Due to the ever-changing nature of the movie biz, showtimes as they appear in any and all newspapers should always be double-checked with the theaters before setting off for a night at the flicks.
Designates items highlighted in this week's issue.
Click here for movie theaters and showtimes
OPENS FRIDAY
Little Man
The boys who brought you 2004's
White Chicks
, the Wayans Brothers, are back with this film about an escaped criminal, Calvin (Marlon Wayans), who is able to pose as an orphaned baby because of his short stature. Finding refuge with a childless suburban couple, Marlon struggles to convincingly pose as a toddler. Expect lots of little-person jokes and bathroom humor. Quite literally, in fact: One critical scene revolves around Marlon trying to avoid taking a bath with his new foster father. With Shawn Wayans and Kerry Washington.
Dreamcatcher, UA South PG-13, 90 min.
The Lost City
See
.
CCA, R, 143 min.
Peaceful Warrior
See
.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 120 min.
A Scanner Darkly
Like 2001's
Waking Life
, this film from director Richard Linklater employs interpolated rotoscoping, an advanced
animation technique, which looks like painting over the filmed frames. The effect is aesthetically pleasing if somewhat disorienting. Based on the book by Philip K Dick, the film explores a futuristic Orange County and an America in which the drug war has failed. The film presents themes such as paranoia, hallucinations, what we think we know, and, of course, postmodern angst. With Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson.
UA DeVargas, R, 100 min.
You, Me and Dupree
Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon
star as an unlikely trio living together in the suburbs. When Molly (Hudson) and Carl (Dillon) return from their honeymoon,
they find that Carl's best friend since forever, Dupree, (Wilson) wants to move in with them for a few days, as he's without a place to live. The couple complies, and antics ensue. Wilson relies on slapstick and physical comedy in his familiar role, Hudson pulls out her dimples and plays adorable and Dillon's Carl is trying desperately to be a grownup.
Dreamcatcher, UA North, PG-13, 108 min.
SHORT RUNS
Carmen Jones
A 20th century take on the classic opera
Carmen
. The 1954 film stars Dorothy Dandridge in the title role (for this film, she would earn the first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for an African American) as well as Harry Belafonte and Brock Peters. The story of
Carmen
is transposed to a US military base where Joe (Belafonte) a solider, is ordered to transport the sexy Carmen to a prison 50 miles away. En-route, he falls for her. With Joe Adams and an un-credited Alvin Ailey as a dance soloist.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 105 min.
Enlightenment Guaranteed
Life isn't working out for brothers Uwe and Gustav, a salesman and a feng-shui consultant, respectively. Accordingly, the two decide to travel from their native Germany to Japan to search for peace of mind, redemption, and (what else) enlightenment. Uwe and Gustav arrive in Germany and, after some very expensive drinks and an unfortunate encounter with an ATM machine, find themselves flat broke. The film juxtaposes the bustle of Tokyo with the calm of a country monastery, as well as the personalities of the brothers.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 109 min.
Loose Change: Second Edition
"The question for all of us to ask ourselves is how did American Airlines Flight 77 with a 124 foot wing span and a 44 foot tall tail stabilizer fit into the 16 foot diameter hole in the Pentagon as stated by the government?" That's a long question, and we'd be willing to bet there's a short answer provided at this screening. A discussion follows each showing: Look for men in black planted in the audience, posing as maté drinkin', unshaven, wild-eyed vegan holy men.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 60 min.
Love and Suicide
The first entirely US-shot feature to be made in Cuba since 1959,
Love
is the story of Tomas (Kamar de los Reyes), a drifter who travels to the country to find the difference between love and suicide. Along the way he meets fellow wanderer and hippie Nina (Daisy McCrackin) and taxi driver Alberto (Luis Moro) who help Tomas to rediscover the simpler things in life, and return to a slower, more peaceful pace. Directed by Lisa France, the nominee of two Independent Spirit awards for her film,
Anne B. Real
,
Love & Suicide
offers a rare glimpse of a Cuba largely unknown to Americans.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 90 min.
Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School
Strange how times have changed for Robert Carlyle, ever since his turn as psychotic Begbie in
Trainspotting
; the roles he's landed since then have tended much more toward the sweet side, if still often darkly funny: the alcoholic dad in
Angela's Ashes
, a romantic lead in
Carla's Song
and
The Full Monty
-and of course quirky Beeb detective
Hamish Macbeth
. Carlyle continues with the pure evaporated cane sugar, so far rarely redolent of sucralose, as a man broken-hearted by the death of his wife. A chance encounter with John Goodman leads him circuitously to the school of the title (overseen by Mary Steenburgen)-and to a fresh start, his transformation attended by fellow dance and charm students Marisa Tomei, Donnie Wahlberg and Sean Astin (don't you lose him, Samwise Gamgee!).
The Screen, PG-13, 103 min.
Psycho Saturdays: Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs!
