movies
BY MOLLY TEMPLETON
! ART
Air conditioned CINEMAS
492 East 13th 686-2458
schedule for 8/20-26
bijou-cinemas.com
*Adults—$7 * Students w/ID—$6 * Seniors—$5 * Matinees—$5*
the highly anticipated
second installment of Stieg
Larsson's Millennium Trilogy
BLOW
LEVEL UP!
Mostly in lesbians with Scott Pilgrim
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD :
Directed by Edgar Wright. Written by Wright and
Michael Bacall, based on the comics by Bryan
Lee O’Malley. Cinematography, Bill Pope. Editors,
Jonathan Amos and Paul Machliss. Music, Nigel
Godrich. Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth
Winstead, Alison Pill, Ellen Wong, Mark Webber,
Kieran Culkin and Jason Schwartzman. Universal
Pictures, 2010. PG-13. 112 minutes. 44441
S
cott Pilgrim vs. the World begins
with the Universal logo depicted
as if it were the start screen for a
1980s video game. The quest begins! The
theme music: The Legend of Zelda. The
companions: the roommate, the sister, the
band (the perfectly named Sex Bob-Omb).
The setting: Toronto. The goal: fi ght seven
evil exes for the heart of Ramona Flowers
(Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an Amazon.ca
delivery rollerblader. Our hero: Scott Pilgrim
(Michael Cera), slacker bass player and
generally self-absorbed dude.
It’s part of the odd charm of Scott
Pilgrim — Bryan Lee O’Malley’s six-
book comic series and the fi lm — that
Scott’s kind of a dick and kind of an idiot.
He adores Ramona because he dreamt
about her; he’s mentally whittled all his
former relationships down to tiny pieces
of the past with varying accuracy. Scott’s
character growth is just enough to get him
to the next level (and maybe, eventually,
snap out of it a little).
Scott Pilgrim is the best video-game
movie yet, and it’s not based on a video
game. Elements of The Legend of
Zelda, Street Fighter and Dance Dance
Revolution spike the plot, which envisions
emotionally dealing with your love
interest’s past as a series of actual battles
with her exes. Enemies explode into coins!
You earn more powers! Sometimes you
have to trick the bad guys into drinking
half and half instead of soy milk!
And then there are girls. Which,
somewhat naturally, is where Pilgrim
glitches a bit. Ramona Flowers has cute
hair, a dry way with words and not a lot
of personality, and the fi lm doesn’t exactly
know what to do with her, especially in the
fi nal battle. It fares better with Knives Chau
(Ellen Wong), who at the start is Scott’s
fake high school girlfriend. They hang out
and talk about yearbook club and The Clash
at Demonhead, Knives’ favorite band,
which just happens to be fronted by Scott’s
own evil ex, Envy Adams (Brie Larson).
Scott’s got, to borrow a line from Buffy, the
emotional maturity of a blueberry scone;
Knives is actually too good for him. Scott
Pilgrim is, among other things, the process
of both of them fi guring that out. Wong is
a delight as the endlessly enthusiastic and
hysterically heartbroken Knives, and she
gets the best musical cue in a movie full
of them: Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems
for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl” has never
sounded better, or more bittersweet.
As in every video game I’ve gotten
around to beating, the scene that comes
after the fi nal battle — y’know, once
Link and Zelda fi nally get to hang out
— is far less interesting than the process
of getting there. It’s a manic, candy-
colored, giddy, wry, funny journey; the
destination matters not. Scott’s the fi gure
Wright is steering through the fi lm,
exploring the levels (a series of clubs),
the enemies (which include Chris Evans
as skateboarder-turned-actor Lucas Lee
and a scenery-gnawing Brandon Routh
as evil vegan Todd Ingram) and the
other characters, who have more notable
but still shorthand personalities. Cera’s
perfectly well cast for this, though I miss
the manic side of book-Scott.
Pilgrim speaks a language that
isn’t decipherable to everyone, and
it’s unabashed in its specifi city. This is
precisely what makes it work: It’s not
trying to be universally appealing. Scott
isn’t a comics archetype or a superhero
icon; he’s a lazy 22-year-old who plays
bass and mooches off his cool roommate,
Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), in between
going to crappy parties (“At least it’ll give
us something to complain about,” says Sex
Bob-Omb drummer Kim Pine on the way
to one). Everything either rules or sucks,
and the only notable parts of life are band
practice, moping, parties and dates.
What Scott Pilgrim effectively,
inventively and wholeheartedly conjures
up is the way a brain steeped in decades
of videogame culture, indie bands and
John Hughes movies relates to the world,
piecing it together in a shorthand of sound
effects, snappy comebacks (and failures
to come up with snappy comebacks),
dream sequences, sitcom references and,
maybe, a wish that certain levels could
be overcome with a fl aming sword and
an unexpected ally. Pilgrim sweetly knits
together the elements of a generation’s
peculiar digital mythology, fi nding — and
fi lming — a fantastically worthy quest in
scraps of Nintendo cartridges, ringer tees
and stumbling uncertainty. Everybody
ew
wins.
