http://wip.warnerbros.com/everythingisilluminated/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0404030/

Everything Is Illuminated, based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer, is a hard movie to put my finger on. It's about a young Jewish man, Jonathan (Elijah Wood), who compulsively collects the artifacts of his deceased relatives. He goes on a trip to the Ukraine to find the village his grandfather left before the Holocaust. His tour guides are Alex (Eugene Hutz, singer of the self-appointed "gypsy punk" band Gogol Bordello), Alex's grandfather, and Alex's grandfather's "Officious Seeing Eye Bitch", a dog named Sammy Davis Junior Junior. Most of the movie is the three of them roaming through the countryside in Ukraine getting lost looking for a town that doesn't appear to exist. It's really funny and it's actually heartwarming, and I really really liked it.

It just hit limited release this week and it'll be down this way in about a month.

9/22/2005 12:06:39 PM

looks cool i think ill check it out

9/23/2005 9:20:22 AM

i've heard good and bad

9/23/2005 9:28:25 AM

I've been waiting for this movie -- you said that it will play around here in about a month? I hope you're right.

It's good to hear that someone really liked it; I was hoping it would get much better reviews than it did.

9/23/2005 2:38:38 PM

Yeah, it has definitely been getting mixed reviews. What I can say is that, with the three people at my theater who saw it, one thought it was good, one (me) thought it was very good, and one thought it was in the top five movies he'd ever seen. I get the idea that it's really underwhelming if you've already read the book, though. So who knows?

9/23/2005 2:46:18 PM

a friend of mine saw it in NYC and said it was realllly good

im excited to see it

9/23/2005 3:49:13 PM

^^ Yeah, I'm thinking that most of the bad reviews come from people comparing the book to the movie; even as they say that the book is pretty much 'unadaptable' for a movie. I really like the trailer, though, and I think that Wood is a really promising young actor -- I'd really love to see him in a good Wes Anderson film, and he's one of the few people in Hollywood that I hope will be really successful one day.

9/23/2005 6:44:31 PM

http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0404030/Ss/0404030/EII_onesheet.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0404030
kind of looks like his character in sin city.

[Edited on September 23, 2005 at 6:58 PM. Reason : /]

9/23/2005 6:57:44 PM

.

[Edited on September 23, 2005 at 7:05 PM. Reason : hotlinking]

9/23/2005 7:05:13 PM

I really wish they'd come out with more mediocre Holocaust movies.

No, really.

9/23/2005 7:45:40 PM

^^^ or how about in eternal sunshine
http://img203.imageshack.us/my.php?image=patrick6fc.jpg

[Edited on September 23, 2005 at 7:50 PM. Reason : ]

9/23/2005 7:50:14 PM

north 2: more travelling

9/23/2005 9:20:36 PM

Ehe north kicked ass.

10/4/2005 12:30:50 PM

"We don't want Hugh!"

10/4/2005 12:50:22 PM

Oh, those dirty sons of bitches at Crossroads stole our trailers.

The DHL guy accidentally took our shipment (addressed to us) to Crossroads and they opened them anyway. That was a week ago and I just now figured out the little mystery. Now I have to go over there and get them.

I bet they took my mail order wife, too.

10/4/2005 4:36:47 PM

I just started reading the book today, it's awesome. Here's a quote from Alex, the narrator (he's freaking highlarious in the movie).

Quote :

"I dig American movies. I dig Negroes, particularly Michael Jackson. I dig to disseminate very much currency at famous nightclubs in Odessa. Lamborghini Countaches are excellect, and so are cappuccinos. Many girls want to be carnal with me in many good arrangements, notwithstanding the Inebriated Kangaroo, the Gorky Tickle, and the Unyielding Zookeeper."

10/6/2005 1:30:28 PM

So, is it coming to theaters around here anytime soon? I know the Rialto isn't playing it at the moment. . .

