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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 2003)
BY LOIS WADSWORTH Not Romantic JERRY (JASON BIGGS) AND AMANDA (CHRISTINA RICCI) OUTSIDE HIS APARTMENT. ANYTHING ELSE: Written and directed by Woody Allen. Produced by Letty Aronson, Helen Robin. Executive producers, Stephen Tenenbaum, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe. Cinematography, Darius Khondji. Production design, Santo Loquasto. Editor, Alisa Lepselter. Costumes, Laura Jean Shannon. Starring Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Stockard Channing, Woody Allen, Danny DeVito and Jimmy Fallon. DreamWorks Pictures, 2003. R. 108 minutes. W oody Allen’s final movie of a three-picture deal with DreamWorks, Anything Else, may be an elaborate joke the writer and director has at the expense of the studio, but it has so little regard for the audience, that watching it is tedious. The picture cer- tainly isn’t Allen’s finest hour, rather it calls up his trademark shoulder shrug and deadpan expression: “It’s like anything else.” Too bad there’s such truth in this bland epithet for Allen’s latest work. I pre- fer Tony Soprano’s more muscular, “What you gonna do?” Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs) is a youthful incarnation of the character Woody played in his earlier films: a misfit, a not very sexy, shallow guy with pretensions and a neurotic fixation on the wrong, young(er) OPENING OR RETURNING: Bad Boys II: Martin Lawrence and Will Smith reunite with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay. Smith and Lawrence play Miami narcotics detectives assigned to stem the flood of design- er ecstasy into Miami. R. Movies 12. Duplex: Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller find their Manhattan dream flat but inherit a batty old woman who lives upstairs and drives them nuts. Directed by Danny DeVito, cast also includes Swoosie Kurtz and Harvey Fierstein. PG-13. Cinemark. Intergirl (Interdevochaka, Russia, 1989): Directed by Pyotr Todorovsky. In Russian, with English subtitles. At 9:15 pm on 9/29 in 115 Pacific, UO campus. Free. Jeepers Creepers 2: High school basketball players, cheerleaders and coaches are stranded on notorious highway, and they have to struggle against a winged nightmare. Directed by Victor Salva, stars Ray Wise, Jonathan Breck and more. Horror, violence and language. R. Movies 12. Luther: TV-movie director Eric Till brings John Osborne’s play about Martin Luther to the screen for its third appearance. Joseph Fiennes stars as Luther, with support from Alfred Molina, Jonathan Firth, Claire Cox, Bruno Ganz and Peter Ustinov. Catch this one early. PG-13. Cinema World. Marci X: Played Eugene for one week, now returns for one late night showing. Why doesn’t Cinemark Theaters want anyone to see this movie? 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, written by Paul Rudnick, comedy also stars Jane Krakowski, Christine Baranski. R. Movies 12. Order, The: Writer, director Brian Helgeland’s mystery, thriller, horror film stars Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Peter Weller, Benno Furmann and Mark Addy. Ledger belongs to an arcane order of priests known as the Carolingians. R. Movies 12. School of Rock: Faking it as a sub- stitute teacher, wild guitarist Jack Black turns elementary musical prodigies into a high-voltage rock band. Directed by Richard Linklater, it also stars Joan Cusack, Mike White and Sarah Silverman. PG-13. Sneak at 7:30 pm on 9/27 and at 2 pm. on 9/28. Cinemark. Thirteen: Two 7th grade girls, played by Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed, become entangled in a fast world where media images dominate dress, behavior, values and attitude. Holly Hunter plays the mom who tries to woman for the wrong reason. Jerry falls in love with Amanda (Christina Ricci), while he’s still living with a beautiful blonde, Brooke (KaDee Strickland), whose only fault is to want a commitment. But Amanda is not the girl to pin your hopes on, because she is a fickle female, who does not plan to settle down with Jerry. She moves in with him, uninvited. So does her mother, Paula (Stockard Channing), an equally spoiled-child woman who wants everything her way. This mother and daughter understand each other rather too well to live together in such close quarters. But, isn’t that like anything else? What you gonna do? Jerry, a comic writer, is stuck with Harvey (Danny DeVito), his agent for many years. Jerry is Harvey’s only client, and Jerry can’t bring himself to leave him. But after Jerry meets David Dobel (Woody Allen) at an audition, Dobel advises Jerry right off to dump Harvey, who gets a whopping 25 percent of Jerry’s income. It’s a good idea, but first Jerry has save them. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Searing, honest repre- sentation of what it’s like to be a teenager today. Highly recommend- ed. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Under the Tuscan Sun: Diane Lane plays writer Frances Mayes in this screen adaptation of her best selling book about buying a run-down villa in Italy and creating a new life. PG-13. Cinemark. Films open the Friday following date of EW 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 Nicholas, Seann William Scott and Eddie Kaye Thomas. R. Movies 12. Anything Else: Woody Allen wrote, directed and stars in this Gen X romantic comedy with Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci. When Biggs’s romance with Ricci falters, he con- sults Allen. Also stars Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito and Jimmy Fallon. A major misfire. R. Cinema World. See review this issue. 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. Cabin Fever: Four college friends vacation at a remote cabin, but one of them gets very sick, and the oth- ers struggle with life and death deci- sions as their terror rises. Directed by Eli Roth; stars Jordan Ladd, Rider Strong, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern, Arie Verveen. R. Cinemark. Cold Creek Manor: Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid star in Mike Figgis’ horror flick about city folk who find a repossessed mansion in the country that the owner (Stephen Dorff) real- ly wants back. Also stars Juliette Lewis and Christopher Plummer. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Creature from the Black Lagoon: In 3-D! The 1954 classic monster film mixes scientific discovery with leg- end. New print, complete with 3-D glasses tuned to bring out its best. Two weeks only; special event prices. Bijou. 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. Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star: Sam Weisman directs David Spade in his role as a 35-year old out of work actor who hires a family so he can relive his childhood and final- ly grow up. With Mary McCormack, Jon Lovitz, Craig Berko, Rob Reiner. PG-13. Cinemark. Dirty Pretty Things: Stephen Frears directs Audrey Tautou and Chiwetel Ejiofor as immigrants in London who work at the same West London hotel, a secret underworld of illegal activity. Thriller. Excellent per- formances and a weird beauty. Highly recommended. R. Bijou. Online archives. Fighting Temptations, The: Cuba Gooding Jr. plays an ad exec who inherits money only if he conducts a rural gospel choir. Co-stars Beyoncé Knowles. Musical comedy directed by Jonathan Lynn. PG-13. Cinemark. 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. PG. Cinemark. 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. Movies 12. Italian Job, The: Back in town again. 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. NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publication, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938): Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone and Claude Raines star in Michael Curtiz’ Technicolor action film. Shows how Errol Flynn charmed the pants off the women of America. 2-disc DVD includes digi- tally enhanced feature with nesws- reels and shorts to give you an old- fashioned treat. Dreamcatcher: Buddy reunion camping trip horror film from Lawrence Kasdan, based on Stephen King’s book, stars Morgan Brian Hamill. DreamWorks Pictures, 2003 Not funny either. Anything Else feels like the work of an embittered old man. Sorry, Woody. to grow up enough to start taking care of himself I wish there were some wonderful moment to recall from this film that would recommend it, but there isn’t. It’s all for- Also stars Edward Norton, Mos Def and Donald Sutherland. Highly rec- ommended for its pure entertain- ment value. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Matchstick Men: Ridley Scott directs this tale of a couple of grifters working small-time cons, until personal issues arise. Stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, with Alison Lohman and Bruce McGill. PG- 13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Matrix Reloaded: Second chapter brings Neo (Keanu Reeve), Trinity (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) closer to solving the enigma but also puts them in greater danger. Written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, it also stars Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith and Gloria Foster. R. Movies 12. Online archives. Once Upon a Time in Mexico: Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Antonio Banderas as El Mariarchi, now involved in international espi- onage. Costars Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. 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. Cinemark Online archives. Pirates of the Caribbean: Non-stop adventure directed by Gore Verbinski stars Johnny Depp, Freeman, Donny Wahlberg, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, Thomas Jane and Tom Sizemore. DVD extras include interview with Stephen King, delet- ed scenes, original ending and more. R. Fargo Special Edition: Coen broth- ers film set in Minnesota in the win- ter, where a bumbling car salesman (William H. Macy) hires two goons (Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife, while he pockets the ransom. When the scheme goes awry, Marge (Frances McDormand), a pregnant police investigator, gets the case. A Coen blend of real crime action and pitch-black comedy, where much of the humor comes from the locals’ unrelenting upbeat attitude. One of the best films of ‘96. DVD has new documentary, “Minnesota gettable. So, what you gonna do about it? Now playing at Cinema World, Anything Else feels like the work of an embittered old man. Sorry, Woody. ew Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Depp sashays, Rush dissembles, Bloom fences and Knightley swashbuckles. Depp and Rush’s over the top performances are great. Recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Rundown, The: Peter Berg directs Seann William Scott, The Rock, Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken in this adventure about a kingpin’s son who disappears in the Amazon in search of a valuable arti- fact. PG-13. Cinema World. 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 recommen- dations. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Secondhand Lions: Haley Joe Osment is sent to his great uncles’ rural Texas farm, where the city boy has much to learn. Robert Duvall and Michael Caine may have been bank robbers. Written and directed by Tim McCanlies (writer, The Iron Giant). PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. 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. Movies 12. Nice;” interviews with Joel and Ethan Coen, McDormand; trivia; Deakins on cinematography. R. Kids Are All Right, The (1979): First time on DVD, The Who in live per- formance restored and remas- tered. 2-disc DVD includes “Won’t Get Filmed Again,” five hours of original material, new interviews/ Nowhere in Africa: Caroline Link’s film follows a family through the transition from Hitler’s Germany in 1938 to colonial Kenya. Based on a best selling autobio- graphical 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. Online archives. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948): John Huston directs Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines: Jonathan Mostow directs, and Arnold Schwarzenegger comes back to save the world from annihila- tion 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. Underworld: Set in a world where vampires are a clan of aristocratic moderns, and lycans (werewolves) are a gang of street thugs, Len Wiseman’s film stars Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman. When they fall in love, they trigger an ancient feud. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Uptown Girls: 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. Movies 12. 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. G. Bijou. Online archives. Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458) Cinema World 8 (342-6536) Cinemark 17 (746-5202)c Movies 12 (741-1231) Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt as three prospectors searching for Mexican gold in this classic Western. 2-disc DVD simulates a night at the movies, with shorts and newsreel of the era. 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. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942): Directed by Michael Curtiz, this backstage and onstage revival of the golden years of show biz stars James Cagney in a great perform- ance as George M. Cohan, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, Rosemary DeCamp. Night at the movies DVD with shorts, newsreels. Next week: Not available. SEPTEMBER 25, 2003 17
