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film
Black Sheep
Killer mutant sheep? You’d better
believe it. This New Zealand horror
comedy, featuring creature effects by
Lord of the Rings studio Weta,
combines broad cultural satire with
a truckload of horror movie clichés,
including dodgy acting, empty
shocks, a really awful script and
characters so annoying that you
can’t wait for them to die.
Unfortunately, the laughs are few
and far between, things take forever
to get going, and much of Black
Sheep’s sense of humor errs on the
side of subtlety and cleverness, with Kevin James (left) pretends to marry Adam Sandler in I Now
Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
out enough really gtxxi jokes to keep
things moving. Rent Dead Alive
instead. Opens July 20 at Hollywood Theatre. C-
matures, so do the films, in both tone and content.
—Jemiah Jefferson
Fans of the book might grumble at dropped story
lines and plot tweaks, but as a film, Phoenix is intel
Broken English
ligent, touching and fun, and the cast is stellar.
This romantic comedy finally gives Parker Posey
Nonetheless, this is probably not the place to start
a chance to show all her talent. She plays neurotic
for Potter neophytes. A-
30-something Nora Wilder, who lives in Manhattan
-JJ
and is looking for Mr. Right. Her encounters with
different men are funny and sometimes sad, until she
I Have Never Forgotten You:
finally meets a French man and follows him to Paris.
The Life and Legacy
of Simon Wiesenthal
This story has been told more than once, but
writer/director Zoe Cassavetes is able to show it in
The Long Way Home director Richard Trank
a different light, and she definitely displays the tal
once again has made an award-worthy documentary,
ent of her parents. (Her real-life mother, Gena
the comprehensive story of Nazi hunter Simon
Rowlands, appears briefly as Nora’s mother.) Op'ns
Wiesenthal. Narrated by Nicole Kidman, the touch
July 27 at Living Room Theaters. B
ing film features wonderful interviews and well-
—Yvonne P. Behrens
chosen archival footage and strikes a good balance
between Wiesenthal’s private and professional lives,
from surviving the Holocaust to what his legacy is
Hairspray
today. A must-see for everybody interested in
“If this doesn’t make you smile, your skin’s too
history. Opens July 21 at Hollywood Theatre. A +
tight," says a deadpan Christopher Walken to
—YI’B
campy and vampy Michelle Pfeiffer, an apt descrip
I Now Pronounce You
tion of this film adaptation of the 2002 Broadway
Chuck and Larry
musical hit. While not as weird as John Waters’
original 1988 classic, choreographer/director Adam
I approached this movie with the same trepida
Shankman’s snappy version boasts an appealing
tion as many viewers, but for different reasons: they,
cast of teens, lots of hoppy numbers and plenty of because it’s a gay movie; me, because it’s an Adam
laughs, all presented with an ebullient good will
Sandler movie. Sitting in a theater for two hours
that leaps off the screen.
with public morons waiting for fart jokes (one of
Of course, if the rumors about the sexual' which comes in the first five minutes) is not my idea
orientations of Queen Latifah and
John Travolta are true, it’s odd to see
them fronting a film that criticizes
those who put career ambitions
before the cause of civil rights. But
hey, the movie’s friggin’ adorable, and
watching a sour-faced Allison Janney
throw holy water on Amanda Bynes
and shout, “Devil child! Devil
child!” is worth the price of admis
sion alone. A
—Floyd Sldaver
Harry Potter and the Order
of the Phoenix
Being a teenager sucks, even
when you’re a wizard—and Harry
Potter’s got it even worse than usual
in this fifth installment of the popu
lar series. Order of the Phoenix shifts
its focus away from sports and school
activities for interpersonal moments
and biting social satire—as Harry
John Travolta does drag with Nikki* Blonsky in Hairspray.
of fun, especially for a movie that finds two New
York fire fighters (Sandler and The King of Queens’
Kevin James) pretending to be gay to get domestic
partner benefits. Visions of C. Thomas Howell
donning blackface in Soul Man danced in my head.
Thankfully, the film is often funny, even as it
slams home messages of tolerance with the subtle
ty of a hot pink jackhammer. Bear-ish James is cute
and acts solidly; Sandler learns the proper lessons;
and Ving Rhames and James’ tap-dancing son steal
every scene they’re in. Although it appears that
concentrated nellyness has been poured into every
gay man’s shampw and that lesbians only come in
the flavor of “hot,” at least the film is funnier than
any 10 episodes of Will & Grace. B-
Sunday
September 2,2007
—Andy Mangels
Lady Chatterley
Going to see this film is like ordering a steak
and being served a cup of tea. Then again, this is
the judgment of someone who used to stay up late
and watch naughty film versions of D.H. Lawrence
novels on Cinemax after my aunt was asleep. To its
credit, this French cinematic interpretation of an
early, less sensational version of the novel that
became Lady Chatterley's Lover refuses to pander to
our lowbrow Americanized lusts. Unfortunately, it
does so by presenting a world difficult to relate to
today, filled with physically unattractive and artis
tically two-dimensional people, which runs about
an hour too long. Opens July 20 at Cinoma 21. B-
—Tony LeTigre
Oregon Convention Center
‘Portland JJallroom
777
^Martin cLuthcr cKint* 3r. $lvd.
q-or more information call
•Darcelle
Showplace
503 222 5338
Night of Lust
A “B” grade is probably generous for this recent
ly rediscovered, and delightfully campy, French noir
thriller from 1962, which features a soundtrack by
Chet Baker considered a rare treasure by vintage jazz
fans. The film’s distributor proudly proclaims its past
status as “Banned Over Half the World!”, but artis
tically it wouldn’t last two rounds in the ring with
Orson Welles’ equally controversial, and recently
reprised, Touch of Evil, first released in truncated
form in the United States in 1958. But check your
critical faculties at the door and enjoy Night of Lust
for what it is: the exact cinematic equivalent of
those dime-store pulp novels that are such a hilari
ous and indelible part of our nation’s history. Plays
July 20 to 23 at Clinton Street Theater. B
—TL
knowing...
Talk to Me
After playing Clarice Starling’s FBI
buddy in The Silence of the Lambs, Kasi
Lemmons directed the swamp saga Eve's
Bayou and the critically panned The
Caveman’s Valentine. Her new film is an
alternately gripping and trite docudra-
ma about Petey Greene (Don Cheadle),
an ex-con who became a popular and
controversial radio DJ in Washington,
D.C., at the height of the civil rights
movement. Cheadle’s delivers a virtu
oso performance, and Chiwetel Ejiofor
aces the less flashy but equally complex
role of Green’s mentor, Dewey Hughes.
Despite great casting and a terrific
R & B soundtrack, the hokey ending
and lapses into sitcom schlock prove
that Lemmons still has plenty of room
for improvement. Opens July 27. B
—Stephen Blair ©
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