kevin James) has udders. PG. Cinemark.

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. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.

Descent, The: Something nasty attacks a group of women adventuring in Appalachian caves. Director Neil Marshall has said of his film, "It's a bit of a nod and a wink to Deliverance." R. Cinemark.

Devil Wears Prada, The: Meryl Streep stars as demanding, high-powered fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestley, whose new assistant (Anne Hathaway) is fresh from college and totally clueless about fashion. Based on Lauren Weisberger's bestselling novel. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives.

John Tucker Must Die: Jesse Metcalfe — whom you may know as the tempting young gardener on "Desperate Housewives" — plays the title character, whose many girlfriends get together to exact revenge on the cheating high school feller. PG-13. Movies 12.

Lake House, The: Kate (Sandra Bullock) and Alex (Keanu Reeves) are carrying on a correspondence through the mystical mailbox of a house on an Illinois lake — despite living in worlds that are two years apart. Time-challenged romance sounds kinda corny, but hey, Ebert and Roeper both liked it. PG-13. Movies 12.

Material Girls: Hilary and Haylie Duff learn it's possible to live without being totally rich. The audience ponders more complex questions: What are Anjelica Huston and Lukas Haas (so good in Brick) doing in this movie? PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Miami Vice: Director Michael Mann (The Insider), who executive produced the original "Miami Vice" TV series, brings a darker version to the big screen. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx star as detectives Crockett and Tubbs, who are deeply involved in undercover work fighting drug traffickers. Naomie Harris and Gong Li costar. R. Movies 12.

Monster House: Three kids face off against a creepy neighborhood house that's something other than haunted. With the voices of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Buscemi and Jon Heder. PG. Cinemark, in 3D. Online archives.

Nacho Libre: Jack Black stars as Nacho, a cook in a Mexican monastery with a secret second life as a lucha libre wrestler. Goofball flick is directed by Napoleon Dynamite's Jared Hess and written by Hess, his wife Jerusha and Mike White (School of Rock). PG. Movies 12. 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 critters. PG. Movies 12.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Johnny Depp reprises his role as over-the-top swashbuckler Jack Sparrow in the second Pirates film, which we rather fervently hope is as entertaining as the first. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are the in-love eye candy — actually, it's a toss-up as to which of the three leads is prettiest. With Bill Nighy all betentacled as watery bad guy Davy Jones. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives.

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. Movies 12. Online archives.

Pulse: Kristen Bell ("Veronica Mars") and Ian Somerhalder ("Lost") star as pretty young things being harassed by a nasty virus that doesn't stay online where it belongs. Horror fans, take note: Wes Craven co-wrote the screenplay. PG-13. Cinemark.

Scanner Darkly, A: Richard Linklater (Before Sunset) adapts Philip K. Dick's novel about addiction. Live performances were filmed, then painted over for a trippy, surreal look that works well with the film's themes of identity confusion and paranoia, but the story is a bit distant. R. Bijou LateNite. Online archives.

Snakes on a Plane: They're here! Samuel L. Jackson and Julianna Margulies fight reptiles in midair in the summer's most unlikely buzz film. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review this issue.

Step Up: A kid from the wrong side of the tracks brings hip hop to a ballet school – chiefly, to a privileged dancer whose main problem in life is finding a partner for her senior showcase. Goodness! What will happen? PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Strangers With Candy: Ex-con Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) is Flatpoint High School's only 47-year-old freshman. A prequel of sorts to the Comedy Central series of the same name, Strangers finds Jerri determined to win the science fair. R. Bijou. Online archives.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: Will Ferrell and NASCAR. What more do you need to know? OK, well, Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) and his racing partner face a new challenge when a French Formula One driver (Sacha Baron Cohen) arrives on the scene. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives.

Who Killed the Electric Car?: Director Chris Paine explores the life and untimely death of the electric car, focusing on the GM EV1, which hit the streets in 1996 and vanished a few years later. Paine's timely, fascinating documentary makes a compelling case for laying the blame on corporate and governmental interests. Former Eugenean Paul Scott, who appears in the film, will give a talk and Q&A session at Aug. 25 and Aug. 26 screenings. PG. Bijou. Online archives.

World Trade Center: Oliver Stone directs the story of two policemen, John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) rescued from the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9/11. With Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello as the officers' wives. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Online archives.

You, Me and Dupree: Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon star as a newly married couple whose new life together takes a sharp turn when perpetual bachelor Dupree (perpetual scene-stealer Owen Wilson) crashes at their place. But it's just for a little while. Right? PG-13. Movies 12.

Zoom: Tim Allen leads a team of superpowered young'uns off to fight a supervillian in what's supposedly a Galaxy Quest-like satire of, say, some other superpowered young'uns who fight supervillians. With Courteney Cox and Chevy Chase. PG. Cinemark.

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

Cinemark Theaters

Movies 12 741-1231 | Gateway Mall

Cinemark 17 741-1231 | Gateway Mall