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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2003)
BY LOIS WADSWORTH Films open the Friday following date of E W publication unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com. CONTINUING: Alex & Emma: Rob Reiner directs Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson in a comedy romance based on a short story by Dostoyevsky. Wilson plays a writer who has to finish a book on deadline or deal with gambling debts to the mob. Hudson is a secretary with ideas about his book. Also stars, Sophie Marceau, Cloris Leachman and David Paymer. PG- 13. Movies 12. 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. Bad Boys II: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith reunite with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay for another in this summer of sequels. Smith plays Mike Lowrey and Lawrence plays Marcus Burnett, two Miami nar- cotics detectives assigned to stem the flood of designer ecstasy into Miami. R. Cinemark. Bruce Almighty: Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston star in this tale of a at TV reporter, who has a really bad day, rages against God and receives more than he expected. PG-13. Movies 12. 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. 2002 Academy Awards for best picture, supporting actress Zeta-Jones, art direction, sound, editing and costumes. PG 13. Movies 12. Online archives. Daddy Day Care: Eddie Murphy and Jeff Garlin lose their jobs and can’t afford day care for their sons, so they open their own facility. Comedy directed by Steve Carr also stars Anjelica Huston, Steve Zahn and Regina King. PG. Movies 12. Finding Nemo: Computer-animated fantasy of two Clownfish, Marlin and his son Nemo 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 Deal: Directed by Clare Kilner. Stars pop singer turned actress Mandy Moore. Laura Sinagra of The Village Voice writes, “Moore’s … spunky resolve still brands like honesty.” PG-13. Movies 12. 22 JULY 31, 2003 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. Movies 12. 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. Johnny English: When all but one of MI5’s top agents are killed in an explo- sion, it is left to the inept Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame) to try and solve who has stolen the crown jewels from the Tower of London. Accompanied by his assistant Bough (Ben Miller), Johnny bungles his way through one scrape after another. Directed by Peter Howett. PG. Cinemark. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life: Second in the franchise again stars Angelina Jolie as action heroine Lara Croft who saves the world, again, from unspeakable evil. Directed by Jan De Bont, also stars Gerard Butler and Noah Taylor. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Based on the comic book miniseries by Alan Moore. Matthew Tobey in All Movie Guide writes movie “takes place in an alternate universe, where the charac- ters 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-fight- ing heroes.” Directed by Steve Norrington. Stars Sean Connery, Peta Wilson, Shane West, Stuart Townsend, Naseeruddin Shah, and Tony Curran. PG-13. Cinemark. 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. Movies 12. Lizzie McGuire, The Movie: Disney comedy about a girl on a class trip to Italy who is mistaken for an Italian pop star. Stars Hillary Duff, directed by Jim Fall. PG. Movies 12. Nowhere in Africa: Caroline Link’s film follows a family through the transition from Hitler’s Germany in 1938 to colo- nial Kenya. Based on a best selling auto- biographical novel by Stefanie Zweig, it is a tender look at a marriage under stress, a child who embraces Africa, and a Kenyan man who looks after them all. Winner of the 2002 Academy Award winner Best Foreign Film. R. Bijou. Online archives. Pirates of the Caribbean: Non-stop adventure directed by Gore Verbinski stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Depp sashays, Rush dissembles, Bloom fences and Knightley swashbuckles - mid-summer’s great escape movie. Recommended especially for Depp and Rush’s over the top performances and the good time had by all. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives.. Quiet American, The: Directed by Phillip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence), this adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel is set in 1952 Saigon during the French Indochina War. Michael Caine plays an English journalist; also stars Brendan Fraser. 