COMING SOON

15 Minutes, Caveman's Valentine, Company Man, Get Over It, Nico and Dani, Sound and Fury, When Brendan Met Trudy


NEW THIS WEEK

*The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
See Stranger Suggests The tepid joy of mid-'80s cinema is back! Fri-Sat only. Egyptian

*The Age of Innocence
See Stranger Suggests The brutal violence of the 19th-century New York bourgeoisie explodes on the screen in this 1993 film from Martin Scorsese Sun only. Seattle Art Museum

*All About My Mother
Pedro Almodovar's highly acclaimed film, a mature look at women (with the obligatory drag queen), is his best yet. Loss, denial, and the inexorable power of motherhood come together against the director's trademark backdrop of kitschy design and garish social scenarios. Plays as part of the Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study's series, The Aesthetic Experience in Film. Fri only. Seattle Art Museum

Antique Smut
This wonderful, three-week Olde-Thyme Porno triptych includes treasures from the private collections of two of America's foremost film preservationists, Karl Cohen and Murray Glass. This week's collection features naked mummies, reckless grass smoking, and lots more sleazy fun. Grand Illusion

*Black Orpheus
One of the most sumptuous, romantic films ever made, this French-Brazilian adaptation of the myth of Orpheus catapulted the polyphonous rhythms of Brazil onto the forefront of the international music scene upon its release in 1959. The watershed score, by then-unknowns Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, still manages to blend perfectly with director Marcel Camus' diaphanous, longing tone. The lush photography of Rio's hillside favelas only makes things better. And then there's Bruno Mello's honeyed voice and soft, soft eyes and Marpessa Dawn's smooth, dark skin that looks like it's lit from the inside. The cinema has never produced a finer Orpheus and Eurydice. Ahh, but I myself will always be a fool for the buxom, vibrating charms of Lea Garcia as the hoarse, demanding Serafina. With her as a partner, I would samba till death. (Jamie Hook) Wed March 7 only. JBL Theater at EMP

*Blow Dry
Fortunately, this film stars Rachel Griffiths. Unfortunately, its release has been pushed back six times (not a good sign). Fortunately, it stars Alan Rickman. Unfortunately, it's about a hairdressing competition. Opens Wed. Seven Gables

*The Bridge on the River Kwai
Alec Guinness plays Colonel Nicholson, a captured World War II prisoner steeped in British military decorum--he even carries a copy of the Geneva Convention on his person. His troops have been assigned the odious (and, by international P.O.W. rules, illegal) duty of building a bridge over the river Kwai. But of course, if the British are to do it, it must be done right. David Lean's direction was perhaps never again so taut: This movie just sings along. Guinness is near-perfectly cast in one of the most respectful roles of his career. Suffice it to say, the seven Academy Awards seem deserved. That Sessue Hayakawa, who plays the opposing Colonel Saito, did not receive an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor was the Academy's only real mistake that year. (Jamie Hook) Thurs March 1 only. Seattle Art Museum

*The Conscientious Projector
The Kitsap Citizen Action Network presents its First Annual Film and Video Festival, with more than 25 films relating to globalization, biotechnology, and a host of other pertinent social and environmental issues. Visit www.bainbridgeisland.org/canfilmfest for a complete schedule. Free vanpool from the Bainbridge Island ferry dock (call 842-9582 for information). Fri-Sun only. Bainbridge Island H.S.

*Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Cinerama wraps up its Indy Fest with the final installment in the Indiana Jones trilogy. It's not archaelogy, it's a race against evil! Opens Fri. Cinerama

*IRISH REELS FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
A collection of authentic Irish films, shorts, and documentaries that avoid the tired thick-brogue-and-Guiness clichés and stereotypes of Irish people. Opens Wed March 7. Harvard Exit

July Rain
The new wave as done by Mosfilm Studios in Moscow: This 1966 Soviet film combines documentary sequences with a sweet story of youthful love. Yuri Vizbor, Russia's own Arlo Guthrie, both stars and contributes the folksy score. Sat-Sun only. Grand Illusion

