Eugene Weekly : Movies : 4.10.08


.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.

Banff Mountain Film Festival: Short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports and the environment. 7 pm April 17 & 18, McDonald Theatre. $11 adv., $13 door ($9/$11 for students and Outdoor Program members).

Bucket List, The: Jack Nicholson, I expect this kind of thing from. But Morgan Freeman? In this schmaltzy-sounding flick about two new friends trying to cram all the adventures of a lifetime into a considerably shorter amount of time? Oh, Rob Reiner. Once upon a time, you made a good movie or two. PG13. 97 min. Movies 12.

Depraved: The latest horror short from local filmmaker Henry Weintraub is the story of a woman who goes on a “violent campaign of revenge” against the people who ran down and kidnapped her. Premieres 7 pm April 12, DIVA. $3. See story this issue.

Married Life: Nice to look at but with little under the surface, this 1940s-set sorta comedy, sorta melodrama about cheating husbands and unfaithful wives (and girlfriends) has a handful of likeable stars (Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams and Pierce Brosnan in suave and dapper mode) but not a lot of depth. PG13. 90 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

Penelope: Christina Ricci stars as the title character of this modern-day sorta fairytale, a girl cursed with a pig’s snout instead of a nose. Her family tries to lure suitors (true love will break the curse, of course), but they all run screaming — until the always-charming James McAvoy happens along. With Catherine O’Hara and Reese Witherspoon. PG. 102 min. Movies 12.

Progressive Rock: Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull and more appear in this collection of classic live performances. Part of the In-Concert series. Bijou LateNite.

Prom Night: If I tell you this is a horror flick set around prom night, is that enough? ‘Cause it seems like all you’d really need to know. Y’know, prom’s supposed to be the best night ever! So it’s really meaningful to make it scary and horrifying! With Brittany Snow and Idris Elba. PG13. 88 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Smart People: Dennis Quaid stars as a bitter professor who’s juggling an overachieving teen daughter (Ellen Page), a distant son (who doesn’t even rate an appearance on the poster), a new love interest (Sarah Jessica Parker) and a ne’er-do-well (yes, the movie description uses this term; I couldn’t resist) brother (Thomas Haden Church). Also, the score is composed by Nuno Bettencourt. If you know what else he composed, hey, points to you! R. 93 min. VRC Stadium 15.

Step Up 2: The Streets: Apparently, 2006’s Step Up was a phenomenon, despite the fact that the RottenTomatoes.com critical consensus is “Not enough dancing.” This time around, street dancer Andie (Briana Evigan) struggles to fit in at an elite arts school, where she — naturally — meets the school’s hottest dancer. PG13. Movies 12.

Street Kings: Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is tracking down the men who killed his former partner; his supervisor (Forest Whittaker) struggles to keep him in line and out of the way of an Internal Affairs supervisor (Hugh Laurie). With Jay Mohr, Common and The Game. R. 109 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Taxi to the Dark Side: Horrifying, intense, sharp and aggravating, Alex Gibney’s documentary investigates the abuse of detainees in by the U.S. military in precise detail, talking to interrogators, lawyers, former prisoners, reporters and others to create a moving and sometimes horribly unsurprising portrait of a system gone entirely wrong. An absolutely must-see film. R. 106 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

Videomaker’s Forum and Slam: Monthly event invites video artists to share knowledge and experience with fellow artists, and also submit short videos of up to 10 minutes for a competition that follows the format of the poetry slam. Forum 4 pm, Slam 5:30 pm April 13, DIVA. Free.

Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com

 

CONTINUING:

Alvin and the Chipmunks: What’s next? A live-action Care Bears movie starring Jason Lee? (He’s in this and Underdog, for those not keeping track.) Those wacky little creatures with the high-pitched voices will surely cause him some trouble in this newest bit of family fare. With, um, David Cross. Now I’m confused. PG. Movies 12.

Band’s Visit, The: First-time feature director Eran Kolirin (who also wrote the screenplay) has a deft, gentle hand with this nuanced, thoughtful story about an Egyptian band that finds themselves adrift for a night in a small town in Israel. Funny and sweet in turns, the film rests lightly on the shoulders of its leads, including the dazzling Ronit Elkabetz as an Israeli restaurant owner. PG13. 84 min. Bijou. (3/20)

Drillbit Taylor: When three high school kids get sick of being picked on, they hire Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson), who pretends to be a teacher in order to keep an eye on his young clients. There’s brand-name talent behind the scenes (producer Judd Apatow produces, co-writer Seth Rogen) but the lack of early reviews doesn’t bode well. PG13. 102 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Horton Hears a Who: The Dr. Seuss classic gets the animated treatment from the creators of Ice Age, with Jim Carrey as Horton and Steve Carell as the mayor of Who-ville, the tiny world on a speck that Horton discovers and defends from his fellow animals, who think he’s gone nuts. G. 110 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Jumper: Adapted from a novel by Steven Gould, this film follows “jumpers” who can leap through space and time. Among these lucky few are Hayden Christensen and Jamie Bell; Samuel L. Jackson provides the tension as a fella who doesn’t approve of these crazy hijinks. Directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity). PG13. 88 min. Cinemark.