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
LOTTERY TICKET PG13
12:15, 2:40, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55
PIRANHA 3D R
SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $2.00
UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS
12:55, 3:15, 5:35, 7:55, 10:15
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS
PG
11:20, 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40
THE SWITCH PG13
12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:15
VAMPIRES SUCK PG13
11:30, 1:35, 3:40, 5:45, 7:50, 9:55
THE EXPENDABLES R
11:40, 2:20, 5:00, 7:40, 10:20
EAT, PRAY, LOVE PG13
12:50, 3:55, 7:00, 10:05
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE
WORLD PG13
11:25, 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45
TAKERS PG13
ONLY ON THURS 8/26 AT
12:01 AM
THE LAST EXORCISM PG13
ONLY ON THURS 8/26 AT
12:03 AM
THE OTHER GUYS PG13
11:55, 1:15, 2:35, 3:55, 5:15, 6:35,
7:55, 9:15, 10:30
SALT PG13
11:50, 2:20, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50
INCEPTION PG13
12:35, 1:40, 3:50, 4:55, 7:05,
8:10, 10:20
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD PG13
11:35, 4:40, 9:45
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS
PG13
11:45, 2:25, 5:05, 7:45, 10:25
THE SORCERER’S
APPRENTICE PG
2:00, 7:10
DESPICABLE ME PG
12:10, 2:35, 4:55, 7:15, 9:35
THE TWILIGHT SAGA:
ECLIPSE PG13
1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:30
Starts Fri 8/20: 5:15 & 8:00 Nightly
Fri & Sat: 10:45
Sat & Sun Mat: 2:30
R
directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
(AMELIE, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, DELICATESSEN)
Starts Fri 8/20: 7:25 Nightly
Fri & Sat: 9:45
Sun Mat: 2:00
R
Winner of the 2010
Sundance Grand Jury Prize
WINTER’S BONE
Starting Fri 8/20: 5:00 Nightly
coming soon: GET LOW
Sat Mat: 2:00
PREDATORS R
11:20, 1:50, 4:35, 7:10, 9:45
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE
SANDS OF TIME PG13
12:20, 4:20, 7:20, 10:30
RAMONA AND BEEZUS G
11:50, 2:40, 5:20, 7:45, 10:20
KARATE KID (2010) PG
11:10, 12:30, 2:20, 3:50, 5:30, 7:05,
8:40, 10:15
SHREK FOREVER AFTER PG
12:40, 3:20, 5:40, 8:15
SHREK FOREVER AFTER
3D PG
SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $2.00
UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS
11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
KNIGHT & DAY PG13
11:55, 2:30, 5:00, 7:35, 10:25
THE A-TEAM PG13
12:00, 3:30, 7:30, 10:10
IRON MAN 2 PG13
12:10, 3:40, 7:15, 10:00
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR
DRAGON PG
11:40, 2:10, 4:40, 7:40, 9:55
! Cinéarts "
THE KILLER INSIDE ME R
11:45, 2:15, 4:50, 7:25, 10:05
R
EUGENE’S ONLY DOWNTOWN THEATER
TIX
$5
21 &
OVER
$2 TIX
Sun &
Tues
& pub
since 2008
FOOD
MENU
THURS AUG 19 – WED AUG 25
HOT TUB
TIME MACHINE 5:40
DATE NIGHT 5:40, 9:40
DESPICABLE ME IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG) ★
Fri. - Sun.(1135 AM 155 PM) 420 PM
PIRANHA IN REALD 3D - EVENT PRICING (R) - ID REQ'D ★
Fri. - Sun.(1215 230) 515 800 1015
STEP UP IN REAL D 3D - EVENT PRICING (PG-13) ★
Fri. - Sun.645 PM 920 PM
THE SWITCH (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(1150 220) 500 730 1000
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS (PG)
Fri. - Sun.(1130 200) 430 700 930
LOTTERY TICKET (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1140 210) 445 715 945
VAMPIRES SUCK (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1225 240) 450 725 935
OC & DA: EAT, PRAY, LOVE (PG-13) ★Fri.(1145 AM) 635 PM
Sat.(250 PM) 940 PM
Sun.(1145 AM) 940 PM
EAT, PRAY, LOVE (PG-13) ★Fri.(1220 250) 400 705 940 1010
Sat.(1145 1220) 400 635 705 1010
Sun.(1220 250) 400 635 705 1010
THE EXPENDABLES (R) - ID REQ'D
Fri. - Sun.(1200 205 235) 435 505 710 740 950 1020
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(150) 440 720 955
THE OTHER GUYS (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(1155 225) 510 745 1025
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(215) 455 750 1030
SALT (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(145) 410 640 915
INCEPTION (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(1210 345) 655 1005
THE GHOST WRITER 7:30
KICK-ASS 7:30
CLASH OF
THE TITANS 9:40
“NO LONGER SNEAKING BEER INTO THE MOVIES SINCE 2008”
762-1700 | 180 E. 5TH AVE | DAVIDMINORTHEATER.COM
Free Family Film Festival Tue & Wed 10AM
NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS (PG) Fri. - Sun.(130) 440 710 940
VAMPIRES SUCK (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(150) 420 730 1000
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(120) 430 740 1015
EAT, PRAY, LOVE (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sun.(1245 350) 700 1005
THE EXPENDABLES (R) - ID REQ'D
Fri. - Sun.(100) 410 720 950
THE OTHER GUYS (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(110) 400 650 930
INCEPTION (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(140 PM) 450 PM 800 PM
THE SWITCH (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(120 350) 710 930
THE EXPENDABLES (R) - ID REQ'D
Fri. - Sun.(100) 420 720 950
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(130) 400 700 940
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (PG-13) Fri. - Sun.(340 PM) 645 PM
SALT (PG-13)
Fri. - Sun.(110 PM) 920 PM
Times For 08/20 - 08/22 © 2010
EUGENE WEEKLY AUGUST 19, 2010 21