10/7/2005 10:39:27 AM

We've got it tentatively booked at Galaxy Cinema for October 28th.

10/7/2005 12:10:21 PM

Make sure to secure the door when I am gone. There are many dangerous people who wanna take things from Americans, and also kidnap them. Good night!

10/18/2005 11:35:58 AM

Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidaaaaayyyyyyyy.

2:00, 4:25, 7:00, 9:25.

10/25/2005 3:04:07 AM

bttt

10/29/2005 8:05:47 PM

i'm glad it's finally in Raleigh, I've been waiting a long time to see this! It's also at the Colony on Six Forks, similar times.

10/29/2005 8:46:26 PM

10/29/2005 8:59:33 PM

10/30/2005 12:39:35 PM

Hey spookyjon, I just went to see Capote at the Galaxy theater this past Saturday; have you seen it? I was wondering which movie you thought was better, Capote or this one -- I've still got to get my ass to this movie

10/31/2005 4:27:00 PM

independant destroyed this movie

and while i otherwise think the independant is garbage, their crossword and movie reviews are usually money.

10/31/2005 4:41:05 PM

Quote :

"It may be substantially less ambitious than its source material, but that may be what saves it from implosion."

-- Michael Atkinson, VILLAGE VOICE

I think this is a pretty good summation of the problem that a lot of people have with the movie. I haven't read the book (well, rather, I'm reading but have not finished it), but I hear it is far less linear, consisting of multiple storylines that cover a period of 200 years. A lot of people who are familiar with the book find the film a bit underwhelming because it does not have the intricate storylines they remember.

This is a simple movie, make no mistake about it. But it's wonderful. And WAY better than Capote.

10/31/2005 6:01:44 PM

Did you not like Capote? I personally think it was worth it just to see Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance.

10/31/2005 9:59:34 PM

Capote was fine, and PSH did a great job playing the role, but I didn't think the movie was anything really special. It'll get some Oscar noms, though.

10/31/2005 10:54:01 PM

Showtimes are now 2:05 and 7:00. Don't miss this movie.

11/5/2005 6:11:46 PM

why isn't it showing later????

i really want to see this but have had stuff to do that conflicts with 7
why isn't it showing at 9 like normal movies?

11/5/2005 9:39:10 PM

10 movies / 6 screens

Capote's the only thing NOT sharing a screen with something. Something's gotta give.

We'll probably still have it next week, though, and the showtimes might be different.

11/5/2005 9:55:26 PM

really good movie, but more importantly what's that song that's played during the preview? (they should have used it in the movie too)

11/7/2005 11:33:10 PM

how is the book?

i'm considering picking it up sometime in the next week if i hear a good review on it

11/7/2005 11:35:19 PM

^^Devotchka "How It Ends"

11/8/2005 9:14:29 AM

The book is really good. I'm reading it right now. I think I liked his newer one better, though.

11/8/2005 10:03:10 AM

In case anybody still wants to see this, showtimes this weekend are 2:05, 4:30, and 7:00. We're getting new movies on Wednesday (Thanksgiving mucks everything up), so this will be GONE after Tuesday.

11/17/2005 11:11:43 AM

Old thread, I know, but I just saw this, and thought it was extremely good. Probably one of my top 5 for 2005. DVD comes out on March 21st.

1/20/2006 11:03:02 PM

Last night, I tried to get something vegetarian from the taco vans for my girlfriend.

It reminded me of this movie.

11/26/2007 12:19:30 PM

I got this on my DVR. I need to watch it at some point.

11/26/2007 12:27:06 PM

i never got to see this and really wanted to. thanks for reminding me

11/26/2007 12:28:11 PM

awesome movie

I loved the book too

11/26/2007 2:34:56 PM

I thought that the movie completely sucked cock.

Elijah Wood has the innate ability to ruin any film.

11/26/2007 7:15:01 PM

It's an ok movie. A little slow in parts.

11/27/2007 12:34:03 PM