EYE OF THE BEHOLDER -- various theaters
FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI -- Grand Illusion
ISN'T SHE GREAT -- various theaters
ARAB FILM FESTIVAL -- Broadway Performance Hall, Little Theatre
BEST OF BRITISH FILM -- Seattle Art Museum
CIRCUS REDICKULESS -- 911 Media Arts
THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN -- Egyptian
THE GAMBLER -- Grand Illusion
HAMLET -- Egyptian
HOU HSIAO-HSIEN RETROSPECTIVE -- Grand Illusion
INDEPENDENT EXPOSURE -- Speakeasy
LA CIUDAD (THE CITY) -- Varsity Calendar
LA GRANDE BOUFFE -- Varsity Calendar
THE MOLE PEOPLE -- Ethnic Cultural Center
MONSIEUR VERDOUX -- Consolidated Works
MURDER! -- Grand Illusion
OUTSIDE IN: NEW CHINESE FILM -- Henry Art Gallery
THE STICKY FINGERS OF TIME -- Little Theatre
UMM KULTHUM: A VOICE LIKE EGYPT -- Little Theatre
WORLD'S BEST COMMERCIALS OF THE CENTURY -- Varsity Calendar
February 4 -- Scream 3, Simpatico, The Saragossa Manuscript, West Beirut, Gun Shy, Onegin, The Sticky Fingers of Time
February 11 -- The Beach, Mr. Death, My Best Fiend, The Third Miracle, The Tigger Movie, The Big Tease, Hanging Up, Snow Day, The Cup
*42 Up
Michael Apted has been filming a bunch of Brits every seven years, ever since they were seven years old. Now they're 42. Wow. Varsity
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
More of a nature documentary than a ghost story. Omnidome
*All About My Mother
Pedro Almodovar's highly acclaimed new film, a mature look at women (with the obligatory drag queen). Harvard Exit
Amazon
An IMAX examination of the lush forests and exotic animals of the Amazon river basin. Omnidome
Angela's Ashes
In a miserable, Depression-era America and then, woefully, the slums of Ireland, Frank McCourt watches his mother Angela (Emily Watson) suffer while three of his siblings die in squalor and his ne'er-do-well father (Robert Carlyle) drinks away their money and, with time, his own wounded soul. Though Alan Parker's film provides vivid, loving re-creations of almost all of the most cherished passages from McCourt's best-selling reminiscence, Angela's Ashes is curiously unmoving in cinematic terms. It's a fine film that seems strangely static; it has all of the book's drama and almost none of its own -- though Watson's stoic sadness could not be better suited to the material, and there are great degrees of love and confusion in Carlyle's pained silences. Better still are all of the child actors. The film ends up doing justice to a devastating book without being devastating itself. (Steve Wiecking) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Guild 45th, Meridian 16, Oak Tree
Any Given Sunday
Oliver Stone takes on football, with all the pomp and bombast you'd expect. Starring Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, and a surprisingly good Jamie Foxx. Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro
*Arab Film Festival
Closing night of the Fourth Arab Film Festival happens on Thurs Jan 27 at the Broadway Performance Hall (The English Sheikh and the Yemeni Gentleman at 7:00; Alexandria Again and Forever at 9:00) and at the Little Theatre (Summer at Groulette at 7:30; Grapes and Figs are in Season at 9:30). Catch the end of this Arabalific festival. $8 per movie; call 322-2564 for ticket information; or visit www.arabfilm.com. Broadway Performance Hall, The Little Theatre
*Being John Malkovich
It's the best film of 1999 and it has a monkey in it. Coincidence? We don't think so. Meridian 16, Varsity
BEST OF BRITISH FILM
SAM's series of British comedies and dramas continues with David Lean's Blithe Spirit (1944), adapted from Noël Coward's play and starring Rex Harrison (Thurs Jan 27 at 7:30); the following week it's Lean's Brief Encounter (1945), also adapted from Coward's play, with Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard (Thurs Feb 3 at 7:30). Call 625-8900 for more info. Seattle Art Museum
The Cider House Rules
Based on the John Irving novel, a period piece about life and abortion. Starring sexy child-actor Tobey Maguire. Guild 45th, Redmond Town Center, Uptown
Circus Redickuless
"Punk Impresario" (and Total Scam Artist) Chicken John leads a team of wayward kids across the country, performing sporadically and scrounging for food (and drugs) after canceled gigs and desperate nights. As the bickering and debauchery continues, this group takes every inch of glamour and romance out of the traveling circus fantasy. See also Stranger Suggests. Fri Jan 28 at 8; $5. 911 Media Arts
