[ThisWeek] Because of Winn Dixie and Star Wars Episode III at the Kenworthy

[thisweek at kenworthy.org]

This week at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre-

Tom and JoAnn Trail present
Because of Winn Dixie (PG)
Wednesday, August 3
1:00 PM
$1/child under 13, $4/adult
(see REVIEW below)

Star Wars Episode III (PG13)
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, August 5, 6 & 7
7:00 PM
$5 adult, $2 child under 13
KFS passes accepted for Sunday showing
(see REVIEW below)
* * *

Sirius Idaho Theatre presents
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
by Martin McDonagh

Directed by Forrest Sears

September 8-10 & 15-17 at 7:30 pm
September 10 & 17 at 2:00 pm

Performances at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

Tickets available at Moscow Farmers¹ Market every Saturday and at BookPeople
of Moscow
$15 adults, $10 seniors, $5 students

Set in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, in western Ireland, The
Beauty Queen of Leenane tells the darkly comic tale of Maureen Folan, a
plain and lonely woman in her early forties, and Mag her manipulative ageing
mother whose interference in Maureen's first and potentially last loving
relationship sets in motion a train of events that is as extraordinarily
funny as it is horrific.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane received four Tony Awards in 1998.

For more information about the play or to sign up as an usher for one
performance, email John Dickinson <johnd at moscow.com> or visit the web site
of Sirius Idaho Theatre http://www.siriusidahotheatre.com/
* * *

Next week at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre . . .

Wells Fargo Bank presents
Robots (PG)
Aug 10 at 1:00 PM

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (PG13)
Aug 12 - 14 at 7:00 PM
* * *

Also in August at the Kenworthy-

Gritman Medical Center presents
Madagascar (PG)
Aug 17 at 1:00 PM
Aug 18 - 21 at 7:00 PM

Howl¹s Moving Castle (PG)
Aug 26 - 28 at 4:15 & 7:00 PM

Thanks to the following Wednesday matinee sponsors:
Insty Prints & North Idaho Athletic Club, Tom & JoAnn Trail, U.S. Bank,
Wells Fargo Bank, Gritman Medical Center

Regular Movie prices:  $5 adult, $2 child 12 or younger.
Wednesday matinee prices:  $4/adult, $1/child 12 or younger
KFS passes accepted year-round for Sunday movies!
* * *

This week¹s reviews-

Because of Winn Dixie

Directed by Wayne Wang
Written by Joan Singleton, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo
Rated PG (Parental guidance suggested). It includes mild profanity, some
adult themes, including alcoholism and child abandonment.
Running time:  1 hour, 37 minutes

As reviewed by Mack Bates writing for thee Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A lonely girl named Opal (AnnaSophia Robb) and her pal Winn-Dixie transform
lives in a small Southern town in "Because of Winn-Dixie."

Set in a small town in Florida, the story centers on the unexpected bond
between a lonely girl named Opal and a scruffy little dog wise beyond his
species. She names him Winn-Dixie, in honor of the supermarket where they
first met.

Opal and her father, Preacher (Jeff Daniels), are new to town and trying to
fit into the close-knit, eccentric community.

Preacher conducts his Sunday service at a local convenience store that
doubles as his church, and he and Opal live in a trailer park run by a
crotchety old man who doesn't allow tenants to have pets.

With her mother gone and her father's calling consuming most of his time,
Opal's fateful trip to the Winn-Dixie yields her the fast and steady friend
that she's yearned for since arriving in town.

It also brings about some complications, including convincing her father
that she's capable of caring for a dog and getting around the "no pets" rule
in their trailer park.

Opal and Winn-Dixie charm as many of the locals as they leave aghast.

Among the charmed are Otis (rocker Dave Matthews), a guitar-playing loner
with a past who works at the pet store where Opal manages to finagle a
summer job; Miss Franny (Eva Marie Saint), the town librarian who takes a
shine to the precocious girl and her dog; and the reclusive Gloria Dump
(Cicely Tyson), who other kids call "the wicked witch." In each
relationship, Opal and Winn-Dixie's mere interest in the person seems to
awaken something long-dormant that, in turn, has a positive effect on
everything around them.

Beautifully directed by Wayne Wang ("Anywhere But Here," "The Joy Luck
Club") and adapted by co-producer Joan Singleton, "Because of Winn-Dixie" is
the best of this year's family-friendly film explosion.

