* Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert collaborated on this intentionally dizzy mess of a movie, which, as my friend recently pointed out, is the closest Hollywood has ever come to Bollywood (without going over). Beyond offers a little T, a little A, and a whole lot of "Oh!" featuring a guest appearance by the great Strawberry Alarm Clock. (Sean Nelson)

* Bigger than Jesus
Portland talk-show host Rick Emerson reveals his obsession with hair metal in this documentary spanning over 15 years. Rick Emerson will be present for the screening. See My What a Busy Week pg 15.

* Blackboard
A remarkable story that is half heartfelt reality, half quirky fable. The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2000, Blackboard is about a group of nomadic teachers who have strapped blackboards to their backs and wander the desolate Iran-Iraq border hoping to teach young refugees. They instead find that their blackboards are more valuable as shelter, stretchers, or dowry. (Phil Busse)

The Bread, My Sweet
Starring our pal Scott Baio, from Charles in Charge, a film about a man who meets a woman and proposes the same day.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
See review this issue.

City of Ghosts
The film follows Jimmy (Matt Dillon), a con man involved in an insurance scam--but when the feds crack down, he heads to Cambodia to track down the ringleader of the whole thing, Marvin (James Caan). Aside from some dark, almost hallucinogenic cinematography and the exotic locale, there's really not much else to say about this characterless, convoluted exercise in neo-noir. Then again, there is a midget pimp in the movie, which is just about the raddest thing I've ever seen. (Erik Henriksen)

* Cut and Paste Skateboarding Film Fest
See Destination Fun pg 17

Divine Intervention
In the face of increasing misery, one can always count on Arabs and Jews to laugh fatalistically. This laughter, an embrace of the inherent absurdity of life on Earth, is the chief element of Divine Intervention, a film told in seemingly random, nearly silent vignettes of Middle Eastern bizarreness.

* The Eye
This Hong Kong horror production features a beautiful young blind woman (Mun) who undergoes a cornea transplant. When they take off the bandages, she is able to see even more than most of us. That's right, she sees dead people. The Eye has some good, chilling moments, but it's as benevolent as it is scary. When it appears to be concluding, the film gets a second wind and plunges into a subplot that's more spiritual thriller than horror. It's an entertaining film, if somewhat predictable. Hardcore fans of fear will probably not be shaken. (Marjorie Skinner)

* From Justin to Kelly
Justin Guarini (from American Idol) is a college student who goes on spring break and falls for Kelly Clarkson (from American Idol). They spend a blissful week feasting on Taco Bell together and getting shit-faced on Smirnoff Ice.

The Hard Word
An awkward, confused heist film starring Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, made more confusing by Australian accents so thick you need an interpreter. Something about three imprisoned bank robbers getting a chance to go free and make money off some corrupt cops who want them to pull a job. Save your money and take a nap. (Justin Sanders)

* The Hulk
Whether or not you buy the beast onscreen is dependent upon just how far you yourself are willing to leap--but the old tale has been given a modern overhaul by Ang Lee and writers James Schamus, John Turman, and Michael France for The Hulk. It may in fact be the most grown-up and most emotionally fucked-up comic-book movie ever assembled. (Bradley Steinbacher)

* L'Auberge Espagnole
In Barcelona the New Europe is assembled in a shared student apartment, where the residents can hardly escape embodying their national stereotypes. The question that is deftly asked with frequently charming result is one of identity and youth--how hard do you hold on to either of them? This film proves that a sweet movie can come complete with depth. (Emily Hall)

* Love and Diane
Jennifer Dworkin's incredible documentary, Love & Diane, mines an urban reality that's often alluded to, but seldom seen up close. Diane is a recovering crack addict who has recently regained custody rights to her seven children. The third oldest, Love, is HIV-positive at 18 years old, and has just given birth to Donyeah--who's eventually taken away by social services for iffy charges of neglect and child endangerment. The story largely depicts Love's repeated attempts to regain custody of Donyeah from the state, while Diane tries to emotionally repair years of neglect and abandonment--both by her own doing and her mother's. As the film progresses, the paradigms of the "welfare" system keeps threatening to chew them up; glimpses of hope are few, and resonate profoundly. Clocking in at two-and-a-half bleak hours, this amazing foray into human will is transfixing and drives home how America's social systems often fail the very citizens they're developed to assist. Unforgettable. (Julianne Shepherd)

Man on the Train
Director Patrice Leconte brings us this oft-told tale of two aging men from vastly different backgrounds coming to understand and--yes--even like each other. One is a retired poetry teacher, the other a bank robber preparing for his last heist.

* May
See review this issue.

* Myra Breckinridge
Rex Reed (Myron Breckinridge) goes to Europe to have a sex change and comes back as Raquel Welch.

* Nights of Cabiria
Fellini adds his take to the bodice-stuffed genre of whores-with-hearts-of-gold. Like Angel and Pretty Woman, the central character here is a naive prostitute looking for love, fulfillment, and deeper meaning in a string of Johns. But unlike Julia, Giulietta Masina, who plays the Italian streetwalker, won the Best Actress Award at Cannes. (Phil Busse)

Owning Mahowny
An overwhelmingly Canadian portrait of one sweaty bank manager's gambling addiction, and the enormous fraud he perpetrates to sustain it. The film is portentous and humorless. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a great actor, but the only crucial difference between this performance and other recent ones (e.g. Love Liza) seems to be the moustache on his lip. (Sean Nelson)

* Respiro
An internally combusting family struggles to cope with its free-spirited mother (the frequently unclad Valeria Golino, who radiates an aura of irresistibly damaged goods) and her effect on their rumor-starved fishing village. A disarming combination of lower-class grit (the kids are unvarnished little bastards) and narcotic underwater lyricism, based on Sicilian myth. Warning: contains a potentially upsetting scene of off-screen mass Old Yeller carnage. (Andrew Wright)

* Rock that Uke
Rock that Uke includes live Uke performance Sunday June 29 at 7 pm. See review this issue.

* Spellbound
Spellbound is a documentary that follows eight pre-teenage contenders in the 1999 National Spelling Bee finals. The cast includes an inner-city girl from D.C. who looks like she's going to barf every time she steps up to the microphone. Another is a hyperactive spaz from New Jersey who fidgets nonstop, firing off stupid jokes in weird robot voices. Their mannerisms and facial expressions, as they writhe under the pressure, are worth about a trillion bucks a pop. (Marjorie Skinner)

Together
Chen Kaige's (Farewell My Concubine) Together puts a talented artist--here a violin prodigy--at the center of a changing world. Instead of civil war or the Cultural Revolution, however, the battle this time is growing up in modern China. (Shannon Gee)

* Whale Rider
Audiences at Toronto and Sundance loved this film and so will you if you like triumphant tales of charismatic youngsters who defy the stoic immobility of old-fashioned patriarchs. I like it because it captures traditional Maori ceremonies and songs on film, while also showing that New Zealand is not just a backdrop for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Shannon Gee)

Winged Migration
See Review this Issue