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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2003)
NUTCRACKER T HE S UGAR S PICE ... AND AND A WHOLE LOTTA B OX O FFICE OPEN MONDAY! MICE ! N UTCRACKER featuring the Eugene Opera Orchestra D ECEMBER 19-2 2 1, 2003 H ULT C ENTER : (541) 682-5 5000 Order tickets 24 hours a day: www.eugeneballet.org P ERFORMANCE SPONSORED BY : M EDIA S PONSORS : G RANT S UPPORT : G ROUP S ALES (15 OR MORE ) CALL S USAN M ONTANA : 541-744-1962 OPENING OR RETURNING: Cheaper By the Dozen: A remake of the Clifton Webb clas- sic from the 1950s, Shawn Levy’s version boasts a new screenplay and stars Steve Martin as the father of 12, who moves his family to the city. Bonnie Hunt plays the kids’ mother. PG. Sneak at 4 pm 12/21. Cinemark.. Christmas Carol, A (1951): Vintage classic of the Dickens’ story, complete with apparitions and a hearty “God bless Tiny Tim.” Stars Alastair Sim. Appropriate for children and adults. At 12:30 pm on 12/20 and 12/21. Free. Bijou. Mona Lisa Smile: Julia Roberts is an idealistic teacher and nonconformist at Wellesley in the 1950s. Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst and Maggie Gyllenhaal are her students. Mike Newell directs. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Radio: High school football coach (Ed Harris) shocks a Southern town by taking on a mentally challenged youth (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and developing a decades-long friend- ship with him. Also stars Alfre Woddard and Debra Winger; directed by Mike Tollin. PG. Movies 12. School of Rock: Faking it as a substitute teacher, wild gui- tarist 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. Movies 12. Tupac Resurrection: Late rap artist Tupac Shakur, who was murdered in 1996, returns to the screen in music videos and interviews. Documentary directed by Lauren Lazin for MTV Films. R. Movies 12. CONTINUING: Bad Santa: Directed by Terry Zwigoff. The story of two con men who go on a road trip to malls dressed as Santa and his elf. Rather than spread good cheer, the duo robs each estab- lishment — a strategy that becomes complicated when they encounter an 8-year-old who teaches them the true mean- ing of Christmas. Stars Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, John Ritter. Cinema World. Cinemark. Brother Bear: Disney tale of young man who is trans- formed into a bear and his adventures in the great Northwest. He picks up a bear cub and runs into a pair of misguided moose, or is that meese? Six new songs from Phil Collins, including one with Tina Turner. G. Movies 12. Cat in the Hat, The: Mike Meyers stars as the outrageous feline who visits a couple of kids and wreaks havoc in the house while mom’s away. Live-action comedy based on beloved Dr. Seuss book. Many parents and many kids can recite it by heart. With Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston. PG-13. Cinemark. 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. Movies 12. Elephant: Gus Van Sant directs a cast of non-professional actors, high-school students from the Portland area. Film has no narrative structure, no voiceover. Camera follows students on an ordinary school day until two boys unleash mayhem and murder. Van Sant’s respect for his young actors and director’s refusal to explain why school shoot- ings happen make it exceptional. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Elf: Jon Favreau directs Will Ferrell as a human child raised as an elf. Mr. Claus (Ed Asner) and his chief assistant (Bob Newhart) send the lad to New York to find his biological father (James Caan). With Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen. PG. Cinema World. Cinemark. Freaky Friday: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Harold Gould, Chad Michael Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christina Vidal, Ryan Malgarini. 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. Highly recommended. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Gothika: Halle Berry plays a criminal psychologist who blacks out and comes to accused of murdering her husband (Charles Dutton). Now she’s a patient in his hospital. Directorial debut of Mathieu Kassovitz. Also stars Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., Bernard Hill. R. Cinemark. Haunted Mansion: Eddie Murphy stars in Rob Minkoff’s (Stuart Little) ghost comedy, with Jennifer Tilly, Don Knotts, Terence Stamp PG. Cinemark. Honey: Directed by Bille Woodruff. Stars Jessica Alba as a music video choreographer and Li’l Romeo, Mekhi Phifer. PG-13. Cinemark. Last Samurai: Directed by Edward Zwick. Stars Ken Watanabe and Tom Cruise. In Japan, Civil War veteran Nathan Algren (Cruise) trains Emperor Meiji’s troops in the way of the gun as they prepare to defeat the last of the country’s samurais. But he is captured by the samurai (Watanabe) and learns about their traditions and code of honor. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King: Peter Jackson completes the film version of Tolkien’s trilogy, seven years in the making. Stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett. Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) plan to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, but Gollum — and the Ring itself — test Frodo’s allegiances and his humanity. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) humbly accepts his kingship. Cinema World. Cinemark. Love Actually: Written and directed by Richard Curtis (Bridget Jones’s Diary), this romantic comedy stars Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Martine McCuthcheon, Bill Nighy. Great moments, fine ensemble cast. R. Cinemark. Love Don’t Cost a Thing: Directed by Troy Beyer. Stars Nick Cannon as teenager Alvin Johnson who tries to play cool by hiring a cheerleader to act as his girlfriend. Remake of 1987’s Can’t Buy Me Love starring Patrick Dempsey. PG-13. Cinemark. Master and Commander The Far side of the World: Peter Weir brings the late Patrick O’Brian’s best-selling nautical adventures to the screen with Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, ship surgeon and naturalist. Set during the Napoleonic Wars. Highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinemark. 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. Movies 12. Online archives. Once Upon a Time in Mexico: Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Antonio Banderas as El Mariarchi, now involved in international espionage. Costars Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke. R. Movies 12. 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 are great. Recommended. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Runaway Jury: Gun manufacturer’s explosive trial stars John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz. Received some good reviews. PG-13. Movies 12. 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. Movies 12. Something’s Gotta Give: Directed by Nancy Meyers. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a New York music mogul with a libido much younger than his years. Also stars Diane Keaton, Amanda Peet and Keanu Reeves. PG- 13. Cinema World. Cinemark. 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. Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino co-star. 3-D viewing glasses required. Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. PG. Movies 12. Station Agent, The: Tom McCarthy’s excellent film about three people with little in common who become friends was a surprise hit at Sundance 2003. Stars Peter Dinklage, who takes up residence in a rural town’s old train depot and gets to know neighbors Patricia Clarkson and Bobby Cannavale. Acclaimed performances by all three. Highly recommended as one of 2003’s best films. Bijou. Online archives. Stuck on You: The Farrelly Brothers (Something About Mary) direct this story of conjoined twins Bob (Mat Damon) and Walt (Greg Kinnear), who move to L.A. so one can become an actor. They become a hit on a TV show starring Cher, but success threatens to drive the twins apart. Eva Mendes, Seymour Cassel and big-name cameos. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Sylvia: Directed by Christine Jeffs. The story of celebrat- ed American poet Sylvia Plath (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her turbulent marriage to a future poet laureate of England, Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig). Ted and Sylvia were a sensu- ous, volatile and brilliant couple. who emerged as two of the most influential writers of the 20th century. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Remake of Tobe Hooper’s1974 horror classic is directed by Marcus Nispel, music video guru. Backwoodsy killer clan runs amok. Stars Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour and Andrew Bryniarski as Leatherface. R. 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 publication, sometimes sooner. See archived movie reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com 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. Crime Spree (2003): Directed by Brad Mirman, stars Gerard Depardieu, Harvey Keitel and Johnny Hallyday (Man on the Train).. I Capture the Castle (2003): Directed by Tim Frywell. Stars Romola Gari, Rose Byrne, Bill Nighy, Tara Fitzgerald, Henry Thomas, Sinead Cusack, Marc Blucas. The Mortmain sisters (Gari and Byrne), their blocked-writer father (Nighy) and his second wife (Fitzgerald) live in a crumbling castle, but when two American boys (Blucas, Thomas) move nearby with their mother (Cusack), the girls’ future looks brighter. R. Rugrats Go Wild: Nickelodeon’s animated 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. Medallion: Jackie Chan action comedy 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. Movies 12. Next week: Beyond Reanimator, Northfork, The Order, Sex and the City, S.W.A.T., and Uptown Girls. 26 DECEMBER 18, 2003