Cradle Will Rock
Tim Robbins' messy but entertaining look at Orson Welles' political struggles with the titular play in 1936. Harvard Exit
Dogma
Potty-mouthed writer/director Kevin Smith takes on faith and poop-monsters in his love letter to the Catholic religion. City Centre
Down to You
Freddie Prinze, Jr. (She's All That) and Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate about You) join forces to make yet another lame teen movie. Meridian 16, Metro, Redmond Town Center
The Emperor and the Assassin
Chen Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin lives up to its epic title. All that the word "emperor" implies (resolute ruler, insane dreamer, ornate palaces, opulent chambers, royal robes), and all that the word "assassin" implies (secrecy, solitude, control, celerity, efficiency, professional conduct), informs and structures every aspect of this spectacular edifice, which certainly stands as one of the great technical and artistic achievements of Chinese cinema. Nearly three hours long, the movie has everything: court intrigue, weeping mothers, slaughtered children, roaring armies, and wide-open grasslands where the horse is king and the sky endless. It also has in it the most beautiful actress in the world, Gong Li. Thurs Jan 27 at 4:45, 8. (Charles Mudede) Egyptian
*The End of the Affair
Self-tortured Ralph Fiennes stars with the amazing Julianne Moore and the beleaguered Stephen Rea in this story about a love triangle and God. Pacific Place 11, Seven Gables
The Eruption of Mount St. Helens
The mountain blew up in 1980, and has been blowing up on film ever since. Omnidome
Eye of the Beholder
Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd star in a thriller about an evil eye. Actually, that's not true at all. But an evil eye! That's spooooky! various theaters
Fantasia 2000
The latest Walt Disney sweeping-animation-and-classical-music extravaganza, this time in thrilling 3D. Bring your own mind-altering substances. Pacific Science Center
*Flowers of Shanghai
The Seattle premiere of this film by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, about the prostitutes (or "flower girls") living in an opulent 19th-century Chinese brothel. Nominated for the Palm d'Or at the 1998 Cannes Festival. Until Thurs Feb 10 at (Sat-Sun 2:30), 4:45, 7, 9:15. Reviewed this issue. Grand Illusion
Galaxy Quest
The cast of a Star Trek-like show are recruited by a (presumably good) alien race to save them from a (presumably bad) alien race. Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree, Redmond Town Center
The Gambler
Based on a novel, and the story of the making of the novel, by the great Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Basically, under an impossible deadline, Dostoyevsky dictates his novel The Gambler to his comely stenographer, the two fall in love, and then marry. Great potential is wasted by Hungarian director Karoly Makk, who films an uninteresting script in an uninteresting way. Thurs Jan 27 at 5, 7, 9. (Andy Spletzer) Grand Illusion
Girl, Interrupted
Suicidal Susanna (Winona Ryder) is sent to a mental institution where she learns a bit about how self-involved she's been in her young life. The movie is set in the late '60s, so people smoke a lot. Also starring Angelina Jolie as a very social sociopath. Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Meridian 16, Metro, Northgate
The Green Mile
Tom Hanks' death row is forever changed when a magical prisoner is admitted. (Andy Spletzer) Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
Hamlet
(1948) A new 35mm print of the classic Shakes-pearean tale. With Laurence Olivier as Hamlet, and Jean Simmons (rrowr!) as the nubile Ophelia. Fri-Thurs Jan 28-Feb 3 at (Sat-Sun 1:45), 5, 8. Reviewed this issue. Egyptian
*HOU HSIAO-HSIEN RETROSPECTIVE
Recognized worldwide as one of the "giants of the modern cinema," Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien is admired for his precise, spiritual filmmaking, rich narratives and characters, and examination of Taiwan's unique and turbulent history. The Grand Illusion's weekend matinee series starts off with Hou's autobiographical A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1985), a film ostensibly about a young boy who grows up to be a delinquent and then is drafted into the army, but ends up being about about so much more. Sat-Sun Jan 29-30 at noon. Reviewed this issue. Grand Illusion
