.MOVIE LISTINGS | MOVIE REVIEW ARCHIVE | THEATER INFO

 

OPENING:

Behind the Lens: The DIVA/LCC seminar continues with more John Ford films: How Green Was My Valley (1 pm), about a family in a Welsh mining village, and The Searchers (4 pm), the story of a man (John Wayne) who spends years looking for his abducted niece. Sunday, Oct. 18, DIVA. $5.

Cold Souls: In the world of Sophie Barthes’ surreal film, souls can be extracted and traded. Paul Giamatti — playing himself — opts to have his soul removed, but things get complicated when his soul is borrowed for another actor. With David Strathairn and Emily Watson. PG13. 101 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

Drag Me to Hell: Sam Raimi returns to the genre in which he made his name with this tale of a young loan officer (Alison Lohman) who crosses the wrong old lady (Lorna Raver) and finds herself under a nasty curse. PG13. David Minor Theater.

For the Next 7 Generations: Documentary about the work and vision of the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. 7 pm Friday, Oct. 16, Unity of the Valley. $5-$50 sug. don.

Freedom on the Fence: Corvallis filmmaker Andrea Marks shows her documentary about the history of Polish posters and their significance from WWII through the fall of Communism. 7 pm Friday, Oct. 16, DIVA. $6.

Horror and the Horrific: Four-week UO film series kicks off with Halloween, 6 pm Thursday, Oct. 15, and continues with Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 6 pm Thursday, Oct. 22, 180 PLC, UO. Free.

Journey to India, A: Series continues with Devdas, a film about two children who grow into star-crossed lovers (6 pm Thursday, Oct. 15), and Mira Nair’s The Namesake, about the lives of two Bengali immigrants and their American-born children (6 pm Thursday, Oct. 22). Mills International Center, EMU, UO. Free.

Law Abiding Citizen: Ten years ago, Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler)’s family was murdered, but a plea bargain set one of the killers free. When the killer is released, he quickly turns up dead — and assistant DA Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx)’s family might be next! R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Paranormal Activity: The latest low-budget horror movie sensation is about a pair of twentysomethings whose new house is maybe not so empty, and maybe its residents aren’t so into the new tenants. R. VRC Stadium 15.

Play the Game: When a young ladies’ man teaches “dating tricks” to his widowed grandfather (Andy Griffith), Grandpa becomes the the hottest guy in his retirement community — while the kid’s tricks stop working for him. PG13. Bijou.

Sorority Row: Sorority sisters accidentally kill one of their own; someone subsequently wants them dead. So … I Know What You Did Last Year on Campus? R. Movies 12.

Stepfather, The: A young man (Penn Badgley) comes home from military school to find that his mother’s new boyfriend (Dylan Walsh) has moved in — and maybe isn’t so cool as mom (Sela Ward) thinks he is. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Video Slam: Monthly event invites video artists to submit short videos of up to 10 minutes for a competition that follows the format of the poetry slam. 7 pm Sunday, Oct. 18, DIVA. Free.

Warren Miller’s Dynasty: The latest in the longrunning series of action sports flicks comes to town; attendees receive a free Mt. Bachleor lift ticket and other goodies. 6 pm & 9 pm Thursday, Oct. 22, McDonald Theatre. $16.50.

Where the Wild Things Are: Spike Jonze adapts Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book into something more complicated and more elaborate than expected — yet it’s also decidedly handmade, unexpedtedly difficult and sweetly unsentimental, for the most part. With Max Records, Catherine Keener and the voices of James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O’Hara and Lauren Ambrose. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Young@Heart: This BBC-funded documentary follows the Young@Heart Chorus as they prepare for a performance in their hometown of Northampton, Mass., working on songs you might not expect a group of octogenarians to perform and dealing with the issues that arise for people of a certain age. PG. 107 min. 2 pm Thursday, Oct. 15, Campbell Community Center. Free. (5/15/08)

 

CONTINUING:

All About Steve: This “comedy” is currently sitting pretty with a 5 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s about a crossword puzzle constructor (Sandra Bullock) who becomes obsessed with a man (Bradley Cooper) after she goes on one blind date with him. Words used to describe this: “Dreadful.” “Lunkheaded.” “Grimly unfunny.” PG13. Movies 12.

Bright Star: Jane Campion (The Piano)’s new period drama stars the astounding Ben Whishaw (Perfume, Brideshead Revisited) as John Keats, and tells the story of the intense love affair he had with the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). “Bright Star satisfies a hunger we may not have known we had,” wrote the L.A. Times’ Kenneth Turan. PG. Bijou.