Robb, reportedly chosen from among 650 girls vying for the role, makes a
strong big-screen debut. It's a testament to her talent that she isn't blown
clear off the screen by the movie's big-name supporting cast, led by
Daniels, who shines as her father.


As reviewed by Anita Gates writing for the New York Times

Were it not for a couple of cars, a little girl's pink poodle backpack and a
reference to eBay, "Because of Winn-Dixie" could easily be mistaken for a
film set in the 1950's. It has old-fashioned and heartwarming written all
over it, in heavy black Magic Marker.

Adapted from Kate DiCamillo's best-selling children's novel, this is the
story of a girl, a dog, a single father and a circle of colorful supporting
Southern characters. Opal Buloni is a very lonely 10-year-old since she and
her father, a preacher, have moved to Naomi, Fla., a town so small (or odd)
that church services are held in a convenience store. So when Opal sees a
scruffy dog loose in a Winn-Dixie supermarket one day, knocking down
bumbling adults and scattering fruit everywhere in movie-cliché fashion, she
claims the animal, names him for the place where they met and takes him home
to the trailer park.

Once Opal has Winn-Dixie at her side, she makes friends easily. They include
the librarian, who tells a story about a bear stealing a copy of "War and
Peace"; Gloria Dump, known as the Witch but really just a nice blind woman
who lives alone; and Otis, a gentle young man with a guitar who gives Opal a
job at Gertrude's Pet Store. Opal feels so empowered that she begins
pressing her emotionally shut-down father to tell her more about her mother,
who ran away seven years ago.

The dog that plays Winn-Dixie is cute enough, so it seems believable that
normally sullen churchgoers might be won over when he disrupts services
during the hymn "Just as I Am." Opal explains: "He just don't know the
words, is all. But he sure is moved by the spirit." Ms. Robb, 11, is
charming, and "Because of Winn-Dixie" is a harmless, pleasant comic drama


As reviewed by Peter Hartlaub writing for the San Francisco Chronicle

>From the opening credits, "Because of Winn-Dixie" is about as subtle as a
half-eaten bowl of Alpo left in the sun for a few days. The star of the show
is introduced in a dog-wreaks-havoc-in-a-grocery-store bit straight out of
"The Brady Bunch" playbook -- and the scene is repeated later in a trailer
home and a church. 

But like the foul-smelling, disobedient title character, "Winn-Dixie" has a
way of growing on you. And as the mongrel racks up about $250,000 in
property damage and potential lawsuit payouts, even the most curmudgeonly
dog- haters will probably be shedding a few tears.

Based on the Kate DiCamillo novel and directed by San Franciscan Wayne Wang,
"Winn-Dixie" is about a dog named after a grocery chain, its 10-year-old
owner, India Opal, and life lessons in a small Florida town. As Opal
confronts her preacher father about her missing mother, Winn-Dixie helps her
meet the town's well-cast collection of oddball characters, including the
recluse Gloria and a town librarian, who once used a Tolstoy novel to fend
off a bear. 

Wang deserves credit for making a film about a preacher's daughter in the
most notorious red state, and avoiding conservative religious undercurrents
on one side and "Footloose"-style conformity-bashing on the other. There's
talk of God in "Because of Winn-Dixie," but more talk of tolerance, and you
get the feeling that even the most spiritual characters would appreciate
that controversial episode of "Postcards From Buster."

The adult actors all make the extra effort to flesh out characters that
don't get a lot of screen time, and Daniels is particularly good. But the
real surprise is musician Dave Matthews in his second movie role, as a
guitar- playing drifter who suddenly shows up behind the counter of the
local pet store. Matthews holds his own with his experienced co-stars, and
his half- talking/half-singing explanation of his criminal past is the
movie's best scene.

While the lead actress isn't exactly Tatum O'Neal, the lead canine is no
Lassie, either. For the first third of the movie, it's unclear what the
dog's attraction is, other than to move the plot forward. By the time
Winn-Dixie bites a cop, members of the audience may sympathize with the
various factions who want the dog sent to the pound.

