Chris Cooper is one of the best actors working today, a fact that—in an ironic twist—is backed up by so few people knowing who he is. Drop Cooper’s name and you’ll likely be met with empty faces and blank stares, but everyone knows him: He’s the charismatic, tough commander in Jarhead, the self-loathing, militaristic neighbor […]
Erik Henriksen
With honor and distinction, Erik Henriksen served as the executive editor of the Portland Mercury from 2004 to 2020. He can now be found at henriksenactual.com.
Posted inMovies & TV
Geek Out
Starship Tremors
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Developed by Capcom Available Now for Xbox 360 Okay, so those giant bugs in Starship Troopers? Pretty sweet, right? Hell yes they are! And those giant worms from Tremors? Badass! And those giant robots from Neon Genesis Evangelion? Right again, Sherlock! AWESOME! So Lost Planet: Extreme Condition—a game that combines all […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Old-School Soderbergh
Time Traveling with The Good German
Steven Soderbergh changed everything. Well, more or less, and it wasn’t all him, but still: In 1989, Soderbergh kicked off the indie film craze that would change the course of film in the 1990s. Showing up to a then-tiny film fest called Sundance with Sex, Lies, and Videotape, the 26-year-old director proceeded to decimate the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
A Whine Runs Through It
Life Is Really, Really Hard for Jennifer Garner
Awwwwwww. Poor Jennifer Garner! Catch and Release opens with Bennifer II at a funeral. Poor Jennifer’s charming, fly fisherman fiancé has died—right before their wedding—meaning that what was supposed to be Jennifer’s wedding is now her fiancé’s funeral! And then the flower guy shows up… with flowers! For the wedding! They forgot to tell him […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Art-House Monster
Guillermo del Toro: From Blade to Oscar
“IF THERE’S NOT A MONSTER on my call sheet, I won’t show up to a shoot,” Guillermo del Toro recently and giddily confessed to Charlie Rose. “I love monsters.” Yeah, he does. Which is probably why you’re not going to hear del Toro’s name proclaimed during the Oscars, nor are you likely to see his […]
Posted inMusic
Lives Unled
Going Solo with Metric’s Emily Haines
“I KIND OF APPROACHED it more like making a film than being a band,” Emily Haines says. Haines has been the singer and keyboardist for kickass Canadian rock band Metric for nine years, but here she’s referring to her solo album, Knives Don’t Have Your Back. “I sort of started writing with the idea of […]
Posted inTheater & Performance
Frida, Un Retablo
Frida Kahlo had a moustache, which is awesome. Wait, let me rephrase: Kahlo’s refusal to hide her moustache (or her unibrow) in her self-portraits was awesome. Kahlo’s surreal paintings are still some of the most striking works of the 20th century, due to Kahlo’s sheer personality and confidence. Maya Malán-González plays Kahlo in Frida, Un […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
Dysgenics 101
Idiocracy dir. Judge Now Available on DVD Office Space was a colossal failure. Well, theatrically, anyway—released in 1999 with little advertising by 20th Century Fox, the movie bombed, an apparent failure for writer/director Mike Judge (Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill). Yeah, years later, on video, Office Space became a massive hit—but for Judge, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Child Support
Children of Men: Getting Dystopic with Alfonso Cuarón
I’M GOING TO CUT right to the quick: Children of Men is the best film I’ve seen all year, and you should go see it. Okay. There’s more to say beyond that boiled-down imperative, but that needed to be dealt with, gotten out of the way. We’re good? You’ll see Children of Men? Okay. Glad […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Reel Good
Finding the Best at the Reel Music Film Fest
EVERY YEAR, the Northwest Film Center’s Reel Music Film Festival hits, bringing all sorts of music-related cinema to town. There’s some great stuff this year, and also some not-so-great stuff, but trust us—it’s worth foraging around a bit to find the worthwhile events. Here are a few of them; for more, check out nwfilm.org. The […]
Posted inBooks
The Fountain
by Darren Aronofsky and Kent Williams
The story behind Darren Aronofsky’s film The Fountain is almost as intriguing as the film itself: Originally, The Fountain was a blockbuster with a $70 million budget that starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. But “creative differences” struck, and The Fountain was cancelled at the last minute—leaving Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) to fire […]
Posted inMovies & TV
I’m Staying Home
SCREW YOU, 2006
Thanks for nothing, 2006. Cinematically speaking, you were nothing but a big fucking disappointment. Let’s take a look at the shit you unloaded: RV. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. BloodRayne. Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector. Oh, and The Celestine Prophecy, you piece of shit. God, 2006, I’m so over you. I’m already […]