Eugene Weekly : Movies : 8.23.07


.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.

Evening: Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham (The Hours) adapted Susan Minot’s novel for the screen; a striking cast, including Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close, star as women connected through secrets and love. PG13. 117 min. Movies 12.

Grateful Dead: The only known professionally recorded video from the Dead’s performance at Tivoli Gardens in Denmark, 1972. Not rated. Bijou LateNite.

Incredibles, The: Writer/director Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios create an action-adventure story set in suburbia where a former top crime fighter, Mr. Incredible, gets the call to jump back into actions. ACADEMY AWARD: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. PG. 115 min. Screens in Spanish at 9 pm Aug. 24 at Petersen Barn, with pre-show entertainment at 8 pm. free. Online archives.

MindSlime: The latest horror short from Henry Weintraub, best known for previous shorts “Video Dead” and “Backyard Barbecue Horror,” appears — based on the trailer at www.531productions.com— to involve a glowing mass that falls from the sky and takes over a man’s brain. Not rated. Bijou LateNite.

Mr. Bean’s Holiday: Good old Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson)! You either adore him, or you find him not at all funny. Here, a French vacation turns out to be full of mishaps and mistaken identity. Is Mr. Bean a kidnapper, a filmmaker or neither? G. 87 minutes. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Nanny Diaries, The: Jersey girl Annie (Scarlett Johansson) is at odds with her mother as to what she should do with her life when an unexpected opportunity arises: She’ll become a nanny for a wealthy family on NYC’s Upper East Side. Working for the very rich turns out not to be quite the escape from real life that she expected. With Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti. PG13. 106 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

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. Movies 12.

Resurrecting the Champ: Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett star in this tale of a one-time boxing champion and the young sportswriter who finds him living on the street. But is it really the champ whose life needs changing? PG13. 113 min. VRC Stadium 15.

September Dawn: A fictionalized romance set against the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre, “a heavily denied and notorious tragedy in which over 100 men, women, and children were killed while traveling in Utah,” according to RottenTomatoes.com. R. 111 min. Cinemark.

Vitus: Switzerland’s entry for last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is a slight piece that tries to be a crowd-pleaser but fails to entice much feeling from its audience. The story of a child prodigy who just wants to be normal – or maybe just wants to seem normal — is slow and sedate, with slight characters and a rather far-fetched third-act turn to the plot. PG. 117 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

War: Jason Statham plays an FBI agent fixated on getting his revenge against the infamous assassin (Jet Li) whom he suspects murdered his partner and family. But the story is more complicated than that, and involves a bloody battle between Asian crime gangs. R. 91 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

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

 

CONTINUING:

Becoming Jane: Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) stars in this heavily imagined look at Jane Austen’s early years — a love affair, an inspiration. It’s sweet and the cast is a delight, but the movie can’t quite connect Jane’s two passions: her writing and her interest in dashing Tom Lefroy (a wonderful Jame McAvoy). PG13. 120 min. VRC Stadium 15. (8/16)

Bourne Ultimatum, The: “I remember everything,” says Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne in this film’s action-packed trailer. Director Paul Greengrass and the major players (Joan Allen, Julia Stiles) return to the series’ satisfying third installment, which finds Bourne hunting down his past in stunning locations. PG13. 111 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (8/9)

Death at a Funeral: Frank Oz directs a cast of mostly Brits (and one Serenity pilot) in the farcical story of a family facing love, secrets and lies at the funeral of a loved one. Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Keely Hawes, Peter Dinklage and Alan Tudyk. R. 90 min. Bijou.

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. 90 min. Movies 12.

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. 92 min. Movies 12.

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. 117 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (7/26)

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. 138 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (7/19)

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. 110 min. Cinemark.

Invasion, The: In their first pairing of the year (they’ll appear again together in The Golden Compass), Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman star in this remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as the only people who can stop the creepy, emotion-stealing virus. Directed by Oliver Hirshbiegel, with a few pointers (according to Entertainment Weekly) from the Wachowski brothers. PG13. 93 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

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. 129 min. Movies 12. (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. 140 min. Bijou. 44444 (7/19)

Last Legion, The: This “fantasy action-adventure” stars Colin Firth (Hi, Mr. Darcy!) and Ben Kingsley in the story of Romulus Augustus, the boy emperor of Rome, and his search for the legendary sword of Julius Caesar and the last Roman Legion. PG13. 110 min. 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. 130 min. Movies 12.

No Reservations: Not all chefs are as hot as the oddly appealing Anthony Bourdain (whose travel show shares a title with this film) or, say, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who here plays a perfectionist chef at a fancy Manhattan restaurant whose world is shaken up by the arrival of her niece (Abigail Breslin) and a new sous chef (Aaron Eckhart) with a style in direct opposition to her own. PG. 105 min. 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. 122 min. Movies 12. (6/14)

Once: John Carney’s movie takes “lyrical” to a different level with the gentle, engrossing story of two musicians who find an unexpected connection on the streets of Dublin. Threaded with lovely songs composed by the movie’s leads, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Once is an exceptional accomplishment of intimate filmmaking. R. 85 min. Bijou. 44444 (7/26)

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. 110 min. VRC Stadium 15. (7/12)

Rush Hour 3: Did I forget this one when I made my list of this summer’s needless sequels? Did I mention I blame director Brett Ratner for the murky mess that was last year’s X-Men 3? Does it matter? Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, questionable jokes and action humor: you know what you’re getting. PG13. 90 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Shrek the Third: When Shrek’s father-in-law kicks the bucket, the ogre finds himself the reluctant king of Far Far Away. His only hope of getting out of the job? His wife’s slacker cousin. PG. 92 min. Movies 12.

Simpsons Movie, The: Well, our Springfield didn’t get the premiere, but in the film maybe we’ll still see some hints that we are the real Simpsons Springfield? Still no idea what it’s about, but does it matter? PG13. 87 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Stardust: Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake) takes a firm and steady hand to the many plot threads of this adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel. The result is wicked and charming, sweet and sly, with a stellar cast (Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro) and a superb sense of humor. Oh, the story? A young man promises a young lady he’ll fetch her a falling star — but he’s not the only one searching out the young woman who fell from the sky. PG13. 128 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (8/9)

Superbad: Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen both have fingers in this pie, as co-producer and co-writer, respectively. It’s the story of two high school friends, Evan (Michael Cera, Arrested Development) and Seth (Jonah Hill), who are trying — well, in classic teen movie fashion, they’re trying really hard to get laid. They’re about to go off to college; what do you expect? Here’s hoping the film is as funny and charming as the trailer. R. 114 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Surf’s Up: The young, talented, possibly misguided Shia LaBeouf voices Cody Maverick, a teenage penguin surfer entering his first pro competition. A documentary crew’s filming his every move, which might — sort of — explain that “based on a true story” joke in the preview. PG. 85 min. Movies 12.

Transformers: It wouldn’t be summer without a Michael Bay film, right? 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. 144 min. Cinemark.

Underdog: Jason Lee voices the titular canine, who finds himself superpowered after an incident in the lab of mad scientist Simon Barsinister (Peter Dinklage). Bad guys have plots, but Underdog has a spaniel to impress! Oh, and the day to save. PG. 84 min. Cinemark.

 

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