Alaska: Spirit of the Wild — More of a nature documentary than a ghost story. Omnidome
Amazon — Follow an ethnobotanist through the lush rainforests of the Andes and along the rough-and-tumble Amazon River! Learn about exotic animals, medicinal plants, and Indian shamanism! Amazon's IMAX quality and the Omnidome screen vs. a back issue of National Geographic... you decide. Omnidome
American Pie — The story should be familiar to anyone who came of age in the '80s: Four high school seniors make a pact to lose their virginity before they graduate. Jim (Jason Biggs) is a chronic masturbator who must suffer through embarrassing sex education lectures from his dad (Eugene Levy); Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) has been dating Vicky (Tara Reid) for a while, but hasn't had sex with her yet; Oz (Chris Klein) is a lacrosse-playing jock who's told he needs to be more sensitive, so he joins the chorus; and Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is a sophisticate who's not above planting a little gossip in order to improve his chances with the ladies. Basically, it's Porky's, but updated to include a pro-female orgasm message. (Andy Spletzer) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11
Arlington Road — A paranoid academic (Jeff Bridges) believes his architect neighbor (Tim Robbins) has an elaborate plan to blow up a government building. Guess what? He's right, but nobody believes him (indeed the very condition and definition of being paranoid). Visually, the film is at times stunning (especially the opening of the movie), but dramatically, the leads are severely mismatched. (Charles Mudede) City Centre, Metro, Redmond Town Center
*Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me — A big, sloppy comedy chock full of nonsense jokes, sexual innuendo, and scatological humor. Plot doesn't matter as much as each successive comedy bit, which is probably why people who laughed during the show came out feeling cheated. Personally, I liked it in much the same way I enjoy those "blooper" shows on TV, light and stupid entertainment to be enjoyed and then discarded. (Andy Spletzer) Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center, Varsity
Autumn Tale — The French frequently suffer from a reputation for melodrama or romanticism, but Eric Rohmer's films manage to overturn these traps by seeming to follow real people, flaws and all. Throughout his series of films based on the seasons - of which Autumn Tale is the season finale - he has shown simple stories of rumpled and neurotic French people in search of basic answers and good wine. Set in the sun-washed Côte du Rhone countryside, the film follows winemaker Magali's (Béatrice Romand) passive search for love, and the choices made for her by the two women in her life. But the storyline is not so direct. Like love, it turns corners and stumbles; it lingers too long on useless images and arguments. Here the characters, and Rohmer's fine ear for dialogue and silence, hold one's interest. Eric Rohmer is in the autumn of his own life, and Autumn Tale makes an excellent introduction to the work of an artist whose winter fast approaches. (Traci Vogel) Broadway Market
*Back to Film School — A collection of first films by now-famous directors, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, Orson Welles, and David Lynch. Fri-Sat Aug 6-7 at 6, 8, 10, $7.50. Call 329-6651 for more information. Broadway Performance Hall
Beshkempir: The Adopted Son — This movie from Kyrgyzstan tells the tale of Beshkempir, a spunky little boy who finds out (during a fight with his best friend, no less) that he's adopted. Shot in black and white, with occasional bursts of color. A coming-of-age story set in Kyrgyzstan. Fri-Sun Aug 6-8 at (Sat-Sun 1, 3), 5, 7, 9. Varsity Calendar
Big Daddy — Adam Sandler plays Sonny Koufax, a smart guy with a dumb life, who finds himself very attached to the five-year-old son of his roommate Kevin (Jon Stewart), who doesn't believe the kid is his. When Kevin goes on an extended business trip to China, Sonny basically adopts the kid, while everybody around him thinks he should give him up to a foster family. After many pee jokes, puke gags, and the ever-popular "bachelor using the kid to pick up women" ploy, the movie rolls to its predictable ending. While no one expects Big Daddy to be anything remotely resembling Citizen Kane, the film feels like about two minutes of preparation went into it. Of course, no matter what flaws the movie may have, I still love Adam Sandler. (Kathleen Wilson) Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16
*The Blair Witch Project — If the desert is a place for delirium, the forest is the place for panic, and panic is exactly what this stunning and extremely unsettling new film is all about - panic charged by the fear of the unseen, of unreason, of the monster lurking behind the trees, the spirits among the leaves, the dead under the stones, the souls in the river. The premise for the film is this: In 1994, while shooting a documentary on the myth of "The Blair Witch," three film students mysteriously disappeared in the woods. The missing trio included director Heather Donahue (who, like the rest of the cast, uses her real name in the film), sound engineer Michael Williams, and cameraman Joshua Leonard. A year later, their video and film cameras, along with the footage, are found in the basement of an abandoned home, and the footage has been put together into the film you are watching. The Blair Witch Project is effective not only because of the woods, but because the film seems real. Too real, even. (Charles Mudede) Factoria, Meridian 16, Neptune, Oak Tree, Redmond Town Center
