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Friday April 23

FASHION | Eleganza 2004

This year’s edition of the annual fashion show, put on by BlackCAST, is here. Whether you’re going to watch your roommate fulfill her dream of strutting down the catwalk or you’re hoping to score some fashion pointers, Eleganza is sure to turn heads. Tickets $10 regular, $15 at the door. 7 p.m. Bright Hockey Center. (SLS)

MUSIC | Mozart Society Orchestra

The Harvard Radcliffe Mozart Society Orchestra are performing their spring concert. The program will include Brahms’ The Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Kodaly’s Dances of Galanta. Tickets $9 regular, $7 students and seniors. 8 p.m. Paine Hall. (SLS)

LECTURE | The Best Poems of the English Language

Shakespeare expert and all around English luminary Harold Bloom will speak on identification of great poetry from Chaucer through Frost. Tickets have been given out, but additional seating will be done on a first-come first served basis starting ten minutes before the event. 6 p.m. Arthur M. Sackler Museum. (JJH)

DISCUSSION | Gender and Sexuality in African American Communities

The Du Bois Institute presents a panel discussion between Tricia Rose (who recently published Longing to Tell), Gail Wyatt, Beverly Guy-Sheftall and moderator Evelynn Hammonds. Free and open to the public. 4 p.m. Science Center A. (JJH)

MUSIC | Mike Doughty

Former Soul Coughing frontman has long abandoned the days of semi-successful alt-rock Bon Bons, relying instead on a single acoustic guitar to entertain. His last work was last year’s Rockity Roll EP, and he’s currently preparing a full-length with a complete band and Semisonic’s Dan Wilson. Performance will likely include some of the new material and perhaps some classics from his former band’s glory days. Tickets $12. 9 p.m. Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. (BBC)

Saturday April 24

MUSIC | Brighter Day

The Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, a 90-member choir dedicated to the expression of black creativity and spirituality through song, are singing for their latest concert entitled “Brighter Day.” The songs will include African folk songs, traditional and contemporary gospel and original compositions. Tickets $12 regular, $8 students and seniors. 8 p.m. Sanders Theatre. (SLS)

DANCE | Eastbound

The Asian American Dance Troupe presents an evening celebrating all forms of Asian dance. Among the performers are the Traditional Chinese Dance Troupe, Chunsa, the Harvard Breakers, SADC, Harvard Wushu Club and the Chado Tea Society. $7 regular, $5 students and seniors. 8 p.m. Lowell Lecture Hall. (SLS).

MUSIC | Deerhoof

Touring in support of their latest album Milk Man, the San Francisco foursome boasts a surplus of genre-violating instrumental experimentation in every song, as well as gloriously atonal yelping from manic lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki. Opening are 5471 and local noise-punkers Ho Ag. Tickets $10. 18+. 1 p.m. Middle East Upstairs, 472 Mass. Ave. (BBC).

FILM | I was Born But…

As the Yasujiro Ozu festival finishes up at the HFA, take a chance on this classic 1932 silent, a favorite of knowing Ozuphiles like director Wim Wenders, writer Phillip Lopate and movie critic Donald Richie. Like much Ozu, this film deals with the interplay within a family: raised in the suburbs, kids are bullied by better-off children. The bullies particularly delight in pointing out the father’s middle-management position. In retaliation, the kids become bullies themselves and begin protesting their parents’ mediocrity. The real treat, however, is live Benshi (narrators of silent films) narration by Midori Sawato, Japan’s leading modern Benshi. Ticket $15 regular, $12 students (2 per I.D.) and seniors. 8 p.m. The Harvard Film Archive. (SAW)

Sunday April 25

MUSIC | Einstuerzende Neubauten

The legendary electronic cacophonists are recreating their sinister studio constructions on stage, collapsing several buildings in the process. Blixa and the boys have settled down a bit on their last album, Perpetuum Mobile, but the live show should still be a matchless, if somewhat torturous, evening. Tickets $16. 8 p.m. Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. (BBC)

Monday April 26

FILM | Woman Under the Influence

The most famous work of legendary independent director John Cassavetes—a strong influence on everyone from John Sayles to Steven Soderbergh—is a must see for all ardent cinephiles. As always, Cassavetes braces his films in an emotional reality reminiscent of Italian neo-realism and the French new wave salted with American disappointment. This time he wrote and directed his muse, Gena Rowlands, to an Oscar nomination for her Woman in a emotionally fraught relationship with Peter Falk, trying to get a handle of what she’s allowed to be in the modern world. 7 p.m. The Harvard Film Archive . (SAW)

