.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.

Baraka: A wordless portrait of the Earth through the eyes of director-cinematographer Ron Fricke that conveys a sense of its evolution. Magnificent scenes of unspoiled nature contrasts with the frenzy of big cities as the everyday lives and cultures of people in 24 countries is caught on film. Unrated. 9 pm Monday, April 13, Wandering Goat. Free.

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.

Copyright Criminals: Kembrew McLeod shows his documentary about hip hop culture, sampling practices, the music industry and their relationship with copyright law. 7 pm April 14, 221 Allen, UO. Free.

Daniel Eli Dronsfield: Showcase of short films by Eugene native Dronsfield, including narrative films, documentaries and music videos. 7 pm Friday, April 10, New Zone Gallery.

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. 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. See review this issue.

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.

Heckler’s Night: Mock loudly and cheerfully as the Goat screens Urban Cowboy. 7 pm Wednesday, April 15, Wandering Goat. Free.

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.

Margaret Meade Film & Video Festival: International documentary series begins with Gimme Green, about the American obsession with lawns. (Festival continues April 22 & 29.) 7 pm Wednesday, April 15, 175 Knight Law, UO. $3.

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.

 

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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. See review this issue.

Bedtime Stories: Adam Sandler’s world goes wacky when the tales he spins for his niece and nephew start to come true — or so he thinks. It’s not all up to him, though. PG. Movies 12. (12/31/08)

Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The: David Fincher (Fight Club) takes a different direction with this story of a man (Brad Pitt) who is born at the age of 80 and ages backwards throughout his life. Based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and costarring Cate Blanchett. PG13. 159 min. ACADEMY AWARDS: BEST ART DIRECTION, MAKEUP, VISUAL EFFECTS. Movies 12. (12/31/08)

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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

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.

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. Cinemark. (1/15)

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. VRC Stadium 15.

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.

Last Chance Harvey: Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson star in the grown-up love story of a grumpy fella and a lonely woman, each with their own troubles, who come together in a London airport bar. PG13. 92 min. Movies 12. (1/22)

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)  

Marley and Me: Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are the owners of one very badly behaved dog in this adaptation of John Grogan’s bestselling book. Directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada). PG. Movies 12. (12/31/08)

Milk: Gus Van Sant’s biopic about Harvey Milk (Sean Penn), the country’s first openly gay elected official, is earning glowing reviews; “Milk is a marvel,” says The New York Times, while The Village Voice says, “Milk is so immediate that it’s impossible to separate the movie’s moment from this one.” With Josh Brolin, James Franco and Diego Luna. R. 128 min. ACADEMY AWARDS: SEAN PENN, BEST ACTOR; DUSTIN LANCE BLACK, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY. David Minor Theater. (12/11/08)

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)

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

Pink Panther 2, The: Steve Martin gets goofy again. Yep. John Cleese comes along for the ride. PG. Movies 12.

Push: Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans star as folks with supernatural abilities who are being hunted by the Division, a government agency which … er … made their families superpowered in the first place? I’m not quite clear on this, but the preview looks nifty, if a bit X-Men like. PG13. Movies 12.

Race to Witch Mountain: Disney heads back to Witch Mountain with the Rock, er, Dwayne Johnson, who plays the taxi driver who gets caught up with two kids (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) who are actually aliens. The fate of the world is at stake, I’m sure! PG. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15.

Revolutionary Road: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (who won a Golden Globe for this role) reunite, years after Titanic, in this adaptation of Richard Yates’ novel about the demise of a marriage in 1950s suburbia. Sam Mendes directs, returning to the American ‘burbs years after American Beauty. “It is honorably and brutally unnerving,” said The New Yorker. R. 119 min. Movies 12.

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. Movies 12. (12/18/08)

Sunshine Cleaning: Amy Adams and Emily Blunt carry this film about sisters (and their eccentric father — played by Alan Arkin, of course — and assorted acquaintances) whose job cleaning up crime scenes leads them to make some unexpected connections, and to deal with long-ago tragedy. It’s a bit too quirky-sweet, but the leads are very good all the same. R. Bijou. (4/2)

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. Cinemark. 

Watchmen: Zack Snyder (300)’s adaptation of what the commercials trumpet as the most acclaimed graphic novel, like, EVER, 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. Among other problems. 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. Cinemark. VRC Stadium 15. (3/12)

 

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