Juno: Director Jason Reitman’s turned out another buzzworthy movie, this time with a screenplay by newcomer Diablo Cody. Ellen Page (who was outstanding in Hard Candy) plays a pregnant teenager dealing with herself, her future, her parents, the best friend who fathered the kid and the couple who wants to adopt it. “Hilarious and sweet-tempered, perceptive and surprisingly grounded,” said the Los Angeles Times. ACADEMY AWARD: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY. PG13. 96 min. Movies 12. (1/10)

Leatherheads: George Clooney directs and stars in this romantic comedy set in the 1920s against the start of the pro football league. With Jon Krazinski (The Office) as a golden-boy quarterback and Renee Zellweger as the reporter determined to prove he’s not as perfect as he seems. PG13. 113 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets: Nicolas Cage returns for more adventure and hijinks — something to do with the president’s secret book (hey, this sounds like Crooked Little Vein!) and clearing his family’s name; did great-great grandpa have something to do with Lincoln’s assassination? With Helen Mirren. PG. Movies 12.

Nim’s Island: Moppet-of-the-moment Abigail Breslin stars as Nim, a girl who lives with her scientist father (Gerard Butler) on an island and has a literary heroine whose life is rather similar. When Nim’s father disappears, life brings Nim and her favorite author together to find him. With Jodie Foster. PG. 95 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Paranoid Park: The latest from Gus Van Sant is a dreamy, thoughtful adaptation of Blake Nelson’s young adult novel about a teen skater who’s having a hard time dealing with his part in a terrible accident. Non-professional stars (for the most part), familiar settings and a disarming atmosphere combine for an unexpectedly affecting film. R. 78 min. Bijou. (4/3)

Ruins, The: The ruins are alive … with creepy plant life. At least that’s what it looks like in previews for this horror flick, adapted by Scott B. Smith from his own novel. Two reasons to see this, really: Shawn Ashmore (Iceman in the X-Men movies) and Jena Malone, who deserves better roles (doesn’t anyone remember Saved!?). R. 97 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Run, Fatboy, Run: Five years after leaving his lovely bride-to-be Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar, totally ordinary, slightly overweight Dennis (the fantastic Simon Pegg, of Shaun of the Dead) has come to his senses and realized he made a mistake. But his life is a mess, and Libby’s got a fit new love who’s about to run a marathon. So, naturally, Dennis decides to run it too. Pegg is always fantastic, but David Schwimmer directing? Hmm. PG13. 95 min. Cinemark.

Semi-Pro: Will Farrell continues to make millions playing idiots; here he’s the coach-player-owner of the Flint Tropics, an American Basketball Association team dreaming of joining the NBA. Thing is, they suck, and wrestling bears isn’t going to make them any better. With Andre Benjamin and Woody Harrelson. R. Movies 12.

Shine a Light: Martin Scorsese directs this Rolling Stones concert film, shot at NYC’s Beacon Theater in 2006 by a “legendary team of cinematographers.” PG. 120 min. VRC Stadium 15.

Shutter: Remake of a Thai thriller stars Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor as a young couple who see strange things in some photos they develop after a horrible accident. PG13. 85 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Spiderwick Chronicles, The: Adaptation of Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi’s books about a young boy (Freddie Highmore, playing twins) who finds that there’s much more than meets the eye to an old family estate. Black has a knack for a different kind of fairy tale; let’s hope the movie can translate that to the screen. With Mary-Louise Parker. PG. Cinemark. Movies 12.

Stop-Loss: Director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) takes on the military policy that keeps soldiers in the service longer than they expect with ths story of a sergeant (Ryan Phillippe) who finds, once he gets home, that the powers that be want to send him back already. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ciaran Hinds. “The first major movie of the new year that touches greatness,” says Rolling Stone. R. Cinemark. (4/3)

Superhero Movie: The Scary Movie send-uppers turn their attention to spandex-clad superheroes. PG13. 85 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Ten Thousand B.C.: Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) directs a set-ages-ago story about a young hunter and the lovely woman he’ll stop at nothing to save from “mysterious warlords.” Other key phrases from the studio’s synopsis include “ultimate fate,” “tyrannical god” and “empire beyond imagination.” Did I mention our hero’s name is D’Leh? PG13. 109 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Twenty-one: An unconventional math professor (Kevin Spacey) recruits his brightest students (among them Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess) to count cards in Vegas, leading to tuiton money for them and, one assumes, mad loot for the boss. Until things get complicated. PG13. 123 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Twenty-seven Dresses: Current It Girl Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) stars in this always a bridesmaid, never a bride story of Jane, whose sister gets the guy Jane’s in love with. But with James Marsden (Enchanted) around, you’ve got to assume Jane’s not going to have a totally unhappy ending. PG. 107 min. Movies 12.

Untraceable: Another movie about the horrors of technology! Goodness! This time, a nasty, tech-savvy internet criminal is killing people at a speed determined by the number of hits his ghoulish website gets. Diane Lane and Colin Hanks are gonna get the bad guy, though. An awful lot seems to go on in the preview for this one. R. 110 min. Movies 12.

 

 

MOVIE THEATERS
Use the links provided below for specific show times.

Bijou Art Cinemas
Bijou Theater 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th

Regal Cinemas
VRC Stadium 15 342-6536 | Valley River Center

Cinemark Theaters
Movies 12 741-1231 | Gateway Mall
Cinemark 17 741-1231 | Gateway Mall