After Silence
A 2003 doc about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, focusing on the story of Bainbridge Island resident Dr. Frank Kitamoto. Seattle Art Museum, Thurs March 25 at 6:30 pm.
* Au Hasard Balthazar
See review this issue. Varsity, Fri-Sun 2:10, 4:30, 7, 9:20 pm, Mon-Thurs 7, 9:20 pm.
* Blood Simple
The Coen's best films are all descendents of this moody, geometric, fabulously accomplished first feature. (JAMIE HOOK) Egyptian, Fri-Sat midnight.
* The Dennis Nyback Forbidden Animation Festival
With the war on terror raging and our legislators suddenly realizing we need to protect our children from the TV after a half-second glimpse of Janet Jackson's boob, it's time to look back to a simpler time when war propaganda was pure and our children were safe from the media. Through the archival eye of traveling film exhibitionist Dennis Nyback, here we are given a glimpse into the past with seven different nights of short film programs. The whole thing kicks off on Friday the 19th with "Strange and Vicious War Cartoons," which used Bugs Bunny, Popeye, and other loveable icons to train our soldiers that Asian folks are crafty liars whom we must buck up and fight. "Offensive Animation" is a batch of cartoons where no minority is safe, and it'll be interesting to see how the racism against Arabs plays in the current climate. "Cartoons Too Violent for Children" shows how even the most respected animation studios believed violence was funny when it happened in cartoons... and they were right. "Corporate Animation Amok: The Shame of a Nation" has a wonderful piece from 1952 that encourages homeowners to spread DDT in their cupboards and spray DDT onto their furniture to kill bugs. This short alone makes the show on Monday the 22nd a worthwhile one to attend. "Jazz Jazz Jazz Cartoons" has its share of Betty Boop sexiness and racist caricatures, including a little bit more Arab content. The program of "Rubber Hose Toons" is a catch-all for strange old cartoons. Finally, "The Dark Side of Dr. Seuss" finishes off the series with shorts made by Theodore Geisel (AKA Dr. Seuss) during World War II. It's a sobering, sometimes funny, often shocking collection that serves as a warning about the effectiveness of propaganda when it's created by a very smart man. Nyback will introduce each show. (ANDY SPLETZER) All films screen at the Little Theatre. "Strange and Vicious War Cartoons," Fri March 19 at 8 pm. "Offensive Exploitation Animation," Sat March 20 at 8 pm. "Cartoons Too Violent for Children," Sun March 21 at 8 pm. "Corporate Animation Amok: The Shame of a Nation," Mon March 22 at 8 pm. "Jazz Jazz Jazz Cartoons," Tues March 23 at 8 pm. "Cult, Oddball, and Rubber Hose 'Toons," Wed March 24 at 8 pm. "The Dark Side of Dr. Seuss," Thurs March 25 at 8 pm.
The Good Lot
See Blow Up. A Portland indie about running, featuring some pretty Portland bridges and some pretty Portland sunshine. George & Dragon Pub, Sun March 21 at 8 pm.
Hogan's [fuck you] Heroes
See Blow Up. A "screening/performance event" of and about Hogan's Heroes. 911 Media Arts, Fri March 19 at 8 pm.
Intermezzo
The Ingrid Bergman Film Festival continues with this 1936 movie, featuring black-and-white cinematography by Gregg (Citizen Kane) Toland and Ingrid Bergman in her first English-speaking role. Nordic Heritage Museum, Thurs March 25 at 7 pm.
* Jewish Film Festival
The ninth annual Jewish Film Festival--decidedly international in scope--wraps up this week with a bunch of special events. On Saturday, the festival presents the West Coast premiere of Israeli director Amos Gitai's new film, Alila. Sunday brings you a sing-along presentation of Fiddler on the Roof, plus the closing night feature, a new print of Mel Brooks' 1968 film The Producers. Foolish Me/Two Minutes from Faradis, Pacific Place, Thurs March 18 at 6:30 pm; Bit By Bit, Pacific Place, Thurs March 18 at 8:30 pm; A Journey of Spirit, Pacific Place, Sat March 20 at 6:15 pm, James' Journey to Jerusalem, Pacific Place, Sat March 20 at 7:45 pm, Alila, Pacific Place, Sat March 20 at 9:30 pm. My Four Children/Welcome to the Waks Family, Cinerama, Sun March 21 at 10:30 am; Fiddler on the Roof sing-along, Cinerama, Sun March 21 at 1 pm; It's All My Fault, Cinerama, Sun March 21 at 5 pm; The Producers, Cinerama, Sun March 21 at 7 pm.