The Hurricane
With the exception of dependable Denzel Washington, The Hurricane is marked by weak performances. The movie is based on a true story about Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a star boxer who was framed for multiple murders by a racist cop. Hurricane (played by Denzel) spent the next 20 years behind bars, where he wrote a book, thought a lot about the nature of American racism, and had a song devoted to him by Bob Dylan. The only interesting take this film has on his story is that it shamelessly portrays white Canadians as morally superior to their barbarian, gun-toting brethren south of their border -- a myth they have treasured since the days of slavery. (Charles Mudede) Factoria, Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Meridian 16, Metro, Oak Tree
Independent Exposure
Independent Exposure's fifth year kicks off with another good batch of short films, plus beer, wine, and food. See also Stranger Suggests. Thurs Jan 27 at 7:30, $4; 21+ ONLY. (Andy Spletzer) Speakeasy
Island of the Sharks
Them there's SHARKS on the IMAX screen! Swim with the fishes at your peril. Pacific Science Center
Isn't She Great
Bette Midler is Valley of the Dolls writer Jacqueline Susann. Isn't that great? various theaters
*La Ciudad (The City)
David Riker's portrait of present-day Latino immigrants in New York, and the challenges they face when dealing with life in a strange new world. A favorite on the film festival circuit. Thurs Jan 27 at 5, 7, 9. Varsity Calendar
La Grande Bouffe
Marco Ferreri's scandalous black comedy about four men who retire to a mansion in the French countryside -- and plan on eating themselves to death! With Marcello Mastroianni as one of the aspiring gluttons. Tues-Thurs Feb 1-3 at 4:20, 7, 9:40; ADULTS ONLY. Reviewed this issue. Varsity Calendar
Magnolia
Paul Thomas Anderson weaves together the story of eight generic characters in a cinematically fun package. At three hours, the movie is way too long, particularly when it stops to try and flesh out the "characters," but some of the showy visuals make this movie worthwhile. (Andy Spletzer) Grand Alderwood, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Pacific Place 11
Man on the Moon
Underperforming, shallow, yet still entertaining movie about the off-putting comedian Andy Kaufman. Starring Jim Carrey. Aurora Cinema Grill, City Centre, Meridian 16, Varsity
Mansfield Park
A poor girl is sent to live with wealthy relatives where she becomes the most popular girl there, thanks to her lower-class enthusiasm and upper-class pride. Based on the novel by Jane Austen. Broadway Market
The Mole People
Northwest Harvest, Wing-It Productions, and Jet City Improv brings us another "Twisted Flick" -- this time, a screening of the 1956 creature-feature The Mole People, in which archaeologists accidentally discover an underground community of freaky albinos who can only live in darkness. The twist? The entire film will be dubbed live, based on audience suggestions, and a live musical score and sound effects will be added for further campy giggles. Fri-Sat Jan 28-29 at 10, $7; discount given for dry/canned food donations to Northwest Harvest. Ethnic Cultural Center
Monsieur Verdoux
Unquestionably the blackest comedy of Charlie Chaplin's career, Monsieur Verdoux (1947) follows, and even goes to the edge of endorsing, the exploits of a bluebeard who marries rich and then does away with his wives. The idea was suggested to Chaplin by Orson Welles, and it's fascinating to imagine the baroque, misogynist noir that the latter might have made of it. But the story works just fine in Chaplin's elegant, straightforward style (though I could have done with less shots of locomotive wheels). Occasionally the simplistic social message (who are the real killers in a capitalistic society?) gets annoying; but the film has a genuine sense of subversion, Chaplin the actor is in fine form, and Martha Raye is one of the most eminently murderable spouses in movie history. Fri-Sun Jan 28-30 at 8. (Bruce Reid) Consolidated Works
Murder!
