Don’t be like me. Don’t bring Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature on your beach vacation—you’re just going to abandon it in favor of a trashy magazine. Do, however, read it when you’re nestled on your couch on a cold rainy day, ’cause it’s a fascinating read that […]
Courtney Ferguson
Mercury copy chief and appreciator of the most sophisticated form of comedy: PUNS!
Posted inMovies & TV
Latin Lover
PDXLAFF’s Hispanic Experience
The first Portland Latin American Film Fest (PDXLAFF) has a lot of ground to cover over the course of its four-day run—but with selections from Cuba, Mexico, South America, and even the US, they’re all over it, with a selection of shorts and a dozen full-length features and documentaries. The first full day starts on […]
Posted inBooks
Rid of Me: A Story
by Kate Schatz(Continuum, 33 1/3 Series)
PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me defined my college years—the songs soaked themselves into my existence, soundtracking hours and days of my collegiate life. Apparently I wasn’t the only one: Kate Schatz’s newest entry into the 33 1/3 series of books about seminal albums is based on Harvey’s 1993 record. But unlike the series’ other volumes, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Kiss Off
Love Is Like Rocket Science
Rocket Science is a sweet, dark film about stuttering high school student Hal Hefner—but be warned: You’re going to hear inevitable and angry comparisons to Election, The Squid and the Whale, and every Wes Anderson film ever made. But don’t let that bother you. Director Jeffrey Blitz (who previously made the spelling bee documentary Spellbound) […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Lady Chatterley’s a Hippie
But It Turns Out That’s a Good Thing
You couldn’t ask for a more tender or elegant take on D.H. Lawrence’s novel than French director Pascale Ferran’s film Lady Chatterley. The achingly slow build, beautiful camera work, and stark sensuousness make this adaptation a quiet thing of beauty. Strictly speaking, this film isn’t a re-creation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover—Lawrence wrote three versions, the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Gunning ‘Em Down
You Kill Me Fails to Slay
I’m a big fan of director John Dahl’s mid-’90s films The Last Seduction and Red Rock West. Both films are gritty tales of backstabbing, noir-ish twists, and strange interpersonal dynamics, all peppered with incredibly memorable characters. Dahl’s panache for quirky characters is striking, but with all the oddballs in his newest film, You Kill Me, […]
Posted inNews
Look Out! It’s the Mercury‘s Summer DANGER Guide!
There’s no getting around it—summer makes people stupid. And stupid people quickly become dead people. Do you want to be both stupid AND dead? We didn’t think so. That’s why you’re going to be SMART, and read the Mercury‘s Summer Danger Guide: the city’s only complete compilation of EVERYTHING that will cause or contribute to […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Cusack Cracks
Room Service with a Scream
Poor horror films. Hollywood is so confused about how to make a good one. Do they slice and dice and bring on the gore? Do they make a teenybopper flick with an afterthought of a serial killer at the end? Or do they cram John Cusack in a hotel room and make him go crazy? […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Best O’ Buffy
This weekend, Cinema 21 is hosting two nights of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, sing-along style: The series’ musical episode, “Once More with Feeling,” will be screened with Rocky Horror-style audience participation. (See Film, pg. 44, for more info.) Watching all seven seasons of Buffy to prepare might be a bit much—so here are a few […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Puff, Puff, Pass
Portland Underground Film Festival Returns
Chockablock with scenes from the underground, the Portland Underground Film Festival (PUFF) returns to the Clinton St. Theater for four days of screenings and parties. Needless to say, the underground isn’t always a pretty place, but it’s usually pretty interesting. Don’t miss opening night with the compelling Random Lunacy: Videos from the Road Less Traveled, […]
Posted inBooks
Colin Meloy Meets Lemony Snicket
Colin Freaks Out, Lemony Gives Grammar Lessons
They both wear seersucker suits and have a fondness for accordions. The Decemberists singer Colin Meloy and Daniel Handler (better known as Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events) have a lot in common, with their morose and macabre sensibilities. Handler is on tour promoting his newest adult-oriented book, Adverbs, a clever, collection […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Room to Scare
Vacancy‘s Got the Goods
There’s nothing more invigorating than a good scare, but since I’m jaded, it takes some expert moves to get the job done. Off the top of my head, the last film that disturbed me was Peter Jackson’s Meet the Feebles. See? It takes a lot to freak me out. But props go to director Nimrod […]