Welcome to Bio Hazard, a monthly Blogtown column by local film writer D. K. Holm that delves into the best (and worst) in Hollywood-centric biographies. First up: Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, a tome about how Warren Beatty has boned just about every woman on the planet. Take it away, D. K. —Erik Warren […]
D.K. Holm
Posted inMovies & TV
Asian Intrigues
Asia Argento Explains It All
Scarlet Diva dir. Argento Opens Fri Jan 17 Clinton Street Theater When Rolling Stone profiled xXx star Asia Argento last summer, it mentioned her directorial debut, Scarlet Diva, in very enticing terms, making the reader think that the autobiographical movie was about a tattooed, drug-zonked, sexually rapacious jet-setter who keeps her lesbian love slave hog-tied […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Ode to the Epic
How the TV Can be the Best Place for Big Movies
Small screens, big movies. How can such a formula work? Widescreen movies were invented to lure people away from television, not keep them chained to it. Pop in an epic, and you can hardly see the thing. Watching films from the heyday of Hollywood’s CinemaScope period on a tiny television screen today seems like bitter […]
Posted inBooks
The Cold Six Thousand
Book Review
The Cold Six Thousand James Ellroy (Knopf) Thursday, June 12th Twenty-Third Avenue Books 1015 NW 23rd, 224-5097 James Ellroy is the premier literary stylist working in the mystery genre today. He’s the James Joyce of literary mysteries, concocting a unique style to accommodate his dire world view. He writes prose of such immediacy, freshness, hardness, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Mercury Video Picks
C.O.X. on DVD “The purpose of making films is to encourage revolution,” says director Alex Cox in the new issue of Tin House, adding “If that fails, your fallback positions are that you have made art or money.” While most pundits complain that Cox failed at all three, they can’t deny he has managed to […]
Posted inMovies & TV
A Nose for Movies
Johnny Depp is Really the Best Actor in Hollywood
Benicio Del Toro may have been officially anointed the best (supporting) actor in the world thanks to Oscar, but the overall best thespian in Hollywood is Johnny Depp. Since his humble beginnings as an ersatz Mod Squad cop in the Fox series 21 Jump Street, Depp has shown more promise and delivered on it better […]
Posted inArt
Wetlands
Art Review
Froelick Gallery 817 SW 2nd Ave., 222-1142 through March 31 Long marshes, lonely people less crossroads, silent wetlands: This is the world that painter Barry Pelzner has committed himself to recreating in his art, and it’s a world nearby. Sauvie Island and other wild areas just outside our urban environment have served as subjects for […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Mercury Video Picks
They’ve got what it tapes Next time you hear someone you love waxing nostalgic for the ’80s, pop in the just released DVD of Tapeheads (Anchor Bay, 1988). This satire on the music biz recaps the decade in miniature form, mocking both politics and style (from translucent-framed glasses to MTV). The plot is simple. Ivan […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Mercury Video Picks
Mean season
Real movie lovers love mean. They relish revenge; or, at least, second-hand revenge. For some reason we prefer villains to heroes. That’s because we are all helpless, futile creatures who crave vicarious catharsis. Here are some recent DVD releases to help you enjoy a delightfully mean season. The Untouchables (1987, Fox Home Video)-Few movie villains […]
Posted inUncategorized
RICE JUNKIES
RICE JUNKIES
620 SW 9th Ave, 274-2154 Slacker joints can have a certain funky or arrogant charm, but ultimately they have to actually provide food and services to their constituents or even the ethereal or displaced will give up on it. Rice Junkies fails in this respect. Its menu advertises “quick service” in a “unique atmosphere.” Both […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Thanks for the Memories
Memento Will Live Long in Your Mind
Here’s something to remember about Memento. Look for the shot near the end when Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) is lying in bed with his wife. Watch for the tattoo on his chest pec that says, “I did it.” It’s a clue to one of the many secrets of Christopher Nolan’s fascinating neo-noir. And it’s the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Getting Out Alive:
Bring Low Expectations, PowerBars and Lots of Water
Surprisingly, there are ways to survive the Portland International Film Festival. Since its inception 24 years ago as a marketing tool for the Seattle-based Seven Gables theater chain, the festival (now sponsored by the Portland Art Museum’s Northwest Film Center), continues to present an onslaught of movies that can make the avid movie fan act […]