* Lumpy Lunacy!: The Art of Claymation
Forget earthenware vessels--squirmy, endearing little creatures with a conspicuous lack of spine are the crowning glory of our species' engagement with clay. Little Theatre, Sat March 20 at 2 pm.
The Nest
The best thing about this 16 mm feature by James Fotopoulus is the contrast between the title (with its note of comfort and domesticity) and the subject matter (suffering). Of course, this particular conceit has been around a long time, but that doesn't mean artists and writers can't find newly creepy things to say about it. (See, for example, the unsettling article about a homeless man living in a Coke-crate shelter in last winter's issue of Nest magazine). But Fotopoulus doesn't have much new to contribute, so what there is of a narrative--a very X-Files amalgamation of Sasquatch hair samples, men in black, and unearthly rocks--gets tiresome fast. The acting veers abruptly from stylized to naturalistic and back again. When the husband (Corey Damian Smith) suffers, he clutches his head in a highly stereotyped gesture, and when the wife (Allison Eir Jenks) suffers, she rolls around on her bed like a porn star, but the only thing that made me sympathize with either of them was the dark cinematography, which promptly gave me a headache. (ANNIE WAGNER) Consolidated Works, Fri-Sat 8 pm.
Save Our Lands, Save Our Towns
... save our neighborhoods, save our cul-de-sacs, save our asphalt, save our storm drains, save our rats. A film about managing sprawl. Hamilton Middle School Library, Thurs March 18 at 7 pm.
The Scarlet Empress
Marlene Dietrich stars as an innocent noblewoman who very quickly comes around when she's married off to the crazy heir to the throne of Mother Russia. At first she swears loyalty to her husband (a would-be lover chides, "Those ideas are old fashioned! This is the 18th century!"), but soon figures out that seducing the army would be the best way to secure her own safely. Of course, this was made in the 1930s, so the sex isn't shown, only implied. And who better to do so than Dietrich, who gives the twirling of a straw in her mouth a lasciviousness all its own? (GILLIAN G. GAAR) Movie Legends, Sun March 21 at 1 pm.
* Suspiria
The "Classics and Oddities of Italian Cinema" series draws to a close with Dario Argento's 1977 horror favorite about an American girl at a German dance school. Rendezvous, Wed March 24 at 7:30 pm.
Thunder Road
Next up in the monthly "I Walk the Line: The Man Alone" series is this rockabilly flick, rumored to be the source material for The Dukes of Hazzard. Central Cinema, Fri-Sat 8, 10 pm, Sun 8 pm.
NOW PLAYING
50 First Dates
Sounds silly, for sure. But know what? It's cute and funny too. (MEGAN SELING)
Agent Cody Banks: Destination London
Junior spies and big red telephone booths go together like ice cream and pie.
The Barbarian Invasions
Really, I can't understand how this film has gotten any good reviews at all. (ANDY SPLETZER)
Big Fish
Tim Burton's Big Fish is an ungainly, rambling piece of work built upon a bed of lies. The liar: a man named Ed Bloom who has spent his life spinning outrageous tales about himself, including run-ins with witches and giants, Siamese twins, and massive, uncatchable fish (hence the title). Sappy and cluttered, the entirety of Big Fish doesn't quite hold together. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
City of God
Set in hell (a heated Rio de Janeiro ghetto) and narrated by a young newspaper photographer named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), Cidade de Deus (City of God) describes the rise and fall of the legendary, psychopathic gangster Li'l Zé, who, after murdering every obstacle in his way, mercilessly rules the ghetto's turbulent drug trade. 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)
* Cold Mountain
Anthony Minghella steers the film into a few minor rough spots (including a somewhat clumsy beginning, and an occasionally annoying performance by Renée Zellweger as a lodger who helps Nicole Kidman on her farm), but the picture as a whole delivers a big, heartfelt epic. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
This quasi-musical (it's for kids) is riveting because Lindsey Lohan's breasts are really, really juicy. (CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE)
Dawn of the Dead
When there are no more original ideas in Hollywood, a remake shall walk the earth.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights
Cripes. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
See review this issue.
