Film Archive 2004

  
 
 
CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON 3D
011604
A research team digging in the Amazon comes across the fossilized hand of a human fish creature. That night, the creature emerges from the swamp to kill. So begins one of the more recognizable classics of the science fiction and horror genres. Shot originally in 3-D, this has been a late-night TV hit for decades. The hand makes its way back to the oceanographic institute and soon conscientious scientist David Reed (Richard Carlson), greedy scientist Mark (Richard Cunha) and the beautiful girl they fight over, Kay (Julia Adams) are heading up the Amazon to find more fossils. Instead, of course, they run into the real thing, and terror begins. While Mark and David fight over what to do next, the creature falls in love with Kay, and makes plans of his own. Island diver Ricou Browning plays the creature in the spectacular underwater scenes, the highlight being a beautifully creepy scene of Kay going for a swim, while the smitten creature swims along below her, transfixed. The pounding, horrific score is credited to conductor Joseph Gerhsenson but was actually written by a team of composers, including Henry Mancini.
 
FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF
013004
Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) is a tricky but harmless fast-talker. But he knows how to have fun, which is exactly what he sets out to do when he feigns illness and talks his parents into letting him stay home from school. The perpetually lucky Ferris enlists his hypochondriac best friend, Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck), into springing his girlfriend, Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara), from class, and the three embark on a raucous downtown Chicago adventure. From Wrigley Field to the Art Institute of Chicago to a Polish pride parade, Ferris and his friends make the most of their day off. But Ferris, Sloane, and Cameron might not get away with playing hooky. Ferris’s sister, Jeanie (Jennifer Grey), is determined to prove that Ferris is faking sick and make him pay for it, and the bumbling school dean, Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), is sure that Ferris is pulling a fast one. Another classic from writer-director John Hughes (SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB), this film features a star turn from Broderick as the charismatic Ferris. Watch for Charlie Sheen as the juvenile delinquent in the police station and comedian Louie Anderson in a brief appearance as a flower deliveryman.
 
THE COOLER
013004
Once upon a time, Bernie was a troubled gambler with markers all over town, including a big tab at the Shangri-La casino run by his friend Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin). When Bernie couldn’t pay the debts, Shelly saved Bernie’s life by covering them, but then disabled Bernie by kneecapping him, causing Bernie to walk with a limp. Also, Shelly made Bernie work the floor of the Shangri-La, allowing Bernie the chance to pay off his debt day by day over the course of many years.
 
MONSTER
021304
In a revelatory performance, Charlize Theron stars in the shocking and moving true-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute executed last year in Florida after being convicted of murdering six men. While Wuornos confessed to the six murders, including a policeman, she claimed to have killed only in self-defense, resisting violent assaults while working as a prostitute.
 
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
021304
From its opening shot of Malcolm McDowell staring with evil intent directly into the camera (which pulls back to reveal him drinking a glass of milk), Stanley Kubrick's brilliant CLOCKWORK ORANGE announces itself as a completely new kind of viewing experience. Banned in Britain for decades, the film, set in an unidentified future, overwhelms the senses with its almost comic depictions of rape and violence set to an upbeat classical and pop music score; its magnificent, colorful, futuristic set designs; and its utter determination to shock, frighten, and thoroughly entertain its audience. Kubrick based his chilling masterpiece on Anthony Burgess's culture-shaking novel about a young man, growing into adulthood, who has a bit of a problem with authority figures. (Interestingly, Burgess's stunning piece of fiction contains 21 chapters, but Kubrick ends his film after chapter 20.) When Alex (a career-defining performance by McDowell) and his droogs go out for a little bit of the old ultraviolence, he is caught and forced to undergo controversial treatment that will make it impossible for him to commit violent acts--but has severe side effects. Kubrick's film purposely confuses crime and punishment, cause and effect, hero and villain, irony and satire, filled with oxymoron and paradox, taking on science, politics, societal mores, education, sexual awakening, and parental responsibility all in a new language (both verbal and visual) that would change the cinema forever. No one who has seen it has ever been able to hear "Singin' in the Rain" or Ludwig van again in quite the same way.
 
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
021304
Adopted by his grandmother, Madame Souza, Champion is a lonely little boy. Noticing that this lad is never happier than on a bicycle, Madame Souza puts him through a rigorous training process. Years go by and Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now his ready to enter the world-famous cycling race, the Tour de France. However during this cycling contest two mysterious men in black kidnap Champion. Madame Souza and her faithful dog Bruno set out to rescue him. Their quest takes them across the ocean to a giant Megalopolis called Belleville where they encounter the renowned "Triplets of Belleville", three eccentric female music-hall stars from the 30's who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Thanks to Bruno's brilliant sense of smell, the brave duo are soon on to Champion's trail. But will they succeed in beating the devilish plans of the evil French mafia?
 