Tuesday April 27

MUSIC | Westbound Train

The popular ska/reggae ensemble cap off an evening of music and film sponsored by the Boston Underground Film Festival. Intermingled with the music, also provided by harmony-rich Bostonians the Bon Savants, are shorts and clips from current and past festivals, as well as a unique performance from the Boston League of Women Wrestlers. Tickets $10. 8:30 p.m. T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline St. (BBC)

Wednesday April 28

FILM | The Matrix

You know what it is. You’ve seen the sequels. Now, get a chance to catch up with the classic original. The bullet time that’s launched a thousand imitators and parodies. The movie that made Keanu Reeves briefly respectable. Now that’s worthy of a “whoa!” 7 p.m. The Harvard Film Archive. (SAW)

LECTURE | The Annual Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Lecture

Distinguished actor of stage and screen James Earl Jones will speak on “The

Color of Delusion” in recognition of his receipt of the 2004 Harvard Foundation Humanitarian Award. Free and open to the public. 6 p.m. Memorial Church. Reception to follow in the Great Space, Robinson Hall. (JJH)

Thursday April 29

MUSIC | Elefant

These bouncy indie rockers are getting all sorts of bizarre Strokes comparisons, but they’re much more closely related to the Stills school of bass-driven Morrissey cribbing. A year after the release of their record, Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, they’re finally getting some wider attention due to heavy touring and radio play for the tune “Misfit.” Seachange and Lockgroove open. $10 in advance, $12 day of show. 18+. 8 p.m. Middle East Downstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave. (BBC)

Ongoing

DANCE | Harvard Ballet Company

The Harvard Ballet Company is having its spring concert, presenting a mix of classical and contemporary ballet from various choreographers and different time periods. The company will perform excerpts from “Coppelia,” a ballet about a man who doesn’t realize he is in love with a life-size doll, as well as new and existing pieces by student and professional choreographers. Tickets $8 regular, $5 with Harvard I.D. 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Rieman Center for the Performing Arts. (SLS)

THEATER | Travesties

The Adams House Drama Society is putting on Travesties, a Tony Award-winning play by Tom Stoppard. Set in 1917 Zurich, the witty comedy follows a fictive plot involving Irish novelist James Joyce and Russian revolutionary Lenin. Tickets $10 regular, $5 students, $4 Adams House residents. Through May 1. Adams House Pool Theatre. (SLS)

THEATER | Guys and Dolls

This production of Guys and Dolls, the musical based on a story by Damon Runyon, is being presented by the Cabot House Musical Theatre. The romantic comedy follows a cast of colorful characters in New York City as they weave in and out of one another’s lives, singing songs like “Luck be a Lady Tonight,” “Adelaide’s Lament” and “Rockin’ the Boat.” Tickets $7 regular, $5 students. Through May 1. Cabot House Junior Common Room. (SLS).

THEATER | The Crucible

The Harvard Law School presents a modernist interpretation of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Director and professor Bruce Hay envisions the play as a parable of racial intolerance, including a controversial scene from the original script that’s found in the appendix and rarely performed, suggesting racial undertones in the work. Tickets $5 with Harvard I.D. (HBO). 7:30 p.m., with additional Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Runs through April 24. Ames Courtroom Auditorium, Austin Hall, HLS. (BBC)

FILM | Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation

Deeply troubled festival organizers Spike and Mike celebrate their 25th year of showcasing crude, ultra-violent and occasionally thought-provoking shorts. This year’s show is all new, featuring such titles as “How To Cope With Death,” “Mama I’m a Thug” and “The Big Abandoned Refrigerator Adventure.” Approach with caution and a strong stomach; once you’ve paid the admission fee, you’ll feel obligated to sit through even the most shudder-inducing clips. Tickets $9. Fridays and Saturdays. Midnight. Runs through May 22. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. (BBC)

FILM | After The Life

Part three of Lucas Belvaux’s The Trilogy comes to the Brattle to finish the series. Each one features interlocking stories—a major character in one is a minor one in the next—and is done as a different genre—the first and second films were a thriller and a comedy, respectively—leaving this melodrama to complete the story. This features Pascal, a cop and his heroin abuser wife that he loves too much to cut her off. In fact, he does whatever he can to make sure she has a constant supply so she doesn’t have to suffer. The interesting aspect of this film is how it makes pitiful characters in the other two films become interesting and strong, making their fall all the more tragic. 5:00 p.m., 7:25. and 9:50. All week. Brattle Theatre. (SAW)

