With leaks springing in the roof of Bush’s White House faster than Karl Rove can
Alison Hallett
Alison Hallett served nobly as the Mercury's arts editor from 2008-2014. Her proud legacy lives on.
Posted inMovies & TV
Horror… to the EXTREME!
The Mini Horror Anthology Three… Extremes
Fans of Asian horror will be titillated, if not actually aroused, by the films comprising Three… Extremes. Three major directors of Asian films—Hong Kong’s Fruit Chan, South Korea’s Chan-wook Park, and Japan’s Takashi Miike—each contribute a piece for inclusion in this mini-anthology. The results, while perhaps only somewhat extreme, nonetheless make for a largely enjoyable, […]
Posted inBooks
The King in the Window
Adam Gopnik is a witty, wonderful essayist, with a knack for pointing out amusing
Posted inTheater & Performance
Bug
Artists Repertory Theatre’s (ART) newly revealed second-stage space is glossy and gorgeous, as expected. The stage is
Posted inMovies & TV
Sex, Suicide, PISS
Succinct Reviews for the Discerning Cinephile
24 Hours on Craigslist is structured around a series of interviews with
Posted inMovies & TV
All Gayed Up and Nowhere to Go
Hits and Misses at the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Now in its ninth year, the 2005 Lesbian and Gay Film Festival hits Cinema 21 at the
Posted inTheater & Performance
Let’s Get Sissy-Fied
Meet Portland’s Most Outrageous Drag Queen Terrorists, Sissyboy!
Sissyboy are the extremists of Portland’s drag/performance art world—self-described “drag terrorists”—whose divine mission is nothing less than blowing up political correctness and all it stands for. From humble beginnings at IC Mummy, to a monthly gig at Holocene, and a recent one-year anniversary extravaganza at the Wonder Ballroom, the Sissyboy fan base has steadily grown—a […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
The Hyacinth Macaw
During the intermission at defunkt theatre’s (lowercase intended) production of The Hyacinth Macaw, a fellow audience member asked me if I had any idea what was going on. It pained me to admit that I didn’t hav
Posted inMovies & TV
Fightin’ Dirty
Race and Politics in Street Fight
Street Fight dir. Curry Thurs Oct 6 Guild Street Fight is a must-see documentary for anyone with even a passing interest in American politics. Following the 2002 mayoral elections in Newark, New Jersey, in which the young reformer Cory Booker ran against beloved incumbent Sharpe James, the film is a compelling, frustrating look at city […]
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Top Gun on the Links
Succinct Reviews for the Discerning Cinephile
The Greatest Game Ever Played dir. Paxton Opens Fri Sept 30 Various Theaters If somebody were to ask me to compile a list of things I couldn’t care less about, two topics would immediately spring to the top of that list: “golf” and “class struggle in early 20th-century America.” Unfortunately, these two subjects are the […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Dreampuffs of Lorna
Dreampuffs of Lorna, written by Jennifer Haley, is as frustrating and conceptually squishy as the name suggests. Set in a near future of food
Posted inMovies & TV
Murder and Alzheimer’s
Memory of a Killer Forgets Excitement
Watching The Memory of a Killer is like reading a spy novel written during the Cold War