OPENING OR RETURNING:
Archaeology Channel International
Film & Video Festival, The: Discover
lost civilizations, sunken galleons,
buried treasure — even a cave of glow-
ing skulls — and the true tales of mod-
ern African bushmen, all here in
Eugene as part of the first internation-
al archaeological film and video festival
to be held in North America.
www.archaeologychannel.org
for
schedule and information. July 16-19,
McDonald Theatre. See review this
issue.
Chicago: Broadway spectacular direct-
ed by Rob Marshall stars Renee
Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as
killer dames behind bars who compete
for tabloid coverage. With Queen
Latifah, John C. Reilly and Richard
Gere. PG 13. Movies 12. Online
archives.
Identity: Ten travelers caught in a rip-
snorter of a storm seek refuge at a
creepy motel in the desert, and sure
enough they begin to die. Directed by
James Mangold, stars John Cusack,
Ray Liotta and lots of screaming
women. R. Movies 12.
In-Laws, The: Andrew Fleming directs
Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks as
the reluctant fathers of the bride and
groom. PG-13. Movies 12.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:
Based on the comic book miniseries by
Alan Moore. Matthew Tobey in All
Movie Guide writes, “The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen takes place
in an alternate universe, where the
characters of several literary classics
exist in reality. If that wasn’t enough,
they’ve been assembled together in
1900 by Queen Victoria as a team of
evil-fighting heroes.” Directed by Steve
Norrington. Stars Sean Connery, Peta
Wilson, Shane West, Stuart Townsend,
Naseeruddin Shah, and Tony Curran.
PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Owning
Mahowny:
Richard
Kwietniowski directs this film set in the
1980s. Stars Philip Seymour Hoffman
as real-life Canadian Dan Mahowny, a
young Toronto banker whose assistant
manager status puts him in charge of
millions of dollars. The movie opens:
“Some folks believe everyone has a
public life, a private life and a secret
life…” Mahowny’s public banker life col-
lides here with his private obsessive-
compulsive behavior, and his secret
gambling addiction — he embezzles
money from the bank to wager on
sporting events, in card games and
Atlantic City gambling sprees — big
binges for this outwardly modest,
reserved character. Minnie Driver plays
Mahowny’s devoted girl, John Hurt
plays a casino manager. R. Bijou.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The New
York Times says, “… director Gore
Verbinski’s penchant for logistics —
combined with … producer Jerry
Bruckheimer’s desire to spend like a
drunken pirate … melts into an often
frenetic, colorful and entertaining
comic adventure that often seems to
be using ‘Butch Cassidy and the
Sundance Kid’ as a template. The daz-
zling, high-flying silliness is quite an
achievement. The movie is better than
it deserves to be, given its origins: a
ride at Disneyland and Disney World.”
Stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush,
Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. PG-
13. Opened 7/9. Cinemark. Cinema
World.
Pokemon 4Ever: Ash Ketchum, Misty,
Brock and Pikachu fight villains bent on
world domination. 10 am 7/15 only. G.
Movies 12.
Two Fast Two Furious: John
Singleton directs this sequel action
adventure about street racing. Stars
Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole
Hauser, Eva Mendes. PG-13. Movies 12.
Films open the Friday following date
of E W publication unless otherwise
noted. See archived reviews at
www.eugeneweekly.com.
CONTINUING:
Anger Management: Adam Sandler
plays a man who must undergo anger
management. His shrink, played by
Jack Nicholson, moves in with him.
Also stars Marisa Tomei. PG-13. Movies
12.
Bringing Down the House: Domestic
comedy starring Steve Martin and
Queen Latifa is directed by Adam
Shankman. PG-13. Movies 12.
Bruce Almighty: Jim Carrey, Morgan
Freeman and Jennifer Aniston star in
this tale of a at TV reporter, who has a
22 JULY 10, 2003
really bad day, rages against God and
receives more than he expected. PG-13.
Cinemark.
Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle: McG
again directs the angels — Cameron
Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and
ex-angel Demi Moore — to save the gov-
ernment’s witness protection program,
from which classified info has been
stolen. Written by John August. PG-13.
Cinema World. Cinemark.
Dumb & Dumberer: Prequel is subti-
tled When Harry Met Lloyd and stars
Derek Richardson and Eric Christian
Olsen as the 1994 Dumb and Dumber
duo in high school. Directed by Troy
Miller, with Eugene Levy, Cheri Oteri
and Luis Guzmán. PG-13. Movies 12.
Finding Nemo: Pixar (Toy Story) pres-
ents this computer-animated fantasy of
two Clownfish, Marlin and his son
Nemo, who get separated in the Great
Barrier Reef. Written and directed by
Andrew Stanton (A Bug’s Life), with
voices by Albert Brooks, Ellen
DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey
Rush, Allison Janney. Very highly rec-
ommended. G. Cinema World.
Cinemark. Online archives.
Holes: Adventures digging holes at
Camp Green Lake for Stanley, who
comes from a strange family that’s
been
cursed
for
generations.
Embarrassingly, Jon Voight, Sigourney
Weaver and Tim Blake Nelson co-star.
PG. Movies 12. Online archives.
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days:
Magazine columnist Kate Hudson and
ad agency professional Matthew
McConaughey try to get the other to
fall in love, but things go awry. High-
energy romantic comedy. PG-13. Movies
12.
Hulk, The: Director Ang Lee’s action-
adventure adaptation of the Marvel
Comics series hits darker notes than
the usual superhero comics. Scientist’s
(Eric Bana) inner demons change him
after a catastrophic experiment.
