Eugene Weekly : Movies : 4.5.07


.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.

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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Astronaut Farmer, The: Billy Bob Thornton plays the title character in this based-on-a-true-story feelgood film about a feller building a rocket in his barn. With Virginia Madsen and Bruce Dern. PG. Movies 12.

Best of Eugene Film Festival: The series of shorts continues with “Putting the ‘International’ in Eugene International Film Festival,” a series of short films from around the world. 7 pm April 8, DIVA. $5, $3 stu., members.

Dreamgirls: Director Bill Condon’s (Kinsey) musical stars Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and the said-to-be transcendent Jennifer Hudson in the story of a girl group’s rise, loosely based on the story of the Supremes. PG13. ACADEMY AWARDS: JENNIFER HUDSON, SUPPORTING ACTRESS; SOUND MIXING. Movies 12. (1/18)

Firehouse Dog: A fancy-pants cinematic canine gets lost, meets a troubled kid and learns to use his stunt skills for good in a movie Variety called “A likable but ungainly mutt of a movie.” PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Grindhouse: Double feature with classic exploitation-influenced thrillers from Quentin Tarantino (who offers Death Proof) and Robert Rodriguez (with Planet Terror) promises violence, zombies, hot chicks and B-movie greatness. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Led Zeppelin: Filmed during the fourth of a five-night stand at Earl’s Court in London in 1975. Shown in two parts: part one on 4/6, 4/8 and 4/15; part two on 4/7, 4/13 and 4/15. Bijou LateNite.

Letters From Iwo Jima: Clint Eastwood’s Golden Globe-winning second 2006 WWII film is a pretty but oddly sentimental account of the Japanese stand on Iwo Jima. R. ACADEMY AWARD: SOUND EDITING. Movies 12. (1/25).

Namesake, The: Director Mira Nair’s new film is a gentle family saga that follows the lives of two Bengali immigrants and their American-born children. Though the title refers to the couple’s unusually named son (Kal Penn), it is the elder generation that shines here. PG13. Bijou. See review this issue.

Queen, The: Stephen Frears’ movie about the shifting desires and threats of Britain’s public and the differences in Tony Blair’s (Michael Sheen) and Queen Elizabeth II’s (Helen Mirren) responses to the death of Princess Diana is a grand, usually subtle fiction that gets at a lot of truth. PG13. ACADEMY AWARD: HELEN MIRREN, BEST ACTRESS. Movies 12. (11/30/06)

Reaping, The: In Hilary Swank’s oft-delayed new thriller, the two-time Oscar winner plays a former missionary who’s turned to a life spent debunking religious phenomena — until, of course, something really dark, creepy and Biblical starts to happen. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Return 2 Sender: Climbing film featuring high-wire slacklining, expedition adventures, a climbing dog and more. 8 pm April 11, River House, 301 N. Adams. Free.

Russian Sherlock Holmes: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate a murder in Red on White: The Bloody Legend. In Russian with English subtitles. 7 pm April 10, 115 Pacific, UO. Free.

Source to Sea: In 2003, Christopher Swain became the first person to swim the entire length (1,243 miles) of the Columbia River. His journey became this basis for this documentary, which also explores the river’s disrupted ecosystems and dislocated peoples. Andy Norris, who led the more than 30 directors involved, presents the film at this weekend’s matinees. Bijou.

 

CONTINUING:

Arthur and the Invisibles: In this animated feature, 10-year-old Arthur goes in search of a magical land after finding a note left by his grandfather. Directed by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element). 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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Blood Diamond: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly star in Edward Zwick’s (Glory) film about diamond mining in Sierra Leone in the 1990s. R. Movies 12. (12/21/06)

Breach: Dramatic thriller follows Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillipe) in his new job: secretly keeping an eye on Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), a government employee being investigated as a suspected mole. With Laura Linney. PG13. Movies 12.

Charlotte’s Web: Dakota Fanning plays Fern, the little girl who loves her pig Wilbur (voice of Dominic Scott Kay) more than anything. Julia Roberts voices Charlotte the spider, who helps Wilbur escape his fate. G. Movies 12.

Ghost Rider: What did they do to Nicolas Cage’s face? He looks like he lost at least 10 years to play the titular hero, whose long-ago deal with the devil forces him to hunt rogue demons at night. PG13. Movies 12.

Happy Feet: Warner Bros. chases some March of the Penguins dough with this animated film, starring Elijah Wood as a cute lil’ guy in search of his soul mate. (OK, so they were working on this one first.) PG. ACADEMY AWARD: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE. Movies 12.

Hills Have Eyes 2, The: Just what you need: Another movie about inbred, murderous hillfolk. This time, they’re after a unit of National Guard soldiers. Because that makes it timely. R. Cinemark.

Host, The: Korean creature feature mixes environmental commentary, dysfuntional family humor and plain old monster magic in the story of a giant mutant that rises from the Han River to wreak havoc on humans. R. Bijou. (3/29)

Last Mimzy, The: A mysterious box of toys gives two children strange powers and draws them and their families into a magical, sometimes scary world. With Timothy Hutton, Joely Richardson and Rainn Wilson. PG. 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. ACADEMY AWARD: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM. R. Bijou. (3/8)

Lookout, The: Former star high school athlete Chris (the exceptional Joseph Gordon-Levitt) tries to make the most of what’s left of his life, but finds himself caught up in a planned heist at the bank where he works. R. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15 ($2.50 fee for 3D).

Night at the Museum: When down-on-his-luck Larry (Ben Stiller) gets a job as the night guard at a museum, he sure doesn’t expect the exhibits to come alive at night. There’s something very Jumanji about this. PG. Movies 12.

Premonition: Linda Hanson (Sandra Bullock) is having a very bad week: One day, her huband is killed in a car wreck; the next, she wakes up and he’s still alive. Does that sound interesting? Don’t be fooled: This is an overwrought, tedious stinker. PG13. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (3/22)

Pursuit of Happyness, The: Will Smith stars as a down-on-his-luck father who strives to make it as a stockbroker while facing eviction and raising his son (Smith’s real-life son Jaden). PG13. Movies 12.

Reign Over Me: Former college roommates Charlie (Adam Sandler) and Alan (Don Cheadle) randomly meet again, but rebuilding a friendship with Charlie proves complicated in Mike Binder’s subtly 9/11-related, sometimes wispy film. With Liv Tyler and Jada Pinkett Smith. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (3/29)

Shooter: Former Army sniper Bob Lee Swagger (Mark Wahlberg), whose name almost couldn’t be funnier, is pressed back into service protecting the president — and then caught up in a horrible doublecross. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

TMNT: Does shortening Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to TMNT make it hipper? Not sure. This animated version finds the formerly-of-the-’80s foursome fighting ancient monsters with the help of Casey Jones (now voiced by Chris Evans) and good ol’ April O’Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar). PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

300: Super-stylized, derivative and overbaked film, based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, about the Battle of Thermopylae, when King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) led 300 apparently half-naked Spartans against the massive army of Persia. R. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (3/15)

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. 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

Regal Cinemas
Cinema World 342-6536 | Valley River Center

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