CONFLUENCE
Willamette Valley Mixed G ALA Chorus
•
Artistic Director, Ray Elliott • Accompanist, Alma Marianos
What's popped
and what's flopped,
in a theater near you.
/ / U
SALEM
<^ y l) dud, bottom of the bag
I’ m N ot S cared
In another testament to how brilliantly
world cinema outside the United States han­
dles stories centered around children, this new
movie from celebrated Italian director
Gabriele Salvatores about a 10-year-old hoy
(Giuseppe Crustuabi) who discovers a child
being held captive in a large hole in the
ground presents a simple story mired in layers
of complexity and ambiguous emotions. Don’t
miss what is surely this year’s best cinematogra­
phy, and possibly best film, on the big screen.
— Lisa Bradshaw
M ean G irls
This throwback to ’80s films of yore
where teen-age outcasts are pit against the
beautiful people (in this case an unforgettable
trio of snohhalicious girls known as “T he
Plastics”) is mostly deftly handled by writer
Tina Fey, who riddles the film with her past
and present Saturday Night Live co-workers
(most notably the hilarious Tim Meadows as
a daffy high school principal). But, like many
an SNL skit, the darkly comic fish-out-of-
water plot, about a home-schix>led girl (Lind­
say Lohan) falling prey to public school soci­
ety, falters and whines before petering out.
only if you’re really hungry
< & <C%> <&> mmmm, tasty!
<g>
<&>
<£> 8et the hig tub o’ com
—Jim Radosta
T roy
*10
JUNE 6 • 4:00
German director Wolfgang Petersen ( Das
Boot) succumbs to star-mania in this watchahle
hut superficial version of Homer’s The Iliad. Brad
Pitt as Achilles, ltxiking like he just escaped
from the tanning booth, primps, prances and
pouts his way through soap opera dialogue,
brooding (and boring) scenes of self-doubt and
endless fight sequences. Not even the cast’s
heavier hitters— Brian C ox, Eric Bana, Julie
Christie and, best of all,
Peter O ’Toole— nor Pitt’s
legendary butt can save this
one. Oh, and don’t look for
any reference to the more-
than-close relationship
Homer intended for Achilles
and Patroclus. It’s not there.
— Gary Morris
Y oung
A dam
British writer/director
David Mackenzie has found
a perfectly skilled cast to
breathe color into the sub­
tleties of his vision of a morally gray landscape.
Ewan McGregor, who just keeps getting I
a drifter who knows more about a body f<
floating in a canal than he cares to admil
can’t keep in check his passion for his
Kiss’s wife, played by Tilda Swinton,
who leaveas the brew with her
sweaty, Jarmanesque queer
enlightenment.
pm
Unity of Portland
4525 SE Stark
— no one turned away for lack of funds
Tickets at In Other Words (Portland),
Jackson's Books (Salem), from Chorus members,
and at the door
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V:
FRIO«». AUGUSTZOTH • 8 PM
ARLEHl SCHMITIER CONCERT HAU
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ON SALE NOWII
L IV E
<§> <£}<£><£)>
Traveling to the land o f Far, Far Away
(aka Hollywood), ogre couple Shrek (Mike
Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cam eron Diaz)
visit the new bride’s parents, again accompa­
nied by the ass-inine Donkey (Eddie Mur­
phy). Fiona’s parents aren’t wild about
070
S uper S ize M e
R aising H elen
S hrek 2
PORTLAND
Shrek, and a meddling fairy godmother and
Prince Charming complicate matters. T he
addition of Latino kitty Puss in Boots (A ntonio
Banderas) is brilliant, and the film soon out­
runs its predecessor for laughs. There is even
some gender-bending fun, and you’ll want to
stay through the credits.
— Andy Mangels
W hen filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heard
about lawsuits blaming M cDonald’s for obesity,
he decided to put the fast food chain to the
test by eating every meal at the Golden Arches
for 30 days in a row. T he resulting documen­
tary is hilarious, horrifying and enlightening,
making a strong case that Ronald McDonald is
nothing more than a drug pusher who hooks
innocent schtxilchildren on toxic grub.
pm
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of Salem
5090 Center St. NE
<& £$$> <&> good effort, pass the salt
— LB
Successful career woman (Kate Hudson)
inherits dead relative’s children, heartwanning
scenarios easue. You’ve seen this movie twice
already: T he first time it was called Baby Boom,
and the second time it was called M osdy
Martha. If you want to see it a third time, rent
one of those two on video. Trust me.
— J.B. Rabin
JUNE 5 • 8:00
PRESENTS
WWW NATAlIf MERCHANT COM
N atalie’s no
3000
A udi
p resen ts
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cd . T h e H O U
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C A R P E N T E U ’S
DAUGHTER **
k.d. lang* ^
WELCOMES
W ITH M EM B ER S OF
T H E OREGON
SYMPHONY
SPECIAL GUEST:
THOM AS M. L A U D E R D A L E
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— Kobe Kemple
IISTIN IMI WIN TICHITS
JUNE 10TH • 8PM
ARLENE SCHNinER CONCERT H«U