july 16^2004 '
popped
and what's floppad,
in a theater near you.
~
Anchorman: T he LEGENn
R on B urgundy
of
In the mood for slapstick? Feel like let
ting your everyday anxieties slip away while
you bathe in the soothing glow of the silver
screen? Will Ferrell’s latest vehicle, Anchor -
man, will help you do nothing. The story
shines with its hilarious characters and
punch-drunk gender role parodies; it’s great
for a robust laugh or two. Laughter is scien
tifically proven to chill you out.
— Evan James
T he C learing
Forget the Oscar talk. How anyone could
mistake the boilerplate performances by
Helen Mirren and Robert Redford here as
special is beyond me. This maudlin, pre
dictable kidnapping drama is further bogged
down by endless close-ups of Mirren’s tire-
somely anguished face. The only thing
worthwhile about this trite, poor-little-rich-
folks movie is Willem Dafoe, whose charac
ter gets within spitting distance of the tragic
pathos the film laboriously aspires to.
— Gary Morris
<^ ) dud, bottom of the bag
< £ $ > < only if you’re really hungry
good effort, pass the salt
<C§>
<& mmmm, tasty!
get the big tub o’ com
T he D oor
in the
F loor
This alternately funny and sad film is actu
ally better than the John Irving novel, A
Widow for One Year, from which it was adapt
ed. A spotless cast helmed by Jeff Bridges and
Kim Basinger, whose character deflowers a 16-
year-old boy, makes every moment watchable
even if you end up asking yourself what the
point of it all was.
— J.B . Rabin
H arry P otter and the
P risoner of A zkaban
Director Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá
También) takes over for Chris Columbus and
pumps new life into this underperforming fran
chise about the young wizard
(Daniel Radcliffe) and his adven
tures at Hogwarts. This time
around the acting is better, the
nemesis (Gary Oldman) is more
ominous, and the special effects
are truly magical.
—Jim Radosta
<5^> I’ ll S leep W hen I’ m D ead
<£><£> D e -L ovely
This is the second biopic of gay composer
and raconteur Cole Porter, following the 1946
version with Cary Grant. The earlier film sani
tized Cole of any queer impulses, but De-Lovely
doesn’t do as much better as it should, given
that the world is much different than it was 60
years ago. The film looks good— as colorful as
a musical should be— and Kevin Kline plays
Porter with the right mix of camp and pathos.
But the script insists on confusing the crucial
gay issue by giving him romantic impulses
toward wifey (Ashley Judd) that never existed.
Fans of modem singers interpreting Tin Pan
Alley will welcome such oddities as Sheryl
Crow doing “Begin the Beguine,” but purists
will blanch at this and other liberties taken in
a misguided attempt to reach a youth market
that doesn’t know, and couldn’t care less, about
Cole Porter.
—GM
No, you’ll sleep when you’re
in the theater. Mike Hodges
( Croupier) directs this neo-noir
revenge drama, which opens
July 30, with stupefying slowness.
Starring the fetching Clive
Owen (with and without beard), the film
laboriously follows a reformed crime kingpin
as he takes on the evil bisexual crime boss
who raped his bratty little brother. Maybe it’s
better if you do sleep— that way you may not
notice the homophobia that filigrees this
unnecessary film.
-G M
•
I
Fred Meyer
AU3. 10-15
B R O AD W AY
P ortland
KELLER AUDITORIUM -
5 C
0 3
—
7 9 0
3W 3RD k CLAY
— A R T S
or
■
;
$
P i t
T he S tory of the W eeping
C amel
imadic fami-
In Mongolia’s Gobi Desert
ly helps with the delivery of a
mother refuses to nurse the ca
attempts to bring the two together
pass, and the calf becomes weak
bottle-fed. At last, the family cal
tion and hires a musician to play
Mongolian violin for mother ant
baby. The results of this brilliant
and moving documentary
will stun any viewer.
— Nadia A t Maiwandi
mgust
8
5
C
M-F
9 a- 6 p
1 — 866 - 739—6737
Ticket» available at all t/cketmaster outlets Including 01 Joe»,
•elect Fred Meyer location», PCPA at 3W Broadway k Main
and the Portland Opera Box Office at 211 3E Caruther»
(Just south of Oasi).
a Delta
K 113
3R0UP3 OF 20 OR MORE SAVE I 503-241-1407
www.broadwayaoroasaaerioa.oo«
www.portlandopera.org
www.rentthetour.co*
TICK ETS
SU BJEC T
TO AOEECT CONVENIENCE C I U R ' J S S .
35