Filming begins at 8 pm on Thursday, Oct 21 for the first competition in The KnowFilmFast Film Series. First up: "The Horror Competition," in which filmmakers will make horror movies in 66 hours and six minutes. Interested? Hit www.theknow.info and click on "KnowFilmFast."
Animated Rhythm
See My, What A Busy Week! page 19. Whitsell Auditorium
Around the Bend
A 90-minute commercial for KFC masquerading as a movie about four generations of males brought together by the death of the oldest (Michael Caine), Around the Bend is one of those Hollywood pukefests "legitimized" by the presence of two Oscar-winning actors (in this case, Caine and Christopher Walken). When Caine dies, a subsequent ash-scattering road trip brings estranged father (Walken) and uptight son (Josh Lucas) closer. Around the Bend has the expected: montages with Norah Jones-esque music, "fucking" being referred to as "making love," an ending you could see from Boise, and product placement galore ("Maybe we should try the 'extra crispy' this time"). (Will Gardner) Fox Tower 10
* Baghdad In No Particular Order
A montage of home videos portraying life in the capital of Iraq. The film fascinates by focusing on the everyday life of specific Iraqi people as they sing English pop songs on the University of Baghdad campus, drive through the country, talk in a smoke shop, attend a Sufi ceremony, or watch kids dancing or a monkey dreaming. (Evan James) Cinema Project
Beautiful Boxer
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi
It has the look of a Lifetime channel miniseries, but it's the drama that makes this film rise above the ordinary substance of a cable show. It involves an Israeli family that's experiencing several crises at once--one is the recent break between the mother and the father, another is between the only daughter in the family and her husband, and then there's a beautiful Moroccan woman next door who's driving the eldest son and his young brother crazy. The younger brother, Shlomi Bardayan (Oshri Cohen), is--unbeknownst to his average parents and siblings--a mathematical genius. (Charles Mudede) Hollywood Theatre
Boys' Shorts
Calling all ADD-stricken gays! Shorts selected by the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Cinema 21
Bush's Brain
This film examines Karl Rove, the man that the filmmakers have dubbed "the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain of today's Presidential politics." Mission Theater
Clara's Summer
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Cries & Whispers
An Ingmar Bergman film about the deathly ill Anna (Harriet Andersson), her doctor and nurse, and her two sisters (Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann). Whitsell Auditorium
David Weissman Shorts
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
* DiG!
A completely engrossing documentary tracing the surreal connection between the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. (Zac Pennington) Hollywood Theatre
Feminist Film Series
This week: Women Vote 2004, an informative video exploring the myriad of ways that women's votes can influence the upcoming election. May or may not contain P. Diddy's terrifying call to arms: "VOTE OR DIE!" PSU Smith Memorial Union
The Forgotten
A bland, convoluted mess that's more of a recycled X-Files episode than a feature film. (Michael Svoboda) Regal Cinemas, etc.
Freedom to Marry
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21,
* Friday Night Lights
With a good deal of trepidation, I went to Friday Night Lights expecting a cleaned-up, Disneyfied version of H.G. Bissinger's book about high school football in a suckass Texas town. But the film is just as compelling: instead of being what could have been a dorky, feel-good film, Friday Night Lights revels in its rough 'n' tumble narrative. (Phil Busse) Regal Cinemas, etc.
Ghost In the Shell 2: Innocence
First, the good news: this may possibly be the best-looking anime film to date. Unfortunately, writer/director Mamoru Oshii allows the plot (which closely follows the standard anime template: cyborg cops, murderous sexbots, etc.) to be overwhelmed by a slew of cockamamie musings on the nature of existence that wouldn't float in a late-night dorm room smokeout. (Andrew Wright) Hollywood Theatre
Girls' Shorts
Calling all ADD-stricken lesbians! Shorts selected by the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Cinema 21
* Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry
Given the emotional thrust of the movie--it documents Kerry's metamorphosis from brave soldier to forthright activist--Kerry inevitably emerges as the very man needed to lead America. (Phil Busse) Now available for free download at www.thekerrymovie.com. Cinemagic
Goldfish Memory
I don't really have anything against Goldfish Memory, it's just that it's impossible to really have anything for it, either. Gay, straight, and bi relationships collide, with varying partners engaging in exceedingly far-fetched hook-ups within the incestuous circle. While all of the characters are quite attractive and likable and occasionally even get laid amidst their soul-searching, the film is neither engaging enough to be escapism nor deep enough to be anything more than trifling. A selection of the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. (Erik Henriksen) Cinema 21
Grand Ecole
French preppies feel strange stirrings in their khakis at a prestigious French business school. A selection of the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Cinema 21
The Grudge See review this issue. Regal Cinemas, etc.
