BY LOIS WADSWORTH
Who Rules the Range?
O PE N R AN G E: Directed by Kevin Costner. Written by Craig
Storper. Produced by Costner and David Valdes, Jake Eberts.
Executive producers Armyan Bernstein, Craig Storper.
Cinematographer, James Muro. Production design, Gae
Buckley. Editors, Michael J. Duthie, Miklos Wright. Costumes,
John Bloomfield. Music, Michael Kamen. Visual effects super-
visor, David J. Negron Jr. Starring Robert Duvall, Kevin
Costner, Annette Bening, with Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter,
Diego Luna, James Russo, Abraham Benrubi, Dean
McDermott and Kim Coates. Touchstone Pictures, 2003. R. 135
minutes.
K
evin Costner’s third film as director
and star pays homage to the classic
Westerns he loves. While Clint
Eastwood redefined Hollywood’s vision of
the Western with the bracing realism of his
1992 drama, Unforgiven, Costner’s linger-
ing images of landscape, cattle and the sun-
burned cowpokes who ride the range rein-
force the genre’s idealism. Costner’s nod to
cornpone sentimentality — saving the
puppy from the flood — escapes the label
of heavy-handed, but it belongs to the nos-
talgic Americana embraced by many
moviegoers who love old Westerns.
As the film opens, Boss Spearman
(Robert Duvall), Charley Waite (Cosner),
Button (Diego Luna) and Mose (Abraham
Benrubi) herd their cattle into pristine val-
ley pastureland so green and graceful it
looks fake. A spectacular mountain range
provides aesthetic balance to the verdant
grasses, and both man and beast welcome
the sight. Later when a massive thunder-
OPENING OR RETURNING:
League
of
Extraordinary
Gentlemen: Based on the comic
book miniseries by Alan Moore,
directed by Steve Norrington, the
movie stars Sean Connery, Peta
Wilson,
Shane
West,
Stuart
Townsend, Naseeruddin Shah, and
Tony Curran. PG-13. Movies 12.
Marci X: Lisa Kudrow plays a spoiled
daughter who has to run her dad’s
music company after his death.
Damon Wayans is a rapper with a
bad reputation and a dicey CD.
Directed by Richard Benjamin, writ-
ten by Paul Rudnick, comedy also
stars Jane Krakowski, Christine
Baranski. R. Cinemark.
Medallion: Jackie Chan action com-
edy co-stars Lee Evans and Claire
Forlani. A mysterious medallion
turns police detective Chan into a
superhero, but the bad guys want it
back. Gordon Chan directs. PG-13.
Cinema World. Cinemark.
My Boss’s Daughter: Comedy
directed by David Zucker stars
Ashton Kutcher, whose boss,
Terrence Stamp, asks him to look
after his house for a night. But he
has company, including the beautiful
Tara Reid and strange visitors. PG-13.
Cinemark. Cinema World.
Rugrats Go Wild: Nickelodeon’s ani-
mated diaper set meets up wit the
Wild Thornberrys after being
washed ashore to a desert island
from a storm-wracked cruise ship.
Directed by Norton Virgien and John
Eng. Bruce Willis voices Spike the
dog. PG. Movies 12.
Twenty-eight Days Later: Danny
Boyle (Trainspotting) directs scary
horror film set in a post-cataclysmic
future, where a deadly virus sweeps
through earth’s population, leaving
people in a chronic state of killer
rage. Stars Christopher Eccleston,
Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris,
Megan Burns and Brendan Gleeson.
New possible ending. R. Movies 12.
Films open the Friday following
date of E W publication unless oth-
erwise noted. See archived
reviews
at
www.eugeneweekly.com.
CONTINUING:
American Wedding: Jim (Jason
Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson
Hannigan) are getting married. Now
if their friends and family will just
stay on their best behavior. Right.
American Pie’s crude humor lives on.
Also stars January Jones, Fred
Willard, Eugene Levy, Thomas Ian
storm turns their campsite into a sodden,
muddy mess and spooks both livestock and
horses, the guys sit under a tarp, next to a
fire and play cards. How idyllic is prairie
life!
But not for long. A power-mad cattle
baron, Denton Baxter (Michael Gambon),
bullies people in the nearby town into sub-
mission through his nasty hired guns. After
Mose fails to return from a trip to town,
Boss and Charley check the pistols in their
holsters, grab their rifles and saddle up.
Turns out Mose got beat up while cor-
rupt Sheriff Poole (James Russo) twiddled
his thumbs. The cowboys get their man out
of jail, but Baxter warns the “freegrazers”
to get on their horses and ride out of the
county. But before leaving town, they stop
by the local doctor’s place to get Mose
patched up. Sue Barlow (Annette Bening)
lets them in and cleans up the wounded
man until Doc Barlow (Dean McDermott)
arrives — long enough for Charley and Sue
to exchange meaningful glances.
Crusty old cuss like Boss knows what’s
up, but Charley is convinced that he is too
bad a man for a woman like Sue to even
consider. Takes the whole dang movie for
him to come to a different opinion.
Meanwhile the conflict between Baxter’s
thugs and the wranglers heats up, leading
eventually to a whopper of a shoot-out.