The Mexican
In their first foray into the "blatant metaphor" genre, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts star in this tale of a cursed "pistol" that kills the one who "pulls" its "trigger." Opens Fri. Metro

*The Mystery of Picasso
See review this issue Everyone's favorite sexual predator stars in this documentary about how easy it is to paint like a cubist. Opens Fri. Egyptian

*NEW DANCE CINEMA
See review this issue. Seattle's own dance-theater company, 33 Fainting Spells, teams up with the Northwest Film Forum to bring modern dance and film together in this brief festival of international works. Thurs-Sun only. Little Theatre

*Remembering Free Tibet
Screening of the pre-Chinese occupation documentary Out of This World, followed by a discussion with Lowell Thomas, Jr. Proceeds to benefit the Tibet Education Network. The Mountaineers

*See Spot Run
See Spot Run was a great movie about a dog named Agent 11 who was trained by the F.B.I. since he was a puppy. Agent 11 is trying to catch these bad Mafia guys. The head Mafia guy hires these two other Mafia guys to kill Agent 11 but he escapes and winds up staying with the main character played by David Arquette. David is babysitting this little kid and they all have wacky adventures trying to avoid being killed by the Mafia guys. The funniest part was David Arquette doing his great George Jefferson breakdance. Opens Fri. (Maggie Brown, age 10) Grand Alderwood, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11

Suzhou River
See review this issue A new film from Shanghai explores love, loss, and betrayal on the banks of a polluted river. Opens Fri. Varsity Calendar

Toys!
Stranger writer and sex-toy obsessive Paula Gilovich hosts WigglyWorld's open screening of Super-8 films on the theme of Toys! Door prizes (did we say dildos?), of course. Little Theatre


OPPORTUNITIES

911 Artist in Residence Program
911 Media Arts is currently accepting applications for its Artist in Residence program, providing artists with a budget and honorarium towards the creation of a new media work. For more information, see www.911media.org, or call 682-6552. Deadline is March 26.

Balance and Motion
The Maximum Coherence Celluloid Ensemble, in collaboration with WigglyWorld, is seeking 3-5 minute films on the theme of Balance and Motion, to be presented in a live performance this May. Submit a VHS transfer of your Super 8 or 16mm film, with your name and contact information, the title of your work, and its original format by March 15, 2001 to Balance & Motion, c/o WigglyWorld Studios, 610 19th Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98112. For more info, call Lilith at 329-2629.

New Works Laboratory
The Henry Art Gallery, in association with 911 Media Arts, offers a residency program for all artists interested in experimenting with new digital media. Budget and honorarium provided. See www.911media.org, or call 682-6552 for more info. Deadline is March 16.

Seattle Underground Film Fest
The Seattle Underground Film festival is now accepting entries for its third year. All formats are welcome--Super 8mm, 16mm, 35mm. There will be a video category as well. Submissions may be any length, on any topic, and in all languages. For festival guidelines and entry form via e-mail, contact bolexman@msn.com, or write to SUFF, PO Box 4477, Seattle, WA 98104. Deadline for submissions is June 1.

Trailer Training
WigglyWorld Studios presents an opportunity for King County artists to create an original trailer for the Grand Illusion or the Little Theatre through the Northwest FilmForum's Trailer Training program. Budget and honorarium included. Call 329-2629 for information. Application deadline is March 30, 2001.


CONTINUING RUNS

3000 Miles to Graceland
This movie should be avoided like a sex change operation paid for by the Romanian National Health Service. It's bland and predictable; director Demian Lichtenstein's music video-style cinematography is a sublime irritation; and it appears that whole "starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell" thing wasn't a cynical prank after all. (Kudzai Mudede) Factoria, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree, Redmond Town Center

Alma
The documentary Alma is an opus full of marvels, madness, and misery, in which Margie Thorpe, a young Southern woman, invites us into the hallucination-encrusted world of her mother, Alma. Through numerous spellbinding interviews, the film circumnavigates around phantasms of rhetoric and downright hysterical scenarios until it delicately exposes the hideous roots of Alma's and Margie's peculiar relationship. (Suzy Lafferty) Grand Illusion