The first fully-sounded film (1930) from Alfred Hitchcock, about a persistent juror (Herbert Marshall) in a murder trial who's determined to re-investigate the murder on his own. Fri-Sat Jan 28-29 at 11:30. Grand Illusion
Next Friday
Those who enjoyed Friday and Players Club will not be disappointed by Next Friday. The story is just as bad. It's about an escaped prisoner who wants to kill Ice Cube, so Cube's father (John Witherspoon) sends him off to the safe suburbs to stay with his uncle, who bought a big house there after winning a million bucks in the lottery. But he soon learns that his uncle is about to lose his house (back taxes) and needs money ($3,200) to keep it. So it's up to Cube to save the day. Now I must make a confession. This film is way too crude for my tastes; there is not one drop of intelligence (or beauty) in the whole damn thing, and Cube's depiction of women is more than deplorable -- they are either stupid, or horny, or liars, or all three. And as for his portrayal of Chicanos, no white director could get away with that, and, in this regard, I think Cube should not be exempt from harsh criticism simply because he is from "tha hood." (Charles Mudede) Redmond Town Center, Uptown
Olympic Glory
International athletes and adrenaline junkies show off their skills and defy gravity at the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano. Omnidome
*OUTSIDE IN: NEW CHINESE FILM
This series of modern/avant-garde Chinese films continues (note the venue change!) with an earlier film from the director of The Emperor and the Assassin, Chen Kaige's King of Children (1987). Henry Art Gallery Auditorium
Play It to the Bone
Thanks to some shady fight promoters, two washed-up L.A. middleweights (Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas) are given a shot to box on a pay-per-view undercard bout; the catch being they have to make it to Vegas that very evening. Grabbing a ride with their former girlfriend (Lolita Davidovitch, playing director Ron Shelton's stock female "muse to the athlete" character), the three mind-fuck and bicker for much of this "boxing" movie before a single punch is thrown. The boxing segments are adequately done, and there are some insights to be gained regarding the highs and lows of professional fighting, but the two main characters are (I can't believe I'm saying this) too sympathetic. Boxing is about rooting for one person or the other, and here there's no one to root against. This leaves Play It to the Bone's exciting final match metaphorically, if not figuratively, bloodless. In other words, it ain't no Rocky. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Factoria, Meridian 16, Metro, Redmond Town Center
Snow Falling on Cedars
An island in the postwar Pacific Northwest is the setting for a murder trial that reunites reporter Ishmael Chambers (Ethan Hawke) with Hatsue Miyamoto (Youki Kudoh), the great love of his young life, who was sent to a Japanese-American internment camp and now suffers besides her accused husband, Kazuo (Rick Yune). Hicks has created a truly stunning visual design for the story, weaving burnished memories into every gorgeously wounded frame. Still, what fells the film is its lack of a compelling center; it starts to bore you without anyone to carry its consuming passions. Smoking around its edges are intriguing details about the appalling treat- ment of Japanese Americans during World War II, but the romance that supposedly burns beneath all the pain of history is as remote as the hollowed cedar tree that acts as a touchstone for its lovers. (Steve Wiecking) Factoria, Metro, Pacific Place 11
The Sticky Fingers of Time
(1997) An indie film debut from Hilary Brougher and Good Machine Productions, in which "dreamy" 1950s pulp-fiction novelist Tucker Harding finds herself time-traveling against her will to present-day life, where she discovers an old tabloid article depicting her own murder. Adventure ensues in this "neo-noir lesbian chic flick." A Seattle theatrical premiere. Thurs Feb 3 at 5:45, 7:30, 9:15. Little Theatre
Stuart Little
A well-dressed mouse (voice of Michael J. Fox) is adopted by a family. Really, what more do you need? Factoria, Lewis & Clark, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center
Supernova
In Event Horizon, the space crew comes across a magical sphere and it ends up being hell. In Barry Levinson's Sphere, an underwater research crew discovers a sphere and it ends up being a spoiled brat. In Supernova, a deep space ambulance/hospital comes across a sphere and it is very sexy. This is why Supernova is the better film: Nothing beats a sexy sphere. Though the film is uneven (one has the impression it was supposed to be as slow and as considered as Tarkovsky's Solaris before it was recut by the studio), it is still a beautiful film to watch. Ice blue in color, it has gorgeous sets, a sensuous spaceship, a computer named Sweetie that's coming to terms with her nascent erotic impulses, two great looking leads (James Spader and Angela Bassett -- whose floating sex scene is regrettably short), and, most importantly, the best "jump" to hyper-space sequence I have ever seen on the big screen. (Charles Mudede) Aurora Cinema Grill, Grand Alderwood, Pacific Place 11