TIBET: CRY OF THE SNOW LION
022004
a dramatic documentary that takes viewers through the astonishing recent political history of the country. Spending over ten years making the film, director Tom Peosay presents a clear, concise, educational chronology that tracks the major events and developments in the Tibet-China conflict both within those two countries and internationally. The film shows the beauty of the country's Himalaya Mountains, the artistry of Tibetan clothing and monasteries, the practices of the Buddhist religion, and the gentle spirit of the Tibetan people. But the most powerful part of the film includes archival news coverage, interviews with politicians and historians, and testimonials from survivors of torture and imprisonment. Woven together, these pieces tell the story of the immensely disturbing, violent ongoing struggle resulting from Tibet's occupation by China.The film does an excellent job with its material, and viewers will find themselves searching for a solution and an answer to Tibet's problems long after the movie's conclusion.
 
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
022704
Return to a time when men and swamps were swamps. Fire Swamps, that is. Full of quicksand and Rodents of Unusual Size. Lagoons were inhabited by shrieking eels. And the most beautiful woman in the world was named . . . Buttercup? Well, it's a bent fairy tale. Complete with all the fencing, chasing, escapes, and silly accents you'd expect. Including such unique folk as Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), who has dreamt his whole life of finding the six-fingered man who killed his father. Andre the Giant as his enormous sidekick. And Billy Crystal as the kvetching miracle man, Max. Blonde Buttercup loves Westley, a poor stable boy. But when he's captured by pirates, she's chosen by evil Prince Humperdinck to be his princess bride. Along the way, she gets kidnapped, he gets killed. But it all ends up okay.
 
THE FOG OF WAR
030504
Documentary expert Errol Morris directs THE FOG OF WAR, a captivating look at Robert S. McNamara, who served as the Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The movie does not exclusively focus on this part of McNamara's career, however, and instead gives a broad overview of the man he was, his multitude of roles--a Harvard Business School graduate, a Colonel in the Air Force during WWII, president of Ford Motor Company--and his opinions on a variety of historical topics. Inspired by two books written by McNamara--IN RETROSPECT (1995) and WILSON'S GHOST (2001)--Morris gives McNamara a forum to talk about the decisions he made and the influence he had during his career. At the age of 85, McNamara has gained necessary perspective to do just that. Sharp as a tack, packed with charisma, and generally fascinating, McNamara easily carries the film with his revealing interviews. Meanwhile, Morris' use of archival footage along with with maps and other effective visual aids add context to McNamara's commentary. Finally, Philip Glass's ominous pulsing score gives the film's important subject matter the gravity it deserves.
 
TOUCHING THE VOID
031204
In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the 21,000 feet Siula Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes—the only mountain in the Peruvian range that hadn't yet been conquered. They were young, fit, skilled climbers and were confident that they would succeed where others would fail. Their story has become part of mountaineering legend.  Simpson and Yates' method of climbing was Alpine Style—moving quickly up a mountain with the barest of supplies and no series of base camps. This approach left absolutely no room for error. Any problem they might encounter along the way would have extremely grave consequences.
 
THE COMPANY
031904
he only actor who will be working as part of the Joffrey corps is Neve Campbell (the popular SCREAM movies and the television show “Party of Five?. Campbell, an accomplished dancer, studied with The National Ballet of Canada before becoming an actress. She originated THE COMPANY, the culmination of a long-held dream to create a nuanced and realistic film about a world for which she has deep and abiding affection. Campbell’s role in the film is that of a gifted but conflicted company member on the verge of becoming a principal dancer. (Campbell has been working intensively with the Joffrey and will do all of her own dancing in the film.)
 
NIRVANA: LIVE TONIGHT SOLD OUT!
032604
In 1991 Nirvana, a cult grunge band from Seattle, Washington, permanently changed the course of rock and roll music with the release of their single "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The album that this was on, "Nevermind," went on to sell millions of copies and was on almost every music critic's "Top 10 Albums of the Century" List. This video captures their legendary live act at the height of this musical breakthrough. Conceived by frontman Kurt Cobain and directed by their frequent video collaborator Kevin Kerslake, this video features never-before-seen concert footage, interviews, and backstage video clips.
 
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
032604
Moon explorers encounter a monolith that points them to a destination near Jupiter. In flashback, we see another size of the monolith playing a key role in human evolution, i.e., we learn how to kill. An expedition is launched to investigate the Jupiter possibility. Two young astronauts and a bunch in suspended animation spend months in space, passing their time partly in communicating with the human-like brain of their ship's computer, HAL. HAL malfunctions and causes the death of all the suspended animation passengers as well as one of the "awake" astronauts; the other one barely survives and figures out how to disable HAL. He arrives alone at the Jupiter destination and undergoes a series of cinematographically confusing experiences that amount to his final appearance on the screen as a giant fetus.
 
