film

Film listings are edited by Cheryl Eddy. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Meryl Cohen, David Fear, Dina Gachman, Susan Gerhard, Dennis Harvey, Johnny Ray Huston, Patrick Macias, and Chuck Stephens. Film intern is Adam Wadenius. See Rep Clock, page 92, and Movie Clock, page 94, for theater information.

San Francisco Jewish Film Festival

The 22nd annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival runs through Mon/12. Venues are Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley, near Bancroft and Telegraph, Berk; Park Theatre, 1275 El Camino Real, Menlo Park; and the Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St, San Rafael. Tickets for films and special programs ($5-22) can be purchased at (925) 866-9559 or www.sfjff.org (check the Web site for a complete schedule). See the July 24 issue of the Bay Guardian for commentary. All times are pm unless otherwise noted.

Wed/7

Park Esther Kahn 6. Yellow Asphalt: A Trilogy of Desert Stories 9. Wheeler Auditorium Casting with "A Bridge of Books" 11:30a. Weintraub's Syncopators with "A 'Specially Wonderful Affair" 2. Living in Conflict with "500 Dunam on the Moon" 5. Desperado Square 8:30.

Thurs/8

Park Blue Vinyl 6:30. Desperado Square 9. Wheeler Auditorium Gimme a Kiss with "Dancing with My Father" 1. Unfair Competition 3:30. Shalom Y'all with "Wanderings" 6. God Is Great and I'm Not with "Not Another Jewish Movie" and "The Wax and the Wicks" 8:45.

Sat/10

Rafael Qui vive 6:30. God Is Great and I'm Not with "Not Another Jewish Movie" 8:30.

Sun/11

Rafael In Search of Peace noon. Blue Vinyl 2:30. Unfair Competition 5:30. Esther Kahn 8.

Mon/12

Rafael Foreign Sister 6:30. Desperado Square 8:30.

Opening

Blood Work A retired FBI profiler (Clint Eastwood, who also directed) puts his life on the line to track a mysterious killer. (1:50) Century Plaza, Century 20, Grand Lake, Orinda.

Freeze Me Imagine a stark, claustrophobic version of I Spit on Your Grave set in Tokyo, and you'll be pretty close to the latest from director Takashi Ishii (Gonin, Black Angel). Rape-revenge movies are hardly easy to watch – to get to the woman-rises-up-and-kicks-attacker-butt parts, you have to suffer through the woman-is-brutally-assaulted scenes, and the deliberately shocking Freeze Me is no exception. Five years after being gang raped in her childhood home by a group of video camera-toting thugs, Chichiro (Harumi Inoue, from Sasayaki) has finally built a normal life for herself – until one by one, the men show up at her tiny apartment with sinister intentions. Sadly, she's no Ms. 45, and she suffers through loooong scenes of being beaten, verbally abused, and raped (again) before she finally musters up the courage to take each poisonous houseguest down, craftily storing their corpses in oversized freezers. In the end, though, Freeze Me's few moments of emotional payoff don't do much to mitigate the unpleasantness of what has come before. (1:41) Four Star. (Eddy)

*The Kid Stays in the Picture See "The Ego Has Landed," page 40. (1:31) Embarcadero.

Sade See Movie Clock, page 94. (1:40) Lumiere.

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams The bite-size secret agents that make up the junior spy force of the "OSS" certainly know how to handle themselves. Whether they're flying through the air on jet-propulsion sneakers or ascending up a giant metal wall with spider-hand magnets, they always have a gadget available to get themselves out of a jam. Back again are Juni (Daryl Sabara) and Carmen (Alexa Vega), who, after saving their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) in the last installment, have been bumped up to Level 2 spy clearance. This time around, the duo must compete with rival spy kids Gary (Matthew O'Leary) and Gerti (Emily Osment) over which team gets the next top assignment. Robert Rodriguez again writes, directs, produces, and edits, melding Spy Kids 2's slick special effects, colorful set pieces, and exotic locations into one giant toybox of a story. (1:45) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London. (Wadenius)

XXX See "Extreme Diesel," page 38. (2:00) Century Plaza, Century 20, Empire, Jack London.

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars See "Lil' Bowie Wow," page 38. (1:31) Castro.

Ongoing

About a Boy (1:45) Balboa.

*Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (3:02) Act I and II, Opera Plaza.