Capitalism: A Love Story: Michael Moore’s latest, a look at the still-ongoing financial crisis, is getting mixed reviews; to some it’s an “emotional attack” and “scattershot and lazy,” while others think it’s moving and energizing. R. VRC Stadium 15. (10/8)

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: Portland critics were abuzz about this animated kids’ movie, which is apparently far more charming than the previews led us all to believe. Based on the book of the same name, it’s about a town where food, rather than the more ordinary forms of precipitation, falls from the sky. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Couples Retreat: Four Midwestern couples — among them Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell and Malin Ackerman — head off on a group retreat to a couples resort where couples therapy turns out to be necessary. Directed by Peter Billingsley, aka that kid from A Christmas Story. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

District 9: Producer Peter Jackson gets top billing, but this sci-fi film about aliens taking refuge in South Africa is actually the feature-film debut of director Neill Blomkamp. The buzz is beyond good; Blomkamp is already being dubbed one to watch. R. 112 min. Cinemark. (8/20)

Fame: They’re gonna live forever! But they’ll be different! This isn’t a remake, but a reinvention. Which I suspect means they got to modernize Irene Cara’s evilly catchy songs. But it’s still about competition, talent and relationships at a New York performing arts high school. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

(500) Days of Summer: Oh, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. If only this movie were as good as you are in it. A quirky sorta-romance with a carefully created indie aesthetic, Marc Webb’s feature debut has a lot of charming offerings, but suffers from an ill-defined female character, played as if from a distance by Zooey Deschanel. PG-13. 95 min. Movies 12. (8/6)

G.I. Joe: Oh, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, why are you in this movie? It’s based on toys, not screened for critics, and the trailers make people laugh. I think some stuff blows up, too. Movies 12.

G-Force: Talking guinea pigs save the world! Or whatever. Is this just an entire film capitalizing on the animation used to create that creepy-eyed creature in the godawful Bedtime Stories? PG. Movies 12.

Hangover, The: This summer’s dirty-fun buzz movie stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifinakis and Ed Helms as three guys who have no idea what happened at the bachelor party last night. Where’d that guy’s tooth go? Where’d the baby come from? It’s a really good time finding out. Movies 12. (6/11)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: The penultimate Potter tale is a touch complicated: Voldemort is at work in the wizarding and Muggle worlds. Dumbledore needs Harry’s help in many things, including recruiting a new professor to Hogwarts. Students are being attacked, and an old book is full of unexpected information. PG. Cinemark. (7/16)

Informant, The: The latest from Steven Soderbergh stars Matt Damon as an employee of an agri-business firm who turns informer — sort of; the whistle-blower isn’t entirely forthcoming, it seems. Maybe. Maybe he’s just a little strange. It’s “a return to form for Soderbergh,” says The New Yorker. R. Cinemark. (9/24)

Invention of Lying, The: Ricky Gervais (BBC’s The Office) stars as the man who brings lying to a world in which everyone always tells the truth — and finds fame and fortune in the process. ‘Course, things probably go wrong after that. With Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Jeffrey Tambor. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

It Might Get Loud: Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directs this documentary about Jack White, Jimmy Page and U2’s the Edge, taking each guitarist to a significant location in his life and setting them to jamming together. “The lore in this documentary will be catnip” to rock geeks, said The New York Times. PG. 97 min. Bijou. (10/1)

Jennifer’s Body: Diablo Cody (Juno) wrote this horror flick about a really hot high school girl (Megan Fox) who turns into a literal maneater. Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!) is her less sultry best friend, who has to save the boys of their town. R. Movies 12.

Julie & Julia: Julie Powell’s book about cooking her way through Julia Child’s masterpiece comes to screens as a two-part story: One part follows Powell in her Queens apartment, the other Child in France. Cinemark. (8/13)

Love Happens: A superstar therapist (Aaron Eckhart) finally meets the woman (Jennifer Aniston) who might be able to help him help himself. I’m sorry, did anyone else just stifle a slight gag reflex? PG13. Movies 12.

Nine: A small community of rag dolls come to life in a post-apocalyptic world, where strange machines threaten their existence. This astonishing-looking animated film is directed by Shane Acker (who previously made a short with the same name). With the voices of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly and Crispin Glover. PG13. Cinemark. (9/17)

Proposal, The: “High-powered” publishing exec Sandra Bullock makes her put-upon assistant (Ryan Reynolds) get engaged to her so she can stay in the U.S. As much as I’m starting to like Reynolds, this is too much ick — and contrived nonsense — for one film. PG13. Movies 12.

Psycho: The original, not Gus Van Sant’s shot-by-shot remake of Hitchcock’s classic film. David Minor Theater.

Surrogates: In the future, we all control perfect robot versions of ourselves instead of running about in the world with our flawed flesh and blood. And then someone figures out how to kill a person through their surrogate. But don’t worry! Bruce Willis is on the case. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Toy Story 1 & 2 3D: Pixar’s triumphant feature-length debut and its sequel get dressed up in 3D in order to get us all totes psyched for Toy Story 3, which comes out next year. G. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Up: In the latest film from Pixar, a crotchety old balloon salesman sends his house into the sky (via balloons, of course) to escape from it all — only to find that he has an unwanted stowaway on his porch. The praise is already flowing — and deserved. PG. Movies 12. (6/4)

Whip It: Ellen Page is a Texas beauty pageantgoer who does pageants for her mom (Marcia Gay Harden). A flyer for roller derby — and Kristen Wiig as a friendly derby girl — change her life entirely. Page is a charmer, as is Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development) as her best friend, but it’s slightly amazing how a film about this alternative sport manages to get so dressed up in Hollywood predictability. Directed by Drew Barrymore. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Zombieland: Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) goes back to the amusement park (OK, so the films aren’t related, but it is kinda funny) in this zombie flick that costars Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone (Superbad) and … Abigail Breslin? Little Miss Sunshine fights zombies? I’m in. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

 

 

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