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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2003)
BY LOIS WADSWORTH For the week of Friday, June 27th! Sign-up for our weekly WebPage Update! www.bijou-cinemas.com “The best documentary you’ll see this year, as thrilling a competition as any Super Bowl and as suspenseful a story as any Hitchcock film.” — Marc Mohan, OREGONIAN SPELLBOUND 5:15, 7:15 & 9:15 Nightly SAT & SUN MAT 3:15 Ends Tuesday, July 1st! G “The Dancer Upstairs resonates with emotional intelligence of Graham Greene...its rhythms take hold and pull you in.” — Elvis Mitchell, NEW YORK TIMES THINK FILMS, 2003 THE DANCER directed by John Malkovich UPSTAIRS 9:00 Nightly SUN MAT 2:15 R Ends Tuesday, July 1st! (Left to right) Nupur Lala, Harry Altman and Ashley White contestants at the 2002 National Spelling Bee. Learning to Bee Standing up for words. SPELLBOUND: (Documentary) Directed by Jeffrey Blitz. Produced by Blitz and Sean Eigler. Cinematography, Blitz. Music, Daniel Hulsizer. Editor, Yana Gorskaya. Spellers: Harry Altman, Angela Arenivar, Ted Brigham, April DeGideo, Neil Kadakia, Nupur Lala, Emily Stagg and Ashley White. HBO/Cinemax Documentary Films. Think Film, 2003. G. 97 minutes. W ords: Some of us love them. When I was a kid, my father helped me practice my spelling words every week. I looked for- ward to classroom spelling bees, and from grades 5 through 8, I was one of the top spellers. Competition to be the last speller standing was fierce, but it was nothing compared to the pressure felt by the eight kids in this documentary film. They’re going to the National Spelling Bee. In 249 regional contests throughout the country, the top spellers receive a trip to the National Bee in Washington, D.C., which is televised by ESPN. The media assault is daunting to some shy spellers, and the whole shebang is similar to an ath- letic event. A lot of expectations ride on the performance of these kids, many from small rural schools. Students from immi- grant or underprivileged families seem to have more at stake, because their parents are hopeful for different reasons. The spellers have at most a few months to prepare as they move through local con- tests to regional and then on to the nation- als, where all contestants know the un- yielding rule — one bad letter, and you are out of the game. The first half of Jeffrey Blitz’s lovely film follows three boys and five girls — Ted, Neil, Harry, Ashley, April, Nupur, Angela and Emily — through an ordinary day as they rev up for the nationals. A diverse group from a wide socio- economic range, these kids sacrifice pre- cious social time with peers to read dic- tionaries, memorize word lists culled from previous national bees, learn Latin roots and spellings from other languages. Some parents hire tutors, and in other families, various members take turns calling out words. Some parents are intense and fo- cused, and all are proud. The schools pro- vide less help than you might expect. Angela is a clear-eyed, smart girl from the Texas border country, who lives in a small house on a large ranch, where her fa- ther works. He speaks only Spanish, but his eyes sparkle when he looks at Angela. www.eugeneweekly.com “The movie — simple, pure and powerful — makes us feel the intensity of both life in transit and life lived, if only for a moment, in another’s skin.” — Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE ! " # $ %#$ &'( $ &) " *# R In French with English subtitles 5:00 & 7:00 Nightly SAT MAT 3:00 Starts Wednesday, July 2nd! Call theater for showtimes! He accompanies her to Washington. Angela’s school also recognizes her ac- complishments. Ashley is a sweet but real- istic girl, who’s growing up in the D.C. housing projects with her mother. In her own words, Ashley overcomes the “trials and tribulations” that come her way. Although she’s surrounded by an ex- tended, loving family, Ashley receives no help in preparing for the nationals from her school. Neil is the child of Indian immigrant parents, following the protocol that helped make his sister an earlier contestant at the national. Neil’s father spares no effort to train his son with tutors and around-the- clock drills. He also tries to instill in this yet unformed boy his own palpable hunger to succeed. But Neil is a level- headed boy who shoots hoops to relax. In contrast, Harry is a talker, a quirky kid with a great, expressive face. His mother tries to channel Harry’s surplus energy into studying for the contest, but it’s clear that this kid takes on the competition for himself. I was also attracted to Nupur, who lives in Florida with her parents, also from India. More centered and mature than many of the other contestants, Nupur is neither driven nor scattered, just calmly bright and focused. Emily is a bundle of energy. Her family is the most well-off, and the parents are supportive, but Emily also carries her own motivation to suc- ceed. The second half of the film takes place at the National Bee. I was mesmer- ized by the courage of these young