* The Fog of War
War is never a clean affair, and looking back on Vietnam--even with a firsthand guide such as the film's subject, Robert McNamara--it appears no cleaner. Some have complained about McNamara's refusal to fully admit his guilt--they seem to want him to apologize for the whole affair. No such words appear to be coming from the former secretary of defense, but what he offers instead is in some ways more interesting. McNamara is quite obviously riddled with guilt about Vietnam, which was a pitiful tragedy. As The Fog of War artfully shows us, McNamara is now a pitiful, tragic figure himself. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Good Bye Lenin!
See review this issue.
Hidalgo
Hidalgo screams Disney with its Wild West (and East, although it was actually shot in Morocco and Africa) adventure, and especially the hammy relationship between Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) and his horse, who could easily play Mr. Ed if called upon for the upcoming remake of the '60s television series. Whenever Hopkins makes a fool of himself, Hidalgo the Wise raises his eyebrows, or snorts, and even bleeds if the mood calls for it, making Hidalgo quite possibly Mortensen's most romantic film to date. (KATHLEEN WILSON)
In America
Like a truck whose brakes have been tampered with, the emotion in this movie rolls uncontrollably down a steep road, swerving from side to side, until it finally hits a big tree. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Last Samurai
All the film can offer is the sight of Tom Cruise wielding a lengthy sword--a thought sure to excite fans of childish metaphor, but they may be the only ones. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Latter Days
Latter Days tells the story of a shallow L.A. fag and the Mormon missionary who enters his life (and more!) to teach him the value not only of spiritual depth, but of patience. The first half of the film is spent waiting for the inevitable moment when the obviously gay Mormon will allow the party boy into the kingdom of his underpants. The rest consists of wondering how and why you could ever possibly be expected to care about the travails and transformations of the two main characters. (SEAN NELSON)
* Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
If this is just a fantasy, Peter Jackson seems to say, it's going to deliver on every level available. (SEAN NELSON)
Miracle
The prominent display of muscular young men achieving glory through physical exertion is not the only way in which sports movies are like pornography. The other big similarity lies in audience expectations; because the destination is a foregone conclusion in both forms, the pleasure of watching has got to be all about the journey. Miracle is good because it delivers a solid 90 minutes of credible buildup to a finale that is a matter of public record. (SEAN NELSON)
Monsieur Ibrahim
Had the movie remained within the limits of its basic plot, and stayed enclosed within this vibrant section of Paris (the busy narrow street; the boy's dark, book-packed apartment; the bright piazza where a teen girl practices American dance moves; and the small but well-stocked store), it would have been perfectly charming. But instead, the director, Franÿois Dupeyron, wanted something more than all he had--a warm relationship that develops between two people who come from opposing religions, ages, and races. This something more that the director wanted to squeeze out of the modest scenario is a major statement, a declaration about the fate of all mankind. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
* Monster
There are many things that work in Monster, beginning with the much-praised performance by its lead, Charlize Theron. Saddled with 20 extra pounds, buried beneath grime and makeup, Theron is outright amazing. However, on the whole, the picture is so bleak and depressing that it is nearly intolerable. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
* My Architect
My Architect isn't really about architecture, nor even about Louis I. Kahn himself, except insofar as the late master builder and his immortal buildings remain an enigma to his son Nathaniel, the filmmaker behind this extraordinary documentary. Nathaniel Kahn's film is about the void created by a father's absence from his children's lives, and the way that void is continually filled and depleted by the father's reputation. More specifically, My Architect questions the conceit that artistic genius needn't be beholden to petty human strictures like family. Complicating matters is the (well-documented, apparently unarguable) fact that, unlike most fathers who abandon their wives, lovers, and kids for the sake of their art, Louis I. Kahn actually was a genius. (SEAN NELSON)
* NASCAR 3D
Finally, a reason to go to the IMAX theater! I mean the Lewis and Clark film is all right, but this is freakin' car racing, in magical 3-D, on an eight-foot screen with ear-shattering digital surround sound. Whether you even like NASCAR or not, the subject matter perfectly suits the medium. At first I was feeling oppressed by the big plastic wrap-around 3-D glasses, but once the film started, I was floored. The 3-D car crash scene, where the giant radial tire seems to come flying right out into the audience, is worth the price of admission alone. And other scenes, especially the pit stops and the views from inside the cars as they race are so loud and intense they'll give you goosebumps. The whole film is thundering and obnoxious--just like NASCAR itself. And laugh if you must at the overly-enthusiastic NASCAR culture, but these people know how to have fun. Seeing parents and their kids watch this movie together--cars burning rubber and screaming around the track at speeds upward of 200 mph, while Ministry's "Jesus Built My Hotrod" blared from the sound system... well, it warmed my heart. (KELLY O)