2002 Academy Award nomina- tion for Caine. Underrated, excellent movie. Highly recommended. Movies 12. R. Online archives. Seabiscuit: Story of a has-been race- horse who became America’s Depression-era success story. Seabiscuit, the original down-and-outer who makes it big, is supported by Tobey Maguire as his jockey, Chris Cooper as his trainer and Jeff Bridges as his owner. Written, directed by Gary Ross and based on Laura Hillenbrand’s best- selling non-fiction book, it also stars Elizabeth Banks, William H. Macy. All the marks of a winning film. Highest recom- mendations. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. See review this issue. Spy Kids 3D: Game Over: Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara continue to embrace the family business — spying — but this time the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone) may be their nemesis. Also stars Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino. Special 3-D viewing glasses required. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez, who’s on a roll. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. 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. Online archives.. 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. New possible ending. R. Cinemark. 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. 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. NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publi- cation, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com drop wide open so often could exhaust you.” R. Omega Man (1971): Based on Richard Matheson’s sci-fi thriller, Boris Sagal’s film stars Charleton Heston in post- Apocalyptic L.A, fighting albino victims of biologically engineered plague. Violent. PG. Soylent Green (1973): Despite its rat- ing, this one’s not for kids. Police detec- tive Charleston Heston accidentally dis- covers what soylent green — people’s basic foodstuff — is really made of. Directed by Richard Fleischer, it also stars Joseph Cotton, Leigh Taylor- Young, Chuck Connors, Edward G. Robinson. PG. What a Girl Wants: Teen Amanda Bynes is “trying to fit in, born to stand out.” She wants a fairy tale relationship with her absent dad and is tired of living with her unconventional mom, played by Colin Firth and Kelly Preston. Oliver James plays her love interest. PG. Agent Cody Banks: Teen action adventure stars Frankie Muniz as an undercover CIA operative, Angie Harmon as his boss, and Hilary Duff as girlfriend. PG. Bringing Down the House: Domestic comedy starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifa is directed by Adam Shankman. PG-13. Lost in La Mancha (2003): Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe’s documentary captures the spectacular failure of Terry Gilliam’s efforts to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. With Johnny Depp as a contemporary man sent back in time and French star Jean Rochefort (Man on the Train) as Don Quixote. After injuries claimed Rochefort, and Gilliam had spent $30 million of mostly Euro money, the French money guys pulled out. The NY Times’ Elvis Mitchell wrote that after seeing the movie “you may wish you’d had your jaw wired shut, since having it Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458) Cinema World 8 (342-6536) Cinemark 17 (746-5202) Movies 12 (741-1231) Next week: Babylon 5, Cradle 2 the Grave, Daisy Miller (1974), He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, Head of State, Helen of Troy, the Hunted, Lizzie McGuire movie, Once Upon a Time in China trilogy, Paper Moon (1973). Grazia (Valeria Golino) and Pietro (Vincenzo Amato). SONY PICTURES CLASSICS, 2002 OPENING OR RETURNING: American Wedding: Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are get- ting married. Now if their friends and family will just stay on their best behav- ior. Right. American Pie’s crude humor lives on. Also stars January Jones, Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott and Eddie Kaye Thomas. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Andre: True story of a baby seal adopt- ed by a family that returns to them after being set out to sea. Starring Keith Carradine and Tina Majorino. PG. Plays at 10 am on 8/5 only. Movies 12. Bend It Like Beckham: Soccer-crazy girls in London suburb drive their respective families crazy because they’d rather play soccer than think about marriage and shopping. Warm-hearted, generous hit film returns to Eugene. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Freaky Friday: Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan play a quarreling mother and daughter who accidentally switch bodies. Ooops! Mark Harmon plays the mom’s fiancé. Directed by Mark Waters, based on Mary Rodgers’ book. Opens Wed. 8/6. Cinemark. Gigli: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez star in what’s being called a “romantic gangster comedy,” which doesn’t sound good. Written and directed by Martin Brest. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Respiro: Set on the Italian island of Lampedusa, this uneven but gorgeous film shows the difficulties of village life for a vibrant, beautiful young mother, played by Valeria Golino. Both stirring and disturbing, the film is highly recom- mended. PG-13. Bijou. See review this issue. The Clan Flaws in paradise. RESPIRO: Written and directed by Emanuele Crialese. Produced by Domenico Procacci, Anne-Dominique Toussaint. Cinematography, Fabio Zamarion. Editor, Didier Ranz. Music, John Surman. Art direction Beatrice Scarpato. Costumes, Eva Coen. Starring Valeria Golino, with Vincenzo Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D’Agostino, Filippo Pucillo. Also Emma Loffredo, Elio Germano, Avy Marciano. Sony Pictures Classics, 2002. PG-13. 95 minutes. Cannes 2002 Critics Week Award. T he film begins abruptly, in media res, as they say. And I had trouble just that fast. The early sequences picture bru- tal, mean-spirited battles between savage, rival boy gangs set on rocky, dry sea cliffs, where empty, half-built cement-block struc- tures further blight the landscape. If writer, director Emanuele Crialese wanted to shock me, he did. But his assumption that contem- porary audiences would welcome this cruel, neo-realistic introduction to the island of Lampedusa feels like a gamble. During the film’s first 15-20 minutes it was all I could do to stay in the room. I’m actually glad I stayed with it, because once the film’s main character, Grazia (Valeria Golino), appears, a different energy slowly takes over. Grazia is the mother of three wild children: precocious teenager Marinella (Veronica D’Agostino); 13-year old Pasquale (Francesco Casisa), who’s always in trouble with his dad; and youngest bro, Filippo (Filippo Pucillo), who’s tougher than all the rest of them. Grazia is a force of nature: lulled by the ocean, gentle and loving with her kids, stirred by sexual longings, and angry as a hornet when her super-macho, fisherman husband, Pietro (Vincenzo Amato), treats her badly. In a tight community like this, the villagers hold against her for being at odds with her fellow women workers at the fish factory or dislik- ing her meddling mother-in-law (Emma Loffredo). And when the women conspire against her, she flips out, crazy as a loon, and has to be medicated, which reinforces their resolve to send her away for treatment. But Pietro loves Grazia in his own way and tries to protect her from the villagers. Her boys, especially the indomitable Filippo, keep their eyes on her so that she doesn’t transgress the hidebound rules that govern behavior on this island off the Italian coast near western Sicily. Her son Pasquale helps her hide out when she needs to get away from everyone, with consequences he can’t fore- see. And Filippo is fiercely loyal. By the film’s ambiguous and not entirely persuasive ending, I was quite taken by the beautiful, lively Grazia but annoyed because I couldn’t remember where I had seen the actress Valeria Golino recently. Ah, yes, she was the persistent first wife of Diego Rivera in Frida, the one who lived upstairs with his children and cooked mole every morning even after he married Frida Kahlo. Golino is the strongest reason to see this film. With her naturalistic performance she brings the emo- tionally vulnerable Grazia to life as an inde- pendent woman living in a closed society. As Grazia’s daughter Marinella, D’Agostino creates a young woman who knows what she wants and how to get it. And who she wants is a young policeman new to the island. He acts tough at first, but he’s really just shy, and that’s what she likes about him. D’Agostino’s performance is fluid and flawless. Both of the young actors who play Grazia’s sons, Casisa and Pucillo, bring meaningful nuance to their portraits of young men as straitjacketed as their beautiful moth- er in terms of the roles open to them. All the village men, their father included, are fisher- man working a fished-out ocean. But the kids are wily. One way or another, they find food from the ocean to bring home or to barter. They are, as the delightful, no-nonsense Filippo puts it, “bored shitless,” but also inventive and full of the optimism of youth. Pietro has a different battle to fight. Although he finds a few tender moments with his wife, whom he loves, his days are filled with hard work that is no longer fruit- ful, and that’s tough on a man’s ego. Amato gives depth and resonance to Pietro’s loss and grief when Grazia disappears, especially during his vigil at the ocean, where the vil- lagers, feeling guilty, join him. A rare glimpse of a lifestyle foreign to our urban American experience, the director and actors have created a film that is both stirring and disturbing. Highly recommended, Respiro starts Friday, August 1, at the Bijou. Cast your vote by catching it early. ew