*Bowfinger — Movies about movies are always best when they relish both the sleazy cynicism of the business and the idealistic outsiders banding together to make the art; Bowfinger does a terrific job on both scores. Steve Martin's clever script (obviously written after some careful viewings of Tim Burton's marvelous Ed Wood) celebrates a low-rent would-be producer (Martin) who dedicates his life savings ($2,184) to finally directing a feature film. His crew is loyal, but now more than ever you need a big star to open a picture. His ingenious solution is to surreptitiously film the world's biggest action star (Eddie Murphy), and build the film around him. The laughs are plentiful, Murphy gives two of his best performances, and director Frank Oz moves things along at an energetic clip. The only thing keeping this from being the best comedy about Hollywood of the year is that Albert Brooks has one coming out in a few weeks. (Bruce Reid) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree
Brokedown Palace — Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale play high school grads who get horny and competitive in Thailand, then end up jailed as fall guys for a hunky drug smuggler. For much of its length, Brokedown Palace is a slightly xenophobic guilty pleasure (with Bill Pullman thankfully back in a good, sleazy character bit), but it fizzles away into My So-Called Midnight Express. Director Jonathan Kaplan keeps things humming along, but doesn't raise the stakes high enough; the girls' imprisonment plays like an extremely troubling annoyance on the path to adulthood. Both leads are both appealing, and there is some fun to be had in watching Danes in tough-talking, bad-ass mode, barking lines like, "We can't do dick in this shithole country!" With a soundtrack designed to sell, and fragrance ad shots of its sexy and mysterious locale, Palace is melodrama for the MTV generation, but without the common sense to go ahead and get really juicy. (Steve Wiecking) City Centre, Factoria, Metro, Oak Tree, Redmond Town Cente
Buena Vista Social Club — While scoring Wim Wenders' 1997 film The End of Violence, Ry Cooder gave him a copy of a tape he made with the Cuban "super-group," the Buena Vista Social Club. Wenders was instantly won over. When Cooder returned to produce another album, Wenders came with him, and brought a film crew along for the ride. With no script to follow, the story unfolds naturally. The camera leisurely cruises the streets of Havana, picking up bits and pieces. A story develops that mirrors the let's-put-on-a-show scenario of the Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland films, with a triumphant climax at Carnegie Hall. Winner of this year's Golden Space Needle for Best Documentary. (Gillian G. Gaar) Broadway Market
*CHILDREN'S FILM SERIES — The Grand Illusion's Children's Summer Film Series continues with a program of local short films with the directors/cast members (some in costume!) in attendance (Thurs Aug 5 at 11am, 1; Sun Aug 8 at 1, 3); then comes an all-time animation classic: Long before there was Babe, there was the farm animal classic Charlotte's Web. Tues and Thurs, Aug 10, 12, at 11am, 1. $3.50 kids/$5 grown-ups. Grand Illusion
*Deep Blue Sea — When a group of scientists and a hunky shark wrangler start messing with genetics in their underwater laboratory right before a big storm at sea, all I can think is: Somebody up there likes me. Deep Blue Sea is horribly shot, creatively bankrupt, and gloriously derivative, and I'd like to personally thank director Renny Harlin for everything he does wrong. Not since Anaconda have we been blessed with a People-Eating Flick so deliciously oblivious to its own crap. It borrows handily from all four Jaws films, right down to the Vengeful Shark motif used to such stunning effect in Jaws: The Revenge. I should also add that this film contains what must be one of the All-Time Great Munch Moments, an efficient and ridiculous chomping that occurs maybe halfway through the film and could quite possibly cause you to piss yourself with glee. Go to a matinee and thank me later. (Steve Wiecking) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Southcenter
