Performers rehearsing for The Siren’s Nightmare on Elm Street: The Play!. Courtesy of Shelley McLendon With the Halloween season now upon us, the Siren Theater is putting on another one of their parody shows that is as spooky as it is silly. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Play! is the brainchild of creator-director Shelley […]
Chase Hutchinson
Posted inMovies & TV
The Most Misguided Musical Adaptation Since Cats, Dear Evan Hansen Is an Utter Disaster
An image from the film, DEAR EVAN HANSEN. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures Editor’s Note: This review contains discussions and references to suicide. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. The most out of its depth […]
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It’s a Life or Death Mission in Wild Samurai Zombie Western Mashup Prisoners of the Ghostland
Sofia Boutella in the action/adventure film, PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND. Photo courtesy of RLJE Films A film defined by a prevailing wisdom of “sure, why not do that,” Prisoners of the Ghostland is a chaotic caper with Nicolas Cage as a bank robbing criminal who is given a simple choice: rescue Sofia Boutella’s Bernice post-haste […]
Posted inFall Arts Guide 2021: Art Is Political
An Oral History of How Pig, the Sublime Film Shot and Set in Portland, Found Its Heart
COURTESY NEON The making of one of the year’s best films, Pig, is a tale of taking big risks to tell a humble story. The film stars Nicolas Cage, in a role where his character isn’t built on the foundation of a boisterous performance, but of smaller, quiet scenes that are no less impactful. The […]
Posted inFall Arts Guide 2021: Art Is Political
An Oral History of How Pig, the Sublime Film Shot and Set in Portland, Found Its Heart
The making of one of the year’s best films, Pig, is a tale of taking big risks to tell a humble story. The film stars Nicolas Cage, in a role where his character isn’t built on the foundation of a boisterous performance, but of smaller, quiet scenes that are no less impactful. The director didn’t […]
Posted inMovies & TV
New Documentary Hood River Profiles Oregon High School Soccer Team, Tackling Socioeconomic and Immigration Issues That Go Beyond Sports
Hood River Watching the documentary Hood River, a profile of a small Oregon town’s high school soccer team during their 2018 season, recalls the pain and triumph that comes from growing up with sport as a central part of your early life. An often moving yet honest look at what it means to be a […]
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Sees Simu Liu and Awkwafina Try and Fail to Reinvent the Marvel Formula
courtesy Marvel studios An action-adventure story with plenty of charm and creativity that is fighting to get out of the confines of the Marvel malaise, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a regrettably lackluster film that falls short of its great aspirations. The biggest disappointment is that those aspirations still flicker through […]
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Nia DaCosta and Jordan Peele Turn Candyman into a Bold Reimagining of an Old Mythology. It’s the Most Audacious Horror Film of the Year.
courtesy of Universal Pictures A film about reflecting on the stories we tell through art and history, Candyman is an utterly unexpected yet imaginative horror film guided by a confident hand from writer-director Nia DaCosta. Along with co-writer Jordan Peele, DaCosta has created something incisive by delicately tapping into a unique storytelling frequency that reinterprets […]
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District 9 Director Neill Blomkamp Returns with Sci-Fi Horror Flick Demonic
Neill Blomkamp’s Demonic COURTESY IFC MIDNIGHT A beast all its own when it comes to cinematic experimentation, Demonic is a film that’s at times creatively engaging in how it uses new techniques while also being vastly unfulfilling in its story. Writer-director Neill Blomkamp is one of cinema’s most fascinating voices and a director I deeply […]
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Defund The Police? Sundance Documentary Homeroom Thoughtfully Profiles Oakland Students Who Show How To Do Just That
A still from Homeroom. For those unaware, the world as it is today is not in a particularly good state. In many cases, it has fallen to the next generation to do all they can to make it better. Thankfully, even as it is often far too much to ask of them, they’re up to […]
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James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad Is A Vast Improvement From Its Predecessor, With More On Its Mind
Quite a squad. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Before we begin, let us get this out of the way: 2016’s Suicide Squad, at least the version that was released in theaters, was one of the biggest misfires of a movie in recent memory. While not totally irredeemable, whatever cut of the film (of which there were […]
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Review: The Green Knight Sees a Dashing Dev Patel Fight a Giant Tree Man. It’s Outstanding.
Dev Patel as a shouting Gawain in The Green Knight. Courtesy A24 A masterful meditation on the hero’s journey, The Green Knight gives writer-director David Lowery the reins to expertly craft a profoundly atmospheric film that invigorates the senses to the point of breathlessness. It sees the equally breathtaking Dev Patel give his best performance […]