Eugene Weekly : Movies : 11.19.09


.MOVIE LISTINGS | MOVIE REVIEW ARCHIVE | THEATER INFO

 

OPENING:

Age of Stupid, The: Documentary/drama hybrid features Pete Postlethwaite as a man living, in 2055, in the ruins of our world, wondering why we didn’t do anything about climate change. 8:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 22, Cozmic Pizza; preceded by a performance from Melissa Ruth at 7 pm. Donations.

An Education: Relative newcomer Carey Mulligan has rightly been called “luminous” in her role as Jenny, an eager-to-grow-up 16-year-old in 1960s England who meets a much older man. David (Peter Sarsgaard) introduces her to the world she dreams of inhabiting. He changes her life, but not in the expected way, and not for the expected reasons. PG-13. 95 min. Bijou. See review this issue.

Behind the Lens: DIVA/LCC seminar screens the films of Claude Chabrol: 1968’s La Femme Infidele (1 pm) and 1969’s This Man Must Die (4 pm), followed by discussion led by Thomas Blank. Sunday, Nov. 22, DIVA. $5 for both.

Blind Side, The: Sandra Bullock stars as a rich Southern lady who takes in a homeless African-American kid who becomes a star footbal player. Tell me you see the problems with this. “What The Blind Side offers is a kind of liberal Hollywood version of conservative values: all rock-solid valor, all the time,” said Entertainment Weekly. PG-13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant: When a bored high school kid and his buddy stumble upon a very magical sideshow, everything changes. Starring John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia and Salma Hayek. PG13. Movies 12.

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. 2 pm Thursday, Nov. 19, Campbell Community Center. Free. (12/31/08)

Earth Day: In this locally produced independent horror comedy, former eco-crusaders are being targeted — but by whom? The prime suspect is the guy who was kicked out of his terrorist sect for “embracing the forbidden art of women’s hair care,” but we suspect he ain’t the guy. Screening followed by a Q&A with the director. 8 pm Thursday, Nov. 19, Wandering Goat. Free.

Heckler’s Night: The Goat gets out West World for this week’s Heckler’s Night selection. 7 pm Wednesday, Nov. 25, Wandering Goat. Free.

I Can Do Bad All By Myself: In Tyler Perry’s latest film, Madea (Perry) hands off two juvenile delinquents to their hard-drinking aunt, whose world is being changed by the man who’s moved into her basement. With Taraji P. Henson and Adam Rodriguez. PG13. Movies 12.

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. Movies 12.

Journey to India, A: Series continues with Slumdog Millionare, which surely needs no introduction at this point. 6 pm Thursday, Nov. 19, Mills International Center, EMU, UO. Free.

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. Movies 12. (8/13)

New Moon: The Twilight saga continues with this adaptation of the series’ soggiest book, in which Bella, devastated with Edward’s departure, takes up with an old friend with a secret, and resorts to being an adrenaline junkie ‘cause it makes her hear Edward’s voice. Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen join the cast as the creepy vampire Volturi; Chris Weitz takes the reins from Catherine Hardwicke. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Planet 51: In this animated tale, Dwayne Johnson voices an astronaut who finds, after landing on a strange planet, that not only is he not alone — he’s not normal. He’s the alien to the alien creatures who live there, and who really fear alien invasion. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Star Trek: Even the most crotchety critics enjoyed J.J. Abrams’ take on the maiden voyage of the Enterprise — and the rivalry-turned-friendship of young James Tiberius Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto). With Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Eric Bana. PG13. 126 min. David Minor Theater. (5/14)

This Is What Democracy Looks Like: Documentary shot by more than 100 cameras in the streets of Seattle during the 1999 WTO protests screen as part of Eugene Says No to the WTO, a teach-in and celebration of the anniverary of the “Battle in Seattle.” 6:45 pm Saturday, Nov. 21, WOW Hall. $5-$15 sug. don., no one turned away.

Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted.

CONTINUING:

Amelia: The latest from Mira Nair (The Namesake) is a biopic about Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank). Early reviews haven’t been kind, suggesting that the film ticks off Earhart’s accomplishments without ever painting a full portrait of the aviation pioneer. “Why does such an exciting life make for such a dull movie?” asked A.O. Scott on At the Movies. PG. Cinemark.