Detroit Rock City Detroit Rock City is about the joys of being an adolescent male in love. In love with KISS, that is. Yes, we're back in the '70s once again, and Detroit Rock City is smart enough to celebrate the underlying goofiness of the era. Our heroes, Hawk, Lex, Jam, and Trip, are stuck in a Midwestern high school teenage wasteland, eagerly counting the hours until they can escape to Detroit for a much-anticipated Kiss concert. Until the Christian mother of one discovers their KISS tickets in her son's jacket, burns the treasured ducats, and packs him off to a creepy Christian boarding school. Detroit Rock City's funniest element shows how time really is the great leveller. En route to Detroit, our heroes have a scuffle with a carload of disco lovers, one of whom expounds on the greatness of the Village People. Twenty years on, KISS and Village People are seen as equally kitschy. And after all, they did share the same record label. (Gillian G. Gaar) Lewis & Clark, Redmond Town Center, Uptown, Varsit
Dick — The one-joke scenario is this: the fall of the house of Nixon really came about through the inadvertent actions of two 15 year-old-girls. But hold on before writing Dick off as yet another retro look at those wacky, wacky 70s. The transformation of Arlene (Michelle Williams, of Dawson's Creek fame) and Betsy (Kirsten Dunst) from oblivious teens to "secret youth advisors" to the President is a hoot, especially when Arlene transfers her affections from Bobby Sherman to Tricky Dick (resulting in a hysterical dream sequence). And it's not just Nixon's straight-laced crew that's sent up. Will Ferrell and Bruce McCulloch are an improbably doofy Woodward and Bernstein. Even Nixon (Dan Hedaya) himself is humanized. There's something sweet about seeing him getting schnockered while glumly watching Love American Style as wife Pat snores in the background. (Gillian G. Gaar)
The Dinner Game — Written and directed by the master of the French farce, Francis Veber, The Dinner Game is an excellent comedy. The story is about a circle of well-to-do snobs who bring idiots to dinner parties to make fun of them. One of these snobs, a publisher, discovers the greatest idiot of all time and can't wait to show his friends; but as luck would have it, he hurts his back and winds up stuck at home with this idiot. Rumor has it that DreamWorks is planning to make an American version of this film, but I highly recommend you watch the original. There is no way this film can be adequately translated into our culture... there is just no way. (Charles Mudede)
*DIRECT CINEMA — The "Direct Cinema" documentarians allowed for many fascinating portraits, as can be seen in the Grand Illusion's two week series. The opening night feature is Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies, shot in a Massachusetts mental hospital for the criminally insane. It's usually mentioned as his masterpiece, but it's too rambling and unstructured to be considered informative, and there's a whiff of freak show about some scenes. After that comes two showbiz profiles from the Maysles Brothers: Showman follows movie producer Joseph Levine around for a few weeks, and What's Happening, which chronicles the Beatles first trip to America. I wasn't surprised at all to find the rotund, waddling Levine a fascinating subject, and the Beatles glib and boring. The week continues with Shirley Clarke's The Cool World, an improvised story of drug dealing youth that I hear nothing but great things about, and D.A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan film Don't Look Back. Call 523-3935 for more information. (Bruce Reid) Grand Illusion
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens — The mountain blew up in 1980, and has been blowing up on film ever since. Omnidome
Everest — The first IMAX footage ever shot on top of the world. Pacific Science Center
*Eyes Wide Shut — Stanley Kubrick's last film contains an intact slice of a young couple's life (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman): We see that they are beautiful and successful, that they are adored and desired by friends, and that they have an incredible apartment filled with tasteful art and furniture. In order to study this perfect relationship, as with the scientific research that tries to determine an atom's composition by destroying it, Kubrick destroys their relationship. It all starts with a stick of marijuana and her subsequent admission that she almost left him for a navy officer years ago. Upon hearing this, he loses all sense of ground and everything breaks apart. In Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick dissects marriage, and it is fascinating. (Charles Mudede) Factoria, Guild 45th, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
GASWORKS PARK OUTDOOR SUMMER SPECTACULAR — A weekend of FREE outdoor screenings includes: Original cartoons from the Cartoon Network, An American in Paris (Fri Aug 13 at 7), and Wizard of Oz (Sat Aug 14 at 7). Live music will be provided for both nights, and a giant 22-foot fire sculpture created by "Firedrake" will make its debut and "ignite" for the crowd on Saturday night. And both nights are benefits for Fremont's Baby Cupboard Program: Bring formula, baby food, diapers, etc. to help those less fortunate. TCI/Lunarflicks Outdoor Cinema
Fundraiser for Local Filmmaker — Gabriel Judet-Weinshel is looking for money, and to prove he deserves it he'll be showing samples of two earlier films that played a couple festivals. Sat Aug 14 at 7. Speakeasy