Harry and Max
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Haunters
See My, What A Busy Week! page 19. Hollywood Theatre
Horror Movies
Various horror movies. That's it. Sabala's Mt Tabor Theatre
* I a Huckabees
Jason "That Kid From Rushmore" Schwartzman plays Albert Markovski, a hipster/hippie who hires two "existential detectives" (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin). A lackadaisically twisting, manically intellectual examination of any and all pop philosophic concepts follows, as enacted through a veritable all-star cast (most notably a perfectly cast Jude Law, plus Mark Wahlberg, who's at the top of his underestimated game). (Erik Henriksen) Regal Cinemas, etc.
Inescapable
Two women have an affair when their respective girlfriends go out of town. The program for the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival boasts that Inescapable is "an intense, scorching erotic lesbian drama that's sure to heat up the theater!" Sounds pretty good, huh? Cinema 21
La Dolce Vita
If you don't swoon at least once during this classic from Federico Fellini, then you'd better check yourself for a pulse. Cinemagic
Le Petit Soldad
Jean-Luc Godard's film about torture in the French-Algerian War. PSU Smith Memorial Union
Malevolence
A throwback to '70s and '80s horror films, complete with unsuspecting victims and a family of serial killers! Valley Theater
Masha Mom
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Monika
The Northwest Film Center says: "Here [Bergman] first articulates his recognizable psychological affinity with the ocean shore in a story of naïve desire and doomed romance." If you understood that sentence, either a) go to this movie, or b) have whomever's closest to you right now punch you as hard as they can. No, wait. Just do b). Guild Theater
* The Motorcycle Diaries
A duo of anonymous medical school friends (Rodrigo de la Serna and Gael Garcia Bernal) ride, push, and carry their motorcycle across Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Peru, generally achieving the kind of good times/bad times adventure balance that all great road trip stories thrive on. After traveling thousands of miles, it's made clear just who Bernal's playing: Ernesto Guevara. (Justin Sanders) Fox Tower 10
The Moustache Suite
Short films exploring the relationship between experimental film and music. Guild Theater
My Mother Likes Women
So? Oh... you mean she likes women that way! Three sisters panic when their mother hooks up, homo-style. A selection of the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Cinema 21
The Nightowls of Coventry
Filmmaker Laura C. Paglin's debut work is a fluffy affair centered around a filthy Jewish deli in 1970s Cleveland. At some point a young woman from the sticks, Susan, gets hired as a waitress, and a Wonder Years-esque rite-of-passage tale ensues, with Susan (played with all the passion of a wooden board by Donna Casey) coming into her own at the restaurant. Nightowls is too poorly acted to be funny, but Paglin is clearly in love with it, imbuing it with a warm fuzziness that at least doesn't hurt the eyes. But not having your eyes bleed for 75 minutes is a lot different from being entertained. (Justin Sanders) Hollywood Theatre
* Persona
An actress who refuses to speak convalesces on a remote island with only a chatty nurse for company. (Bruce Reid) Guild Theater
Raspberry Reich
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Ratstar
An independent sci-fi film about Orson (Matt Kin), an android who falls in love with pilot Renee (Jennifer Winter). Can nothing stop the blossoming of love betwixt Orson and Renee in the far reaches of space? Well, sure... how about RAVENOUS MUTANT RATS?! The special effects are hilariously bad, and the acting's almost worse, but Ratstar's biggest problem is its uneven script. There's a great grindhouse horror movie in here somewhere, but the filmmakers build their movie around PlayStation-quality visuals and two not-quite-likeable characters instead. (Erik Henriksen) Hollywood Theatre
* RESFEST
Reviewed this issue. The three "Shorts" programs collect the festival's short films; "Cinema Electronica" showcases music videos; "Workshop" touts a new camcorder from Canon; "By Design" shows off motion graphics; "Shynola Rarities" features some of the obscure videos from the studio; "Bushwhacked!" goes all activist; "Warp Vision" looks at the videos of electronic label Warp Records; rock has its day with "Videos That Rock"; Jonathan Glazer gets a retrospective; and "Sprout" is a globe-trotting surf documentary. Guild
Ridin' & Rhymin'
A documentary about cowgirl poet Georgie Sicking, who, according to the press release, "pens tough rhymes for hard times." Hey! Even the press release rhymes! Hollywood Theatre
The Road to Love
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Shall We Dance?
As far as emetics go, next time I'll just shove my finger down my throat. (Alison Hallett) Regal Cinemas, etc.
* Shaun of the Dead
A sharp, clever, and gory horror-comedy that manages to be as scary as it is hilarious, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's Shaun of the Dead shows all the marks of becoming a classic (and yeah, I know that sounds clichéd--but in this case, it's actually true). (Erik Henriksen) Regal Cinemas, etc.
Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela
This documentary reveals India's Kumbh Mela, the oldest and largest religious gathering in the history of mankind. It's fascinating that such a massive event takes place while being largely absent from the consciousness of the Western world, and it would be momentous indeed to hit the hashish and wander about the temporary tent city of Kumbh Mela--peep the dude who sits on nails, or the sect that wraps their penises around bamboo sticks, for instance. But these fascinating interludes are cut short in the film, leaving the bulk of its hour and a half to the useless musings of several honkies in tow with the crew and footage of people praying. (Marjorie Skinner) Hollywood Theatre
Slutty Summer
After walking in on his gay lover banging another guy, poor Markus (Casper Andreas) decides to find a job where sex is the last thing on the workers' minds. Unfortunately, the dope chooses the horniest restaurant in Manhattan, where the hotsy-totsy waiters give him a lesson in lettin' loose! A selection of the Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Cinema 21
Stage Beauty See review this issue. Fox Tower 10
State of Denial
This film examines AIDS' impact in South America, and is definitely not a good date movie. Main Library, US Bank Room
The Stranger
Orson Welles' classic, also known as How to Track Down Nazi War Criminals in Connecticut Using Only Weird Clues Like Affinities for Antique Clocks. Cafe Nola
Surviving Christmas See review this issue. Regal Cinemas, etc.
The Swing Project
Comedic shorts from San Francisco group Killing My Lobster are part of this pre-election party from anti-Bush democracy activists The Swing Project. Bossanova
* Tarnation See review this issue. Cinema 21
* Team America: World Police
If you possess an extra ass, you'd better bring it with you to the theater, because you're going to laugh at least one of them off. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have created a biting commentary on the very modern "war on terror" that gleefully cuts both ways. (Wm. Steven Humphrey) Regal Cinemas, etc.
Thérèse: The Story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse's mom dies when she's a kid, then her surrogate mom abandons her, then she goes insane, and then, she falls in love with God. Whatever makes insanity more bearable... City Center 12, Lloyd Mall
A Tribute to Julia Child
Will they include that SNL sketch wherein Dan Aykroyd, as Child, cuts himself and spurts out gallons of blood? They damn well should, because that was a really funny sketch. Pix Patisserie
* Vera Drake
Besides working as a maid, factory worker, and homemaker for her husband and two grown children in '50s London, Vera (Imelda Staunton) performs illegal abortions. When disaster strikes a teenaged patient and Vera gets pinched, the devastation she faces puts the finishing touches on the film's masterful, horrifying recreation. Vera Drake is a remarkable film, with gripping (if occasionally frustrating) acting, and my god is it scary. (Marjorie Skinner) Fox Tower 10
Vixen!
It's the Russ Meyer classic! In delicious full color, you'll meet Vixen Palmer (Erica Gavin). When her pilot husband isn't looking, Vixen screws tourists, she screws bikers, she screws almost everybody... but she won't screw a black man! That's just the way Vixen is, and nothing and no how is gonna change her. The last of a dying breed of big-breasted bigots must be seen to be believed! (Michael Svoboda) Clinton Street Theater
Walk on Water
See "Straight Up Gay" on page 44. Cinema 21
Warren Miller's Impact
Sure, you have seen all the stunts before, in one form or another. Snowboarders floating seemingly impossible distances over tundra; daredevil skiers slingshoting off icy overhangs. But like Thanksgiving and the Rose Bowl, Warren Miller is an annual tradition that makes you remember why winter frigging rules! (Phil Busse) Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Woman, Thou Art Loosed
Not screened for critics, but it's a dramatic adaptation of a Christian self-help book. Enough said. Lloyd Mall
* The Yes Men
Artist activists Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum--AKA the Yes Men--specialize in what they call "identity correction." Armed with suits from thrift stores and cleverly rendered PowerPoint videos, the Yes Men crash lectures and conferences around the world, sarcastically representing what they feel are the true motives of the organizations--like the WTO--they impersonate. (Marjorie Skinner) Fox Tower 10
* Zelary
A slow but compelling Czech drama set in World War II. Zelary is the name of a remote country hamlet in 1940s Czechoslovakia, where time evidently stopped at some point around the First World War. Meanwhile, back in Prague, a resistance group is compromised, forcing one of its main resisters, a fetching nurse named Eliska (Anna Geislerová), to flee the city, change her name, and take up residence in Zelary. The way Eliska--now called Hana--slowly withers in the face of her fate is a beautifully modern dilemma; this conflict humanizes Zelary's social backdrop, and elevates what could have been a morose memory play into a highly engaging emotional history. (Sean Nelson) Fox Tower 10