Before Night Falls
In Julian Schnabel's new film, Before Night Falls, the life story of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas manages to be utterly straightforward despite the hallucinatory, incantatory style of his writing. Furthermore, it makes Arenas sound like a hack poet. And that, my friends should be a punishable crime. (Emily Hall) Broadway Market

*Best In Show
The latest from the folks who brought you Waiting for Guffman follows several dog owners on their quest for the blue ribbon at the 2000 Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show. Dogs are always funny. Broadway Market

*Billy Elliot
Granted, the story is unoriginal (a small town boy beats the odds and becomes a ballet dancer), but its setting (a working-class family struggling through the worst of the Thatcher years) disrupts the sleep of the tired narrative and unexpectedly, steadily, it comes to life. I almost cried during this film--yes, it's that touching. (Charles Mudede) Broadway Market

Cast Away
Cast Away takes lurid delight in cataloging the various losses that accrue upon once-wealthy FedEx international systems supervisor Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) after a freak Christmas Eve plane crash strands him somewhere in the South Pacific. The stupid simplicity with which Hanks is shown crafting his world so utterly subverts any but the most priapic observations that one comes away from the film feeling a trifle molested, or just bored. (Jamie Hook) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16

Chocolat
The film critic in me has control over my emotions; it can and will repress my wolflike desire to fill this page with hungry words that praise the celestial beauty of Juliette Binoche. My straightforward review will open with a detailed plot summary ("The movie is about a French village whose serenity is shattered by a mysterious woman who moves into town with her illegitimate daughter and opens a sexy chocolate store."), and then state the truth ("The movie is unremarkable!"). (Charles Mudede) Aurora Cinema Grill, Guild 45th, Meridian 16, Redmond Town Center

*Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Legendary warrior Chow Yun Fat can never declare his love for fellow martial-arts expert Michelle Yeoh. Instead, he entrusts her with Green Destiny, his nearly magical sword. The film finds its rhythm and earns the accolades it has received once it leaves the stars behind and gives its heart over to the young and engaging Zhang Ziyi. (Bruce Reid) Aurora Cinema Grill, Grand Alderwood, Majestic Bay, Neptune, Uptown

*Down to Earth
Directed by the men who gave us American Pie, and starring comedian Chris Rock, Down to Earth, which is based on Warren Beatty's Heaven Can Wait, which in turn was based on some old film I've never seen, is the most original race comedy ever! (Charles Mudede) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree

Finding Forrester
A kid from the Bronx excels at both basketball and composition, befriends a hermit writer, undergoes a crisis from which the writer must extract him, thereby helping the writer overcome his own reclusive blah blah blah. (Barley Blair) Majestic Bay, Pacific Place 11

The Gift
Set passively in a Georgia swamp--the very landscape of horror--The Gift is about a woman, Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett), who has a special and unusual gift: She's psychic. She uses this gift to help the community. Then! She starts seeing bad stuff. A murder occurs. She uses her gift to solve the murder. (Paula Gilovich) Pacific Place 11

Hannibal
Hannibal is an overblown, audacious, painstakingly long, gratuitous mess. Hannibal Lecter in his second outing is an annoying little old man, the sort you'd just love to push down a flight of stairs. Worse still he's a limey, a fish-and-chip-worshiping limey! That the man has killed over 15 Americans isn't a case for the fucking F.B.I.; it's a case for Immigration! (Kudzai Mudede) Factoria, Meridian 16, Metro, Northgate, Redmond Town Center

Head Over Heels
This movie should only be seen under the following circumstances: None. Okay, maybe one: as a revenge prank. Even then, there are only a few wretched people in America on whom I would wish it. Watching it is like sitting through a 90-minute monologue by a kid whose dream is to make manager at Taco Bell. (Evan Sult) Pacific Place 11