Austin Powers in Goldmember All the usual suspects are back as Austin Powers (Mike Myers) tangles with Dr. Evil (Myers), new foe Goldmember (Myers), and even his long-absent dad, fellow spy and ladies' man Nigel Powers (Michael Caine). After an incredible opening sequence that's probably the highlight of all three Powers films, Goldmember settles into the familiar routine of sight gag followed by (or, more likely, combined with) outrageous toilet humor. There's not much of a plot here, and the jokes don't always hit, but it must be said that the ones that do (even the retreads of gags from Powers past) are easily funnier than anything else out there right now. (1:36) California, Century Plaza, Century 20, Empire, Grand Lake, Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness. (Eddy)

*Baran (1:34) Galaxy.The Bourne Identity (1:53) Balboa, Century 20, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

Breaking the Silence (1:31) Four Star.

The Country Bears (1:28) Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck.

*Eight Legged Freaks (1:39) Metreon.

*Elling (1:29) Four Star.

*Full Frontal The movies with which Steven Soderbergh has achieved his long-overdue commercial breakthrough (Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) have not been among his most exciting artistically, so at the very least, Full Frontal comes as reassurance that he's committed to making an oddball "little" feature every so often, no matter how many Oscars pile up around the big projects. Though concisely written by Coleman Hough, Frontal flies closer to Dogma and Mike Figgis's vid-flicks (not to mention Soderbergh's own little-seen Schizopolis) with its technical and cast improvisation. Principal characters looping in and out of one another's radar during one pivotal L.A. work day/night are brittle corporate personnel exec Lee (Catherine Keener), who's on the edge of leaving sad-sack husband Carl (David Hyde Pierce); her sister Linda (Mary McCormack), a masseuse likewise unlucky in love; two movie stars (Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood) glimpsed on the set and in faux excerpts from their sappy new romance; and powerful film producer Gus (David Duchovny), whose splashy 40th birthday party provides the vehicle for an inspired all-paths-converge climax. Though Frontal covers ground familiar from too many prior films, from Welcome to L.A. through The Player, and so on, its ambiguous mix of caustic, surreal, sympathetic, and warily romantic flavors is never less than engaging. And the cast is so terrific they often elevate this "little" experiment into a realm of major satisfaction. (1:47) Piedmont, Presidio, Shattuck. (Harvey)

*Gangster No. 1 (1:45) Galaxy.

Happy Times (1:56) Opera Plaza.

K-19: The Widowmaker (2:18) Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Karmen Geï A joyous burst of sheer energy, this Senegalese update of the opera Carmen has bisexual Karmen (the spectacularly self-assured Djeïnaba Diap Gaï) a charismatic semi-criminal adventurer in modern-day Dakar. Racking up conquests hither and yon, she eventually meets the traditional fate at one jealous suitor's hands. But this production is so vividly alive to Karmen's own unrepentant joie-de-vivre that that "upright" citizen's grudge seems more unjust than ever. Deliciously costumed, designed, scored, and choreographed, the quasi-musical loses some steam as its narrative grows more somber. Still, this is one of the most purely enjoyable features to come out of Africa in years. (1:24) Balboa, Castro, Rafael. (Harvey)

*Lilo and Stitch (1:25) Shattuck.*Lovely and Amazing (1:31) Albany, Embarcadero, Piedmont.

Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (1:44) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck.

Master of Disguise Dana Carvey wields a faux Italian accent, an army of wigs, and lighthearted buffoonery in this man-of-a-thousand-faces adventure. Perhaps it's no surprise that just as his old Wayne's World buddy Mike Myers debuts the third Austin Powers flick, Carvey has decided to create his own superdorky silver screen superhero, who is challenged by an evil villain (Brent Spiner), a mom and pop (Edie McClurg and James Brolin) in danger, and his own smart and lovely assistant (Jennifer Esposito). Unfortunately, the jokes in Disguise are ill-timed, and the impersonations dim-witted: President George W. Bush, a Hindu swami, and a dirty old matron who can't hold a candle to the Church Lady. Celebrity cameos are the real highlight here, including a bedazzled Bo Derek sporting her 10 outfit. Sure, there are moments of frolic and folly, but Carvey fans know he can do better. (1:20) Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness. (Sabrina Crawford)

