BY MOLLY TEMPLETON
CINEMARK - SPRINGFIELD
Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 746-5202 - 6/24-6/30
Digital Sound in ALL Auditoriums
PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE AT CINEMARK.COM
PRICES: ADULTS WEEKDAYS $7.25, FRI & SAT $7.75 ¥ CHILDREN &
SENIORS $5.00, STUDENTS $5.75
BARGAIN MATINEES ADULTS $5.25, CHILD $5.00
EARLY BIRD SHOWING $4.25 (FIRST MATINEE OF EACH MOVIE)
** NO ONE UNDER 6 YEARS
OF AGE ADMITTED TO ANY
R RATED FEATURE AFTER
6:00 PM **
BEWITCHED PG13
MADAGASCAR PG
9:20, 10:55, 11:45, 1:30, 2:10, 4:00,
4:35, 7:00, 9:25
LONGEST YARD PG13
9:50, 12:40, 3:30, 7:00, 9:45
8:50, 9:40, 11:25, 12:10, 1:55, 2:45,
4:30, 5:20, 7:10, 7:55, 9:45, 10:30 STAR WARS III PG13
9:00, 12:25, 3:50, 6:40, 7:15, 10:05,
LAND OF THE DEAD R
10:40
9:45, 12:15, 2:55, 5:25, 8:00, 10:35
SISTERHOOD OF THE
HERBIE: FULLY LOADED TRAVELING PANTS PG
G
7:35, 10:30
9:25, 11:55, 2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:15
ADVENTURES OF
PERFECT MAN PG
SHARK BOY & LAVA
9:30, 12:05, 2:40, 5:15, 7:50, 10:25 GIRL PG
BATMAN BEGINS PG13 9:10, 11:35, 2:00, 4:25
8:55, 9:35, 11:50, 12:20, 12:55,
CINDERELLA MAN PG13
3:15, 3:35, 4:10, 6:35, 7:05, 7:20,
9:50, 10:20, 10:45
9:15, 12:35, 3:55, 7:20, 10:35
MR & MRS SMITH PG13
9:05, 9:55, 10:35, 12:00, 12:50,
1:25, 2:50, 3:40, 4:20, 6:30, 7:05,
7:45, 9:30, 10:00, 10:40
*NO PASSES/NO SUPERSAVERS
MOVIES 12 - SPRINGFIELD
Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 741-1231
SHOWTIMES FOR 6/24-6/30
No children under age 6 will be admitted to any
R-rated feature after 6:00 PM
THE PACIFIER PG
11:00, 11:40, 1:50, 2:35, 4:20, 5:05,
6:55, 7:35, 9:35, 10:15
HOUSE OF WAX R
10:50, 2:00, 4:45, 7:25, 10:10
SAHARA PG13
10:50, 1:40, 4:35, 7:30, 10:25
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN R
11:10, 2:40, 6:50, 10:00
HITCH PG13
11:05, 1:55, 4:50, 7:40, 10:30
ROBOTS PG
10:55, 11:35, 1:45, 2:30, 4:15, 4:55,
7:00, 9:30
Enchanting Tale
Miyazaki does it again.
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE:
Written and
directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Based on the book by Diana
Wynne Jones. U.S. Production: Directed by Rick Dempsey
and Pete Docter. English language adaptation by Cindy
David Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt. Produced by Rick
Dempsey, Ned Lott. Executive producer, John Lasseter.
Starring Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Jean Simmons,
Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall and Blythe Danner. Studio
Ghibli. Walt Disney Studios. Buena Vista Pictures
Distribution, 2005. PG. 129 minutes.
I
f there is one frustrating thing about whole-
heartedly recommending Howl’s Moving
Castle, the latest magical confection from
Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, it’s that
English seems insufficient to convey the beau-
ty of the film. Part adventure, part social com-
mentary and mostly fairy tale, Howl (based on
the book by Diana Wynne Jones) takes ele-
ments from Miyazaki’s work thus far and com-
bines them into a soaring delight.
The heroine of Howl’s Moving Castle,
Sophie (Emily Mortimer), is a steadfast, gen-
erous girl, a hatmaker in a quaintly European
sort of village, when she first encounters the
dashing, charismatic Howl (Christian Bale).
Sophie’s quiet life is thrown into upheaval, but
not because of Howl (who’s rumored to eat the
hearts of beautiful young women). It seems
Howl’s attentiveness to Sophie caught the eye
of the corpulent Witch of the Waste (Lauren
Bacall), whose jealousy leads her to put a spell
on poor Sophie: She turns into a 90-year-old
woman (voiced by Jean Simmons), unable to
tell anyone how she got that way.
Though Sophie doesn’t really know it yet,
she is, like all Miyazaki heroines, plucky and
adaptable. She only seems to mope about her
fate for a day before heading off into the
Waste, where the witches and wizards are. An
encounter with a peculiar scarecrow leads her
to Howl’s castle, where she sets herself up as
the cleaning lady (an employee Howl clearly
needs) after striking a deal with Calcifer, the
fire demon who powers the castle.
