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. Please call theater for times.
Designates items highlighted in this week's issue.
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Changing Times
A dreamy French love story set in Tangiers, this delicious film stars the incomparable Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu. Antoine (Depardieu) takes a job in Morocco in order to be reunited with his first love. Cécile (Deneuve) is unhappily married to an alcoholic and can't quite break free. Will Antoine be the key to her freedom? While waiting to find out, a host of zany family members parade their problems through the exotic streets of the casbah.
The Screen, NR, 90 min.
Flushed Away
A spoiled uptown pet rat named Roddy (Hugh Jackman) accidentally flushes himself down the toilet and into a wondrous metropolis where rodents and animals reign. In this new world, he meets Rita (Kate Winslet) and the two embark on a courageous mission to return Roddy home. But with a menacing henchman and the dreaded mercenary Le Frog on their tail, this animated team is in for a bumpy ride.
Dreamcatcher, PG, 86 min.
God Spoke
Comedian Al Franken takes on Ann Coulter and the rest of the right through his cynical brand of humor. With Sean Hannity and Michael Medved.
CCA, NR, 90 min.
Paper Dolls
This documentary follows a group of Filipino transvestites taking care of old Israeli men. With the borders closed to Palestine, Israel looks elsewhere for labor and finds it in the oddest places. These caregivers become like naughty children to their benefactors, running away at night to perform in drag at a local hot spot. Catch it while you can; this one's only around for a few days.
The Screen, NR, 80 min.
The Queen
God save Helen Mirren, I mean the Queen! An intimate portrait of the extremely private Queen Elizabeth II,
The Queen
focuses on the time surrounding the death of Princess Diana. With the country torn apart by confusion and grief, Her Royal Highness looks to Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) for strength and strategy.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 97 min.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Tim Allen stars in his third film as Santa Claus, no one could have seen that coming. The ex-Tool Man has made quite a name for himself as the King of the North Pole, and this time the crafty Jack Frost (Martin Short) is out to take it all away. While the jolly man is busy planning an extended family Christmas (ex-wife and her new husband included), Frost schemes on how to knock old Santa off his throne. Head elf Curtis is on the case, watching his boss' back, and some help from Claus' ex-wife's daughter doesn't hurt either. Talk about a PC, modern family Christmas.
Dreamcatcher, UA South, G, 98 min.
American Blackout
Just in time for voting season,
American Blackout
follows Georgia Democratic representative Cynthia McKinney as she exposes the corruption in the voting systems during the 2000 and 2004 elections. In an out-of-the-ordinary twist, the politician is actually more focused on the issue than herself, and she is painted in both good and bad lights.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 92 min.
Creatures from the Pink Lagoon
Director Chris Diani calls his flick "a good old-fashioned gay zombie movie." All the typical horror movie stereotypes are there: the dumb jock, the bimbo, the nerd and the ethnic stereotype; the only difference is that this time around they're queer. Which, apparently, doesn't save anybody from the nonhomophobic flesh-eating zombies.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 71 min.
Fat Girls
The young outcasts of a small Texas town come of age.
Fat Girls
teaches us about embracing our bodies, sexuality and ourselves. The film was a favorite at the Gay and Lesbian Cinema Showcase a few months back, and if you miss it this time, you might just be out of luck.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 82 min.
49 Up
If you've seen more than one of the films in Michael Apted's series, you're probably feeling a little old right now. The truth is that the man wasn't only chronicling the personal transformations of several people at seven-year intervals, he was capturing a phenomenon. Reality TV has nothing on Apted; his perceptive interviewing of the collective that has made up his case study for the past 42 years will blow you away.
The Screen, NR, 135 min.
Four Lane Highway
Last year the audience at the Santa Fe film festival fell a little bit in love with
Four Lane Highway
, giving it the honor of the Audience Award. The film follows a late-20s construction worker, Sean, on an adventure from Maine to New York City to reconnect with his old flame, Molly.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 109 min.