THE DREAMERS
040104
Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother Theo (Louis Garrel) invite Matthew (Michael Pitt), a young American student, to stay at their apartment. Here they make their own rules as they experiment with their emotions and sexuality while playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games.
 
THE STATEMENT
040104
Dombey, France, 1944 – In line with Nazi commands, PIERRE BROSSARD (Michael Caine), a young officer in the Vichy Milice, gives the order for the execution of 7 Jews. France, Present Day – DAVID MANDELBAUM (Matt Craven), 42, has been hired to kill a man he can identify only through an old photograph to be PIERRE BROSSARD. He is to leave a statement on the body citing this act as justice for the Jews of Dombey. He waits at a bar in the cote d'Azur, knowing that BROSSARD is due to arrive to pick-up a letter. Recognizing BROSSARD, he follows him out of the bar and then by car into the deserted hillside. When DAVID attempts to ambush him on the road to the Abbey de St Cros, the wily and quick BROSSARD manages to turn the tables and instead kills DAVID, disposing of the body by rolling the car over a cliff into a ravine. Shaken by the encounter, BROSSARD realizes that he must find new shelter immediately. Aside from being protected by elements within the church, Brossard has also been helped by a group of former Vichy colleagues. He turns to his Vichy contact, COMMISSAIRE VIONNET (Frank Finlay), for guidance.
 
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM
040904
During the early 1960's, Paris, like the much of Europe, was an explosion of life. As the old gave way to the new, everything was in flux and the city was filled with a energy that promised cultural shifts and social change. Against this background, in a working class neighborhood, two unlikely characters--a young Jew and an elderly Muslim--begin a friendship. When we meet Momo (Pierre Boulanger) , he is in effect an orphan even though he lives with his father, a man slowly retreating into a crippling depression. His only friends are the street whores who treat him with genuine affection. Momo buys his groceries at the neighborhood shop, a crowded dark space owned and run by Ibrahim (Omar Sharif), a silent exotic looking man who sees and knows more than he lets on. After Momo is abandoned by his father, Ibrahim becomes the one grownup in Momo's life. Together they begin a journey that will change their lives forever.
 
SPIKE AND MIKE'S SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION
040904
Highlights of this year's festival include Snowman by Lane Nakamura, How To Cope With Death by Ignacio Ferreras and Big Abandoned Refrigerator Adventure by Keith Allen, Courtney Branch and Seth Gordon. Also featured: new films from past Sick and Twisted animators Shane Acker (Mr. Grenade), Bill Plympton (Petting in the Park), and one of the funniest films ever shown in the festival, Here Comes Dr. Tran by Breehn Burns and Jason Johnson. Admission includes a free pair of souvenir 3-D glasses for use in a segment of Dr. Tran!
 
BATTLE ROYALE
040904
Ninth grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food and various arms. They have to fight each other three days long until the last one remains and are forced to wear a special collar which will explode when they break a rule.
 
THE RECKONING
041604
In 14th century England, a fugitive priest (Paul Bettany) falls in with a troupe of traveling thespians (led by Willem Dafoe). Arriving in a small town, the actors encounter a woman being sentenced to death for witchcraft and murder. The troupe stages a play based on the woman’s crime and, through their performance, discover that the townspeople know she is innocent. As the mystery unravels, and the actors begin to solve the murder, the fugitive priest realizes he must come to terms with his own crime. Directed by Paul McGuigan (Gangster No. 1).
 
WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?
041604
This outrageous film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated – where neurological processes, and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist - where everything is alive, and reality is changed by every thought. It has been called by some theater goers “The Handbook to ‘The Matrix.’” Like “The Matrix” it shows you a greater reality behind the one we all accept as true, and you have the ability to create absolutely anything from your own thought while laughing all the way! The difference between this film and that movie is that this isn’t science fiction. It’s even stranger. It’s real. And it’s the first film to say it. And it does so boldly and with a BLEEP of a lot of humor. And it’s being proven every day by minds like these.
 
MY ARCHITECT
042304
Louis I. Kahn, who died in 1974, is considered by many architectural historians to have been the most important architect of the second half of the twentieth century. A Jewish immigrant who overcame poverty and the effects of a devastating childhood accident, Kahn created a handful of intensely powerful and spiritual buildings -- geometric compositions of brick, concrete and light -- which, in the words of one critic, "change your life."
 
GREENDALE
042304
Exploring the lives and struggles of a varied group of people in a small, rural California town, Greendale focuses in on the Green family. From Grandpa sitting on the front porch commenting on the state of the world, to his struggling artist son Earl Green, to Sun Green, Earl's vibrant, free-spirited daughter, daily existence in Greendale seems idealistically perfect and trouble-free, at first. This uneventful lifestyle is proven to be more intricate than first glaces would indicate, when Cousin Jed shoots and kills a police officer, sparking a chain of events that change the lives of those around him in both simple and profound ways. (DIRECTED BY NIEL YOUNG!)
 