The House of Mirth
British director Terence Davies' The House of Mirth, starring Gillian Anderson and Dan Aykroyd, adapts Edith Wharton's 1905 novel about New York high society--the tragic story of a beautiful young woman looking to marry a rich husband and finding herself torn between her need for financial security and her desire for personal integrity. Seven Gables

Last Resort
Europe excels at this sort of stuff: depressive, simpleminded tales of hardscrabble immigrants from the poorer corners of the Union--Poland, Slovenia, Turkey--trying to make it in their adoptive homes of England, France, or Germany. You've seen this film before, likely done better (as in Journey of Hope). Still, there is some nice stuff here: Paddy Considine's performance as Alfie, a gold-hearted British prole, is sweet as toffee. And the faded splendor of Stonehaven--all rotten greens and sickly blues--is viscerally thrilling. Uptown

Miss Congeniality
Sandra Bullock plays Gracie, a tomboyish FBI agent who goes undercover--beauty pageant-style--in order to capture a terrorist preying on contestants. Pacific Place 11

MonkeyBone
All you need to know of this film is that it stars both Brendan Fraser and a cartoon monkey, and that at about 40 minutes in, the cartoon monkey has taken over control of Brendan Fraser's body. That's it. Directed by Henry Selick, of The Nightmare Before Christmas? Based on Kaja Blackley's graphic novel, Dark Town? Unimportant. Brendan Fraser. Cartoon monkey. (Jason Pagano) Factoria, Meridian 16, Metro, Redmond Town Center

*O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Set in Depression-era Mississippi, George Clooney stars as Everett Ulysses McGill, a suave and well-groomed petty criminal doing hard time on a chain gang. Shackled to Pete (John Turturro) and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson), he convinces them to join him in escaping by promising to split a fortune in buried treasure. (Andy Spletzer) Factoria, Harvard Exit, Redmond Town Center

The Pledge
An aging, chain-smoking, and lonesome Jack Nicholson plays a retired Reno police detective who, during his last investigation, promises the parents of a brutally raped and murdered 8-year-old girl that he will, upon his eternal salvation, apprehend the culprit. Pacific Place 11

Pollock
This is actor Ed Harris' directorial debut (he also stars), and seems in too big a hurry to establish the iconic events of painter Jackson Pollock's life--see Pollock urinate in Peggy Guggenheim's fireplace, see Pollock overturn the Thanksgiving table, see Pollock accidentally discover drip painting--without letting any of these moments achieve any natural resolution. (Emily Hall) Guild 45th

Recess: School's Out
I loved the movie Recess: School's Out. It is full of exciting and hilarious scenes. It takes place when T.J. and his friends just get out of school for the summer. T.J. is excited until all his friends go to different camps; he is so bored until he sees strange things happening at his school. So he gets his friends from their camps together to uncover the mystery. (Sam Lachow, age 10) Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Majestic Bay, Meridian 16, Oak Tree, Redmond Town Center

Save the Last Dance
A hip-hoppin' drama about a rhythmically challenged white girl from the Midwest who sets out to endear herself to the young brothers and sisters of a black, inner-city Chicago high school. And how responsibly does this movie handle the potential conflagration of bad racial stereotypes it presents? I ask you all to picture matches, dynamite, and a very drunk monkey. (Kudzai Mudede) Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16

Saving Silverman
Jason Biggs is about to marry "the wrong girl," and his two rowdy buddies (Jack Black and Steve Zahn) will stop at nothzzzzzzzzzzzz. Judging by Silverman's sizable kitsch insurance policy, the accountant who approved this one knew it would take an omnipresent Neil Diamond to ensure the assload of money this film will undoubtedly make. (Jason Pagano) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16

*Shadow of the Vampire
E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire revisits the set of film director F. W. Murnau's 1922 horror classic Nosferatu to tell an imagined story of Murnau (John Malkovich) and his obscure star Max Schreck (played brilliantly by Willem Dafoe). Murnau casts an actual vampire, offering--in exchange for Schreck's willingness to "play himself"--to sacrifice his unsuspecting leading lady in the final scene of the film. (Caveh Zahedi) Aurora Cinema Grill, Meridian 16, Metro

