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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 2014)
Arts & Entertainment Movies Opening Jan. 31 BIG BUDGET FILMS Labor Day (PG-13 for sexuality, mature themes and brief violence) Jason Reitman wrote and directed this adaptation of the Joyce Maynard best seller of the same name about a depressed single-mom (Kate Winslet) who, along with her son (Gattlin Grif- fith), ends up kidnapped by the escaped con (Josh Brolin) she unwittingly offers a ride. Cast includes Tobey Maguire, James Van Der Beek and Maika Mon- roe. K AM ’ S C APSULES Movie Reviews by Kam Williams At Middleton (R for sex- uality and drug use) Roman- tic romp revolving around the antics of a couple strangers (Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga) who meet That Awkward Moment That Awkward Moment (R for sexuality and perva- sive profanity) Romantic comedy revolving around three confirmed bachelors (Zac Efron, Michael B. Jor- dan and Miles Teller) who make a pact to remain single only to have the promise tested when two of them fall in love. With Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis and Jessi- ca Lucas. INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS 12 O’Clock Boys (Unrat- ed) Crime does pay docu- mentary profiling a biker gang of troubled teens inex- plicably given free rein by the police to terrorize the citizens of Baltimore. and fall in love while their kids are taking a tour of a college campus. With Taissa Farmiga, Tom Skerritt and Spencer Lofranco. Best Night Ever (R for profanity, graphic nudity, drug use, crude humor and pervasive profanity) Parody of the road trip genre about a bride-to-be (Desiree Hall) who gets more than she bar- gained for when she ven- tures to Vegas with her bridesmaids for a bawdy bachelorette party. Co-star- ring Samantha Colburn, Eddie Ritchard, Crista Flanagan and Jenny Lin. Jitney at Winningstad mann, best known for her explorations of eroticism and gender. Brightest Star (Unrated) Romantic dramedy about a jilted college grad (Chris Lowell) who tries to make himself over to win back his uptight ex (Rose McIver), only to meet a free-spirited bohemian (Jessica Szohr) who likes him just as he is. Support cast includes Alli- son Janney, Clark Gregg and Peter Jacobson. Charlie Victor Romeo (Unrated) Aviation disaster post mortem deconstructing the final moments of a half dozen, doomed commercial airliners via a combination of animation and black box transcripts. Jobriath A.D. (Unrated) “It’s better to flame out than to fade away” biopic recounting the brief career of Bruce Wayne Campbell (1946-1983), aka Jobriath, the first openly-gay rock star, and the first to die of AIDS. Love Is in the Air (Unrat- ed) Transatlantic comedy about a lawyer (Nicolas Bedos) who makes the most of a second shot at romance with his ex-girlfriend (Ludi- vine Sagnier) when he finds himself seated next to her Portland Playhouse presents its fifth production from August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle: “Jitney,” a masterful, tension-filled play about a group of independent taxi drivers in a well-worn livery cab station in the mid-1970s. The production features Rodney Hicks, Victor Mack, Ashley Williams, Kevin Kenerly, Vin Shambry, wrick Jones, Roy Ayers, and Mujahid Abdul-Rashid and is directed by G. Valmont Thomas. The show is staged at the Winningstad Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway. For information call 503-488- 5822, or go to www.portlandplayhouse.org. on a flight from New York to Paris. With Jonathan Cohen, Arnaud Ducret and Brigitte Catillon. (In French and English subtitles) Peter Brook: The Tightrope (Unrated) Life’s a stage biopic, shot with five hidden cameras, high- lighting legendary theater director Peter Brook’s cre- ative process. Somewhere Slow (Unrat- ed) Road flick about a fugi- tive from justice (Jessalyn Gilsig) who is befriended by a teen drifter (Graham Patrick Martin) she meets while on the run after a botched convenience store robbery. With Robert Forster, Lindsay Crouse and David Constabile. Tim’s Vermeer (PG-13 for profanity) History of art documentary, directed by Raymond Joseph Teller (mute half of Penn & Teller), tracing inventor Tim Jenison’s attempt to deci- pher how 17th C. Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer managed to paint so realisti- cally over a century before the invention of photogra- phy. Breaking the Frame (Unrated) Reverential retro- spective chronicling the career of iconoclastic, visu- al artist Carolee Schnee- January 29, 2014 The Portland Skanner Page 5