Saturday sees a celebration of director Herschell Gordon Lewis, arguably the creator of the worst horror movies of all time. By "worst," we mean forced over-the-top acting, lots and lots of gore (foot-long disembodied tongues, brains strewn across beach blankets) and completely unbelievable plotlines (Confederates driving around in 20th century cars). Come for a dark laugh, or to scare yourself silly.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 187 min.
The Refugee All Stars
"As harrowing as these personal tales may be, the music buoying them is uplifting. The cliche bears repeating: music heals and creates community," says the New York Times of this documentary capturing three years in the life of The Refugee All Stars, a reggae-inspired band from war-ravaged Sierra Leone. Santa Fe's own Bill Graham, Jamie Lenfestey, will be on hand to introduce the film and give away CDs in a promotion for the band's July 28 Santa Fe Brewing Company appearance.
CCA, NR, 78 min.
Salomania
In honor of this summer's
Salome
run at the Santa Fe Opera, this Saturday offers a five-film marathon of various interpretations of the story of Salome. Ranging from a silent film based on the Oscar Wilde play, to a Rita Hayworth picture, to a flamenco dance version, a vast array of all sorts of
Salome
is sure to delight. The action starts at 10:45 in the morning, with the last film screening beginning at 7:45 at night. All-day passes are $30, while individual films are $6-$8.
Santa Fe Film Center, various ratings, various runtimes
Sisters in Law
Hailed by the Telluride Film Festival as "the best documentary of all time." Beatrice Ntuba is (along with sister-in-law Vera Ngassa) a judge in a small town domestic court, and the film captures the two tough-minded women as they establish a radical new gender-neutral justice. Winner of the Prix de Essai in Cannes, 2005, the film reveals the
women's struggle for legal protection without preaching, but with warmth and humor.
CCA, NR, 90 min.
Summer in the Dark: Film Noir Festival
This long-standing Santa Fe tradition has found a new home at The Screen and this year features 14 films as well as guest appearances by noir experts Alain Silver, author of
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style
and Eddie Muller, author of
Dark City
. For more detailed film-by-film information visit
.
The Screen, various ratings and runtimes
NOW SHOWING
An Inconvenient Truth
Al Gore in all of his earnest glory, post-Presidential hopes, touring the country and exhorting anyone who will listen to take global warming seriously. Gore's screen persona turns out to be "disarming, funny and animated," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, and that goes a long way toward sustaining the hour-and-a-half litany of urgency and unfolding environmental catastrophe.
UA DeVargas, PG, 95 min.
Cars
Pixar strikes again with this animated feature garnering generally positive reviews. Voice work by Owen Wilson, Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt has heightened the buzz. The LA Times, joining a chorus of applause, raves "what's surprising about this supremely engaging film is the source of its curb appeal: It has heart."
Dreamcatcher, UA DeVargas, UA South, G, 116 min
Click
Adam Sandler headlines as Michael Newman, a workaholic architect/family man who wishes for a "universal remote" to make his hectic life easier. Enter Christopher Walken, a mad-scientist employee of Bed, Bath and Beyond who supplies Michael with a remote control that does everything from fast-forwarding through marital strife to putting the whole world on pause. While initially the answer to his prayers, the universal remote situation gets a bit out of hand, as Michael realizes that, in spite of being able to freeze frame a passing jogger's sports bra, he's also missing the best parts of life. For Sandler devotees, this film reunites the actor with his
Waterboy
and
Wedding Singer
director Frank Coraci. With Kate Beckinsale as Michael's suburban housewife.
Dreamcatcher, UA DeVargas, UA North, PG-13, 97 min.
The Devil Wears Prada
Anna Hathaway reprises her
Princess Diaries
ugly duckling persona in this film, based on the book of the same name, which chronicles the experiences of an assistant to the former editor of Vogue. Meryl Streep co-stars as the devil herself, Miranda Priestly, the editor of the fictional magazine Runway.
Prada
is a glamorous look inside the New York fashion scene, which most of us are too dowdy to even dream about entering-a glimpse that is resplendent with sexy clothes and peppy music montages. With Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt.
DreamCatcher, UA DeVargas, UA North PG-13, 106 min.
District B-13
Luc Besson helped to pen the screenplay for this French action sci-fi comedy directed by Pierre Morel. Set in the Paris ghettos of 2010, a cop and an ex-thug try to defuse a neutron bomb.
The Screen, R, 85 min.
Down in the Valley
This quirky character-driven indie starts off with charm but takes the plunge into heavy-handed symbolism, overly focused on "The Myth of the West." Elegantly shot by cinematographer Enrique Chediak, the film is a looker. But it takes itself altogether too seriously, even when dealing in giggle-eliciting cliches. With Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood and Bruce Dern. Written and directed by David Jacobsen.
CCA, R, 125 min.
The Fallen Idol
This 1948 "exquisitely plotted murder mystery" (Time Out New York) was adapted by Graham Greene himself from his eponymous short story. Carol Reed (
The Third Man
) directed, and won the Best Director award from the New York Film Critics Circle.
CCA, NR, 90 min.
