We Own the Night could’ve gone either way. Granted, the “two brothers on opposite sides of the law” storyline is formulaic and uninspired, but the presence of loveable freaks Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg and Joaquin “It’s Not a Harelip!” Phoenix offers faint hope. Alas, mediocrity wins the day, and writer/director James Gray’s underwhelming cops ‘n’ […]
Alison Hallett
Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Posted inUncategorized
A Slice of Woodstock
Toast’s Tiny Charm
The fact that the local/organic scene is here to stay is evidenced less, perhaps, by the presence of culinary heavyweights like Wildwood or Paley’s Place, than by smaller restaurants cropping up like adorable little toadstools in the shadow of larger, similarly minded establishments. Toast is a great example: Here’s an under-the-radar little neighborhood joint, crammed […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
endless ocean, endless sky
In order to make a reservation for choreographer Tahni Holt’s new show, you have to go through her website—no tickets available at the door, no order by phone, only a click through of her occasionally cryptic homepage (tahniholt.com/endless). This is the first indication that with endless ocean, endless sky, Holt is deliberately structuring an unusually […]
Posted inUncategorized
Finger Food
Eating Regionally at the E’Njoni Café
According to the most recent act of fellatio performed on Portland by a very orally fixated New York Times, we live in a “a golden age of dining and drinking,” with talented young chefs attracted to the city by a combination of brilliant local produce and affordable real estate. While I have no fundamental objection […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Cabaret
Portland Center Stage at the Gerding Theater
Portland Center Stage (PCS) kicks off their second season in the Armory with a darker, more complex musical than the perennially crowd-pleasing West Side Story, which started off last year’s season. Cabaret is set in Germany during the years of Hitler’s rise to power, and addresses the complicity of ordinary citizens in allowing the Nazi […]
Posted inUncategorized
Show Me the Way…
Bottles and Brews at the Morrison Hotel
Inner Southeast, between Grand and 12th, is a dingy but optimistic little neighborhood, holding its breath as tentacles of affluence from downtown and wealthier neighborhoods to the east make tentative inroads. East Morrison boasts a handful of new establishments, from the plush, pirate-themed Maiden in the Mist to the lunch-oriented Nu Café to the Morrison […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Help Us, Richard Gere!
Bosnia, Chuck Norris, and The Hunting Party
A flabby, uninspired action film that hopes its political agenda will distract audiences from its general crappiness, The Hunting Party takes oblique aim at the current administration’s poor track record in hunting down war criminals. Set in the aftermath of the Bosnian War, the “based on true events” plot hinges on the inability—or unwillingness—of government […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
House and Garden
House The Artists Repertory Theatre opened their 2007-2008 season with a real crowd-pleaser, sure to leave season ticket holders resting easy about their financial commitment to the arts. It’s fluffy stuff, engaging and fast-paced, with a hook that can’t help but impress: Alan Ayckbourn’s House/Garden consists of two interlocking plays, performed simultaneously by one cast […]
Posted inFeature
Campus Drinking Guide
Where to Go Before, After, and Possibly During Class
Pullout: Back to School 2007
Posted inArt
T:BA Day by Day
The Mercury‘s Daily Picks for This Year’s Time-Based Art Festival
Last week, somebody asked us the somewhat surprising question, “What, exactly, is the Time-Based Art Festival?” (TBA). This caught us a little off guard, as we’re more accustomed to the perennial question, “What looks good at TBA this year?” Fortunately, we have answers to both those questions. Put simply, TBA is 11 straight days of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Good Morning, Foster
Better Breakfasting at Bar Carlo
The bar at the heart of Bar Carlo is, in fact, an espresso bar. Quaint, right? It’s a big, beautiful bar that dominates the otherwise under-furnished restaurant, providing both a focal point and a suggestion that Bar Carlo might have more to offer than its mismatched chairs, linoleum floors, and unfinished interior would initially suggest. […]