But the mutt has a couple of surprises, and so does this movie. There are a
few small messes in "Because of Winn-Dixie," but it's easy enough to look
the other way. 
* * *

Star Wars: Episode III ‹ Revenge of the Sith

Written and Directed by George Lucas
Director of photography, David Tattersall
Edited by Roger Barton and Ben Burtt
Music by John Williams
Special visual effects and animation, Industrial Light and Magic

Rated PG-13. Some of its violent scenes are more intense and upsetting than
those in previous episodes.
Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes.

As reviewed by A. O. Scott writing for the New York Times

Would George Lucas at last restore some of the old grandeur and excitement
to his up-to-the-minute Industrial Light and Magic? Would my grown-up
longing for a return to the wide-eyed enthusiasm of my own movie-going
boyhood and my undiminished hunger for entertainment with sweep and power as
well as noise and dazzle be satisfied by "Revenge of the Sith"?

The answer is yeth!

This is by far the best film in the more recent trilogy, and also the best
of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed. That's right (and my inner
11-year-old shudders as I type this): it's better than "Star Wars."

"Revenge of the Sith" ranks with "The Empire Strikes Back" as the richest
and most challenging movie in the cycle. It comes closer than any of the
other episodes to realizing Mr. Lucas's dream of bringing the combination of
vigorous spectacle and mythic resonance he found in the films of Akira
Kurosawa into American commercial cinema.

Even as he has pushed back into the Jedi past, Mr. Lucas has been inventing
the cinematic future, and the sheer beauty, energy and visual coherence of
"Revenge of the Sith" is nothing short of breathtaking.

The light-saber battles and flight sequences are executed with a
swashbuckling flair that makes you forget what a daunting technical
accomplishment they represent. Some of the most arresting moments are among
the quietest. An evening at home with the Skywalkers, for example, as they
brood and argue in their spacious penthouse overlooking a city skyline set
aglow by the rays of the setting sun, or a descent into the steep, terraced
jungle landscape of the Wookiee planet. The integration of
computer-generated imagery with captured reality is seamless; Mr. Lucas has
surpassed Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg in his exploitation of the new
technology's aesthetic potential.

But every picture, however ravishing, needs a story, and the best way to
appreciate how well this one succeeds is to consider the obstacles it must
surmount in winning over its audience. First of all, though there are a few
surprises tucked into the narrative, everybody knows the big revelation of
the end, since it was also the big revelation at the end of the previous
trilogy: Darth Vader is Luke's father. We also know, for the most part,
which of the major figures are going to survive the various perils they
face. So an element of suspense is missing from the outset.

More than that, the trajectory of the narrative cuts sharply against the
optimistic grain of blockbuster Hollywood, in that we are witnessing a
flawed hero devolving into a cruel and terrifying villain. It is a measure
of the film's accomplishment that this process is genuinely upsetting, even
if we are reminded that a measure of redemption lies over the horizon in
"Return of the Jedi."

"Revenge of the Sith" is about how a republic dismantles its own democratic
principles, about how politics becomes militarized, about how a Manichaean
ideology undermines the rational exercise of power. Mr. Lucas is clearly
jabbing his light saber in the direction of some real-world political
leaders.

The rise of the Empire and the perdition of Anakin Skywalker, of course, are
not the end of the story, and the inverted chronology turns out to be the
most profound thing about the "Star Wars" epic.

Taken together, and watched in the order they were made, the films reveal
the cyclical nature of history, which seems to repeat itself even as it
moves forward. Democracies swell into empires, empires are toppled by
revolutions, fathers abandon their sons and sons find their fathers.

Movies end. Life goes on.

As reviewed by Luke Buckmaster writing for In Film Australia

Revenge of the Sith, a dazzling and gorgeously rendered send-off to one of
cinema's most beloved science fiction franchises. In this eclectic mash of
superhero ethos and digital wizardry Lucas at last rekindles his ability to
tickle the imaginations of his viewers, a gift which has remained sadly
dormant in his career for the good part of two decades.

In terms of an ability to design blockbuster films for blanket universal
audiences, Lucas is one of the world's most intuitive filmmakers, which is
both a blessing and a curse for the artistry of his work. Here he swims
against the tide, with two cruddy duds bogging down his recent reputation,
legions of audiences restlessly hankering to be filled in on the missing
details of the Star Wars universe, and with a plot working towards a bunch
of resolutions that essentially have already been written.

