Tools
12 Monkeys
"Fuck the Bozos!" Egyptian, Fri-Sat at midnight.
Amandla!
See review this issue. Varsity, Fri-Sun at 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30 pm, Mon-Thurs at 7, 9:30 pm.
* The Business of Fancydancing
The Business of Fancydancing, as with Alexie poetry and fiction, is great because its paradoxes are not avoided; they collide against each other like so many angry atoms. Each paradox in the film is a complete world: There is the world of Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) who, like Alexie, is a successful writer. Seymour is comfortable in the white world (Seattle), he has a white boyfriend, frequents hip nightclubs, and reads at all the important literary venues. Seymour's literary success, however, is based on the raw exploitation of the lives and stories of those he abandoned on the rez. The characters and themes are not new; anyone acquainted with Alexie's art will recognize them. What is impressive about the movie, then, is not that we get to see these characters and their stories played out on the movie screen, but that the film is charged at every possible point by Alexie's poetry. Alexie is a great writer and the film is able to transmit that greatness through the dialogue, the long spools of poetry read by Seymour, and even title cards. Indeed, the movie is not really a movie, nor is it a documentary, but a new medium or means to redistribute Alexie's marvelous (and at times shocking) poetry. (CHARLES MUDEDE) Seattle Art Museum, Tues at 7:30 pm.
Dead Alive
"That's my mother you're pissing on." Grand Illusion, Fri-Sat at 11 pm.
Drugstore Cowboy
"There's nothing more life-affirming than getting the shit kicked outta ya." Grand Illusion, Fri-Sun at 4:45, 9 pm, Tues-Thurs at 9 pm.
The Gits
Remaining members of the Gits and director Kerri O'Kane present the premiere screening of a documentary on the band. JBL Theater, Sat at 7 pm.
Irish Reels
See review this issue. Thurs-Sat, see www.irishreels.org for full time and venue details.
Kumar Talkies
Cinematic escapism in the Indian town of Kalpi, where the gluttony of Bollywood hangs heavy over the impoverished region's lone cinema. Screens with scenes from John Jeffcoat's new documentary on Bollywood. 911 Media Arts, Fri-Sun at 8 pm.
* NEW DANCE CINEMA
See review this issue. Little Theatre, Thurs-Sun, see www.33faintingspells.org/ndcinema2003.html for specific times.
Nobody Knows My Name
Rachel Raimist's documentary of street-level female rappers of Southern California. JBL Theater, Wed at 7, 9 pm.
* Open Screening
This monthly screening series at 911 is one of the most hit-or-miss events in town: no curators here, merely willing hosts to whoever submits a film. For only $1, however, it's also one of the best deals. (BRUCE REID) 911 Media Arts, Mon at 8 pm.
Rabbit in the Moon
Of the many documentaries I have seen on the subject of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, this one stands out as the best. It seems to say more about the true humiliation of the internmen. Cornish College of the Arts, Thurs at 8 pm. (Charles Mudede)
"Reel" Cinema Film Festival
With a history that's only seven films deep, the Cinerama format was short-lived, but maintains cult status among devotees. Seattle's Cinerama presents the last of this series, a screening of How the West Was Won. Cinerama, see Movie Times for specific dates and times.
* SEATTLE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL
See review this issue. Cinerama, see www.ajcseattle.org for full details.
The Sunset Rock and Roll Movies Series
This week's screening: BlöödHag's library tour documentary The Faster You Go Deaf, the More Time You Have To Read, and that Man Who Fell To Earth Bowie drivel. Sunset Tavern, Mon at 8 pm.
The Times of Harvey Milk
The first openly gay councilor elected to the San Francisco government, Milk's assassination became worthy fodder for gay rights activists for decades, as his murderer was aquitted by reason of Twinkie. Screens with Regret to Inform, a documentary about Vietnam war widows. Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Fri at 1 pm.
To Die For
"Any time it rains, or when there's thunder and lightning, or when it snows, I have to jack off." Grand Illusion, Fri at 6:45 pm, Sat-Sun at 2:45, 6:45 pm, Tues-Thurs at 6:45 pm.
