Eugene Weekly : Movies : 12.07.06

.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.

Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker: A James Bond for the tween set, based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz, featuring Alex Pettyfer as the young spy who learns of his intended career when his uncle (Ewan McGregor) is killed. PG. Movies 12.

American Hardcore: Documentary exploration of the American hardcore punk scene in the early '80s. Interviews with band members can be fascinating, but the film seems unfocused — though the live footage is gritty enough to make you flinch. R. Bijou LateNite. (11/16)

Apocalypto: Mel Gibson follows The Passion of the Christ with another violent epic set in an ancient time (the end of the Mayan civilization) and filmed in an unusual language. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Blood Diamond: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly star in Edward Zwick's (Glory) film about diamond mining in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Bob Marley and the Wailers: This 1973 studio rehearsal film is the only full-length performance from the original Wailers known to exist. Part of the "In-Concert" series. Bijou LateNite.

Flyboys: James Franco (Spiderman, "Freaks and Geeks") heads up a cast of chiseled young men playing the Lafayette Escadrille, a group of American pilots who flew for the French during WWI. PG-13. Movies 12.

Holiday, The: Man-troubled Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap houses for Christmas break in the new film from Nancy Meyers (Something's Gotta Give) – and naturally, each finds a new feller (Jude Law and Jack Black) on the other's home turf. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark.

IMMI Fest: The third annual Improvised Music and Moving Image Fest features the Knotty Ensemble and Three Pipes accompanying classic silent films, including F.W. Murnau's 1931 Tabu (Fri.) and Yasujjiro Ozu's 1934 A Story of Floating Weeds (Sat.). 8 pm Dec. 8 & 9, DIVA. $5, $3 stu.

Keeping Mum: The incomparable Maggie Smith stars as the housekeeper whose unconventional methods drastically improve the lives of the family she works for. With Kristin Scott Thomas and Rowan Atkinson. R. Bijou. See review this issue.

Nashville: Robert Altman's 1975 masterpiece follows a host of characters (of course) in the days leading up to a political convention. With Shelley Duvall, Lily Tomlin, Jeff Goldblum, Henry Gibson and many more. R. 7 pm Dec. 8, Unity of the Valley. Free.

Unaccompanied Minors: A host of kids (traveling alone) find themselves snowed in at the airport (a fictional one in Chicago) on Christmas Eve. What else is there to do but wreak havoc? PG. Cinemark.

CONTINUING:

Barnyard: When the farmer's away, the cows will … order pizzas and throw a party? Don't think too much about this animated feature or you might begin to wonder why Otis (Kevin James) has udders. PG. Movies 12.

Borat: Sacha Baron Cohen (of "Da Ali G Show") plays the title character, a Kazakhstani reporter creating a documentary while road-tripping across the U.S. The subtitle, "Cultural Learnings of American for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," ought to tell you something. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. (11/9)

Casino Royale: Bond gets blond as Daniel Craig (Munich, Infamous) steps into the role in a rebooting of the whole franchise, turning it into something darker and, well, better. With Judi Dench and Eva Green. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark (also showing in digital). (11/22)

Deck the Halls: Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito face off when DeVito's character decides to build the world's biggest holiday light display. With Kristin Davis, Kristin Chenoweth and Alia Shawkat. PG. Cinemark.

Déja Vu: As far as we can tell, this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Tony Scott-directed thriller has something to do with traveling four days back in the future to stop a boat exploding. Or maybe it's just looking four days back. Clever preview, either way. Stars Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. PG-13. Cinemark.

Flicka: The remarkably ageless Alison Lohman (Matchstick Men) once again plays a teen, this time one who would rather work on her father's ranch (and work with wild mustang Flicka) than go to college. PG. Movies 12.

Flushed Away: Aardman Features (Wallace and Gromit) teams up with Dreamworks for the story of a pampered pet mouse (Hugh Jackman) who finds himself, after a trip down the drain, in London's bustling rodent underground. With Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen and Jean Reno. PG. Cinemark.

For Your Consideration: Christopher Guest's (Waiting for Guffman) new mockumentary takes on the movie busines, as the cast and crew of a hopeless little film get swept up in internet-generated Oscar buzz. With Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey, Fred Willard and the rest of the Guest gang. PG-13. Bijou. (11/22)

Fountain, The: Fearless director Darron Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) spent years making this ambitious film, which follows characters in different times periods, all played by Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, all on difficult quests. PG-13. Cinemark. (11/30)

Guardian, The: A hotshot young Coast Guard rescue swimmer (Ashton Kutcher) learns how to be a real hero from a retired swimmer who lost his team in an accident (Kevin Costner). PG-13. Movies 12.

Happy Feet: Warner Bros. chases some March of the Penguins dough with this animated film, starring Elijah Wood as a cute lil' guy in search of his soul mate. (OK, so they were working on this one first. Still.) With Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark.

Illusionist, The: In the first of the year's two magician movies, Edward Norton plays a Venetian stage magician caught up with an old love (Jessica Biel), a dogged inspector (Paul Giamatti) and a crown prince (Rufus Sewell). PG-13. Movies 12. (9/7)

Jackass: Number Two: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera and crew regroup for more nasty, brutal, naked, crude, snortingly funny pranks and stunts. Don't try this at home. R. Movies 12. (10/5)

Man of the Year: Supposedly, Robin Williams' unlikely president in this film, a satirical comedian who ran as a joke, is partly based on Jon Stewart. Which is odd, because the previews aren't nearly as funny as The Daily Show. With Christopher Walken and Lewis Black. PG-13. Movies 12.

Nativity Story, The: Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) directs Whale Rider's Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary in the Biblical story of Jesus' birth. With Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ciarán Hinds. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World.

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. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are the in-love eye candy, with Bill Nighy all betentacled as watery bad guy Davy Jones. PG-13. Movies 12. (7/13)

Queen, The: Stephen Frears' movie about the shifting desires and threats of Britain's public and the differences in Tony Blair's (Michael Sheen) and Queen Elizabeth II's (Helen Mirren) responses to the death of Princess Diana is a grand, usually subtle fiction that gets at a lot of truth. PG-13. Bijou. (11/30)

Santa Clause 3, The: Santa (Tim Allen) faces off against Jack Frost (Martin Short), who's trying to take over Christmas. G. Cinemark.

School for Scoundrels: NYC meter "maid" Roger (Jon Heder) takes a confidence-building class led by Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton). The surer of himself Roger becomes, the more competitive his instructor gets. PG-13. Movies 12.

Stranger Than Fiction: Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) begins to hear a voice (Emma Thompson) narrating his life — and he doesn't like where the story's going. Marc Forster's (Finding Neverland) new film has a stellar cast and an intriguing premise. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. (11/16)

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. Movies 12. (8/10)

Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny: Tenacious D (Jack Black and Kyle Gass) head off on a musical adventure obtain the Pick of Destiny and thereby become the Greatest Band on Earth. It's a biopic! Sorta. R. Cinemark.

Turistas: Following hot on the heels of the gory and successful Hostel is this horror flick about a stranded bunch of "adventure travelers" in Brazil. R. Cinemark.

Van Wilder Deux: The Rise of Taj: We worry about Kal Penn. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was great fun, but since then he's had a barely-speaking part in Superman Returns and now this — a totally unnecessary Van Wilder sequel. Maybe The Namesake will work wonders for his career. R. 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