The General's Daughter — Simon "Con Air" West's new "thriller" pretends to be about the importance of women to the armed forces. It features the graphic rape of a female captain, a brutal, fetishistic murder, and the idea that anything outside the missionary position can only be the result of emotional scarring. John Travolta spends his time questioning the kind of suspects who spill the beans after five minutes of scrutiny, and Madeleine Stowe is around to assure us that Travolta is heterosexual. (Steve Wiecking) Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center
The Haunting — Digital ghosts aren't scary. That's one of the biggest problems with this "horror" film, along with major plot holes and questionable motivations, such as: Why is Liam Neeson doing an expensive fear study on just three people? And how come these hand-picked subjects don't seem extra scared when they're in the creepy house? Director Jan De Bont (Speed 2: Cruise Control) was obviously excited with the idea of making a haunted house movie, but he has no idea how to tell a ghost story. The performances are good (Lili Taylor is particularly good as the woman who is calmly obsessed with the ghosts of the house, of course), but the whole mood is shot thanks to the inclusion of the dumb digital ghosts. For me, the best special effect was a curtain blowing in the wind. If only the rest of the film had that kind of simplistic restraint. (Andy Spletzer) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Meridian 16, Metro
*He Who Gets Slapped — This silent film features Lon Chaney as a scientist who escapes from the lab to the clowning and slapstick profession. With a live accompanying score, performed by Alex Guilbert. Wed Aug 11 at 7:30 only. Little Theatre
I, Pagliacci — For one night only: A digital screening of the Franco Zeffirelli-directed version of the Italian opera, with Placido Domingo. Thurs Aug 19 at 7:30. Little Theatre
I Stand Alone — This is what happens when butchers go bad. Fri-Thurs Aug 13-19 at (Sat-Sun 1:30, 3:30), 5:30, 7:30, 9:30. Reviewed this issue. Varsity Calendar
An Ideal Husband — Just what we needed, another British period piece dealing with class issues. Yawn. Sir Robert Chiltern (Jeremy Northam) is an upstanding politician being blackmailed by Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore). Meanwhile, a comedy of matchmaking is going on between secondary characters played by Minnie Driver and Rupert Everett. Everyone in the movie seems like they're play-acting at being high society folks. I'm sure that's fun for them, but it's no fun to watch. (Andy Spletzer) Harvard Exit, Seven Gables
Inspector Gadget — This movie is simply awful. I took my son (who is three) to the screening and even he lost interest. One hour into the film, he began begging me to take him home. He was right. Nothing in Inspector Gadget is good: the gadgets are stupid, the story is stupid, Matthew Broderick is awful, and his sidekick (the jive-talking car) is a lame attempt at imitating the magic of Eddie Murphy's dragon in Mulan. The biggest mistake of this sorry film, though, was in the roles of Gadget's dog and niece. In the regular Saturday show they work out all the crimes while the idiot inspector is elsewhere following the wrong fucking clues. Here, they are severely de-emphasized, while Gadget's boy-like desires for the scientist who created him (Joely Fisher) are over-emphasized. "I didn't like it!" my son said to his mother when we returned home, and that is the best review I have heard thus far. (Charles Mudede) Grand Alderwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11
Into the Deep — An IMAX film in 3-D, putting you right into the aquarium. Pacific Science Center
The Iron Giant — Giant robot falls to earth, befriends a local boy, and eats lots of metal. An animated film from Warner Brothers. Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11
LINDA'S SUMMER MOVIES — The perfect summer evening activity: beer and a silly movie. WestworldÑ the cult classic that shows what can happen when robot cowboys turn homicidal in an amusement parkÑwill be this week's drinking movie. With Yul Brener. Wed Aug 18 at dusk, FREE. Linda's Tavern
*Love Trouble — For those who are annoyed at (yawn) happy endings and (gag) dreamy romantic comedies, 911's "Love Trouble" series gives some relief from all that cheese. This collection of film shorts looks at the L-word with skewed perspectives and refreshingly odd humor. Titles include David Hanagan's Just Like You, a color-splashed portrait of "sweet" revenge; Interior Latex, a superb, giggly father-daughter bonding escapade at the expense of her new boyfriend; and Death of a Dog Train, in which a mopey (and eventually enlightened) anti-hero gets girl advice from a car advertisement (don't ask). In addition to the films, festivities include a live dating game with consolation prizes. Fri Aug 13 at 8, $5. (Min Liao) 911 Media Arts
*The Man Who Knew Too Much — Alfred Hitchcock was always the best at tapping into the dark side of Jimmy Stewart, here saddling him with too much dangerous information. Fri-Sat Aug 13-14 at 11. Grand Illusion
My Life So Far — The creators of Chariots of Fire finally reunite. No word on whether new wave composers Vangelis will also be making a return.