TOKYO GODFATHERS
042304
Thoroughly modern in its story, its characters, its urban Tokyo setting, its absurdly funny action sequences, and its understated and ironic self-mockery, TOKYO GODFATHERS is an anime gem from director Satoshi Kon (MILLENNIUM ACTRESS). It is a snowy Christmas in Tokyo and three homeless people--Hana, Gin, and Miyuki--who drift through the streets and alleyways of the city staying warm in the supermarkets and soup kitchens, make up a nontraditional family. Gin is a older man who once had a wife and daughter but lost them and spiraled downward into drinking and drifting. Hana is a flamboyant cross-dressing homosexual who dreams of having a baby. And Miyuki is just a kid--a young girl who ran away from home after a conflict with her father and is still battling familial demons. When the three motley but loving bums find a baby girl abandoned in the garbage on Christmas Eve, they know they've received a true gift. But in their attempts to return the baby to its real mother they go on a wild goose chase all over Tokyo solving mysteries, pursuing criminals, and all the while tackling their own personal problems. According to director Kon, the plot is based on the 1948 Western 3 GODFATHERS directed by John Ford. This immensely entertaining film features a jazzy score of electronic music, excellent illustrations, and superb character development.
 
GOOD BYE, LENIN!
043004
October, 1989 was a bad time to fall into a coma if you lived in East Germany – and this is precisely what happens to Alex’s proudly socialist mother. Alex has a big problem on his hands when she suddenly awakens eight months later. Her heart is so weak that any shock might kill her. And what could be more shocking than the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism in her beloved East Germany? To save his mother, Alex transforms the family apartment into an island of the past, a kind of socialist-era museum where his mother is lovingly duped into believing that nothing has changed. What begins as a little white lie turns into a major scam as Alex’s sister and selected neighbors are recruited to maintain the elaborate ruse – and keep her believing that Lenin really did win after all!
 
SAME RIVER TWICE
043004
In THE SAME RIVER TWICE, director/writer/producer Robb Moss tells a true story that takes place across two separate decades: the 1970s, when Moss and a group of long-haired, free-spirited friends spent a summer rafting and camping along the Colorado River; and the 2000s, when he revisits the friends who have come through the other side of their counterculture youths and into adulthood.
 
BON VOYAGE
050704
At the start of World War II, the fate of the free world hangs in the balance at the posh Hotel Splendide in Bordeaux. Cabinet members, journalists, physicists, and spies of all persuasions gather in order to escape the Nazi occupation of Paris. High society socialites hobnob with jailbirds. Murderous intrigues, scientific secrets and love affairs flourish.
 
THE WHO: THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
050704
A dazzling visual diary of legendary performances, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT chronicles the development of the Who from angry young mod upstarts to worldwide arena rock icons. Director Jeff Stein (who was just 21 at the time) was given unlimited access to archives of the Who, occasionally butting heads with famously strong-willed guitarist/songwriter Pete Townsend over the direction of the film. It begins with the band's famed guitar-smashing, 1967 American TV debut on The Smothers Brothers show and continues through Monterey Pop, Woodstock, and on into the 1970s as the band cements its "legend" status in the rock canon with such complex works as QUADROPHENIA. Twenty-two classic Who tunes are featured, including a special version of the title track, "My Generation," "Magic Bus," "Happy Jack," and "Long Live Rock." Manic drummer Keith Moon, who provides numerous laughs in the film, died a year before the film was released.
 
EROTIC ANIME (BUTTOBI CPU: I DREAM OF MIMI)
050704
Akira Takaoka is a computer nerd. Unfortunately, he does not own a computer. After eating, sleeping, and breathing computers for years, Akira is finally able to afford a decent model, so, gathering up his cash, he sets out to make a purchase. However, the model he brings home turns out to be useless for programming because it is really a woman. Her name is Pixie, and though she is a computer, she is much more interested in physically pleasing her master, who, up until now, has had no experience with women. Soon, Akira's life has been turned upside down by an invasion of attractive female biotype computers, some naughty, some nice, and some that are downright evil.
 
