Happy April Fools Day!
New releases:
Gyllenhall: indisputably heterosexual
Source Code, directed by Duncan Jones (Moon) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga. Gyllenhaal plays a soldier who becomes a part of a futuristic government experiment, where he is sent back in time in the body of someone who witnessed a terrorist attack. In director Duncan Jones’ Moon the main character also plays an unknowing role in a government created reality. Source Code sounds like a combination of Twelve Monkeys and Quantum Leap. Hollywood is hoping this could be this year’s Inception, the thinking man’s action thriller. (Regal Meridian, 1501 7th Ave., 12:25, 1:30, 2:40, 4, 5:10, 6:30, 7:40, 8:50, and 10:10 p.m.; Landmark Metro, 4500 9th Ave. NE, 1:25, 4:50, 7:10, and 9:30 p.m.)
Insidious, directed by James Wan (Saw) starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Barbara Hershey, and Lin Shaye. A young family moves into a haunted house and their child becomes trapped in a spirit netherworld called the Further. Poltergeist minus the static TV plus more shaky handheld camera work. (Regal Meridian, 1501 7th Ave., 12:40, 1:50, 3, 4:20, 5:30, 7, 8, 9:30, 10:30 p.m.)
A career highlight for Marsden
Hop, directed by Tim Hill (Alvin and the Chipmunks), starring Russell Brand, James Marsden, Elizabeth Perkins, and Hank Azaria. You’ve got to be kidding me. We have an epidemic of childhood obesity in this country. What we don’t need is a 90 minute advertisement for Easter candy. Plus peeps are gross. (Pacific Place, 600 Pine St, 11:15 a.m., 1:30, 4:10, 6:30, 8:50 p.m.; Landmark Metro, 4500 9th Ave. NE, 1:20, 4:30, 7, and 9:20 p.m.; Majestic Bay, 2044 NW Market St., noon, 2:30, 4:55, 7:40, 10 p.m.)
Cat Run, directed by John Stockwell (Blue Crush), starring Paz Vega, Janet McTeer, and Christopher McDonald. A sexy high-class call girl (always a good starting point for a movie) witnesses a murder, steals some important documents, and has to flee the mob in this low-budget flick. She gets helped out by two wise cracking private detectives, but also finds she’s being pursued by a tough older dame from a mysterious global espionage organization. Fun times. (Regal Meridian, 1501 7th Ave., 12:05, 2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:20 p.m.)
Seattle screenings:
Kebede: Totally unsuited to play international supermodel
Desert Flower (Wüstenblume) directed by Sherry Horman, starring Liya Kebede and Sally Hawkins. Based on the autobiography of Waris Dirie, this film stars international super model Liya Kebede as a Somali nomad, circumcised at age three, married at age thirteen, who eventually becomes an American supermodel and later the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation. You go girl! Where is this woman now? She deserves a lifetime achievement award in awesomeness. (Pacific Place, 600 Pine St., 1:15, 4:20, 7:10, 10 p.m.)
When will just have my paycheck deposited directly at Central Cinema? Between the tickets, the beer and the pizza, I just need to give them all of my money.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone. From the pinnacle of Hollywood studio magic came the most perfectly executed adaptation of the Robin Hood story. Errol Flynn defined the Robin Hood role as a mix of daring heroism and Hollywood suavity, which no subsequent Hood has ever been able to replicate. Olivia de Havilland’s Maid Marian may be overshadowed by Flynn’s exuberant performance, but she is also perfectly suited for the beautiful but quietly strong heroine. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, Friday-Sunday, 7 p.m.)
Hausu: a quiet Zen masterpiece of stark realism
House (Hausu) (1977) directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, starring Kimiko Ikegami and a white Persian cat. House is beyond belief Japanese weirdness. Seven school girls venture out to the countryside to spend their holiday break with an elderly aunt. Unfortunately the aunt is a ghost, her cat is a demon and the house is haunted. What might sound like a cliché horror film is actually some of the most inventive genre-defying filmmaking to come out of Japan. It’s also insanely silly; music video style song sequences and road trip movie antics suddenly transform to an animated cat spewing blood out of its eyes, then a girl gets eaten by the piano. This film must be seen to be believed. (Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, Friday-Sunday, 9:30 p.m.)
Collide-O-Scope’s Musical Massacre. Shane and Michael are back at Central Cinema with another dose of found footage weirdness. Monday’s Musical Massacre looks like an especially excellent treat:
(Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, Monday, 7 p.m.)
…and at Grand Illusion Cinema.
The Rules of the Game (1939) directed by Jean Renoir, starring Marcel Dalio and Nora Gregor. A weekend retreat in the country turns into a searing indictment of the petty bigotry of the French upper class. (Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St., 8 p.m.)
Ryan Hicks is Development Manager for Three Dollar Bill Cinema, presenters of the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival, May 12-15, 2011.
