by Inlander Staff & r & & r & ALL THE KING'S MEN & r &
Robert Penn Warren's novel gets the ol' big screen treatment, or rather, re-treatment. A remake of a 1949 film that won several Oscars, it's a rough, fictionalized portrayal of populist politician Huey Long, whose ethics were questionable. Rated PG-13
& r & Bugs! & r &
Tiny bugs get the biggest screen in town, in this story of a praying mantis and a butterfly who inhabit a shack on the edge of a rainforest. The creepy crawlies are live action, providing a welcome break from this past summer's CGI onslaught. Judi Dench narrates. (Imax, Not Rated)
& r & FLYBOYS & r &
World War I France, just before the U.S. joined in the fray, young American lads who went over to fight against the Germans for the French, mainly because they got to hit the skies in the then-newfangled things called airplanes -- that's the setting and story. The film runs about a half-hour too long, and features too many CGI shots, as well as an unnecessary romantic angle, but there's some excitement, and the ever-scowling James Franco actually smiles a couple of times. (ES) Rated PG-13
& r & JACKASS: NUMBER TWO & r &
Is there any reason for even a capsule review of Jackass? Hell, you all know what you're getting into here. It starts with a running of the bulls ... in suburbia. There are stunts involving branding, fishing, bees, bicycles, snakes, genitalia, water and Bam Margera's mother. There's even a bit titled "How to Milk a Horse" (at which you will become queasy). There is vomiting. There is a great song called "All My Friends Are Dead." The film is sick, twisted -- and funny as hell. (ES) Rated R
& r & JET LI'S FEARLESS & r &
Wu Xia meets Orientalism in this wire fu flick about the only dude in China who can stop western forces from breaking the Chinese spirit following their trade influence on Chinese main. Presumably placed in the run-up to the Boxer rebellion (though clearly in some parallel dimension where dudes can fly), Fearless is Li taking on the forces of Western oppression one bear wrestler at a time. It's amazing that the nationalistic pride derived from kung fu bouts would be able to wrest an entire nation from its opium addiction. Three cheers for revisionist history! Rated PG-13
& r & LEONARD COHEN: I'M YOUR MAN & r &
It was released in June, and it's finally hit Spokane. I'm Your Man is a portrait in song and testimony of one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. Performances by U2, Antony, Beth Orton, Jarvis Cocker, and Rufus and Martha Wainwright. And wanky-ass pseudo-philosophy from Bono. Rated PG-13