And what a castle it is: Creaking, lumbering,
a conglomeration of sheds, domes and pipes,
with a strong suggestion of a face, this castle is
a magical masterpiece on four chicken legs. Its
inhabitants tend to be as changeable and pecu-
liar as its facade: Howl may be a powerful magi-
cian, but he’s also a sulky, petulant boy, and
Calcifer is a strange juxtaposition of immense
power and childlike appearance. Far from the
willful blue sprite of the book, this fire demon is
bright orange and, well, very much like a regu-
lar old fire, just with huge, round eyes and the
voice of a pleasantly restrained Billy Crystal.
Sophie’s part in this strange family (which
also includes Howl’s chipper young apprentice,
Markl) grows with her confidence: Stripped of
her youthful concerns and fears, Sophie finds
unexpected strength in her old-woman guise.
She speaks her mind, does what she feels is right
and welcomes the adventures that come her way
as a result — including the adventure that is
falling in love with a vain and powerful wizard.
Secondary to Sophie’s story and her some-
what sidelined quest to turn back into her
young self is a slightly murky plot concerning
the war between Sophie’s land and a border-
ing kingdom. While he has, at times, laid on
his message a bit strong (as in the environ-
mentally weighty Nausicaa of the Valley of
the Wind), here Miyazaki resists the impulse
to over-emphasize the folly of war. He shows
rather than tells: Speeches are replaced with
stunning landscapes, some barely touched by
civilization (though Howl admits to using
magic to help the flowers grow) and others
utterly devastated by battles.
As Sophie comes into her own and Howl
comes to terms with himself, his power and a
deal he made long ago, Miyazaki’s light touch
and the gifted work of the voice actors bring the
story’s many threads together into an exciting
climax, and one that’s made more magical for
the admirable way the translators refrain from
spelling everything out for the audience (a trait
that hurt the dubbed version of Spirited Away,
which nonetheless won an Oscar for Best
Animated Film). Uplifting and enchanting,
Howl’s Moving Castle becomes, by the end, a
strikingly heartfelt film about being true to
yourself — and having an open heart.
ew
NIBANKI GNDDT, 2004
XXX: STATE OF THE
UNION PG13
MILLIONS
11:30, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 10:20
KICKING AND SCREAM-
ING PG
11:25, 2:20, 4:40, 7:05, 9:40
A LOT LIKE LOVE PG13
OVER
HELD EKS!
E
768 W
7:20, 10:05
GUESS WHO? PG13
11:15, 2:00, 4:25, 7:10, 9:45
MONSTER IN LAW PG13
11:20, 2:05, 4:30, 7:15, 9:50
STEREO SURROUND SOUND IN ALL AUDITORIUMS
4-DAY ADVANCE TICKET SALES - NO PASSES -NO SUPERSAVERS
SHOWTIMES AVAILABLE AT CINEMARK.COM
PG
KUNG FU
HUSTLE
Subtitled Chinese
BROTHERS
Adv. Tix on Sale WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13) ★
Adv. Tix on Sale FANTASTIC FOUR (PG-13) ★
BEWITCHED (PG-13) ★ ✔
Subtitled Danish
(1235 255 515) 730 950
BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13) ★ ✔
(100 415) 715 1010
HERBIE: FULLY LOADED (G) ✔
(1225 240 505) 725 940
THE PERFECT MAN (PG) ✔
(1145 225 445) 710 945
MR. AND MRS. SMITH (PG-13) ✔
(300) 645 955
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (PG)
STAR WARS: EPISODE III (PG-13)
R
(1215 430) 720 1005
CINDERELLA MAN (PG-13)
MADAGASCAR (PG)
R
(1150)
(1230 245 455) 705 930
(1130 315) 700 1000
Adv. Tix on Sale WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13) ★
BEWITCHED (PG-13) DIG ★ ✔
HERBIE: FULLY LOADED (G) DIG ★ ✔
BATMAN BEGINS (PG-13) DIG ★ ✔
MR. AND MRS. SMITH (PG-13) DIG ✔
MADAGASCAR (PG) DIG
THE LONGEST YARD (PG-13) DIG
STAR WARS: EPISODE III (PG-13) DIG
(1155 230 505) 740 1015
(1135 210 445) 720 955
(1205 340) 650 1005
(1045 140 435) 730 1025
(1125 150 425) 710 925
(1115 200 455) 750 1035
(1215 355) 705 1020
Adv. Tix on Sale CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (PG)
★
Adv. Tix on Sale WAR OF THE WORLDS (PG-13) ★
MR. AND MRS. SMITH (PG-13) DIG ✔
(1100 1110 140 200 430
450) 720 740 1010 1030
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (PG) DIG ✔ (1120 150
430) 710 1000
ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY (PG) DIG (1130 210 420) 700 940
Times For 6/24 - 6/26
©2005
JUNE 23, 2005 21