Heroic Grace II: Kung Fu Film Festival
Kara Hui kicks some serious butt in
My Young Auntie
. When her husband dies, she must deliver the inheritance to her nephew, who is twice her age, but runs into trouble along the way. The 1980 flick is one of the funniest in the kung fu canon.
The Screen, NR, run times vary
Janet Gaynor Centennial Celebration
Farmer Takes a Wife
, the film debut of Henry Fonda, finds a poor farmer in love with a canal boat cook played by Janet Gaynor. She falls for him too, but can she leave the exciting life of the canal boat for the mundanity of the farm?
The Screen, NR, 91 min.
Jimi Hendrix
In 1973, director Joe Boyd put together a documentary-style collage of concerts from the rock legend. Monterrey Pop, Woodstock and the Fillmore are featured, but the best part? It's about the music, not commentary on the artists or performances. After this, you will be experienced.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 98 min.
Kids First!: Fraggle Rock
A whole new generation of kids will be exposed to Jim Henson's lovable, crazy puppet creatures. The selections from the second season date back to 1983 and 1984.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR
Stairways to Heaven: The Practical Magic of Sacred Spaces
A documentary exploring the space between the worlds: as in, ours and the next. Using ancient monuments (like Stonehenge, presumably actual size, not 18 inches tall or made of refrigerators), great Gothic cathedrals (with secret Templar messages hidden in them) and the fairly recent advent of crop circles, the "spiritual technology" of the ancients is revealed. We humbly predict this film will play in Santa Fe well into the next ice age.
Santa Fe Film Center, NR, 54 min.
Stealing America: Vote by Vote
A new, feature-length documentary on the 2004 national elections by Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman. Harvey Wasserman of the Free Press writes that
Stealing America
is "powerful, moving, infuriating, comprehensive and brilliant." The paper ballot lawsuit in New Mexico is an important aspect of this documentary on election.
CCA, NR
¡Viva Pedro!
The Pedro Almodóvar Festival continues with a celebration of Antonio Banderas and bullfighting in the critically acclaimed film
Matador
. Talk to Her explores the friendship of two men who bond while their girlfriends are in comas.
Flower of My Secret
reveals the inner workings of a romance novelist who's had enough with her marriage and turns her frustration on her work. Almodóvar teams up with the lovely Penelope Cruz for
Live Flesh
and
Law of Desire
explores the range of sexuality.
CCA, all films rated R, run times vary
Warren Miller's Off the Grid
Jetting around the globe from Kashmir, India, to Kicking Horse, BC, exploring winter,
Off the Grid
is the perfect flick for the cold weather. Packed with athletes like Jeremy Bloom, Toby Dawson and Zach and Reggie Crist, we learn that winter sports isn't just about extreme skiing. Now, how do we get to Hokkaido, Japan, for the World Snowball Fighting Championships?
Santa Fe Film Center, NR
The Boynton Beach Bereavement Club
Life after retirement has never been sweeter than at the Boynton Beach, Fla., "active living community." Lois, Harry, Marilyn, Sandy and Jack meet at a bereavement meeting meant to provide emotional support after the loss of a loved one. What they find instead is that love has no age and that it is never too late to bring someone new into your life.
The Screen, NR, 105 min.
Catch a Fire
Tim Robbins and Derek Luke star in a political thriller about a South African family man stunned into action by a violent policeman. Wrongly accused of terrorist activities at his power plant, Patrick (Luke) is beaten and jailed, his wife receiving the same treatment. Colonel Nic Vos (Robbins) is behind the atrocities, an apartheid-driven mad man who doesn't know what he's in for. Patrick rises from the ashes of his disgrace and joins a rebel movement to avenge himself and his family.
UA North, PG-13, 101 min.
Conversations with God
If most people told their friends that God was speaking to them, their sanity might be in question. Author Neale Donald Walsch turned his dialogue with the divine into a multimillion-dollar bestseller. Now a very successful guru of sorts, Walsch shares his spiritual transformation through a film produced by Stephen Simon (
What Dreams May Come
).
UA DeVargas, PG, 109 min.
Death of a President
The real state of global politics is deconstructed in Gabriel Range's radical film about what would happen if George W Bush was assassinated. Through pictorial images and historically styled dialogue, Range explores uncharted territory and scares us into taking notice.
The Screen, R, 90 min.
The Departed
Martin Scorsese kicks the cop drama up a notch with his newest criminal masterpiece, filled with serious Hollywood acting machismo. Jack Nicholson (back to his classic
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
persona) plays a cunning and twisted crime boss. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon star as talented undercover agents, but there is a mole in their midst. This psychological roller coaster ride packs a mean street punch.
UA DeVargas, UA North, R, 150 min.
Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood takes moviegoers to the battle of Iwo Jima in his latest attempt to add another Oscar to the shelf. Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach star as the men whose heroism proved to the American public that WWII would end in victory.
UA North, R, 132 min.
Flicka
Starring Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw and Maria Bello, this adaptation of Mary O'Hara's beloved novel follows the dream of a 16-year-old girl and a wild mustang. Katy (Lohman) has no ambitions other than to live and work on her father's ranch in modern-day Wyoming. Her father, understandably, wants more for her, but enter an untamed thoroughbred and a penchant for the races, and all aspirations may change.
Dreamcatcher, UA North, PG, 94 min.
The Grudge 2
See Sarah Michelle Gellar get killed by chalky Japanese children in this sequel to a mediocre remake. If you are trying to talk your girlfriend out of wanting kids, take her to see
The Grudge 2
, which follows evil spirits as they escape the house that held them and go on a murderous rampage. Hopefully this will follow
The Ring Two
to a fate of shelving before it can incur the label "trilogy."
Dreamcatcher, UA South, PG-13, 95 min.
The Guardian
After the
Waterworld
fiasco of 1995, it's surprising that anyone would let Kevin Costner near the water again. This time, instead of Dennis Hopper and his band of post-apocalyptic gang members, he's got Ashton Kutcher as the thorn in his side. Costner plays the badass Coast Guard diver who doesn't want his thunder stolen by cocky rookie Kutcher. Yes, the plot is formulaic, but the stunts are cool, and moms and daughters can sigh together when Kutcher takes his shirt off for a swim.
UA South, PG-13, 136 min.
The Illusionist
Based on a short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Millhauser. A magician, Eisenheim (Edward Norton), uses his unusual talents to woo his ill-fated childhood sweetheart, Duchess Sophie von Teschen (Jessica Biel), and derail the class system in Victorian Vienna. Upon returning from exploring the world, Eisenheim finds that Sophie, with whom he's still in love, is engaged to the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). Eisenheim strikes up an unlikely friendship with Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) in his quest to win back his lady love.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 109 min.
Keeping Mum
If Mrs. Doubtfire was British and a female, she would be Grace (Dame Maggie Smith), the inspirational and no-nonsense housekeeper in
Keeping Mum
. In a small, rural parish, a vicar (Rowan Atkinson) becomes consumed with his work and ignores his increasingly volatile family life. His wife (Kristen Scott Thomas) shamelessly flirts with her golf instructor (Patrick Swayze), his daughter is boy-crazy and his son a punching bag for the local bullies. Enter Grace, a gift from heaven sent to whip the family back into shape.
CCA, NR, 103 min.
Little Miss Sunshine
A mixed bag cynical road trip that halfway morphs into a family situation comedy lovefest. While precisely stylized use of the camera evokes a boldness reminiscent of
The Graduate
or early Woody Allen, endearing moments are the glue holding this frequently cynical movie together. When the family finally arrives at its destination, the depiction of child pageant queens, at once disturbing and hilarious, is the cherry on top of this wild ride. The result is a climactic scene that is pretty near perfect: both laugh-out-loud surprising and endearingly inevitable. With Alan Arkin, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Abigail Breslin and Greg Kinnear.
UA DeVargas, R, 110 min.
Man of the Year
In a nation where the intellect of comedian and activist Bill Maher often ranks higher then that of the president, hasn't the thought crossed some people's minds that a switch might be in order? Written and directed by Barry Levinson, this comeback vehicle for funny man Robin Williams employs the no-longer-improbable idea that an entertainer could be elected president. But it isn't all smiles and high fives in the oval office-sometimes the most terrible thing is to get what you wish for.
Dreamcatcher, UA South, PG-13, 115 min.
Marie Antoinette
Sophia Coppola's indie rock fantasy about the life of Marie Antoinette stars Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman and was shot on location in Versaille. It's more than caviar dreams for the young queen. Steeped in
outré
fab garb and surrounded by sumptuous delicacies
à la Français
, the film-and its title character-blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Indulge anyway and see both sides of the notorious Marie Antoinette.
UA DeVargas, PG-13, 125 min.
The Marine
Ushering in a new exploitation genre is
The Marine
, a story about a He-Man-esque soldier who goes on a rampage to find his kidnapped wife. While perhaps not the hat-tipping homage the military deserves, it will raise a lot of pride in their ability to kick arse. Starring John Cena and Robert Patrick and directed by John Bonito.
Dreamcatcher, UA South, PG-13, 93 min.
One Night with the King
Ah, finally, a Biblical rags-to-riches story for the big screen. Hadassah, orphaned by the murder of her parents, becomes Esther in order to try to win the heart of Xerxes. She does, becoming the queen of Persia. A great cast, including John Rhys-Davies and the first collaboration for Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole since
Lawrence of Arabia
.
UA North, PG, 122 min.
Open Season
Ever wonder what happens when captive animals are released into the wild? Well, here's your chance to find out. Martin Lawrence provides the voice of Boog, a 900-pound grizzly bear who finds himself in the wild three days before hunting season. Completely naive to the ways of the wild, he's forced to rely on a mule deer named Elliot, played by Ashton Kutcher. With hunters on their trail, the animals prepare to fight back in this hilarious animated adventure.
Dreamcatcher, UA South, PG, 99 min.
The Prestige
Two of Hollywood's hunkiest foreigners, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, play two exceptional magicians locked in a rivalry that could destroy them both. The question is, who will be famous and who will be left infamous? The answer, isn't as interesting to discover as one from Christopher Nolan (
Batman
,
Memento
) should be. Scarlett Johansson does a repeat of her role in
The Black Dahlia
as the woman between them (see
).
Dreamcatcher, UA DeVargas, PG-13, 128 min.
Running with Scissors
Augusten Burroughs' memoir
Running with Scissors
is one of those true-life tales that is so fantastical that it almost has to be true. The film adaptation shows the young Burroughs (Joseph Cross) sent by his philosophy professor father and poet mother to live with her psychiatrist's insane family. With Annette Benning, Alec Baldwin, Evan Rachel Wood and Brian Cox (see
).
UA DeVargas, R, 116 min.
Saw III
The vicious murderer Jigsaw has an apprentice, and she's as deranged as her master. In this bloody third installment, the new teacher's pet kidnaps a doctor in order to keep her master and their newest victim alive for selfish reasons. Bring a sick bag; you'll need it.
Dreamcatcher, UA South, R, 107 min.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Before heading out to Vietnam, two young men and their girlfriends take a road trip through Texas. B-list actors get chopped up by maniacs. Jordanna Brewster, recognizable from such works of art as
The Fast and the Furious
and
Annapolis
, gets first billing, which means the longest life in horror movies.
Dreamcatcher, UA North, R, 84 min.
Unidentified
Three pesky reporters poke around a small Texas town after a possible UFO sighting. They find the supernatural, and different beliefs tear them apart.
Unidentified
looks to be a Christian film hidden under the guise of sci-fi.
UA South, PG, 95 min.
