Eugene Weekly : Movies : 7.19.07


.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.

Boom, Bust and the BLM: A locally produced film that sheds light on the BLM’s Western Oregon Plan Revisions, which endanger old-growth forests and the lands on which they grow. 7 pm July 19, Cozmic Pizza. Free.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Sue and Johnny Storm face off with the shiny guy who rides an equally shiny surfboard — and leaves destruction in his wake. PG13. Movies 12.

Godzilla vs. Gigan: Directly from the press release, I give you this bit of brilliance: “Cockroach aliens from a dying planet plot to colonize the earth and destroy all cities to make it more peaceful.” Only Godzilla can save us! Awesome! Bijou LateNite.

Hairspray: Based on John Waters’ 1988 cult classic, Hairspray is about teenagers on a local Baltimore dance show — especially one short, plump, cheery girl who loves to dance. With John Travolta in drag. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Hostel 2: A bunch of silly American students in Rome accompany a hot model from their art class on a trip to an exotic location. Bad, bad things happen to them. Seriously. Bad. With Bijou Phillips and Heather Matarazzo. R. Movies 12.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry: Adam Sandler and Kevin James star as a couple of firefighters who, for various bureaucratic insurance reasons, claim to be domestic parners — all fun and games until the news gets ahold of the story. I’m sure all related issues are dealt with thoughtfully. Um, right. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Lives of Others, The: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s debut feature, set in East Germany in the 1980s, is a gripping and affecting look at the watched and the watcher: a playwright suspected of being subversive, and the stoic police captain who warms to the writer’s life while spying on him. I should have given it five stars. ACADEMY AWARD: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM. R. Bijou. (3/8)

Maltese Falcon, The: The 1941 classic, starring Humphrey Bogart as private eye Sam Spade, screens as party of the library’s Retro Mystery Cinema seires for middle and high school youth. 2 pm July 25, Bethel Branch Library, and 1 pm July 26, Downtown Library. Free.

Meet the Robinsons: Orphaned inventor Lewis has his latest and greatest creation stolen, but a stranger whisks him away to the future, where adventures, and the thief, await. G. Movies 12.

Waitress: Keri Russell (Felicity) is a wonderful surprise in writer-director Adrienne Shelly’s bittersweet small-town story about love, hope, pies — and finding strength where you least expect it. Shelly’s perfectly cast last film is a beautiful balancing act of emotions. PG13. Bijou. (5/24)

You Kill Me: Director John Dahl’s (The Last Seduction) film follows a former hit man (Ben Kingsley) who finds a new life with a move to San Francisco: he joins AA, meets a nice lady (Téa Leoni) and gets a job in a mortuary. “Yet another hilarious cinematic depiction of a professional hit man’s angst,” said Hollywood Reporter. R. VRC Stadium 15.

 

CONTINUING:

1408: This adaptation of a Steven King short story, which stars John Cusack as a man alone in a horribly haunted hotel room, is getting surprisingly good reviews; Entertainment Weekly said it’s “reassuringly old-school gothic.” With Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Mikael Hâfström. PG13. VRC Stadium 15.

Are We Done Yet?: Nick (Ice Cube) and Suzanne (Nia Long) and two kids return in this sequel to Are We There Yet?, in which Nick’s new house in the ‘burbs is more work than it’s worth. PG. Movies 12.

Blades of Glory: Ricky Bobby and Napoleon Dynamite … er, Will Ferrell and Jon Heder star in the story of two disgraced figure skaters who discover a way they can compete again: by skating together. Spandex and bad hair abound. PG13. Movies 12. (4/12)

Disturbia: Under a three-month house arrest, teenager Kale (Shia LaBeouf) spies on the homes around him — which leads to meeting the hot girl next door and, you know, figuring out that the creepy neighbor might be up to something nasty. PG13. Movies 12.