FILM | Equinox Flower

For those who like their Ozu in color, this late-period work—his first in color—from 1958 has come to the very complete Harvard Film Archive Ozu festival. The intriguing family dynamics concern an independent daughter—it is the 50s after all and women are finding their place—who refuses her more traditional father’s plan of an arranged marriage. Beyond the plot, however, Ozu’s movies are special for their interest in color—in this case, red (Ozu’s favorite color)—and philosophy, which is expressed by the slowly enlightened father: “Everyone is inconsistent now and then, except God. Life is full of inconsistencies. The sum total of all the inconsistencies of life is life itself.” 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. 7 p.m. on Sunday. Harvard Film Archive. (SAW)

VISUALS | VES Juried Student Exhibition

The Carpenter Center’s newest show of student art will run from April 22 through the 29.  Reception for artists Friday, April 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-11:30 p.m. and Sunday, noon-11:30 p.m. Carpenter Center. (JJH)

VISUALS | George Balanchine and Modern Ballet

An exhibition in celebration of the centenary of the most influential choreographer of the 20th century, drawn from the Balanchine Archive and other dance collections in the Harvard Theatre Collection. Through May 28. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Pusey Library. (JJH)

VISUALS | Bussewitz Photography Exhibit

The exhibit presents the work of naturalist-educator Albert Bussewitz, a dedicated student of the Arboretum landscape. His photographs are on loan from the Masachusetts Audubon Society’s Visual Arts Center in Canton, Mass. Through May 17. Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain. (BBC)

VISUALS | Design-Recline

Chair enthusiasts won’t want to miss this new exhibit at the Busch-Reisinger, which tracks the development of the chaise lounge from 1928 to 1955. The exhibit promises to examine “in a fresh way the now well-known tenets of modern architecture, from the radical use of new materials and technology to concepts of indoor-outdoor living and issues of sickness and health.” Runs March 20 through July 11 at the Busch-Reisinger Museum. (NAS)

VISUALS | Gary Schneider: Portraits

The first major exhibition to bring together a full range of photographer Gary Schneider’s work. Schneider’s fascination with science, work with found objects, and use of biography and autobiography are all part of the new exhibit, and display his roots in the post-minimal conceptual art of the 1970s. Runs through June 13. Tickets $5, free admission for Harvard I.D. holders and visitors on Saturdays until noon. Sackler Museum, 32 Quincy St. (LFL)

Films

THE ALAMO

History, legend and myth all coincide in The Alamo, which depicts two of the most famous battles of the Mexican-American war: the Siege of the Alamo in 1836 and the succeeding Battle of San Jacinto. At the Alamo, under their leaders Col. William Barrett (Patrick Wilson), Davy Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton) and James Bowie (Jason Patric), almost 200 men from all different races and backgrounds fought bravely to the death against the Mexican army, led by General Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria). While there were no survivors, their fight for Texas inspired General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) to lead 910 pioneers in the Battle of San Jacinto against General Santa Anna’s army with the famous battle cry, “Remember the Alamo.” A larger budget and more violence could have helped better convey the epic scope of these battles, but, in contrast with previous portrayals, are determined to create realistic heroes, warts and all. The best performance is Thornton’s, who, as the charismatic Davy Crockett, superably demonstrates the pressure of a good man struggling to live up to his great name. While the movie struggles to deliver a truly unforgettable account of the famous battles, the film is beautifully shot and tries to capture the true character of the leaders in the Alamo and Battle of San Jacinto. (HRM)

BON VOYAGE

Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s latest film mixes the chaos in Paris just before the Nazi occupation with a hearty dash of scandal, intrigue and romance. Although Rappeneau’s recreation of this war-torn era is undeniably excellent, his grasp of plot and characters is tenuous at best and not enough to redeem the film’s many faults. Newcomer Gregori Derangere is the perpetually bemused Frederic, an impoverished writer still in love with his childhood crush. She’s now the popular actress Viviane Denvers (Isabelle Adjani, who looks like she’s been given a severe dose of Botox). So intoxicating is Viviane’s hold on Frederic that he doesn’t mind being imprisoned for a crime she committed, later following her across France to Bordeaux’s Hotel Splendide. A crop of rabid aristocrats have also gathered at the Splendide to escape the madhouse of Paris and badger the wait-staff nonstop for rooms—God forbid they sleep in their cars, with their suitcases and hatboxes! Serendipity and coincidences abound in Bon Voyage—but then everyone’s running around so frantically that it would be impossible for them not to bump into each other at the most opportune, or most inopportune, moments. So do subplots, many of which are left maddeningly unresolved. At times the film verges on self-parody—Viviane’s hammy, melodramatic antics, for example: the way she throws herself on her bed, her eyes oozing crocodile tears. Bon Voyage is not all bad—it’s just silly, unoriginal, and pointless. (TIH)