Boondock Saints: Two brothers take the law into their own hands in Boston, attracting the attention of an FBI agent (Willem DaFoe) investigating deaths in the Russian mob. This 1999 cult(ish?) flick has a sequel due out soon, so catch it now if you missed it 10 years ago. David Minor Theater. 

Christmas Carol, A: Robert Zemeckis turns his 3-D obsessed attention to the classic holiday story. I’m assuming this will have less dick jokes than did Beowulf. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

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.

Coco Before Chanel: Director Anne Fontaine’s latest is an interesting biopic that focuses on the time before Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou) became the icon she’s known as today. Tautou’s performance is steely and nuanced, and the film lingers even as it’s not entirely satisfying. PG13. 110 min. Bijou. (11/5)

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.

Food, Inc.: Even if you’re tired of the glut of information — which seemingly goes ignored by so many — about the problems with our food industry, this new documentary about the flaws in the system, which pulls together all the big guns (Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin), is worth your time. David Minor Theater. (7/23)

Fourth Kind, The: People are disappearing from a small town in Alaska; are aliens really to blame? Milla Jovovich keeps appearing in poorly-received thrillers and horror flicks; how do we stop this? PG13. VRC Stadium 15.

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. Movies 12. (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. Movies 12. (9/24)

Inglorious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino’s long-anticipated WWII movie stars Brad Pitt as the leader of a group of Jewish soldiers who “engage in targeted acts of retribution” against the Third Reich. “Energetic, inventive, swaggering fun,” said The Village Voice. R. Movies 12. (8/27)

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.

Men Who Stare at Goats, The: The funny is all in the preview for this wishy-washy semi-satire that looks, in flashbacks, at the peculiar military attempt to train soliders to use psychic powers as weapons. George Clooney and Ewan McGregor are game, but the story gets lost somewhere in the Iraq desert. R. 93 min. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (11/12)

Michael Jackson’s This Is It: A behind-the-scenes look at the sold-out concerts that were to take place last summer in London. PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: It’s just too quotable. Don’t get me started. But do go see it again; this time, you can drink while you watch! David Minor Theater.

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. Movies 12. (9/17)

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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Paris: In multiple story strands, a man awaiting a heart transplant finds himself surrounded by his sister (Juliette Binoche) and her three children; a professor hopes for love; and a street vendor wonders what’s left after divorce. “Every character has life and depth,” says Roger Ebert. R. 130 min. Bijou. (11/12)

performance give the film its surprising staying power. David Minor Theater.

Pirate Radio: Richard Curtis (Love, Actually) directs the story of eight British DJs who unlawfully broadcast rock ‘n’ roll from a boat in the North Atlantic in the 1960s. With Philip Seymour Hoffman, Billy Night, Rhys Ifans and Nick Frost. R. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Serious Man, A: The latest from Joel and Ethan Coen is arguable one of their best yet; it’s the set-in-1967 story of professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), who looks to three rabbis for help dealing with an unfaithful wife, a couch-surfing brother and two problematic children — as well as a gorgeous, sunbathing neighbor. “Hauntingly original,” said New York magazine. R. Bijou. (10/29)

Shorts: The latest family flick from Robert Rodriguez is about what happens when a kid who lives in a town where everything is the same gets his hands on a magical, wish-granting rock. PG. 89 minutes. Movies 12.

2012: Roland Emmerich continues his series of films in which the world is destroyed (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) with this disastertastic absurdity starring John Cusack as a dad trying to keep his family together while the word dissolves around them. (This summary entirely based on conjecture from the preview.) Look, it’s just there for the special effects and we all know it, right? Why are you going? PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Ugly Truth, The: Any theories about why Katherine Heigl is once again playing a TV show employee? This charmer pairs her with Gerard Butler as a bad-boy TV personality who thinks he knows everything about the difference between men and woman. You got that “charmer” was being used sarcastically, right? R. David Minor Theater.

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)

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. (10/15) 

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. 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