Sweet and Lowdown
Woody Allen casts Sean Penn as a self-absorbed musician who falls in love with a mute. Metro
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Matt Damon is typecast as a loveable psychopath who falls in love with the life of Dickie Green- wood (played by the fantastic Jude Law). Factoria, Metro, Oak Tree, Pacific Place 11, Redmond Town Center, Southcenter
*Titus
Prideful General Titus (Anthony Hopkins) ritually sacrifices the eldest son of pleading, defeated Goth Queen, Tamora (a ferocious Jessica Lange), and sets in motion a dizzyingly vicious hurricane of vengeance. What's most remarkable about Julie Taymor's film is her ability to tell Shakespeare's thrilling, violent tale while successfully damning the cruel legacy of human nature; she has her meat and eats it, too. Her carnivorous ensemble, meanwhile, tears into it with drooling finesse. Almost everyone in the large cast has a juicy bit, including a preening Alan Cumming as an infantile emperor and Harry Lennix as Aaron, the spiteful, oppressed Moor. If the film sometimes seems caught within the frame, like a series of psychedelic set-pieces on a particularly tractable stage, it's more than made up for with the force of Taymor's vision. Her astonishing final flourish sees nightmarish tumult as the mindless extension of a child's game, and turns Titus into a cry for a better world. (Steve Wiecking) Cinerama
*Topsy-Turvy
In just over two and a half hours, director Mike Leigh details the complex processes (both personal and national) that make a big, expensive art project possible. Leigh has never ventured into this territory before, let alone this era -- but now, late in his career, he has decided to step back and make a film about what he is: an artist. He does this by telling the story of Gilbert and Sullivan, the composer/writer team that produced comic (or light) operas in the mid- and late-19th century, and their production of the highly successful Mikado. What is most impressive about this film is that it examines the intricacies and mechanisms of the production of a "popular" art form by using secondary genre artists. This is brilliant because it becomes an investigation of the systems of art, rather than the final production. In that way, Topsy-Turvy works as an investigation of filmmaking, something Leigh knows a lot about. (Charles Mudede) Broadway Market
*Toy Story 2
The second highest-grossing animated film of all time (be-hind The Lion King). Woody and Buzz take on issues of death and collectability. Grand Alderwood, Metro, Pacific Place 11
Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt
It's always a shaky business to evaluate artistic achievement without understanding the cultural context from which it comes. In that light, this earnest documentary does a good job of placing the beloved Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum in historical perspective. Possessed of a strong voice, fabulous diction (inculcated by schooling that consisted mostly of learning to recite from the Koran), a preference for familiar tunes, and a strong commitment to nationalism and social justice, she was mourned by millions when she died in 1975. All of which makes her the Egyptian equivalent of Marion Anderson -- or perhaps Kay Smith. Either way she sounds marvelous, and we see enough of her charmingly stiff performance style (the loveliest smile blossoms across her face whenever the audience applauds) to know that, whatever else, she was a marvelous entertainer. Plays with film shorts from Seattle's Arab Film Distribution; Fri-Sun Jan 28-30 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30. (Bruce Reid) Little Theatre
World's Best Commercials of the Century
Though the Americans have Wendy's "Where's the beef?" (which I swear is one of the funniest commercials I have ever seen) and Coka-Cola's eternal Mean Joe Green moment, the Europeans stand out as the real innovators in The World's Best Commercials of the Century. Not just the Europeans, but, more specifically, the Brits, who in the '70s and early '80s had a number of excellent commercials which featured famous British comedians like John Cleese (Fawlty Towers), Penelope Keith (Born to the Manor), Peter Cellier (Yes, Minister) and Eddie Large (Little and Large Show). These commercials represent the very apogee of the art -- after that delirious high point you just couldn't make a better commercial; the form became exhausted and empty. If you have never seen one of the these "best commercials" shows, and are vaguely interested, then this is the one to watch. Fri-Mon Jan 28-31 at (Sat-Sun 1, 3), 5, 7, 9. (Charles Mudede) Varsity Calendar