*My Son the Fanatic — Perhaps the biggest surprise is that, as the title suggests, the main character in the movie is the dad, not the son. This is not an exploration of the culture clash between father and son as much as a portrait of a man who's taken his life for granted, never realizing how far he's been drifting from his wife and son. Parvez (Om Puri) is a mild-mannered Pakistani taxi driver who's lived in England for 25 years. His main clients are the town's prostitutes and the travelers who use them. He has a particular fondness for Bettina (Hilary and Jackie's Rachel Griffiths), and as the movie begins he recommends her to a new visiting client (Stellan Skarsgerd). Meanwhile, his wife rightfully feels neglected by him, and his son rejects his godless hedonism by converting to Islam, which gives us the title. Of course, "work" and family life come into conflict, and the movie turns out to be one of the most interesting character studies since Affliction. (Andy Spletzer) Uptown
Mystery Men — Second-rate superheros get their chance to fight crime when Captain Amazing disappears. Starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, with an appearance by Tom Waits. Reviewed this issue.
Notting Hill — He's a shy, burned-in-the-past seller of travel books; she's a universally acclaimed and desired actress. Unfortunately, as too often happens in modern day romantic comedies, the men have been thought out to the last detail, but on the female side motivations are left hanging. Charming but empty. (Bruce Reid) Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
PRESTON STURGES MINI-FEST — --AM's Preston Sturges retrospective comes to a close with Hail the Conquering Hero (Thurs Aug 12 at 7:30), about a WWII Marines reject who pretends he's a brave war hero when he returns to his home town. Call 625-8900 for more details. Seattle Art Museum
Quirky Combo — --Fremont Outdoor Movies is throwing a curveball at you this weekend: On Fri Aug 13, the classic weeper Casablanca will be shown; on Sat Aug 14, the always-funny A Fish Called Wanda, with more cleavage & cussing than Bogart & Bacall. Both screenings at dusk, FREE. Fremont Outdoor Movie
The Red Violin — For their follow-up to the marvelous Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, director Frangois Girard and his co-writer Don McKellar have fashioned another loosely structured ode to music, this time following a legendary violin as it passes through various (well, three or four) owners before it winds up in auction. Unfortunately, the stories shown (a miraculous prodigy, a fiery virtuoso's love woes, and a crackdown on Western music during China's cultural revolution) aren't particularly interesting, and if you know any violin lore already you'll wish they'd included variations on some of the instrument's wilder histories. (Bruce Reid) Broadway Market
*Run Lola Run — A young Berlin hipster named Lola has 20 minutes to find enough money to stop her boyfriend from being killed. As a friend once wrote, "This could only be a movie." Here, that's exactly the point. The young German filmmaker Tom Tykwer is so keenly aware that this is a movie, he tells the story three times, each with different but equally incredible twists, surprises, tangents, and endings - which is exactly what makes this movie fun to watch: It's a celebration of the "grand illusion" that is cinema. The playful and frivolous approach dilutes any serious content, which is fine when fluff can be this fun. (Charles Mudede) Harvard Exit
Runaway Bride — The super team of Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, and director Garry Marshall reunite in an attempt to equal the confounding success of their first collaboration Pretty Woman. Unfortunately, from South Park to The Wood, we've been having big trouble getting into press screenings of Paramount's summer movies, so we didn't even try this time - not that they care what a regional weekly newspaper thinks. Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Northgate, Pacific Place 11
The Sixth Sense — A young boy sees ghosts while Bruce Willis' marriage falls apart in this smart and moody ghost story. Reviewed this issue. Grand Alderwood, Pacific Place 11
