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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2003)
aprii 18,2003 ■ Ju s t o u t 45 A nger M anagement Nobody escapes unscathed from this disaster: gay lawyers, lesbian pom stars, trans prostitutes, fat people, even fat felines! But the biggest victims are audience members anticipating a coherent comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson as, respectively, yet another bland loose can non and his beret-wearing therapist. —Jim Radosta <%> ^ ^ B etter L uck T omorrow Like its cult hit Election, this new release from M T V Films possesses effective surreal imagery and the conspicuous (yet legitimate) message that once you act on a decision, you can’t go back. Co-writer and director Justin Lin (Shopping fo r Fangs) portrays everyday racism and suburban boredom through Ben (Parry Sh en ), a brilliant Asian teen-ager who has everything except that elusive cool quality he finds when he and three friends begin engaging in theft, drug dealing and various “deals.” T h e sophisticated knowledge of technology and distinct absence o f parents highlight the lack of direction and search for excitem ent o f this growing population of privileged and apathetic youth. — Lisa Bradshaw H oles Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf) is sent to a camp for troubled teens in this touching film based on the best-selling novel by Louis Sachar. T he kids aren’t cookie-cutter carica tures, the adults (Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette) don’t phone in their perfonn- ances, and the plot is complex and revelatory. T he best children’s adventure since The Goonies. -JR < 0 $> <£§> <&> M orvern C allar Sam antha Morton is captivating as a young Scottish woman (whose unusual name gives the film, and the book on which it was based, its title) who claims her boyfriend’s novel as her own after his suicide. Director Lynne Ram say (R atcatcher) indulges our visual and aural senses in a way unique to contemporary cine ma; without contrived sleekness, she singles out the beauty and strangeness in every image and circumstance. It’s exhilarating. — Christopher M cQ uain <&> ^ P hone B ooth S pun What's popped and what's flopped. In a theater near you. Crystal meth junkies snort, inject and twitch throughout this Eugene-set film by Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, whose manic style puts the audience directly into the head of an addict. The performers chew the scenery with delight— especial ly Deborah Harry as a kick-ass dyke and Eric Roberts as a toupeed chicken hawk— but the thread holding the whole story together soon wears thin. — JR dud, bottom of the bag only if you’re really hungry <£§> <&> good effort, pass the salt mmmm, tasty! get the big tub o com S tevie Steve James (H oop Dreams) just wanted to re visit the titular subject years after mentoring him in die Big Brothers-Big Sisters program. But his raw, balanced, engrossing documentary quickly takes on a life of its own, examining the cycle of abuse, the flaws of social work and even the exploitive nature of films like this one. If you never bought into the bullshit drama and manipulative editing of reality television, welcome to the real world. — JR <&> V iew from the T op It’s doing gangbusters at the box office, but that doesn’t make this psychological thriller from gay director Joel Schumacher (Flawless, A Time to Kill) any better. Colin Farrell plays a New York promotions professional who gets stuck in a phone booth at the mercy of a nearby sniper, who has specifically chosen him based on his “sins.” (Think Seven on a street comer.) Also in shooting range is the victim’s wife and stereotypical calm, understanding cop (a wasted Forest Whitaker). A great idea is blown with a weak script and the constant nagging feeling that at the very begin ning of the phone conversation, anyone would have just hung up and walked away. — LB Gwyneth Paltrow slums it in this appallingly unfunny, uniaspiring tale of upwardly mobile stew ardesses with hearts of gold and brains of lead. Mike Myers falls flat as a cross-eyed instructor, Candice Bergen follows up her embarrassing turn as a ball-busting mayor in Sweet Home Alabama with a ridiculous portrayal of the world’s most famous flight attendant-tumed-motivational speak er, and Joshua Malina hits every wrong note as a nelly queen who makes predictably “snappy” comebacks about warm nuts ' and circumcised Europeans. — JR .........................................................................* .. A t The Eagle m m *. At C.C. Slaughters There Is im m Something happening every day of the week Come check out what is Happening Friday April 18th Hard Liquor Night Saturday April 19th Eagle’s Underwear Party $4.00 covor, Free Cloaths C heck & H ard Liquor Sunday April 20th Dyke night is back! Hosted By BAD GIRL Hard Liquor $4.00 Cover Bmnnmfltting S.M.Y.R.K._______ Serving Monday • Movie Madness Tuesday ■ Karaoke Wednesday * Country Night Thursday * Quarters Night Friday - Dance Party Saturday • High Energy Dance Sunday - Latino Night C.C. Slaughters The Eagle 219 NW Davis 503-248-9135 1300 W Burnside 503-241-0105 tv -Retro Dance Party- 7 0 s , 80 s & 9 0 s music Dancin' B o ys & Prize s F rid a y & S a tu rd a y F o r m o re info ple a se visit us at w w w .ccsla u gh te rp d x.co m CABARET...every Tuesday JAZZ...Wednesday'Saturday Shirley Nanette & Friends Stuart Wylen Trio Donny Osbourn Trio Zuppa Lighthouse LUNCH • DINNER • CA SU A L BAR MENU 5 0 U 22 3 . 0 0 7 0 Hist or ic Un io n Station N W 6th <Si Irving \v\\ \\.\\ i If sa' it vsearch .com * 'm S i C u sto m e r A ppreciation- S u n d a y 6pm to 7p m