The Passion of the Christ
Under Mel Gibson's direction, there is not a whiff of threat in Jim Caviezel's Jesus, and once all the blood has dried, the major villains are little more than mindless monsters, with the Jews, in the end, receiving the brunt of the blame. Because of this, Jesus himself loses most of his humanity as well, and causes The Passion of the Christ to lose its effectiveness for anyone beyond rigid believers. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
* The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Initially, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised was meant to be a simple profile of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez--a headstrong brown man who has the balls of a bull, the air of a visionary, and the courage of a madman. While filming, though, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain suddenly found themselves documenting, on April 12, 2002, the fall of a president besieged by his right-wing (and evidently CIA-supported) opponents. Chavez is defiant at first, but then surrenders, not because he is scared but because he doesn't want blood to be shed. And this is the truth that The Revolution Will Not Be Televised brings to light, a truth that was pretty much ignored/obscured by CNN and other American news sources: Chavez does not see himself as the most important human in Venezuela--if such were the case he would have fought to the death to stay in power. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Secret Window
Johnny Depp plays Mort Rainey, a depressed novelist who's got a bad case of writer's block and a divorce waiting in the wings. While his unfaithful ex (Maria Bello) gets it on with her lunkhead boyfriend (Timothy Hutton), Mort steams in a lakeside cabin in upper New York. His self-imposed privacy is broken, however, by a Mississippi hick called John Shooter (John Turturro) who claims Mort has plagiarized one of his stories. When the situation isn't rectified to Shooter's satisfaction, Mort's acquaintances and pets begin winding up with screwdrivers crammed into their heads. And while most levelheaded people would run screaming back to the big city, Mort remains, because he has secrets of his own. Secret Window is a thriller--and a quirky one, much to its credit. It flows along in the same pulpy style of its original author (Stephen King), which means it also shares its author's penchant for unbelievable denouements. Yet somehow Depp has the ability to play even the most eye-rolling moments with a brand of believable grace. (WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY)
Something's Gotta Give
Do you really want to see Jack Nicholson's bare ass? (EMILY HALL)
Spartan
This movie opens with soldiers training in the woods, a military helicopter flying over the brooding twilight of a massive city (Boston), and a base operated by secret agents in black suits. Great images! The story then centers on one secret service agent, whose only meaning in life is his work. This agent is played by Val Kilmer. Suddenly the daughter of a powerful politician is kidnapped. Twists and turns lead Kilmer to a seedy stream of white slavery that connects Boston with Yemen. In Yemen, like everywhere else, the most valued object is a blond American teenager. And according to this film, made by a Jewish director, it is the duty of black Americans, Mexican Americans, and working-class white Americans, to protect, even at the cost of their lives, this all-American treasure--the blond beauty. At the film's end, a white jet plane flown by Swedish nationals carries the blond American away from the black dangers of Yemen. Need I say more? (CHARLES MUDEDE)
Starsky & Hutch
Despite my high praise for Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, Starsky & Hutch is not a great success. It's barely a marginal success--funny Ha, not funny Ha Ha. Far too obvious on many occasions, often derailed by Ben Stiller's overreaching, the film as a whole is little more than predictable fluff. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)
Taking Lives
A serial killer lives vicariously through the people he offs. Hence the punny title.
Touching the Void
I'm not sure if Joe Simpson and Simon Yates are still active mountaineers, but it is clear that just speaking about their famous climb in this drama-documentary, detailing it in that near-formal language which distinguishes professional mountaineers from amateurs, gives them a pleasure that is satanic in its size and intensity. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
* The Triplets of Belleville
Writer-director-animator Sylvain Chomet invokes the same absurdly entertaining nostalgia that Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro tapped into for Delicatessen and City of Lost Children. The world Chomet has created contains the same deadpan sadness that lies at the base of those films--the world may be a cold and lonely place, but with a little inventiveness you can prosper. (ANDY SPLETZER)
Twisted
Nothing in Philip Kaufman's thriller Twisted is worth recommending. Nothing. (CHARLES MUDEDE)