Remarkably, this Star Wars outfit sees Lucas -- one of tinsel town's
fundamental engineers of the blockbuster module -- breaking one of the
studio system's golden rules, which says that a Hollywood movie must have a
happy ending.

Taking all the films into account, Lucas' vision as a whole certainly ends
happily -- who could forget those fireworks-filled Ewok celebrations at the
end of Return of the Jedi (1983) -- but for a high-caliber film such as
this, forcing audiences to look outside of the text for a reaffirming
conclusion to its grim dramatics is a bold maneuver. We know that the good
guys will lose the battle but, three films down the track, will win the war.

But we don't know the specifics and it's the hows and whys and the small
details attached that keep the ball rolling throughout Revenge of the Sith.
The film sports a running time of almost two and half hours but the pace is
fast, slick and smooth.

There is a brooding cloak of darkness that overshadows Revenge of the Sith,
hanging like an ominous grey sky looming above a picturesque lagoon --
silently threatening to boil over any time into a storm of doom, but still
part of a scenic horizon that carries with it a prevailing sense of splendor
and wholesomeness. Lucas has always been a technically orientated director,
much more able to get his mind around architecture, effects and sets than
writing and direction, but here the story threads nicely and the nooks and
crannies and finer strokes of Lucas' canvas buzz from the heightened sense
of atmosphere. 

As reviewed by Peter Keough writing for the Boston Phoenix

Maybe I¹m going over to the Dark Side, or it¹s at least clouding my mind.
The final Star Wars episode not only won me over, it also made me reconsider
the other five, which I never held in high esteem.

Perhaps, like Greek tragedy, Revenge of the Sith enables us to achieve
catharsis by observing characters whose fates we already know. Could what
seemed out of tune in the other episodes be resolved by this middle movement
into what Lucas has referred to as a "symphonic" completion?

In 1977, Star Wars posed the fantasy of a kid from a nowhere planet who gets
to fulfill his wish for adventure. Lulled by the disgrace of the Nixon years
and the mediocrity of the Carter administration, filled perhaps with a
premonition of the terrible events yet to come, millions then were glad to
join him. Like Luke, they hoped to escape the mundane mire of politics,
history, and responsibility. But as those perennial killjoys Obi-Won and
Yoda keep pointing out, being a Jedi Knight has nothing to do with adventure
or escape or future dreams. It¹s about attending to the present and doing
something about it.

Isn¹t that the reality the average Star Wars fan tries to avoid? Perhaps not
any more. The press kit for Revenge of the Sith includes a handy time line
comparing events in real life ‹ Watergate, the death of Elvis Presley and,
of course, President Reagan¹s Strategic Defense Initiative, a/k/a "Star
Wars" ‹ with milestones in the genesis and creation of the series. Some
might find parallels between Palpatine¹s seizing power via dubious warmaking
and certain current events. Doesn¹t this spoil the whole thing for
adolescents of all ages seeking escapist fantasy?

Yet another Star Wars expert, Craig Winneker, age unknown (he confesses to
"nearly 30 years as a Star Wars fan"), an editor of the financial Web site
TechCentralStation.com, thinks it does. In the article "No Star Wars for
Oil," he points to lines like "This is how liberty ends: with thunderous
applause" as evidence that "Lucas suddenly felt the need to add . . .
topicality into the story line . . . a recurring, anti-Bush, anti­Iraq War
message."

Was it so sudden? Or was the "topicality" there all along for those willing
to find it? Unlike Anakin, but like Luke and Lucas himself, Star Wars fans
have perhaps grown up and come to see that this vast, extravagant dream not
only acts out their fears and desires but also reflects the world from which
they try to flee. 

Maybe Revenge of the Sith is the best film in the series because it¹s the
last, and the adventure of a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away
returns, inevitably, to the here and now.

Film reviews researched and edited by Peter Haggart
* * *

Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
508 S. Main Street, Moscow, Idaho
For more information, call 208-882-4127 or visit http://www.kenworthy.org
* * *
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PAMELA PALMER, Volunteer
Mailto:ppalmer at moscow.com
Film and Events Committee
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

http://www.kenworthy.org

To speak with a KPAC staff member,
call (208) 882-4127
Mailto:kpac at moscow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sign up for this weekly email on events and movies at the Kenworthy by
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