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
The third
Fast and the Furious
installment, this outing illuminates the little-known world of underground Tokyo drift racing. With none of the original cast and a new director, Justin Lin (
Better Luck Tomorrow
),
Tokyo Drift
features fast cars, scantily clad girls, new rivalries and the neon glow of Tokyo at night. Lucas Black stars as the troubled Shaun Boswell, who travels across the Pacific to avoid a jail sentence. With Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelley and Brian Tee.
UA South, PG-13, 90 min.
Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties
Critical acclaim must not do it for Bill Murray. On the heels of the highly lauded
Lost in Translation
, and more recently,
Broken Flowers
, Murray follows up with
Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties
, reprising his role as the voice of the computer-generated overweight feline himself. Director Tim Hill (who brought us 1999's endearing
Muppets From Space
) is new to the series, in which Garfield, canine pal Odie and owner Jon hop across the pond to England, where they battle evil Lord Dargis (Billy Connolly), who wants to turn a historic castle into a resort. Ironically enough, the message of this film seems to be: Resist commodification and commercialization. With Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
UA South, PG, 80 min.
The Lake House
Speed costars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunite in this story of two lonely professionals, a doctor, Kate (Bullock), and an architect, Alex (Reeves), who fall in love the old-fashioned way, through a courtship of letters. Based on the Korean film
Il Mare
, the twist here is that Kate and Alex are separated by time: Alex lives in a house in 2004 that Kate will inhabit in 2006. By exchanging daily letters through their shared mailbox, the two get to know one another and, eventually, realize their inconvenient separation. Meant to be a subtle drama with numerous references to "the light" and literal glass houses,
The Lake House
is shot on Chicago's North shore. As film reviewer James Berardinelli advises, "Don't think too hard-you'll spoil the mood." With Christopher Plummer as Alex's mad-genius architect father.
UA North, UA South, PG, 85 min.
Nacho Libre
Napoleon Dynamite
writer-director Jared Hess is back, with this film about a cook at a Mexican orphanage, Ignacio (Jack Black), who spends his off hours as a
luche libre
wrestler called Nacho (think face masks, red tights) in order to earn extra cash for the kids. If
Napoleon
is any indication,
Nacho Libre
will leave us with quotable catch phrases and plastic Jack Black paraphernalia sold at gas stations well into next year.
Nacho Libre
is written by Mike White, the man behind
The Good Girl
and another Jack Black film,
School of Rock
. Expect lots of body slams and sweeping Oaxacan vistas.
Dreamcatcher, UA North, PG, 100 min.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Johnny Depp fully inhabits his seagoing spin on Keith Richards, wrapping his lips around florid syllables or turning drunken stumbles into something approaching graceful pirouettes. Screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio try to give the character some tension between his cowardly nature and a sense of loyalty, but they know well enough not to mess too much with what worked the first time. Once
Dead Man's Chest
gets started, it rolls along with all the energy a summer movie should aspire to.
Dreamcatcher, UA DeVargas, UA North, PG-13, 145 min
A Prairie Home Companion
Robert Altman's newest, with a screenplay by Garrison Keillor, imagines what would happen if the small radio station producing "Prairie Home Companion" were purchased by a major media outlet. The film follows a fictional cast and crew as they prepare for their last broadcast. Features the usual Altman stellar cast including Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin.
The Screen, PG-13, 105 min.
Sketches of Frank Gehry
Some buildings are stark, square and tall, others look like aliens dropped them onto the landscape at some unknown point in history but manage to stand out and fit in simultaneously. Frank Gehry's buildings are the latter. From his line drawings, which in no way resemble anything but scribbles, to models of paper and clay of different scales, he's made a name a living creating some of the most bizarre places on the planet. Director Sidney Pollack follows Gehry through his process and into a few of these structures with the eye of an admirer, offering only a touch of criticism, in a documentary filled with personality, art and unusual shapes. (Patricia Sauthoff)
CCA, PG-13, 83 min.
Superman Returns
Superman Returns
to earth, after a five-year hiatus, just in time to keep Lex Luthor from taking over the world. Aside from Lois Lane writing the Pulitzer Prize winning "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman," nothing much seems to have happened during his extended vacation. But he's back and he's got a world to carry on his shoulders. While
Superman Returns
is the fun, brainless Hollywood movie that should be expected, it tries to be symbolic, by using the symbolism of Atlas and Christ in the most literal ways possible, so as not to be missed by anyone. It's the kind of movie that you were already going to see or not. If you do, you'll enjoy it, if you don't, you won't miss a thing. (Patricia Sauthoff)
DreamCatcher, UA DeVargas, UA South, PG, 157 min.
Waist-Deep
The tag line for this film says it all: Bonnie and Clyde-On the Flip Side. In a modern day take on the concept of male-female bank-robbing duo, the streets of Los Angeles serve as the backdrop for gunfights, rappers moonlighting as actors, and lots of smoking rubber. With Shawn Parr, Henry Hunter Hall (as himself) and rapper The Game.
UA South, R, 97 min.
