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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2003)
TUêrê is Ow[y " M Popula/ CC o n t i n The M o s t Men What's popped and what's flopped, in n theater near you. The M o s t Times The M o s t Popular f a r m en Club S e a t t l e 1520 Summit Ave dud, bottom o f the bag C abin F ever Sick of horror flicks where the acting is lacking and the gore is a bore.’ Then bow at the feet of dehut director Eli Roth, who has co written an instant cult classic filled with nause ating bloodhaths, tongue-in-cheek humor and colorful characters. 1 can’t wait to see it again. — Jim Radosta only if you’re really hungry’ -JR D uplex An unexpected queer twist (Harvey Fier- stein’s involved, but the twist is still unexpected) does little to aid this Danny DeVito-directed comedy about a couple (Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore) purchasing a dream apartment and eliminating ils feisty, rent-controlled centenarian tenant. All-around clumsy vapidity sabotages laughs that should’ve been had from the inter- generational warfare. There are still some giggles, but you could do better with Simpsons reruns or even DeVito’s own The War o f the Roses. — Christopher M cQ uam L ost in T ranslation Writer/director Sofia Coppola’s sopho more effort stars Bill Murray as a down-on- his-luck actor shooting T V commercials in Japan and Scarlett Johansson as a recently wed, ennui-ridden young woman. Adrift against the backdrop of a sometimes very for eign culture, the pair strike up an intense, ambiguous friendship. Coppola has the visu al artistry and emotional subtlety to make this feel like a less eccentric, more platonic Harold and M aude. It’s a terrific film. — CM ^ S chool of R ock Jack Black cements his status as a super star in this edgy yet endearing comedy from director Richard Linklater ( Dazed and C onfused) and writer Mike W hite (C huck & Buck) about a wannabe rixker who poses as a substitute at an uptight prep schtxil to make some quick cash. He soon liberates the kids hy 3 0 3 aw 12th & S ta rk Portland, OR clubpdx.com «Ci c I m *^. atom dnv*|(ö*xoit*coni <C£> <j^> good effort, pass the salt < J> m m m m , tasty! get the big tub o ’ com ...take responsibility for their own erotic education. learn about waking up and sustaining erotic energy, giving and receiving pleasure, and expressing your desires. IX/IEIM - JR City slickers Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone buy a house in the sticks and face nasty opposition from local yokels in this sleek thriller from director Mike Figgi> (Leaving Las Vegas). Sure, villain Stephen Dorff is a ham, but at least his lean shirtless scenes prove h e’s no pig. Club P o r t la n d Club m e m ö e r : Rico onoto u o n a band, and they teach him a few life lessons as well. C old C reek M anor Seattle. W A ciubsea.com S econdhand L ions Haley Joel Osment plays a bland, apparently hormone-free teen-ager left with his cunnudgeon- ly uncles (the venerable but mostly wasted Robert Duvall and Michael Caine) hy his frivolous mother (Kyra Sedgwick, in a much-too-broad Southem-gal performance that wouldn’t have cut it on Designing Women). Charmless whimsy and folksy value lessons ensue. You know the kind of children’s movie that’s great because grown-ups can equally enjoy it.’ This is the other kind. — CM C e le b ra tin g t h e , B o d y E r o t ic Portland • Nov 8 & 9 Call Al, 503-493-9421 r Bodtj Electric ____ School w w w .b o d ye le ctn c.o rg U nder T he T uscan S un J ust After Diane Lane’s ravishing performance in Unfaithful, 1 was so hoping she had landed one of those cut-above romantic comedies. Rut not really. This tale of a woman whose lesbian friends give her their Italian tour tickets after divorce has left her battle-scarred begins really well with genuine emotion, earned laughs and gay-friendly subplots, but it becomes so hogged down in metaphor and moral it’s ultimately suffocating. — Lisa Bradshaw w hen you thought IT WAS S AF E TO GO BACK IN T H E WA T E R . . . The Portland Spirit presents STORM LARGE & THE BALLS £$> U nderworld Stealing from The Matrix and Blade, this humorless flick imagines a city infested with vampires and hairless (!) werewolves who are at war, with a human (Sco tt Speedman) caught in the middle and Kate Beck insale as a vampire huntress. T h e costuming— leather and rubber bondage— is the only thing to recom mend. Devoid of charm or originality, and with a two-hour-plus running time, Underworld will make audiences feel like they’re undead. — Andy Mangels Portland’s favorite “Loungecorc "act Belying the trailers, School of Rock is charming fun C all (800) 224-3901 or (503) 224-3900 Visit www.portlandspirit.com
