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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2007)
.38 , JUS t out APRIL ¿222. film Antibodies Though burdened by some predictable plot twists and excruciatingly obvious biblical symbol ism, this slick thriller by young German director Christian Alvart is a worthy homage to serial killer classics like The Silence of the Lambs and Fritz Lang’s M. When a sex offender and child killer finally winds up in prison, he gradually corrupts the morals of an upright farmer who interrogates him about an unsolved murder. The film’s critical and commercial success in Europe earned Alvart a Hollywood gig directing Renée Zellweger in Case 39, a horror movie due this summer. Opens April 1 3 at Hollywood Theatre. B —Stephen Blair Avenue Montaigne Spring Barrel Tatting Wine makers Renee Neely and Laurie Lewis will take you on a guided tasting tour of Hip Chicks barrels. This is your last chance to taste these delectable wines right from the barrel. We will even have some new blends of the Wine Bunny Rouge available for you to try. Because this event is so popular, reservations are recommended. Tours will begin at 4pm and run approximately every half hour from 4:3opm-8:3opnv- event ends at 9pm. Admission is $8 for one or two for $15. Admission includes wine tasting flight plus barrel tasting flight and appetizers paired with the wines. This year’s French submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar is about a woman who comes to Paris to find fame and gets a job as a server at an old- fashioned cafe on the chic Avenue Montaigne. While working there, she meets a popular television actress who will soon debut on stage, a millionaire auctioning off his entire life collection of art and a pianist having a recital. Opens April 13. A —Yvonne P. Behrens Call $03-234-3790 to make a reservation. Blades of Glory • Winery and Tasting Room Open Daily nam - 6pm • 4510 SE 23RD AVE. PORTLAND • 503-234-3790 www.hipchicksdowine.com (see our website for directions & events) Will Ferrell is hound-dog skater Chazz and Jon Heder is virginal pretty-boy skater Jimmy in this nongay men’s skating movie. While playing with the conceit that most male skaters are gay, the film flirts with some homophobic concepts, but mostly refuses to cross over into crass territory, opting instead to show the general “guy to guy” discomfort that happens when the pair is forced to skate together for a shot at Olympic gold. With a killer cast, Blades of Glory is funny in spots but wildly uneven. If you decide not to wait for the DVD, stay for the closing credits for the conclusion of the humorous gay stalker romance subplot. B- —Andy Mangels First Snow DON VALERIO, MD INTERNAL MEDICINE / PRIMARY CARE FANNO CREEK CLINIC 2400 SW VERMONT 503-452-0915 Self-centered New Mexico salesman Jimmy Starks (Guy Pearce) visits a trailer park psychic (J.K. Simmons) on a whim and receives some exciting, then frightening news about his future. At first he shrugs it off as hucksterism, but as the psychic’s predictions start to come true, Starks becomes increasingly desperate and paranoid. This seeming ly promising thriller, reminiscent of Pearce’s starring vehicle Memento, suffers from predictability masquerading as inevitability, padding and completely unsympathetic characters. Boring. C- —Jemiah Jefferson The Hoax Lasse Hallstrom (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) tries his hand at the con artist genre and falls miles short of recent gems like Catch Me if You Can and Shattered Glass. Based on real events that tixik place in the early 1970s, The Hoax depicts an outrageous literary scam in which writer Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) nearly pawned oft a fabricated Howard Hughes autobiography on Life magazine and a major publishing company. Gere, Hope Davis, Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden give it the old college try, but they ultimately flounder because Hallstrom and screenwriter William Wheeler provide few reasons for us to care about the characters. C + —SB In Search of Mozart This documentary on the life and music of the classical composer brings together a detailed histor ical study anil explanations of some of his most popular pieces. Unfortunately, it’s not much for the visuals; with only a handful of painted portraits, but a plethora of Mozart scholars, prepare for a lot of stock footage of Salzburg and Paris and a lot of talking heads. Still, it’s an illuminating portrait of a bona fide musical genius who also seemed like a pretty cool guy. Opens April 7 at Hollywood Theatre. B -JJ The Lookout The Lookout leaves a few loose ends dangling and isn't a classic film, but it’s surprisingly excellent for a genre film by a first-time director. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who shed his Third Rock from the Sun innocence a couple of years ago in Gregg Araki’s disturbing but beautiful Mysterious Skin, adds another solid performance to a resume of impressive length and scope for an actor of his age. He plays Chris Pratt, a young man whose life was forever changed by a car accident that killed two of his friends and left him permanently scarred. He calls lemons “tomatoes,” blurts out whatever’s on his mind and lives with an older blind man (a superb Jeff Daniels, who steals scenes left and right) with whom he plans to open a restaurant. Things get tricky when Chris is enticed to take part in a bank robbery, which goes predictably awry. B —Tony Le Tigre sampling your favorite flavors lately? Want to make it safer to play? Test for STDs every 3 months. Multnomah County STD Clinic • 503.988.3700 • All confidential, all the time Will Ferrell (left) and Jon Heder flirt with some homophobic concepts in Blades of Glory.
