The Accountant
Itās not hard to imagine how Ben Affleck was convinced to sign on to The Accountant. āHey Benny!ā director Gavin OāConnor shouted into the phone, probably. āGotta real good movie for ya. So this accountant guy, heās just like Good Will Hunting, but also heās Batman!ā āIām in,ā grunted Affleck, and voila! Movie magic is made. The problem, though, isnāt that The Accountant is two ill-matched movies smooshed togetherāitās actually more like five or six, and none of them are thought-out enough to carry the day. NED LANNAMANN Various Theaters.
The Battle of Algiers
Stop me if youāve heard this one: A wealthy, powerful country invades a much smaller, poorer, more defenseless country, and occupies it for its own uses. The residents of the invaded land canāt compete with the wealthier one on the battlefield in traditional warfare, so they resort to guerrilla tacticsāassassinations, suicide bombings, etc. The occupying country brands these freedom fighters as terrorists, calling their tactics savage, cruel, and criminal. Even though the colonial powers win militarily, they ultimately lose the strategic war. Sound familiar? Itās a scenario that has played out over and over throughout history. But one of the bloodiest insurgencies in recent history was the 1954-62 Algerian War, in which Algerians engaged in terrifying tactics to kick out the French. 1966ās The Battle of Algiers, shot in Italian neorealist style, rips through this war, showing both sides for what they were. Itās not an easy film to watch, but maybe more important now than ever. SCOTT MOORE Cinema 21.
The āBurbs
The āBurbs: Joe Dante and Tom Hanks' 1989 not-so-beloved comedy-thriller. The 'burbs: Where we're all going to have to move soon, fellow Portlanders. Unless we can't afford to live out there either. Laurelhurst Theater.
Certain Women
See review this issue. Cinema 21.
Hecklevision: The Wicker Man
Nicholas Cageās disastrous attempt to remake The Wicker Man gets the Hecklevision treatment. This feels a little like kicking someone when theyāre down. And also when they have bees in their eyes. Hollywood Theatre.
The Howling
Joe Danteās 1981 werewolf horror flick starring Dee Wallace. And a bunch of werewolves! Academy Theater.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
See review this issue. Various Theatres.
Keeping Up with the Joneses
See review this issue. Various Theatres.
A Man Called Ove
From the start of Hannes Holmās fanciful character study A Man Called Ove, Swedenās official submission for the foreign-language Oscar, itās clear where things are going: The curmudgeon of the title is going to get a wake-up call. If the tone is more overtly sentimental, A Man Called Ove plays like a Swedish variation on Gran Torinoāexcept the cars are Volvos and Saabs. KATHY FENNESSY Cinema 21.
Maniac
The Grindhouse Film Festival presents the 1980 thriller. Trigger warning: scalping. Hollywood Theatre.
New Scandinavian Cinema
A showcase of 11 recent dramas, thrillers, and comedies from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. More at nwfilm.org. NW Film Centerās Whitsell Auditorium.
Oasis: Supersonic
āBruthers, man.ā Spoken in the thick brogue of Oasisā Noel and Liam Gallagher, that might as well be the tagline of Oasis: Supersonic, a documentary chronicling the ā90s Britpop bandās volatile lifespan and the brothersā enduring love-hate relationship. Though itās peppered with anecdotes about doing crystal meth and craving āthe severed head of Phil Collins,ā the film primarily centers on their warring egos, and how this tension both made and destroyed Oasis. The Gallaghersā feuding continues to this dayāLiam has repeatedly made headlines in 2016 for calling his brother a potatoāso much so that their voiceovers were recorded separately. Perhaps intentionally, Supersonic edges into This Is Spinal Tap territory, particularly when its creators let Liam or Noel speak. āOasis was definitely like a fucking Ferrari,ā Liam waxes, āGreat to look at, great to drive, and itād fucking spin out of control every now and again when youāre going too fast.ā CIARA DOLAN Cinema 21.
Ouija: Origin of Evil
S-E-E-R-E-V-I-E-W-T-H-I-S-I-S-S-U-E-V-A-R-I-O-U-S-T-H-E-A-T-E-R-S
Portland EcoFilm Festival
A bunch of films focused on our natural environment. This yearās selections include Seed: The Untold Story, from the filmmakers behind Queen of the Sun and The Real Dirt on Farmer John, as well as an Arthur Bradford-hosted evening of films about trees, a 35mm screening of the hippie sci-fi flick Silent Running, and more. More at portlandecofilmfest.org. Hollywood Theatre.
Portland Latin American Film Festival: From Afar
Monthly screenings from the Portland Latin American Film Festival. This month: Lorenzo Vigasā award-winning Venezuelan drama From Afar. Hollywood Theatre.
Re-run Theater: Someoneās Watching Me
A big-screen presentation of John Carpenter's 1978 TV movie Someoneās Watching Me, complete with vintage, Halloween-themed commercials from the '70s! Hollywood Theatre.
Train to Busan
South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho sticks a bunch of people on a bullet train, then loads it up with a shitload of pissed off fast zombies, sets the throttle wide open, and lets it go. Hollywood Theatre.
Tyler Perryās Boo! A Madea Halloween
This film was not screened for critics. Various Theaters.
Voices in Action: Human Rights on Film
The NW Film Center's human rights film series. More at nwfilm.org. NW Film Centerās Whitsell Auditorium.
MEANS WE RECOMMEND IT. Theater locations are accurate Friday, October 21-Thursday, October 27, unless otherwise noted. Movie times are updated daily and are available here.