Sawdust and Tinsel — Though the Welles-ian myth maintains great careers should have brilliant beginnings and long, disappointing fades, most great directors actually gain their status slowly, over time. In this respect, Ingmar Bergman may be the slowest student of them all: 26 films in 18 years, until he finally made a masterpiece with Persona (after which they flowed like rain). Of course, there are earlier films of his that some hold up as great, one being 1953's The Naked Night (a.k.a. Sawdust and Tinsel), a study of jealousy, betrayal, and humiliation among employees of a circus. There's a pair of mismatched lovers that's fun to watch, and some stunning, expressionistic photography, but as with most early Bergman, the whole is too stylized and overtly symbolic to move you to much more than respect. Good, sometimes very good, but never great. Thurs-Sun Aug 12-15 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30. Friday night's screening will feature a live, death-defying circus act! (Bruce Reid) Little Theatre
Short Fantasy Films — Crazy films from the early days of cinema, with live music by Brian Buck. Fri Aug 13 at 8, ages 21+, $6. Speakeasy
South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut — When four sweet little tykes sneak into an R-rated movie, they are so enthralled by the dirty language that they can't or won't stop repeating it, even in front of shocked school authorities or parents. This eventually leads to a war with Canada. This brilliant premise allows South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to vent against the MPAA in their continued struggles against the NC-17 rating, while managing a deft end-run around critics who might complain about the cartoon's ef fect on children. But the same frat-boy short attention span that allows for some genuinely outrageous belly laughs also gets the better of them, and their few good ideas get buried amid much silliness and nasty sideswipes - not to mention too many dumb songs. And where's Jesus, that short-tempered, underachieving deity who's one of the TV show's brightest spots? (Bruce Reid) Meridian 16, Varsity
Spunk I — A pandora's box of gay erotica, past and present. Wed Aug 18 at 9, $3. ARO.space
Star Wars: Episode I — What does it matter what we say? You'll see it anyway. The threadbare plot is nothing compared to the hype and nostalgia of the George Lucas marketing machine. Darth Vader as a boy, young Obi-Wan, computer generated characters, whatever. You'll see it anyway. (Jamie Hook) Cinerama, Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Oak Tree
Tarzan — Oddly enough, there's never been a cartoon feature film about the Lord of the Apes. Leave it to Disney to fill the gap. Initially, the film has an awkward start. Young Tarzan's friends are the usual too-cutesy comic sidekicks, and the father/son conflict is a bit too obvious - and trite. The adult Tarzan is another matter entirely. Tarzan's flights through the trees are an astonishing display of state-of-the-art animation; he doesn't so much swing through as surf the forest. When other humans enter the story, there's further emotional depth, and rather than bogging the whole thing down with numerous musical numbers, the characters hardly sing at all. The songs are largely performed by an off-screen narrator, Phil Collins. (Gillian G. Gaar) Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Redmond Town Center
The Thomas Crown Affair — Pierce Brosnan stars as a billionaire who steals art for the thrill of it. Reviewed this issue.
Trick — Two men looking for a place to have sex end up falling in love during the search. Reviewed this issue.
Twin Falls Idaho — --Identical twins Mark and Michael Polish play Siamese twins Blake and Francis Falls in this cleverly conjoined drama. Reviewed this issue. Broadway Market
Market Twin Peaks/David Lynch Festival — Get ready to take that eery road trip with Sailor and Lula, 'cause it's that time again for David Lynch devotees: SAM, 911 Media Arts, and Scarecrow Video's David Lynch Festival Night will include a screening of Wild at Heart (with Laura Dern and a pre-action hero Nicolas Cage) and screenings of rare Lynch shorts and/or interviews. Sat Aug 14 at 7:30; $8. Seattle Art Museum
World's Best Commercials — The only reason why you would watch this "Olympics of advertising" is to see exotic commercials from other parts of the world. Though the American Express commercial featuring the Jerry Seinfeld headlines this year's program, it is the commercials from South Africa, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, and Europe that are the reason to watch this collection. I especially enjoyed the hyper-graphic public announcements from Australia, made to deter Australian drivers from speeding. Also, the Dutch commercial emphasizing the importance of learning English by showing a pristine middle-class family stepping into a car, turning on the radio, and delighting in an catchy English pop song that's saying: "I want to fuck you in the ass, I want to fuck you in the ass, I want to fuck you in the ass!" Commercials don't get better any better than that. Mon-Thurs Aug 9-12 at 5:45, 7:30, 9:15. (Charles Mudede) Varsity Calendar