Written by James Schamus, it also
stars Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte,
Josh Lucas and Sam Elliott. PG-13.
Cinema World (until 7/10). Cinemark.
Online archives.
Italian Job, The: Mark Wahlberg leads
a heist that’s double-crossed by one of
his crew. Charlize Theron plays a safe-
cracker in this cool revenge movie. Also
stars Edward Norton, Mos Def and
Donald Sutherland. Highly recommend-
ed for its pure entertainment value. PG-
13. Cinemark. Online archives.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and
Blonde: Reese Witherspoon is back as
Elle Woods, Harvard Law, class of 2001,
now in DC on behalf of pet animal’s
rights.
Luke Wilson is still her
boyfriend, as is her manicure person,
Jennifer Coolidge. Sally Field and Bob
Newhart join the cast. Charles Herman-
Wurmfeld directs. PG-13. Cinemark.
Cinema World.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
Directed and re-imagined by Peter
Jackson, part two of J.R.R. Tolkien’s
trilogy continues. New characters, a
surprise return and great battles.
Director Peter Jackson’s second mas-
terpiece. Very highest recommenda-
tions. 2002 Academy Awards for sound
editing, visual effects. PG-13. Movies 12.
Online archives.
Man Apart, A: If you’ve seen the trail-
er, you know that Vin Diesel is an
undercover cop you don’t want to mess
with, especially after some sorry drug
dealer scum breaks into his home. The
New York Times’ Dave Kehr calls it “a
bread-and-butter action film.” Directed
by F. Gary Gray. R. Movies 12.
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas:
DreamWorks animated pirate adven-
ture tale stars the voice of Brad Pitt as
Sinbad, Catherine Zeta-Jones as
Marina, and Michelle Pfieffer as the
goddess of chaos. Joe Fiennes plays
Proteus, a rival pirate. Directed by Tim
Johnson and Patrick Gilmore. PG.
Cinemark. Cinema World.
Spellbound: Academy Award-nominat-
ed documentary feature by Jeffrey
Blitz follows eight school kids from
around the country as they prepare for
and compete at the National Spelling
Bee. Suspenseful, funny and heart-
warming, this film’s a real winner. Very
highest recommendations for the
whole family. G. Bijou. Online archives.
Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines:
Jonathan Mostow directs, and Arnold
Schwarzenegger comes back to save
the world from annihilation once again.
John Connor (Nick Stahl), is 18 now,
and he’s fighting off a female killer
cyborg from the future, (Kristanna
Loken). R. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Twenty-eight Days Later: Danny
Boyle (Trainspotting) directs this really
scary horror film set in a post-cata-
clysmic future, where a deadly virus
sweeps through earth’s population in a
few weeks, and leaves people in a
chronic state of killer rage. Stars
Christopher Eccleston, Cillian Murphy,
Naomie Harris, Megan Burns and
Brendan Gleeson. Advance word is that
it’s a great movie. R. Cinemark.
View from the Top: Bruno Barreto
directs this 1960s era comedy about a
girl’s dream of becoming a first-class
international flight attendant. Stars
Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate,
Mark Ruffalo and Candice Bergen. PG-
13. Movies 12.
Whale Rider: Winner of the World
Cinema award at Sundance 2003, Niki
Caro’s Maori drama about a spunky girl,
played by Keisha Castle-Hughes), who
decides to show her beloved but
authoritarian grandfather that she is
able to lead the tribe, despite being a
girl. A wonderful, inspiring drama that
features the exquisite New Zealand
coast. A don’t-miss movie. PG-13. Bijou.
Online archives.
X-Men 2: The next link in the evolu-
tionary chain? Directed by Bryan
Singer, stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh
Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry,
Famke Janssen, James Marsden and
more, lots more. PG-13. Movies 12.
Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458)
Cinema World 8 (342-6536)
Cinemark 17 (746-5202)c
Movies 12 (741-1231)
NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO
Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publica-
tion, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
Gods & Generals: Jeff Shaara’s epic novel about the Civil War, adapted by direc-
tor Ronald F. Maxwell, stars Jeff Daniels, Robert Duvall, Stephen Lang and Mira
Sorvino. Nearly four hours long. Extras include: commentary by director Ron
Maxwell; introduction by Ted Turner; “Journey to the Past” (BET special); Bob
Dylan’s “Cross the Green Mountain” music video; Mary Fahl’s “Going Home”
music video. PG-13.
Laurel Canyon: Frances McDormand plays an L.A. record producer who still
smokes pot, drinks and is what The NY Times calls “a proud, post-hippie
roustabout who is not about to be anybody’s doormat.” Her lifestyle doesn’t go
over big with her Harvard Medical School graduate son, played by Christian Bale.
Written and directed by Lisa Cholodenko (High Art). Extras: Commentary by
director Lisa Cholodenko, featurette. R.
Pinocchio (2002): American critics were not kind to Italian screenwriter, direc-
tor, star Roberto Benigni’s new version of this well-known fairy tale. Rex Reed of
the New York Observer said it’s “lethal for kids, and an unspeakable insult to
adults.” Co-stars Nicoletta Braschi and Carlo Giuffré. G.
Shanghai Knights: Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are out to settle a score in
Victorian London in this comedy directed by David Dobkin. Extras: Commentary
by director David Dobkin, commentary by screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles
Millar, deleted scenes, “Fight Manual” documentary with Chan and Dobkin. PG-13.
Next week: Ararat, Felicity: Season Two, The Life of David Gale, Nicholas
Nickleby, Read My Lips, Spun.