Nicholas, Seann William Scott and
Eddie Kaye Thomas. R. Cinemark.
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.
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
directed by Rob Marshall stars
Renee Zellweger and Catherine
Zeta-Jones as killer dames behind
bars who compete for tabloid cover-
age. With Queen Latifah, John C.
Reilly and Richard Gere. 2002
Academy Awards for best picture,
supporting actress Zeta-Jones, art
direction, sound, editing and cos-
tumes. 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: Pixar’s 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 recommended.
G. Cinemark. Online archives.
Freaky Friday: Jamie Lee Curtis
and Lindsay Lohan play a quarreling
mother and daughter who acciden-
tally switch bodies. Ooops! Mark
Harmon plays the mom’s fiancé.
Directed by Mark Waters, based on
Mary Rodgers’ book. Opens Wed.
8/6. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Online archives.
Freddy vs. Jason: The ultimate
celebrity death match: Freddy
Kruger (Robert Englund) takes on
Jason “The Face Mask” Voorhees
(Ken Kerzinger), in this film directed
by Ronny Yu. R. Cinemark, Cinema
World.
Grind: Four skaters follow their idol
on his summer tour in an attempt to
get noticed, sponsored and become
stars themselves. Directed by Casey
La Scala; stars Mike Vogel, Vince
Vieluf, Adam Brody, Joey Kern and
Jennifer Morrison. PG-13. Cinemark.
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.
Hollywood Homicide: Fast-paced
action comedy directed by Ron
Shelton stars Harrison Ford and
Josh Hartnett as cops, with Isaiah
Washington, Lena Olin, Bruce
Greenwood, Master P., Lolita
Davidovich, Dwight Yoakum, Keith
David and Martin Landau. PG-13.
Movies 12. Online archives.
Hulk, The: Director Ang Lee’s
action-adventure adaptation of the
Marvel Comics series hits darker
notes than 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.
Johnny English: Inept Johnny
English (Rowan Atkinson) tries to
solve who has stolen the crown jew-
els 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.
Movies 12.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The
Cradle of Life: Angelina Jolie stars
as action heroine Lara Croft who
saves the world, again, from
unspeakable evil. Directed by Jan De
CHRIS LARGE. BUENA VISTA. TOUCHSTONE PICTURES, 2003.
Cowboys vs. Cattlemen
CHARLEY WAITE (KEVIN COSTNER) AND BOSS SPEARMAN
(ROBERT DUVALL) TAKE IT EASY IN CAMP.
OK, all of this is pretty predictable,
right? We’ve seen the cowboys versus
despotic landowners played out lots of
times. But here’s the rub. The very industry
armed cattleman Baxter tries to save from
entrepreneurs like Boss was built on free
grazing. By 1887 Baxter’s sort would
become relics along with the lone cowboys
like Boss and Charley they displaced, after
farmers discovered a product that radically
changed the politics of wealth in the West:
barbed wire.
In Open Range’s indeterminate, post-
Civil War period, barbed wire apparently
has not yet come to Harmonville’s general
store, although Swiss chocolate and Cuban
cigars have. But it is understood that good
Bont, also stars Gerard Butler and
Noah Taylor. PG-13. Cinemark.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and
Blonde: Reese Witherspoon is Elle
Woods, Harvard Law, class of 2001,
now in DC on behalf of pet animal’s
rights. Luke Wilson’s her boyfriend,
Jennifer Coolidge’s her manicurist,
Sally Field and Bob Newhart are new.
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld directs.
PG-13. Movies 12.
Mighty Wind, A: Christopher
Guest’s (Best in Show) pseudo-docu-
mentary narrative about a folk
music reunion show is one of his
craftiest satirical offerings. Stars the
usual suspects: Eugene Levy, Parker
Posey, Bob Balaban. Harry Shearer,
Michael McKean and Guest himself.
Highly recommended. PG-13. Movies
12. Online archives.
Open Range: Kevin Costner directs
and stars with Robert Duvall in this
traditional Western. A corrupt cattle
baron (Michael Gambon) forces the
cowboys to take up arms. Also stars
Annette Bening, whose restrained
performance is warm and real;
Abraham Benrubi, Diego Luna.
Recommended. Cinema World.
Cinemark. See review this issue.
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. Depp and
Rush’s over the top performances
NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO
Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publica-
tion, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at w ww . e u ge n e we e k ly .c o m
Chasing Papi (2003) Stars Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara, Jaci Velasquez,
Eduardo Verastegui, D.L.Hughley, Freddy Rodriguez, Joy Enriquez, Lisa Vidal. DVD
includes commentary by director, cast; bloopers; extended scenes; music vid.
Desperado (1995) Robert Rodriguez directs Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek,
Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Quentin Tarantino. DVD includes director’s com-
mentary and “Anatomy of a Shootout” featurette.
El Mariachi Special Edition (1992) Robert Rodriguez’s surprise hit stars Carlos
Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez. DVD includes director’s commentary plus his award-
winning short, Bedhead.
“ER: The Complete First Season”: 4-disc DVD covers all 25 episodes plus pilot.
