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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2006)
$,5&21',7,21(' !24 #).%-!3 ,HZ[[O O[[W!IPQV\JPULTHZJVT :]o^kmbl^hghnk;B@L<K>>GBm l_ngZg]^__^\mbo^ )RUWKHZHHNVWDUWLQJ)ULGD\6HSWHPEHUQG %/2: ´)DFWRWXPLVVRVO\DQGORZNH\KLODULRXV WKDWDQ\ERG\FDQEHLQRQWKHMRNHµ IURPWKHZRUOGDFODLPHGDXWKRU&KDUOHV%XNRZVNL 0DWW'LOORQ/LOL7D\ORU0DULVD7RPHL Q$PDQZKRQHYHUKDGDMREKHOLNHGDQGQHYHUNHSWDMREKHKDG 1LJKWO\6XQ0DW 5 /=:#:6GID;I=:"6B: 3* 1LJKWO\6DW0DW )LQDO:HHN DSB[Z PMEXFJSE DBSUPPOTTIPSUT GPSUIFLJETTJMMZ HSPXOVQTUPPa OPPOUJMUXPFWFSZTVOEBZa BY JASON BLAIR Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 746-5202 - 9/22-9/28 Digital Sound in ALL Auditoriums Special Event Thurs Sept 21 at 8pm NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET R Special Event Mon Sept 25 at 8pm “DEPECHE MODE” PG-13 Adult $7.25 ¥ Fri & Sat $7.75 ¥ Child/Senior $5.00 Adult Matinee $5.25 (before 6pm) ¥ Student with ID $5.75 Early Bird Price is Back!!! Mon thur Fri — First Matinee Showing of each Feature $4.50 JET LI’S FEARLESS PG13 12:50, 3:30, 7:00, 9:40 8 PM, MON 9/25 ONLY 12:25, 2:55, 5:25, 7:55, 10:35 CRANK R ALL THE KING’S MEN PG13 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:55*EXCEPT SAT & MON, 10:20*EXCEPT MON 12:10, 3:15, 7:05, 10:10 FLYBOYS PG13 GRIDIRON GANG PG13 12:35, 1:05, 3:35, 4:00, 7:00, 7:30, 10:05, 10:30 1LJKWO\ 5 6DW 6XQ0DW %,-28/$7(1,7( RQO\ IULVDWVXQ LQFOXGHV)5((SRSFRUQRUVRGD 120$0$12 "XU 7KH$QQD&DEULQL&KURQLFOHV [I\VQOP\WVTa 5 "XU VRRQFUHDWXUHIURPWKHEODFNODJRRQLQG NZQ[I\[]V /]MZZQTTI;KZMMVQVO;MZQM[ "XU -]OMVMNQTUUISMZ[PW_KI[M NZQ[]V SPECIAL CONCERT: DEPECHE MODE JACKASS 2 R 12:55, 4:15, 7:25, 10:40 a Bucky (Josh Hartnett) and Kay (Scarlett Johansson) in The Black Dahlia. CINEMARK - SPRINGFIELD LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE R 1:15, 3:55, 7:35, 10:15 INVINCIBLE PG 1:45, 4:40, 7:45, 10:25 TALLADEGA NIGHTS PG13 EVERYONE’S HERO G 1:00, 3:40, 6:55, 9:45 12:15, 2:40, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55 3D MONSTER HOUSE PG BLACK DAHLIA R PRESENTED IN DIGITAL AND 3-D $1.50 EXTRA 12:40, 3:10, 5:40, 8:10, 10:30 12:45, 3:50, 7:15, 10:25 THE LAST KISS R 1:30, 4:10, 7:10, 9:50 THE COVENANT PG13 2:00, 4:35, 7:40, 10:15 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST PG13 2:05, 6:30, 10:00 PROTECTOR R Slight of Hand 12:20, 2:45, 5:20, 7:45, 10:20 SNEAK PREVIEW: SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS PG13 7:30 PM, SAT 9/23 ONLY *NO PASSES/NO SUPERSAVERS Brian De Palma’s new film noir MOVIES 12 - SPRINGFIELD Gateway Mall - Beltline @ Gateway 741-1231 ¥ 9/22-9/28 No children under age 6 will be admitted to any R-rated feature after 6:00 PM ACCEPTED PG13 CLICK PG13 [11:15] 2:10, 4:25, 7:00, 9:15 [11:45] 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:10 PULSE PG13 CARS G [12:05] 2:45, 5:10, 7:40, 10:05 [11:20, 12:10] 2:05, 3:05, 4:50, 6:50, 9:35 CLERKS II R NACHO LIBRE PG [11:55] 2:15, 4:35, 7:20, 9:45 2:50, 7:50 HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS PG YOU, ME & DUPREE PG13 [11:30] 2:20, 4:30, 7:10, 9:30 LITTLE MAN PG13 THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA PG13 [11:25] 1:55, 4:20, 6:55, 9:20 [11:40] 2:25, 4:55, 