Evan Almighty: Steve Carrell takes the starring role in this sequel to Bruce Almighty. Now, God (Morgan Freeman) wants Evan (Carrell), a former newscaster turned Congressman, to build an ark. Boy, that’s gonna involve a lot of critters. PG. Cinemark.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Ministry of Magic is in denial about the return of Lord Voldemort, Hogwarts get a nasty new teacher and Harry … Harry’s in one kind of trouble or another throughout the mostly successful and only slightly disappointing fifth HP film. It’s not quite Prisoner of Azkaban, but it’s getting there. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Hot Fuzz: The team that brought us the wondrous, gory Shaun of the Dead returns with Hot Fuzz, in which the awesomest London cop ever (Simon Pegg) is sent to a sleepy village so he’ll stop making his superiors look bad. With Jim Broadbent and pretty much every hysterical Brit working in film. R. Movies 12. (4/26)

Invisible, The: A young man attacked and left for dead (Justin Chatwin) tries desperately to win his way out of limbo by discovering his killer’s identity. PG13. Movies 12.

Knocked Up: Judd Apatow follows The 40-Year-Old Virgin with a sweet yet still raunchy comedy about the unwanted pregnancy that occurs when up-and-coming journalist Alison (Katherine Heigl of Grey’s Anatomy) has a one-night stand with slacker Ben (Seth Rogen). R. VRC Stadium 15. (6/7)

La Vie en Rose: This majestic, flawless film explores the life of Edith Piaf, as played to perfection by Marion Cotillard. Olivier Dahan’s film depicts the singer’s too-short life, packed with troubles and talent in seemingly equal measure, with sparing elements of the supernatural. PG13. Bijou. See review this issue.

License to Wed: Robin Williams stars in this silly little summer fluff of a romantic comedy about love and marriage. With Mandy Moore and John Krasinski. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Live Free or Die Hard: Justin Long — yes, he of the Mac ads — joins Bruce Willis for this fourth chapter in the Die Hard franchise, in which a baddie attacks the U.S.’s infrastructure over the 4th of July weekend. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Ocean’s 13: The formula doesn’t change much for the third Ocean’s outing: Suave stars have a grand old time concocting heists, executing plans and looking good in suits. But the charm is wearing thin. With George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and a bunch of other folks. PG13. VRC Stadium 15. (6/14)

Paprika: A thrilling, imaginative trip through a dreamscape brought to life by the DC Mini, a device that renders a sleeper’s dreams share-able — and eventually, in the wrong hands, brings them into the real world. This unforgettably creative animated film is among the best of the year so far; its images are indelible. R. Bijou LateNite. (7/5)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: Captain Jack and crew are back for the third – and what one might hope is the final — Pirates movie (which has something to do with saving Jack from the Land of the Dead and facing off with the Dutch East India Company). A warning to soda buyers: It’s two hours and 48 minutes long. PG13. Cinemark.

Ratatouille: The latest animated film from Pixar is directed by Brad Bird (whose The Iron Giant is too often overlooked) and concerns a big-dreaming rat who wants to be a chef. When he makes a deal with a garbage boy, the culinary world of Paris gets far more than it ever imagined. G. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (7/12)

Sicko: Michael Moore follows Fahrenheit 9/11 with this take on the U.S.’s healthcare and insurance systems. “An affecting and entertaining dissection of the American health care industry, showing how it benefits the few at the expense of the many,” said Variety. PG13. VRC Stadium 15. (7/5)

Spider-Man 3: Spidey (Tobey Maguire) faces an ungodly number of new villains (including those played by Thomas Haden Church and Topher Grace) as the franchise trucks through its overfull third installment. PG13. Movies 12. (5/10)

Transformers: Hot on the heels of those other ’80s toys the Ninja Turtles, the Transformers arrive, bigger and flashier than ever. Earth, it seems, will be the battleground for the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. With Shia LaBeouf (Holes) and Megan Fox. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Wild Hogs: What kind of dirt did the producers have on William H. Macy, John Travolta, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence to get them to appear in this male-bonding, midlife crisis flick with a mortifying trailer? PG13. 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