CONNIE AND CARLA

Writer-star Nia Vardalos’ follow-up to indie smash My Big Fat Greek Wedding treats gay transvestites with the same loving care she previously slathered over the Greeks: she reduces them to the sparest possible stereotypes in order to make as many “ain’t this wacky” jokes as is possible in this wildly mediocre rehash of Some Like It Hot. Like in that classic comedy, two performers witness mob violence and go on the run. This time the heroes find refuge on the gay circuit, where they pretend to be men dressing up as women. Eventually David Duchovny shows up to provide a heterosexual love interest. (SAW)

DOGVILLE

Much has been made of the supposedly anti-American attitude behind Dogville, Danish director Lars von Trier’s (Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves) latest portrait of a woman wronged by society. But even as the action unfolds in a Rocky Mountains village of von Trier’s invention, the film’s statement about the nature of humanity is clearly far more general than a shrill denunciation of the American dream or George W. Bush’s administration. Like many a great dramatic work—think Richard III or Oedipus Rex—the setting is merely a backdrop for the message. A misanthropic deconstruction of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play Our Town, Dogville draws very much on theatrical (and literary) conventions in order to depart from more traditional cinematic renderings and privilege the message over the medium. The ensemble cast performs every bit as well as its marquee actors should imply. Nicole Kidman shows us why she should only act in art films; Chloë Sevigny, Lauren Bacall, Patricia Clarkson, and Ben Gazzara all live up to their names; and Paul Bettany, an upstart compared to his castmates, shockingly manages to upstage the veterans with a performance that should make his career. (ABM)

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

In director Michel Gondry’s latest effort, a company named Lacuna Incorporated has acquired the technology to erase the foul taste of a past partner. Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) discovers this after tracing a note to ex-girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), asking mutual friends not to raise his name in conversation with her. Since the ex is not supposed to see these notes, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), the inventor of the treatment and the founder of Lacuna, agrees to perform the operation on Joel as well. The centerpiece of the movie begins as Joel slowly realizes that, though his final memories of the relationship are tough to handle, he wants to remember at least some of the more pleasant aspects. Jim Carrey is actually quiet for significant pieces of the role: he underplays, giving Joel a quiet dignity that makes the eventual disgrace in losing control over his own mind that much sadder. Exiting Sunshine is looking at the world with new eyes, possibly the highest tribute that can be paid to art. (SAW)

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

The Girl Next Door isn’t a typical high school comedy, though it certainly does a good job of camouflaging itself as one. Included are all the necessary ingredients: the loser who might look vaguely attractive if he got a haircut and an Urban Outfitters gift certificate, his nerdier, uglier friends and the gorgeous blond that saves them from an eternity in A/V club purgatory. But in this particular film, that life-saving blond is an ex-porn star. The loser in question is Matthew Kidman, played by newcomer Emile Hirsh, who falls in love with his neighbor, Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), the instant he sees her. The film then proceeds to try to convince us that Matthew’s love has very little to do with Danielle’s curvaceous figure or pouty lips, but rather her ability to bring him out of his shell. The movie depicts every teenage boy’s fantasy, as Danielle immediately takes Matthew under her wing and introduces him to a life of skipping class, belly shirts, and strip clubs. But the plot seems secondary to director Luke Greenfield’s desire to experiment with the use of porn as a motif while still adhering to the restrictions of an R rating. The mold of the standard high school film is certainly broken with The Girl Next Door, but in this particular instance, the result is merely soft-core blandness. (DME)

GOOD BYE LENIN!