NOW PLAYING
About Schmidt
Overall, an entertaining film, whose comedy alone sustains the entire picture. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
* Adaptation
Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze have created a rich entertainment, stuffing it with enough meta-plot twists to fuel half a dozen lesser movies, and bringing it to the screen with brilliant performances by Chris Cooper and Meryl Streep. (DAVID SCHMADER)
Biker Boyz
A shit-eating redux of that golden cinematic nugget known as The Fast & the Furious.
Bowling For Columbine
For a while, Moore seems on to something--a culture of fear endemic to our country--but in the end, he shortchanges the psychological complexity in favor of cheap shots. (SEAN NELSON)
Bringing Down the House
I think it's best at this point to separate the former brilliance of Steve Martin, popular comedian of the '70s and '80s, from Steve Martin, middling embarrassment of the present. I propose that the latter be from here on referred to as "Oh Jesus, Please Just Write Another Book." In this round, OJPJWAB rolls with Queen Latifah in a wacky debacle about how old people and black people are funny together. TK
Catch Me If You Can
Long stretches of Catch Me If You Can are filmed so lazily, in a manner so devoid of energy, that the entire enterprise falters, and the end result is a thrilling, near-unbelievable story rendered dull and even more unbelievable. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
* Chicago
Basically, the last hour of Chicago is a mess. Nevertheless, I recommend it. You'll have to endure Richard Gere, of course, but it's a small price to pay for Catherine Zeta-Jones. (DAN SAVAGE)
City of God
Though great to watch, Cidade de Deus curiously fails to comment on the reason why most of the people who live and die in the ghetto are brown, beige, and black. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is audacious and ridiculous and completely fucked, both on the page and on celluloid, and for that its subject Chuck Barris should be recognized for what has long been ignored: his undeniable genius. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Cradle 2 the Grave
See review this issue.
Daredevil
First some good news: Just four months until Ang Lee's The Hulk arrives. Now the bad news: Daredevil is stunningly bad. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Dark Blue
Dark Blue bolts from the gate as a gritty, energetic hybrid of the great L.A. Confidential and the lesser Training Day, given a potentially killer historical spin. Unfortunately, director Ron Shelton goes for the mainstream jugular with a jarring mix of gritty crime and hyperactive action, laced with perfunctory nods to deeper issues. (DAVID SCHMADER)
Deliver Us From Eva
A tragic loss of parents left oldest sibling Eva the boss of her sisters, and now that they've grown up, the men in the sister's romantic scope want Eva to get her own guy so she'll butt out. Enter LL Cool J, or just ignore him and enjoy the film for what it is, another chick flick where the bonding is done at the beauty salon. (KATHLEEN WILSON)
* Far From Heaven
Todd Haynes' pitch-perfect inclusion of sexual confusion and racial bigotry into Douglas Sirk's original mix gives him the power to transcend his source material and create a melodramatic masterpiece all his own. (DAVID SCHMADER)
Final Destination 2
No, Final Destination 2 does not have good acting, nor a compelling plot. It does not blur the lines of reality or explore the dark reaches of the director's mind. All it has to offer you is awesome killing. (KATIE SHIMER)
Frida
Frida is yet another artist's story that has been stripped of nuance. (EMILY HALL)
* Gangs of New York
Daniel Day-Lewis gives the kind of performance that makes you feel proud to be a member of the human race. (SEAN NELSON)
Gods and Generals
This four-hour disgrace may very well be the most vacuous, poorly acted, and pathetic depiction of the War of Northern Aggression ever committed to celluloid. (SEAN NELSON)
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a thunderous bore. (SEAN NELSON)
* The Hours
I was prepared to hate this movie. I was so wrong. This is a really good movie. (BARLEY BLAIR)
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
The film is touching in those brief minutes when Kate Hudson and Matthew McConnaughey realize they might have feelings for each other, so long as the idiot soundtrack doesn't swell in and ruin the mood. (KATHLEEN WILSON)
Stranger Personals
The Jungle Book 2
AKA Clear Cut!