KITCHEN STORIES
052104
A quaint story about the friendship between two aging men, KITCHEN STORIES is packaged as a comedy with a very strange premise. It is based on research conducted in Sweden in the 1950s when women were observed in the kitchen for a study to determine the best housework techniques. In the film, a fictional plotline concerns a team of Swedish scientists--all men--hired to observe bachelors living alone in Norway. Their methods are absurd. The observers live in funny little trailers outside their subjects' houses. They sit in high, intimidating chairs placed in the corner of their subjects' kitchens where they take notes on a clipboard. Finally, there is a strict rule that the observer and the subject must not speak to each other or make contact of any kind. This last rule is impossible to follow, and in the case of observer Folke (Tomas Norstrom) and subject Isak (Joachim Calmeyer) it is ignored. The two aging men become fast friends, passing wintry afternoons in the rural countryside sipping coffee, smoking pipes, and telling each other fantastic stories. Writer-director Bent Hamer has created a sweet and pleasing comedy with KITCHEN STORIES, using excellent photography, interesting colors, and great performances to make a success of a uncomplicated plot.
 
FIGHT CLUB
052104
FIGHT CLUB is narrated by a lonely, unfulfilled young man (Edward Norton) who finds his only comfort in feigning terminal illness and attending disease support groups. Hopping from group to group, he encounters another pretender, or "tourist," the morose Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter), who immediately gets under his skin. However, while returning from a business trip, he meets a more intriguing character--the subversive Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). They become fast friends, bonding over a mutual disgust for corporate consumer-culture hypocrisy. Eventually, the two start Fight Club, which convenes in a bar basement where angry men get to vent their frustrations in brutal, bare-knuckle bouts. Fight Club soon becomes the men's only real priority; when the club starts a cross-country expansion, things start getting really crazy.
 
THELONIOUS MONK: STRAIGHT NO CHASER
052104
Documentary about legendary jazz pianist/composer Thelonious Monk. Much of the film is centered around the six months of footage cinematographer Christian Blackwood shot of Monk in 1967-68. The footage reveals a lot about Monk's personality, including his dramatic mood swings, his eccentric behavior, as well as his sense of humor. The footage also shows Monk "behind the scenes" in the studio and on tour in Europe. Interviews, photos and many of Monk's songs round out this biography.
 
BROKEN WINGS
052804
The winner of nine prizes at the Israeli Academy Awards and a hit in its home country, the award-winning BROKEN WINGS is the extraordinarily moving story of the life and loves of the Ullman family, an ordinary Israeli family coping with everyday life. Nine months after her husband died, Dafna Ullman (renowned stage actress Orli Zilberschatz-Banai) has just gone back to work as a night shift hospital midwife. 16-year old Yair (Nitai Gvirtz), has dropped out of school, abandoned a potential basketball career and now hides inside a mouse costume, distributing flyers on the subway. 11 year-old Ido (Daniel Magon), deals with his building aggression by trying to break the world free jump record (and practices into an empty swimming pool), while six year-old Bahr (Eliana Magon) begins a lonely first day of school. So, it's left to 17 year-old Maya, (lovely newcomer Maya Maron), a gifted budding singer/song writer, to act as a surrogate mother to her youngest siblings. Everyone tries to navigate their daily lives as best as they can - jobs, romantic involvements, a car that won't start ... - but when Maya forgets to pick up little Bahr from school, it's an incident which causes a major upheaval in their lives … Told with sincerity, drama, and self-deprecating humor, Nir Bergman's feature debut has a remarkable freshness and a keen sense of observation of the contemporary family. Shot entirely on location in Haifa and Tel Aviv, BROKEN WINGS reveals an Israel very different from the televised news images and violent world politics, and also portrays a truly universal experience.
 
SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER... AND SPRING
052804
The exquisitely beautiful and very human drama SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER… AND SPRING, starring director KIM Ki-duk, is entirely set on and around a tree-lined lake where a tiny Buddhist monastery floats on a raft amidst a breath-taking landscape. The film is divided into five segments with each season representing a stage in a man's life. Under the vigilant eyes of Old Monk (wonderful veteran theatre actor OH Young-soo), Child Monk learns a hard lesson about the nature of sorrow when some of his childish games turn cruel. In the intensity and lushness of summer, the monk, now a young man, experiences the power of lust, a desire that will ultimately lead him, as an adult, to dark deeds. With winter, strikingly set on the ice and snow-covered lake, the man atones for his past actions, and spring starts the cycle anew… With an extraordinary attention to visual details, such as using a different animal (dog, rooster, cat, snake) as a motif for each section, writer/director/editor KIM Ki-duk has crafted a totally original yet universal story about the human spirit, moving from Innocence, through Love and Evil, to Enlightenment and finally Rebirth.
 
YOUNG ADAM
060404
YOUNG ADAM is David McKenzie's adaptation of Alexander Trocchi's novel, a romantic murder mystery set on a barge in the canals of Scotland. Lovely photography by Giles Nuttgens, complemented by a lonely score by David Byrne, provides a picturesque backdrop for what is otherwise a seedy story of morality gone far astray and hopelessness taking hold of everyday life, with sex as the only outlet. Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton both lend excellent performances to the film, acting out a strained relationship of carnal misgiving that is their mutual respite.
 