7:25, 9:55 SNAKES ON A PLANE R OVER THE HEDGE PG [11:35] 5:15, 10:25 [11:50] 2:40, 4:45, 7:05, 9:25 [ ] FRI THRU SUN ONLY LADY IN THE WATER PG13 7:35, 10:20 [12:00] 2:35, 5:05, 7:45, 10:15 STEREO SURROUND SOUND IN ALL AUDITORIUMS 4-DAY ADVANCE TICKET SALES - NO PASSES -NO SUPERSAVERS SHOWTIMES AVAILABLE AT CINEMARK.COM JACKASS: NUMBER TWO (R) - ID REQ'D DIG (1200 230 500) 730 1000 (1135 230) 705 1015 ALL THE KINGS MEN (PG-13) DIG (1130 240) 700 1010 FLYBOYS (PG-13) DIG (1130 220) 710 1000 GRIDIRON GANG (PG-13) DIG (1155 225 450) 720 950 THE LAST KISS (R) - ID REQ'D DIG (1150 245) 715 1005 THE BLACK DAHLIA (R) - ID REQ'D DIG (1145 220 455) 730 1010 THE ILLUSIONIST (PG-13) DIG Fri., Sun. (1200 215 450) 715 EVERYONE'S HERO (G) DIG Sat. (1200 215 450) 930 HOLLYWOODLAND (R) - ID REQ'D DIG Sneak Preview: SCHOOL FOR SCHOUNDRELS (PG-13) DIG Sat. 700 Cans Film Festival - Thursday, Sept. 28th JACKASS: NUMBER TWO (R) - ID REQ'D DIG Fri. (245 515) 745 1015 Sat. & Sun. (1215 245 515) 745 1015 Sneak Preview: SCHOOL FOR SCHOUNDRELS (PG-13) DIG Sat. 700 (120 410) 700 955 THE BLACK DAHLIA (R) - ID REQ'D DIG (100 355) 650 950 GRIDIRON GANG (PG-13) DIG Fri. (255 505) 720 EVERYONE'S HERO (G) DIG Sat. & Sun. (1235 255 505) 720 Fri. (250 510) 740 1005 THE COVENANT (PG-13) DIG Sat. & Sun. (1230 250 510) 740 1005 Fri. (215 450) 725 1000 THE WICKER MAN (PG-13) DIG Sat. & Sun. (1145 215 450) 725 1000 940 CRANK (R) - ID REQ'D DIG Fri. (200 435) 710 945 INVINCIBLE (PG) DIG Sat. (1130 200 435) 945 Sun. (1130 200 435) 710 945 JACKASS: NUMBER TWO (R) - ID REQ'D DIG Fri. (310 525) 740 1010 Sat. & Sun. (1250 310 525) 740 1010 Fri. (340) 650 940 ALL THE KINGS MEN (PG-13) DIG Sat. & Sun. (1230 340) 650 940 Fri. (400) 700 950 GRIDIRON GANG (PG-13) DIG Sat. & Sun. (100 400) 700 950 LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (R) - ID REQ'D DIG Fri. (350) 720 1000 Sat. & Sun. (110 350) 720 1000 Cans Film Festival - Thursday, Sept. 28th Times For 9/22 - 9/24 ©2006 28 SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 THE BLACK DAHLIA: Directed by Brian De Palma. Written by Josh Friedman, based upon the novel by James Ellroy. Cinematography, Vilmos Zsigmond. Music, Mark Isham. Starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johannson, Hilary Swank and Mia Kirshner. Universal Studios, 2006. R. 121 minutes. A re we still a willing audience for film noir — or, for that matter, a Brian De Palma film? De Palma, a member of the New Hollywood generation that includes Scorcese, Coppola and Spielberg, hasn’t made a great film since Carlito’s Way (1993). One would think that film noir, with its emphasis on corruption and the reassuring power of cigarettes, would suit the director of Scarface (1983), given his taste for suspense and tough-as- bullets protagonists. But De Palma seems confined rather than liberated by the noir mode, and The Black Dahlia disappoints on a number of levels. Arguably L.A.’s most infamous unsolved murder, the Black Dahlia investi- gation was so open-ended that at one point Woody Guthrie was a suspect. The Black Dahlia was the name given by the press to Elizabeth Short, the aspiring actress who was brutally murdered in 1947. The refer- ence is pure Hollywood, sensational