Good Bye Lenin! centers on the experience of East Berliner Alex Kerner, played by wide-eyed 24-year-old Daniel Brühl, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. After fainting during the Berlin riots, Alex’s mother (Katrin Sass) enters a deep coma for several months. Upon his mother’s release, the doctor cautions Alex that he must insulate her from any shocks, because a stressful event could kill her. Since his mother was fiercely loyal to the idealism of the DDR, Alex makes it his goal to keep her from finding out about the dramatic political changes through which she slept. Good Bye Lenin! is dotted with distilled illustrations of the many facets of the reunification, some of which shine much brighter than others. He does not fall into the trap of romanticizing the past at the expense of historical fact; his characters cherish their new conveniences and freedom of expression, and don’t miss the panoptic party structure of socialism. (WBP)

HELLBOY

Although this had all the makings of a routine genre exercise—only one man can stop a madman from taking over the world—director Guillermo del Toro and star Ron Perlman are too witty to settle into cliché. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable action-comedy that takes obvious pleasure in its faith to its comic book roots and Jeffrey Tambor. Really, what more can you ask? (SAW).

JERSEY GIRL

After the death of wife Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez), Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck), a workaholic music publicist whose pathological impatience is both his greatest asset and worst liability, is left to take care of their baby, a daughter he names Gertie. Unable to cope with his wife’s death or his new role as parent, Trinke immerses himself in work until his father, Bart (George Carlin), refuses to take care of Gertie any longer. Flustered, abandoned, and completely covered in baby powder, Trinke has a very public nervous breakdown at a news conference. Though Affleck should never attempt to cry on film (or say the line “I’m gonna be the best daddy in the world!”), Jersey Girl nevertheless benefits from his non-method approach to acting, which fits in with the film’s down-to-earth style and subject matter. Like all of Smith’s previous movies, Jersey Girl is almost as littered as New Jersey itself with curse words, sex jokes, and an long list of A-list cameos (some amusing if predictable, others genuinely surprising). Having based his career thus far on sexual innuendoes and pot references, Smith has produced a surprisingly insightful movie about definitions of family and success in an ever-accelerating world. With an ending that is predictable without being formulaic, Jersey Girl should appeal to a wide spectrum of moviegoers. (NKB)

JOHNSON FAMILY VACATION

Take another trip with this update on the Chevy Chase vacation saga. Cedric the Entertainer is the patriarch of an adorably wacky family—which features the no longer lil’ Bow Wow—traveling cross-country for a family reunion. Watch as the antics get more and more clichéd, but enjoy the random bursts of dumb fun, like the hot tub antics with two obese white women and the legitimately humorous guest appearance of frequent Cedric collaborator Steve Harvey as Cedric’s brother. (SAW)

THE LADYKILLERS

The Coen brothers’ limp remake of a classic Alec Guinness comedy has its occasional laughs, but ends up becoming boring in its pursuit of essentially sweet comedy. Tom Hanks is the leader of a gang of robbers forced to masquerade as a band in order to rent church-lady Irma P. Hall’s basement because it connects to the basement of their target. Although the Coens’ affection for southern tradition is sweet and the manic third act brings things up a notch, it isn’t enough to save this essentially mediocre film. (SAW)

THE PUNISHER

Thomas Jane is Frank Castle, a former undercover cop whose family is massacred by Howard Saint (a flamboyant John Travolta) whose son had been killed in one of Castle’s undercover operations. In return, Castle seeks what he says “isn’t revenge. This is punishment.” Watch as Saint’s minions are brutalized in a variety of intriguing fashions with a Guns and Ammo fetishist’s dream array of tools. Often though, this revenge flick is a bit too strong for genre tourists, just for those who have come to stay. (SAW)

THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND

Seemingly intelligent high school student Leland P. Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) has just killed an autistic boy for no clear reason. In juvenile hall, he has to come to terms with what he has done. Outside, his alcoholic father (Kevin Spacey), his girlfriend (Jena Malone) and others in the community grapple with the repercussions of this terrible act of violence. What does it mean for their community? Although many critics have mocked the film as a now predictable execration of the darkness behind modern suburbia, in this time of school shootings and anti-depressants, Leland at least stands out as an interesting and intentionally boundary pushing work. (SAW)

THE WHOLE TEN YARDS

For those three people that demanded it, the stars of The Whole Nine Yards reunited for even more even staler neurotic assassin jokes. Although Matthew Perry seems to be attempting to channel Leslie Nielson, he doesn’t do it well-enough to redeem this unfunny farce which quickly looses whatever little affection the cute original deserved. (SAW)

—Happening was compiled by Ben B. Chung, Dominique M. Elie, Jayme J. Herschkopf, Tiffany I. Hsieh, Halsey R. Meyer, Alexandra B. Moss, Will B. Payne, Sarah L. Solorzano, Benjamin J. Soskin, and Scoop A. Wasserstein.