PULP FICTION
060404
The film initiates with two small-time thieves, Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, who spontaneously decide to hold up a restaurant. The film then shifts to the story of Jules and Vincent, who hit men for the well known and feared Marsellus Wallace, who is caught up in a deal gone wrong with struggling boxer Butch Coolidge.
 
BLOODSTAINS ACROSS EUGENE & INZOMNIAC
060404
blasphemous abnormality, cap gun suicide, the defecators, monkee torture, pocket face, and the real bastard saints perform in this local documentary!!
 
SUPER SIZE ME
061104
Why are Americans so fat? Find out in Super Size Me, a tongue in-cheek - and burger in hand -- look at the legal, financial and physical costs of America's hunger for fast food. Ominously, 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and 2 out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it our fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the "Fattest City" in America. From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and "gut feelings" on our ever-expanding girth. During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald's for an entire month with three simple rules:
1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No supersizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once It all adds up to a fat food bill, harrowing visits to the doctor, and compelling viewing for anyone who's ever wondered if man could live on fast food alone. The film explores the horror of school lunch programs, declining health and physical education classes, food addictions and the extreme measures people take to lose weight and regain their health. Super Size Me is a satirical jab in the stomach, overstuffed with fat and facts about the billion-dollar industry besieged by doctors, lawyers and nutritionists alike. "Would you like fries with that?" will never sound the same!
 
KILL BILL VOL. 1
061804
Quentin Tarantino returns to the director's chair with KILL BILL after a six-year hiatus. The movie proves once again that he is a hyperactive visionary and the master of cinematic coolness. Split into two volumes by Miramax in order to ensure that Tarantino's vision would not be compromised (and presumably to sell more tickets), KILL BILL: VOL. 1 tells the first half of the sprawling story, which is quite simple at first glance. A female assassin, referred to as "The Bride" (Uma Thurman), is attacked on her wedding day. Dead are her soon-to-be husband and unborn child. However, she doesn't die. Four years later, she wakes up from a coma looking for revenge. Although her ultimate target is her former boss, Bill (David Carradine), it's quite clear that The Bride is saving the best for last. And before she can track him down, she must methodically take out the minions who ruined her life. VOLUME 1's targets include Vernita Green/Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfus), and the heartless O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). Using a blessed sword handmade by Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), The Bride begins her relentless assault.
 
MAD MONKEY KUNG FU
061804
Not only is kung fu master Chen crippled, but he is then forced to watched the villainous gangsters who handicapped him sell his sister into prostitution. Depressed and dejected, he takes to the streets with a pet monkey and embarks on a life of entertainment. When the nefarious criminals slaughter his pet, he decides to teach them a lesson, mad monkey kung fu style!
 
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
062504
One of the most controversial and provocative films of the year, FAHRENHEIT 9/11 is Academy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Moore’s searing examination of the Bush administration’s actions in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11. With his characteristic humor and dogged commitment to uncovering the facts, Moore considers the presidency of George W. Bush and where it has led us. He looks at how – and why - Bush and his inner circle avoided pursuing the Saudi connection to 9/11, despite the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis and Saudi money had funded Al Qaeda. FAHRENHEIT 9/11 shows us a nation kept in constant fear by FBI alerts and lulled into accepting a piece of legislation, the USA Patriot Act, that infringes on basic civil rights. It is in this atmosphere of confusion, suspicion and dread that the Bush Administration makes its headlong rush towards war in Iraq – and FAHRENHEIT 9/11 takes us inside that war to tell the stories we haven’t heard, illustrating the awful human cost to U.S. soldiers and their families. -- © Lions Gate Films
 
DANCE CRAZE
062504
This riveting, exciting film is about the coming and going of '2-tone ska' in Britain. After the First wave of ska (bob marley, skatalites) ska attacked Europe with the second wave. With live performances from the Specials, the Selecter, Bad Manners, Madness, the Beat, and the Bodysnatchers, this documentary is amazing. If you are new to ska and want to know where it all came from, or if you are a veteran and you just want to re-live these exciting moments, check out this film. I'm sure you can find it, somewhere.
 
THE BIG LEBOWSKI
070204
The Coen brothers have done it again. Mixing in Leninist philosophy, mistaken identity, crazy characters, a kidnapping plot, and a deep love of bowling, they have unleashed upon an unsuspecting world the many glories of THE BIG LEBOWSKI. Jeff Bridges plays Jeff Lebowski, known as the Dude, a laid-back, easygoing burnout who happens to have the same name as a millionaire whose wife owes a lot of dangerous people a whole bunch of money--resulting in the Dude having his rug soiled, sending him spiraling into the Los Angeles underworld.
 
DIZZY'S DREAM BAND
070204
An all-star concert, recorded in 1981 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, in which legendary trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie commands his dream jazz ensemble composed of Gerry Mulligan, Max Roach, and 23 other jazz legends.
 
