Ace in the Hole
Kirk Douglas stars in Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, which closes out the Eco Sicko II series. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Australia
There’s a scene in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia that pretty much sums up the hilarious giddiness of this big-budget epic. In it, beefy Hugh Jackman heroically appears in a cloud of dust, driving a herd of wild horses, with his slow motion, deep-throated “Yaa!”s and Marlboro Man-style head tosses lifted straight from the cover of a pulpy paperback novel. For an film aiming at Gone with the Wind proportions, there’s way too little space here to address every deep, dated flaw and moment of cinematic abandon that Australia earnestly embodies. At different times, Luhrmann’s epic unintentionally cracked me up, authentically caught me up in suspense, and probably made me ovulate—not a bad time, all in all. MARJORIE SKINNER Various Theaters.
The Auteur
Ballast
See review. Hollywood Theatre.
Birdsong
The final film in the Northwest Film Center’s Contemporary Spanish Film Series, in which director Albert Serra interprets the Biblical tale of the three wise men. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Cadillac Records
A not-screened-for-critics, music-themed drama starring Adrien Brody and Beyoncé. Hit portlandmercury.com on Friday, December 5 for our review. Lloyd Center 10 Cinema.
Classic Concerts: Frank Zappa
Footage from a 1988 Frank Zappa concert. Zappa bassist Scott Thunes will be in attendance to participate in a post-screening Q&A. Clinton Street Theater.
The Dukes
A “comic tale of a down-and-out doo-wop band who take a bumbling detour into burglary.” Starring Chazz Palminteri, Robert Davi, and Peter Bogdanovich, and directed by Davi (who you might remember as the irascible “Commander Acastus Kolya” on Stargate: Atlantis). Not screened in time for press; hit portlandmercury.com on Friday, December 5 for our review. Fox Tower 10.
The Exiles
Extreme Movie
If you’ve ever wanted a “sketch comedy movie about the joys and embarrassments of teen sex” that combined the cinematic talents of Frankie Muniz, Jamie Kennedy, and Matthew Lillard, your dreams have come true! Written and directed by the dumbasses responsible for Not Another Teen Movie, Extreme Movie wasn’t screened for critics. It also features Michael Cera, which we’re assuming means that somewhere, there’s some pretty damning blackmail material from his pre-Arrested Development days. Clinton Street Theater.
Four Christmases
If Christmas is about tradition, then director Seth Gordon’s (The King of Kong) first non-documentary feature is certainly seasonally appropriate. The romantic comedy genre is an unexpected new direction for Gordon, and with the reasonably likeable Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn in tow, how poorly could things really go? Well, the Writers Guild could go on strike, for starters, as it did during the making of this film—a circumstance that at least partially explains why the script, while performed aptly enough by a talented cast, is so damn lazy. MARJORIE SKINNER Various Theaters.
Ice
1969’s film by Robert Kramer, about what happens when “an underground revolutionary group struggles against internal strife.” Cinema Project Microcinema.
JCVD
Jean-Claude Van Damme (played, appropriately enough, by Jean-Claude Van Damme) stumbles into a robbery and accidentally becomes the most famous hostage ever, kicking off a surreal journey into the wounded psyche of its namesake. JCVD is best when it joyfully dissects the global celebrity obsession and the awkward downfall of Van Damme’s career (a running plot point involves him losing acting roles to Steven Seagal—who is now, apparently, willing to cut off his ponytail in order to steal his rival’s parts), and all the while, JCVD flips the tired genre of action films on its ear. EZRA ACE CARAEFF Living Room Theaters.
Let the Right One In
This much ballyhooed Scandinavian film is neither scary, teen angsty, nor spooky enough—but it is lovely, filled with austere, blue-hued snow and groves of haunting birch trees in the midst of Stockholm. And while Let the Right One In is by no means a poor entry in the vampire genre, it left me nearly as cold as the frozen landscapes, meting out little satisfaction on either a horror level or a character level. To be fair, the film doesn’t pretend to scare you—it truly wants to succeed in an elegant, understated way, though it doesn’t completely reach its goal. COURTNEY FERGUSON Hollywood Theatre.
Milk
For a generation of gay and straight people who equate pride parades with binge drinking, whose gay heroes include Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper (he’s gay, right?), and whose gay rights movement has just started, Gus Van Sant’s fleshing out the story of gay politician and activist Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) in such a moving and humane way is as invaluable as the words Milk would bark through bullhorns. Sure, Van Sant can’t resist putting in some treacly, melodramatic scenes that unfortunately stick out, but for the most part, Milk’s story is simply real, which makes it that much more powerful and relevant. AMY J. RUIZ Fox Tower 10.
Nobel Son
A son (Bryan Greenberg) is kidnapped after his father (Alan Rickman) wins the Nobel Prize, kicking off “a venomous tale of familial dysfunction, lust, betrayal and ultimately revenge.” It wasn’t screened for critics, so you know it’ll be good! Broadway Metroplex, <a href=http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/century_eastport_16/Location?oid=39924Century Eastport 16, City Center 12.
Paris, Texas
Wim Wender’s 1984 film kicks off the Eco Sicko II film series, which focuses on “potential harms affecting our well-being.” Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Punisher: War Zone
See review. Various Theaters.
Septembers
A documentary about Spanish prisoners singing karaoke! Screens as part of the Northwest Film Center’s Contemporary Spanish Cinema series. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Shortmetraje
Short films from young Spanish filmmakers. Screens as part of the Northwest Film Center’s Contemporary Spanish Cinema series. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Sing-Along Cabaret
We dare you. Bagdad Theater.
Synecdoche, New York
The best of writer Charlie Kaufman’s previous films (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) were helmed by Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry—both of whom succeed in translating Kaufman’s cerebral scripts into films that, while intellectual exercises of a sort, were nonetheless engaging, funny, and affecting. But with Synecdoche, New York, Kaufman directs, and disappointing as it is to admit this, the product is a chore—a dour collection of inexpertly packaged ideas that simply doesn’t inspire the intellectual curiosity necessary to understand it. ALISON HALLETT Fox Tower 10.
Videodrome
David Cronenberg’s techno-nightmare from 1983 screens as part of the Eco Sicko II series. Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.
Zabriskie Point
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni earned his reputation by making self-consciously arty films in which very little happens. 1970’s Zabriskie Point, set against the backdrop of the American counterculture of the era, is no exception. All I can remember about this acid-drenched movie is an orgy scene where masses of bodies writhe in the desert, and the finale, in which food explodes in slow motion to Pink Floyd’s “Careful with that Ax, Eugene.” Bring your sideburns for this one. NED LANNAMANN Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium.