Welcome to the first day of spring, a time when we still have one foot firmly planted in winter. Since we’re still expecting cold and rain for the rest of the week, why not spend a few hours in your local movie theater.
New arrivals:
Wasikowska: the plainest girl they could find in Hollywood
Jane Eyre, directed by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre), starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, and Jamie Bell with cameos by Dame Judi Densch and Sally Hawkins. Hands down one of the best romances ever written, Jane Eyre has been remade countless times by the BBC. A personal fav is the 1983 version starring a smoking hot Timothy Dalton as the dark and brooding Mister Rochester. Of course Hollywood would never cast a real-life ugly girl as the lead, but Mia Wasikowska does a pretty good job frumping it up as the titular Jane. Screw all the chaste Twilight vampire crap, give me the gothic bosom heavings of classic Brontë any day. (Landmark Egyptian, 805 E Pine St, 1:40, 4:20, 7:05, and 9:45)
Limitless, directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist), starring Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, and Abbie Cornish. In this thriller, a down in the dumps writer (Cooper) gets introduced to an exciting designer drug that radically transforms him from an average-intelligence nobody to the smartest man on the planet. Unfortunately mysterious strangers want to kill him now. Uh-oh. (Regal Meridian, 1501 7th Ave, 12:10, 1:20, 2:40, 3:50, 5:10, 6:20, 7:40, 9, and 10:10 p.m.; Big Picture, 2505 1st Ave, 6, 8:15, and 10:35 p.m.; Landmark Metro, 4500 9th Ave NE, 1:40, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m.; Majestic Bay, 2044 NW Market St, 11:50 a.m., 2:20, 4:50, 7:35, and 10:05 p.m.)
Pegg and Frost: nerd pals
Paul, directed by Greg Mattola (Superbad), starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and voice of Seth Rogen. The Pegg-Frost duo (Sean of the Dead) are back with a Comic-con inspired road movie about two hapless comic book nerds who meet a real-life alien while on a trip to New Mexico’s Area 51. The premise sounds funnier than it looks, and Seth Rogen is particularly unsuited for voicing an alien that one would pay $10 to watch for 90 minutes. (Pacific Place, 600 Pine St, 11:20 a.m., 12:45, 2, 3:20, 4:40, 6, 7:25, 8:40, 10:10, 11:10 p.m.; Landmark Metro, 4500 9th Ave NE, 1:50, 4:45, 7:20, and 9:30 p.m.)
Also opening this weekend:
The Lincoln Lawyer, directed by Brad Furman, starring Matthew McConaughey. This new courtroom drama is based on a book by best selling author Michael Connelly. Bring your parents grandparents. (Pacific Place, 600 Pine St, 11:45 a.m., 1, 2:30, 4:10, 5:30, 7, 8:20, 10, 11:10 p.m.; Landmark Guild 45th, 2115 N 45th St, 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, and 9:55 p.m.)
Seattle screenings:
Heartbeats: Beautiful French Canadians in and out of love
Heartbeats (2010), directed by Xavier Dolon is the second film from the Quebecois auteur. Compared to the lyrical style of the French New Wave, Wong Kar Wai and Pedro Almodovar, this film examines the psychological nuances of a love triangle between friends. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 7 and 9:15 p.m.)
U People (2008), directed by Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius. This winner of the Jury Award at the image+nation LGBT film festival splits open the dirty secret that as much as the LGBT community thinks of itself as a big diverse umbrella many voices are routinely ignored. This documentary brings together 30 women and trans men of color in a Brooklyn brownstone for a music video shoot and an opportunity to tell their unique stories. (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, Thursday, 7 p.m.)
The Cutting Edge (1992), directed by Paul Michael Glaser (The Running Man), starring Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney. This is a great choice for Central Cinema’s girls only (but guy friendly) pajama party series, because every girl I grew up with absolutely loved this movie, and every guy I knew had never heard of it. Monday’s your chance to see what all the fuss is about. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, Monday, 7 p.m.)
Bardot: The body says "come hither." The face says "beat it creep."
Contempt (1963), directed by Jean-Luc Goddard, starring Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, and Michael Piccoli. Wow! One of the best of Goddard’s many incredible films, and this one rarely gets screened (unlike Breathless). In this film Bardot plays against type as a sexually and emotionally aloof actress. Every frame of every shot is packed with meaning—about relationships, movie-making, sexuality, identity, and human shallowness—a real visual feast, and not just Bardot’s sun-kissed figure. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, Wednesday, 7 p.m.)
Ryan Hicks is Development Manager for Three Dollar Bill Cinema, a film fan and contributor to Seattle Gay Scene.
