Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 18, 2017)
MOVIES 5/19-5/25 BY RICK LEVIN 492 E. 13th Ave 541-357-0375 MOVIES THAT bijou-cinemas.com MATTER Serving the Eugene Community for Over 35 Years! ALIEN: COVENANT DEATH OF A SALESMAN In the political satire Norman, Richard Gere plays a small- time con with the juice to topple governments W hether aging is kind to an actor seems to be largely a matter of choice, and by extension, integrity. Often, great actors getting on in years seem to opt for a kind of working retirement, leaning back like a senescent actor emeritus on the coattails of previous grand achievements. Robert De Niro comes to mind, a once-stunning actor who appears, bafflingly, to content himself now with reprising his early genius to the point of caricature and low comedy. Then there’s Richard Gere, a solid actor who now, at 68, might be approaching the late- career brilliance of Peter O’Toole and Jack Lemmon. As the shambling, needy, eternally optimistic con man at the center of Norman, Gere is absolutely enthralling. In his mauve trench coat and thick woolen scarf, Norman is a fixer who spends his days frantically wheeling and dealing around New York, always seeking the next big connection that will skyrocket him to fame and riches. A reverse negative of Willy Loman’s doomed salesman, Norman lives in a delusion of greatness, and he peddles his lies with a vigor that belies the sadness lurking just behind his eyes. At the film’s open, Norman somehow finagles an introduction to Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi), an Israeli deputy minister whom Norman ushers into a Manhattan shoe store with some cooked-up scheme of transferring foreign debt for profit (“eighty cents on the dollar!”); he buys Eshel a pair of fabulously expensive shoes to grease the deal, which later falls apart. Fast-forward a few years, and Eshel is elected Israel’s prime minister. Never forgetting the kindness of his New York friend, Eshel’s warm embrace of this insignificant schlub sets Norman’s star on the rise until he becomes the anonymous center of an international scandal. Written and directed by Joseph Cedar, Norman is the first great political satire of this terrible new era in American history — Being There for the Age of Trump. Like Chauncey Gardiner, Norman is a blank slate, equal parts guilt and innocence, an everyman/nobody who seems to mirror and at the same time channel the desires of everyone he attempts to manipulate with his combination of hangdog charm and anaerobic desperation. Subtitled “The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer,” the film is less a dark comedy than an absurd fable about the way small favors and everyday human weakness escalate into grand scandals capable of toppling governments. At the center of it all stands Norman, the cause and the scapegoat, a man eternally seeking relevance in a world quickly passing him by. His tragedy is our tragedy. As good as the supporting cast is (Steve Buscemi is wonderful as the rabbi who gets caught up in one of Norman’s spun-out scams), it’s Gere who really makes this film. His performance is heartbreaking, and heartrendingly beautiful. As deceptive and annoying and cloying as Norman can be, you can’t look away from the chaotic, futile dynamo of his ambition, as this lovable loser attempts, against all odds, to wrest some final triumph from the sinkhole of self-defeat. (Broadway Metro) 43 W. BROADWAY (541) 686-2458 REGULAR ADMISSION $9 ADULTS $8 STUDENTS $6 SENIORS $6 BEFORE 5 PM OPEN EVERY DAY THEIR FINEST (R) SNEAK PREVIEW MAY 18 MAY 19-25 ALIEN: COVENANT 11:30 2:15 5:00 7:45 10:00 NORMAN: THE MODERATE RISE AND TRAGIC FALL OF A NEW YORK FIXER 11:40 2:20 5:00 7:35 9:30 TRACKTOWN 11:40 2:50 5:00 9:50 COLOSSAL 4:45 7:15 10:15 THE LOST CITY OF Z 11:50 1:45 7:05 BUY TICKETS ONLINE AT BROADWAYMETRO.COM NORTHWEST ANIMATION FESTIVAL FRIDAY 7:00 pm International Spectacular #1 SATURDAY 12:00 pm Oregon’s Animation Magic (free show!) 1:00 pm Family Friendly 3:00 pm Fantastic Worlds: Sci Fi & Fantasy 7:00 pm International Spectacular #2 SUNDAY 1:00 pm Exploding Mind! Abstract/Experimental 3:00 pm Strange & Sexy 7:00 pm International Spectacular #3 TICKETS: $45 Festival Pass • $8 Matinees • $15 Evening Shows Local