Eugene Weekly : Movies : 4.23.09


.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.

Confessions of a Shopaholic: Isla Fischer and Hugh Dancy put some cuteness in this adaptation of Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling novel. PG. Movies 12.

Defiance: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell are brothers who fight back against the Nazis, hiding out in the forest and protecting refugees. R. 137 min. Movies 12. (1/22)

Directed by Steven Spielberg: The UO film series starts back up with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (April 23) and continues with The Goonies (April 30). Both are preceded by a short talk from a UO grad student. 6 pm Thursdays, 110 Willamette, UO. Free.

Earth: James Earl Jones narrates this Disney nature documentary, which focuses on three animal mothers (elephant, polar bear and humpback whale) and their offspring. G. 96 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Fighting: Channing Tatum plays a dude who becomes a superstar fighting on NYC’s “corrupt bare-knuckle circuit.” PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a bigoted veteran who finds himself in a reluctant friendship with a Hmong kid and his family. “A rueful comedy of enlightenment,” said The New Yorker. R. 116 min. Movies 12. (1/15)

Great Buck Howard, The: Colin Hanks is the assistant to the title character (John Malkovich), a washed-up mentalist still hoping for another big break. They’re an odd and endearing pair, but the movie really sparks when the always-likable Emily Blunt turns up as a publicist hired to help Buck with his comeback. PG. 87 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

Great Directors Series: Seminar features the films of Henri-George Clouzot, including Quai des Orfevres (1 pm) and Diabolique (4 pm). Discussion led by Thomas Blank. Sunday, April 26, DIVA. $7.

Heckler’s Night: Mock loudly and cheerfully as the Goat screens Alien. 7 pm Wednesday, April 29, Wandering Goat. Free.

In the Studio with George Johanson: Documentary follows artist Johanson into his studio. 2 pm Saturday, April 25, DIVA. Free.

Informers, The: Billy Bob Thornton, Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger star in the latest adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel about hedonistic L.A. folks. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Margaret Meade Film & Video Festival: International documentary series continues with Lucha Libre Activista: Super Amigos, about five former professional wrestlers who fight injustice in their Mexico City communities. 7 pm Wednesday, April 29, 175 Knight Law, UO. $3.

New in Town: Renee Zellweger learns to love Minnesota ­ and Harry Connick Jr. — in a terrible-looking fish-out-of-water romantic comedy. PG13. 96 min. Movies 12.

Obsessed: Where to start with this women-against-women stalker-lady flick, in which Ali Larter gets a little too attached to Idris Elba, and Beyonce fights back? Actually, I think that’s enough said. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Run Lola Run: German director Tom Tykwer bends a simple story about a girl running across Berlin to save her boyfriend into a vision of pure motion, with the gorgeous red-maned Lola (Franka Potente) running her heart out for love. R. 7 pm Sunday, April 26, Wandering Goat. Free.

Soloist, The: Joe Wright (Atonement) directs this based-on-a-true-story film about a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) and the writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who recognizes the musician’s gift. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Watchmen: Zack Snyder’s adaptation is pretty good ­ and pretty faithful to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ book, in which costumed heroes try to solve the murder of one of their own. But Snyder is too busy recreating select moments from the book to bring a vision of his own — beyond highlighting his fascination with violence. R. Bijou. (3/12)

Wrestler, The: Darren Aronofsky continues making films that seem exactly the opposite of anything he’s done before (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) with this rough-and-tumble story of a pro wrestler (Mickey Rourke). R. 105 min. David Minor Theater.

 

CONTINUING:

Adventureland: Greg Mottola (Superbad) directs a slightly oddball ensemble (including Ryan Reynolds, Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig) in this story about a college grad whose job search lands him at the titular amusement park. R. 107 min. VRC Stadium 15. (4/9)

Coraline: Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) adapts Neil Gaiman’s creepy, fantastic story into a creepy, fantastic movie about a girl who finds, behind a door in the wall, a fantatic parallel world — complete with her Other Mother, who has buttons for eyes. PG. Movies 12.

Crank: High Voltage: Jason Statham reprises his role as a hitman who has to undertake stranger and stranger escapes in order to stay alive. Now, his heart’s been replaced with a battery-powered thing that requires jolts of energy. But he wants his real heart back! R. 85 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Doubt: John Patrick Shanley directs this adaptation of his prizewinning play about a nun and the priest she believes is paying too much attention to a student. Starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. PG13. David Minor Theater. (12/31/08)

Dragonball: Evolution: Emmy Rossum and Chow Yun Fat are among those starring in this live-action Dragonball adventure about a team of warriors saving the world. (What else would they do?) PG. Movies 12.