and crassly promotional: The Blue Dahlia was a popular noir film in theaters at the time of Short’s grisly death. The case became the basis for James Ellroy’s breakout novel, the first of the cycle that includes L.A. Confidential. The filmed version of Ellroy’s book has been in development for years, inking De Palma only after he released Femme Fatale (2002) — a femme fatale, of course, being a principal element of film noir. The Black Dahlia has a long dramatic setup, complete with a street riot, a boxing match and the wise-guy narration of Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), a beat cop with the LAPD. Bucky gets partnered with Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), a ris- ing star at the department, but Lee’s grim and evasive demeanor clearly marks him for trouble. It’s a promotion for Bucky, but it comes with a leash, since Lee answers only to himself. Between the two men stands Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson), a former prostitute and Lee’s sultry girl- friend. Neglected by Lee, Kay soon feels drawn toward Bucky’s gentler harbors. These are the good years, the simple years of one success after another, which should give you a good idea of the convo- lutions ahead in The Black Dahlia. When Short’s body is found, what was bent in Lee finally breaks. He risks every- thing to solve the murder, but it isn’t his to solve. After a series of breakdowns, none of which are particularly convincing, Eckhart virtually disappears from the movie, leav- ing the film on Hartnett’s shoulders. I’m afraid it’s more weight than Hartnett can bear. Hartnett’s eyes are too innocent, his face too unlined. If Hartnett is lucky, he might become a lightweight Brad Pitt, another model with depth and grit. For now, he’s a young Richard Gere without the edge Gere showed in early films like Days of Heaven (1978). The revelation in The Black Dahlia is Hilary Swank. As Madeleine Linscott, Swank gives the darkest performance of her career. I didn’t even recognize her, and I knew what to look for. Sexy, confident and exuding the boredom of the ultra-wealthy, Swank’s Madeleine makes the film a deep- er and stranger experience. She gives The Black Dahlia the other gear that De Palma keeps reaching for, a gear he loses whenev- er Swank is offscreen. As the femme fatale, death surrounds her. When Madeleine says, “I like you, Bucky,” you feel her cursed cir- cle widening. You want to tell Bucky to run. Unfortunately, The Black Dahlia isn’t content with strangeness. It’s constantly reacting, explaining and pushing us forward without taking us anywhere new, ultimately making it a predictable exercise. It’s too straight, but it’s less than faithful: Sadly, important aspects of Ellroy’s novel are changed outright, including the placement of the clue that leads Bucky toward his sus- pect. Sure, De Palma’s elaborate tracking shots are here, including a terrific circular take in Echo Park. But overall, the film keeps tumbling headlong into melodrama — note the long hold on the ejected teeth after the boxing match — and the score, instead of serving the action, keeps pressing the movie further into your gut. I only felt pushed away. ew