Me Without You Childhood "best friends forever," trendy and impetuous Marina (Anna Friel) and bookish Holly (Michelle Williams of Dawson's Creek) can't be friends without one ruining the other's life. The pressures of the relationship take two-plus decades to work themselves out, and the film darts, often way too quickly, in and out of years – through young adulthood, failed and semisuccessful relationships, and even a religious conversion – sketching out the girls' lives, together and ripping apart. The best scenes follow the two to college, where, to a soundtrack of Depeche Mode, Adam Ant, and Scritti Politti, Holly finds politics and Tarkovsky, Marina finds coke and excellent vintage dresses, and they both find themselves in bed with smarmy professor Kyle MacLachlan. Written and directed by Sandra Goldbacher (The Governess), Me Without You wants to examine those early unhappy, important friendships many of us suffered through, but its clipped pace keeps blurring the emotional details. (1:47) Lumiere, Shattuck. (Lynn Rapoport)

Men in Black II (1:28) California, Century 20, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Minority Report (2:25) Century 20, Four Star, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Monsoon Wedding (1:54) Embarcadero, Shattuck.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2:01) Galaxy, Piedmont, Shattuck.

My Wife Is an Actress (1:33) Act I and II, Clay, Rafael.

Mysteries of Egypt (:39) Metreon Imax.

Nijinsky (1:32) Opera Plaza, Shattuck.

*Notorious C.H.O. (1:45) Opera Plaza.

*Read My Lips (1:55) Galaxy, Oaks.

Reign of Fire (1:48) Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Rivers and Tides (1:30) Rafael, Roxie, Shattuck.

Road to Perdition (1:59) Century Plaza, Century 20, Grand Lake, Kabuki, Metreon, Oaks, 1000 Van Ness, Orinda.

*Sex and Lucía (2:08) Bridge, Shattuck.

Siddhartha (1:25) Rafael, Shattuck.

*Signs Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's Signs centers on a Pennsylvania farmer and former man of the cloth, Graham Hess (Mel Gibson), who wakes one morning to find mysterious circles in his cornfield. Before long, Graham and his kids – 10-year-old Morgan (Rory Culkin) and 5-year-old Bo (Abigail Breslin) – and his brother, failed baseball pro Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), are thrust into circumstances as terrifying as they are enigmatic. Anyone who's seen The Sixth Sense knows that Shyamalan likes to insert clues that point the way toward the film's final twist; though still an effective technique, with the heavy-handed Signs his touch has become less subtle. Thought-provoking, if obviously trying to be so at times, Signs skillfully reuses the Sixth Sense ploy of slowly drawing the film's subtext to the forefront of the "scary" story. Some corny, distracting factors shadow the finale a bit, but Shyamalan is definitely in his element here. (1:46) Century Plaza, Century 20, Coronet, Empire, Grand Lake, Jack London, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Orinda. (Eddy)

*Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2:22) 1000 Van Ness.

Stuart Little 2 (1:18) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Sunshine State (2:21) Albany, Balboa.

*Tadpole There was a brief time in the '70s when, if your only contact with American society was through contemporary film and literature, you'd swear that the United States was mostly composed of New York's Upper East Side. Gary Winick's Tadpole would, in a perfect world, restore the inhabitants of that occasionally grainy-lensed, sometimes Gershwin-soundtracked cultural gestalt to center stage. Fifteen-year-old budding intellectual Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford), nicknamed "Tadpole," comes home from boarding school to celebrate Thanksgiving with his history professor dad in Manhattan. His main interest in the holiday homecoming, however, involves a monster crush he's nursing for his middle-age stepmother (Sigourney Weaver). Complications arise when Oscar's seduction by his stepmom's best friend (Bebe Neuwirth) threatens to derail his own Oedipal courtship. Shot in dusty-looking digital video and focusing on a precocious teen pining for an older woman, it's tempting at first to dismiss Tadpole as a low-rent Rushmore. But the hyperintelligent writing and wit overcomes the cruder, clumsier technical moments to make this upper-crust comedy of manners the freshest sex farce in ages. (1:17) Embarcadero. (Fear)

*13 Conversations about One Thing (1:42) California, Lumiere.

Who Is Cletis Tout? (1:35) Galaxy.

*Y tu mamá también (1:45) Embarcadero, Shattuck.

Ultimate X (:39) Metreon Imax.

Rep picks

Ashes of Time (1:40) Four Star.

*Promises (1:46) Balboa.