peo- ple, standing up before a national televi- sion audience, their peers onstage behind them, a phalanx of press in front of them, and families and friends off-cam- era rooting for them. In that context, their eagerness to spell a myriad of diffi- cult words that have worked their way into American English from so many languages and over such great historical and geographic distance speaks well for the future of literacy in this imperiled democracy. Spellbound opens Friday, June 27 at the Bijou. It’s a naturally suspenseful, hilariously human and genuinely dramatic film, with not a single car-chase scene or special effects monster. Very highest rec- ommendations for the whole family. ew CINEMARK - SPRINGFIELD Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 746-5202 - 6/27-7/1 Digital Sound in ALL Auditoriums PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE AT CINEMARK.COM CHARLIE’S ANGELS* (PG-13) RUGRATS GO WILD (PG) 10:25, 10:55, 12:05, 1:05, 1:35, 3:20, 3:50, 4:30, 6:30, 7:05, 7:35, 8:05, 9:15, 9:50, 10:30, 10:55 11:50, 2:15, 4:35 28 DAYS LATER* (R) 10:05, 1:00, 4:00, 7:25, 10:35 DUMB & DUMBERER (PG) THE HULK* (PG-13) 10:20, 3:05, 8:00 12:00, 12:30, 3:15, 3:45, 7:00, 7:30, 10:15, 10:45 HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE (PG-13) FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY* (PG) 10:45, 1:30 4:05, [7:15], [10:15] THE ITALIAN JOB (PG-13) ALEX & EMMA* (PG-13) 10:50, 1:45, 4:40, 7:50, 10:35 11:15, 1:50, 4:25, [7:25], [10:00] 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS FINDING NEMO (G) (PG-13) 12:40, 5:25, 10:20 10:40, 11:20, 12:50, 1:25, 2:00, 3:35, 4:10, 4:45, 7:00, 7:30, 9:50, 10:30 10:30, 1:20, 4:15, 7:20, 10:10 OPENING: MATRIX RELOADED* (R) TERMINATOR 3: JULY 1ST 12:10, 3:30, 7:05, 10:20 BRUCE ALMIGHTY (PG-13) 11:05, 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 7:40, 9:55, 10:25 SHOWING AT 8:10PM, 8:25PM 11:00PM, 11:30PM [ ] NOT SHOWING ON 7/1 *NO PASSES OR SUPERSAVERS MOVIES 12 - SPRINGFIELD “Watching this delightful film, one can see why it has been winning audience favorite awards at film festivals.” — Desson Howe, WASHINGTON POST Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 741-1231 - 6/27-7/1 Bargain Shows: $1.50 - Early Bird: $1.00 - Wednesday all shows: $1.00 W HALE RIDE R ANGER MANAGEMENT (PG-13) JONAH: A VEGGIE TALES MOVIE (G) 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:35, 10:20 PLAYING ONLY TUESDAY, JULY 1ST, 10AM BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE (PG-13) 11:35, 2:05, 4:35, 7:05, 9:45 DOWN WITH LOVE (PG-13) 11:45, 2:25, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50 FRIDA (R) SCHEDULE FOR 6/27 - 7/1 • ( ) = FRI – MON EARLY SHOWS FLORENCE CINEMAS 1930 HWY 101 • Florence • 997-2727 *CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE – PG-13 12:10 2:30 4:50 7:10 9:30 HOLES – PG 1:20 3:50 6:20 8:50 *HULK – PG-13 12:25 3:20 6:10 9:00 FINDING NEMO – G 1:15 3:40 6:00 8:20 STARTS 7/2: "TERMINATOR 3: ATTACK OF THE MACHINES" HARVARD CINEMAS DADDY DAY CARE (PG) 3161 W. Harvard • Roseburg • 673-6604 *HULK – PG-13 12:00 3:00 6:00 9:00 RUGRATS GO WILD – PG 12:40 2:40 4:40 6:40 FINDING NEMO – G 1:00 3:40 6:10 8:30 MATRIX RELOADED – R 8:40 STARTS 7/2: "TERMINATOR 3: ATTACK OF THE MACHINES" 12:40, 4:40, 7:30, 10:30 GANGS OF NEW YORK (R) 11:25, 3:00, 6:40, 10:10 HOLES (PG) 11:20, 2:00, 4:45, 7:25, 10:05 HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (PG-13) 11:30, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:35 LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS (PG-13) 12:30, 4:30, 8:30 MALIBU’S MOST WANTED (PG-13) 11:55, 4:55, 9:55 SHANGHAI KNIGHTS (PG-13) 2:10, 7:15 THE CORE (PG-13) 12:35, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 WRONG TURN (R) 12:00, 2:30, 5:10, 7:40, 10:25 X2: X-MEN UNITED (PG-13) 12:20, 3:55, 7:10, 10:15 STEREO SURROUND SOUND IN ALL AUDITORIUMS 4-DAY ADVANCE TICKET SALES - NO PASSES -NO SUPERSAVERS SHOWTIMES AVAILABLE AT CINEMARK.COM ROSEBURG CINEMA 7 1750 NW Hughwood • 673-6604 *CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE – PG-13 12:10 1:00 2:30 3:30 4:50 6:00 7:10 8:30 9:30 *28 DAYS LATER – R 1:40 4:10 6:45 9:20 *ALEX & EMMA – PG-13 2:15 6:20 8:40 *FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY – PG 2:50 7:30 DUMB AND DUMBERER – PG-13 4:30 HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE – PG-13 6:40 9:10 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS – PG-13 12:30 4:59 9:40 ITALIAN JOB – PG-13 1:20 4:00 6:30 9:00 BRUCE ALMIGHTY – PG-13 1:30 3:50 6:10 8:50 DADDY DAY CARE – PG 2:00 4:20 www.catheaters.com AVALON C I N E M A 2nd & Jackson • Corvallis ! W NED O ITIO D N CON AIR R RUSSIAN ARK - LIMITED SHOWINGS - “A marvel like none you’ve seen.” --Jason Anderson, EYE WEEKLY also playing as a separate admission FROM THE MAKERS OF BEST IN SHOW A MIGHTY WIND HELD OVER!! PG-13 Call or log on for showtimes DOLBY STEREO SURROUND SOUND $6.50 General • $5.50 Student • $4.50 SC, Matinee & Wed. 752-4161 avaloncinema.com v m EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 26, 2003 23