THE MOTHER
070904
May and Toots, a couple in their sixties, travel south by train to visit their children and grandchildren in London. The pace and scale of the city overwhelms them immediately and the urban chaos is reflected in their children's lives: their son, Bobby, is constantly on the mobile phone arranging his next meeting; their daughter-in-law, Helen, has just opened a boutique and barks orders at the nanny before racing out the door to sell luxury knitwear to her peers. The grandchildren are absorbed by their own activities, indifferent toward the old strangers who have come to visit. Adding to the daily confusion of this Notting Hill household is a building site and a pleasantly odd builder, Darren.
 
LOVE ME IF YOU DARE
070904
As adults, best friends Julien and Sophie continue the odd game they started as children -- a fearless competition to outdo one another with daring and outrageous stunts. While they often act out to relieve one another's pain, their game might be a way to avoid the fact that they are truly meant for one another.
 
FLESH GORDON
070904
Emperor Wang (the Perverted) is leader of the planet Porno and sends his mighty "Sex Ray" towards Earth, turning everyone into sex-mad fiends. Only one man can save the Earth, football player Flesh Gordon. Along with his girlfriend Dale Ardent and Professor Flexi-Jerkoff, they set off towards the source of the Sex Ray, unaware of the perils that face them!
 
THE CLEARING
071604
Wayne and Eileen Hayes (Robert Redford, Helen Mirren) appear to be living the American dream, until that dream becomes a living nightmare. A self-made tycoon, Wayne is seemingly invincible. But all illusions are shattered when he is kidnapped in broad daylight from their peaceful Pittsburgh estate. Under the microscope of a probing FBI investigation and her own painstaking introspection, Eileen too is a victim. Meanwhile, Wayne, with his fate resting in the hands of a kidnapper (Willem Dafoe) who has nothing to lose and everything to gain, finds himself in the most important negotiation ever - for his life....
 
MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP
071604
Melding biography and social history with a cultural analysis of our Society's obsession with fame and celebrity, "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" chronicles the picaresque life of pop impresario Rodney Bingenheimer, beloved figure on the Los Angeles music scene since the early 1960s, and a friend, confidant, and lifelong admirer of countless luminaries from all walks of public life.
 
DEAD OR ALIVE
071604
After a rapid-fire montage of two groups of gangsters, one Japanese, the other ethnic Chinese, killing each other and everybody else on screen, DEAD OR ALIVE's story begins when a police officer announces, "Round up everybody who looks (suspicious), even if they aren't Chinese." The Chinese have been living in Japan for centuries, but have never been accepted or integrated into Japanese society. This larger conflict underlies the blood and gore of the two gangs vying to make a big drug purchase from a mainland Chinese gang. When Jojima (Show Aikawa) an otherwise honest cop, needs money for an operation for his daughter, he gets a "loan" from the head of the Japanese gang, but when his partner kills the brother of the leader of the Chinese mafia, Ryuichi (Riki Rakeuchi), a blood feud begins between the two men.
 
DEAD OR ALIVE 2
072304
In the second installment of the DEAD OR ALIVE trilogy, Takashi Miike references the namesake film, but presents a very different film. While still loaded with indiscriminate violence and black comedy, DEAD OR ALIVE 2 becomes a bit more sentimental. Sho Aikawa and Riki Takeuchi return to play the main characters, but this time with a moral purpose. When Mizuki (Sho Aikawa), a Yakuza gangster, witnesses a target shot by a rival assassin, he tracks down the killer to check out the competition. What he finds, however, is that his rival, Shuichi (Riki Takeuchi), is also a long-lost childhood friend. They escape from the rival gangsters who want to kill them by returning to their childhood home, where they visit the orphanage where they lived, and find a renewed sense of what is right and wrong in their lives.
 
SHAOLIN SOCCER
073004
Shaolin was an art practiced through the ages; a skill mastered in the heart. In SHAOLIN SOCCER, it is so much more than a philosophy for six young believers. It is a complete way of life. But as the world changed around them, and Honor and Discipline become forgotten virtues, they lose their way --except for one loyal follower, Sing (Chow). With the help of a former soccer star, he reunites his old, out of shape, misfit friends, and recruits a young woman with extraordinary Kung Fu skills. Together, they're out to combine the ancient power of Shaolin with the modern game of soccer and in the process, just might take the world's most popular sport to its most extreme.
 
DEAD OR ALIVE: FINAL
073004
In the brilliant final installment in his DEAD OR ALIVE series, Takashi Miike crafts the story of a fearless cop who must save his son when an underworld consort of criminals and rebels accidently kidnap him. In a post-apocalyptic Yokohama, a dictator rules the land and, among other terrible rules, forbids procreation. A loose resistance forms among the city's criminal element and a group of rebels, but when they take Honda's (Riki Takeuchi) son, they must deal with his vengeance. The only force holding back Honda is Ryo (Sho Aikawa), an android who has his own plans. The finale to the trilogy perhaps is the most brilliant of the three - commenting on the nature of life through its use of violence, humor, and liberal literary and film allusions.
 