Snatch
I remember reading that after he saw a screening of Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels in London, Tom Cruise leapt to his feet and screamed, "This movie rocks!" I'm sure he'll probably scream the same thing about Snatch. So, there you go. If you liked Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, you're gonna like Snatch. (Bradley Steinbacher) Grand Alderwood, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree

*State and Main
A Hollywood film crew descends on a small Vermont town to make a movie, bringing their sophisticated mores with them. David Mamet has said that he was thinking of Preston Sturges when he put this film together, and it's a worthy successor to the Master. (Barley Blair) Pacific Place 11, Varsity

Sweet November
Sometimes the soiling of a film comes with one stroke, I argue that Sweet November should be denied by all of you on this basis: Keanu is running on his treadmill, sweating bullets in his modern apartment and thinking, like he always is, of hot dogs. He pops off his mill jerkily and bounds toward the microwave. And then, sweaty Keanu puts the sweaty hot dog in his mouth. That's when it was over for me. (Paula Gilovich) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Southcenter

Thirteen Days
Taking its title from Robert Kennedy's book but its worldview from hagiography, Thirteen Days portrays the Cuban missile crisis as an episode in the life of St. Jack Kennedy. You may enjoy this movie, and that's okay, but I want you to hate it too. You should hate anything--any work of art, any literature, any fiction, any history--that pretends there is an obvious answer to any serious question. (Barley Blair) Admiral, Crest, Lewis & Clark, Redmond Town Center

Traffic
The big message in Traffic is perfectly laid-out by its tagline: "Nobody gets away clean." Read the poster and you've saved $8.50. Drugs lead to bad things, that is the moral, and I believe I learned it in ninth-grade health class. All the flashy directorial touches and sterling performances in the world can't cover the fact that Traffic is just another example of Hollywood tackling a complex problem with the simplest and most conservative of solutions. (Bradley Steinbacher) Grand Alderwood, Majestic Bay, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Varsity

Valentine
In our younger years, some people seemed to think their Debbie Gibson tour jacket made them hot shit. And as they grew up into the snotty, spoiled little hoochies they were, their lesson still hadn't been learned. And now, well, the only plausible solution Hollywood can seem to conjure up is that they must die. By iron, by electrocution, by their heads being slammed into jagged glass... it's good for laughs, if nothing more. (Megan Seling) Lewis & Clark

The Wedding Planner
A harmless, sweethearted example of what I call the "Sandra Bullockization" of the romantic comedy. Every leading lady, from Julia Roberts in the upcoming The Mexican to Jennifer Lopez here, seems to be playing the character of Sandra Bullock--down to the squinchy cute face and the whiny comedic asides. Lopez, playing Maria, the titular Planner, manages to be successful, self-deprecating, beautiful, and devoid of love. She is rescued from death by dumpster by Matthew McConaughey, hunky blond pediatrician and Perfect Catch, but discovers that he is engaged to one of her customers. Predictable hilarity ensues. (Traci Vogel) Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center

*Yi Yi
Yi Yi opens at a wedding and closes at a funeral, and in between lies a remarkably observant summation of the ups and downs of a middle-class family in Taipei. A computer engineer and his wife, Min-Min are pulled away from his brother-in-law's wedding when Min-Min's mother suffers a stroke and goes into a coma. They eventually bring her home and are encouraged to talk to her in a game attempt to bring her back to consciousness; these one-sided conversations allow the family members a forum to work out their individual concerns. Do not miss this opportunity to see this wonderful film that will draw you in and make you forget about time and space. (Andy Spletzer) Metro

*You Can Count on Me
In Kenneth Lonergan's You Can Count on Me, "adult" and "sadness" and "American" become a knot of synonyms as the story focuses on the pure inability a brother and sister have with one another now that they're adults. It's as though being an adult, and a member of a grownup American family, is the path of loneliness and sadness. (Paula Gilovich) Broadway Market