Step was originally developed by, and is still strongly associated with, black fraternities and sororities—so at first it’s a little weird to see the dance form used as a signifier for the authenticity of the projects. Raya (Rutina Wesley) attends the fancy Seaton Academy, and wants to go to medical school, but when her junkie […]
2008
Posted inMovies & TV
You’ve Got MURDER!
The Internet and Portland Are Scary!
The internet is a scary place: There’s free nudity, that ominous Jeeves chap, one-night stands tracking you down on MySpace, and—according to the shrill hysteria of Untraceable—there’s also a maniacal, kitten-killing computer hacker who uses the web to murder people! Looks like it’s a case of murder.com! Actually, the killer names his “untraceable” website (eh? […]
Posted inMovies & TV
She’s a Maneater
Teeth Successfully Snatches at Glory
Dawn (Jess Weixler) is a sexually repressed high school student who, unbeknownst to her, has vagina dentata—i.e., her red snapper has really, really sharp teeth. Calling Teeth an emotionally charged fable would be the understatement of the year. Combining black humor, monster-movie horror, and the best of ’70s sexploitation flicks, writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s fascinating film […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
Welcome to
Planet Hollywood
The triumvirate has been disbanded. Once, from the mid ’80s to the early ’90s, three men—nay, three heroes—defined movie stardom. But two’s company and three’s a crowd: Arnold turned political, Bruce figured out how to straddle the chasm between blockbusters and respect, and Sly… well, Sly took the hit. This weekend brings us Rambo, Sylvester […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Rebel Yell
Revolution Comes of Age in Persepolis
Dressed in black and looking for all the world like a panel from one of her own comics, cartoonist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi sat smoking in a conference room at the Hotel Monaco, a mole on her nose just like the dot found on the face of her two-dimensional counterpart—the bold, irreverent heroine of her […]
Posted inNews
In the Shadows
One-Man Safety Net
[In the Shadows is a new biweekly column in which Mercury crime and cop reporter Matt Davis explores Portland’s underbelly.—eds.] Chris O’Connor is a cross between a public defender in community court and Superman. He’s a sharp-eyed, sharp-witted barrel of a guy, whose surprising lightness on his feet extends to his conversation—you don’t converse with […]
Posted inMusic
Hard-Luck Slim
The Authentic Langhorne Slim
He took the name of his Pennsylvania hometown. He sings blues songs in a raspy holler. He calls his woman “mama.” And, despite being a white guy in his 20s, Langhorne Slim somehow manages to do these things without sounding like a total asshole. It’s no act. Slim and his band, the War Eagles, have […]
Posted inNews
In Other News
BIKE JUSTICE On Tuesday, January 22, the Portland Police Bureau announced that Timothy Wiles—the cement truck driver who drove over cyclist Tracey Sparling at the intersection of SW 14th and Burnside on October 11, killing her—was cited for failure to yield to a bicycle, which carries a $242 fine. In another high-profile collision that claimed […]
Posted inNews
Back to School
Amy J. Ruiz
City council hopefuls, elected officials, and curious constituents crammed in alongside Jefferson High School students on Friday afternoon, January 18. The audience quickly took their seats in the school’s auditorium, ready to hear what Mayor Tom Potter had to say in his last annual State of the City speech. Which wasn’t much, as it turns […]
Posted inNews
“Disappointment…”
County Boss Soul Searches on Mental Health Center
County Chair Ted Wheeler met with 60 mental health advocates last week to confess his disappointment over the county’s ongoing failure to reopen Portland’s sub-acute facility for people in mental health crisis. Since the closure of the crisis triage center in 2003, cops have had no option but to transport people in such crises to […]
Posted inNews
Race to the Finish
Public Financing Deadline Looms
With a week to go before the January 31 deadline to qualify for thousands of dollars in public campaign financing, city council and mayoral candidates are scrambling for their final $5 contributions. Only one candidate, Amanda Fritz—who’s running for the seat Sam Adams is vacating to run for mayor—has been certified as a publicly financed […]
Posted inNews
Sho’s Up
Dozono’s Mayoral Campaign Takes Off
At the request of a campaign volunteer, mayoral candidate Sho Dozono peeled off his sweater to show off the gray Grant High School shirt underneath, a keepsake from his days teaching and coaching wrestling at the school in the ’70s. “I can still wear the T-shirt,” Dozono says proudly. Reinforcing the high school reunion atmosphere […]