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES
081304
Jim Jarmusch's COFFEE AND CIGARETTES brings several short films together in one--all devoted to coffee, cigarettes, related topics, and well, unrelated topics. The broad and eclectic cast (Bill Murray, Steve Buscemi, Steven Wright, Cate Blanchett and many more) appear in black and white sequences filmed by four different cinematographers.
 
BEFORE SUNSET
081304
When Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) met on a Eurail train, the connection between them was immediate and profound. The 14-hour relationship that followed, as the pair explored the spontaneous and unexpected in Vienna, ended on a train platform where they swore they'd meet again six months later.
Nine years have passed since that morning.
On the last stop of his book tour, at the tail end of a reading in a Paris book shop, Jesse finds Celine watching from the back of the room. She lives in Paris now, he in New York. He's flying out that evening and they utilize every moment, finding their human connection no less vital, inspiring or real than it was in nine years ago in Vienna.
 
GARDEN STATE
082004
After spending 10 years away from home, a man returns to attend his mother's funeral. Natalie Portman plays the young woman who helps him reconnect with his family.
 
THE CORPORATION
082704
One hundred and fifty years ago, the corporation was a relatively insignificant entity. Today, it is a vivid, dramatic and pervasive presence in all our lives. Like the Church, the Monarchy and the Communist Party in other times and places, the corporation is today’s dominant institution. But history humbles dominant institutions. All have been crushed, belittled or absorbed into some new order. The corporation is unlikely to be the first to defy history. In this complex and highly entertaining documentary, Mark Achbar, co-director of the influential and inventive MANUFACTURING CONSENT: NOAM CHOMSKY AND THE MEDIA, teams up with co-director Jennifer Abbott and writer Joel Bakan to examine the far-reaching repercussions of the corporation’s increasing preeminence. Based on Bakan’s book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, the film is a timely, critical inquiry that invites CEOs, whistle-blowers, brokers, gurus, spies, players, pawns and pundits on a graphic and engaging quest to reveal the 4corporation’s inner workings, curious history, controversial impacts and possible futures. Featuring illuminating interviews with Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, Howard Zinn and many others, THE CORPORATION charts the spectacular rise of an institution aimed at achieving specific economic goals as it also recounts victories against this apparently invincible force.
 
ARCHAEOLOGY FILM FEST:
082704
Time travel is cool! The Bijou Art Cinemas is pleased to present the best films from the 2003 edition of The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival. Top-rated by the Festival jury and audience, these films are organized into four weekend matinee programs, two Saturdays and two Sundays, beginning Saturday, August 28. This series is a benefit for the Festival, which is an annual event in downtown Eugene and the only film competition of its genre in North America. Admission: $6. All programs start at noon. You can find short clips of these films at their website. We’ll see you at the movies!
 
RIDING GIANTS
090304
There is no way of telling the story of big wave riding without telling the story of surfing itself, a sport that has become one of the world's most potent symbols of youth, romance, adventure and freedom. But in sharp contrast to surfing's vital, contemporary appeal is its history -- which goes back way further than the Beach Boys and "Surfin' U.S.A." In fact, surfing is an ancient sport, tracing its origins back over 1500 years to ancient Polynesia. This is where Riding Giants begins, taking us from surfing's early Polynesian roots to its rebirth in the early 20th Century to the development of a fledgling surf culture along the coast of Southern California in the 1940s. This new ideal, with its romantic form of dynamic bohemianism, took root on the U.S. Mainland, where the modern surfing lifestyle was born. A hybrid archetype that blended one part Polynesian waterman, one part American frontiersman and one part Peter Pan, by the late 1940s surfers soon found themselves at the cultural vanguard, kinetic Beat poets long before Kerouac, hippies long before Woodstock, adventure athletes long before the X-Games.
It was during this period that a group of extraordinary adventurers emerged: surfers who, not satisfied with the mere recreational and social aspects of the sport, began searching for bigger and bigger waves, pushing the boundaries of performance like so many watery test pilots as they explored this new "unridden realm."
 
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
091704
Effortlessly blending drama, nature documentary, and ethnographic film, THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL weaves a magical tale about a nomadic Mongolian family who reunite a rejected baby camel with its mother. When a mother camel refuses to sustain her child, the keepers of the camels often reunite them in a ritual with folk music and chanting, the results of which elicit deep emotion--even causing the mother camel to weep real tears. Exploring more than just traditional ritual, this film speaks to the very nature of love--the baby camel cannot survive without his mother, just as no animal or person can.