Michael Crichton commentary, interactive character profiles, “patient” histories,
outtakes, unreleased scenes and more.
Iron Giant, The (1999): Animated feature about a 1950s small town boy who
befriends a giant metal robot that’s fallen into the sea and protects him from Cold
War patriotic zealots. Voices of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Cloris
Leachman and others. Clever enough to entertain both kids and adults, film also
tackles complex issues. Recommended. 2-disc DVD. PG.
Levity: Despite its stellar cast, Billy Bob Thornton’s “ostentatious restraint and his
bottomless melancholy cry out for a mask and cape,” writes NYTimes critic A.O.
Scott. Ed Solomon directs Thornton, Kirsten Dunst, Morgan Freeman and Holly
Hunter. R.
men like Boss and Charley cannot stand by
and watch a tinhorn despot like Baxter get
away with imposing his will on their
lifestyle. This metaphor underlies the
Western as genre and this Western in par-
ticular.
Recently I’ve observed politicians who
lack Boss and Charley’s self-awareness and
whose goals are no more moral than
Baxter’s use and abuse this metaphor.
While Open Range may cater to our nostal-
gia for the good old days, it’s always smart
to carefully examine the message you’re
being asked to swallow.
A good Western despite its flaws, Open
Range is now playing at Cinemark and
Cinema World.
ew
are great. Recommended. PG-13.
Cinemark. Cinema World. Online
archives.
S.W.A.T. Police Special Weapons and
Tactics unit buddies Samuel L.
Jackson and Colin Farrell star in this
action-thriller based on the 1970s TV
series. Also with Michelle Rodriguez,
LL Cool J. PG-13. Cinemark.
Seabiscuit: A has-been racehorse
becomes America’s Depression-era
success story. Seabiscuit gets sup-
port from jockey Tobey Maguire,
trainer Chris Cooper, and owner Jeff
Bridges. Written, directed by Gary
Ross based on Laura Hillenbrand’s
best-selling non-fiction book, it also
stars Elizabeth Banks, William H.
Macy. Highest recommendations.
PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World.
Online archives.
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over: Alexa
Vega and Daryl Sabara continue to
embrace the family business — spy-
ing — but this time the Toymaker
(Sylvester Stallone) may be their
nemesis. Also, Antonio Banderas and
Carla Gugino. Special 3-D viewing
glasses required. Written and direct-
ed by Robert Rodriguez. PG.
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.
Uptown Girl: Brittany Murphy stars
as the freewheeling daughter of a
late rock legend, but when her inher-
itance is stolen, she’s forced to get a
job as a nanny to precocious Ray
Schleine (Dakota Fanning), an “eight-
year-old going on forty.” In a
comedic battle of wills, each discov-
ers in the other a true friend.
Directed by Boas Yakin. Also stars
Heather Locklear. PG-13. Cinemark.
Cinema World.
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 grandfa-
ther that she is able to lead the tribe,
despite being a girl. Wonderful,
inspiring drama features the exqui-
site New Zealand coast. A don’t-miss
movie.
PG-13.
Bijou.
Online
archives.
Winged Migration: Documentary
directed by Jacques Perrin shows
many bird species making round trip
migrations of up to 10,000 miles up
close. Ingenious ultralight aircraft let
movie’s 13 cinematographers fly
right next to, in front of or below the
birds they were filming. A moving
film. Highest recommendations.
Bijou. See review this issue.
Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458)
Cinema World 8 (342-6536)
Cinemark 17 (746-5202)c
Movies 12 (741-1231)
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 masterpiece. Very highest rec-
ommendations. 2002 Academy Awards for sound editing, visual effects. DVD
extras include 10-min. preview of The Return of the King. PG-13. Online archives.
National Lampoon’s Animal House Double Secret Probation Edition (1978)
Special 25th anniversary edition. Directed by John Landis, this cult classic shot in
Eugene and Cottage Grove stars the late John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Stephen
Furst, Tom Hulce, Peter Riegert, Karen Allen, Donald Sutherland, John Vernon,
Verna Bloom, Mark Metcalf, Bruce McGill, Mary Louise Weller, Martha Smith, Kevin
Bacon, James Daughton, James Widdoes, Cesare Danova. DVD extras include
Landis’s “Where Are They Now?” featurette.
Poolhall Junkies (2002) Stars Chazz Palminteri, Rick Schroder, Rod Steiger,
Michael Rosenbaum, Mars Callahan, Alison Eastwood, Christopher Walken. DVD
includes commentary by director, star Callahan and writer Chris Corso.
Raising Victor Vargas: Peter Sollett’s indie romantic, coming-or-age comedy
about 16-year-old Victor (Victor Rasuk) who wants to go with Judy (Judy Marte)
but first must win her trust. Victor’s grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) doesn’t
know what’s happening to the three kids she’s raised. Funny, touching and terrific
performances by fresh, new faces. Highly recommended. R. Online archives.
Next week: The Ballad of Little Jo, The Breakfast Club, The Endurance, Identity, A
Man Apart, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, Once Were Warriors and Titanic
(1953).
AUGUST 21, 2003 26