beer, wine and cider... & now kombucha on tap! TICKET PRICES: MATINEE before 5pm $6 ADULT $8 | STUDENT $7 | SENIOR 62+ $6 CHILD age 12 & under $6 STUDENT & SENIOR DISCOUNT 762-1700 | 180 E. 5TH AVE DAVIDMINORTHEATER.COM $3 TUESDAYS ALIEN: COVENANT (DIG) (R) 9:40, 11:15, 12:40, 2:15, 4:05, 5:25, 7:10, 8:45, 10:20 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017) (DIG) (PG) 9:45, 12:45, 3:45, 6:55, 10:00 BORN IN CHINA (DIG) (G) 9:35 THE BOSS BABY (DIG) (PG) 9:15, 11:45, 2:20, 5:00, 7:35, 10:10 THE CIRCLE (2017) (DIG) (PG-13) 6:50, 9:40 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL (DIG) (PG) 9:10, 11:40, 2:10, 4:40, 7:25, 10:05 EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING (DIG) (PG-13) 9:30, 12:00, 2:35, 5:10, 7:45, 10:20 FATE OF THE FURIOUS (DIG) (PG-13) 9:25, 12:35, 3:50, 7:05, 10:30 GIFTED (DIG) (PG-13) 9:20 GOING IN STYLE (DIG) (PG-13) 11:55, 2:30, 5:05, 7:40, 10:35 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (3D) (PG-13) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 10:30, 2:00, 5:20, 8:40, 10:15 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (DIG) (PG-13) 9:50, 11:30, 12:10, 1:05, 2:45, 3:40, 4:20, 6:10, 7:00, 7:50, 9:30, KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD (3D) (PG-13) SPECIAL EVENT PRICING: $3.00 UPCHARGE ALL TICKETS 9:55, 4:10, 10:25 KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD (DIG) (PG-13) 1:00, 2:50, 6:15, 7:20, 9:25 THE LOST CITY OF Z (DIG) (PG-13) 11:25 SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE (DIG) (PG) 9:30, 12:05, 2:40 SNATCHED (DIG) (R) 9:10, 10:20, 11:35, 12:55, 2:05, 3:30, 4:35, 6:05, 7:15, 8:35, 9:50 FRI MAY 19TH - THUR MAY 25TH POWER RANGERS HIDDEN FIGURES JOHN WICK 2 6:40 5:00 4:30 I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO KONG: SKULL ISLAND 7:15 8:45 GET OUT 9:00 Asian Food Market Now Featuring Middle Eastern Food & Vegetarian Items Including Vegetarian Seafood, Meat Substitutes & Snacks Seaweed, rice, noodles, frozen products, deli, snacks, drinks, sauces, spices, produce, housewares, and more. Sushi & Asian deli take-out Woodfi eld Station SHOPPING CENTER 29TH AVENUE OAK STREET “Tim was a pleasure to work with. Highest Recommendation!” “We couldn’t be more pleased…” “If you want an experienced and professional expert…” Friday - Sunday 12:15 pm Monday - Thursday 3:00, 5:30, 7:45 ALL AGES WILLAMETTE STREET 1997-2017 Former Home Builder GIFTED (PG-13) TIX $5 SUNDAYS $7 $3 TUESDAYS Asian Groceries Tim Verkler Celebrating 20 years in Real Estate 2:30, 5:00, 7:30 IMAX: ALIEN: COVENANT [CC,DV] (R) ★ Fri. - Sat.1200 300 600 900 ALIEN: COVENANT [CC,DV] (R) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1100 100 200) 400 500 700 800 1000 DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE LONG HAUL [CC,DV] (PG) Fri.(1140 210) 440 710 940 Sat.1030 (1140 210) 440 710 940 EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1210 245) 520 750 1025 KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1220 325) 630 935 KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(1100 AM) 1010 PM SNATCHED [CC,DV] (R) Fri. - Sat.(1240 315) 540 810 1040 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1150 1250 305) 405 620 720 935 1035 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 3D [CC,DV] (PG-13) ★ Fri. - Sat.(235 PM) 650 PM 845 PM HOW TO BE A LATIN LOVER [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(135) 430 730 1025 THE CIRCLE [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.740 PM 1030 PM THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1120 235) 550 910 SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE [CC,DV] (PG) Fri. - Sat.(1130 AM 150 PM) 510 PM THE BOSS BABY [CC,DV] (PG) Fri. - Sat.(100 PM 335 PM) 610 PM BEAUTY AND THE BEAST [CC,DV] (PG) Fri. - Sat.(1110 220) 640 950 Sunrise Cell - 541-554-0910 timverkler@gmail.com M-Th 9am-7pm•F 9am-8pm•Sa 9am-7pm•Su 10am-6pm WWW.EUGENEPROPERTIES.NET 70 W. 29th Ave. Eugene • 541-343-3295 www.sunriseasianfood.com ALIEN: COVENANT [CC,DV] (R) ★ Fri. - Sat.(100 245) 400 545 700 900 1010 EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1245 330) 630 930 KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD [CC,DV] (PG-13) Fri. - Sat.(1230 PM) 730 PM www.REGmovies.com eugeneweekly.com • May 18, 2017 25