Duplicity: Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) directs Julia Roberts and Clive Owen in this tale of battling, romantically involved spies who get together to try to play a pair of battling corporations (led by Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti). PG13. 125 min. Movies 12.

Fast and Furious: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return to the hot-cars-and-hot-chicks franchise that spawned their careers. If the title looks familiar, well, there is a difference: The original film was The Fast and the Furious. Perhaps the lack of “the”s this time indicates it’s trimmed down and goes even faster? PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Gomorrah: This widely praised Italian film is a modern-day gangster story, a look at intersecting lives in a Naples apartment complex run by the Camorra syndicate, which has its fingers everywhere. The New York Times called the film “a corrosive and ferociously unsentimental fictional look at Italian organized crime.” Not rated. 135 min. Bijou. (4/9)

Hannah Montana: The Movie: The inescapable teen returns to theaters with a movies about getting away from fame for a while. G. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Haunting in Connecticut, The: This horror flick about a haunted house (guess where it is. No, guess. I dare you) is “based on a chilling true story” and stars the slightly odd (to a pop culture buff) trio of Princess Irulan from Dune (er, Virginia Madsen), Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Elias Koteas) and Beaver Casablancas from Veronica Mars (that’d be Kyle Gallner). PG13. Cinemark.

He’s Just Not That Into You: Great cast, embarrassing premise; it’s based, loosely I assume, on the unfortunate book of the same title. However will these lovely young folks ever find troo lurv? PG13. Movies 12.

Hotel for Dogs: Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) is one of two siblings who have to give up their dog when they’re taken into a foster home — but the resilient kids turn an empty building into a dog hotel for their dog and others. PG. Movies 12.

I Love You, Man: Some people are calling this one a dick flick: Paul Rudd proposes to his girlfriend (Rashida Jones), but then desperately needs to find a male best friend to be his best man. So he goes on a bunch of “man-dates.” With Andy Samberg and the delightful Jason Segel. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (3/26)

Knowing: Nicolas Cage’s son finds, in a time capsule, a strange and cryptic list of numbers written by a girl 50 years ago — and it turns out to list the date of every major catastrophe to happen to the world since. Some dates haven’t happened yet. Alex Proyas (The Crow) directs; Rose Byrne costars. PG13. 122 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Let the Right One In: A gorgeous, snow-muffled, Swedish take on a vampire story, this film has taken its sweet time getting here. Gentle, moody and superbly acted by its young stars, its definitely worth the wait. R. 114 min. David Minor Theater. (2/12)  

Monsters Vs. Aliens: When aliens attack, an unlikely gaggle of monsters — a blob (Seth Rogen), a giant woman (Reese Witherspoon), a genius cockroach (Hugh Laurie) and “The Missing Link” (Will Arnett) — have to save the world. In 3D. PG. 94 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (4/2)

Observe and Report: Seth Rogen stars as a mall cop (another one? Really?) who must take down a flasher, try to charm the makeup-counter woman he adores (Anna Faris) and beat the local cops at their own job. Er, I think. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (4/16)

Paul Blart: Mall Cop: It’s all there in the title. And probably in the preview. PG. Movies 12.

Seventeen Again: Would Zac Efron really grow up into Chandler Bing? Er, I mean Matthew Perry? That’s just one thing to consider in this comedy, in which washed-up former high-school hot stuff Mike O’Donnell (Perry) finds himself in his 17-year-old body again. With Leslie Mann, Thomas Lennon and Michelle Trachtenberg. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Slumdog Millionaire: The latest from Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) is a Mumbai-set fairy tale about life and the pursuit of love and happiness via Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (it’s not quite as simple as that maybe sounds). Slumdog is long on setting and its tangled plot is creative, but it’s short on emotional resonance, though its young actors are solid. R. 120 min. EIGHT ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING DANNY BOYLE, BEST DIRECTOR, AND BEST PICTURE. David Minor Theater. (12/18/08)

State of Play: Kevin MacDonald (The Last King of Scotland) remakes the 2003 British TV series, moving it to the U.S., where a congressman’s research assistant is murdered, and an old friend (Russell Crowe) is on the story. With Helen Mirren as Crowe’s editor, Rachel McAdams as his partner and Ben Affleck as the maybe not-so-perfect congressman. PG13. 132 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Taken: If you don’t give back Liam Neeson’s daughter (Maggie Grace), he will hunt you down, and he will kill you. You got that? You sure? I hope this Luc Besson-produced action flick is as much fun as it looks, though it seems to take itself awfully seriously. PG13. 93 min. Movies 12. 

 

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

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

David Minor Theater
David Minor Theater and Pub 762-1700 | 180 E. 5th

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

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