Just Married
Ashton Kutcher is SO FUCKING SEXY. (DAN SAVAGE)
Kangaroo Jack
If there's one thing that I love more than talking animals in sunglasses, it'd have to be Christopher Walken.
The Life of David Gale
With lead-balloon pacing and embarrassingly slack-jawed cinematography--not to mention another impossibly smug Kevin Spacey performance--David Gale has all the subtle artistry of a Twinkie. Without all the suspense. (ZAC PENNINGTON)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
A deeply rousing tribute to the spirit of resistance in the face of certain defeat. (SEAN NELSON)
* Lost in La Mancha
What makes Lost in La Mancha (a behind the scenes look at a movie left unfinished) worthy of wider interest is that the payoff we expect from such a film isn't forthcoming. So the whole creative process winds up feeling not like the noble endeavor we imagine art to be, but rather an exercise in futility. (SEAN NELSON)
Maid in Manhattan
While pretending to tell the truth about class distinctions, Maid depends too hard on the pretty American fiction that such distinctions are only a matter of money. (EMILY HALL)
Max
See review this issue. TK
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
I love how this movie has been playing for like 25 years and has made 200 grillion dollars and no one I know has seen or even heard of it. (SEAN NELSON)
National Security
A Martin Lawrence vehicle that mandatorily buses in whitey Steve Zahn for a story of unlikely heroes. Zzzz.
Nicholas Nickleby
As I've never read the book (and don't intend to), I can't determine what was removed and what was preserved in this adaptation. Nevertheless, the film is entertaining. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Old School
Here's a film that relies on a whole list of old clichés (marriage is a ball and chain; the school losers vs. the campus suits) to deliver comedy that's actually really funny in a dumb kind of way. (JENNIFER MAERZ)
Open Hearts
See review this issue. TK
* The Pianist
Despite appearances to the contrary, the film is not about the indomitable spirit of a survivor. It's about how low a human being can sink in order to live, and the depths of abasement a race is capable of withstanding in order to avoid extinction. (SEAN NELSON)
*The Quiet American
Michael Caine deserves all the praise he's received for his role as Fowler, while Brendan Fraser slightly overplays the wide-eyed idealism that inspired America's misguided involvement in Vietnam. The movie is worth seeing if only because it shows how America can do the wrong thing with the best of intentions. (ANDY SPLETZER)
* Rabbit-Proof Fence
Director Phillip Noyce makes all the right decisions in telling what could have (justifiably) been a big slab of moist, liberal liver and onions. Instead it is a measured tale of a secret history, and of basic human desires asserting themselves in the most inspirational of ways. (SEAN NELSON)
The Recruit
A perfect example of no-risk filmmaking. Recent M.I.T. grad Colin Farrell is recruited by CIA agent Al Pacino. Predictably, everything is not what it seems, and predictably The Recruit, though solidly made, doesn't really add up to much. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Road to Perdition
Sam Mendes has done the impossible: He has made a film that is even more smug, phony, and wasteful than American Beauty. (SEAN NELSON)
* Russian Ark
For all its technical marvels, Russian Ark is essentially a monologue of Eastern European cynicism fleshed out with visual aids. (SEAN NELSON)
The Safety of Objects
See review this issue. TK
Shanghai Knights
A sequel to the fairly entertaining Shanghai Noon, the 2.0 version re-teams OwenWilson (funniest man on the planet) and Jackie Chan (still brilliant, if a lot slower than he used to be). Hilarity does not ensue, but a couple of cool fights do. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Star Trek: Nemesis
To be honest, Picard's crew appears to have exhausted its usefulness. (KUDZAI MUDEDE)
Talk to Her
Talk to Her, Spain's camp bad boy Pedro Almodovar's latest film, contains no drugs or sex, and I didn't even notice until it was over. The movie unfolds with grace and still manages to shock while being funny, strange, morally complex, and moving. (NATE LIPPENS)
Tears of the Sun
See review this issue. TK
The Wild Thornberrys
Nickelodeon's marginally successful animated series--the movie!
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